THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND Volume II. BY DAVID HUME, ESQ. 1688 London: James S. Virtue, City Road and Ivy LaneNew York: 26 John Street1860 In Three Volumes: VOLUME ONE: The History Of England From The Invasion Of Julius Cæsar ToThe End Of The Reign Of James The Second............ By David Hume, Esq. VOLUME TWO: Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death ofGeorge II........................................... By Tobias Smollett. VOLUME THREE: From the Accession of George III. To the Twenty-Third Yearof the Reign of Queen Victoria............... By E. Farr and E. H. Nolan. VOLUME TWO CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, M. D. [Illustration: 2-frontis-marlborough. Jpg FRONTISPIECE: MARLEBOROUGH] [Illustration: titlepage11. Jpg TITLEPAGE: EXECUTION OF DUDLEY] MAPS: [Illustration: map5. Jpg MAP OF INDIA] [Illustration: map6. Jpg MAP OF UNITED STATES] [Illustration: map7. Jpg MAP OF SCOTLAND] [Illustration: map8. Jpg MAP OF THE BALTIC] 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..... 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. {1689} The constitution of England had now assumed a new aspect. The maximof hereditary indefeisible right was at length renounced by a freeparliament. The power of the crown was acknowledged to flow from noother fountain than that of a contract with the people. Allegiance andprotection were declared reciprocal ties depending upon each other. Therepresentatives of the nation made a regular claim of rights inbehalf of their constituents; and William III. Ascended the throne inconsequence of an express capitulation with the people. Yet, on thisoccasion, the zeal of the parliament towards their deliverer seems tohave overshot their attachment to their own liberty and privileges: orat least they neglected the fairest opportunity that ever occurred, toretrench those prerogatives of the crown to which they imputed all thelate and former calamities of the kingdom. Their new monarch retainedthe old regal power over parliaments in its full extent. He was leftat liberty to convoke, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve them athis pleasure. He was enabled to influence elections, and oppresscorporations. He possessed the right of choosing his own council; ofnominating all the great officers of the state, and of the household, ofthe army, the navy, and the church. He reserved the absolute commandof the militia: so that lie remained master of all the instruments andengines of corruption and violence, without any other restraint than hisown moderation, and prudent regard to the claim of rights, and principleof resistance on which the revolution was founded. In a word, thesettlement was finished with some precipitation, before the plan hadbeen properly digested and matured; and this will be the case in everyestablishment formed upon a sudden emergency in the face of opposition. It was observed, that the king, who was made by the people, had it inhis power to rule without them; to govern _jure divino_ though he wascreated _jure humano_: and that, though the change proceeded from arepublican spirit, the settlement was built upon tory maxims; forthe execution of his government continued still independent of hiscommission, while his own person remained sacred and inviolable. Theprince 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 brokenthan they flew asunder and each resumed its original bias. Their mutualjealousy and rancour revived, and was heated by dispute into intemperatezeal and enthusiasm. Those who at first acted from principles ofpatriotism were insensibly warmed into partizans; and king Williamsoon found himself at the head of a faction. As he had been bred, aCalvinist, and always expressed an abhorrence of spiritual persecution, the presbyter-ians, and other protestant dissenters, considered him astheir peculiar protector, and entered into his interests with the mostzealous fervour and assiduity. For the same reasons the friends ofthe church became jealous of his proceedings, and employed all theirinfluence, first in opposing his elevation to the throne, and afterwardsin thwarting his measures. Their party was espoused by all the friendsof the lineal succession; by the Roman catholics; by those who werepersonally attached to the late king; and by such as were disgustedby the conduct and personal deportment of William since his arrivalin England. They observed, That, contrary to his declaration, hehad plainly aspired to the crown; and treated his father-in-law withinsolence and rigour; that his army contained a number of foreignpapists, almost equal to that of the English Roman catholics whom Jameshad employed; that the reports so industriously circulated about thebirth of the prince of Wales, the treaty with France for enslavingEngland, and the murder of the earl of Essex-reports countenanced by theprince of Orange-now appeared to be without foundation; that the Dutchtroops remained in London, while the English forces were distributed inremote quarters; that the prince declared the first should be kept abouthis person, and the latter sent to Ireland; that the two houses out ofcomplaisance to William, had denied their late sovereign the justice ofbeing heard in his own defence; and that the Dutch had lately interferedwith the trade of London, which was already sensibly diminished. Thesewere the sources of discontent, swelled up by the resentment of somenoblemen and other individuals, disappointed in their hopes of profitand preferment. ACCOUNT OF THE NEW MINISTRY. William began his reign with a proclamation, for confirming allprotestants in the offices which they enjoyed on the first day ofDecember; then he chose the members of his council, who were generallystaunch to his interest, except the archbishop of Canterbury and theearl of Nottingham, and these were admitted in complaisance to thechurch-party, which it was not thought adviseable to provoke. [001]_[See note A, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Nottingham and Shrewsbury wereappointed secretaries of state; the privy-seal was bestowed upon themarquis of Halifax; the earl of Danby was created president ofthe council. These two noblemen enjoyed a good share of the king'sconfidence, and Nottingham was considerable as head of the church-party:but the chief favourite was Bentinck, first commoner on the list ofprivy-counsellors, as well as groom of the stole and privy purse. D'Averquerque was made master of the horse, Zuylestein of the robes, andSehomberg of the ordnance: the treasury, admiralty, and chancery wereput in commission; twelve able judges were chosen;* and the diocese ofSalisbury being vacated by the death of Dr. Ward, the king of his ownfree motion filled it with Burnet, who had been a zealous stickler forhis interest; and in a particular manner instrumental in effecting therevolution. Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, refused to consecratethis ecclesiastic, though the reasons of his refusal are not specified;but, being afraid of incurring the penalties of a premunire, he granteda commission to the bishop of London, and three other suffragans, toperform that ceremony. Burnet was a prelate of some parts, and greatindustry; moderate in his notions of church discipline, inquisitive, meddling, vain, and credulous. In consequence of having incurred thedispleasure of the late king, he had retired to the continent and fixedhis residence in Holland, where he was naturalized, and attached himselfto the interest of the prince of Orange, who consulted him about theaffairs 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 Britishfugitive, 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 thatexpedition. The principal individuals that composed this ministry havebeen characterized in the history of the preceding reigns. We have hadoccasion to mention the fine talents, the vivacity, the flexibility ofHalifax; the plausibility, the enterprising genius, the obstinacy ofDanby; the pompous eloquence, the warmth, and ostentation of Nottingham;the probity and popularity of Shrewsbury. Godolphin, now brought intothe treasury, was modest, silent, sagacious, and upright. Mordaunt, appointed first commissioner of that board, and afterwards created earlof Monmouth, was open, generous, and a republican in his principles. Delamere, chancellor of the exchequer, promoted in the sequel to therank of earl of Warrington, was close and mercenary. Obsequiousness, fidelity, and attachment to his master, composed the character ofBentinck, whom the king raised to the dignity of earl of Portland. TheEnglish favourite, Sidney, was a man of wit and pleasure, possessed ofthe most engaging talents for conversation and private friendship, butrendered unfit for public business by indolence and inattention. Hewas ennobled, and afterwards created earl of Romney; a title which heenjoyed with several successive posts of profit and importance. Thestream of honour and preferment ran strong in favour of the whigs, andthis appearance of partiality confirmed the suspicion and resentment ofthe 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. _ {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THE CONVENTION CONVERTED INTO A PARLIAMENT. The first resolution taken in the new council was to convert theconvention into a parliament, that the new settlement might bestrengthened 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 thecouncil determined that the king should, by virtue of his own authority, change the convention into a parliament, by going to the house of peerswith the usual state of a sovereign, and pronouncing a speech from thethrone to both houses. This expedient was accordingly practised. [002]_[See note B, at the end of this Vol. ]_ He assured them he should nevertake any step that would diminish the good opinion they had conceivedof his integrity. He told them that Holland was in such a situation asrequired their immediate attention and assistance; that the posture ofaffairs at home likewise demanded their serious consideration; thata good settlement was necessary, not only for the establishment ofdomestic peace, but also for the support of the protestant interestabroad: that the affairs of Ireland were too critically situated toadmit the least delay in their deliberations; he therefore begged theywould be speedy and effectual in concerting such measures as shouldbe judged indispensably necessary for the welfare of the nation. Thecommons returning to their house, immediately passed a vote of thanksto his majesty, and made an order that his speech should be taken intoconsideration. After the throne had been declared vacant by a smallmajority of the peers, those who opposed that measure had graduallywithdrawn themselves from the house, so that very few remained but suchas were devoted to the new monarch. These therefore brought in a billfor preventing all disputes concerning the present parliament. In themeantime, Mr. Hambden, in the lower house, put the question, Whethera king elected by the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commonsassembled at Westminster, | coming to and consulting with the said lordsand commons, did not make as complete a parliament and legislativepower and authority as if the said king should cause new elections tobe made by writ? Many members affirmed that the king's writ was asnecessary as his presence to the being of a legal parliament, and as theconvention was defective in this particular, it could not be vestedwith a parliamentary authority by any management whatsoever. The whigsreplied, That the essence of a parliament consisted in the meetingand co-operation of the king, lords, and commons; and that it was notmaterial whether they were convoked by writ or by letter: they provedthis assertion by examples deduced from the history of England: theyobserved that a new election would be attended with great trouble, expense, and loss of time; and that such delay might prove fatal tothe protestant interest in Ireland, as well as to the allies on thecontinent. In the midst of this debate the bill was brought down fromthe lords, and being read, a committee was appointed to make someamendments. These were no sooner made than the commons sent it back tothe upper house, and it immediately received the royal assent. By thisact the lords and commons assembled at Westminster were declared the twohouses of parliament to all intents and purposes: it likewise ordained, That the present act, and all other acts to which the royal assentshould be given before the next prorogation, should be understood andadjudged in law to begin on the thirteenth day of February: that themembers, instead of the old oaths of allegiance and supremacy, shouldtake 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 ofcommons about the revenue, which the courtiers alleged had devolved withthe crown upon William, at least during the life of James, for whichterm the greater part of it had been granted. The members in theopposition affirmed that these grants were vacated with the throne; andat length it was voted, That the revenue had expired. Then a motion wasmade, That a revenue should be settled on the king and queen; andthe house resolved it should be taken into consideration. While theydeliberated on this affair they received a message from his majesty, importing that the late king had set sail from Brest with an armament toinvade Ireland. They forthwith resolved to assist his majesty withtheir lives and fortunes; they voted a temporary aid of four hundred andtwenty thousand pounds, to be levied by monthly assessments, and bothhouses waited on the king to signify this resolution. But this unanimitydid not take place till several lords spiritual as well as temporal had, rather than take the oaths, absented themselves from parliament. Thenonjuring prelates were Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury; Turner, bishop of Ely; Lake, of Chichester; Ken, of Bath and Wells; White, ofPeterborough; Lloyd, of Norwich; Thomas, of Worcester; and Frampton, of Gloucester. The temporal peers who refused the oath were the dukeof Newcastle; the earls of Clarendon, Litchfield, Exeter, Yarmouth, andStafford; the lords Griffin and Stawel. Five of the bishops withdrewthemselves from the house at one time; but before they retired one ofthe number moved for a bill of toleration, and another of comprehension, by which moderate dissenters might be reconciled to the church, andadmitted into ecclesiastical benefices. Such bills were actuallyprepared and presented by the earl of Nottingham, who received thethanks of the house for the pains he had taken. From this period theparty averse to the government of William were distinguished by theappellation of Nonjurors. They rejected the notion of a king _de facto_, as well as all other distinctions and limitations; and declared for theabsolute power and divine hereditary indefeisible right of sovereigns. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } MUTINY IN THE ARMY. This faction had already begun to practise against the new government. The king having received some intimation of their designs fromintercepted letters, ordered the earl of Arran, sir Robert Hamilton, andsome other gentlemen of the Scottish nation, to be apprehended and sentprisoners to the Tower. Then he informed the two houses of the step hehad taken, and even craved their advice with regard to his conduct insuch a delicate affair which had compelled him to trespass upon thelaw of England. The lords thanked him for the care he took of theirliberties, and desired he would secure all disturbers of the peace: butthe commons empowered him by a bill to dispense with the _habeas-corpus_act till the seventeenth day of April next ensuing. This was a stretchof confidence in the crown which had not been made in favour of the lateking, even while Argyle and Monmouth were in open rebellion. A spirit ofdiscontent had by this time diffused itself through the army, and becomeso formidable to the court, that the king resolved to retain the Dutchtroops in England and send over to Holland in their room such regimentsas were most tinctured with disaffection. Of these the Scottish regimentof Dumbarton, commanded by mareschal Schomberg, mutinied on its marchto Ipswich, seized the military chest, disarmed the officers who opposedtheir design, declared for king James, and with four pieces of cannonbegan their march for Scotland. William, being informed of this revolt, ordered general Ginckel to pursue them with three regiments ofDutch dragoons, and the mutineers surrendered at discretion. As thedelinquents were natives of Scotland, which had not yet submitted inform to the new government, the king did not think proper to punishthem as rebels, but ordered them to proceed for Holland according to hisfirst intention. Though this attempt proved abortive, it made a strongimpression upon the ministry, who were divided among themselves andwavered in their principles. However, they used this opportunity tobring in a bill for punishing mutiny and desertion, which in a littletime 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. ]_ beingaltered and explained, that ceremony was performed on the eleventh dayof April, the bishop of London officiating, at the king's desire, in theroom of the metropolitan, who was a malcontent; and next day the commonsin a body waited on the king and queen at Whitehall, with an address ofcongratulation. William, with a view to conciliate the affections of hisnew subjects, and check the progress of clamour and discontent, signified in a solemn message to the house of commons, his readiness toacquiesce in any measure they should think proper to take for a newregulation or total suppression of the hearth-money, which he understoodwas a grievous imposition on his subjects; and this tax was afterwardsabolished. He was gratified with an address of thanks, couched in thewarmest expressions of duty, gratitude, and affection, declaring theywould take such measures in support of his crown, as would convince theworld 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 hisconstant regard to the rights and prosperity of the nation: he hadexplained the exhausted state of the Dutch; expatiated upon the zeal ofthat republic for the interests of Britain, as well as the maintenanceof the protestant religion; and expressed his hope that the Englishparliament would not only repay the sums they had expended in hisexpedition, but likewise further support them to the utmost of theirability against the common enemies of their liberties and religion. Hehad observed that a considerable army and fleet would be necessary forthe reduction of Ireland and the protection of Britain, and he desiredthey would settle the revenue in such a manner that it might becollected without difficulty and dispute. The sum total of the moneyexpended by the states-general in William's expedition amounted toseven millions of guilders, and the commons granted six hundred thousandpounds for the discharge of this debt, incurred for the preservation oftheir rights and religion. They voted funds for raising and maintainingan army of two-and-twenty thousand men, as well as for equippinga numerous fleet: but they provided for no more than half a year'ssubsistence of the troops, hoping the reduction of Ireland mightbe finished in that term; and this instance of frugality the kingconsidered as a mark of their diffidence of his administration. Thewhigs were resolved to supply him gradually, that he might be the moredependent upon their zeal and attachment; but he was not at all pleasedwith 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 hadentertained for the church of England, he seemed now in a great measurealienated from it by the opposition he had met with from its members, particularly from the bishops who had thwarted his measures. Byabsenting themselves from parliament, and refusing the oath, they hadplainly disowned his title and renounced his government. He thereforeresolved to mortify the church, and gratify his own friends at thesame time, by removing the obstacles affixed to nonconformity, thatall protestant dissenters should be rendered capable of enjoying andexercising civil employments. When he gave his assent to the bill forsuspending the _habeas-corpus_ act, he recommended the establishment ofa new oath in lieu of those of allegiance and supremacy: he expressedhis hope that they would leave room for the admission of all hisprotestant subjects who should be found qualified for the service;he said, such a conjunction would unite them the more firmly amongthemselves, and strengthen them against their common adversaries. In consequence of this hint, a clause was inserted in the billfor abrogating the old and appointing the new oaths, by which thesacramental test was declared unnecessary in rendering any personcapable of enjoying any office or employment. It was, however, rejectedby a great majority in the house of lords. Another clause for thesame purpose, though in different terms, was proposed by the king'sdirection, and met with the same fate, though in both cases severalnoblemen entered a protest against the resolution of the house. Thesefruitless efforts in favour of dissenters augmented the prejudice of thechurchmen against king William, who would have willingly compromisedthe difference by excusing the clergy from the oaths, provided thedissenters might be exempted from the sacramental test: but this wasdeemed the chief bulwark of the church, and therefore the proposal wasrejected. The church party in the house of lords moved, That insteadof inserting a clause obliging the clergy to take the oaths, the kingshould be empowered to tender them; and, in case of their refusal, theyshould incur the penalty, because deprivation, or the apprehensions ofit, might make them desperate and excite them to form designs againstthe government. This argument had no weight with the commons, whothought it was indispensably necessary to exact the oaths of the clergy, as their example influenced the kingdom in general, and the youth ofthe nation were formed under their instructions. After a long andwarm debate, all the mitigation that could be obtained was a clauseempowering the king to indulge any twelve clergymen, deprived by virtueof this act, with a third part of their benefices during pleasure. Thus the ancient oaths of allegiance and supremacy were abrogated: thedeclaration of non-resistance in the act of uniformity was repealed: thenew oath of allegiance was reduced to its primitive simplicity, and thecoronation-oath rendered more explicit. The clergy were enjoined to takethe new oaths before the first day of August, on pain of being suspendedfrom their office for six months, and of entire deprivation, in casethey should not take them before the expiration of this term. Theygenerally complied, though with such reservations and distinctions aswere 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 forthis purpose being prepared by the earl of Nottingham, was, after somedebate, passed into a law, under the title of an act for exempting theirmajesties' protestant subjects, dissenting from the church of England, from the penalties of certain laws. It enacted, That none of the penallaws should be construed to extend to those dissenters who should takethe oaths to the present government, and subscribe the declaration ofthe thirtieth year of the reign of Charles II. Provided that they shouldhold no private assemblies or conventicles with the doors shut; thatnothing should be construed to exempt them from the payment of tithes orother parochial duties: that, in case of being chosen into the officeof constable, churchwarden, overseer, &c. And of scrupling to take theoaths annexed to such offices, they should be allowed to execute theemployment by deputy: that the preachers and teachers in congregationsof dissenting protestants who should take the oaths, subscribe thedeclaration, together with all the articles of religion, exceptthe thirty-fourth and the two succeeding articles, and part of thetwentieth, should be exempted from the penalties decreed againstnon-conformists, as well as from serving upon juries, or acting inparish offices: yet all justices of the peace were empowered to requiresuch dissenters to subscribe the declaration and take the oaths; and, incase 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 articleswhich the others ratified upon oath: they were likewise required toprofess their belief in the Trinity and the Holy Scriptures. Even thepapists felt the benign influence of William's moderation in spiritualmatters: he rejected the proposal of some zealots, who exhorted him toenact 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 wara religious quarrel; besides, he would not pretend to screen theprotestants of Germany and Hungary, while he himself should persecutethe Catholics of England. He therefore resolved to treat them withlenity; and though they were not comprehended in the act, they enjoyedthe benefit of the toleration. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } VIOLENT DISPUTES ABOUT THE BILL FOR A COMPREHENSION. We have observed that, in consequence of the motion made by the bishopswhen they withdrew from parliament, a bill was brought into the houseof lords for uniting their majesties' protestant subjects. This wasextremely agreeable to the king, who had the scheme of comprehensionvery much at heart. In the progress of the bill a warm debate aroseabout the posture of kneeling at the sacrament, which was given upin favour of the dissenters. Another no less violent ensued upon thesubsequent question, "Whether there should be an addition of laity inthe commission to be given by the king to the bishops and others of theclergy, for preparing such a reformation of ecclesiastical affairs asmight be the means of healing divisions, and correcting whatever mightbe erroneous or defective in the constitution. " A great number ofthe temporal lords insisted warmly on this addition, and when it wasrejected four peers entered a formal protest. Bishop Burnet was awarm stickler for the exclusion of the laity; and, in all probability, manifested this warmth in hopes of ingratiating himself with hisbrethren, among whom his character was very far from being popular. Butthe merit of this sacrifice was destroyed by the arguments he had usedfor dispensing with the posture of kneeling at the sacrament; and by hisproposing in another proviso of the bill, that the subscribers, insteadof expressing assent or consent, should only submit with a promise ofconformity. THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KING TO SUMMON A CONVOCATION. The bill was with difficulty passed in the house of lords, but thecommons treated it with neglect. By this time a great number ofmalcontent members, who had retired from parliament, were returned witha view to thwart the administration, though they could not preventthe settlement. Instead of proceeding with the bill they presentedan address to the king, thanking him for his gracious declaration andrepeated assurances that he would maintain the church of England as bylaw established; a church whose doctrine and practice had evinced itsloyalty beyond all contradiction. They likewise humbly besought hismajesty to issue writs for calling a convocation of the clergy, to beconsulted in ecclesiastical matters according to the ancient usageof parliaments; and they declared they would forthwith take intoconsideration proper methods for giving ease to protestant dissenters. Though the king was displeased at this address, in which the lords alsohad concurred, he returned a civil answer by the mouth of the earlof Nottingham, professing his regard for the church of England, whichshould always be his peculiar care, recommending the dissenters to theirprotection, and promising to summon a convocation as soon as such ameasure should be convenient. This message produced no effect in favourof the bill which lay neglected on the table. Those who moved for ithad no other view than that of displaying their moderation: and now theyexcited their friends to oppose it with all their interest. Others wereafraid of espousing it lost they should be stigmatized as enemies to thechurch; and a great number of the most eminent presbyterians woreaverse to a scheme of comprehension, which diminished their strength andweakened the importance of the party. Being therefore violently opposedon one hand, and but faintly supported on the other, no wonder itmiscarried. The king however was so bent upon the execution of hisdesign, that it was next session revived in another form though with nobetter success. SETTLEMENT OF THE REVENUE. The next object that engrossed the attention of the parliament was thesettlement of a revenue for the support of the government. Hithertothere had been no distinction of what was allotted for the king'suse, and what was assigned for the service of the public; so that thesovereign was entirely master of the whole supply. As the revenue in thelate reigns had been often embezzled and misapplied, it was now resolvedthat a certain sum should be set apart for the maintenance of the king'shousehold and the support of his dignity; and that the rest of thepublic money should be employed under the inspection of parliament. Accordingly, since this period, the commons have appropriated theyearly supplies to certain specified services; and an account of theapplication has been constantly submitted to both houses at the nextsession. At this juncture the prevailing party, or the whigs, determinedthat the revenue should be granted from year to year, or at least for asmall term of years; that the king might find himself dependent uponthe parliament, and merit the renewal of the grant by a just and popularadministration. In pursuance of this maxim, when the revenue fell underconsideration, they, under pretence of charges and anticipations whichthey had not time to examine, granted it by a provisional act for oneyear only. The civil list was settled at six hundred thousand pounds, chargeable with the appointments of the queen dowager, the prince andprincess of Denmark, the judges, and mareschal Schomberg, to whomthe parliament had already granted one hundred thousand pounds, inconsideration of his important services to the nation. The commons alsovoted that a constant revenue of twelve hundred thousand pounds shouldbe 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 ofthe public money, which were the most salutary fruits of the revolution. He considered them as marks of diffidence by which he was distinguishedfrom his predecessors; and thought them an ungrateful return for theservices he had done the nation. The tories perceived his disgust, anddid not fail to foment his jealousy against their adversaries, whichwas 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 aswould have rendered it in a great measure independent both of the kingand the lords-lieutenants of counties. These being generally peers, the bill was suffered to lie neglected on the table, but the attemptconfirmed the suspicion of the king, who began to think himself indanger of being enslaved by a republican party. The tories had, by thechannel of Nottingham, made proffers of service to his majesty; butcomplained at the same time that as they were in danger of beingprosecuted for their lives and fortunes, they could not, without an actof indemnity, exert themselves in favour of the crown, lest they shouldincur 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 amessage to the house by Mr. Hambden, recommending a bill of indemnityas the most effectual means for putting an end to all controversies, distinctions, and occasions of discord. He desired it might be preparedwith all convenient expedition, and with such exceptions only as shouldseem necessary for the vindication of public justice, the safety ofhim and his consort, and the settlement and welfare of the nation. Anaddress of thanks to his majesty was unanimously voted. Nevertheless, his design was frustrated by the backwardness of the whigs, whoproceeded so slowly on the bill that it could not be brought to maturitybefore the end of the session. They wanted to keep the scourge over theheads of their enemies until they should find a proper opportunity forrevenge; and, in the meantime, restrain them from opposition by theterror of impending vengeance. They affected to insinuate that theking's design was to raise the prerogative as high as it had been inthe preceding reigns; and that he for this purpose pressed an act ofindemnity, by virtue of which he might legally use the instruments ofthe late tyranny. The earls of Monmouth and Warrington industrouslyinfused these jealousies into the minds of their party: on the otherhand, the earl of Nottingham inflamed William's distrust of his oldfriends: both sides succeeded in kindling an animosity, which had liketo have produced confusion, notwithstanding the endeavours used by theearls of Shrewsbury and Devonshire, to allay those heats and remove thesuspicions that mutually prevailed. BIRTH OF THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER. It was now judged expedient to pass an act for settling the successionof the crown according to the former resolution of the convention. Abill for this purpose was brought into the lower house, with a clausedisabling papists from succeeding to the throne: to this the lordsadded, "Or such as should marry papists, " absolving the subject in thatcase from allegiance, The bishop of Salisbury, by the king's direction, proposed that the princess Sophia, duchess of Hanover, and herposterity, should be nominated in the act of succession as the nextprotestant heirs, failing issue of the king and Anne princess ofDenmark. These amendments gave rise to warm debates in the lower house, where they were vigorously opposed, not only by those who wished well insecret to the late king and the lineal succession, but likewise by therepublican party, who hoped to see monarchy altogether extinguished inEngland by the death of the three persons already named in the billof succession. The lords insisted upon their amendments, and severalfruitless conferences were held between the two houses. At length thebill was dropt for the present in consequence of an event which in agreat measure dissipated the fears of a popish successor. This was thedelivery of the princess Anne, who, on the twenty-seventh day of July, brought forth a son, christened by the name of William, and afterwardscreated duke of Gloucester. AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT. In the midst of these domestic disputes, William did not neglect theaffairs of the continent. He retained all his former influence inHolland, as his countrymen had reason to confide in his repeatedassurances of inviolable affection. The great scheme which he hadprojected of a confederacy against France began at this period totake effect. The princes of the empire assembled in the diet, solemnlyexhorted the emperor to declare war against the French king, who hadcommitted 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. Theytherefore besought his imperial majesty to conclude a treaty of peacewith the Turks, who had offered advantageous terms, and proceed to anopen rupture with Louis, in which case they would consider it as a warof the empire, and support their head in the most effectual manner. Thestates-general published a declaration against the common enemy, taxinghim with manifold infractions of the treaty of commerce; with havinginvolved the subjects of the republic in the persecution which he hadraised against the protestants; with having cajoled and insulted themwith deceitful promises and insolent threats; with having plundered andoppressed the Dutch merchants and traders in France; and, finally, withhaving declared war against the states without any plausible reasonassigned. The elector of Brandenburg denounced war against France asa power whose perfidy, cruelty, and ambition, it was the duty of everyprince to oppose. The marquis de Castanaga, governor of the SpanishNetherlands, issued a counter declaration to that of Louis, who haddeclared against his master. He accused the French king of having laidwaste the empire, without any regard to the obligations of religion andhumanity, or even to the laws of war; of having countenanced the mostbarbarous acts of cruelty and oppression; and of having intrigued withthe enemies of Christ for the destruction of the empire. The emperornegotiated an alliance offensive and defensive with the states-general, binding the contracting parties to co-operate with their whole poweragainst France and her allies. It was stipulated that neither sideshould engage in a separate treaty on any pretence whatsoever; that nopeace should be admitted until the treaties of Westphalia, Osnabruck, Minister, and the Pyrenees, should have been vindicated; that, in caseof a negotiation for a peace or truce, the transactions on both sidesshould be communicated _bona fide_; and that Spain and England should beinvited to accede to the treaty. In a separate article, the contractingpowers agreed, that, in case of the Spanish king's dying without issue, the states-general should assist the emperor with all their forces totake possession of that monarchy: that they should use their friendlyendeavours with the princes electors, their allies, towards elevatinghis son Joseph to the dignity of king of the Romans, and employ theirutmost force against France should she attempt to oppose his elevation. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } WAR DECLARED AGAINST FRANCE. William, who was the soul of this confederacy, found no difficulty inpersuading the English to undertake a war against their old enemies andrivals. On the sixteenth day of April, Mr. Hambden made a motion fortaking into consideration the state of the kingdom with respect toFrance, and foreign alliances; and the commons unanimously resolved, that, in case his majesty should think fit to engage in a war withFrance, they would, in a parliamentary way, enable him to carry it onwith vigour. An address was immediately drawn up and presented to theking, desiring that he would seriously consider the destructive methodstaken of late years by the French king against the trade, quiet, andinterest of the nation, particularly his present invasion of Ireland, and supporting the rebels in that kingdom. They did not doubt but thealliances already made, and those that might hereafter be concluded byhis majesty, would be sufficient to reduce the French king to such acondition, that it should not be in his power to violate the peace ofChristendom, nor prejudice the trade and prosperity of England; in themean time they assured his majesty he might depend upon the assistanceof his parliament, according to the vote which had passed in the houseof commons. This was a welcome address to king William. He assured themthat no part of the supplies which they might grant for the prosecutionof the war should be misapplied; and, on the seventh day of May, hedeclared war against the French monarch. On this occasion, Louis wascharged with having ambitiously invaded the territories of the emperor, and denounced war against the allies of England, in violation of thetreaties confirmed under the guarantee of the English crown; withhaving encroached upon the fishery of Newfoundland, invaded the CaribbeeIslands, taken forcible possession of New-York and Hudson's-bay, madedepredations on the English at sea, prohibited the importation ofEnglish manufactures, disputed the right of the flag, persecuted manyEnglish subjects on account of religion, contrary to express treatiesand the law of nations, and sent an armament to Ireland, in support ofthe rebels of that kingdom. PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVENTION. Having thus described the progress of the revolution in England, weshall now briefly explain the measures that were prosecuted in Scotland, towards the establishment of William on the throne of that kingdom. Themeeting of the Scottish convention was fixed for the fourteenth day ofMarch; and both parties employed all their interest to influence theelection of members. The duke of Hamilton, and all the presbyterians, declared for William. The duke of Gordon maintained the castle ofEdinburgh for his old master; but, as he had neglected to lay in a storeof provisions, he depended entirely upon the citizens for subsistence. The partisans of James were headed by the earl of Balcarras, and Grahamviscount Dundee, who employed their endeavours to preserve union amongthe individuals of their party; to confirm the duke of Gordon, whobegan to waver in his attachment to their sovereign; and to manage theirintrigues in such a manner as to derive some advantage to their causefrom the transactions of the ensuing session. When the lords and commonsassembled at Edinburgh, the bishop of that diocese, who officiated aschaplain to the convention, prayed for the restoration of king James. The first dispute turned upon the choice of a president. The friends ofthe late king set up the marquis of Athol in opposition to the duke ofHamilton; but this last was elected by a considerable majority; anda good number of the other party, finding their cause the weakest, deserted it from that moment. The earls of Lothian and Tweedale weresent as deputies, to require the duke of Gordon, in the name of theestates, to quit the castle in four-and-twenty hours, and leave thecharge of it to the protestant officer next in command. The duke, thoughin himself irresolute, was animated by Dundee to demand such conditionsas the convention would not grant. The négociation proving ineffectual, the states ordered the heralds, in all their formalities, to summon himto surrender the castle immediately, on pain of incurring the penaltiesof high treason; and he refusing to obey their mandate, was proclaimeda traitor. All persons were forbid, under the same penalties, to aid, succour, or correspond with him; and the castle was blocked up with thetroops 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 Williamto the estates; and, at the same time, another from James was presentedby one Crane, an English domestic of the abdicated queen. Williamobserved that he had called a meeting of their estates at the desire ofthe nobility and gentry of Scotland assembled at London, who requestedthat he would take upon himself the administration of their affairs. Heexhorted them to concert measures for settling the peace of the kingdomupon a solid foundation; and to lay aside animosities and factions, which served only to impede that salutary settlement. He professedhimself sensible of the good effects that would arise from an union ofthe two kingdoms; and assured them he would use his best endeavoursto promote such a coalition. A committee being appointed to draw up arespectful answer to these assurances, a debate ensued about the letterfrom the late king James. This they resolved to favour with a reading, after the members should have subscribed an act, declaring thatnotwithstanding any thing that might be contained in the letter fordissolving the convention, or impeding their procedure, they were a freeand lawful meeting of the states; and would continue undissolved untilthey should have settled and secured the protestant religion, thegovernment, laws, and liberties of the kingdom. Having taken thisprecaution, they proceeded to examine the letter of the late sovereign, who conjured them to support his interest as faithful subjects, andeternize their names by a loyalty suitable to their former professions. He said he would not fail to give them such a speedy and powerfulassistance as would enable them to defend themselves from any foreignattempt; and even to assert his right against those enemies who haddepressed it by the blackest usurpations and unnatural attempts, whichthe Almighty God would not allow to pass unpunished. He offered pardonto all those who should return to their duty before the last day of themonth; and threatened to punish rigorously such as should stand out inrebellion against him and his authority. THE CONVENTION RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF KING WILLIAM. This address produced very little effect in favour of the unfortunateexile, whose friends were greatly outnumbered in this assembly. Hismessenger was ordered into custody, and afterwards dismissed with apass instead of an answer. James, foreseeing this contempt, had, by aninstrument dated in Ireland, authorised the archbishop of Glasgow, theearl of Balcarras, and the viscount Dundee, to call a convention of theestates at Stirling. These three depended on the interest of the marquisof Athol and the earl of Mar, who professed the warmest affectionfor the late king; and they hoped a secession of their friends wouldembarrass the convention, so as to retard the settlement of kingWilliam. Their expectations, however, were disappointed. Athol desertedtheir 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, whoretreated to the mountains with about fifty horse, and was pursuedby order of the estates. This design being frustrated, the conventionapproved and recognized, by a solemn act, the conduct of the nobilityand gentlemen who had entreated the king of England to take upon himthe administration. They acknowledged their obligation to the prince ofOrange, who had prevented the destruction of their laws, religion, andfundamental constitution; they besought his highness to assume the reinsof government for that kingdom; they issued a proclamation requiringall persons, from sixteen to sixty, to be in readiness to take armswhen called upon for that purpose; they conferred the command of theirhorse-militia upon sir Patrick Hume, who was formerly attainted forhaving been concerned in Argyle's insurrection; they levied eighthundred men for a guard to the city of Edinburgh, and constituted theearl of Leven their commander; they put the militia all over the kingdominto the hands of those on whom they could rely; they created the earlof Mar governor of Stirling-castle; they received a reinforcement offive regiments from England under the command of Mac-kay, whom theyappointed their general; and they issued orders for securing alldisaffected persons. Then they dispatched lord Ross with an answer toking William's letter, professing their gratitude to their deliverer, and congratulating him upon his success. They thanked him for assumingthe administration of their affairs, and assembling a convention oftheir estates. They declared they would take effectual and speedy measures for securingthe protestant religion, as well as for establishing the government, laws, and liberties of the kingdom. They assured him they would, as muchas lay in their power, avoid disputes and animosities; and desired thecontinuance 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, consistingof eight lords, eight knights, and as many burgesses, to prepare theplan of a new settlement: but this resolution was not taken withouta vigorous opposition from some remaining adherents of the late king, headed by the archbishop of Glasgow; all the other prelates, excepthe of Edinburgh, having already deserted the convention. After warmdebates, the committee agreed in the following vote:--"The estates ofthe kingdom of Scotland find and declare, That king James VII. Being aprofest papist, did assume the royal power, and act as a king, withoutever taking the oath required by law; and had, by the advice of eviland wicked counsellors, invaded the fundamental constitution ofthis kingdom, and altered it from a legal and limited monarchy to anarbitrary despotic power, and had governed the same to the subversion ofthe protestant religion, and violation of the laws and liberties of thenation, inverting all the ends of government; whereby he had forfaultedthe right of the crown, and the throne was become vacant. " When thisvote was reported, the bishop of Edinburgh argued strenuously againstit, as containing a charge of which the king was innocent; and heproposed that his majesty should be invited to return to his Scottishdominions. All his arguments were defeated or overruled, and the houseconfirmed the vote, which was immediately enacted into a law by a greatmajority. The lord president declared the throne vacant, and proposedthat it might be filled with William and Mary, king and queen ofEngland. The committee was ordered to prepare an act for settling thecrown upon their majesties, together with an instrument of governmentfor securing the subjects from the grievances under which theylaboured. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THE CROWN TENDERED TO WILLIAM. On the eleventh day of April, this act, with the conditions ofinheritance, and the instrument, were reported, considered, unanimouslyapproved, and solemnly proclaimed at the market-cross of Edinburgh, in presence of the lord president, assisted by the lord provost andmagistracy of the city, the duke of Queensbury, the marquisses of Atholand Douglas, together with a great number of the nobility and gentry. At the same time they published another proclamation, forbidding allpersons to acknowledge, obey, assist, or correspond with the late kingJames; or by word, writing, or sermon, to dispute or disown theroyal authority of king William and queen Mary; or to misconstrue theproceedings of the estates, or create jealousies or misapprehensionswith regard to the transactions of the government, on pain of incurringthe most severe penalties. Then, having settled the coronation oath, they granted a commission to the earl of Argyle for the lords, to sirJames Montgomery for the knights, and to sir John Dalrymple forthe boroughs, empowering them to repair to London, and invest theirmajesties with the government. This affair being discussed, theconvention appointed a committee to take care of the public peace, andadjourned to the twenty-first day of May. On the eleventh day of thatmonth, the Scottish commissioners being introduced to their majesties atWhitehall, presented first a preparatory letter from the estates, thenthe instrument of government, with a paper containing a recital of thegrievances of the nation; and an address desiring his majesty to convertthe convention into a parliament. The king having graciously promised toconcur with them in all just measures for the interest of the kingdom, the coronation oath was tendered to their majesties by the earl ofArgyle. As it contained a clause, importing that they should root outheresy, the king declared, that he did not mean by these words that heshould be under an obligation to act as a persecutor: the commissionersreplying that such was not the meaning or import of the oath, he desiredthem, 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 inbehalf of his master. He had been summoned by a trumpet to return to theconvention, refused to obey the citation on pretence that the whigs hadmade an attempt upon his life; and that the deliberations of the estateswere influenced by the neighbourhood of English troops, under thecommand of Mackay. He was forthwith declared a fugitive, outlaw, andrebel. He was rancorously hated by the pres-byterians, on whom he hadexercised some cruelties as an officer under the former government:and for this reason the states resolved to inflict upon him exemplarypunishment. Parties were detached in pursuit of him and Balcarras. Thislast fell into their hands, and was committed to a common prison;but Dundee fought his way through the troops that surrounded him, andescaped to the Highlands, where he determined to take arms in favourof James, though that prince had forbid him to make any attempt of thisnature until he should receive a reinforcement from Ireland. While thisofficer was employed in assembling the clans of his party, kingWilliam appointed the duke of Hamilton commissioner to the conventionparliament. The post of secretary for Scotland was bestowed upon lordMelvil, a weak and servile nobleman, who had taken refuge in Hollandfrom the violence of the late reigns: but the king depended chiefly foradvice upon Dalrymple lord Stair, president of the college of justice, an old crafty fanatic, who for forty years had complied in all thingswith all governments. Though these were rigid pres-byterians, the king, to humour the opposite party, admitted some individuals of the episcopalnobility to the council-board; and this intermixture, instead ofallaying animosities, served only to sow the seeds of discord andconfusion. The Scottish convention, in their detail of grievances, enumerated the lords of the articles; the act of parliament in the reignof Charles II. By which the king's supremacy was raised so high that hecould prescribe any mode of religion according to his pleasure; and thesuperiority of any office in the church above that of presbyters. Theking in his instructions to the lord commissioner, consented to theregulation of the lords of the articles, though he would not allow theinstitution to be abrogated; he was contented that the act relating tothe king's supremacy should be rescinded, and that the church governmentshould be established in such a manner as would be most agreeable to theinclinations of the people. PRELACY ABOLISHED IN SCOTLAND. On the seventeenth day of June, duke Hamilton opened the Scottishparliament, after the convention had assumed this name, in consequenceof an act passed by his majesty's direction; but the members in generalwere extremely chagrined when they found the commissioners so muchrestricted in the affair of the lords of the articles, which theyconsidered as their chief grievance. [008] _[See note D, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ The king permitted that the estates should choose the lordsby their own suffrages, and that they should be at liberty to reconsiderany subject which the said lords might reject. He afterwards indulgedthe three estates with the choice of eleven delegates each, for thiscommittee, to be elected monthly, or oftener if they should think fit:but even these concessions proved unsatisfactory while the institutionitself remained. Their discontents were not even appeased by the passingof an act abolishing prelacy. Indeed their resentment was inflamed byanother consideration, namely, that of the king's having given seatsin the council to some individuals attached to the hierarchy. Theymanifested their sentiments on this subject by bringing in a billexcluding from any public trust, place, or employment under theirmajesties, all such as had been concerned in the encroachments of thelate reign, or had discovered disaffection to the late happy change, orin any way retarded or obstructed the designs of the convention. Thismeasure was prosecuted with great warmth; and the bill passed throughall the forms of the house, but proved ineffectual for want of the royalassent. DISPUTES IN THE PARLIAMENT. Nor were they less obstinate in the affair of the judges whom theking had ventured to appoint by virtue of his own prerogative. Themalcontents brought in a bill declaring the bench vacant, as it was atthe restoration; asserting their own right to examine and approve thosewho should appointed to fill it; providing that if in time to come anysuch total vacancy should occur, the nomination should be in the king orqueen, or regent for the time being, and the parliament retain the rightof approbation; and that all the clauses in the several acts relating tothe admission of the ordinary lords of session, and their qualificationsfor that office, should be ratified and confirmed for perpetualobservation. Such was the interest of this party, that the bill wascarried by a great majority, notwithstanding the opposition of theministers, who resolved to maintain the king's nomination even indefiance of a parliamentary resolution. The majority, exasperated atthis open violation of their privileges, forbade the judges whom theking had appointed to open their commissions, or hold a session untilhis majesty's further pleasure should be known: on the other hand theywere compelled to act by the menaces of the privy-council. The disputewas carried on with great acrimony on both sides, and produced such aferment, that before the session opened, the ministry thought properto draw a great number of forces into the neighbourhood of Edinburgh tosupport 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, addedto the other unpopular measures of the court, incensed the opposition toa violent degree. They drew up a remonstrance to the king, complainingof this adjournment while the nation was yet unsettled, recapitulatingthe several instances in which they had expressed their zeal andaffection for his majesty; explaining their reasons for dissenting fromthe ministry in some articles; beseeching him to consider what they hadrepresented, to give his royal assent to the acts of parliament whichthey had prepared, and take measures for redressing all the othergrievances of the nation. This address was presented to the king atHampton-court. William was so touched with the reproaches it implied, asif he had not fulfilled the conditions on which he accepted the crown ofScotland, that he, in his own vindication, published his instructionsto the commissioner; and by these it appeared that the duke might haveproceeded to greater lengths in obliging his countrymen. Before theadjournment, however, the parliament had granted the revenue for life;and raised money for maintaining a body of forces, as well as forsupporting the incidental expense of the government for some months; yetpart of the troops in that kingdom were supplied and subsisted by theadministration of England. In consequence of these disputes in theScottish parliament, their church was left without any settled form ofgovernment; for, though the hierarchy was abolished, the presbyteriandiscipline was not yet established, and ecclesiastical affairs wereoccasionally regulated by the privy-council, deriving its authority fromthat 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 theblockade of Edinburgh castle into a regular siege, which was prosecutedwith such vigour that in a little time the fortifications were ruined, and the works advanced at the foot of the walls, in which the besiegershad made several large breaches. The duke of Gordon, finding hisammunition expended, his defences destroyed, his intelligence entirelycut off, and despairing of relief from the adherents of his master, desired to capitulate, and obtained very favourable terms for hisgarrison; but he would not stipulate any conditions for himself, declaring that he had so much respect for all the princes descended fromking James VI. That he would not affront any of them so far as to insistupon terms for his own particular: he therefore, on the thirteenth dayof June, surrendered the castle and himself at discretion. All the hopesof James and his party were now concentred in the viscount Dundee, whohad assembled a body of Highlanders, and resolved to attack Mackay, onan assurance he had received by message, that the regiment of Scottishdragoons would desert that officer, and join him in the action. Mackayhaving received intimation of this design, decamped immediately, and bylong marches retired before Dundee, until he was reinforced by Ramsey'sdragoons, and another regiment of English infantry: then he faced about, and Dundee in his turn retreated into Lochaber. Lord Murray, son of themarquis of Athol, assembled his vassals, to the number of twelve hundredmen, for the service of the regency; but he was betrayed by one of hisown dependents, who seized the castle of Blair for Dundee, and prevailedupon the Athol men to disperse, rather than fight against James theirlawful sovereign. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } 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 butwater: instead of five hundred infantry, three hundred horse, with asupply of arms, ammunition, and provision, which James had promised tosend from Ireland, he received a reinforcement of three hundred nakedrecruits; but the transports with the stores fell into the hands of theEnglish. Though this was a mortifying disappointment, he bore it withoutrepining; and, far from abandoning himself to despair, began his marchto the castle of Blair, which was threatened with a seige by generalMackay. When he reached this fortress, he received intelligence that theenemy had entered the pass of Killycrankie, and he resolved to givethem battle without delay. He accordingly advanced against them, anda furious engagement ensued, though it was not of long duration. TheHighlanders having received and returned the fire of the English, fellin among them sword in hand with such impetuosity, that the foot wereutterly broke in seven minutes. The dragoons fled at the first chargein the utmost consternation. Dundee's horse, not exceeding one hundred, broke through Mackay's own regiment; the earl of Dumbarton, at thehead of a few volunteers, made himself master of the artillery: twelvehundred of Mackay's forces were killed on the spot, five hundred takenprisoners, and the rest fled with great precipitation for some hours, until they were rallied by their general, who was an officer of approvedcourage, conduct, and experience. Nothing could be more complete ordecisive than the victory which the Highlanders obtained; yet it wasclearly purchased with the death of their beloved chieftain the viscountDundee, who fell by a random shot in the engagement, and his fateproduced such confusion in his army as prevented all pursuit. Hepossessed an enterprising spirit, undaunted courage, inviolablefidelity, and was peculiarly qualified to command the people who foughtunder his banner. He was the life and soul of that cause which heespoused, and after his death it daily declined into ruin and disgrace. He was succeeded in command by colonel Cannon, who landed thereinforcement from Ireland; but all his designs miscarried; so that theclans, wearied with repeated misfortunes, laid down their arms bydegrees, and took the benefit of a pardon which king William offered tothose 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 takea retrospective view of James, and relate the particulars of hisexpedition to Ireland. That unfortunate prince and his queen werereceived with the most cordial hospitality by the French monarch, whoassigned the castle of St. Germain for the place of their residence, supported their household with great magnificence, enriched them withpresents, and undertook to re-establish them on the throne of England. James, however, conducted himself in such a manner as conveyed nofavourable idea of his spirit and understanding. He seems to have beenemasculated by religion: he was deserted by that courage and magnanimityfor which his youth had been distinguished. He did not discover greatsensibility at the loss of his kingdom. All his faculties were swallowedup in bigotry. Instead of contriving plans for retrieving his crown, heheld conferences with the Jesuits on topics of religion. The pity whichhis misfortunes excited in Louis was mingled with contempt. The popesupplied him with indulgencies, while the Romans laughed at him inpasquinades: "There is a pious man, (said the archbishop of Rheimsironically, ) who has sacrificed three crowns for a mass. " In a word, hesubjected 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 hisfriends in Scotland and Ireland. Tyr-connel, who commanded in this lastkingdom, was confirmed in his attachment to James by the persuasions ofHamilton, 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 fromFrance, which he earnestly solicited by private messages. In themeantime, with a view to cajole the protestants of Ireland, andamuse king William with hope of his submission, he persuaded the lordMountjoy, in whom the protestants chiefly confided, and baron Rice, togo in person with a commission to James, representing the necessity ofyielding to the times, and of waiting a fitter opportunity to make useof his Irish subjects. Mountjoy, on his arrival at Paris, instead ofbeing favoured with an audience by James, to explain the reasons whichTyrconnel had suggested touching the inability of Ireland to restore hismajesty, was committed prisoner to the Bastile, on account of the zealwith which he had espoused the protestant interest. Although Louis wassincerely disposed to assist James effectually, his intentions wereobstructed by the disputes of his ministry. Louvois possessed the chiefcredit in council; but Seignelai enjoyed a greater share of personalfavour, both with the king and madame de Maintenon, the favouriteconcubine. To this nobleman, as secretary for marine affairs, James madehis chief application; and he had promised the command of the troopsdestined for his service to Latisun, whom Louvois hated. For thesereasons this minister thwarted his measures, and retarded the assistancewhich Louis had promised towards his restoration. JAMES ARRIVES IN IRELAND. Yet notwithstanding all his opposition, the succours were prepared andthe fleet ready to put to sea by the latter end of February. The Frenchking is said to have offered an army of fifteen thousand natives ofFrance to serve in this expedition; but James replied, that he wouldsucceed by the help of his own subjects, or perish in the attempt. Accordingly, he contented himself with about twelve hundred Britishsubjects, [010] _[See note E, at the end of this Vol. ]_ and a goodnumber of French officers, who were embarked in the fleet at Brest, consisting of fourteen ships of the line, seven frigates, threefire-ships, with a good number of transports. The French king alsosupplied him with a considerable quantity of arms for the use of hisadherents in Ireland; accommodated him with a large sum of money, superbequipages, store of plate, and necessaries of all kinds for the campand the household. At parting he presented him with his own cuirass, andembracing 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, Jamesembarked at Brest, together with the count D'Avaux, who accompanied himin quality of ambassador, and his principal officers. He was detainedin 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, hadpublished a declaration, requiring the Irish to lay down their armsand 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 themconferred upon admiral Herbert; but the armament was retarded in sucha manner by the disputes of the council and the king's attention to theaffairs of the continent, that the admiral was not in a condition tosail till the beginning of April, and then with part of his fleet only. James was received with open arms at Kinsale, and the whole countryseemed to be at his devotion; for although the protestants in the Northhad declared for the new government, their strength and number wasdeemed inconsiderable when compared with the power of Tyrconnel. Thisminister had disarmed all the other protestant subjects in one day, andassembled 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 thecastle-gate by a procession of popish bishops and priests in theirpontificals, bearing the host, which he publicly adored. He dismissedfrom the council-board the lord Granard, judge Keating, and otherprotestants, who had exhorted the lord lieutenant to an accommodationwith the new government. In their room he admitted the Frenchambassador, the bishop of Chester, colonel Darrington, and, by degrees, the principal noblemen who accompanied him in the expedition. On thesecond day after his arrival in Dublin, he issued five proclamations:the first recalled all the subjects of Ireland who had abandoned thekingdom, by a certain time, on pain of outlawry and confiscation, andrequiring all persons to join him against the prince of Orange. Thesecond contained expressions of acknowledgement to his catholic subjectsfor their vigilance and fidelity, and an injunction to such as were notactually in his service, to retain and lay up their arms until itshould be found necessary to use them for his advantage. By the third heinvited the subjects to supply his army with provisions; and prohibitedthe soldiers to take anything without payment. By the fourth he raisedthe value of the current coin; and in the fifth he summoned a parliamentto meet on the seventh day of May, at Dublin. Finally, he createdTyrconnel a duke, in consideration of his eminent services. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY. The adherents of James in England pressed him to settle the affairsof Ireland immediately, and bring over his army either to the north ofEngland, or the west of Scotland, where it might be joined by his party, and act without delay against the usurper; but his council dissuaded himfrom complying with their solicitations, until Ireland should be totallyreduced to obedience. On the first alarm of an intended massacre, theprotestants of Londonderry had shut their gates against the regimentcommanded by the earl of Antrim, and resolved to defend themselvesagainst the lord lieutenant. They transmitted this resolution to thegovernment of England, together with an account of the danger theyincurred by such a vigorous measure, and implored immediate assistance. They were accordingly supplied with some arms and ammunition, but didnot receive any considerable reinforcement till the middle of April, when two regiments arrived in Loughfoyl, under the command of Cunninghamand Richards. By this time king James had taken Coleraine, investedKillmore, and was almost in sight of Londonderry. George Walker, rector of Donaghmore, who had raised a regiment for the defence of theprotestants, conveyed this intelligence to Lundy the governor. Thisofficer directed him to join colonel Grafton, and take post at theLong-causey, which he maintained a whole night against the advancedguard of the enemy; until being overpowered by numbers, he retreated toLondonderry and exhorted the governor to take the field, as the army ofking James was not yet completely formed. Lundy assembling a council ofwar, at which Cunningham and Richards assisted; they agreed, that as theplace was not tenable, it would be imprudent to land the two regiments, and that the principal officers should withdraw themselves fromLondonderry, the inhabitants of which would obtain the more favourablecapitulation in consequence of their retreat. An officer was immediatelydispatched to king James with proposals of a negotiation; andlieutenant-general Hamilton agreed that the army should halt at thedistance of four miles from the town. Notwithstanding this preliminary, James advanced at the head of his troops; but met with such a warmreception from the besieged, that he was fain to retire to St. John'sTown in some disorder. The inhabitants and soldiers in garrison atLondonderry were so incensed at the members of the council of war, who had resolved to abandon the place, that they threatened immediatevengeance. Cunningham and Richards retired to their ships, and Lundylocked himself in his chamber. In vain did Walker and major Baker exhorthim 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 hisback; but he was afterwards apprehended in Scotland, from whence he wassent to London to answer for his perfidy or misconduct. COURAGEOUS DEFENCE. After his retreat, the townsmen chose Mr. Walker and major Baker fortheir governors, with joint authority; but this office they wouldnot undertake until it had been offered to colonel Cunningham, as theofficer next in command to Lundy. He rejected the proposal, and withRichards returned to England, where they were immediately cashiered. Thetwo new governors, thus abandoned to their fate, began to prepare fora vigorous defence; indeed their courage seems to have transcendedthe bounds of discretion, for the place was very ill fortified; theircannon, which did not exceed twenty pieces, were wretchedly mounted;they had not one engineer to direct their operations; they had a verysmall number of horse; the garrison consisted of people unacquaintedwith military discipline; they wore destitute of provisions; they werebesieged by a king in person, at the head of a formidable army, directedby good officers, and supplied with all the necessary implements for asiege or battle. This town was invested on the twentieth day of April;the batteries were soon opened, and several attacks were made with greatimpetuosity; but the besiegers were always repulsed with considerableloss. The townsmen gained divers advantages in repeated sallies, andwould have held their enemies in the utmost contempt, had they not beenafflicted with a contagious distemper, as well as reduced to extremityby want of provisions. They were even tantalized in their distress;for they had the mortification to see some ships which had arrivedwith supplies from England, prevented from sailing up the river by thebatteries the enemy had raised on both sides, and a boom with which theyhad blocked up the channel. At length a reinforcement arrived in theLough, under the command of general Kirke, who had deserted his masterand been employed in the service of king William. He found means toconvey intelligence to Walker, that he had troops and provisions onboard 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 thetroops at Inniskilling, which amounted to five thousand men, includingtwo thousand cavalry. He said he expected six thousand men from England, where they were embarked before he set sail. He exhorted them topersevere in their courage and loyalty, and assured them he would cometo their relief at all hazards. These assurances enabled them to beartheir miseries a little longer, though their numbers daily diminished. Major Baker dying, his place was filled with colonel Michel-burn, whonow 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 wasexasperated at such an obstinate opposition by a handful of half-starvedmilitia. He threatened to raze the town to its foundations, and destroythe inhabitants without distinction of age or sex, unless they wouldimmediately submit themselves to their lawful sovereign. The governorstreated his menaces with contempt, and published an order that noperson, on pain of death, should talk of surrendering. They had nowconsumed the last remains of their provisions, and supported life byeating 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 vengeanceon all the protestants of that country, and drive them under the wallsof Londonderry, where they should be suffered to perish by famine. Thebishop of Meath being informed of this design, complained to king Jamesof the barbarous intention, entreating his majesty to prevent its beingput in execution. That prince assured him that he had already orderedRosene to desist from such proceeding: nevertheless, the Frenchmanexecuted his threats with the utmost rigour. Parties of dragoonswere detached on this cruel service: after having stripped all theprotestants for thirty miles round, they drove these unhappy peoplebefore them like cattle, without even sparing the enfeebled old men, nurses with infants at their breasts, tender children, women justdelivered, and some even in the pangs of labour. Above four thousand ofthese miserable objects were driven under the walls of Londonderry. Thisexpedient, far from answering the purpose of Rosene, produced quitea contrary effect. The besieged were so exasperated at this act ofinhumanity, that they resolved to perish rather than submit to sucha barbarian. They erected a gibbet in sight of the enemy, and sent amessage to the French general, importing that they would hang all theprisoners they had taken during the siege, unless the protestants whomthey had driven under the walls should be immediately dismissed. Thisthreat produced a negotiation, in consequence of which the protestantswere released after they had been detained three days without tastingfood. Some hundreds died of famine or fatigue; and those who lived toreturn to their own habitations, found them plundered and sacked by thepapists, so that the greater number perished for want, or were murderedby the straggling parties of the enemy; yet these very people had forthe most part obtained protections from king James, to which no respectwas paid by his general. THE PLACE IS RELIEVED BY KIRKE The garrison of Londonderry was now reduced from seven to five thousandseven hundred men, and these were driven to such extremity of distress, that they began to talk of killing the popish inhabitants and feeding ontheir bodies. In this emergency Kirke, who had hitherto lain inactive, ordered two ships laden with provisions to sail up the river underconvoy of the Dartmouth frigate. One of them, called the Mountjoy, brokethe enemy's boom; and all the three, after having sustained a very hotfire from both sides of the river, arrived in safety at the town tothe inexpressible joy of the inhabitants. The army of James were sodispirited by the success of this enterprise, that they abandoned thesiege in the night and retired with precipitation, after havinglost about nine thousand men before the place. Kirke no sooner tookpossession of the town, than Walker was prevailed upon to embarkfor England with an address of thanks from the inhabitants to theirmajesties for the seasonable relief they had received. THE INNISKILLINEES DEFEAT AND TAKE GENERAL MACARTY. The Inniskilliners were no less remarkable than the people ofLondonderry for the valour and perseverance with which they opposed thepapists. They raised twelve companies, which they regimented under thecommand of Gustavus Hamilton, whom they chose for their governor. Theyproclaimed William and Mary on the eleventh day of March, and resolvedin a general council to maintain their title against all opposition. Thelord Gilmoy invested the castle of Groin belonging to the protestantsin the neighbourhood of Inniskilling, the inhabitants of which threwsuccours into the place, and compelled Gilmoy to retire to Belturbet. Adetachment of the garrison, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Lloyd, tookand demolished the castle of Aughor, and they gained the advantage inseveral skirmishes with the enemy. On the day that preceded the reliefof Londonderry, they defeated six thousand Irish papists at a placecalled Newton-Butler, and took their commander Macarty, commonly calledlord Moncashel. MEETING OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. The Irish parliament being assembled at Dublin, according to theproclamation of king James, he, in a speech from the throne, thankedthem for the zeal, courage, and loyalty they had manifested; extolledthe generosity of the French king, who had enabled him to visit them inperson; insisted upon executing his design of establishing liberty ofconscience as a step equally agreeable to the dictates of humanity anddiscretion, and promised to concur with them in enacting such laws aswould contribute to the peace, affluence, and security of his subjects. Sir Richard Neagle, being chosen speaker of the commons, moved for anaddress of thanks to his majesty, and that the count D'Avaux should bedesired to make their acknowledgments to the most christian king forthe generous assistance he had given to their sovereign. These addressesbeing drawn up with the concurrence of both houses, a bill was broughtin to recognize the king's title, to express their abhorence of theusurpation by the prince of Orange, as well as of the defection of theEnglish. Next day James published a declaration, complaining of thecalumnies which his enemies had spread to his prejudice; expatiatingupon his own impartiality in preferring his protestant subjects;his care in protecting them from their enemies, in redressing theirgrievances, and in granting liberty of conscience; promising that hewould take no step but with the approbation of parliament; offering afree pardon to all persons who should desert his enemies and join withhim in four-and-twenty days after his landing in Ireland, and chargingall the blood that might be shed upon those who should continue inrebellion. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT REPEALED. His conduct, however, very ill agreed with this declaration; nor can itbe excused on any other supposition but that of his being governed, insome cases against his own inclination, by the count D'Avaux and theIrish catholics, on whom his whole dependence was placed. As both houseswere chiefly filled with members of that persuasion, we ought not towonder at their bringing in a bill for repealing the act of settlement, by which the protestants of the kingdom had been secured in thepossession of their estates. These were by this law divested of theirlands, which reverted to the heirs of those catholics to whom theybelonged before the rebellion. This iniquitous bill was framed in sucha manner, that no regard was paid to such protestant owners as hadpurchased estates for valuable considerations; no allowance was made forimprovements, nor any provision for protestant widows; the possessor, and tenants were not even allowed to remove their stock and corn. Whenthe bill was sent up to the lords, Dr. Dopping, bishop of Meath, opposedit with equal courage and ability, and an address in behalf of thepurchasers under the act of settlement was presented to the king by theearl of Granard; but notwithstanding these remonstrances, it receivedthe 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 waspassed against all protestants, whether male or female, whether of highor low degree, who were absent from the kingdom, as well as against allthose who retired into any part of the three kingdoms, which did not ownthe authority of king James, or corresponded with rebels, or were anyways aiding, abetting, or assisting them, from the first day of Augustin the preceding year. The number of protestants attainted by name inthis act amounted to about three thousand, including two archbishops, one duke, seventeen earls, seven countesses, as many bishops, eighteenbarons, three-and-thirty baronets, one-and-fifty knights, eighty-threeclergymen, who were declared traitors, and adjudged to suffer the painsof death and forfeiture. The individuals subjected to this dreadfulproscription, were even cut off from all hope of pardon and all benefitof appeal; for by a clause in the act, the king's pardon was deemed nullunless enrolled before the first day of December. A subsequent law wasenacted, declaring Ireland independent of the English parliament. Thisassembly passed another act, granting twenty thousand pounds per annumout of the forfeited estates to Tyrconnel, in acknowledgment of hissignal services: they imposed a tax of twenty thousand pounds per monthfor the service of the king: the royal assent was given to an act forliberty of conscience; they enacted that the tithes payable by papistsshould be delivered to priests of that communion: the maintenance ofthe protestant clergy in cities and corporations was taken away; and alldissenters were exempted from ecclesiastical jurisdictions. So thatthe 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 intheir 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 thatwere daily committed upon the protestant subjects of Ireland; but thetyranny of his proceedings may be justly imputed to the temper ofhis ministry, consisting of men abandoned to all sense of justice andhumanity, who acted from the dictates of rapacity and revenge, inflamedwith all the acrimony of religious rancour. Soldiers were permitted tolive upon free quarter; the people were robbed and plundered; licensesand protections were abused in order to extort money from the tradingpart of the nation. The king's old stores were ransacked; the shops oftradesmen and the kitchens of burghers were pillaged, to supply the mintwith a quantity of brass, which was converted into current coin for hismajesty's occasions; an arbitrary value was set upon it, and all personswere required and commanded to take it in payment under the severestpenalties, though the proportion between its intrinsic worth andcurrency was nearly as one to three hundred. A vast sum of thiscounterfeit coin was issued in the course of one year, and forced uponthe protestants in payment of merchandize, provision, and necessariesfor the king's service. James, not content with the supply granted byparliament, imposed, by his own authority, a tax of twenty thousandpounds per month on chattels, as the former was laid upon lands. Thisseems to have been a temporary expedient during the adjournment of thetwo houses, as the term of the assessment was limited to three months;it was however levied by virtue of a commission under the seals, andseems to have been a stretch of prerogative the less excusable, as hemight have obtained the money in a parliamentary way. Understanding thatthe protestants had laid out all their brass money in purchasing greatquantities of hides, tallow, wool, and corn, he assumed the despoticpower of fixing the prices of these commodities, and then bought themfor his own use. One may see his ministers were bent upon the utterdestruction of those unhappy people. PROTESTANT CHURCHES SEIZED BY THE CATHOLICS. All vacancies in public schools were supplied with popish teachers. Thepension allowed from the exchequer to the university of Dublin wascut off; the vice-provost, fellows, and scholars, were expelled: theirfurniture, plate, and public library were seized without the leastshadow or pretence, and in direct violation of a promise the king hadmade to preserve their privileges and immunities. His officers convertedthe college into a garrison, the chapel into a magazine, and theapartments into prisons; a popish priest was appointed provost; oneMaccarty, of the same persuasion, was made library-keeper, and the wholefoundation was changed into a catholic seminary. When bishoprics andbenefices in the gift of the crown became vacant, the king ordered theprofits to be lodged in the exchequer, and suffered the cures to betotally neglected. The revenues were chiefly employed in the maintenanceof Romish bishops and priests, who grew so insolent under thisindulgence, that in several places they forcibly seized the protestantchurches. When complaint was made of this outrage, the king promisedto do justice to the injured, and in some places actually ordered thechurches to be restored; but the popish clergy refused to comply withthis order, alleging, that in spirituals they owed obedience to noearthly power but the holy see, and James found himself unable toprotect his protestant subjects against a powerful body which he durstnot disoblige. Some ships appearing in the bay of Dublin, a proclamationwas issued forbidding the protestants to assemble in any place ofworship, or elsewhere, on pain of death. By a second, they werecommanded to bring in their arms on pain of being treated as rebels andtraitors. Luttrel, governor of Dublin, published an ordinance by beatof drum, requiring the farmers to bring in their corn for his majesty'shorses within a certain day, otherwise he would order them to be hangedbefore their own doors. Brigadier Sarsfield commanded all protestantsof a certain district to retire to the distance of ten miles from theirhabitations on pain of death; and in order to keep up the credit of thebrass money, the same penalty was denounced, in a proclamation, againstany person who should give more than one pound eighteen shillings for aguinea. [Illustration: 2-013-dover. Jpg DOVER] ACTION WITH THE FRENCH FLEET. All the revenues of Ireland, and all the schemes contrived to bolster upthe credit of the base coin, would have proved insufficient to supportthe expenses of the war, had not James received occasional supplies fromthe French monarch. After the return of the fleet which had conveyedhim to Ireland, Louis sent another strong squadron, commanded by ChateauBenault, as a convoy to some transports laden with arms, ammunition, anda large sum of money for the use of king James. Before they sailedfrom Brest, king William, being informed of their destination, detachedadmiral Herbert from Spithead with twelve ships of the line, onefire-ship, and four tenders, in order to intercept the enemy. He wasdriven by stress of weather into Mil-ford-haven, from whence he steeredhis course to Kin-sale, on the supposition that the French fleet hadsailed from Brest, and that in all probability he should fall in withthem on the coast of Ireland. On the first day of May he discovered themat anchor in Bantry-bay, and stood in to engage them, though they weregreatly superior to him in number. They no sooner perceived him atday-break, than they weighed, stood out to windward, formed their line, bore down, and began the action, which was maintained for two hourswith equal valour on both sides, though the English fleet sustainedconsiderable damage from the superior fire of the enemy. Herbert tackedseveral times in hope of gaining the weather-gage; but the Frenchadmiral kept his wind with uncommon skill and perseverance. At lengththe English squadron stood off to sea, and maintained a running fighttill five in the afternoon, when Chateau Renault tacked about andreturned into the bay, content with the honour he had gained. The lossof men was inconsiderable on both sides; and where the odds were sogreat, the victor could not reap much glory. Herbert retired tothe isles of Scilly, where he expected a reinforcement; but beingdisappointed in this expectation, he returned to Portsmouth in veryill humour, with which his officers and men were infected. The commonsailors still retained some attachment to James, who had formerly beena favourite among them; and the officers complained that they had beensent upon this service with a force so much inferior to that of theenemy. King William, in order to appease their discontent, made anexcursion to Portsmouth, where he dined with the admiral on boardthe ship Elizabeth, declared his intention of making him an earl inconsideration of his good conduct and services, conferred the honour ofknighthood on the captains Ashby and Shovel, and bestowed a donation often shillings on every private sailor. DIVERS SENTENCES REVERSED. The parliament of England thought it incumbent upon them not only toraise supplies for the maintenance of the war in which the nation wasinvolved, but also to do justice with respect to those who had beeninjured by illegal or oppressive sentences in the late reigns. Theattainders of lord Russel, Algernon Sidney, alderman Cornish, and ladyLisle, were now reversed. A committee of privileges was appointed bythe lords to examine the case of the earl of Devonshire, who in thelate reign had been fined thirty thousand pounds for assaulting colonelCulpepper in the presence-chamber. They reported that the court ofking's bench, in overruling the earl's plea of privilege of parliament, had committed a manifest breach of privilege; that the fine wasexcessive and exhorbitant, against the great charter, the common rightof the subject, and the law of the realm. The sentence pronounced uponSamuel Johnson, chaplain to lord Russel, in consequence of which hehad been degraded, fined, scourged, and set in the pillory, was nowannulled, and the commons recommended him to his majesty for someecclesiastical preferment. He received one thousand pounds in money, with a pension of three hundred pounds for his own life and that of hisson, who was moreover gratified with a place of one hundred pounds ayear; but the father never obtained any ecclesiastical benefice. TitusOates seized this opportunity of petitioning the house of lords for areversal of the judgments given against him on his being convicted ofperjury. The opinions of all the judges and counsel at the bar wereheard on this subject, and a bill of reversal passed the commons; butthe peers having inserted some amendments and a proviso, a conferencewas demanded, and violent heats ensued. Oates, however, was releasedfrom confinement, and the lords, with the consent of the commons, recommended him to his majesty for a pardon, which he obtained, togetherwith a comfortable pension. The committee appointed to inquire into thecases of the state-prisoners, found sir Robert Wright, late lord chiefjustice, to have been concerned in the cruelties committed in the westafter the insurrection of Monmouth; as also one of the ecclesiasticalcommissioners, and guilty of manifold enormities. Death had by this timedelivered Jefferies from the resentment of the nation. Graham and Burtonhad acted as solicitors in the illegal prosecutions carried on againstthose who opposed the court in the reign of Charles II. ; these were nowreported guilty of having been instrumental in taking away the lives andestates of those who had suffered the loss of either under colour oflaw for eight years last past; of having, by malicious indictments, informations, and prosecutions of _quo warranto_, endeavoured thesubversion of the protestant religion, and the government of the realm;and of having wasted many thousand pounds of the public revenue in thecourse of their infamous practices. INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF MISCARRIAGES IN IRELAND. Nor did the misconduct of the present ministry escape the animadversionof the parliament. The lords having addressed the king to put theIsle of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, Dover-castle, and the otherfortresses of the kingdom, in a posture of defence, and to disarm thepapists, empowered a committee to inquire into the miscarriages inIreland, which were generally imputed to the neglect of the marquissesof Cærmarthan and Halifax. They presented an address to the king, desiring the minute-book of the committee for Irish affairs might beput into their hands; but his majesty declined gratifying them in thisparticular: then the commons voted that those persons who had advisedthe 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 thesuccour of Ireland had been retarded by unnecessary delays; that thetransports prepared were not sufficient to convey the forces to thatkingdom; and that several ships had been taken by the enemy, for wantof proper convoy. At the same time the question was put, whether or notthey should address the king against the marquis of Halifax. But it wascarried in the negative by a small majority. Before this period, Howe, vice-chamberlain to the queen, had moved for an address against suchcounsellors as had been impeached in parliament, and betrayed theliberties of the nation. This motion was levelled at Cæmarthen andHalifax, 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 themisconduct of the present administration. Warm debates ensued, and inall probability the motion would have been carried in the affirmative, had not those who spoke warmly in behalf it suddenly cooled in thecourse of the dispute. Some letters from king James to his partisansbeing intercepted, and containing some hints of an intended invasion, Mr. Hambden, chairman of the committee of the whole house, enlarged uponthe imminent danger to which the kingdom was exposed, and moved fora further supply to his majesty. In this unexpected motion he was notseconded by one member. The house, however, having taken the lettersinto consideration, resolved to draw up an address to the king, desiringhim to secure and disarm all papists of note; and they brought in a billfor attainting several persons in rebellion against their majesties; butit was not finished during this session. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } BILLS PASSED IN THIS SESSION. Another bill being prepared in the house of lords, enjoining thesubjects to wear the woollen manufacture at certain seasons of the year, a petition was presented against it by the silk-weavers of London andCanterbury, assembled in a tumultuous manner at Westminster. Thelords refused their petition, because this was an unusual manner ofapplication. They were persuaded to return to their respective placesof abode; precautions were taken against a second riot; and the bill wasunanimously 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 ofthe northern to Cambridge, on certain specified conditions, Courts ofconscience were erected at Bristol, Gloucester, and Newcastle; and thatof the marches of Wales was abolished as an intolerable oppression. Theprotestant clergymen, who had been forced to leave their benefices inIreland, were rendered capable of holding any living in England, withoutforfeiting their title to their former preferment, with the proviso thatthey should resign their English benefices when restored to 'thosethey had been obliged to relinquish. The statute of Henry IV. Againstmultiplying gold and silver was now repealed; the subjects were allowedto melt and refine metals and ores, and extract gold and silver fromthem, on condition that it should be brought to the Mint, and convertedinto money, the owners receiving its full value in current coin. These, and several other bills of smaller importance being passed, the twohouses adjourned to the twentieth clay of September, and afterwards tothe 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. _ {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } SCHOMBERG LANDS WITH AN ARMY. Though the affairs of Ireland were extremely pressing, and theprotestants of that country had made repeated application for relief, the succours were retarded either by disputes among the ministers, orthe neglect of those who had the management of the expedition, in sucha manner that king James had been six months in Ireland before the armywas embarked for that kingdom. At length eighteen regiments of infantry, and five of dragoons, being raised for that service, a train ofartillery provided, and transports prepared, the duke of Sehomberg, onwhom king William had conferred the chief command of this armament, set out for Chester, after he had in person thanked the commons for theuncommon regard they had paid to his services, and received assurancesfrom the house, that they would pay particular attention to him and hisarmy. On the thirteenth day of August he landed in the neighbourhoodof Carrickfergus with about ten thousand foot and dragoons, and tookpossession of Belfast, from whence the enemy retired at his approachto Carrickfergus, where they resolved to make a stand. The duke havingrefreshed his men, marched thither, and invested the place; the siegewas carried on till the twenty-sixth clay of the month, when thebreaches being practicable, the besieged capitulated, on condition ofmarching out with their arms, and as much baggage as they could carry ontheir 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 ofhis army from England; but he had left orders for conveying the greaterpart of the artillery and stores from Chester directly to Carlingford. He now began his march through Lisburne and Hillsborough, and encampedat Drummore, where the protestants of the north had been lately routedby Hamilton; thence he proceeded to Loughbrillane, where he was joinedby the horse and dragoons of Inniskilling. Then the enemy abandonedNewry and Dundalk, in the neighbourhood of which Sehomberg encamped on alow damp ground, having the town and river on the south, and surroundedon every other part by hills, bogs, and mountains. THE INNISKILLINERS OBTAIN A VICTORY. His army, consisting chiefly of new-raised men little inured tohardship, began to flag under the fatigue of marching, the inclemency ofthe weather, and scarcity of provisions. Here he was reinforced by theregiments of Kirke, Hanmer, and Stuart; and would have continued hismarch to Drogheda, where he understood Rosene lay with about twentythousand men, had he not been obliged to wait for the artillery, whichwas not yet arrived at Carlingford. King James, having assembled allhis forces, advanced towards Schomberg, and appeared before hisintrenchments in order of battle; but the duke, knowing they weregreatly superior in number of horse, and that his own army wasundisciplined, and weakened by death and sickness, restrained his menwithin the lines, and in a little time the enemy retreated. Immediatelyafter their departure, a conspiracy was discovered in the English camp, hatched by some French papists, who had insinuated themselves intothe protestant regiments. One of these, whose name was Du Plessis, hadwritten a letter to the ambassador D'Avaux, promising to desert withall the papists of the three French regiments in Schomberg's army. Thisletter being found, Du Plessis and five accomplices were tried by acourt-martial, and executed. About two hundred and fifty papists beingdiscovered in the French regiments, they were sent over to England, from thence to Holland. While Schomberg remained in this situation, theInniskilliners made excursions in the neighbourhood, under the commandof colonel Lloyd; and on the twenty-seventh day of September theyobtained 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 dukewas so pleased with their behaviour on this occasion, that they receiveda 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, aFrench captain, and his company of grenadiers, until he was obligedto capitulate for want of water and provisions. A contagious distemperstill continued to rage in Schomberg's camp, and swept off a greatnumber of officers and soldiers; so that in the beginning of nextspring, not above half the number of those who went over with thegeneral remained alive. He was censured for his inactivity, and theking, in repeated letters, desired him to hazard an engagement, providedany opportunity should occur; but he did not think proper to run therisk 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 unwholesomesituation. At the approach of winter he retired into quarters, in hopesof being reinforced with seven thousand Danes, who had already arrivedin Britain. These auxiliaries were stipulated in a treaty which Williamhad just concluded with the king of Denmark. The English were not moresuccessful at sea than they had proved in their operations by land. Admiral Herbert, now created earl of Torrington, having sailed toIreland with the combined squadrons of England and Holland, made afruitless attempt upon Cork, and lost a great number of seamen bysickness, which was imputed to bad provisions. The Dartmouth ship of warfell into the hands of the enemy, who infested the channel with sucha number of armed ships and privateers, that the trade of Englandsustained incredible damage. THE FRENCH WORSTED AT WALCOURT. The affairs of France wore but a gloomy aspect on the continent, whereall the powers of Europe seemed to have conspired her destruction. KingWilliam had engaged in a new league with the states-general, in whichformer treaties of peace and commerce were confirmed. It was stipulated, that in case the king of Great Britain should be attacked, the Dutchshould assist him with six thousand infantry, and twenty ships of theline; and that, provided hostilities should be committed against thestates-general, England should supply them with ten thousand infantry, and twenty ships of war. This treaty was no sooner ratified, than kingWilliam dispatched the lord Churchill, whom he had by this time createdearl of Marlborough, to Holland, in order to command the Britishauxiliaries in that service to the number of eleven thousand, thegreater part of which had been in the army of king James when the princeof Orange landed in England. The earl forthwith joined the Dutch army, under the command of prince Waldeck, who had fixed his rendezvous in thecounty of Liege, with a view to act against the French army commanded bythe mareschal D'Humieres; while the prince of Vaudemont headed a littlearmy of observation, consisting of Spaniards, Dutch, and Germans, towatch the motions of Calvo in another part of the Low-Countries. Thecity of Liege was compelled to renounce the neutrality, and declare forthe allies. Mareschal D'Humieres attacked the foragers belonging to thearmy of the states at Walcourt, in the month of August; an obstinateengagement ensued, and the French were obliged to retreat in confusion, with the loss of two thousand men, and some pieces of artillery. Thearmy of observation levelled part of the French lines on the side ofCourtray, and raised contributions on the territories of the enemy. SUCCESS OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GERMANY. The French were almost entire masters of the three ecclesiasticalelectorates of Germany. They possessed Mentz, Triers, Bonne, Keiserswaert, Philipsburgh, and Landau. They had blown up the castle ofHeildelberg, in the Palatinate, and destroyed Manheim. They had reducedWorms and Spiers to ashes; and demolished Frankendahl, togetherwith several other fortresses. These conquests, the fruits of suddeninvasion, were covered with a numerous army, commanded by the mareschalde Duras; and all his inferior generals were officers of distinguishedcourage and ability. Nevertheless, he found it difficult to maintainhis ground against the different princes of the empire. The duke ofLorraine, who commanded the imperial troops, invested Mentz, and tookit by capitulation; the elector of Brandenburgh, having reducedKeiserswaert, undertook the siege of Bonne, which the garrisonsurrendered after having made a long and vigorous defence. Nothingcontributed more to the union of the German princes than theirresentment of the shocking barbarity with which the French hadplundered, wasted, and depopulated their country. Louis having, by hisintrigues in Poland and at Constantinople, prevented a pacificationbetween the emperor and the Ottoman Porte, the campaign was opened inCroatia, where five thousand Turks were defeated by a body of Croatesbetween Vihitz and Novi. The prince of Baden, who commanded theimperialists on that side, having thrown a bridge over the Morava atPassarowitz, crossed that river, and marched in quest of a Turkisharmy amounting to fifty thousand men, headed by a seraskier. On thethirteenth day of August he attacked the enemy in their intrenchmentsnear Patochin, and forced their lines, routed them with great slaughter, and took possession of their camp, baggage, and artillery. They returnedto Nissa, where the general finding them still more numerous than theimperialists, resolved to make a stand, and encamped in a situation thatwas inaccessible in every part except the rear, which he left openfor the convenience of a retreat. Through this avenue he was, on thetwenty-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 Nissawithout opposition. There he found above three thousand horses and avast quantity of provisions. Having reposed his army for a few days inthis place, he resumed his march against the Turks, who had chosenan advantageous post at Widen, and seemed ambitious of retrieving thehonour they had lost in the two former engagements. The Germans attackedtheir lines without hesitation; and though the Musselmen fought withincredible fury, they were a third time defeated with great slaughter. This defeat was attended with the loss of Widen, which being surrenderedto the victor, he distributed his troops in winter quarters, andreturned to Vienna covered with laurels. DEATH OF POPE INNOCENT XI. The French were likewise baffled in their attempt upon Catalonia, wherethe duke de Noailles had taken Campredon in the month of May. Leaving agarrison in this place, he retreated to the frontiers of France, whilethe duke de Villa Hermosa, at the head of a Spanish army, blocked up theplace and laid Rousillon under contribution. He afterwards undertook thesiege in form, and Noailles marched to its relief; but he was so hardpressed by the Spaniards that he withdrew the garrison, dismantled theplace, and retreated with great precipitation. The French king hoped toderive some considerable advantage from the death of Pope Innocent XLwhich happened on the twelfth day of August. That pontiff had been aninveterate enemy to Louis ever since the affair of the franchises, andthe seizure of Avignon. [016] _[See note F, at the end of this Vol. ]_Cabals were immediately formed at Eome by the French faction againstthe Spanish and Imperial interest. The French cardinals, de Bouillon andBonzi, accompanied by Furstemberg, repaired to Eome with a large sumof money. Peter Ottoboni, a Venetian, was elected pope, and assumed thename of Alexander VIII. The duke de Chaulnes, ambassador from France, immediately signified in the name of his master, that Avignon shouldbe restored to the patrimony of the church; and Louis renounced thefranchises in a letter written by his own hand to the pontiff. Alexanderreceived these marks of respect with the warmest acknowledgments; butwhen the ambassador and Furstemberg besought him to re-examine theelection of the bishop of Cologne, which had been the source of so muchcalamity to the empire, he lent a deaf ear to their solicitations. He even confirmed the dispensations granted by his predecessor to theprince of Bavaria, who was thus empowered to take possession of theelectorate, though he had not yet attained the age required by thecanons. Furstemberg retired in disgust to Paris, where Louis immediatelygratified him with the abbey of St. Germains. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } KING WILLIAM BECOMES UNPOPULAR. King William found it an easier task to unite the councils of Europeagainst the common enemy than to conciliate and preserve the affectionsof his own subjects, among whom he began visibly to decline in point ofpopularity. Many were dissatisfied with his measures; and a great numbereven of those who exerted themselves for his elevation had conceived adisgust from his personal deportment, which was very unsuitable to themanners and disposition of the English people. Instead of minglingwith his nobility in social amusements and familiar conversation, hemaintained a disagreeable reserve which had all the air of sullen pride;he seldom or never spoke to his courtiers or attendants, he spent histime chiefly in the closet retired from all communication; or amonghis troops in a camp he had formed at Hounslow; or in the exercise ofhunting, to which he was immoderately addicted. This had been prescribedto him by physicians as necessary to improve his constitution, which wasnaturally weak, and by practice had become so habitual that he could notlay it aside. His ill health co-operating with his natural aversionto society, produced a peevishness which could not fail of beingdispleasing to those who were near his person: this was increased by thedisputes in his cabinet, and the opposition of those who were professedenemies to his government, as well as by the alienation of his formerfriends. As he could not breathe without difficulty in the air ofLondon, he resided chiefly at Hampton-court, and expended considerablesums in beautifying and enlarging that palace; he likewise purchased thehouse at Kensington of the earl of Nottingham; and such profusion in thebeginning of an expensive war gave umbrage to the nation in general. Whether he was advised by his counsellors, or his own sagacity pointedout the expediency of conforming with the English humour, he now seemedto change his disposition, and in some measure adopt the manners of hispredecessors. In imitation of Charles II. He resorted to the races atNewmarket; he accepted an invitation to visit Cambridge, where hebehaved himself with remarkable affability to the members of theuniversity; he afterwards dined with the lord-mayor of London, acceptedthe freedom of the city, and condescended so far as to becomesovereign-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 beenconceived against his person, the period arrived which the parliamenthad prescribed for taking the oaths to the new government. Someindividuals of the clergy sacrificed their benefices to their scruplesof conscience, and absolutely refused to take oaths that were contraryto those they had already sworn in favour of their late sovereign. Thesewere distinguished by the epithet of nonjurors: but their number borea very small proportion to that of others, who took them with suchreservations and distinctions as redounded very little to the honour oftheir integrity. Many of those who had been the warmest advocates fornon-resistance and passive obedience, made no scruple of renouncingtheir allegiance to king James, and complying with the present act, after having declared that they took the oaths in no other sense thanthat of a peaceable submission to the powers that were. They evenaffirmed that the legislature itself had allowed the distinction betweena 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 prudenceobliged them to conform to the letter of the oath, so consciencerequired them to give it their own interpretation. Nothing could be moreinfamous and of worse tendency than this practice of equivocating inthe most sacred of all obligations. It introduced a general disregard ofoaths, which hath been the source of universal perjury and corruption. Though this set of temporizers were bitterly upbraided both by thenonjurors and the papists, they all concurred in representing William asan enemy to the church; as a prince educated in the doctrines of Calvin, which he plainly espoused, by limiting his favour and preferment to suchas were latitudinarians in religion, and by his abolishing episcopacyin Scotland. The presbyterians in that kingdom now tyrannized in theirturn. They were headed by the earl of Crawford, a nobleman of a violenttemper and strong prejudices. He was chosen president of the parliamentby the interest of Melvil, and oppressed the episcopalians in such amanner that the greater part of them from resentment became well-wishersto king James. Every circumstance of the hardships they underwent wasreported in England; and the earl of Clarendon, as well as the suspendedbishops, circulated these particulars with great assiduity. The oathsbeing rejected by the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of Ely, Chichester, Bath and Wells, Peterborough and Gloucester, they weresuspended from their functions, and threatened with deprivation. Lakeof Chichester, being seized with a dangerous distemper, signed a solemndeclaration, in which he professed his adherence to the doctrine ofnon-resistance and passive obedience, which he believed to be thedistinguishing characteristic of the church of England. After his deaththis paper was published, industriously circulated, and extolled by theparty as an inspired oracle pronounced by a martyr to religious truthand sincerity. THE KING GRANTS A COMMISSION FOR REFORMING CHURCH DISCIPLINE. All the clamour that was raised against the king could not divert himfrom prosecuting the scheme of comprehension. He granted a commissionunder the great seal to ten bishops and twenty dignitaries of thechurch, authorizing them to meet from time to time in the Jerusalemchamber, to prepare such alterations of the liturgy and the canons, andsuch proposals for the reformation of ecclesiastical courts as mightmost conduce to the good order, edification, and uniting of the church, and tend to reconcile all religious differences among the protestantsubjects of the kingdom. A cry was immediately raised against thiscommission, as an ecclesiastical court illegal and dangerous. At theirfirst meeting the authority of the commission was questioned by Sprat, bishop of Rochester, who retired in disgust, and was followed by Mew ofWinchester, and the doctors Jane and Aldrich. These were averse to anyalteration of the forms and constitution of the church in favour of aninsolent and obstinate party, which ought to have been satisfied withthe toleration they enjoyed. They observed that an attempt to make suchalteration would divide the clergy, and bring the liturgy into disesteemwith the people, as it would be a plain acknowledgment that it wantedcorrection. They thought they should violate the dignity of the churchby condescending to make offers which the dissenters were at liberty torefuse; and they suspected some of their colleagues of a design to giveup episcopal ordination--a step inconsistent with their honour, duty, oaths, and subscriptions. MEETING OF THE CONVOCATION. The commissioners, notwithstanding this secession, proceeded to debatewith 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 inflamethe minds of the people. The two universities declared against allalterations, and those who promoted them. The king himself wasbranded as an enemy to the hierarchy; and they bestirred themselves sosuccessfully in the election of members for the convocation, thatthey procured a very considerable majority. At their first meeting thefriends of the comprehension scheme proposed Dr. Tillotson, clerk of thecloset to his majesty, as prolocutor; but the other party carried it infavour of Dr. Jane, who was counted the most violent churchman in thewhole 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 Englandneeded no amendment, and concluded with the old declaration of thebarons, "_Nolumus leges Angliæ mutari_. We will not suffer the lawsof England to be changed. " The bishop, in his reply, exhorted themto moderation, charity, and indulgence towards their brethren thedissenters, and to make such abatements in things indifferent as mightserve to open a door of salvation to multitudes of straying christians. His injunctions, however, produced no favourable effect; the lower houseseemed to be animated by a spirit of opposition. Next day the presidentprorogued them, on pretence that the royal commission, by whichthey were to act, was defective for want of being sealed, and that aprorogation was necessary until that sanction should be obtained. Inthis interval means were used to mollify their non-compliant tempers, but all endeavours proved ineffectual. When they met again, the earl ofNottingham delivered the king's commission to both houses, with aspeech of his own, and a message from his majesty, importing that he hadsummoned them out of a pious zeal to do every thing that might tend tothe best establishment of the church of England, which should alwaysenjoy his favour and protection. He exhorted them to lay aside allprejudice, and consider calmly and impartially whatever should beproposed: he assured them he would offer nothing but what should be forthe honour, peace, and advantage of the protestant religion in general, and particularly of the church of England. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THEIR SESSION PROROGUED. The bishops adjourning to the Jerusalem chamber, prepared a zealousaddress of thanks to his majesty, which, being sent to the lower housefor their concurrence, met with violent opposition. Amendments wereproposed; a conference ensued, and, after warm debates, they agreed upona cold address, which was accordingly presented. The majority of thelower 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 theconvocation. This, however, was such a dangerous point as they would notventure to discuss; yet, rather than proceed upon the business for whichthey had been assembled, they began to take cognizance of some pamphletslately published, which they conceived to be of dangerous consequenceto the christian religion. The president and his party, perceivingthe disposition of the house, did not think proper to communicate anyproposal touching the intended reformation, and the king suffered thesession to be discontinued by repeated prorogations. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. The parliament meeting on the nineteenth day of October, the king, in aspeech of his own composing, explained the necessity of a present supplyto carry on the war. He desired that they might be speedy in theirdeterminations on this subject, for these would in a great measureinfluence the deliberations of the princes and states concerned in thewar against France, as a general meeting of them was appointed to beheld next month at the Hague, to settle the operations of the ensuingcampaign. He concluded with recommending the dispatch of a bill ofindemnity, that the minds of his subjects might be quieted, and thatthey might unanimously concur in promoting the honour and welfare of thekingdom. As several inflammatory bills and disputes, which had producedheats and animosities in the last session, were still depending, theking, after having consulted both houses, resolved to put an end tothose disputes by a prorogation. He accordingly went to the house oflords and prorogued the parliament till the twenty-first day of October, by the mouth of the new speaker, sir Robert Atkins; the marquis ofHalifax having resigned that office. When they re-assembled, theking referred them to his former speech: then the commons unanimouslyresolved to assist his majesty in reducing Ireland, and in joining withhis 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 intriguesin obstructing the bill of indemnity, which they knew would open a doorfor favour and preferment to the opposite party, which began to gainground in the king's good graces. With this view they revived theprosecution of the state prisoners. A committee was appointed to preparea charge against Burton and Graham. The commons resolved to impeach theearls of Peterborough, Salisbury, and Castlemain, sir Edward Hales, and Obadiah Walker, of high treason, for having been reconciled to thechurch of Rome, contrary to the laws of the realm. A bill was orderedto be brought in to declare the estate of the late lord chancellorJefferies forfeited to the crown, and attaint his blood; but it met withsuch opposition that the measure was dropped: the house however agreed, that the pecuniary penalties incurred by those persons who had exercisedoffices contrary to the laws against popish recusants, should bespeedily levied and applied to the public service. The lord Griffinbeing detected in maintaining a correspondence with king James and hispartizans, was committed to the Tower; but as no other evidence appearedagainst him than written letters, found in the false bottom of a pewterbottle, they could not help consenting to his being released upon bail, as they had lately resolved that Algernon Sidney was unjustly condemnedin the reign of Charles II. Because nothing but writings had beenproduced against him at his trial. The two houses concurred inappointing a committee to inquire who were the advisers and prosecutorsin taking away the lives of lord Russel, colonel Sydney, sir ThomasArmstrong, alderman Cornish, and others; and who were chiefly concernedin the arbitrary practices touching the writs of _quo warranto_, andthe surrender of charters. This inquiry was levelled at the marquis ofHalifax, who had concurred with the ministry of Charles in all theseseverities. Though no proof appeared upon which votes or addresses couldbe founded, that nobleman saw it was necessary for him to withdrawhimself from the administration; he therefore resigned the privy-seal, which was put in commission, and reconciled himself to the tories, ofwhom 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 inIreland, and desired the king would appoint commissioners to go overand inquire into the condition of the army in that kingdom. Schomberg, understanding that he had been blamed in the house of commons for hisinactivity, transmitted to the king a satisfactory vindication of hisown conduct; and it appeared that the miscarriages in Ireland werewholly owing to John Shales, purveyor-general to the army. The commonsimmediately presented an address to his majesty, praying that Shalesmight be taken into custody; that all his papers, accounts, and stores, should be secured; and that duke Schomberg might be empowered to fillhis place with a more able purveyor. The king gave them to understandthat he had already sent orders to the general for that purpose. Nevertheless, they in another petition requested his majesty to namethose who had recommended Shales to his service, as he had exercised thesame office under king James, and was suspected of treasonable practicesagainst the government. William declined gratifying their request; buthe afterwards sent a message to the house, desiring them to recommenda certain number of commissioners to superintend such provisions andpreparations as might be necessary for that service, as well as tonominate certain persons to go over and examine the state of the armyin Ireland. The commons were so mollified by this instance of hiscondescension, that they left the whole affair to his own direction, and proceeded to examine other branches of misconduct. Instances ofmismanagement appeared so numerous and so flagrant, that they resolvedupon a subsequent address, to explain the ill conduct and success ofhis army and navy; to desire he would find out the author of thesemiscarriages, and for the future intrust unsuspected persons with themanagement of affairs. They ordered the victuallers of the fleet to betaken into custody, on suspicion of their having furnished the navy withunwholesome provisions, and new commissioners were appointed. Bitterreproaches were thrown out against the ministry. Mr. Hambden expressedhis surprise that the administration should consist of those verypersons whom king James had employed, when his affairs were desperate, to treat with the prince of Orange, and moved that the king should bepetitioned in an address to remove such persons from his presence andcouncils. This was a stroke aimed at the earl of Nottingham, whoseoffice of secretary Hambden desired to possess; but his motion was notseconded, the court-members observing that James did not depute theselords to the prince of Orange because they were attached to his owninterest, but for a very different reason, namely, that they were wellknown to disapprove of his measures, and therefore would be the moreagreeable to his highness. The house however voted an address to theking, desiring that the authors of the miscarriages might be brought tocondign punishment. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } WILLIAM IRRITATED AGAINST THE WHIGS. In the sequel, the question was proposed, Whether a placeman ought tohave a seat in the house? and a very warm debate ensued: but it wascarried in the affirmative, on the supposition that by such exclusionthe commonwealth would be deprived of some of the ablest senators of thekingdom. But what chiefly irritated William against the whigs was theirbackwardness in promoting the public service, and their disregard of theearnest desire he expressed to see his revenue settled for life. He saidhis title was no more than a pageant, and the worst of all governmentswas that of a king without treasure. Nevertheless, they would not grantthe civil list for a longer term than one year. They began to thinkthere was something arbitrary in his disposition. His sullen behaviourin all probability first infused this opinion, which was strengthenedand confirmed by the insinuations of his enemies. The Scots who had comeup to London to give an account of the proceedings in their parliament, were infected with the same notion. One Simpson, a presbyterian of thatcountry, whom the earl of Portland employed as a spy, had insinuatedhimself into the confidence of Nevil Payne, an active and intelligentpartisan and agent of king James; by which means he supplied the earlwith such intelligence as raised him to some degree of credit with thatminister. This he used in prepossessing the earl against the king's bestfriends, and infusing jealousies which were soon kindled into mutualdistrust 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 Payneseized the opportunity of seducing them into a correspondence with theexiled king. They demanded the settlement of the presbytery in Scotland, and actually engaged in a treaty for his restoration. They reconciledthemselves to the duke of Queensbury, and the other noblemen of theepiscopal party: they wrote to James for a supply of money, arms, andammunition, together with a reinforcement of three thousand men fromDunkirk. Montgomery had acquired great interest among the whigs ofEngland, and this he-employed in animating them against the king andthe ministry. He represented them as a set of wicked men, who employedinfamous spies to insnare and ruin the fast friends of the government, and found means to alienate them so much from William, that they beganto think in earnest of recalling their banished prince The duke ofBolton and the earl of Monmouth were almost persuaded into a conspiracyfor this purpose; they seemed to think James was now so well convincedof his former errors, that they might trust him without scruple. Montgomery and Payne were the chief managers of the scheme, and theyadmitted Ferguson into their councils, as a veteran in the arts oftreason. In order to blast William's credit in the city, they circulateda report that James would grant a full indemnity, separate himselfentirely from the French interest, and be contented with a secretconnivance in favour of the Roman catholics. Montgomery's brotherassured the bishop of Salisbury that a treaty with king James wasabsolutely concluded, and an invitation subscribed by the whole cabal. He said this paper would be sent to Ireland by the way of France, as thedirect communication was difficult; and he proposed a method for seizingit before it should be conveyed out of the kingdom. Williamson, thesupposed bearer of it, had obtained a pass for Flanders, and a messengerbeing sent in pursuit of him, secured his clothes and portmanteau; butafter a very strict examination nothing appeared to justify theintelligence. Williamson had previously delivered the papers to Simpson, who hired a boat at Deal, and arrived in safety at France. He returnedwith large assurances, and twelve thousand pounds were remitted to theScottish undertakers. Montgomery the informer seeing his intelligencefalsified, lost his credit with the bishop, and dreading the resentmentof the other party, retired to the continent. The conspirators loudlycomplained of the false imputations they had incurred. The pretendeddiscoveries were looked upon as fictions of the ministry, and the kingon this occasion suffered greatly in the opinion of his subjects. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } DEBATES ABOUT THE CORPORATION BILLS. The tories still continued to carry on a secret negotiation with thecourt. They took advantage of the ill-humour subsisting between theking and the whigs; and promised large supplies of money provided thisparliament should be dissolved and another immediately convoked. Theopposite party, being apprized of their intention, brought a bill intothe house of commons for restoring corporations to their ancient rightsand privileges. They knew their own strength at elections consistedin these corporations; and they inserted two additional severe clausesagainst those who were in any shape concerned in surrendering charters. The whole power of the tories was exerted against this clause; and nowthe whigs vied with them in making court to his majesty, promising tomanifest the most submissive obedience should this bill be enacted intoa law. The strength of the tories was now become so formidable tothe house, that they out-voted the other party, and the clauses wererejected; but the bill passed in its original form. The lords debatedupon the point, Whether a corporation could be forfeited or surrendered?Lord chief justice Holt and two other judges declared their opinion inthe affirmative: the rest thought otherwise, as no precedents could beproduced farther back than the reign of Henry VIII. When the abbeys weresurrendered; and this instance seemed too violent to authorize such ameasure in a regular course of administration. The bill, however, passedby one voice only. Then both parties quickened their applications to theking, who found himself so perplexed and distracted between two factionswhich he equally feared, that he resolved to leave the government in thequeen's hands and retire to Holland. He communicated this design to themarquis of Carmarthen, the earl of Shrewsbury, and some other noblemen, who pressed him to lay aside his resolution, and even mingled tears withtheir remonstrances. THE KING RESOLVES TO FINISH THE IRISH WAR IN PERSON. He at length complied with their request, and determined to finish theIrish war in person. This design was far from being agreeable to theparliament. His friends dreaded the climate of that country, which mightprove fatal to his weak constitution. The well-wishers of James wereafraid of that prince's being hard pressed, should William take thefield against him in person. Both houses, therefore, began to prepare an address against thisexpedition. In order to prevent this remonstrance, the king went to theparliament, and formally signified his resolution. After his speech theywere prorogued to the second day of April. On the sixth day of Februarythey were dissolved by proclamation, and a new parliament was summonedto meet on the twentieth day of March. During this session, the commons, in an address to the king, desired that a revenue of fifty thousandpounds might be settled upon the prince and princess of Denmark, out ofthe civil list; and his majesty gratified them in this particular: yetthe warmth and industry with which the friends of the princessexerted themselves in promoting the settlement, produced a coldness andmisunderstanding between the two sisters; and the subsequent disgrace ofthe earl of Marlborough was imputed to the part which his wife acted onthe occasion. She was lady of the bed-chamber, and chief confidant tothe princess, whom she strenuously advised to insist upon the settlementrather 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 beenexcepted from the act of indemnity, as one of those who sat in judgmentupon Charles I. Arrived in England, and offered his service in reducingIreland, where he had formerly commanded. Though a rigid republican, he was reputed a conscientious man, and a good officer. He had receivedsome encouragement to come over, and probably would have been employedhad not the commons interposed. Sir Edward Seymour, who enjoyed by grantan estate in Wiltshire which had formerly belonged to Ludlow, began tobe in pain for his possession. He observed in the house, that the nationwould be disgraced should one of the J parricides be suffered to live inthe kingdom. An address was immediately presented to the king, desiringa proclamation might be issued promising a reward for apprehendinggeneral Ludlow. This was accordingly published; but not before he hadlanded in Holland, from whence he returned to Vevay in Switzerland, where he wrote the memoirs of his life, and died after an exile ofthirty years. EFFORTS OF THE JACOBITES IN SCOTLAND. While king William fluctuated between two parties in England, hisinterest in Scotland had well nigh given way to a coalition between theoriginal Jacobites and Montgomery's party of discontented presbyterians. Colonel Cannon, who succeeded the viscount Dundee in command, afterhaving made several unsuccessful efforts in favour of the late king'sinterest, retired into Ireland; and the highlanders chose sir HughCameron for their leader. Under him they renewed their incursions withthe better prospect of success, as several regiments of the regulartroops had been sent to reinforce the army of Schomberg. James assistedthem with clothes, arms, and ammunition, together with some officers, amongst whom was colonel Bucan, appointed to act as their chiefcommander. This officer, at the head of fifteen hundred men, advancedinto the shire of Murray, in hopes of being joined by other malcontents;but he was surprised and routed by sir Thomas Livingstone, while majorFerguson destroyed the places they possessed in the Isle of Mull; sothat the highlanders were obliged to retire and conceal themselves amongtheir hills and fastnesses. The friends of James, despairing of doingany thing effectual for his service in the field, converted all theirattention to the proceedings in parliament; where they imagined theirinterest was much stronger than it appeared to be upon trial. They tookthe oaths without hesitation, and hoped, by the assistance of their newallies, to embroil the government in such a manner that the majority ofthe people would declare for a restoration. But the views of these newcemented parties were altogether incompatible, and their principlesdiametrically opposite. Notwithstanding their concurrence in parliament, the earl of Melvil procured a small majority. The opposition wasimmediately discouraged: some individuals retracted, rather than fallwith a sinking cause; and mutual jealousies began to prevail. Theleaders of the coalition treated separately with king James; madeinconsistent demands; reciprocally concealed their negotiations; in aword, they distrusted and hated one another with the most implacableresentment. THE COURT INTEREST PREVAILS. The earls of Argyle, Annandale, and Breadalbane, withdrew from theircouncils and repaired to England. Montgomery, terrified at theirdefection, went privately to London, after he had hinted somethingof the plot to Melvil, and solicited a pass from the queen, which wasrefused. Annandale, having received information that Montgomery haddisclosed all the particulars of the negotiation, threw himself upon thequeen's mercy, and discovered all he knew of the conspiracy. As lie hadnot treated with any of the malcontents in England, they remained securefrom his evidence; but he informed against Nevil Payne, who had beensent down as their agent to Scotland, where he now resided. He wasimmediately apprehended by the council of that kingdom, in consequenceof a letter from the earl of Nottingham; and twice put to the torture, which he resolutely bore, without discovering his employers. Montgomerystill absconded in London, soliciting a pardon; but finding he could notobtain it, except on condition of making a full discovery, heabandoned his country, and chose to die in exile rather than betray hisconfederates. This disunion of the conspirators, and discovery of theplot, left the earl of Melvil in possession of a greater majority;though even this he was fain to secure by overstraining his instructionsin the articles of patronage, and the supremacy of the crown, which heyielded up to the fury of the fanatic presbyterians, contrary to theintention of king William. In lieu of these, however, they indulged himwith the tax of chimney or hearth-money; as well as with a test to beimposed upon all persons in office or parliament, declaring William andMary their lawful sovereigns, and renouncing the pretended title of kingJames. All the laws in favour of episcopacy were repealed. Threescoreof the presbyterian ministers, who had been ejected at the restoration, were still alive; and these the parliament declared the only sound partof the church. The government of it was lodged in their hands; andthey were empowered to admit such as they should think proper to theirassistance. A few furious fanatics being thus associated, proceeded withungovernable violence to persecute the episcopal party, exercising thevery 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, thetwo parties that divided England employed their whole influence andattention in managing the elections for a new parliament; and the toriesobtained the victory. The king seemed gradually falling into the arms ofthis party. They complained of their having been totally excluded fromthe lieutenancy of London at the king's accession to the crown; andnow a considerable number of the most violent tories in the city wereadmitted into the commission by the interest and address of the bishopof London, the marquis of Carmarthen, and the earl of Nottingham. Togratify that party, the earls of Monmouth and Warrington were dismissedfrom their employments; nay, when the parliament met on the twentiethday of March, the commons chose for their speaker sir John Trevor, aviolent partisan of that faction, who had been created master of therolls by the late king. He was a bold artful man, and undertook toprocure a majority to be at the devotion of the court, providedhe should be supplied with the necessary sums for the purposes ofcorruption. William, finding there was no other way of maintaining hisadministration in peace, thought proper to countenance the practice ofpurchasing votes, and appointed Trevor first commissioner of the greatseal. In his speech to the new parliament, he gave them to understandthat he still persisted in his resolution of going in person to Ireland. He desired they would make a settlement of the revenue, or establish itfor the present as a fund of credit, upon which the necessary sums forthe service of government might be immediately advanced; he signifiedhis 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 hissubjects, and leave no colour of excuse for raising disturbances inhis absence, as he knew how busy some ill-affected men were in theirendeavours to alter the established government; he recommended an unionwith Scotland, the parliament of which had appointed commissioners forthat purpose; he told them he should leave the administration in thehands of the queen, and desired they would prepare an act to confirm herauthority; he exhorted them to dispatch the business for which they wereassembled, to avoid debates, and expressed his hope that they shouldsoon 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 twelvehundred thousand pounds, one million of that sum to be raised by aclause of credit in the revenue bills; but he could not prevailupon them to settle the revenue for life. They granted, however, thehereditary excise for that term, but the customs for four years only. They considered this short term as the best security the kingdom couldhave for frequent parliaments; though this precaution was not at allagreeable to their sovereign. A poll-bill was likewise passed, othersupplies were granted, and both parties seemed to court his majestyby advancing money on those funds of credit. The whigs, however, hadanother battery in reserve. They produced, in the upper house, a billfor recognising their majesties as the rightful and lawful sovereign ofthese realms, and for declaring all the acts of the last parliamentto be good and valid. The tories were now reduced to a very perplexedsituation. They could not oppose the bill without hazarding theinterest they had so lately acquired, nor assent to it without solemnlyrenouncing their former arguments and distinctions. They made no greatobjections to the first part, and even proposed to enact, That thoseshould be deemed good laws for the time to come; but they refused todeclare them valid for that which was past. After a long debate, thebill was committed; yet the whigs lost their majority on the report;nevertheless, the bill was recovered, and passed with some alteration inthe 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 intothe scale with this bill, before it would preponderate against thetories; the chiefs of whom, with the earl of Nottingham at their head, protested in their turn. The same party in the house of commons weredetermined upon a vigorous opposition; and in the mean time sometrifling 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 notsummoned by the king's writ. This insinuation was answered by Somers thesolicitor general, who observed, that if it was not a legal parliament, they who were then met, and who had taken the oaths enacted by thatparliament, were guilty of high treason; the laws repealed by it werestill in force: it was their duty therefore to return to king James; andall concerned in collecting and paying the money levied by the acts ofthat parliament were highly criminal. The tories were so struck withthese arguments that the bill passed without further opposition, andimmediately received the royal assent. Thus the settlement was confirmedby those very people who had so loudly exclaimed against it as illegal;but the whigs, with all their management, would not have gained theirpoint had not the court been interested in the dispute. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } ANOTHER VIOLENT CONTEST. There was another violent contest between the two parties, on the importof a bill requiring all subjects in office to abjure king James on painof imprisonment. Though the clergy were at first exempted from thistest, the main body of the tories opposed it with great vehemence; whilethe whigs, under countenance of the ministry, supported it with equalvigour. It produced long and violent debates; and the two factionsseemed pretty equally balanced. At length the tories represented tothe king that a great deal of precious time would be lost in fruitlessaltercation; that those who declared against the bill would grow sullenand intractable, so as to oppose every other motion that might be madefor the king's service; that, in case of its being carried, his majestymust fall again into the hands of the whigs, who would renew theirformer practices against the prerogative; and many individuals, whowere now either well affected to him, or at least neutral, would becomeJacobites from resentment. These suggestions had such weight with kingWilliam, that he sent an intimation to the commons, desiring they woulddrop the debate and proceed to matters that were more pressing. Thewhigs in general were disgusted at this interposition; and the earl ofShrewsbury, who had interested himself warmly in behalf of the bill, resented it so deeply that he insisted on resigning his office ofsecretary of state. The king, who revered his talents and integrity, employed Dr. Tillotson and others, who were supposed to have credit withthe earl, to dissuade him from quitting his employment; but he continueddeaf to all their remonstrances, and would not even comply with therequest of his majesty, who pressed him to keep the seals until heshould return from Ireland. Long debates were likewise managed in thehouse of lords upon the bill of abjuration, or rather an oath of specialfidelity to William, in opposition to James. The tories professedthemselves willing to enter into a negative engagement against the lateking and his adherents; but they opposed the oath of abjuration with alltheir might: and the house was so equally divided that neither side waswilling to hazard a decision, so that all the fruit of their debates wasa prolongation of the session. KING WILLIAM LANDS IN IRELAND. An act was prepared for investing the queen with the administrationduring the king's absence; another for reversing the judgment on a _quowarranto_ against the city of London, and restoring it to its ancientrights and privileges; at length the bill of indemnity so cordiallyrecommended by the king passed both houses. [021] _[See note G, at theend of this Vol. ]_ On the twenty-first day of May, the king closed thesession with a Short speech, in which he thanked them for the suppliesthey had granted, and recommended to them a punctual discharge of theirduties in their respective counties, that the peace of the nation mightnot be interrupted in his absence. The houses were adjourned to theseventh day of July, when the parliament was prorogued and adjournedsuccessively. As a further security for the peace of the kingdom, thedeputy-lieutenants were authorized to raise the militia in case ofnecessity. All papists were prohibited to stir above five miles fromtheir respective places of abode; a proclamation was published forapprehending certain disaffected persons; sir John Cochran and Fergusonwere actually arrested on suspicion of treasonable practices. On thefourth day of June the king set out for Ireland, attended by princeGeorge of Denmark, the duke of Ormond, the earls of Oxford, Scarborough, Manchester, and many other persons of distinction: on the fourteenthday of the month he landed at Carrickfergus, from whence he immediatelyproceeded to Belfast, where he was met by the duke of Schomberg, theprince of Wirtemberg, major-general Kirke, and other officers. By thistime colonel Wolsey, at the head of a thousand men, had defeated astrong detachment of the enemy near Belturbat; sir John Lanier hadtaken Bedloe castle; and that of Charlemont, a strong post of greatimportance, together with Balingary near Cavan, had been reduced. KingWilliam having reposed himself for two or three days at Belfast, visitedthe duke's head-quarters at Lis-burne; then advancing to Hillsborough, published an order against pressing horses, and committing violence onthe country people. When some of his general officers proposed cautiousmeasures, he declared he did not come to Ireland to let the grassgrow under his feet. He ordered the army to encamp and be reviewedat Loughbrilland, where he found it amount to six-and-thirty thousandeffective men, well appointed. Then he marched to Dundalk; andafterwards 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 thatkingdom; and William had been six days in Ireland before he receivedintimation of his arrival. This was no sooner known than he leftDublin under the guard of the militia commanded by Luttrel, and witha reinforcement of six thousand infantry, which he had lately receivedfrom France, joined the rest of his forces, which now almost equalledWilliam's army in number, exclusive of about fifteen thousand men whoremained in different garrisons. He occupied a very advantageous poston the bank of the Boyne, and, contrary to the advice of his generalofficers, resolved to stand battle. They proposed to strengthen theirgarrisons and retire to the Shannon to wait the effect of the operationsat sea. Louis had promised to equip a powerful armament against theEnglish fleet, and send over a great number of small frigates to destroyWilliam's transports, as soon as their convoy should be returned toEngland. The execution of this scheme was not at all difficult, and musthave proved fatal to the English army; for their stores and ammunitionwere still on board; the ships sailed along the coast as the troopsadvanced in their march; and there was not one secure harbour intowhich they could retire on any emergency. James, however, was bent uponhazarding an engagement; and expressed uncommon confidence and alacrity. Besides the river which was deep, his front was secured by a morass anda rising ground, so that the English army could not attack him withoutmanifest disadvantage. WILLIAM RESOLVES TO GIVE HIM BATTLE King William marched up to the opposite bank of the river, and, ashe reconnoitred their situation, was exposed to the fire of somefield-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 carryoff part of his clothes and skin, and produce a considerable contusion. This accident, which he bore without the least emotion, created someconfusion among his attendants, which the enemy perceiving, concludedhe was killed, and shouted aloud in token of their joy. The whole campresounded with acclamation; and several squadrons of their horsewere drawn down towards the river as if they had intended to passit immediately and attack the English army. The report was instantlycommunicated from place to place until it reached Dublin; from thenceit was conveyed to Paris, where, contrary to the custom of the Frenchcourt, the people were encouraged to celebrate the event with bonfiresand illuminations. William rode along the line to show himself to thearmy after this narrow escape. At night he called a council of war, anddeclared his resolution to attack the enemy in the morning. Schombergat first opposed his design; but finding the king determined, he advisedthat a strong detachment of horse and foot should that night pass theBoyne at Slane-bridge, and take post between the enemy and the pass ofDuleck, that the action might be the more decisive. This councilbeing rejected, the king determined that early in the morninglieutenant-general Douglas, with the right wing of infantry, and youngSchomberg, with the horse, should pass at Slane-bridge, while the mainbody of foot should force their passage at Old-bridge, and the leftat certain fords between the enemy's camp and Drogheda. The duke, perceiving his advice was not relished by the Dutch generals, retired tohis tent, where the order of battle being brought to him, he received itwith an air of discontent, saying, It was the first that had ever beensent him in that manner. The proper dispositions being made, Williamrode quite through the army by torchlight, and then retired to his tent, after having given orders for the soldiers to distinguish themselvesfrom 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 reachedthe farther bank, they perceived the enemy drawn up in two lines, to aconsiderable number of horse and foot, with a morass in their front, so that Douglas was obliged to wait for a reinforcement. This beingarrived, the infantry was led on to the charge through the morass, whilecount Schomberg rode round it with his cavalry to attack the enemyin flank. The Irish, instead of waiting the assault, faced about andretreated towards Duleck with some precipitation; yet not so fast butthat 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 thisjuncture, 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. KingJames had imprudently removed his cannon from the other side; but hehad posted a strong body of musqueteers along the bank, behind hedges, houses, and some works raised for the occasion. These poured in a closefire upon the English troops before they reached the shore; butit produced very little effect: then the Irish gave way; and somebattalions landed without further opposition. Yet, before they couldform, they were charged with great impetuosity by a squadron of theenemy's horse; and a considerable body of their cavalry and foot, commanded by general Hamilton, advanced from behind some little hillocksto attack those that were landed, as well as to prevent the restfrom reaching the shore. His infantry turned their backs and fledimmediately; but the horse charged with incredible fury, both upon thebank and in the river, so as to put the unformed regiments in confusion. Then the duke of Schomberg, passing the river in person, put himselfat the head of the French protestants, and pointing to the enemy, "Gentlemen, " said he, "those are your persecutors;" with these words headvanced to the attack, where he himself sustained a violent onset froma party of the Irish horse which had broke through one of the regiments, and were now on their return. They were mistaken for English, andallowed to gallop up to the duke, who received two severe wounds inthe head; but the French regiments being now sensible of their mistake, rashly threw in their fire upon the Irish while they were engaged withthe duke, and instead of saving, shot him dead upon the spot. The fateof this general had well nigh proved fatal to the English army, whichwas immediately involved in tumult and disorder; while the infantryof king James rallied, and returned to their posts with a face ofresolution. They were just ready to fall upon the centre, when kingWilliam having passed with the left wing, composed of the Danish, Dutch, and Inniskilling horse, advanced to attack them on the right. They werestruck with such a panic at his appearance that they made a sudden halt, and then facing about, retreated to the village of Dunore. There theymade such a vigorous stand that the Dutch and Danish horse, thoughheaded by the king in person, recoiled; even the Inniskillmers gaveway; and the whole wing would have been routed, had not a detachmentof dragoons, belonging to the regiment of Cunningham and Livison, dismounted, and lined the hedges on each side of the defile throughwhich the fugitives were driven. There they did such execution upon thepursuers as soon checked their ardour. The horse, which were broken, hadnow time to rally, and returning to the charge, drove the enemy beforethem in their turn. In this action general Hamilton, who had been thelife and soul of the Irish during the whole engagement, was wounded andtaken--an incident which discouraged them to such a degree, that theymade no further efforts to retrieve the advantage they had lost. He wasimmediately brought to the king, who asked him if he thought the Irishwould make any further resistance; and he replied, "Upon my honour, Ibelieve they will; for they have still a good body of horse entire. "William, eyeing him with a look of disdain, repeated, "Your honour! yourhonour!" but took no other notice of his having acted contrary tohis engagement, when he was permitted to go to Ireland on promise ofpersuading Tyrconnel to submit to the new government. The Irish nowabandoned 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 andperseverance. DEATH OF SCHOMBERG. As king William did not think proper to pursue the enemy, the carnagewas not great. The Irish lost fifteen hundred men, and the Englishabout one-third of that number; though the victory was dearly purchased, considering the death of the gallant duke of Schomberg, who fell in theeighty-second year of his age, after having rivalled the best generalsof the time in military reputation. He was descended of a noble familyin the Palatinate, and his mother was an English woman, daughter of lordDudley. Being obliged to leave his country on account of the troublesby which it was agitated, he commenced a soldier of fortune, and servedsuccessively in the armies of Holland, England, France, Portugal, andBrandenburgh. 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 hisdeportment; cool, penetrating, resolute, and sagacious; nor was hisprobity inferior to his courage. This battle likewise proved fatalto the brave Caillemote, who had followed the duke's fortunes, andcommanded one of the protestant regiments. After having received amortal wound, he was carried back through the river by four soldiers, and though almost in the agonies of death, he with a cheerfulcountenance encouraged those who were crossing to do their duty, exclaiming, "_A la gloire, mes enfans; à la gloire_. To glory, mylads; to glory!" The third remarkable person who lost his life onthis occasion was Walker the clergyman, who had so valiantly defendedLondonderry against the whole army of king James. He had been verygraciously received by king William, who gratified him with a reward offive thousand pounds, and a promise of further favour; but his militarygenius still predominating, he attended his royal patron in this battle, and being shot in the belly, died in a few minutes. The persons ofdistinction who fell on the other side were the lords Dongan andCarlingford, sir Neile O'Neile, and the marquis of Hoequincourt. Jameshimself stood aloof during the action on the hill of Dunmore, surroundedwith some squadrons of horse; and seeing victory declare against him, retired to Dublin without having made the least effort to re-assemblehis broken forces. Had he possessed either spirit or conduct, his armymight have been rallied, and reinforced from his garrisons, so as to bein a condition to keep the field, and even act upon the offensive; forhis loss was inconsiderable, and the victor did not attempt to molesthis troops in their retreat--an omission which has been charged upon himas a flagrant instance of misconduct. Indeed, through the whole of thisengagement, William's personal courage was much more conspicuous thanhis military skill. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } JAMES EMBARKS FOR FRANCE. King James no sooner arrived at Dublin than he assembled the magistratesand council of the city, and in a short speech resigned them to thefortune of the victor. He complained of the cowardice of the Irish;signified his resolution of leaving the kingdom immediately; forbadethem, on their allegiance, to burn or plunder the city after hisdeparture; and assured them, that, though he was obliged to yield toforce, he would never cease to labour for their deliverance. Next day heset out for Waterford, attended by the duke of Berwick, Tyrconnel, and the marquis of Powis. He ordered all the bridges to be broken downbehind him, and embarked in a vessel which had been prepared for hisreception. At sea he fell in with the French squadron, commanded by theSieur 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, andreturned to the place of his former residence at St. Germain's. He hadno sooner quitted Dublin than it was also abandoned by all the papists. The protestants immediately took possession of the arms belonging tothe militia, under the conduct of the bishops of Meath and Limerick. A committee was formed to take charge of the administration; and anaccount of these transactions was transmitted to king William, togetherwith 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 detachmentof horse and foot, under the command of M. Mellionere, to Drogheda, thegovernor of which surrendered the place without opposition. The king atthe head of the army began his march for Dublin, and halted the firstnight at Bally-Breghan; where, having received advice of the enemy'sretreat from the capital, he sent the duke of Ormond with a body ofhorse to take possession. These were immediately followed by the Dutchguards, who secured the castle. In a few days the king encamped atFinglas, in the neighbourhood of Dublin, where he was visited by thebishops of Meath and Limerick, at the head of the protestant clergy, whom he assured of his favour and protection. Then he published adeclaration of pardon to all the common people who had served againsthim, provided they should return to their dwellings and surrender theirarms by the first day of August. Those that rented lands of popishproprietors who had been concerned in the rebellion, were required toretain their rents in their own hands until they should have noticefrom the commissioners of the revenue to whom they should be paid. Thedesperate leaders of the rebellion, who had violated the laws of thekingdom, called in the French, authorized the depredations which hadbeen committed upon protestants, and rejected the pardon offered to themon the king's first proclamation, were left to the event of war, unlessby evident demonstrations of repentance they should deserve mercy, whichwould never be refused to those who were truly penitent. The next steptaken by king William was to issue a proclamation reducing the brassmoney to nearly its intrinsic value. In the meantime, the principalofficers in the army of James, after having seen him embark atWaterford, returned to their troops, determined to prosecute the war aslong as they could be supplied with means to support their operations. VICTORY GAINED BY THE FRENCH. During these transactions, the queen, as regent, found herselfsurrounded with numberless cares and perplexities. Her council waspretty equally divided into whigs and tories, who did not always actwith unanimity. She was distracted between her apprehensions for herfather's safety and her husband's life: she was threatened with aninvasion by the French from abroad, and with an insurrection by theJacobites at home. Nevertheless she disguised her fears, and behavedwith equal prudence and fortitude. Advice being received that a fleetwas ready to sail from Brest, lord Torrington hoisted his flag in theDowns, and sailed round to St. Helen's, in order to assemble such anumber of ships as would enable him to give them battle. The enemybeing discovered off Plymouth on the twentieth day of June, the Englishadmiral, reinforced with a Dutch squadron, stood out to sea with a viewto intercept them at the back of the Isle of Wight, should they presumeto sail up the channel, not that he thought himself strong enough tocope with them in battle. Their fleet consisted of seventy-eight shipsof war, and two-and-twenty fire-ships; whereas, the combined squadronsof England and Holland did not exceed six-and-fifty; but he had receivedorders to hazard an engagement if he thought it might be done with anyprospect of success. After the hostile fleets had continued five daysin sight of each other, lord Torrington bore down upon the enemy offBeachy-head, on the thirtieth day of June, at day-break. The Dutchsquadron, which composed the van, began the engagement about nine inthe morning; in about half an hour the blue division of the English wereclose engaged with the rear of the French; but the red, which formedthe centre, under the command of Torrington in person, did not fill theline till ten o'clock, so that the Dutch were almost surrounded by theenemy, and, though they fought with great valour, sustained considerabledamage. At length the admiral's division drove between them and theFrench, and in that situation the fleet anchored about five in theafternoon, when the action was interrupted by a calm. The Dutch hadsuffered so severely, that Torrington thought it would be imprudent torenew the battle; he therefore weighed anchor in the night, and with thetide of flood retired to the eastward. The next day the disabled shipswere destroyed, that they might not be retarded in their retreat. They were pursued as far as Rye; an English ship of seventy guns beingstranded near Winchelsea, was set on fire and deserted by the captain'scommand. A Dutch ship of sixty-four guns met with the same accident, andsome French frigates attempted to burn her; but the captain defended herso vigorously that they were obliged to desist, and he afterwards foundmeans to carry her safe to Holland. In this engagement the English losttwo ships, two sea-captains, and about four hundred men; but the Dutchwere more unfortunate: six of their great ships were destroyed. Dickand Brackel, rear-admirals, were slain, together with a great numberof inferior officers and seamen. Torrington retreated without furtherinterruption into the mouth of the Thames; and, having taken precautionagainst 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 pretendedto believe that the French acted in concert with the malcontents of thenation; that insurrections in the different parts of the kingdom hadbeen projected by the Jacobites; and that there would be a generalrevolt in Scotland. These insinuations were circulated by the courtagents in order to justify, in the opinion of the public, the measuresthat were deemed necessary at this juncture; and they produced thedesired effect. The apprehensions thus artfully raised among the peopleinflamed their aversion to nonjurors and Jacobites. Addresses werepresented to the queen by the Cornish tinners, by the lieutenancy ofMiddlesex, and by the mayor, aldermen, and lieutenancy of London, filledwith professions of loyalty and promises of supporting their majestiesas their lawful sovereigns, against all opposition. The queen at thiscrisis exhibited remarkable proofs of courage, activity, and discretion. She issued out proper orders and directions for putting the nation in aposture 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 thelate action. He was deprived of his command, and sent prisoner tothe Tower; and commissioners were appointed to examine the particularcircumstances of his conduct. A camp was formed in the neighbourhoodof Torbay, where the French seemed to threaten a descent. Their fleet, which lay at anchor in the bay, cannonaded a small village calledTeign-mouth. About a thousand of their men landed without opposition, set fire to the place, and burned a few coasting vessels; then theyre-embarked and returned to Brest, so vain of this achievement that theyprinted a pompous account of their invasion. Some of the whig partizanspublished pamphlets and diffused reports, implying that the suspendedbishops were concerned in the conspiracy against the government; andthese arts proved so inflammatory among the common people, that theprelates thought it necessary to print a paper, in which they assertedtheir innocence in the most solemn protestations. The court seems tohave harboured no suspicion against them, otherwise they would not haveescaped imprisonment. The queen issued a proclamation for apprehendingthe earls of Litchfield, Aylesbury, and Castlemain; viscount Preston; thelords Montgomery and Bellasis; sir Edward Hales, sir Robert Tharold, sirRobert Hamilton, sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, colonel Edward Sackville, and some other officers. These were accused of having conspired withother disaffected persons to disturb and destroy the government, and ofa design to concur with her majesty's enemies in the intended invasion. The earl of Torrington continued a prisoner in the Tower till nextsession, when he was brought into the house of commons and made a speechin his own defence. His case produced long debates in the upper house, where the form of his commitment was judged illegal: at length hewas tried by a court-martial appointed by the commissioners of theadmiralty, though not before an act had passed, declaring the power ofa lord high-admiral vested in those commissioners. The president of thecourt was sir Ralph Délavai, who had acted as vice-admiral of the bluein the engagement. The earl was acquitted, but the king dismissed himfrom the service; and the Dutch exclaimed against the partiality of hisjudges. PROGRESS OF WILLIAM IN IRELAND. William is said to have intercepted all the papers of his father-in-lawand Tyrconnel, and to have learned from them not only the designprojected by the French to burn the English transports, but likewise theundertaking of one Jones, who engaged to assassinate king William. Nosuch attempt however was made, and in all probability the whole reportwas a fiction, calculated to throw an odium on James' character. On theninth day of July, William detached general Douglas with a considerablebody of horse and foot towards Athlone, while he himself, having leftTrelawny to command at Dublin, advanced with the rest of his army toInchiquin in his way to Kilkenny. Colonel Grace, the governor of Athlonefor king James, being summoned to surrender, fired a pistol at thetrumpeter, saying, "These are my terms. " Then Douglas resolved toundertake the siege of the place, which was naturally very strong, anddefended by a resolute garrison. An inconsiderable breach was made, whenDouglas, receiving intelligence that Sarsfield was on his march to therelief of the besieged, abandoned the enterprise after having lost abovefour hundred men in the attempt. The king continued his march to thewestward; and, by dint of severe examples, established such order anddiscipline in his army, that the peasants were secure from the leastviolence. At Carlow he detached the duke of Ormond to take possession ofKilkenny, where that nobleman regaled him in his own castle, whichthe 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 outwith their arms and baggage, and being conducted to Mallow. The fort ofDuncannon was surrendered on the same terms. Here the lord Dover and thelord George Howard were admitted to the benefit of the king's mercy andprotection. HE INVESTS LIMERICK; IS OBLIGED TO RAISE THE SIEGE. On the first day of August, William being at Chapel-Izard, published asecond declaration of mercy, confirming the former, and even extendingit to persons of superior rank and station, whether natives orforeigners, provided they would, by the twenty-fifth day of the month, lay down their arms and submit to certain conditions. This offer ofindemnity produced very little effect, for the Irish were generallygoverned by their priests, and the news of the victory which the Frenchfleet had obtained over the English and Dutch, was circulated with suchexaggerations as elevated their spirits, and effaced all thoughts ofsubmission. The king had returned to Dublin with a view to embark forEngland, but receiving notice that the designs of his domestic enemieswere discovered and frustrated, that the fleet was repaired, and theFrench navy retired to Brest, he postponed his voyage and resolved toreduce Limerick; in which Monsieur Boisseleau commanded as governor, andthe duke of Berwick and colonel Sarsfield acted as inferior officers. On the ninth day of August, the king having called in his detachment andadvanced into the neighbourhood of the place, summoned the commander todeliver the town; and Boisseleau answered, that he imagined the best wayto gain the good opinion of the prince of Orange, would be a vigorousdefence of the town which his majesty had committed to his charge. Before the place was fully invested, colonel Sarsfield, with a body ofhorse and dragoons, passed the Shannon in the night, intercepted theking's train of artillery on its way to the camp, routed the troops thatguarded it, disabled the cannon, destroyed the carriages, waggons, andammunition, and returned in safety to Limerick. Notwithstanding thisdisaster, the trenches were opened on the seventeenth day of the month, and a battery was raised with some cannon brought from Waterford. Thesiege was carried on with vigour, and the place defended with greatresolution. At length the king ordered his troops to make a lodgment inthe covered way or counterscarp, which was accordingly assaulted withgreat fury; but the assailants met with such a warm reception from thebesieged, that they were repulsed with the loss of twelve hundred meneither killed on the spot or mortally wounded. This disappointment, concurring with the badness of the weather, which became rainy andunwholesome, induced the king to renounce his undertaking. The heavybaggage and cannon being sent away, the army decamped and marchedtowards Clonmel. William having constituted the lord Sydney and ThomasConingsby lords justices of Ireland, and left the command of the armywith count Solmes, embarked at Duncannon with prince George of Denmarkon the fifth of September, and next day arrived in King road, nearBristol, from whence he repaired to Windsor. CORK AND KINSALE REDUCED. About the latter end of this month the earl of Marlborough arrived inIreland with five thousand English troops, to attack Cork and Kinsale inconjunction with a detachment from the great army, according to a schemehe had proposed to king William. Having landed his soldiers without muchopposition in the neighbourhood of Cork, he was joined by five thousandmen under the prince of Wirtemberg, between whom and the earl a disputearose about the command; but this was compromised by the interpositionof La Mellionere. The place being invested, and the batteries raised, the besiegers proceeded with such rapidity that a breach was sooneffected. Colonel Mackillicut the governor demanded a parley, andhostages were exchanged; but he rejected the conditions that wereoffered, and hostilities recommenced with redoubled vigour. The dukeof Grafton, who served on this occasion as a volunteer, was mortallywounded in one of the attacks, and died regretted as a youth ofpromising talents. Preparations being made for a general assault, the besieged thought proper to capitulate, and surrendered themselvesprisoners of war. Besides the governor and colonel Bicaut, the victorfound the earls of Clancarty and Tyrone among the individuals ofthe garrison. Marlborough having taken possession of Cork, detachedbrigadier Villiers with a body of horse and dragoons to summon the townand 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 breachwas practicable, and then obtained an honourable capitulation. Thesemaritime places being reduced, all communication between France andthe enemy on this side of the island was cut off, and the Irishwere confined to Ulster, where they could not subsist without greatdifficulty. The earl of Marlborough having finished this expedition inthirty days, returned with his prisoners to England, where the fame ofthis exploit added greatly to his reputation. THE FRENCH FORCES QUIT IRELAND. During these transactions count de Lausan, commander of the Frenchauxiliaries in Ireland, lay inactive in the neighbourhood of Galway, andtransmitted such a lamentable account of his situation to the court ofFrance, that transports were sent over to bring home the French forces. In these he embarked with his troops, and the command of the Irishforces devolved to the duke of Berwick, though it was afterwardstransferred to M. St. Ruth. Lausan was disgraced at Versailles forhaving deserted the cause before it was desperate: Tyrconnel, whoaccompanied him in his voyage, solicited the French court for a furthersupply of officers, arms, clothes, and ammunition for the Irish army, which he said would continue firm to the interest of king James if thussupported. Meanwhile they formed themselves into separate bodiesof freebooters, and plundered the country, under the appellation ofrapparees: while the troops of king William either enjoyed their ease inquarters, or imitated the rapine of the enemy; so that between both thepoor people were miserably harassed. SAVOY JOINS THE CONFEDERACY. The affairs of the continent had not yet undergone any change ofimportance, except in the conduct of the duke of Savoy, who renouncedhis neutrality, engaged in an alliance with the emperor and king ofSpain; and, in a word, acceded to the grand confederacy. He had nosooner declared himself, than Catinat the French general entered histerritories at the head of eighteen thousand men, and defeated him ina pitched battle near Saluces, which immediately surrendered to theconqueror. Then he reduced Savillana, Villa Franca, with several otherplaces, pursued the duke to Carignan, surprised Suza, and distributedhis forces in winter quarters, partly in Provence and partly in theduchy of Savoy, which St. Ruth had lately reduced under the dominionof France. The duke finding himself disappointed in the succours heexpected from the emperor and the king of Spain, demanded assistance ofthe states-general and king William: to this last he sent an ambassador, to congratulate him upon his accession to the throne of England. Theconfederates in their general congress at the Hague, had agreed thatthe army of the states under prince Waldeck should oppose the forcesof France, commanded by the duke of Luxembourg in Flanders; while theelector of Brandenburgh should observe the marquis de Boufflers onthe Moselle: but before the troops of Brandenburgh could be assembled, Boufflers encamped between the Sambre and the Mouse, and maintained afree communication with Luxembourg. PRINCE WALDECK DEFEATED. Prince Waldeck understanding that this general intended to crossthe Sambre between Namur and Charleroy, in order to lay the Spanishterritories under contribution, decamped from the river Piéton, anddetached the count of Berlo with a great body of horse to observethe motions of the enemy. He was encountered by the French army nearFleuras, and slain: and his troops, though supported by two otherdetachments, were hardly able to rejoin the main body, which continuedall night in order of battle. Next day they were attacked by the French, who were greatly superior to them in number: after a very obstinateengagement the allies gave way, leaving about five thousand men deadupon the field of battle. The enemy took about four thousand prisoners, and the greatest part of their artillery; but the victory was dearlybought. The Dutch infantry fought with surprising resolution andsuccess. The duke of Luxembourg owned with surprise, that they hadsurpassed the Spanish foot at the battle of Rocroy. "Prince Waldeck, said he, ought always to remember the French horse; and I shall neverforget the Dutch infantry. " The Dutch general exerted himself withsuch activity, that the French derived very little advantage from theirvictory. The prince being reinforced with the five English regiments, nine thousand Hanoverians, ten thousand from the bishopric of Liege andHolland, joined the elector of Brandenburgh; so that the confederatearmy amounted to five-and-fifty thousand men, and they marched bythe way of Genap to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. They were now superior toLuxembourg, who thought proper to fortify his camp, that he might notbe obliged to fight except with considerable advantage. Nevertheless, prince Waldeck would have attacked him in his intrenchments, had he notbeen | prohibited from hazarding another engagement by an expressorder of the states-general; and when this restriction was removed, theelector would not venture a battle. ARCHDUKE JOSEPH ELECTED KING. By this time the emperor's son Joseph was by the electoral collegechosen king of the Romans; but his interest sustained a rude shock inthe death of the gallant duke of Lorraine, who was suddenly seizedwith a quin-sey at a small village near Lintz, and expired, not withoutsuspicion of having fallen a sacrifice to the fears of the French king, against whom he had formerly declared war as a sovereign prince unjustlyexpelled from his territories. He possessed great military talents, andhad threatened to enter Lorraine at the head of forty thousand men, inthe course of the ensuing summer. The court of France, alarmed at thisdeclaration, is said to have had recourse to poison, for preventing theexecution of the duke's design. At his death the command of the imperialarmy was conferred upon the elector of Bavaria. This prince havingjoined the elector of Saxony, advanced against the Dauphin, who hadpassed the Rhine at Fort-Louis with a considerable army, and intended topenetrate 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, whorejected the conditions of peace he had offered, and took the fieldunder a new vizier. In the month of August, count Tekeli defeated abody of imperialists near Cronstadt, in Transylvania; then convokingthe states of that province at Albajulia, he compelled them to elect himtheir sovereign; but his reign was of short duration. Prince Louis ofBaden, having taken the command of the Austrian army, detached fourregiments into Belgrade, and advanced against Tekeli, who retired intoValachia at his approach. Meanwhile the grand vizier invested Belgrade, and carried on his attacks with surprising resolution. At length a bombfalling upon a great tower in which the powder magazine of the besiegedwas contained, the place blew up with a dreadful explosion. Seventeenhundred soldiers of the garrison were destroyed; the walls and rampartswere overthrown; the ditch was filled up, and so large a breach wasopened that the Turks entered by squadrons and battalions, cutting inpieces all that fell in their way. The fire spread from magazine tomagazine until eleven were destroyed; and in the confusion theremaining part of the garrison escaped to Peterwaradin. By this timethe imperialists were in possession of Transylvania, and cantoned atCronstadt and Clausinburgh. Tekeli undertook to attack the province onone side, while a body of Turks should invade it on the other: theselast were totally dispersed by prince Louis of Baden; but princeAugustus of Hanover, whom he had detached against the count, wasslain in a narrow defile, and his troops were obliged to retreat withprecipitation. Tekeli however did not improve this advantage: beingapprized of the fate of his allies, and afraid of seeing his retreat cutoff 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 ofthe members on the second day of October, both houses met accordingly, and he opened the session with a speech to the usual purport. Hementioned what he had done towards the reduction of Ireland; commendedthe behaviour of the troops; told them the supplies were not equal tothe necessary expense; represented the danger to which the nation wouldbe exposed unless the war should be prosecuted with vigour; conjuredthem to clear his revenue, which was mortgaged for the payment of formerdebts, and enable him to pay off the arrears of the army; assured themthat the success of the confederacy abroad would depend upon the vigourand dispatch of their proceedings; expressed his resentment againstthose who had been guilty of misconduct in the management of the fleet;recommended unanimity and expedition; and declared, that whoever shouldattempt to divert their attention from those subjects of importancewhich he had proposed, could neither be a friend to him nor awell-wisher to his country. The late attempt of the French upon thecoast of England, the rumours of a conspiracy by the Jacobites, the personal valour which William had displayed in Ireland, and thepusillanimous behavour of James, concurred in warming the resentment ofthe nation against the adherents of the late king, and in raising atide of loyalty in favour of the new government. Both houses presentedseparate addresses of congratulation to the king and queen, upon hiscourage and conduct in the field, and her fortitude and sagacity atthe helm in times of danger and disquiet. The commons, pursuant to anestimate laid before them of the next year's expenses, voted a supply offour millions for the maintenance of the army and navy, and settled thefunds for that purpose. COMMONS COMPLY WITH THE KING'S DEMANDS. They proposed to raise one million by the sale of forfeited estates inIreland: they resolved that a bill should be brought in for confiscatingthose estates, with a clause, empowering the king to bestow a third partof them on those who had served in the war, as well as to grant sucharticles and capitulations to those who were in arms, as he should thinkproper. This clause was rejected; and a great number of petitions wereoffered against the bill, by creditors and heirs who had continuedfaithful to the government. These were supposed to have been suggestedby the court, in order to retard the progress of the bill; forthe estates had been already promised to the king's favourites:nevertheless, the bill passed the lower house, and was sent up to thelords, among whom it was purposely delayed by the influence of theministry. It was at this juncture that lord Torrington was tried andacquitted, very much to the dissatisfaction of the king, who not onlydismissed him from the service, but even forbade him to appear in hispresence. When William came to the house of lords to give the royalassent to a bill for doubling the excise, he told the parliamentthat the posture of affairs required his presence at the Hague; that, therefore, they ought to lose no time in perfecting such other suppliesas were still necessary for the maintenance of the army and navy; andhe reminded them of making some provision for the expense of the civilgovernment. Two bills were accordingly passed for granting to theirmajesties the duties of goods imported, for five years; and these, together with the mutiny-bill, received the royal assent: upon whichoccasion the king observed, that if some annual provision could be madefor augmenting the navy, it would greatly conduce to the honourand safety of the nation. In consequence of this hint, they voted aconsiderable supply for building additional ships of war, * and proceededwith such alacrity and expedition, as even seemed to anticipate theking's desires. This liberality and dispatch were in a great measureowing to the management of lord Godolphin, who was now placed at thehead of the treasury, and sir John Somers, the solicitor-general. The place of secretary of state, which had remained vacant since theresignation of the earl of Shrewsbury, was now filled with lord Sidney;and sir Charles Porter was appointed one of the justices of Ireland inthe 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_. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } PETITION OF THE TORIES. Notwithstanding the act for reversing the proceedings against the citycharter, the whigs had made shift to keep possession of the magistracy:Pilkington continued mayor, and Eobinson retained the office ofchamberlain. The tories of the city, presuming upon their late services, presented a petition to the house of commons, complaining, That theintent of the late act of parliament, for reversing the judgment on thequo warranto, was frustrated by some doubtful expression; so that theold aldermen elected by commission under the late king's great sealstill acted by virtue of that authority: that sir Thomas Pilkingtonwas not duly returned as mayor by the common-hall: and, that he andthe aldermen had imposed Mr. Leonard Eobinson upon them as chamberlain, though another person was duly elected into that office: that diversmembers of the common-council were illegally excluded, and others, dulyelected, were refused admittance. They specified other grievances, andpetitioned for relief. Pilkington and his associates undertook to provethat those allegations were either false or frivolous; and presented thepetition as a contrivance of the Jacobites to disturb the peace of thecity, that the supply might be retarded and the government distressed. In the late panic which overspread the nation, the whigs had appearedto be the monied men, and subscribed largely for the security of thesettlement they had made, while the tories kept aloof with a suspiciouscaution. For this reason the court now interposed its influence in sucha 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 thetory interest in the ministry, and had acquired great credit with theking and queen, now fell under the displeasure of the opposite faction:and they resolved if possible to revive his old impeachment. The earl ofShrewsbury, and thirteen other leading men, had engaged in this design. A committee of lords was appointed to examine precedents, and inquirewhether impeachments continued in statu quo from parliament toparliament. Several such precedents were reported; and violentdebates ensued: but the marquis eluded the vengeance of his enemies inconsequence of the following question: "Whether the earls of Salisburyand Peterborough, who had been impeached in the former parliament forbeing reconciled to the church of Rome, shall be discharged from theirbail?" The house resolved in the affirmative, and several lordsentered a protest. The commons having finished a bill for appointingcommissioners to take and state the public accounts, and having chosenthe commissioners from among their own members, sent it up to the houseof lords. There the earl of Rochester moved, That they should add someof their number to those of the commons: they accordingly chose an equalnumber 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 witha speech, in which he thanked them for the repeated instances they hadexhibited 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 lordchief baron Atkins signified his majesty's pleasure, that the two housesshould 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 Margateon the sixth day of January; but the ship in which he proposed toembark being detained by an easterly wind and hard frost, he returned toKensington. On the sixteenth, however, he embarked at Gravesend with anumerous retinue, and set sail for Holland under convoy of twelveships of war commanded by admiral Rooke. Next day, being informed by afisherman that he was within a league and a half of Goree, he quittedthe yacht and went into an open boat, attended by the duke ofOrmond, the earls of Devonshire, Dorset, Portland, and Monmouth, withAuverquerque and Zuylestcin, Instead of landing immediately, they lostsight of the fleet, and, night coming on, were exposed in very severeweather to the danger of the enemy and the sea, which ran very highfor eighteen hours, during which the king and all his attendants weredrenched with sea-water. When the sailors expressed their apprehensionsof 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 somerefreshment in a fisherman's hut; then he committed himself to theboat again, and was conveyed to the shore in the neighbourhood ofMasslandsluys. A deputation of the states received him at Hounslardyke:about six in the evening he arrived at the Hague, where he wasimmediately 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 entrywith surprising magnificence; and the Dutch celebrated his arrival withbonfires, illuminations, and other marks of tumultuous joy. He assistedat their different assemblies; informed them of his successes in Englandand Ireland; and assured them of his constant zeal and affection for hisnative country. HE ASSISTS AT A CONGRESS. At a solemn congress of the confederate princes, he represented in aset speech the dangers to which they were exposed from the powerand ambition of France; and the necessity of acting with vigour anddispatch. He declared he would spare neither his credit, forces, norperson, in concurring with their measures; and that in the spring hewould come at the head of his troops to fulfil his engagements. Theyforthwith resolved to employ two hundred and twenty-two thousand menagainst France in the ensuing campaign. The proportions of the differentprinces and states were regulated; and the king of England agreed tofurnish twenty thousand. He supplied the duke of Savoy so liberally, that his affairs soon assumed a more promising aspect. The plan ofoperations was settled, and they transacted their affairs with suchharmony that no dispute interrupted their deliberations. In thebeginning of March, immediately after the congress broke up, the siegeof Mons was undertaken by the French king in person, accompanied by theDauphin, the dukes of Orleans and Chartres. The garrison consistedof about six thousand men, commanded by the prince of Bergue: but thebesiegers carried on their works with such rapidity as they couldnot withstand. King William no sooner understood that the placewas invested, than he ordered prince Waldeck to assemble the army, determined to march against the enemy in person. Fifty thousand men weresoon collected at Halle, near Brussels: but when he went thither, he found the Spaniards had neglected to provide carriages, and othernecessaries for the expedition. Meanwhile, the burghers of Mons, seeingtheir town in danger of being utterly destroyed by the bombs and cannonof the enemy, pressed the governor to capitulate, and even threatened tointroduce the besiegers: so that he was forced to comply, and obtainedvery honourable conditions. William, being apprized of this event, returned to the Hague, embarked for England, and arrived at Whitehall onthe 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 thelatter end of December, the master of a vessel who lived at Barking, inEssex, informed the marquis of Carmarthen that his wife had let out oneof his boats to carry over some persons to France, and that they wouldembark on the thirteenth day of the month. This intelligence beingcommunicated to the king and council, an order was sent to captainBillop to watch the motion of the vessel and secure the passengers. He accordingly boarded her at Gravesend, and found in the hold lordPreston, Mr. Ashton, a servant of the late queen, and one Elliot. He likewise seized a bundle of papers, some of which were scarceintelligible; among the rest, two letters supposed to be written byTurner, bishop of Ely, to king James and his queen, under fictitiousnames. The whole amounted to an invitation to the French king to assistking James in re-ascending the throne upon certain conditions, whileWilliam should be absent from the kingdom; but the scheme was ill laid, and countenanced but by a very few persons of consideration, among whomthe chiefs were the earl of Clarendon, the bishop of Ely, lord Preston, his brother Mr. Graham, and Penn the famous quaker. Notwithstandingthe outcries which had been made against the severities of the lategovernment, Preston and his accomplice Ashton were tried at the OldBailey for compassing the death of their majesties king William andqueen Mary; and their trials were hurried on without any regard totheir petitions for delay. Lord Preston alleged in his defence that thetreasons charged upon him were not committed in the county of Middlesex, as laid in the indictment; that none of the witnesses declared he hadany concern in hiring the vessel; that the papers were not found uponhim; that there ought to be two credible witnesses to every fact, whereas the whole proof against him rested on similitude of hands andmere supposition. He was, nevertheless, found guilty. Ashton behavedwith great intrepidity and composure. He owned his purpose of going toFrance 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 ofconsequence which he had left there depending, as well as with a viewto recover a considerable sum of money due to himself. He denied that hewas privy to the contents of the papers found upon him; he complained ofhis having been denied time to prepare for his trial; and called severalpersons to prove him a protestant of exemplary piety and irreproachablemorals. These circumstances had no weight with the court. He wasbrow-beaten by the bench, and found guilty by the jury, as he had thepapers in his custody; yet there was no privity proved; and the whigparty themselves had often expressly declared, that of all sorts ofevidence that of finding papers in a person's possession is the weakest, because no man can secure himself from such danger. Ashton suffered withequal 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 theprince of Wales; denied his knowledge of the contents of the papers thatwere committed to his charge; complained of the hard measure he hadmet with from the judges and the jury, but forgave them in the sight ofheaven. This man was celebrated by the nonjurors as a martyr to loyalty;and they boldly affirmed, that his chief crime in the eyes of thegovernment was his having among his baggage an account of such evidenceas would have been convincing to all the world concerning the birthof the prince of Wales, which by a great number of people was believedsupposititious. * Lord Preston obtained a pardon; Elliot was not tried, because no evidence appeared against him; the earl of Clarendon wassent to the Tower, where he remained some months, and he was afterwardsconfined to his own house in the country--an indulgence which he owed tohis consanguinity with the queen, who was his first cousin. The bishopof Ely, Graham, and Penn, absconded; and a proclamation was issued forapprehending 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 witha plausible pretence for filling up the vacant bishoprics. The deprivedbishops had been given to understand, that an act of parliament mightbe obtained to excuse them from taking the oaths, provided they wouldperform 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 uponDr. Tillotson, * one of the most learned, moderate, and virtuousecclesiastics of the age, who did not accept of this promotion withoutgreat reluctance, because he foresaw that he should be exposed to theslander and malevolence of that party which espoused the cause of hispredecessor. The other vacant Sees were given to divines of unblemishedcharacter; and the public in general seemed very well satisfied withthis exertion of the king's supremacy. The deprived bishops at firstaffected all the meekness of resignation. They remembered thoseshouts of popular approbation by which they had been animated in thepersecution they suffered under the late government; and they hoped thesame cordial would support them in their present affliction; but findingthe nation cold in their concern, they determined to warm it by argumentand declamation. The press groaned with the efforts of their learningand resentment, and every essay was answered by their opponents. Thenonjurors affirmed that Christianity was a doctrine of the cross;that no pretence whatever could justify an insurrection against thesovereign; that the primitive christians thought it their indispensableduty to be passive under every invasion of their rights; and thatnon-resistance was the doctrine of the English church, confirmed by allthe sanctions that could be derived from the laws of God and man. The other party not only supported the natural rights of mankind, andexplained the use that might be made of the doctrine of non-resistancein exciting fresh commotions, but they also argued that if passiveobedience was right in any instance, it was conclusively so with regardto the present government; for the obedience required by scripture wasindiscriminate. "The powers that be are ordained of God--let every soulbe subject to the higher powers. " From these texts they inferred thatthe new oaths ought to be taken without scruple, and that those whorefused them concealed party under the cloak of conscience. On the otherhand, the fallacy and treachery of this argument were demonstrated. Theysaid, it levelled all distinctions of justice and duty; that those whotaught such doctrines attached themselves solely to possession, howeverunjustly acquired; that if twenty different usurpers should succeed oneanother, they would recognize the last, notwithstanding the allegiancethey had so solemnly sworn to his predecessor, like the fawning spanielthat followed the thief who mounted his master's horse afterhaving murdered the right owner. They also denied the justice of alay-deprivation, and with respect to church government started tire samedistinctions "_De jure and de facto_" which they had formerly made inthe civil administration. They had even recourse to all the bitternessof invective against Tillotson and the new bishops, whom they reviled asintruders and usurpers; their acrimony was chiefly directed against Dr. Sherlock, who had been one of the most violent sticklers against therevolution, but thought proper to take the oaths upon the retreatof king James from Ireland. They branded him as an apostate who hadbetrayed his cause, and published a review of his whole conduct, which proved a severe satire upon his character. Their attacks uponindividuals were mingled with their vengeance against the government;and indeed the great aim of their divines, as well as of theirpoliticians, was to sap the foundation of the new settlement. In orderto alienate the minds of the people from the interests of the reigningprince, they ridiculed his character; inveighed against his measures;they accused him of sacrificing the concerns of England to the advantageof his native country; and drew invidious comparisons between thewealth, the trade, the taxes, of the last and of the present reign. Tofrustrate these efforts of the malcontents, the court employedtheir engines to answer and recriminate; all sorts of informers wereencouraged and caressed; in a proclamation issued against papists andother 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 theprofessed enemies of those very arts and practices which had enabledthem 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. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } AFFAIRS-OF SCOTLAND. The presbyterians in Scotland acted with such folly, violence, andtyranny, as rendered them equally odious and contemptible. Thetransactions in their general assembly were carried on with suchpeevishness, partiality, and injustice, that the king dissolved it byan act of state, and convoked another for the month of November in thefollowing year. The episcopal party promised to enter heartily into theinterests of the new government, to keep the highlanders quiet, andinduce the clergy to acknowledge and serve king William, provided hewould balance the power of Melvil and his partisans in such a manner aswould secure them from violence and oppression; provided the episcopalministers should be permitted to perform their functions among thosepeople by whom they were beloved; and' that such of them as were willingto mix with the presbyterians in their judicatories should be admittedwithout any severe imposition in point of opinion. The king, who wasextremely disgusted at the presbyterians, relished the proposal, andyoung Dalrymple, son of lord Stair, was appointed joint secretaryof state with Melvil. He undertook to bring over the majority of theJacobites, and a great number of them took the oaths; but at the sametime they maintained a correspondence with the court of St. Germains, bythe connivance of which they submitted to William that they might be ina condition to serve James the more effectually. The Scottish parliamentwas adjourned by proclamation to the sixteenth day of September. Precautions were taken to prevent any dangerous communication with thecontinent; a committee was appointed to put the kingdom in a posture ofdefence; to exercise the powers of the regency in securing the enemiesof the government; and the earl of Home, with sir Peter Fraser and sirÆneas Macpherson, were apprehended and imprisoned. CAMPAIGN IN FLANDERS. The king having settled the operations of the ensuing campaign inIreland, where general Ginckel exercised the supreme command, mannedhis fleet by dint of pressing sailors, to the incredible annoyance ofcommerce; then leaving the queen as before at the helm of government inEngland, he returned to Holland accompanied by lord Sidney, secretaryof state, the earls of Marlborough and Portland, and began to makepreparations for taking the field in person. On the thirtieth day ofMay, the duke of Luxembourg having passed the Scheld at the head of alarge army, took possession of Halle, and gave it up to plunder in sightof the confederates, who were obliged to throw up intrenchments fortheir preservation. At the same time the marquis de Boufflers, with aconsiderable body of forces, intrenched himself before Liege with a viewto bombard that city. In the beginning of June, king William took uponhimself the command of the allied army, by this time reinforced in sucha manner as to be superior to the enemy. He forthwith detached the countde Tilly with ten thousand men to the relief of Liege, which was alreadyreduced to ruins and desolation by the bombs, bullets, and repeatedattacks of Boufflers, who now thought proper to retreat to Dinant. Tillyhaving thus raised the siege, and thrown a body of troops into Huy, rejoined the confederate army, which had been augmented ever since hisdeparture with six thousand men from Brandenburgh, and ten thousandHessians commanded by the landgrave in person. Such was the vigilance ofLuxembourg, that William could not avail himself of his superiority. In vain he exhausted his invention in marches, counter-marches, andstratagems, to bring on a general engagement; the French marshal avoidedit with such dexterity as baffled all his endeavours. In the course ofthis campaign the two armies twice confronted each other; but they weresituated in such a manner that neither could begin the attack without amanifest disadvantage. While the king lay encamped at Court-sur-heure, a soldier, corrupted by the enemy, set fire to the fusees of severalbombs, the explosion of which might have blown up the whole magazineand produced infinite confusion in the army, had not the mischief beenprevented by the courage of the men who guarded the artillery; evenwhile the fusees were burning, they disengaged the waggons fromthe line, and overturned them down the side of a hill, so that thecommunication of the fire was intercepted. The person who made thistreacherous attempt being discovered, owned he had been employed forthis purpose by the duke of Luxembourg. He was tried by a court-martialand suffered the death of a traitor. Such perfidious practices not onlyfix an indelible share of infamy on the French general, but prove howmuch the capacity of William was dreaded by his enemies. King William, quitting Court-sur-heure, encamped upon the plain of St. Girard, wherehe remained till the fourth day of September, consuming the forage andexhausting the country. Then he passed the Sambre near Jemeppe, whilethe French crossed it at La Busiere, and both armies marched towardsEnghien. The enemy, perceiving the confederates were at their heels, proceeded to Gramont, passed the Lender, and took possession of astrong camp between Aeth and Oudenarde; William followed the same route, and encamped between Aeth and Leuse. While he continued in his post, theHessian forces and those of Liege, amounting to about eighteen thousandmen, separated from the army and passed the Meuse at Naimir; then theking returned to the Hague, leaving the command to prince Waldeck, whoforthwith removed to Leuse, and on the twentieth day of the month beganhis march to Cambron. Luxembourg, who watched his motions with a curiouseye, found means to attack him in his retreat so suddenly that his rearwas surprised and defeated, though the French were at last obliged toretire. The prince continued his route to Cambron, and in a little timeboth armies retired into winter quarters. In the meantime, the Duke deNoailles 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 theFrench; but the season was far advanced before they were in a conditionto take the field. The emperor and Spain had undertaken to furnishtroops to join the duke of Savoy; and the maritime powers contributedtheir proportion in money. The elector of Bavaria was nominated to thesupreme command of the imperial forces in that country; the marquisde Leganez, governor of the Milanese, acted as trustee for the Spanishmonarch; duke Schomberg, son of that groat general who lost his lifeat the Boyne, lately created duke of Leinster, managed the interest ofWilliam, as king of England and stadtholder, and commanded a body of theVaudois paid by Great Britain. Before the German auxiliaries arrived, the French had made great progress in their conquests. Catinat besiegedand took Villa-Franca, Nice, and some other fortifications; then hereduced Villana and Carmagnola, and detached the marquis de Feuquieresto invest Coni, a strong fortress garrisoned by the Vaudois and Frenchrefugees. The duke of Savoy was now reduced to the brink of ruin. He sawalmost all his places of strength in the possession of the enemy; Coniwas besieged; and La Hoguette, another French general, had forced thepasses of the valley of Aoste, so that he had free admission into theVerceillois, and the frontiers of the Milanese. Turin was threatenedwith a bombardment; the people were dispirited and clamorous, and theirsovereign lay with his little army encamped on the hill of Montcallier, from whence he beheld his towns taken, and his palace of Rivolidestroyed. Duke Schomberg exhorted him to act on the offensive, and givebattle to Catinat while that officer's army was weakened by detachments, and prince Eugene* supported his remonstrance; but this proposal wasvehemently opposed by the marquis de Leganez, who foresaw that if theduke should be defeated, the French would penetrate into the territoriesof Milan. The relief of Coni, however, was undertaken by princeEugene, who began his march for that place with a convoy guarded bytwo-and-twenty hundred horse; at Magliano he was reinforced by fivethousand militia; Bulonde, who commanded at the siege, no sooner heardof his approach than he retired with the utmost precipitation, leavingbehind some pieces of cannon, mortars, bombs, arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, utensils, with all his sick and wounded. When he joinedCatinat he was immediately put under arrest, and afterwards cashieredwith disgrace. Hoguette abandoned the valley of Aoste; Feuquieres wassent with a detachment to change the garrison of Casal; and Catinatretired 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 ministerof Louis, so deeply, that he could not help shedding tears when hecommunicated the event to his master, who told him with great composurethat he was spoiled by good fortune. But the retreat of the Frenchfrom Piedmont had a still greater influence over the resolutions of theconclave at Rome, then sitting for the election of a new pope inthe room of Alexander VIII. , who died in the beginning of February. Notwithstanding the power and intrigues of the French faction headed bycardinal d'Etrées, the affairs of Piedmont had no sooner taken this turnthan the Italians joined the Spanish and Imperial interest, and cardinalPignatelli, a Neapolitan, was elected pontiff. He assumed the name ofInnocent, in honour of the last pope known by that appellation, andadopted all his maxims against the French monarch. When the Germanauxiliaries arrived under the command of the elector of Bavaria, theconfederates resolved to give battle to Catinat; but he repassed the Po, and sent couriers to Versailles to solicit a reinforcement. Then princeEugene invested Carmagnola, and carried on the siege with such vigourthat in eleven days the garrison capitulated. Meanwhile the marquis deHoquincourt undertook the conquest of Montmelian, and reduced the townwithout much resistance. The castle, however, made such a vigorousdefence that Catinat marched thither in person; and, notwithstanding allhis efforts, the place held out till the second day of December, when itsurrendered on honourable conditions. THE EMPEROR'S SUCCESS AGAINST THE TURKS. This summer produced nothing of importance on the Rhine. The Frenchendeavoured to surprise Mentz, by maintaining a correspondence with oneof the emperor's commissioners; but this being discovered, their designwas frustrated. The imperial army, under the elector of Saxony, passedthe Rhine in the neighbourhood of Manheim; and the French, crossingthe same river at Philipsburgh, reduced the town of Portzheim in themarquisate of Baden-Dourlach. The execution of the scheme projectedby the emperor for this campaign, was prevented by the death of hisgeneral, the elector of Saxony, which happened on the second day ofSeptember. His affairs wore a more favourable aspect in Hungary, wherethe Turks were totally defeated by prince Louis of Baden on the banksof the Danube. The imperialists afterwards undertook the siege of GreatWaradin in Translyvania; bitt this was turned into a blockade, and theplace was not surrendered till the following spring. The Turks were sodispirited by the defeat, by which they had lost the grand vizier, thatthe emperor might have made peace upon very advantageous terms; buthis pride and ambition overshot his success. He was weak, vain, andsuperstitious; he imagined that now the war of Ireland was almostextinguished, king William, with the rest of his allies, would be ableto humble the French power, though he himself should not co-operate withheretics, whom he abhorred; and that, in the meantime, he should notonly make an entire conquest of Transylvania, but also carry hisvictorious arms to the gates of Constantinople, according to someridiculous prophecy by which his vanity had been flattered. The Spanishgovernment was become so feeble, that the ministry, rather than be atthe expense of defending the Netherlands, offered to deliver the wholecountry to king William, either as monarch of England, or stadtholder ofthe United Provinces. He declined this offer, because he knew the peoplewould never be reconciled to a protestant government; but he proposedthat the Spaniards should confer the administration of Flanders upon theelector of Bavaria, who was ambitious of signalizing his courage, and able to defend the country with his own troops and treasure. Thisproposal was relished by the court of Spain; the emperor imparted itto the elector, who accepted the office without hesitation; and he wasimmediately declared governor of the Low Countries by the council ofstate at Madrid. King William, after his return from the army, continuedsome time at the Hague settling the operations of the ensuing campaign. That affair being discussed, he embarked in the Maese, and landed inEngland on the nineteenth day of October. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } AFFAIRS OF IRELAND. Before we explain the proceedings in parliament, it will be necessary togive a detail of the late transactions in Ireland. In the beginningof the season, the French king had sent a large supply of provisions, clothes, and ammunition, for the use of the Irish at Limerick, underthe conduct of Monsieur St. Ruth, accompanied by a great number ofFrench officers furnished with commissions from king James, though St. Kuth issued all his orders in the name of Louis. Tyrconnel had arrivedin January with three frigates and nine vessels, laden with succours ofthe same nature; otherwise the Irish could not have been so long kepttogether. Nor indeed could these supplies prevent them from formingseparate and independent bands of rapparees, who plundered the country, and committed the most shocking barbarities. The lords justices, inconjunction with general Ginckel, had taken every step their prudencecould suggest to quiet the disturbances of the country, and prevent suchviolence and rapine, of which the soldiers in king William's army werenot entirely innocent. The justices had issued proclamations denouncingsevere penalties against those who should countenance or conceal suchacts of cruelty and oppression: they promised to protect all papists whoshould live quietly within a certain frontier line; and Ginckel gave thecatholic rebels to understand that he was authorized to treat with them, if they were inclined to return to their duty. Before the armies tookthe field, several skirmishes had been fought between parties; and thesehad always turned out so unfortunate to the enemy, that their spiritswere quite depressed, while the confidence of the English rose in thesame proportion. St. Euth and Tyrconnel were joined by the rapparees, and general Ginckelwas reinforced by Mackay, with those troops which had reduced thehighlanders in Scotland. Thus strengthened, he, in the beginning ofJune, marched from Mullingar to Ballymore, which was garrisoned by athousand 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, hismen laid down their arms and submitted at discretion. The fortificationsof this place being repaired and augmented, the general left a garrisonfor its defence, and advanced to Athlone, situated on the other side ofthe Shannon, and supported by the Irish army encamped almost under itswalls. The English town on the hither side of the river was takensword in hand, and the enemy broke down an arch of the bridge in theirretreat. Batteries were raised against the Irish town, and severalunsuccessful attempts were made to force the passage of the bridge, which was defended with great vigour. At length it was resolved, in acouncil of war, that a detachment should pass at a ford a little to theleft of the bridge, though the river was deep and rapid, the bottom fouland stony, and the pass guarded by a ravelin, erected for that purpose. The forlorn hope consisted of sixty grenadiers in armour, headed bycaptain Sandys and two lieutenants. They were seconded by anotherdetachment, and this was supported by six battalions of infantry. Neverwas a more desperate service, nor was ever exploit performed with morevalour and intrepidity. They passed twenty a-breast in the face of theenemy, through an incessant shower of balls, bullets, and grenades. Those who followed them took possession of the bridge, and laid planksover the broken arch. Pontoons were fixed at the same time, thatthe troops might pass in different places. The Irish were amazed, confounded, and abandoned the town in the utmost consternation; so thatin half an hour it was wholly secured by the English, who did notlose 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 thisoccasion, was created earl of Athlone. When St. Ruth was informed, by express, that the English had entered the river, he said, it wasimpossible they should pretend to take a town which he covered with hisarmy, and that he would give a thousand pistoles if they wouldattempt to force a passage. Sarsfield insisted upon the truth of theintelligence, and pressed him to send succours to the town; he ridiculedthis officer's fears, and some warm expostulation passed between them. Being at length convinced that the English were in possession of theplace, he ordered some detachments to drive them out again; but thecannon of their own works being turned against them, they found the taskimpracticable, and that very night their army decamped. St. Ruth, aftera march of ten miles, took post at Aghrim; and having, by drafts fromgarrisons, augmented his army to five-and-twenty thousand men, resolvedto hazard a decisive engagement. Ginckel, having put Athlone in a posture of defence, passed the Shannonand marched up to the enemy, determined to give them battle, though hisforces did not exceed eighteen thousand, and the Irish were posted in avery advantageous situation. St. Ruth had made an admirable disposition, and taken every precaution that military skill could suggest. His centreextended along a rising ground, uneven in many places, intersected withbanks and ditches, joined by lines of communication, and fronted by alarge bog almost impassable. His right was fortified with intrenchments, and his left secured by the castle of Aghrim. He harangued his armyin the most pathetic strain, conjuring them to exert their couragein defence of their holy religion, in the extirpation of heresy, inrecovering their ancient honours and estates, and in restoring a piousking to the throne, from whence he had been expelled by an unnaturalusurper. He employed the priests to enforce his exhortations; to assurethe 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 conveytheir souls to heaven. They are said to have sworn upon the sacramentthat they would not desert their colours, and to have received an orderthat no quarter should be given to the French heretics in the army ofthe prince of Orange. Ginckel had encamped on the Roscommon side of theriver Sue, within three miles of the enemy: after having reconnoitredtheir posture, he resolved, with the advice of a council of war, toattack them on Sunday the twelfth day of July. The necessary ordersbeing 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'clockto force the two passages, in order to possess the ground on the otherside. The enemy fought with surprising fury, and the horse were severaltimes repulsed; but at length the troops upon the right carried theirpoint 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 woulddecamp in the night, he altered his resolution and ordered the attack tobe renewed. At six o'clock in the evening the left wing of the Englishadvanced to the right of the Irish, from whom they met with such a warmand obstinate reception, that it was not without the most surprisingefforts of courage and perseverance that they at length obliged them togive ground; and even then they lost it by inches. St. Ruth, seeing themin danger of being overpowered, immediately detached succours to themfrom his centre and left wing. Mackay no sooner perceived them weakenedby these detachments, then he ordered three battalions to skirt thebog and attack them on the left, while the centre advanced through themiddle of the morass, the men wading up to the waist in mud and water. After they had reached the other side, they found themselves obligedto ascend a rugged hill fenced with hedges and ditches; and these werelined with musqeteers, supported at proper intervals with squadrons ofcavalry. They made such a desperate resistance, and fought with suchimpetuosity, that the assailants were repulsed into the middle of thebog with great loss, and St. Ruth exclaimed--"Now will I drive theEnglish to the gates of Dublin. " In this critical conjuncture Ptolemachecame 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 theirturn, and the English recovered the ground they had lost, though theyfound it impossible to improve their advantage. Mackay brought a body ofhorse and dragoons to the assistance of the left wing, and first turnedthe tide of battle in favour of the English. Major-general Rouvigny, whohad behaved with great gallantry during the whole action, advancedwith five regiments of cavalry to support the centre; when St. Kuth, perceiving his design, resolved to fall upon him in a dangerous hollowway which he was obliged to pass. For this purpose he began to descendKircommodon-hill with his whole reserve of horse; but in his way waskilled by a cannon-ball. His troops immediately halted, and his guardsretreated with his body. His fate dispirited the troops, and producedsuch confusion as Sarsfield could not remedy; for though he was nextin command, he had been at variance with St. Ruth since the affair atAthlone, and was ignorant of the plan he had concerted. Rouvigny havingpassed the hollow way without opposition, charged the enemy in flank, and bore down all before him with surprising impetuosity; the centreredoubled 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 downtheir arms. The foot fled towards a bog in their rear, and their horsetook the route by the highway to Loughneagh; both were pursued by theEnglish cavalry, who for four miles made a terrible slaughter. In thebattle, which lasted two hours, and in the pursuit, above four thousandof the enemy were slain and six hundred taken, together with all theirbaggage, tents, provisions, ammunition, and artillery, nine-and-twentypair of colours, twelve standards, and almost all the arms of theinfantry. In a word, the victory was decisive, and not above eighthundred of the English were killed upon the field of battle. Thevanquished retreated in great confusion to Limerick, where they resolvedto make a final stand in hope of receiving such succours from France aswould either enable them to retrieve their affairs, or obtain good termsfrom the court of England. There Tyrconnel died of a broken heart, after having survived his authority and reputation. He had incurred thecontempt of the French, as well as the hatred of the Irish, whom hehad advised to submit to the new government rather than totally ruinthemselves and their families. Immediately after the battle detachments were sent to reduce Portumny, Bonnachar, and Moorcastle, considerable passes on the Shannon, whichwere accordingly secured. Then Ginckel advanced to Galway, which hesummoned to surrender; but he received a defiance from lord Dillonand general D'Ussone who commanded the garrison. The trenches wereimmediately opened; a fort which commanded the approaches to the townwas taken by assault; six regiments of foot and four squadrons of horsepassed the river on pontoons, and the place being wholly invested, thegovernor thought proper to capitulate. The garrison marched out withthe honours of war, and was allowed safe conduct to Limerick. Ginckeldirected his march to the same town, which was the only post ofconsequence that now held out for king James. Within four miles of theplace he halted until the heavy cannon could be brought from Athlone. Hearing that Luttrel had been seized by the French general D'Ussone, andsentenced to be shot for having proposed to surrender, he sent a trumpetto tell the commander that if any person should be put to death for sucha proposal, he would make retaliation on the Irish prisoners. On thetwenty-fifth day of August the enemy were driven from all their advancedposts: captain Cole, with a squadron of ships, sailed up the Shannon, and his frigates anchored in sight of the town. On the twenty-sixth dayof the month the batteries were opened, and a line of contra-vallationwas 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 regimentsof their dragoons. On the fifth day of September, after the town hadbeen almost laid in ruins by the bombs, and large breaches made in thewails by the battering cannon, the guns were dismounted, the out-fortsevacuated, and such other motions made as indicated a resolution toabandon the siege. The enemy expressed their joy in loud acclamations;but this was of short continuance. In the night the besiegers began tothrow a bridge of pontoons over the river about a mile higher up thanthe camp, and this work was finished before morning. A considerable bodyof horse and foot had passed when the alarm was given to the enemy, whowere seized with such consternation, that they threw down their arms andbetook themselves to flight, leaving behind them their tents, baggage, two pieces of cannon, and one standard. The bridge was immediatelyremoved nearer the town and fortified; all the fords and passes weresecured, and the batteries continued firing incessantly till thetwenty-second day of the month, when Ginckel passed over with a divisionof the army and fourteen pieces of cannon. About four in the afternoonthe grenadiers attacked the forts that commanded Thomond-bridge, andcarried them sword in hand after an obstinate resistance. The garrisonhad made a sally from the town to support them; and this detachment wasdriven back with such precipitation, that the French officer on commandin that quarter, fearing the English would enter pell-mell with thefugitives, ordered the bridge to be drawn up, leaving his own men to thefury of a victorious enemy. Six hundred were killed, two hundred takenprisoners, including many officers, and a great number were drowned inthe 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, determinedto capitulate. General Sarsfield and colonel Wahop signified theirresolution to Scrvenmore and Rouvigny; hostages were exchanged; anegotiation was immediately begun, and hostilities ceased on both sidesof the river. The lords justices arrived in the camp on the first day ofOctober, and on the fourth the capitulation was executed, extending toall 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 inthe exercise of religion as was consistent with the laws of Ireland, andconformable with that which they possessed in the reign of Charles II. All persons whatever were entitled to the protection of these laws, andrestored to the possession of their estates, privileges, and immunities, upon their submitting to the present government, and taking the oathof allegiance to their majesties king William and queen Mary, exceptinghowever certain persons who were forfeited or exiled. This article evenextended to all merchants of Limerick, or any other garrison possessedby the Irish, who happened to be abroad, and had not borne arms sincethe declaration in the first year of the present reign, provided theyshould return within the term of eight months. All the persons comprisedin this and the forgoing article were indulged with a general pardon ofall 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 lordsjustices promised to use their best endeavours towards the reversalof such attainders and outlawries as had passed against any of themin parliament. In order to allay the violence of party and extinguishprivate animosities, it was agreed that no person should be sued orimpleaded on either side for any trespass, or made accountable for therents, tenements, lands, or houses he had received or enjoyed since thebeginning of the war. Every nobleman and gentleman comprised in thesearticles was authorized to keep a sword, a case of pistols, and a gun, for his defence or amusement. The inhabitants of Limerick and othergarrisons were permitted to remove their goods and chattels, withoutsearch, visitation, or payment of duty. The lords justices promisedto use their best endeavours that all persons comprehended in thiscapitulation should for eight months be protected from all arrestsand executions for debt or damage; they undertook that their majestiesshould ratify these articles within the space of eight months, anduse their endeavours that they might be ratified and confirmed inparliament. The subsequent article was calculated to indemnify colonelJohn Brown, whose estate and effects had been seized for the use of theIrish army by Tyrconnel and Sarsfield, which last had been created LordLucan by king James, and was now mentioned by that title. All personswere indulged with free leave to remove with their families and effectsto any other country except England and Scotland. All officers andsoldiers in the service of king James, comprehending even the rapparees, willing to go beyond sea, were at liberty to inarch in bodies to theplaces of embarkation, to be conveyed to the continent with the Frenchofficers and troops. They were furnished with passports, convoys, andcarriages by land and water; and general Gluckel engaged to provideseventy ships, if necessary, for their transportation, with two men ofwar for the accommodation of their officers, and to serve as a convoy tothe fleet. It was stipulated, That the provisions and forage for theirsubsistence should be paid for on their arrival in France; that hostagesshould be given for this indemnification, as well as for the return ofthe ships; that all the garrisons should march out of their respectivetowns and fortresses with the honours of war; that the Irish should haveliberty to transport nine hundred horses; that those who should chooseto stay behind might dispose of themselves according to their own fancy, after having surrendered their arms to such commissioners as the generalshould appoint; that all prisoners of war should be set at liberty onboth sides; that the general should provide two vessels to carry overtwo different persons to France with intimation of this treaty; and thatnone of those who were willing to quit the kingdom should be detained onaccount of debt, or any other pretence. --This was the substance of thefamous treaty of Limerick, which the Irish Roman catholics consideredas the great charter of their civil and religious liberties. The town ofLimerick was surrendered to Ginckel; but both sides agreed that the twoarmies should intrench themselves till the Irish could embark, that nodisorders might arise from a communication. TWELVE THOUSAND IRISH CATHOLICS ARE TRANSPORTED TO FRANCE. The protestant subjects of Ireland were extremely disgusted at theseconcessions made in favour of vanquished rebels, who had exercised suchacts of cruelty and rapine. They complained, That they themselves, whohad suffered for their loyalty to king William, were neglected, andobliged to sit down with their losses; while their enemies, who hadshed so much blood in opposing his government, were indemnified bythe articles of the capitulation, and even favoured with particularindulgencies. They were dismissed with the honours of war; they weretransported at the government's expense, to fight against the English inforeign countries; an honourable provision was made for the rapparees, who were professed banditti; the Roman catholic interest in Irelandobtained the sanction of regal authority; attainders were overlooked, forfeitures annulled, pardons extended, and laws set aside, in order toeffect a pacification. Ginckel had received orders to put an end tothe war at any rate, that William might convert his whole influenceand attention to the affairs of the continent. When the articles ofcapitulation were ratified, and hostages exchanged for their being dulyexecuted, about two thousand Irish foot, and three hundred horse, begantheir march for Cork, where they proposed to take shipping for France, under the conduct of Sarsfield; but three regiments refusing to quitthe kingdom, delivered up their arms and dispersed to their formerhabitations. Those who remained at Limerick embarked on the seventh dayof November, in French transports; and sailed immediately to France, under the convoy of a French squadron which had arrived in the bay ofDangle immediately after the capitulation was signed. Twelve thousandmen chose to undergo exile from their native country rather than submitto the government of king William. When they arrived in France they werewelcomed 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 newclothed and put into quarters of refreshment. MEETING OF THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT. The reduction of Ireland being thus completed, baron Ginckel returned toEngland, where he was solemnly thanked by the house of commons forhis great services, after he had been created earl of Athlone by hismajesty. When the parliament met on the twenty-second day of October, the king in his speech insisted upon the necessity of sending a strongfleet to sea early in the season, and of maintaining a considerable armyto annoy the enemy abroad, as well as to protect the kingdom from insultand invasion; for which purposes, he said, sixty-five thousand men wouldbe barely sufficient. Each house presented an address of congratulationupon his majesty's safe return to England, and on the reduction ofIreland: they promised to assist him to the utmost of their power, in prosecuting the war with France; and, at the same time, drew upaddresses to the queen, acknowledging her prudent administration duringhis majesty's absence. Notwithstanding this appearance of cordialityand complaisance, a spirit of discontent had insinuated itself into bothhouses of parliament, and even infected great part of the nation. A great number of individuals who wished well to their country, couldnot, without anxiety and resentment, behold the interest of the nationsacrificed to foreign connexions, and the king's favour so partiallybestowed upon Dutchmen in prejudice to his English subjects. Theyobserved, that the number of forces he demanded was considerably greaterthan that of any army which had ever been paid by the public, even whenthe nation was in the most imminent danger; that instead of contributingas allies to the maintenance of the war upon the continent, they hadembarked as principals and bore the greatest part of the burden, thoughthey had the least share of the profit. They even insinuated that sucha standing army was more calculated to make the king absolute at home, than to render him formidable abroad; and the secret friends of thelate king did not fail to enforce these insinuations. They renewed theiranimadversions upon the disagreeable part of his character; they dweltupon his proud reserve, his sullen silence, his imperious disposition, and his base ingratitude, particularly to the earl of Marlborough, whomhe had dismissed from all his employments immediately after the signalexploits he had performed in Ireland. The disgrace of this noblemanwas partly ascribed to the freedom with which he had complained of theking's undervaluing his services, and partly to the intrigues of hiswife, who had gained an ascendancy over the princess Anne of Denmark, and is said to have employed her influence in fomenting a jealousybetween the two sisters. The malcontents of the whiggish faction, enraged to find their credit declining at court, joined in the crywhich the Jacobites had raised against the government. They scrupled notto say, that the arts of corruption were shamefully practised to securea majority in parliament; that the king was as tender of the prerogativeas any of his predecessors had ever been; and that he even venturedto admit Jacobites into his council, because they were known tools ofarbitrary power. These reflections alluded to the earls of Rochesterand Kanelagh, who, with sir Edward Seymour, had been lately createdprivy-counsellors. Rochester entertained very high notions of regalauthority; he proposed severity as one of the best supports ofgovernment; was clear in his understanding, violent in his temper, andincorrupt in his principles. Ranelagh was a man of parts and pleasure, who possessed the most plausible and winning address; and was capableof transacting the most important and intricate affairs, in the midst ofriot and debauchery. He had managed the revenue of Ireland in the reignof Charles II. ; he enjoyed the office of paymaster in the army of KingJames, and now maintained the same footing under the government ofWilliam and Mary. Sir Edward Seymour was the proudest commoner inEngland, and the boldest orator that ever filled the speaker's chair. Hewas intimately acquainted with the business of the house, and knew everyindividual member so exactly, that with one glance of his eye he couldprognosticate the fate of every motion. He had opposed the court withgreat acrimony, questioned the king's title, censured his conduct, andreflected 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, sixhundred and seventy-five pounds, for the use of the ensuing year: butthe establishment of funds for raising these supplies was retarded, partly by the ill-humour of the opposition, and partly by interveningaffairs that diverted the attention of the commons. Several eminentmerchants presented a petition to the house against the East-Indiacompany, charging them with manifold abuses; at the same time, acounter-petition was delivered by the company, and the affair referredto the examination of a committee appointed for that purpose. Aftera minute inquiry into the nature of the complaints, the commons votedcertain regulations with respect to the stock and the traffic;and resolved to petition his majesty, that, according to the saidregulations, the East-India company should be incorporated by charter. The committee was ordered to bring in a bill for this establishment; butdivers petitions being presented against it, and the company's answersproving unsatisfactory, the house addressed the king to dissolve it, and grant a charter to a new company. He said it was an affair of greatimportance to the trade of the kingdom; therefore, he would consider thesubject, and in a little time return a positive answer. The parliamentwas likewise amused by a pretended conspiracy of the papists inLancashire, to raise a rebellion and restore James to the throne. Several persons were seized, and some witnesses examined: but nothingappeared to justify the information. At length one Fuller, a prisonerin the king's bench, offered his evidence, and was brought to the bar ofthe house of commons, where he produced some papers. He obtained a blankpass from the king for two persons, who he said would come from thecontinent to give evidence. He was afterwards examined at his ownlodgings, where he affirmed that colonel Thomas Délavai and James Hayeswere the witnesses for whom he had procured the pass and the protection. Search was made for them according to his direction, but no such personswere found. Then the house declared Fuller a notorious impostor, cheat, and false accuser. He was, at the request of the commons, prosecuted bythe attorney-general, and sentenced to stand in the pillory; a disgracewhich he accordingly underwent. A bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason having been laidaside by the lords in the preceding session, was now again brought uponthe carpet, and passed the lower house. The design of this bill was tosecure the subject from the rigours to which he had been exposed in thelate reigns: it provided, That the prisoner should be furnished with acopy 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 ofthe crown. The lords, in their own behalf, added a clause enacting, That upon the trials of any peer or peeress, for treason or misprison oftreason, 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 shouldbe given twenty days before the trial; and that every peer so summoned, and appearing, should vote upon the occasion. The commons rejected thisamendment; and a free conference ensued. The point was argued with greatvivacity on both sides, which served only to inflame the dispute, andrender each party the more tenacious of their own opinion. After threeconferences 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 tothe lords; and without this advantage, the peers would not contribute totheir relief. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH FLEETS BAFFLED BY THE FRENCH. The next object that engrossed the attention of the lower house, was themiscarriage of the fleet during the summer's expedition. Admiral Russel, who commanded at sea, having been joined by a Dutch squadron, sailedin quest of the enemy; but as the French king had received undoubtedintelligence that the combined squadrons were superior to his navy innumber of ships and weight of metal, he ordered Tourville to avoidan engagement. This officer acted with such vigilance, caution, anddexterity, as baffled all the endeavours of Russel, who was moreoverperplexed with obscure and contradictory orders. Nevertheless, hecruised all summer either in the channel or in soundings, for theprotection of the trade, and in particular secured the homeward-boundSmyrna fleet, in which the English and Dutch had a joint concernamounting to four millions sterling. Having scoured the channel, andsailed along great part of the French coast, he returned to Torbay inthe beginning of August, and received fresh orders to put to sea again, notwithstanding his repeated remonstrances against exposing largeships to the storms that always blow about the time of the equinox. Hetherefore sailed back to soundings, where he continued cruising tillthe 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 portof Plymouth. The weather being hazy, he reached the Sound with greatdifficulty: the Coronation, a second-rate, foundered at anchor off theRam-head; the Harwich, a third-rate, bulged upon the rocks and perished;two others ran ashore, but were got off with little damage; but thewhole fleet was scattered and distressed. The nation murmured at thesupposed misconduct of the admiral, and the commons subjected him to aninquiry: but when they examined his papers, orders, and instructions, they perceived he had adhered to them with great punctuality, andthought proper to drop the prosecution out of tenderness to theministry. Then the house took into consideration some letters which hadbeen intercepted in a French ship taken by sir Ralph Delaval. Three ofthese are said to have been written by king James, and the rest sealedwith his seal. They related to the plan of an insurrection in Scotland, and in the northern parts of England: Legge, lord Dartmouth, with oneCrew, being mentioned in them as agents and abettors in the design, warrants were immediately issued against them; Crew absconded, but lordDartmouth was committed to the Tower. Lord Preston was examined touchingsome ciphers which they could not explain, and, pretending ignorance, was imprisoned in Newgate, from whence however he soon obtainedhis release. The funds for the supplies of the ensuing year beingestablished, and several acts* passed relating to domestic regulations, the king on the twenty-fourth day of February closed the session witha short speech, thanking the parliament for their demonstrations ofaffection in the liberal supplies they had granted, and communicatinghis intention of repairing speedily to the continent. Then the twohouses, at his desire, adjourned themselves to the twelfth day of April, and the parliament was afterwards prorogued to the twenty-ninth day ofMay, 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 tothe presbyterians of Scotland, and was so displeased with the conduct ofthat stubborn sect of religionists, that he thought proper to admit someprelatists into the administration. Johnston, who had been sent envoy tothe elector of Brandenburgh was recalled, and with the master of Stair, made joint secretary of Scotland; Melvil, who had declined in hisimportance, was made lord privy-seal of that kingdom; Tweedale wasconstituted lord chancellor; Crawford retained the office of presidentof the council; and Lothian was appointed high commissioner to thegeneral assembly. The parliament was adjourned to the fifteenth dayof April, because it was not yet compliant enough to be assembled withsafety; and the episcopal clergy were admitted to a share of the churchgovernment. These measures, instead of healing the divisions, servedonly to inflame the animosity of the two parties. The episcopalianstriumphed in the king's favour, and began to treat their antagonistswith insolence and scorn: the presbyterians were incensed to seetheir friends disgraced, and their enemies distinguished by the royalindulgence. They insisted upon the authority of the law, which happenedto be upon their side: they became more than ever sour, surly, andimplacable; they refused to concur with the prelatists or abate inthe least circumstances of discipline; and the assembly was dissolvedwithout any time or place assigned for the next meeting. Thepresbyterians pretended an independent right of assembling annually, even without a call from his majesty; they therefore adjournedthemselves, after having protested against the dissolution. The kingresented this measure as an insolent invasion of the prerogative, andconceived an aversion to the whole sect, who in their turn began to loseall respect for his person and government. As the highlanders were not yet totally reduced, the earl of Breadalbaneundertook to bring them over, by distributing sums of money among theirchiefs; and fifteen thousand pounds were remitted from England for thispurpose. The clans being informed of this remittance, suspected that theearl'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 thathe found his scheme impracticable. He was therefore obliged to refundthe sum he had received; and he resolved to wreak his vengeance withthe first opportunity on those who had frustrated his intention. Hewho chiefly thwarted his negotiation was Macdonald of Glencoe, whoseopposition rose from a private circumstance which ought to have hadno effect upon a treaty that regarded the public weal. Macdonald hadplundered the lands of Breadalbane during the course of hostilities; andthis nobleman insisted upon being indemnified for his losses, from theother's share of the money which he was employed to distribute. Thehighlander not only refused to acquiesce in these terms, but, by hisinfluence among the clans, defeated the whole scheme, and the earl inrevenge devoted him to destruction. King William had by proclamationoffered 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 thiswas prolonged to the close of the present year, with a denunciation ofmilitary execution against those who should hold out after the end ofDecember. Macdonald, intimidated by this declaration, repaired on thevery last day of the month to Fort-William, and desired that the oathsmight 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 forInverary, the county-town of Argyle. Though the ground was covered withsnow, and the weather intensely cold, he travelled with such diligence, that the term prescribed by the proclamation was but one day elapsedwhen he reached the place, and addressed himself to sir John Campbell, sheriff of the county, who, in consideration of his disappointment atFort-William, was prevailed upon to administer the oaths to him and hisadherents. Then they returned to their own habitations in the valleyof Glencoe, in full confidence of being protected by the government towhich 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 obedientto the laws of his country, nor live peaceably under any sovereign. Heobserved, that he had paid no regard to the proclamation, and proposedthat 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 Scottishministers; and the king, whose chief virtue was not humanity, signed awarrant for the destruction of those unhappy people, though it doesnot appear that he knew of Macdonald's submission. An order for thisbarbarous execution, signed and countersigned by his majesty's own hand, being transmitted to the master of Stair, secretary for Scotland, thisminister sent particular directions to Livingstone, who commanded thetroops in that kingdom, to put the inhabitants of Glencoe to thesword, charging him to take no prisoners, that the scene might be moreterrible. In the month of February, captain Campbell of Glenlyon, byvirtue of an order from major Duncanson, marched into the valley ofGlencoe with a company of soldiers belonging to Argyle's regiment, onpretence of levying the arrears of the land-tax and hearth-money. WhenMacdonald demanded whether they came as friends or enemies, he answered, as friends, and promised upon his honour that neither he nor his peopleshould sustain the least injury. In consequence of this declaration, heand his men were received with the most cordial hospitality, and livedfifteen days with the men of the valley in all the appearance of themost unreserved friendship. At length the fatal period approached. Macdonald and Campbell having passed the day together, parted aboutseven in the evening, with mutual professions of the warmest affection. The younger Macdonald, perceiving the guards doubled, began to suspectsome treachery, and communicated his suspicion to his brother; butneither he nor the father would harbour the least doubt of Campbell'ssincerity: nevertheless the two young men went forth privately to makefurther observations. They overheard the common soldiers say theyliked not the work; that though they would have willingly fought theMacdonalds of the Glen fairly in the field, they held it base to murderthem in cool blood, but that their officers were answerable for thetreachery. When the youths hastened back to apprize their father of theimpending danger, they saw the house already surrounded; they heardthe discharge of muskets, the shrieks of women and children; and, beingdestitute of arms, secured their own lives by immediate flight. Thesavage ministers of vengeance had entered the old man's chamber, andshot 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. Thelaird of Auchintrincken, Macdonald's guest, who had, three months beforethis period, submitted to the government, and at this very time had aprotection in his pocket, was put to death without question. A boy ofeight years, who fell at Campbell's feet imploring mercy, and offeringto serve him for life, was stabbed to the heart by one Drummond asubaltern officer. Eight-and-thirty persons suffered in this manner, the greater part of whom were surprised in their beds, and hurried intoeternity before they had time to implore the divine mercy. The designwas to butcher all the males under seventy that lived in the valley, thenumber of whom amounted to two hundred; but some of the detachments didnot arrive soon enough to secure the passes; so that one hundred andsixty escaped. Campbell having perpetrated this cruel massacre, orderedall the houses to be burned, made a prey of all the cattle and effectsthat were found in the valley, and left the helpless women and children, whose fathers and husbands he had murdered, naked and forlorn, withoutcovering, food, or shelter, in the midst of the snow that covered thewhole face of the country, at the distance of six long miles from anyinhabited place. Distracted with grief and horror, surrounded with theshades of night, shivering with cold, and appalled with the apprehensionof immediate death from the swords of those who had sacrificed theirfriends and kinsmen, they could not endure such a complication ofcalamities, but generally perished in the waste, before they couldreceive the least comfort or assistance. This barbarous massacre, performed under the sanction of king William's authority, answered theimmediate purpose of the court by striking terror into the hearts of theJacobite high-landers; but at the same time excited the horror of allthose who had not renounced every sentiment of humanity, and producedsuch an aversion to the government, as all the arts of a ministry couldnever totally surmount. A detail of the particulars was publishedat Paris, with many exaggerations, and the Jacobites did not failto expatiate on every circumstance, in domestic libels and privateconversation. The king, alarmed at the outcry which was raised upon thisoccasion, ordered an inquiry to be set on foot, and dismissed the masterof Stair from his employment of secretary: he likewise pretended that hehad subscribed the order amidst a heap of other papers, without knowingthe purport of it; but as he did not severely punish those who had madehis authority subservient to their own cruel revenge, the imputationstuck fast to his character; and the highlanders, though terrifiedinto silence and submission, were inspired with the most implacableresentment against his person and administration. PREPARATIONS FOR A DESCENT UPON ENGLAND. A great number in both kingdoms waited impatiently for an opportunity todeclare in behalf of their exiled monarch, who was punctually informedof all these transactions, and endeavoured to make his advantage of thegrowing discontent. King William having settled the domestic affairsof the nation, and exerted uncommon care and assiduity in equipping aformidable fleet, embarked for Holland on the fifth day of March, andwas received by the states-general with expressions of the most cordialregard. While he was here employed in promoting the measures of thegrand confederacy, the French king resolved to invade England in hisabsence, and seemed heartily engaged in the interest of James, whoseemissaries in Britain began to bestir themselves with uncommon assiduityin preparing the nation for his return. One Lant, who was imprisoned onsuspicion of distributing his commissions, had the good fortune to bereleased, and the papists of Lancashire dispatched him to the court ofSt. Germain's with an assurance that they were in a condition to receivetheir old sovereign. He returned with advice that king James wouldcertainly land in the spring; and that colonel Parker and other officersshould be sent over with full instructions, touching their conduct atand 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 themthat their lawful sovereign would once more visit his British dominions, at the head of thirty thousand effective men, to be embarked at LaHogue; that the transports were already prepared, and a strong squadronequipped for their convoy; he therefore exhorted them to be speedy andsecret in their preparation, that they might be in readiness to takearms and co-operate in effecting his restoration. This officer, and oneJohnson a priest, are said to have undertaken the assassination of kingWilliam; but before they could execute their design his majesty set sailfor Holland. DECLARATION OF KING JAMES. Meanwhile James addressed a letter to several lords who had beenformerly members of his council, as well as to divers ladies of qualityand distinction, intimating the pregnancy of his queen, and requiringthem to attend as witnesses at the labour. He took notice of the injuryhis family and honour had sustained, from the cruel aspersions of hisenemies concerning the birth of his son, and as Providence had nowfavoured him with an opportunity of refuting the calumny of those whoaffirmed that the queen was incapable of child-bearing, he assured themin the name of his brother the French king, as well as upon his ownroyal word, that they should have free leave to visit his court andreturn 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 afterwardsemployed his emissaries in circulating a printed declaration, importingthat the king of France had enabled him to make another effort toretrieve his crown; and that although he was furnished with a number oftroops sufficient to untie the hands of his subjects, he did not intendto deprive them of their share in the glory of restoring their lawfulking and their ancient government. He exhorted the people to join hisstandard. He assured them that the foreign auxiliaries should behavewith the most regular discipline, and be sent back immediately after hisre-establishment. He observed, that when such a number of his subjectswere so infatuated as to concur with the unnatural design of the princeof Orange, he had chosen to rely upon the fidelity of his English army, and refused considerable succours that were offered to him by his mostchristian majesty; that when he was ready to oppose force with force, henevertheless offered to give all reasonable satisfaction to his subjectswho had been misled, and endeavoured to open their eyes with respect tothe vain pretences of his adversary, whose aim was not the reformationbut the subversion of the government; that when he saw himself desertedby his army, betrayed by his ministers, abandoned by his favourites, andeven his own children, and at last rudely driven from his own palaceby a guard of insolent foreigners, he had for his personal safety takenrefuge in France: that his retreat from the malice and cruel designsof the usurper had been construed into an abdication, and the wholeconstitution of the monarchy destroyed by a set of men illegallyassembled, who, in fact, had no power to alter the property of themeanest subject. He expressed his hope that by this time the nation hadfairly examined the account, and from the losses and enormous expense ofthe three last years, were convinced that the remedy was worse than thedisease; that the beginning, like the first years of Nero's reign, wouldin all probability be found the mildest part of the usurpation, andthe instruments of the new establishment live to suffer severely by thetyranny they had raised; that even though the usurpation should continueduring his life, an indisputable title would survive in his issue, and expose the kingdom to all the miseries of a civil war. He not onlysolicited but commanded his good subjects to join him, according totheir duty and the oaths they had taken. He forbade them to pay taxesor any part of the revenue to the usurper. He promised pardon, and evenrewards, to all those who should return to their duty, and to procure inhis first parliament an act of indemnity, with an exception of certainpersons * 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 usurperand enlist under his banners, might depend upon receiving their pardonand arrears; and that the foreign troops, upon laying clown theirarms, should be paid and transported to their respective countries. He solemnly protested that he would protect and maintain the churchof England, as by law established, in all her rights, privileges, andpossessions: he signified his resolution to use his influence with theparliament for allowing liberty of conscience to all his subjects, asan indulgence agreeable to the spirit of the christian religion, andconducive to the wealth and prosperity of the nation. He said hisprincipal care should be to heal the wounds of the late distractions; torestore trade by observing the act of navigation, which had beenlately so much violated in favour of strangers; to put the navy in aflourishing condition; and to take every step that might contributeto the greatness of the monarchy and the happiness of the people. Heconcluded with professions of resignation to the Divine Will, declaringthat all who should reject his offers of mercy, and appear in armsagainst him, would be answerable to Almighty God for all the blood thatshould be spilt, and all the miseries in which these kingdoms might beinvolved 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 forthe service of James, in the counties of York, Lancaster, and in thebishopric of Durham: at the same time, Fountaine and Holeman wereemployed in raising two regiments of horse at London, that they mightjoin their master immediately after his landing. His partisans sentcaptain Lloyd with an express to lord Melfoot, containing a detailof these particulars, with an assurance that they had brought overrear-admiral Carter to the interest of his majesty. They likewisetransmitted a list of the ships that composed the English fleet, andexhorted James to use his influence with the French king, that thecount do Tourville might be ordered to attack them before they should bejoined by the Dutch squadron. It was in consequence of this advice thatLouis commanded Tourville to fall upon the English fleet, even withoutwaiting for the Toulon squadron commanded by the marquis D'Etrees. Bythis time James had repaired to La Hogue, and was ready to embark withhis army, consisting of a body of French troops, together withsome English and Scotch refugees, and the regiments which had beentransported 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, partlyby some agents of James who betrayed his cause, and partly by admiralCarter, who gave the queen to understand he had been tampered with; andwas instructed to amuse the Jacobites with a negotiation. King Williamno sooner arrived in Holland than he hastened the naval preparationsof the Dutch, so that their fleet was ready for sea sooner than wasexpected; and when he received the first intimation of the projecteddescent, he detached general Ptolemache with three of the Englishregiments from Holland. These, reinforced with other troops remaining inEngland, were ordered to encamp in the neighbourhood of Portsmouth. The queen issued a proclamation, commanding all papists to depart fromLondon and Westminster: the members of both houses of parliament wererequired to meet on the twenty-fourth day of May, that she might availherself of their advice in such a perilous conjuncture. Warrantswere expedited for apprehending divers disaffected persons; andthey withdrawing themselves from their respective places of abode, aproclamation 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, foundmeans to elude the search. The earls of Huntingdon and Marlboroughwere sent to the Tower; Edward Ridley, Knevitt, Hastings, and RobertFerguson, were imprisoned in Newgate. The bishop of Rochester wasconfined to his own house; the lords Brudenal and Fanshaw were secured;the earls of Dunmore, Middleton, and sir Andrew Forrester, werediscovered in a quaker's house, and committed to prison with severalother persons of distinction. The trainbands of London and Westminsterwere 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 alongthe 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 hereceived a letter from the earl of Nottingham, intimating that areport having been spread of the queen's suspecting the fidelity of thesea-officers, her majesty had ordered him to declare in her name thatshe reposed the most entire confidence in their attachment, andbelieved the report was raised by the enemies of the government. Theflag-officers and captains forthwith drew up a very loyal and dutifuladdress, which was graciously received by the queen, and published forthe satisfaction of the nation. Russel, being reinforced by the Dutchsquadrons commanded by Allemonde, Callemberg, and Vandergoes, set sailfor the coast of France on the eighteenth day of May, with a fleet ofninety-nine ships of the line, besides frigates and fire-ships. Nextday, about three o'clock in the morning, he discovered the enemy underthe count de Tour-ville, and threw out the signal for the line ofbattle, which by eight o'clock was formed in good order, the Dutch inthe van, the blue division in the rear, and the red in the centre. TheFrench fleet did not exceed sixty-three ships of the line, and as theywere to windward Tourville might have avoided an engagement; but he hadreceived a positive order to fight, on the supposition that the Dutchand English squadrons had not joined. Louis indeed was apprised of theirjunction before they were descried by his admiral, to whom he dispatcheda countermanding order by two several vessels; but one of them was takenby the English, and the other did not arrive till the day after theengagement. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } [Illustration: 2-038-hogue-battle. Jpg BATTLE OF LA HOGUE] HE OBTAINS A COMPLETE VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH. Tourville therefore, in obedience to the first mandate, bore downalongside of Russel's own ship, which he engaged at a very smalldistance. He fought with great fury till one o'clock, when his riggingand sails being considerably damaged, his ship, the Rising-Sun, whichcarried one hundred and four cannon, was towed out of the line in greatdisorder. Nevertheless the engagement continued till three, when thefleets were parted by a thick fog: when this abated, the enemy weredescried flying to the northward, and Russel made the signal forchasing. Part of the blue squadron came up with the enemy about eight inthe evening, and engaged them half an hour, during which admiral Carterwas mortally wounded. Finding himself in extremity, he exhorted hiscaptain to fight as long as the ship could swim, and expired with greatcomposure. At length the French bore away for Conquet road, having lostfour ships in this day's action. Next day, about eight in the morning, they were discovered crowding away to the westward, and the combinedfleets chased with all the sail they could carry, until Russel'sforetopmast 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, partof the French fleet was perceived near the Race of Alderney, some atanchor, and some driving to the eastward with the tide of flood. Russeland the ships nearest him immediately slipped their cables and chased. The Rising Sun having lost her masts, ran ashore near Cherbourg, whereshe was burned by sir Ralph Delaval, together with the Admirable, another first-rate, and the Conquérant of eighty guns. Eighteen otherships of their fleet ran into La Hogue, where they were attacked by sirGeorge Rooke, who destroyed them and a great number of transports ladenwith ammunition, in the midst of a terrible fire from the enemy, and insight of the Irish camp. Sir John Ashby, with his own squadron and someDutch ships, pursued the rest of the French fleet, which escaped throughthe Race of Alderney by such a dangerous passage as the English couldnot attempt without exposing their ships to the most imminent hazard. This was a very mortifying defeat to the French king, who had been solong flattered with an uninterrupted series of victories; it reducedJames to the lowest ebb of despondence, as it frustrated the wholescheme of his embarkation, and overwhelmed his friends in England withgrief and despair. Some historians allege that Russel did not improvehis victory with all advantages that might have been obtained beforethe enemy recovered their consternation. They say his affection to theservice was in a great measure cooled by the disgrace of his friendthe earl of Marlborough; that he hated the earl of Nottingham, by whosechannel he received his orders; and that he adhered to the letterrather than to the spirit of his instructions. But this is a maliciousimputation, and a very ungrateful return for his manifold services tothe nation. He acted in this whole expedition with the genuine spiritof a British admiral. He plied from the Nore to the Downs with a veryscanty wind through the dangerous sands, contrary to the advice ofall his pilots; and by this bold passage effected a junction of thedifferent squadrons, which otherwise the French would have attackedsingly and perhaps defeated. He behaved with great gallantry during theengagement, and destroyed about fifteen of the enemy's capital ships; ina word, he obtained such a decisive victory, that during the remainingpart of the war the French would not hazard another battle by sea withthe English. Russel having ordered Sir John Ashby and the Dutch admiral Callemberg tosteer towards Havre de Grace, and endeavour to destroy the remainderof the French fleet, sailed back to St. Helen's that the damaged shipsmight be refitted, and the fleet furnished with fresh supplies ofprovisions and ammunition; but his principal motive was to take on boarda number of troops provided for a descent upon France, which had beenprojected by England and Holland, with a view to alarm and distract theenemy in their own dominions. The queen was so pleased with the victorythat she ordered thirty thousand pounds to be distributed among thesailors. She caused medals to be struck in honour of the action; and thebodies of admiral Carter and captain Hastings, who had been killed inthe battle, to be interred with great funeral pomp. In the latter end ofJuly seven thousand men, commanded by the duke of Leinster, embarked onboard transports to be landed at St. Maloes, Brest, or Rochefort, andthe nation conceived the most sanguine hopes of this expedition. Acouncil of war, consisting of land and sea officers, being held on boardthe Breda to deliberate upon the scheme of the ministry, the membersunanimously agreed that the season was too far advanced to put it inexecution. Nevertheless, the admiral having detached sir John Ashby witha squadron to intercept the remains of the French fleet in their passagefrom St. Maloes to Brest, set sail for La Hogue with the rest of thefleet and transports; but in a few days the wind shifting, lie wasobliged to return to St. Helen's. The queen immediately dispatched the marquis of Carmarthen, the earls ofDevonshire, Dorset, Nottingham, and Rochester, together with the lordsSidney and Cornwallis, to consult with the admiral, who demonstrated theimpracticability of making an effectual descent upon the coast of Franceat that season of the year. The design was therefore laid aside, and theforces were transported to Flanders. The higher the hopes of thenation had been raised by this armament, the deeper they felt theirdisappointment. A loud clamour was raised against the ministry asthe authors of this miscarriage. The people complained that they wereplundered and abused; that immense sums were extorted from them by themost grievous impositions; that, by the infamous expedient of borrowingupon established funds, their taxes were perpetuated; that their burdenswould daily increase; that their treasure was either squandered away inchimerical projects or expended in foreign connexions, of which Englandwas naturally independent. They were the more excusable for exclaimingin this manner, as their trade had suffered grievously by the Frenchprivateers which swarmed in the Channel. In vain the merchants hadrecourse to the Admiralty, which could not spare particular convoyswhile large fleets were required for the defence of the nation. TheFrench king having nothing further to apprehend from the Englisharmament, withdrew his troops from the coast of Normandy; and Jamesreturned in despair to St. Germain's, where his queen had been in hisabsence delivered of a daughter, who was born in the presence of thearchbishop of Paris, the keeper of the seals, and other persons ofdistinction. THE FRENCH TAKE NAMUR IN SIGHT OF KING WILLIAM. Louis had taken the field in the latter end of May. On the twentieth dayof that month he arrived at his camp in Flanders with all the effeminatepomp of an Asiatic emperor, attended by his women and parasites, hisband of music, his dancers, his opera, and, in a word, by all theministers of luxury and sensual pleasure. Having reviewed his army, which amounted to about one hundred and twenty thousand men, heundertook the siege of Namur, which he invested on both sides of theSambre with about one-half of his army, while the other covered thesiege under the command of Luxembourg. Namur is situated on the confluxof the Meuse and the Sambre. The citadel was deemed one of the strongestforts in Flanders, strengthened with a new work contrived by the famousengineer Coehorn, who now defended it in person. The prince de Barbasoncommanded the garrison, consisting of nine thousand men. The place waswell supplied, and the governor knew that king William would make strongefforts for its relief, so that the besieged were animated with manyconcurring considerations. Notwithstanding these advantages, theassailants carried on their attacks with such vigour that in seven daysafter the trenches were opened, the town capitulated and the garrisonretired into the citadel. King William, being joined by the troops ofBrandenburgh and Liege, advanced to the Mehaigne at the head of onehundred thousand effective men, and encamped within cannon shot ofLuxembourg's army, which lay on the other side of the river. Thatgeneral however had taken such precautions, that the king of Englandcould not interrupt the siege nor attack the French lines withoutgreat disadvantage. The besiegers, encouraged by the presence oftheir monarch, and assisted by the superior abilities of Vau-ban theirengineer, repeated their attacks with such impetuosity that the fortof Cohorn was surrendered after a very obstinate defence, in whichhe himself had been dangerously wounded. The citadel being thus leftexposed to the approaches of the enemy, could not long withstandthe violence of their operations; the two covered ways were takenby assault. On the twentieth of May the governor capitulated, to theunspeakable mortification of king William, who saw himself obliged tolie inactive at the head of a powerful army, and be an eye-witness ofthe loss of the most important fortress in the Netherlands. Louis havingtaken possession of the place, returned in triumph to Versailles, where he was flattered with all the arts of adulation; while William'sreputation suffered a little from his miscarriage, and the prince ofBarbason incurred the suspicion of treachery or misconduct. THE ALLIES DEFEATED AT STEENKIRK. Luxembourg having placed a strong garrison in Namur, detached Bounderswith a body of troops to La Bassiere, and with the rest of his armyencamped at Soignies. The king of England sent off detachments towardsLiege and Ghent; and on the sixth day of July posted himself at Genap, resolved to seize the first opportunity of retrieving his honour byattacking the enemy. Having received intelligence that the Frenchgeneral was in motion and intended to take post between Steenkirk andEnghien, he passed the river Senne in order to anticipate his purpose;but in spite of all his diligence Luxembourg gained his point, andWilliam encamped at Lembecq, within six miles of the French army. Here he resolved in a council of war to attack the enemy, and everydisposition was made for that purpose. The heavy baggage he orderedto be conveyed to the other side of the Senne; and one Millevoix, adetected spy, was compelled by menaces to mislead Luxembourg with falseintelligence, importing that he need not be alarmed at the motions ofthe allies, who intended the next day to make a general forage. On thetwenty-fourth day of July, the army began to move from the left in twocolumns, as the ground would not admit of their marching in an extendedfront. The prince of Wirtemberg began the attack on the right of theenemy at the head of ten battalions of English, Danish, and Dutchinfantry; he was supported by a considerable body of British horse andfoot, commanded by lieutenant-general Mackay. Though the ground wasintersected by hedges, ditches, and narrow defiles, the prince marchedwith such diligence that he was in a condition to begin the battle abouttwo in the afternoon, when he charged the French with such impetuositythat they were driven* from their posts, and their whole camp became ascene of tumult and confusion. Luxembourg, trusting to the intelligencehe had received, allowed himself to be surprised, and it required thefull exertion of his superior talents to remedy the consequences of hisneglect. He forthwith forgot a severe indisposition under which he thenlaboured; he rallied his broken battalions; he drew up his forces inorder of battle, and led them to the charge in person. The duke deChartres, who was then in the fifteenth year of his age, the dukesof Bourbon and Vendôme, the prince of Conti, and a great number ofvolunteers of the first quality, put themselves at the head of thehousehold troops, and fell with great fury upon the English, who werevery ill supported by count Solmes, the officer who commanded the centreof the allies. The prince of Wirtemberg had taken one of the enemies'batteries, and actually penetrated into their lines; but finding himselfin danger of being overpowered by numbers, he sent an aidecamp twice todemand succours from Solmes, who derided his distress, saying, "Let ussee what sport these English bull-dogs will make. " At length, when theking sent an express order commanding him to sustain the left wing, hemade a motion with his horse, which could not act while his infantrykept their ground, and the British troops, with a few Dutch and Danes, bore the whole brunt of the engagement. They fought with surprisingcourage and perseverance against dreadful odds; and the event of thebattle continued doubtful, until Bouflîers joined the French army witha great body of dragoons. The allies could not sustain the additionalweight of this reinforcement, before which they gave way, though theretreat was made in tolerable order, and the enemy did not thinkproper to prosecute the advantage they had gained. In this action theconfederates lost the earl of Angus, general Mackay, sir John Lanier, sir Robert Douglas, and many other gallant officers, together with aboutthree thousand men left dead on the spot, the same number wounded ortaken, 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, whichcost them about three thousand men, including the prince of Turenne, the marquis de Bellefond, Tilladet, and Fernacon, with many officers ofdistinction: as for Millevoix the spy, he was hanged on a tree on theright wing of the allied army. King William retired unmolested tohis own camp; and notwithstanding all his overthrows, continued arespectable enemy, by dint of invincible fortitude and a genius fruitfulin resources. That he was formidable to the French nation, even in themidst of his ill success, appears from divers undeniable testimonies, and from none more than from the extravagance of joy expressed by thepeople of France on the occasion of this unimportant victory. When theprinces who served in the battle returned to Paris, the roads throughwhich they passed were almost blocked up with multitudes; and thewhole air resounded with acclamation. All the ornaments of the fashionpeculiar to both sexes adopted the name of Steenkirk: every individualwho had been personally engaged in the action was revered as a beingof a superior species, and the transports of the women rose almost to adegree of frenzy. CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LIFE OF WILLIAM. The French ministry did not entirely depend upon the fortune of the warfor the execution of their revenge against king William, They likewiseemployed assassins to deprive him of life in the most treacherousmanner. When Louvois died, his son the marquis de Barbesieux, who succeeded himin his office of secretary, found among his papers the draft of a schemefor this purpose, and immediately revived the design by means of thechevalier de Grandval, a captain of dragoons in the service. He andcolonel Parker engaged one Dumont, who undertook to assassinate kingWilliam. Madame de Maintenon, and Paparel, paymaster to the French army, were privy to the scheme, which they encouraged: the conspirators aresaid to have obtained an audience of king James, who approved of theirundertaking, and assured them of his protection; but that unfortunatemonarch was unjustly charged with the guilt of countenancing theintended murder, as they communicated nothing to him but an attempt toseize the person of the prince of Orange. Dumont actually enlisted inthe confederate army, that he might have the better opportunity to shootthe king of England when he should ride out to visit the linos, while Grandval and Parker repaired to the French camp, with ordersto Luxembourg to furnish them with a party of horse for the rescue ofDumont, after the blow should be struck. Whether this man's heart failedhim, or he could not find the opportunity he desired, after havingresided some weeks in the camp of the allies, he retired to Hanover; butstill corresponded with Grandval and Barbesieux. This last admitted oneLeofdale, a Dutch baron, into the secret, and likewise imparted itto monsieur Chanlais, quarter-master general of the French army, whoanimated Grandval and Leefdale with the promise of a considerablereward, and promised to cooperate with Parker for bringing off Dumont, for this assassin still persisted in his undertaking. Leefdale had beensent from Holland on purpose to dive to the bottom of this conspiracy, in consequence of advice given by the British envoy at Hanover, whereDumont had dropped some hints that alarmed his suspicion. The Dutchmannot 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 dukeof Zell, and that he himself had been betrayed by Leefdale, he freelyconfessed all the particulars without enduring the torture; and, beingfound guilty by a court-martial, was executed as a traitor. About this period the duke of Leinster arrived at Ostend, with thetroops which had been embarked at St. Helen's. He was furnished withcannon sent down the Meuse from Maestricht, and reinforced by a largedetachment from the king's camp at Gramont, under the command of generalPtolemache. He took possession of Furnes, was joined by the earl ofPortland and M. D'Auverquerque, and a disposition was made for investingDunkirk; but on further deliberation the enterprise was thought verydangerous, and therefore laid aside. Furnes and Dixmuyde, lately reducedby brigadier Ramsay, were strengthened with new works, and secured bystrong garrisons. The cannon were sent back, and the troops returning toOstend, re-embarked for England. This fruitless expedition, added tothe inglorious issue of the campaign, increased the ill humour of theBritish nation. They taxed William with having lain inactive at Gramontwith an army of one hundred thousand men, while Luxembourg was postedat Courtray with half that number. They said, if he had found the Frenchlines too strong to be forced, he might have passed the Scheld higherup, and not only laid the enemy's conquests under contribution, but evenmarched into the bowels of France; and they complained that Furnesand Dixmuyde were not worth the sums expended in maintaining theirgarrisons. On the twenty-sixth day of September king William left thearmy under the command of the elector of Bavaria, and repaired to hishouse at Loo: in two days after his departure the camp at Gramont wasbroke up; the infantry marched to Marienkerke, and the horse; to Caure. On the sixteenth day of October, the king receiving intelligence thatBoufflers had invested Charleroy, and Luxembourg taken post in theneighbourhood of Condé, ordered the troops to be instantly reassembledbetween 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 theproper measures were concerted. He then returned to Holland, leaving thecommand with the elector of Bavaria, who forthwith began his march forCharleroy. At his approach Boufflers abandoned the siege, and movedtowards Philip-ville. The elector having reinforced the place, andthrown supplies into Aeth, distributed his forces into winter-quarters. Then Luxembourg, who had cantoned his army between Condé, Leuzet, andTournay, 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 notfortunate in Germany. The landgrave of Hesse Cassol undertook the siegeof Eberemburgh, which, however, he was obliged to abandon. The dukede Lorges, who commanded the French forces on the Rhine, surprised, defeated, and took the duke of Wirtemberg, who had posted himself withfour thousand horse near Ridelsheim, to check the progress of the enemy. Count Tallard having invested Rhinefield, the landgrave marched to itsrelief with such expedition that the French wore obliged to desist andretreat with considerable damage. The elector of Saxony had engagedto bring an army into the field; but he complained that the emperor leftthe burden of the war with France upon the princes, and converted hischief power and attention to the campaign in Hungary. A jealousy andmisunderstanding ensued: Schoning the Saxon general, in his way to thehot baths at Dablitz in Bohemia, was seized by the emperor's order onsuspicion of having maintained a private correspondence with the enemy, and very warm expostulations on this subject passed between the courtsof Vienna and Dresden. Schoning was detained two years in custody; andat length released on condition that he should never be employed againin the empire. The war in Hungary produced no event of importance. The ministry of the Ottoman Porte was distracted by factions, and theseraglio threatened with tumults. The people were tired of maintainingan unsuccessful war; the vizier was deposed; and in the midst of thisconfusion, the garrison of great Waradin, which had been blocked up bythe imperialists during the whole winter, surrendered on capitulation. Lord Paget, the English ambassador at Vienna, was sent to Constantinoplewith powers to mediate a peace; but the terms offered by the emperorwere rejected at the Porte: the Turkish army lay upon the defensive, andthe season was spent in a fruitless negotiation. THE DUKE INVADES DAUPHINE. The prospect of affairs in Piedmont was favourable for the allies; butthe court of France had brought the pope to an accommodation, and beganto tamper with the duke of Savoy. M. Chanlais was sent to Turin withadvantageous proposals, which however the duke would not accept, becausehe thought himself entitled to better terms, considering that theallied army in Piedmont amounted to fifty thousand effective men, whileCatinat's forces were not sufficient to defend his conquests in thatcountry. In the month of July the duke marched into Dauphiné, where heplundered a number of villages, and reduced the fortress of Guillestre;then passing the river Darance, he invested Ambrun, which, after a siegeof nine days, surrendered on capitulation: he afterwards laid allthe neighbouring J towns under contribution. Here duke Schomberg, whocommanded the auxiliaries in the English pay, published a declarationin the name of king William, inviting the people to join his standard, assuring them that his master had no other design in ordering his troopsto invade France, but that of restoring the noblesse to their ancientsplendour, their parliaments to their former authority, and the peopleto 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 wholecountry in revenge for the cruelties which the French had committedin the Palatinate. The allied army advanced from Ambrun to Gap, on thefrontiers of Provence, and this place submitted without opposition. Theinhabitants of Grenoble, the capital of Dauphiné, and even of Lyons, were overwhelmed with consternation; and a fairer opportunity ofhumbling France could never occur, as that part of the kingdom had beenleft almost quite defenceless; but this was fatally neglected, eitherfrom 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 thesmall-pox in the midst of this expedition; or, lastly, from his want ofsincerity, which was shrewdly suspected. He is said to have maintained aconstant correspondence with the court of Versailles, in complaisance towhich he retarded the operations of the confederates. Certain it is, heevacuated all his conquests, and about the middle of September quittedthe French territories, after having pillaged and laid waste the countrythrough which he had penetrated. * In Catalonia the French attemptednothing of importance during this campaign, and the Spaniards werewholly 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 bythe creation of a ninth electorate in favour of Ernest Augustus, duke ofHanover. He had by this time renounced all his connexions with France, and engaged to enter heartily into the interest of the allies, inconsideration of his obtaining the electoral dignity. King Williamexerted himself so vigorously in his behalf at the court of Vienna, thatthe emperor agreed to the proposal, in case the consent of the otherelectors could be procured. This assent, however, was extorted by theimportunities of the king of England, whom he durst not disoblige. Leopold was blindly bigotted to the religion of Rome, and consequentlyaverse to a new creation that would weaken the catholic interest in theelectoral college. He therefore employed his emissaries to thwart theduke's measures. Some protestant princes opposed him from motives ofjealousy, and the French king used all his artifice and influenceto prevent the elevation of the house of Hanover. When the duke hadsurmounted all this opposition, so far as to gain over a majority ofthe electors, new objections were started. The emperor suggested thatanother popish electorate should be created to balance the advantagewhich the Lutherans would reap from that of Hanover; and he proposedthat Austria should be raised to the same dignity; but violentopposition was made to this expedient, which would have vested theemperor with a double vote in the electoral college. At length, aftera tedious negotiation, the duke of Hanover, on the nineteenth day ofDecember, 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 hadnot 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 bv 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. _ {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } THE EARL OF MARLBOROUGH, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER, &c, FALSELY ACCUSED. While king William seemed wholly engrossed by the affairs of thecontinent, England was distracted by domestic dissension, and overspreadwith vice, corruption, and profaneness. Over and above the Jacobites, there was a set of malcontents whose number daily increased. Theynot only murmured at the grievances of the nation, but composed andpublished elaborate dissertations upon the same subject. These madesuch impressions upon the people, already irritated by heavy burdens, distressed in their trade, and disappointed in their sanguineexpectations, that the queen thought it necessary to check the progressof those writers by issuing out a proclamation offering a reward to suchas would discover seditious libellers. The earl of Marlborough hadbeen committed to the Tower on the information of one Robert Young, aprisoner in Newgate, who had forged that nobleman's hand-writing, andcontrived the scheme of an association in favour of king James, to whichhe affixed the names of the earls of Marlborough and Salisbury, Sprat, bishop of Rochester, the lord Cornbury, and sir Basil Firebrace. One ofhis emissaries had found means to conceal this paper in a certain partof the bishop's house at Bromley in Kent, where it was found by theking's messengers, who secured the prelate in consequence of Young'sinformation. But he vindicated himself to the satisfaction of the wholecouncil; and the forgery of the informer was detected by the confessionof his accomplice. The bishop obtained his release immediately and theearl 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 duringthis reign upon the slightest suspicion, that the discontented partof the nation had some reason to insinuate they had only exchangedone tyrant for another. They affirmed that the _habeas-corpus_ act waseither insufficient to protect the subject from false imprisonment, orhad 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 thenation was supplanted by her allies, as well as invaded by her enemies;the low ebb of the kingdom's treasure, exhausted in hiring foreignbottoms, and paying foreign troops to fight foreign quarrels; and theslaughter of the best and bravest of their countrymen, whose blood hadbeen lavishly spilt in support of connexions with which they ought tohave had no concern. They demonstrated the mischiefs that necessarilyarose from the unsettled state of the nation. They observed that thegovernment could not be duly established until a solemn declarationshould confirm the legality of that tenure by which their majestiespossessed the throne; that the structure of parliaments was deficientin point of solidity, as they existed entirely at the pleasure ofthe crown, which would use them no longer than they should be foundnecessary in raising supplies for the use of the government. Theyexclaimed against the practice of quartering soldiers in private housescontrary to the ancient laws of the land, the petition of rights, andthe subsequent act on that subject passed in the reign of the secondCharles. They enumerated among their grievances the violation ofproperty, by pressing transport ships into the service without settlingany fund of payment for the owners; the condition of the militia, whichwas equally burdensome and useless; the flagrant partiality in favourof allies, who carried on an open commerce with France, and supplied theenemy with necessaries, while the English laboured under the severestprohibitions, and were in effect the dupes of those very powerswhom 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 ifthey had formed a design of reducing it to the lowest ebb of disgraceand destruction. By this time, indeed, public virtue was become theobject of ridicule, and the whole kingdom was overspread withimmorality and corruption; towards the increase of which many concurringcircumstances happened to contribute. The people were divided into threeparties, namely, the Williamites, the Jacobites, and the discontentedRevolutioners; these factions took all opportunities to thwart, toexpose, and to ridicule the measures and principles of each other, sothat patriotism was laughed out of doors as an hypocritical pretence. This contention established a belief that every man consulted his ownprivate interest at the expense of the public, a belief that soon grewinto a maxim almost universally adopted. The practice of bribing amajority in parliament had a pernicious influence upon the morals of allranks of people, from the candidate to the lowest borough elector. Theexpedient of establishing funds of credit for raising supplies to defraythe expenses of government, threw large premiums and sums of money intothe hands of low sordid usurers, brokers, and jobbers, who distinguishedthemselves by the name of the monied interest. Intoxicated by this flowof wealth, they affected to rival the luxury and magnificence of theirsuperiors; but being destitute of sentiment and taste to conduct themin their new career, they ran into the most absurd and illiberalextravagancies. 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 layuncultivated, and the land was deluged with a tide of ignorance andprofligacy. DISSENSION BETWEEN THE QUEEN AND PRINCESS ANNE. King William having ascertained the winter quarters of the army, andconcerted the operations of the ensuing campaign with the states-generaland the ministers of the allies, set sail for England on the fifteenthday of October; on the eighteenth landed at Yarmouth, was met by thequeen at Newhall, and passed through the city of London to Kensingtonamidst the acclamations of the populace. He received a congratulatoryaddress from the lord-mayor and aldermen, with whom he dined in publicby invitation. A day of thanksgiving was appointed for the victoryobtained at sea. The lustring company was established by patent, andthe parliament met on the fourth day of November. The house of lords wasdeeply infected with discontent, which in some measure proceededfrom the dissension between the queen and her sister, the princess ofDenmark, which last underwent every mortification which the court couldinflict. Her guards were taken away; all honours which had been paid toher rank by the magistrates of Bath, where she sometimes resided, and even by the ministers of the church where she attended at divineservice, were discontinued by the express order of his majesty. Hercause was naturally espoused by those noblemen who had adhered to herin her former contest with the king about an independent settlement; andthese were now reinforced by all the friends of the earl of Marlborough, united for a double tie; for they resented the disgrace and confinementof that lord, and thought it their duty to support the princess Anneunder a persecution incurred by an attachment to his countess. The earlof Shrewsbury lived in friendship with Marlborough, and thought he hadbeen ungratefully treated by the king; the marquis of Halifax befriendedhim from opposition to the ministry; the earl of Mulgrave for anopportunity to display his talents, and acquire that consideration whichhe thought due to his merit. Devonshire, Montague, and Bradford, joinedin the same cause from principle; the same pretence was used by theearls of Stamford, Monmouth, Warrington, and other whigs, though ineffect they were actuated by jealousy and resentment against thoseby whom they had been supplanted. As for the Jacobites, they gladlycontributed their assistance to promote any scheme that had a tendencyto embroil the administration. THE LORDS VINDICATE THEIR PRIVILEGES. The king, in his speech to parliament, thanked them for their lastsupplies, congratulated them upon the victory obtained at sea, condoledthem on the bad success of the campaign by land, magnified the power ofFrance, represented the necessity of maintaining a great force to opposeit, and demanded subsidies equal to the occasion. He expressed hisreluctance to load them with additional burdens, which he said could notbe avoided, without exposing his kingdom to inevitable destruction. Hedesired their advice towards lessening the inconveniences of exportingmoney for the payment of the forces. He intimated a design of making adescent upon France; declared he had no aim but to make his subjects ahappy people; and that he would again cheerfully expose his life for thewelfare of the nation. The lords, after an adjournment of three days, began with great warmth to assert their privileges, which they conceivedhad been violated in the cases of the earl of Marlborough and the othernoblemen who had been apprehended, committed to prison, and afterwardsadmitted to bail by the court of king's-bench. These circumstancesbeing fully discussed in a violent debate, the house ordered lord Lucas, constable of the Tower, to produce the warrants of commitment, and theclerk of the king's-bench to deliver the affidavit of Aaron Smith, thecourt solicitor, upon which the lords had been remanded to prison. Atthe same time the whole affair was referred to a committee, empoweredto send for persons, papers, and records. The judges were ordered toattend: Aaron Smith was examined touching the evidence against thecommitted lords. The committee reported their general resolution, which produced a vehement dispute. The opinion of the judges wasunsatisfactory to both parties; the debate was referred to a committeeof the whole house, in which it was resolved and declared, as the senseof that assembly, that in pursuance of the _habeas-corpus_ act, it wasthe duty of the judges and gaol-delivery to discharge the prisoner onbail if committed for high treason, unless it be made appear, upon oath, that there are two witnesses against the said prisoner, who cannot beproduced in that term, session, or general gaol-delivery. They likewiseresolved it was the intention of the said statute, that in case thereshould be more than one prisoner to be bailed or remanded, there must beoath made that there are two witnesses against each prisoner, otherwisehe cannot be remanded to prison. These resolutions were entered in thebooks as standing directions to all future-judges, yet not withoutgreat opposition from the court members. The next debate turned uponthe manner in which the imprisoned lords should be set at liberty. The contest became so warm that the courtiers began to be afraid, andproposed an expedient which was put in practice. The house adjourned tothe seventeenth day of the month, and at its next meeting was given tounderstand that the king had discharged the imprisoned noblemen. Afteranother warm debate, a formal entry was made in the journals, importing, That the house being informed of his majesty's having given directionsfor discharging the lords under bail in the king's-bench, the debateabout that matter ceased. The resentment of the peers being thusallayed, 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 thathis majesty's foreign alliances should be laid before them, determinedon a bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason. They passeda vote of thanks to admiral Russel, his officers and seamen, for thevictory they had obtained, and then proceeded to an inquiry, Why thatvictory had not been pursued? why the descent had not been made? and whythe trade had not been better protected from the enemy's cruisers? Theadmiral having justified his own conduct, they commanded the lords ofthe admiralty to produce copies of all the letters and orders which hadbeen sent to the admiral; they ordered Russel to lay before them hisanswers; and the commissioners of the transports, victuallers, andoffice of ordnance, to deliver in an account of their proceedings. Theythen presented addresses to the king and queen, acknowledging the favourof God in restoring him to his people; congratulating him upon hisdeliverance from the snares of his open and secret enemies; and assuringhim they would, according to his majesty's desire in his most graciousspeech, be always ready to advise and assist him in the support ofhis government. The queen was thanked for her gracious and prudentadministration during his majesty's absence; they congratulated her ontheir signal deliverance from a bold and cruel design formed for theirdestruction, as well as on the glorious victory which her fleet hadgained; and they assured her that the grateful sense they had of theirhappiness under her government, should always be manifested in constantreturns of duty and obedience. After this formal compliment, the house, instead of proceeding to thesupplies, insisted upon perusing the treaties, public accounts, andestimates, that they might be in a condition to advise as well as toassist his majesty. Being indulged with those papers, they passed aprevious vote that a supply should be given; then they began to concerttheir articles of advice. Some of the members loudly complained ofpartiality to foreign generals, and particularly reflected upon theinsolence of count Solmes, and his misconduct at Steenkirk. After somewarm altercation, the house resolved one article of their advice shouldbe, that his majesty would be pleased to fill up the vacancies thatshould happen among the general officers, with such only as were nativesof his dominions, and that the commander-in-chief of the English shouldbe an Englishman. Their next resolution implied, that many of the greataffairs of the government having been for some time past unsuccessfullymanaged, the house should advise his majesty to prevent such mischiefsfor the future, by employing men of knowledge, ability, and integrity. Individual members inveighed bitterly against cabinet councils, as anovelty in the British system of government by which the privy-councilwas jostled out of its province. They complained that all the grievancesof the nation proceeded from the vicious principles of the ministry:they observed, that he who opposed the establishment could not beexpected to support it with zeal. The earl of Nottingham was mentionedby name, and the house resolved that his majesty should be advised toemploy in his councils such persons only whose principles obliged themto support his rights against the late king, and all other pretenders. Marlborough's interest still predominated among the commons. His friendRussel acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the house, and shiftedthe blame of the miscarriage upon his enemy the earl of Nottingham, by declaring that twenty days elapsed between his first letter to thatnobleman and his lordship's answer. The earl's friends, of whom therewas 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 adescent. It was moved, that one cause of the miscarriage was the want ofgiving timely and necessary orders, by those to whom the management ofthe affair was committed. The house divided, and it was carried in theaffirmative by one voice only. At the next sitting of the committee, sir Richard Temple proposed they should consider how to pay the forcesabroad, by means of English manufactures, without ex porting money. Theyresolved that the house should be moved to appoint a committee totake this expedient into consideration. Sir Francis Wilmington wasimmediately called upon to leave the chair, and the speaker resumed hisplace. All that had been done was now void, as no report had been made;and the committee was dissolved. The house however revived it, andappointed a day for its sitting; but before it could resume itsdeliberations, admiral Russel moved for its being adjourned, and all itspurposes were defeated. The court agents had by this time interposed, and secured a majorityby the infamous arts of corruption. The commons no longer insisted upontheir points of advice. Their whole attention was now centered inthe article of assistance. They granted about two millions for themaintenance of three-and-thirty thousand seamen, the building of someadditional ships of war, and the finishing of Plymouth dock; and sevenhundred and fifty thousand pounds to supply the deficiency of thequarterly poll. The estimates of the land-service were not discussedwithout tedious debates and warm disputes. The ministry demandedfifty-four thousand men, twenty thousand of whom should be kept at homefor the defence of the nation, while the rest should serve abroad in theallied army. Many members declared their aversion to a foreign war, in which the nation had no immediate concern and so little prospectof success. Others agreed that the allies should be assisted on thecontinent with a proportion of British forces; but that the nationshould act as an auxiliary, not as a principal, and pay no more thanwhat the people would cheerfully contribute to the general expense. These reflections, however, produced no other effect than that ofprolonging the debate. Ministerial influence had surmounted allopposition. The house voted the number of men demanded. Such was theirservile complaisance, that when they examined the treaties by which theEnglish and Dutch contracted equally with the German princes, and foundthat, notwithstanding these treaties, Britain bore two-thirds of theexpense, they overlooked this flagrant instance of partiality, andenabled the king to pay the proportion. Nay, their maxims were so muchaltered, that, instead of prosecuting their resentment against foreigngenerals, they assented to a motion that the prince of Wirtemberg, themajor-generals Tetteau and La Forest, who commanded the Danish troops inthe pay of the states-general, should be indulged with such an additionto their appointments as would make up the difference between the pay ofEngland and that of Holland. Finally, they voted above two millionsfor the subsistence of the land forces, and for defraying extraordinaryexpenses attending the war upon the continent, including subsidies tothe 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. Theyaffirmed, it was the province of their house to advise the sovereign:like the commons, they insisted upon the king's having asked theiradvice because he had mentioned that word in his speech, though he neverdreamed that they would catch at it with such eagerness. They moved, that the task of digesting the articles of advice should be undertakenby 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, weremarshalled to oppose this motion, which was rejected by a majority oftwelve; and this victory was followed with a protest of the vanquished. Notwithstanding this defeat, they prosecuted their scheme of givingadvice; and after much wrangling and declamation, the house agreed in anaddress of remonstrance, advising and beseeching his majesty, That thecommanding officer of the British forces should be an Englishman; thatEnglish officers might take rank of those in the confederate armies, whodid not belong to crowned heads; that the twenty thousand men to be leftfor the defence of the kingdom should be all English, and commandedby an English general; that the practice of pressing men for the fleetshould be remedied; that such officers as were guilty of this practiceshould be cashiered and punished; and, lastly, that no foreigners shouldsit 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 purposeddescent, and called for all the papers relating to that affair; butthe aim of the majority was not so much to rectify the errors of thegovernment, as to screen Nottingham, and censure Russel. That noblemanproduced his own book of entries, together with the whole correspondencebetween him and the admiral, whom he verbally charged with havingcontributed to the miscarriage of the expedition. This affair wasreferred to a committee. Sir John Ashby was examined. The house directedthe earl to draw up the substance of his charge; and these papers wereafterwards delivered to a committee of the commons, at a conferenceby the lord-president, and the rest of the committee above. They wereoffered for the inspection of the commons, as they concerned somemembers of that house, by whom they might be informed more fully ofthe particulars they contained. At another conference which the commonsdemanded, their committee declared, in the name of the house, That theyhad read and well considered the papers which their lordships had sentthem, and which they now returned: that finding Mr. Russel, one oftheir members, often mentioned in the said papers, they had unanimouslyresolved, that admiral Russel, in his command of the fleets duringthe last summer's expedition, had behaved with fidelity, courage, andconduct. The lords irritated at this declaration, and disappointed intheir resentment against Russel, desired a free conference between thecommittees of both houses. The earl of Rochester told the commons, hewas commanded by the house of lords to inform them that their lordshipslooked upon the late vote and proceeding of the lower house, inreturning their papers, to be irregular and unparliamentary, as they hadnot communicated to their lordships the lights they had received, and the reason upon which their vote was founded. A paper to the samepurport was delivered to colonel Granville, who promised to present it tothe 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 ofNottingham as the lords were incensed at Russel. A motion was made thathis majesty should be advised to appoint such commissioners of the boardof admiralty as were of known experience in maritime affairs. Althoughthis was overruled, they voted an address to the king, praying, thatfor the future, all orders for the engagement of the fleet might passthrough the hands of the said commissioners; a protest by implicationagainst the conduct of the secretary. The consideration of ways andmeans was the next object that engrossed the attention of the lowerhouse. They resolved that a rate of four shillings in the pound, for oneyear, should be charged upon all lands according to their yearly value;as also upon all personal estates, and upon all offices and employmentsof profit, other than military offices in the army and navy. The actfounded on this resolution empowered the king to borrow money on thecredit of it, at seven per cent. They further enabled him to raise onemillion on the general credit of the exchequer, by granting annuities. They laid several new duties on a variety of imports. They renewed thelast quarterly poll, providing that in case it should not produce threehundred thousand pounds, the deficiencies might be made up by borrowingon the general credit of the exchequer. They continued the impositionson wine, vinegar, tobacco, and sugar, for five years; and those onEast-India goods for four years. They laid a new imposition of eight percent, on the capital stock of the East-India company, estimated at sevenhundred 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 Baycompany; and they empowered his majesty to borrow five hundred thousandpounds on these funds, which were expressly established for maintainingthe 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-taxbill, importing, that the lords should tax themselves. It was adopted bythe majority, and the bill sent with this amendment to the commons, by whom it was unanimously rejected as a flagrant attempt upon theirprivileges. They demanded a conference, in which they declared thatthe clause in question was a notorious encroachment upon the rightthe commons possessed, of regulating all matters relating to suppliesgranted by parliament. When this report was debated in the house oflords, the earl of Mulgrave displayed uncommon powers of eloquence andargument, in persuading the house, that, by yielding to this claim ofthe commons, they would divest themselves of their true greatness, andnothing would remain but the name and shadow of a peer, which was but apageant. Notwithstanding all his oratory, the lords relinquished theirclause, declaring, at the same time, that they had agreed to pass thebill without alteration, merely in regard to the present urgent state ofaffairs, as being otherwise of opinion that they had a right to insistupon their clause. A formal complaint being made in the house of commonsagainst the pamphlet entitled, "King William and Queen Mary Conquerors, "as containing assertions of dangerous consequence to their majesties, tothe liberty of the subject, and the peace of the kingdom, the licenserand printer were taken into custody. The book being examined, resolvedthat it should be burned by the hands of the common hangman, and thatthe king should be moved to dismiss the licenser from his employment. The same sentence they pronounced upon a pastoral letter of bishopBurnet, 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 theirmajesties, inconsistent with the principles on which the governmentwas founded, and tending to the subversion of the rights of the people. Bohun the licenser was brought to the bar of the house, and dischargedupon his own petition, after having been reprimanded on his knees by thespeaker. Several members having complained that their servants had been kidnappedand sent to serve as soldiers in Flanders, the house appointed acommittee to inquire into the abuses committed by press-masters; anda suitable remonstrance was presented to the king, who expressed hisindignation at this practice, and assured the house that the delinquentsshould be brought to exemplary punishment. Understanding however in thesequel, that the methods taken by his majesty for preventing this abusehad not proved, effectual, they resumed their inquiry, and proceededwith, uncommon vigour on the information they received. A great numberof persons who had been pressed were discharged by order of the house;and captain Winter, the chief undertaker for this method of recruitingthe 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 fromIreland, where lord Sidney was said to rule with despotic authority. These complaints were exhibited by sir Francis Brewster, sir WilliamGore, sir John Macgill, lieutenant Stafford, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Kerne. They were examined at the bar of the house, and delivered an accountof 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 theforfeited estates; that protections had been granted to the Irish notincluded in the articles of Limerick; so that protestants were deprivedof the benefit of the law against them; that the quarters of the armyhad not been paid according to the provision made by parliament; thata mayor had been imposed upon the city of Dublin for two yearssuccessively, contrary to the ancient privileges and charter; thatseveral persons accused of murder had been executed without proof;and one Sweetman, the most guilty, discharged without prosecution. Thecommons spoke more freely in their address; they roundly explained theabuses and mismanagement of that government, by exposing the protestantsubjects to the free quarter and violence of a licentious army; byrecruiting the troops with Irish papists who had been in open rebellionagainst his majesty; by granting protections to Irish Roman-catholics, whereby the course of the law was stopped; by reversing outlawries forhigh treason not comprehended in the articles of Limerick; by lettingthe forfeited estates at undervalue, to the prejudice of his majesty'srevenue; by embezzling the stores left in the towns and garrisons bythe late king James, as well as the effects belonging to the forfeitedestates, which might have been employed for the better preservationof the kingdom; and, finally, by making additions to the articles ofLimerick after the capitulation was signed and the place surrendered. They most humbly besought his majesty to redress these abuses, which hadgreatly encouraged the papists, and weakened the protestant interest inIreland. The king graciously received both addresses, and promisedto pay a particular regard to all remonstrances that should come fromeither house of parliament; but no material step was taken against thelords Sidney, Athlone, and Coningsby, who appeared to have engrossedgreat part of the forfeitures by grants from the crown; and evencommissioner Culliford, who had been guilty of the most grievous acts ofoppression, escaped with impunity. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } 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 scandalousmanner, as gave offence to the majority of the commons. In the midst ofall their condescension, sir Edward Hussey, member for Lincoln, broughtin a bill touching free and impartial proceedings in parliament. It wasintended to disable all members of parliament from enjoying places oftrust and profit, and particularly levelled against the officers ofthe army and navy, who had insinuated themselves into the house in suchnumbers, that this was commonly called the officers' parliament. Thebill passed the house of commons, and was sent up to the lords, by whomit was read a second time and committed; but the ministry employingtheir whole strength against it, on the report it was thrown out by amajority of two voices. The earl of Mulgrave again distinguished himselfby his elocution, in a speech that was held in great veneration by thepeople; and, among those who entered a protest in the journals of thehouse when the majority rejected the bill, was prince George of Denmark, duke of Cumberland. The court had not collected themselves from theconsternation produced by such a vigorous opposition, when the earl ofShrewsbury produced another bill for triennial parliaments, providingthat there should be an annual session; that if, at the expiration ofthree years, the crown should not order the writs to be issued, the lordchancellor, or keeper, or commissioner of the great seal, should issuethem _ex officio_, and by authority of this act, under severe penalties. The immediate object of this bill was the dissolution of the presentparliament, which had already sat three sessions, and began to beformidable to the people from its concessions to the ministry. Thebenefits that would accrue to the constitution from the establishmentof triennial parliaments were very well understood, as these points hadbeen frequently discussed in former reigns. The courtiers now objected, that frequent elections would render the free-holders proud andinsolent, encourage faction among the electors, and entail a continualexpense upon the member, as he would find himself obliged, during thewhole time of the sitting, to behave like a candidate, conscious howsoon the time of election would revolve. In spite of the ministerialinterest in the upper house, the bill passed, and contained a provisothat the present parliament should not continue any longer than themonth of January next ensuing. The court renewed its efforts against itin the house of commons, where nevertheless it was carried, with somealterations which the lords approved. But all these endeavours werefrustrated 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 abill for continuing and explaining certain temporary laws then expiringor expired. Among these was an act for restraining the liberty of thepress, which owed its original to the reign of Charles II. , and had beenrevived in the first year of the succeeding reign. The bill passed thelower house without difficulty, but met with warm opposition in thehouse of lords; a good number of whom protested against it, as a lawthat subjected all learning and true information to the arbitrary willof a mercenary, and perhaps ignorant licenser, destroyed the propertiesof authors, and extended the evil of monopolies. The bill for regulatingtrials was dropped, and, in lieu of it, another produced for thepreservation of their majesties' sacred persons and government; but thistoo was rejected by the majority in consequence of the ministry'ssecret management. The East India company narrowly escaped dissolution. Petitions and counter-petitions were delivered into the house ofcommons; the pretensions on both sides were carefully examined; acommittee of the whole house resolved, that there should be a newsubscription of a joint stock, not exceeding two millions five hundredthousand pounds, to continue for one-and-twenty years. The report wasmade and received, and the public expected to see the affair broughtto a speedy issue; but the company had recourse to the same expedientswhich had lately proved so successful in the hands of the ministry. Those who had been the most warm in detecting their abuses suddenlycooled; and the prosecution of the affair began to languish. Not butthat the house presented an address to his majesty, praying that hewould dissolve the company upon three years' warning, according tothe condition of their charter. He told them he would consider theiraddress, and they did not further urge their remonstrance. The bill forascertaining the commissions and salaries of the judges, to which theking had refused the royal assent in the last session, was revived, twice read, and rejected; and another for preventing the exportation andmelting of the coin, they suffered to lie neglected on the table. On thefourteenth day of March the king put an end to the session, after havingthanked the parliament for so great testimonies of their affection, andpromised the supplies should not be misapplied. He observed thatthe posture of affairs called him abroad, but that he would leave asufficient number of troops for the security of the kingdom; he assuredthem he would expose his person upon all occasions for the advantage ofthese kingdoms; and use his utmost endeavours to make them a flourishingnation. [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 triedby the peers in Westminster-hall, as an accomplice in the murder ofone Montford a celebrated comedian, the marquis of Carmarthen acting aslord-steward upon this occasion. The judges having been consulted, the peers proceeded to give their judgments _seriatim_, and Mohun wasacquitted by a great majority. The king, who from his first accessionto the throne had endeavoured to trim the balance between the whigs andtories, by mingling them together in his ministry, made some alterationsat this period that savoured of the same policy. The great seal, withthe title of lord keeper, was bestowed upon sir John Somers, who waswell skilled in the law, and in many other branches of polite and usefulliterature. He possessed a remarkable talent for business, in which heexerted great patience and assiduity; was gentle, candid, and equitable;a whig in principles, yet moderate, pacific, and conciliating. Of thesame temper was sir John Trenchard, now appointed secretary of state. He had been concerned with the duke of Monmouth, and escaped to thecontinent, where he lived some years; was calm, sedate, well acquaintedwith foreign affairs, and considered as a leading man in his party. These two are said to have been promoted at the recommendation of theearl of Sunderland, who had by this time insinuated himself into theking's favour and confidence; though his success confirmed the opinionwhich many entertained of his having betrayed his old master. Theleaders of the opposition were sir Edward Seymour, again become amalcontent, and sir Christopher Mus-grave, a gentleman of Cumberland, who though an extravagant tory from principle, had refused to concurwith all the designs of the late king. He was a person of a grave andregular deportment, who had rejected many offers of the ministry, whichhe opposed with great violence; yet on some critical occasions hispatriotism gave way to his avarice, and he yielded up some importantpoints in consideration of large sums which he received from the courtin secret. Others declared war against the administration, because theythought their own talents were not sufficiently considered. Of these thechief were Paul Foley and Robert Harley. The first was a lawyer of goodcapacity, extensive learning, and virtuous principles; but peevish, obstinate, and morose. He entertained a very despicable opinion of thecourt; and this he propagated with equal assiduity and success. Harleypossessed a good fund of learning; was capable of uncommon application, particularly turned to politics. He knew the forms of parliament, had apeculiar dexterity at protracting and perplexing debates; and cherishedthe most aspiring ambition. Admiral Russel was created treasurer ofthe household; but the command of the fleet was vested in the handsof Killigrew, Délavai, and Shovel. Sir George Rooke was declaredvice-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 theadministration in the hands of the queen, embarked on the last day ofMarch, near Gravesend, and arrived in Holland on the third of April. Thetroops of the confederates were forthwith ordered to assemble: but whilehe was employed in making preparations for the campaign, the French kingactually took the field, attended by madame de Maintenon, and all thecourt ladies. His design was supposed to be upon some town in Brabant:his army amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand men, completelyarmed, and abundantly supplied with all necessaries for every sort ofmilitary operation. King William immediately took possession of thestrong camp at Parke near Lou-vain, a situation which enabled him tocover the places that were most exposed. Understanding that the Frenchemissaries had sown the seeds of dissension between the bishop andchapter of Liege, he sent the duke of Wirtemberg thither, to reconcilethe different parties, and concert measures for the further securityof the place. He reinforced the garrison with nine battalions; andthe elector palatine lay with his troops in readiness to march to itsrelief. William likewise threw reinforcements into Maestricht, Huy, andChar-leroy; and he himself resolved to remain on the defensive, at thehead 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 uponBrabant defeated by the diligence of his antagonist, detached Boufflerswith twenty thousand men to the Upper Rhine to join the dauphin, whocommanded in that quarter; then leaving the conduct of his forces inthe Netherlands to the duke de Luxembourg, he returned with his courtto Versailles. Immediately after his departure, Luxembourg fixed hishead-quarters at Mildert; and king William strengthened his camp onthat side with ten battalions and eight-and-twenty pieces of cannon. The enemy's convoys were frequently surprised by detachments from thegarrison of Charleroy; and a large body of horse, foot, and dragoons, being drafted out of Liege and Maestricht, took post at Huy, under thecommand of the count de Tilly, so as to straiten the French in theirquarters. These however were dislodged by Luxembourg in person, whoobliged the count to pass the Jaar with precipitation, leaving behindthree squadrons and all his baggage, which fell into the hands of theenemy. This check however was balanced by the success of the duke ofWirtemberg, who, at the head of thirteen battalions of infantry andtwenty squadrons of horse, forced the French lines between theScheldt and the Lys, and laid the whole country as far as Lisle undercontribution. 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 theallies by lines of contravallation. Before their batteries began toplay, the town capitulated. On the twenty-third day of the month thegarrison mutined, the castles were surrendered, the governor remaineda prisoner, and his men were conducted to Liege. The confederate armyadvanced in order to relieve the town; but the king being apprised ofits 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 besiegethe place; and encamped at Hellecheim, about seven leagues from theconfederates. Knowing how much they were weakened by the differentdetachments which had been made from their army, he resolved to attackthem in their camp, or at least fall upon their rear should they retreatat his approach. On the twenty-eighth day of July he began his march infour columns, and passed the Jaar near its source, with an army superiorto the allies by five-and-thirty thousand men. The king of England atfirst looked upon this motion as a feint to cover the design upon Liege;but receiving intelligence that their whole army was in full march toattack him in his camp, he resolved to keep his ground, and immediatelydrew up his forces in order of battle. His general officers advised himto repass the Geete; but he chose to risk a battle, rather than exposethe rear of his army in repassing that river. His right wing extended asfar as Neer-Winden, along the Geete, covered with hedges, hollow ways, and a small rivulet; the left reached to Neer-Landen; and these twovillages were joined by a slight intrenchment which the king orderedto be thrown up in the evening. Brigadier Ramsay, with the regiments ofO'Farrel, Mackay, Lauder, Leven and Monroe, were ordered to the right ofthe whole army, to line some hedges and hollow ways on the farther sideof the village of Lare. Six battalions of Brandenburgh were postedto the left of this village; and general Dumont, with the Hanoverianinfantry, possessed the village of Neer-Winden, which covered partof 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 behindthe intrenchment. The dragoons upon the left guarded the village ofDonnai upon the brook of Beck, and from thence the left wing of horseextended to Neer-Landen, where it was covered by this rivulet. The king having visited all the posts on horseback, and given thenecessary orders, reposed himself about two hours in his coach; andearly in the morning sent for his chaplain, whom he joined in prayerwith great devotion. At sun-rising the enemy appeared drawn up in orderof battle; and the allies began to play their cannon with good success. About eight in the morning they attacked the villages of Lare andNeer-Winden with great fury; and twice made themselves masters of theseposts, from whence they were as often repulsed. The allies still kept their ground; and the duke of Berwick was taken byhis uncle brigadier Churchill. Then the French made an attack upon theleft wing of the confederates at Neer-Landen; and after a very obstinatedispute, were obliged to give way, though they still kept possession ofthe avenues. The prince of Conti, however, renewed the charge with theflower 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 andrepulsed by the count D'Arco, general of the Bavarian cuirassiers; andthe 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 suchimpetuosity as surmounted all resistance. The camp of the confederateswas immediately filled with French troops: the villages of Lareand Neer-Winden were taken after a long and desperate dispute. TheHanoverian and Dutch horse being broken, the king in person brought theEnglish cavalry to their assistance. They fought with great gallantry;and for some time retarded the fate of the day. The infantry wererallied, and stood firm until all their ammunition was expended. In aword, they were scarce able to sustain the weight of such a superiorityin point of number, when the marquis D'Harcourt joined the enemy fromHuy, with two-and-twenty fresh squadrons, which immediately turnedthe scale in their favour. The elector of Bavaria, after having madeextraordinary efforts, retreated with great difficulty over the bridgeto the other side of the river, where he rallied the troops in orderto favour the retreat of those who had not passed. The king seeing thebattle lost, and the whole army in confusion, retired with the infantryto Dormul on the brook of Beck, where the dragoons of the left wing wereposted, and then ordered the regiments of Wyndham, Lumley, and Calway, to cover his retreat over the bridge at Neer-Hespen, which he effectedwith great difficulty. Now all was tumult, rout, and consternation; anda great number of the fugitives threw themselves into the river, wherethey were drowned. This had like to have been the fate of the brave earlof Athlone; the duke of Ormond was wounded in several places, and takenprisoner by the enemy; and the count de Solmes was mortally wounded. Ptolemache brought off the greater part of the English infantry withgreat gallantry and conduct; as for the baggage, it had been sent toLiege before the engagement; but the confederates lost sixty pieces ofcannon, and nine mortars, a great number of standards and colours, * withabout seven thousand men killed and wounded in the action. It must beowned that the allies fought with great valour and perseverance; andthat king William made prodigious efforts of courage and activity toretrieve the fortune of the day. He was present in all parts of thebattle; he charged in person both on horseback and on foot, where thedanger was most imminent. His peruke, the sleeve of his coat, and theknot of his scarf, were penetrated by three different musket bullets;and he saw a great number of soldiers fall on every side of him. Theenemy bore witness to his extraordinary valour. The prince of Conti, ina letter to his princess which was intercepted, declared that he saw theprince of Orange exposing himself to the greatest dangers; and that suchvalour richly deserved the peaceable possession of the crown hewore. Yet here, as in every other battle he fought, his conduct anddisposition were severely censured. Luxembourg having observed thenature of his situation immediately before the engagement, is said tohave exclaimed, "Now I believe Waldeck is really dead;" alluding to thatgeneral's known sagacity in choosing ground for an encampment. Be thatas it will, he paid dear for his victory. His loss in officers and menexceeded that of the allies; and he reaped no solid advantage from thebattle. He remained fifteen days inactive at Waren, while king Williamrecalled the duke of Wirtemberg, and drafting troops from Liege andother 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 theCampaign, until Luxembourg, being rejoined by Boufflers with a strongreinforcement from the Rhine, invested Charleroy. He had taken hismeasures with such caution and dexterity, that the allies could notfrustrate his operations, without attacking his lines at a greatdisadvantage. The king detached the elector of Bavaria and the dukeof Wirtemberg, with thirty battalions and forty squadrons, to make adiversion in Flanders; but they returned in a few days without havingattempted any thing of consequence. The garrison of Charleroy defendedthe place with surprising valour, from the tenth of September tothe eleventh of October, during which period they had repulsed theassailants in several attacks; but at length despairing of relief, thegovernor capitulated on the most honourable conditions: the reductionof the place was celebrated with a _Te Deum_, and other rejoicingsat Paris. Louis however, in the midst of all his glory, was extremelymortified when he reflected what little advantage he had reaped fromall his late victories. The allies had been defeated successively atFleurus, Steenkirk, and Landen; yet in a fortnight after each of thosebattles William was always in a condition to risk another engagement. Formerly Louis had conquered half of Holland, Flanders, andFranche-Comté, without a battle; whereas, now he could not with hisutmost efforts, and after the most signal victories, pass the frontiersof the United Provinces. The conquest of Charleroy concluded thecampaign 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 themonth of May at Philipsburgh, and invested the city of Heidelberg, which they took, plundered, and reduced to ashes. This general committednumberless barbarities in the Palatinate, which he ravaged without evensparing the tombs of the dead. The French soldiers on this occasion seemto have been actuated by the most brutal inhumanity. They butcheredthe inhabitants, violated the women, plundered the houses, rifled thechurches, and murdered the priests at the altar. They broke open theelectoral vault, and scattered the ashes of that illustrious familyabout the streets. They set fire to different quarters of the city; theystripped about fifteen thousand of the inhabitants, without distinctionof age or sex, and drove them naked into the castle, that the garrisonmight be the sooner induced to capitulate. There they remained likecattle in the open air, without food or covering, tortured between thehorrors of their fete and the terrors of a bombardment. When they wereset at liberty, in consequence of the fort's being surrendered, a greatnumber of them died along the banks of the Neckar, from cold, hunger, anguish, and despair. These enormous cruelties, which would havedisgraced the arms of a Tartarian freebooter, were acted by the expresscommand of Louis XIV. Of France, who has been celebrated by so manyvenal pens, not only as the greatest monarch, but also as the mostpolished prince of Christendom. De Lorges advanced towards the Neckaragainst the prince of Baden, who lay encamped on the other side ofthe river; but in attempting to pass, he was twice repulsed withconsiderable damage. The dauphin joining the army, which now amounted toseventy thousand men, crossed without opposition; but found the Germansso advantageously posted, that he would not hazard an attack; havingtherefore repassed the river, he secured Stutgard with a garrison, sent detachments into Flanders and Piedmont, and returned in August toVersailles. In Piedmont the allies were still more unfortunate. The dukeof Savoy and his confederates seemed bent upon driving the French fromCasal and Pignerol. The first of these places was blocked up, and theother actually invested. The fort of St. Bridget that covered the placewas taken, and the town bombarded. Meanwhile Catinat being reinforced, descended into the plains. The duke was so apprehensive of Turin thathe 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 theneighbourhood of his capital. On the fourth day of October, the Frenchadvanced upon them from the hills between Orbasson and Prosasque, anda desperate engagement ensued. The enemy charged the left wing of theconfederates sword in hand with incredible fury; though they wereonce repulsed, they renewed the attack with such impetuosity that theNeapolitan and Milanese horse were obliged to give way, and disorderedthe German cavalry. These falling upon the foot, threw the whole winginto confusion. Meanwhile the main body and the other wing sustained thecharge without flinching, until they were exposed in flank by the defeatof the cavalry; then the whole front gave way. In vain the second linewas brought up to sustain them; the horse turned their backs, and theinfantry was totally routed. In a word, the confederates were obliged toretire with precipitation, leaving their cannon and about eight thousandmen killed or wounded on the field of battle. The duke of Schomberghaving been denied the post which was his due, insisted upon fighting atthe head of the troops maintained by the king of Great Britain, who wereposted in the centre, and behaved with great gallantry under the eyeof their commander. When the left wing was defeated, the count de losTorres desired he would take upon him the command, and retreat with theinfantry and right wing; but he refused to act without the order of hishighness, and said things were come to such a pass that they must eitherconquer or die. He continued to animate his men with his voice andexample, until he received a shot in the thigh. His valet seeing himfall, ran to his assistance, and called for quarter, but was killed bythe enemy before he could be understood. The duke being taken at thesame instant, was afterwards dismissed upon his parole, and in a fewdays died at Turin, universally lamented on account of his great andamiable qualities. The earl of Warwick and Holland, who accompanied himas a volunteer, shared his fate in being wounded and taken prisoner;but he soon recovered his health and liberty. This victory was asunsubstantial as that of Landen, and almost as dear in the purchase;for the confederates made an obstinate defence, and yielded solely tosuperior number. The duke of Savoy retreated to Moncalier, and threw areinforcement into Coni, which Catinat would not venture to besiege, so severely had he been handled in the battle. He therefore contentedhimself with laying the country under contribution, reinforcing thegarrisons of Casal, Pignerol, and Suza, and making preparations forrepassing the mountains. The news of this victory no sooner reachedParis, than Louis dispatched M. De Chanlais to Turin, with proposalsfor detaching the duke of Savoy from the interest of the allies; and thepope, who was now become a partisan of France, supported the negotiationwith his whole influence; but the French king had not yet touched uponthe 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 Romeand Constantinople. The vizier at the Porte had been converted into apensionary and creature of Louis; but the war in which the Turks hadbeen so long and unsuccessfully engaged, rendered him so odious to thepeople, that the grand seignor deposed him in order to appease theirclamours. The English and Dutch ambassadors at Constantinople forthwithrenewed their mediation for a peace with the emperor; but the termsthey proposed were still rejected with disdain. In the meantime generalHeusler, who commanded the imperialists at Transylvania, reduced thefortresses of Jeno and Villaguswar. In the beginning of July the duc deCroy assumed the chief command of the German army, passed the Danube andthe Saave, and invested Belgrade. The siege was carried on for sometime with great vigour, but at length abandoned at the approach of thevizier, who obliged the imperialists to repass the Saave, and sent outparties which made incursions into Upper-Hungary. The power of Francehad never been so conspicuous as at this juncture, when she maintaineda formidable navy at sea, and four great armies in different parts ofEurope. Exclusive of the operations in Flanders, Germany, and Piedmont, the count de Noailles invested Eoses in Catalonia, about the latter endof May, while at the same time it was blocked up by the French fleetunder the command of the count D'Etrées. In a few days the place wassurrendered by capitulation, and the castle of Ampurias met with thesame fate. The Spanish power was reduced to such a degree, that Noaillesmight have proceeded in his conquests without interruption, had henot been obliged to detach part of his army to reinforce Catinat inPiedmont. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } NAVAL AFFAIRS. Nothing could be more inglorious for the English than their operationsby sea in the course of this summer. The king had ordered the admiralsto use all possible despatch in equipping the fleets, that they mightblock up the enemy in their own ports and protect the commerce, whichhad suffered severely from the French privateers. They were however sodilatory in their proceedings, that the squadrons of the enemy sailedfrom their harbours before the English fleet could put to sea. About themiddle of May it was assembled at St. Helen's, and took on board fiveregiments intended for a descent on Brest; but this enterprise was neverattempted. When the English and Dutch squadrons joined, so as to forma very numerous fleet, the public expected they would undertake someexpedition 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 disaffectedto the service; and France was said to have maintained a secretcorrespondence with the malcontents in England. Louis had madesurprising efforts to repair the damage which his navy had sustained. He had purchased several large vessels and converted them into ships ofwar; he had laid an embargo on all the shipping of his kingdom until hissquadrons were manned; he had made a grand naval promotion to encouragethe officers and seamen; and this expedient produced a wonderful spiritof activity and emulation. In the month of May his fleet sailed to theMediterranean in three squadrons, consisting of seventy-one capitalships, besides bomb-ketches, fire-ships, and tenders. In the beginning of June, the English and Dutch fleets sailed down thechannel. On the sixth, sir George Rooke was detached to the Straitswith a squadron of three-and-twenty ships as convoy to the Mediterraneantrade. The grand fleet returned to Torbay, while he pursued his voyage, having taken under his protection about four hundred merchant shipsbelonging to England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburgh, and Flanders. On the sixteenth his scouts discovered part of the French fleet underCape St. Vincent; next day their whole navy appeared, to the amount ofeighty sail. Sixteen of these plied up to the English squadron, whilethe vice-admiral of the white stood off to sea to intercept the shipsunder convoy. Sir George Rooke, by the advice of the Dutch vice-admiralVandergoes, resolved if possible to avoid an engagement, which couldonly tend to their absolute ruin. He forthwith sent orders to the smallships that were near the land to put into the neighbouring ports ofFaro, St. Lucar, and Cadiz, while he himself stood off with an easy sailfor the protection of the rest. About six in the evening, ten sail ofthe enemy came up with two Dutch ships of war commanded by the captainsSchrijver and Vander-Poel, who seeing no possibility of escaping, tackedin shore, and, thus drawing the French after them, helped to save therest of the fleet. When attacked they made a most desperate defence, butat last were overpowered by numbers and taken. An English ship of warand a rich pinnace were burned; nine-and-twenty merchant vesselswere taken, and about fifty destroyed by the counts de Tourville andD'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 ofthe loss sustained on this occasion amounted to one million sterling. Meanwhile Rooke stood off with a fresh gale, and on the nineteenth senthome the Lark ship of war with the news of his misfortune; then he boreaway for the Madeiras, where having taken in wood and water, he set sailfor Ireland, and on the third day of August arrived at Cork with fiftysail, including ships of war and trading vessels. He detached captainFairborne to Kinsale with all his squadron except six ships of theline, with which, in pursuance of orders, he joined the great fleet thencruising in the chops of the channel. On the twenty-fifth day of Augustthey returned to St. Helen's, and the four regiments were landed. Onthe nineteenth day of September, fifteen Dutch ships of the line andtwo frigates set sail for Holland; and twenty-six sail, with sevenfire-ships, were assigned as guard-ships during the winter. EXPEDITION TO THE WEST INDIES. The French admirals, instead of pursuing Rooke to Madeira, made anunsuccessful attempt upon Cadiz, and bombarded Gibraltar, where themerchants sunk their ships that they might not fall into the hands ofthe enemy. Then they sailed along the coast of Spain, destroyed someEnglish and Dutch vessels at Malaga, Alicant, and other places, andreturned in triumph to Toulon. About this period sir Francis Wheelerreturned to England with his squadron from an unfortunate expedition inthe West Indies. In conjunction with colonel Codrington, governor ofthe Leeward Islands, he made unsuccessful attempts upon the islands ofMartinique and Dominique. Then he sailed to Boston in New England witha view to concert an expedition against Quebec, which was judgedimpracticable. He afterwards steered for Placentia in Newfoundland, which he would have attacked without hesitation; but the designwas rejected by a majority of voices in the council of war. Thusdisappointed, he set sail for England, and arrived at Portsmouth in avery shattered condition, the greater part of his men having died in thecourse of this voyage. BENBOW BOMBARDS ST. MALOES. In November another effort was made to annoy the enemy. Commodore Benbowsailed with a squadron of twelve capital ships, four bomb-ketches, andten brigantines, to the coast of St. Maloes, and anchoring withinhalf a mile of the town, cannonaded and bombarded it for three dayssuccessively. Then his men landed on an island where they burned aconvent. On the nineteenth they took the advantage of a dark night, afresh gale, and a strong tide, to send in a fire-ship of a particularcontrivance, styled the Infernal, in order to burn the town; but shestruck upon a rock before she arrived at the place, and the engineer wasobliged to set her on fire and retreat. She continued burning for sometime, and at last blew up with such an explosion as shook the whole townlike an earthquake, unroofed three hundred houses, and broke all theglass and earthenware for three leagues around. A capstan that weighedtwo hundred pounds was transported into the place, and falling upon ahouse, levelled it to the ground; the greatest part of the walltowards the sea tumbled down; and the inhabitants were overwhelmedwith consternation, so that a small number of troops might have takenpossession without resistance, but there was not a soldier on board. Nevertheless the sailors took and demolished Quince-fort, and didconsiderable damage to the town of St. Maloes, which had been a nest ofprivateers that infested the English commerce. Though this attempt wasexecuted with great spirit and some success, the clamours of the peoplebecame louder and louder. They scrupled not to say that the councilsof the nation were betrayed; and their suspicions rose even to thesecretary's office. They observed, that the French were previouslyacquainted with all the motions of the English, and took their measuresaccordingly for their destruction. They collected and compared agood number of particulars that seemed to justify their suspicion oftreachery. But the misfortunes of the nation in all probability arosefrom a motley ministry divided among themselves, who, instead of actingin concert for the public good, employed all their influence to thwartthe views and blacken the reputations of each other. The people ingeneral exclaimed against the marquis of Carmarthen, the earls ofNottingham and Rochester, who had acquired great credit with the queen, and, from their hatred to the whigs, betrayed the interests of thenation. THE FRENCH KING HAS RECOURSE TO THE MEDIATION OF DENMARK. But if the English were discontented, the French were miserable in spiteof all their victories. That kingdom laboured under a dreadful famine, occasioned partly from unfavourable seasons, and partly from thewar, which had not left hands sufficient to cultivate the ground. Notwithstanding all the diligence and providence of their ministryin bringing supplies of corn from Sweden and Denmark, their carein regulating the price and furnishing the markets, their liberalcontributions for the relief of the indigent, multitudes perished ofwant, and the whole kingdom was reduced to poverty and distress. Louispined in the midst of his success. He saw his subjects exhausted bya ruinous war, in which they had been involved by his ambition. Hetampered with the allies apart, in hopes of dividing and detaching themfrom the grand confederacy; he solicited the northern crowns to engageas mediators for a general peace. A memorial was actually presented bythe Danish minister to king William, by which it appears that theFrench king would have been contented to purchase a peace with someconsiderable concessions; but the terms were rejected by the king ofEngland, whose ambition and revenge were not yet gratified, and whosesubjects, though heavily laden, could still bear additional burdens. The Jacobites had been very attentive to the progress of dissatisfactionin England, which they fomented with their usual assiduity. The latedeclaration of king James had been couched in such imperious terms asgave offence even to some of those who favoured his interest. The earlof Middleton therefore, in the beginning of the year, repaired to St. Germain's and obtained another, which contained the promise of a generalpardon without exception, and every other concession that a Britishsubject could demand of his sovereign. About the latter end of May, twomen named Canning and Dormer were apprehended for dispersing copies ofthis paper, tried at the Old Bailey, found guilty of not only dispersingbut also of composing a false and seditious libel, sentenced to pay fivehundred marks a-piece, to stand three times in the pillory, and findsureties for their good behaviour. But no circumstance reflected moredisgrace on this reign than the fate of Anderton, the supposed printerof some tracts against the government. He was brought to trial forhigh treason; he made a vigorous defence in spite of the insultsand discouragement he sustained from a partial bench. As nothing butpresumptions appeared against him, the jury scrupled to bring ina verdict that would affect his life, until they were reviled andreprimanded by judge Treby, then they found him guilty. In vain recoursewas had to the queen's mercy; he suffered death at Tyburn, and left apaper protesting solemnly against the proceedings of the court, whichhe affirmed was appointed not to try but to convict him, and petitioningheaven to forgive his penitent jury. The severity of the governmentwas likewise exemplified in the case of some adventurers, who havingequipped privateers to cruise upon the English, under joint commissionsfrom the late king James and Louis XIV. , happened to be taken by theEnglish ships of war. Dr. Oldys, the king's advocate, being commandedto proceed against them as guilty of treason and piracy, refused tocommence the prosecution; and gave his opinion in writing that theywere neither traitors nor pirates. He supported his opinion by argumentsbefore the council; these were answered by Dr. Littleton, who succeededhim in the office from which he was dismissed; and the prisoners wereexecuted as traitors. The Jacobites did not fail to retort thosearts upon the government which their adversaries had so successfullypractised in the late reign. They inveighed against the vindictivespirit of the administration, and taxed it with encouraging informersand false witnesses--a charge for which there was too much foundation. The friends of James in Scotland still continued to concert designsin his favour; but their correspondence was detected, and their aimsdefeated, by the vigilance of the ministry in that kingdom. SecretaryJohnston not only kept a watchful eye over all their transactions, butby a dexterous management of court liberality and favour, appeased thediscontents of the presbyterians so effectually, that the king ran norisk in assembling the parliament. Some offices were bestowed upon theleaders of the kirk party, and the duke of Hamilton, being reconciledto the government, was appointed commissioner. On the eighteenth day ofApril the session was opened, and the king's letter, replete with themost cajoling expressions, being read, the parliament proceeded toexhibit undeniable specimens of their good humour. They drew up a veryaffectionate answer to his majesty's letter; they voted an addition ofsix new regiments to the standing forces of the kingdom; they granteda supply of above one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling to hismajesty; they enacted a law for levying men to serve on board the royalnavy; they fined all absentees, whether lords or commons, and vacatedthe seats of all those commissioners who refused to take the oath ofassurance, which was equivalent to an abjuration of king James; theyset on foot an inquiry about an intended invasion; they published someintercepted letters supposed to be written to king James by Nevil Payne, whom they committed to prison and threatened with a trial for hightreason; but he eluded the danger by threatening in his turn to impeachthose who had made their peace with the government; they passed anact for the comprehension of such of the episcopal clergy as shouldcondescend to take the oaths by the tenth day of July. All that thegeneral assembly required of them was, an offer to subscribe theconfession of faith, and to acknowledge presbytery as the onlygovernment of the Scottish church; but they neither submitted tothese terms, nor took the oaths within the limited time, so thatthey forfeited all legal right to their benefices. Nevertheless theycontinued in possession, and even received private assurances of theking's protection. It was one of William's political maxims to court hisdomestic enemies; but it was never attended with any good effect. Thisindulgence gave offence to the presbyterians, and former distractionsbegan to revive. THE KING RETURNS TO ENGLAND. The king having prevailed upon the states-general to augment their landforces and navy for the service of the ensuing campaign, embarked forEngland, and arrived at Kensington on the thirtieth day of October. Finding the people clamorous and discontented, the trade of thenation decayed, the affairs of state mismanaged, and the ministersrecriminating upon one another, he perceived the necessity of changinghands, and resolved to take his measures accordingly. Sunderland, his chief counsellor, represented that the tories were averse to thecontinuance of a war which had been productive of nothing but damage anddisgrace; whereas, the whigs were much more tractable, and would bleedfreely, partly from the terror of invasion and popery, partly from theambition of being courted by the crown, and partly from the prospect ofadvantage, in advancing money to the government on the funds establishedby parliament; for that sort of traffic which obtained the appellationof the monied interest was altogether a whig-gish institution. The kingrevolved these observations in his own mind; and, in the meantime, theparliament met on the seventh day of November, pursuant to the lastprorogation. In his speech, he expressed his resentment againstthose who were the authors of the miscarriages at sea; represented thenecessity of increasing the land forces and the navy; and demanded asuitable supply for these purposes. In order to pave the way to theircondescension, he had already dismissed from his council the earlof Nottingham, who, of all his ministers, was the most odious to thepeople. His place would have been immediately filled with the earl ofShrewsbury; but that nobleman suspecting this was a change of men ratherthan of measures, stood aloof for some time, until he received suchassurances from the king as quieted his scruples, and then he acceptedthe office of secretary. The lieutenancy for the city of London, and allother commissions over England, were altered with a view to favour thewhig interest; and the individuals of that party were indulged withmany places of trust and profit; but the tories were too powerful in thehouse of commons to be exasperated, and therefore a good number of themwere retained in office. BOTH HOUSES INQUIRE INTO THE MISCARRIAGES BY SEA. On the sixth day of the session, the commons unanimously resolvedto support their majesties and their government; to inquire intomiscarriages; and to consider of means for preserving the trade of thenation. The Turkey company was summoned to produce the petitions theyhad delivered to the commissioners of the Admiralty for convoy: lordFalkland, who sat at the head of that board, gave in copies of all theorders and directions sent to sir George Rooke concerning the Straitsfleet, together with a list of all the ships at that time in commission. It appeared, in the course of this inquiry, that the miscarriage ofRooke's fleet was in a great measure owing to the misconduct of theadmirals, and the neglect of the victualling-office; but they werescreened by a majority. Mr. Harley, one of the commissioners for takingand stating the public accounts, delivered a report, which contained acharge of peculation against lord Falkland. Rainsford, receiver of therights and perquisites of the navy, confessed that he had received andpaid more money than that which was charged in the accounts; and, inparticular, that he had paid four thousand pounds to lord Falklandby his majesty's order. This lord had acknowledged before thecommissioners, that he had paid one half of the sum, by the king'sorder, to a person who was not a member of either house; and that theremainder was still in his hands. Rainsford owned he had the originalletter which he received from Falkland, demanding the money; and thisnobleman desiring to see it, detained the voucher; a circumstancethat incensed the commons to such a degree, that a motion was made forcommitting him to the Tower, and debated with great warmth, but was atlast over-ruled by the majority. Nevertheless, they agreed to make himsensible of their displeasure, and he was reprimanded in his place. Thehouse of lords having also inquired into the causes of the miscarriagesat sea, very violent debates arose, and at length the majority resolved, that the admirals had done well in the execution of the orders they hadreceived. This was a triumph over the whig lords, who had so eagerlyprosecuted the affair, and now protested against the resolution notwithout great appearance of reason. The next step of the lords was toexculpate the earl of Nottingham, as the blame seemed to lie with him onthe supposition that the admirals were innocent. With a view thereforeto transfer this blame to Trenchard, the whiggish secretary, the earlgave the house to understand that he had received intelligence fromParis in the beginning of June, containing a list of the enemy's fleetand the time of their sailing; that this was communicated to a committeeof the council, and particularly imparted to secretary Trenchard, whose province it was to transmit instructions to the admirals. Twoconferences passed on this subject between the lords and commons. Trenchard delivered in his defence in writing; and was in his turnscreened by the whole efforts of the ministry, in which the whiginfluence now predominated. Thus an inquiry of such nationalconsequence, which took its rise from the king's own expression ofresentment against the delinquents, was stifled by the arts of thecourt, because it was likely to affect one of its creatures; for, thoughthere was no premeditated treachery in the case, the interest ofthe public was certainly sacrificed to the mutual animosity of theministers. The charge of lord Falkland being resumed in the houseof commons, he appeared to have begged and received of the king theremaining two thousand pounds of money which had been paid by Rainsford:he was therefore declared guilty of a high misdemeanor and breach oftrust, and committed to the Tower; from whence however he was in twodays 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 thereceipts and issues of the revenue, together with two reports from thecommissioners of accounts concerning sums issued for secret services, and to members of parliament. This was a discovery of the mostscandalous practices in the mystery of corruption, equally exercised onthe individuals of both parties, in occasional bounties, grants, places, pensions, equivalents, and additional salaries. The malcontentstherefore justly observed, the house of commons was so managed that theking could baffle any bill, quash all grievances, stifle accounts, and rectify the articles of Limerick. When the commons took intoconsideration the estimates and supplies of the ensuing year, the kingdemanded forty thousand men for the navy, and above one hundred thousandfor the purposes of the land service. Before the house considered theseenormous demands, they granted four hundred thousand pounds by way ofadvance, to quiet the clamours of the seamen, who were become mutinousand desperate for want of pay, upwards of one million being due to themfor wages. Then the commons voted the number of men required for thenavy; but they were so ashamed of that for the army, that they thoughtit necessary to act in such a manner as should imply that they stillretained some regard for their country. They called for all the treatiessubsisting between the king and his allies; they examined the differentproportions of the troops furnished by the respective powers; theyconsidered the intended augmentations, and fixed the establishment ofthe year at four-score and three thousand, one hundred, and twenty-onemen, including officers. For the maintenance of these they allotted thesum of two millions, five hundred and thirty thousand, five hundred andnine pounds. They granted two millions for the navy, and about fivehundred thousand pounds, to make good the deficiencies of the annuityand poll bills; so that the supplies for the year amounted to aboutfive millions and a half, raised by a land-tax of four shillings in thepound, by two more lives in the annuities, a further excise on beer, anew duty on salt, and a lottery. Though the malcontents in parliament could not withstand this torrent ofprofusion, they endeavoured to distress the court interest, by revivingthe popular bills of the preceding session; such as that for regulatingtrials in cases of high treason, the other for the more frequent callingand meeting of parliaments, and that concerning free and impartialproceedings in parliament. The first was neglected in the house oflords; the second was rejected; the third was passed by the commons, onthe supposition that it would be defeated in the other house. The lordsreturned it with certain amendments, to which the commons would notagree: 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 thisjuncture. The commons, in order to recover some credit with the people, determined to disapprove of his majesty's conduct. The house formeditself into a committee, to take the state of the kingdom intoconsideration. They resolved, that whoever advised the king to refusethe royal assent to that bill, was an enemy to their majesties and thekingdom. They likewise presented an address, expressing their concernthat he had not given his consent to the bill; and beseeching hismajesty to hearken for the future to the advice of his parliament, rather than to the counsels of particular persons, who might haveprivate interests of their own, separate from those of his majestyand his people. The king thanked them for their zeal, professed a warmregard for their constitution, and assured them he would look uponall parties as enemies who should endeavour to lessen the confidencesubsisting between the sovereign and the people. The members in theopposition were not at all satisfied with this general reply. A daybeing appointed to take it into consideration, a warm debate wasmaintained with equal eloquence and acrimony. At length the questionbeing put that an address should be made for a more explicit answer, itpassed in the negative by a great majority. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND. The city of London petitioned that a parliamentary provision should bemade for the orphans, whose fortunes they had scandalously squanderedaway. Such an application had been made in the preceding session, andrejected with disdain, as an imposition on the public; but now thosescruples were removed, and the house passed a bill for this purpose, consisting of many clauses, extending to different charges on the citylands, aqueducts, and personal estates; imposing duties on bindingapprentices, constituting freemen, as also upon wines and coals importedinto London. On the twenty-third day of March these bills receivedthe royal assent; and the king took that opportunity of recommendingdespatch, as the season of the year was far advanced, and the enemydiligently employed in making preparations for an early campaign. Thescheme of a national bank, like those of Amsterdam and Genoa, had beenrecommended to the ministry as an excellent institution, as well forthe credit and security of the government, as the increase of trade andcirculation. One project was invented by Dr. Hugh Chamberlain, proposingthe circulation of tickets on land security; but William Paterson wasauthor of that which was carried into execution, by the interest ofMichael Godfrey and other active projectors. The scheme was foundedon the motion of a transferable fund, and a circulation by bill on thecredit of a large capital. Forty merchants subscribed to the amount offive hundred thousand pounds, as a fund of ready money, to circulate onemillion at eight per cent, to be lent to the government; and eventhis fund of ready money bore the same interest. When it was properlydigested in the cabinet, and a majority in parliament secured for itsreception, the undertakers for the court introduced it into the house ofcommons, and expatiated upon the national advantages that would accruefrom such a measure. They said it would rescue the nation out of thehands of extortioners and usurers, lower interest, raise the valueof land, revive and establish public credit, extend circulation, consequently improve commerce, facilitate the annual supplies, andconnect the people the more closely with the government. The project wasviolently opposed by a strong party, who affirmed that it would becomea monopoly, and engross the whole money of the kingdom; that, as it mustinfallibly be subservient to government views, it might be employedto the worst purposes of arbitrary power; that instead of assisting itwould weaken commerce, by tempting people to withdraw their money fromtrade and employ it in stock-jobbing; that it would produce a swarm ofbrokers and jobbers to prey upon their fellow-creatures, encouragefraud and gaming, and further corrupt the morals of the nation. Notwithstanding these objections, the bill made its way through the twohouses, establishing the funds for the security and advantage of thesubscribers; empowering their majesties to incorporate them by the nameof 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 thousandseven hundred and five, upon a year's notice, and the repayment of thetwelve hundred thousand pounds, the said corporation should cease anddetermine. The bill likewise contained clauses of appropriation for theservices of the public. The whole subscription was filled in ten claysafter its being opened; and the court of directors completed the paymentbefore the expiration of the time prescribed by the act, although theydid not call in more than seven hundred and twenty thousand poundsof the money subscribed. All these funds proving inadequate to theestimates, the commons brought in a bill to impose stamp duties upon allvellum, parchment, and paper, used in almost every kind of intercoursebetween man and man; and they crowned the oppression of the year withanother grievous tax upon carriages, under the name of a bill forlicensing 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, withinthe time limited by the act, the charter of the company so failingshould be deemed void and forfeited. The East India company actuallyneglected their payment, and the public imagined the ministry wouldseize this opportunity of dissolving a monopoly against which somany complaints had been made; but the directors understood their ownstrength; and, instead of being broken, obtained the promise of a newcharter. This was no sooner known, than the controversy between themand their adversaries was revived with such animosity, that the councilthought proper to indulge both parties with a hearing. As this producedno resolution, the merchants who opposed the company petitioned, that, in the meanwhile, the new charter might be suspended. Addresses of thesame kind were presented by a great number of clothiers, linen-drapers, and other dealers. To these a written answer was published by thecompany; the merchants printed a reply, in which they undertook to provethat the company had been guilty of unjust and unwarrantable actions, tending to the scandal of religion, the dishonour of the nation, thereproach of our laws, the oppression of the people, and the ruin oftrade. They observed, that two private ships had exported in one yearthree times as many cloths as the company had exported in three years. They offered to send more cloth and English merchandise to the Indiesin one year than the company had exported in five; to furnish thegovernment with five hundred tons of saltpetre for less than one halfof the usual price; and they represented, that the company could neitherload the ships they petitioned for in England, nor reload them in theEast Indies. In spite of all these remonstrances, the new charter passedthe great seal; though the grants contained in it were limited in such amanner that they did not amount to an exclusive privilege, and subjectedthe company to such alterations, restrictions, and qualifications, asthe king should direct before the twenty-ninth day of September. Thisindulgence, and other favours granted to the company, were privatelypurchased of the ministry, and became productive of a loud outcryagainst the government. The merchants published a journal of the wholetransaction, and petitioned the house of commons that their liberty oftrading to the East Indies might be confirmed by parliament. Anotherpetition was presented by the company, praying that their chartermight receive a parliamentary sanction. Both parties employed all theiraddress in making private application to the members. The house havingexamined the different charters, the book of their new subscriptions, and every particular relating to the company, resolved that all thesubjects of England had an equal right to trade to the East Indiesunless prohibited by act of parliament. {WILLIAM AND MARY, 1688--1701. } GENERAL NATURALIZATION BILL. But nothing engrossed the attention of the public more than a bill whichwas brought into the house for a general naturalization of all foreignprotestants. The advocates for this measure alleged, That great partof the lands of England lay uncultivated; that the strength of a nationconsisted in the number of inhabitants; that the people were thinned bythe war and foreign voyages, and required an extraordinary supply; thata great number of protestants, persecuted in France and other countries, would gladly remove to a land of freedom, and bring along with themtheir wealth and manufactures; that the community had been largelyrepaid for the protection granted to those refugees who had alreadysettled in the kingdom. They had introduced several new branches ofmanufacture, promoted industry, and lowered the price of labour; acircumstance of the utmost importance to trade, oppressed as it was withtaxes, and exposed to uncommon hazard from the enemy. The opponentsof the bill urged with great vehemence, That it would cheapen thebirthright of Englishmen; that the want of culture was owing to theoppression of the times; that foreigners being admitted into theprivileges of the British trade, would grow wealthy at the expense oftheir benefactors, and transfer the fortunes they had gained into theirnative country; that the reduction in the price of labour would be anational grievance, while so many thousands of English manufacturerswere starving for want of employment, and the price of provisionscontinued so high that even those who were employed could scarce supplytheir families with bread; that the real design of the bill was to makesuch an accession to the dissenters as would render them an equal matchin the body politic for those of the church of England; to create agreater dependence on the crown, and, in a word, to supply a foreignhead with foreign members. Sir John Knight, a member of the house, ina speech upon this subject, exaggerated the bad consequences that wouldattend such a bill, with all the wit and virulence of satire: it wasprinted and dispersed through the kingdom, and raised such a flame amongthe people as had not appeared since the revolution. They exclaimed, that all offices would be conferred upon Dutchmen, who would becomelord-danes, and prescribe the modes of religion and government; and theyextolled sir John Knight as the saviour of the nation. The courtiers, incensed at the progress of this clamour, complained in the house ofthe speech which had been printed; and sir John was threatened withexpulsion and imprisonment. He therefore thought proper to disownthe paper, which was burned by the hands of the common hangman. Thissacrifice served only to increase the popular disturbance, which roseto such a height of violence, that the court party began to tremble; andthe bill was dropped for the present. Lord Coningsby and Mr. Porter had committed the most flagrant acts ofoppression in Ireland. These had been explained during the last sessionby the gentlemen who appealed against the administration of lord Sidney, but they were screened by the ministry; and therefore the earl ofBellamont now impeached them in the house of commons, of which heand they were members. After an examination of the articles exhibitedagainst them, the commons, who were by this time at the devotion of thecourt, declared, that, considering the state of affairs in Ireland, theydid not think them fit grounds for an impeachment. --In the course ofthis session, the nation sustained another misfortune in the fate ofsir Francis Wheeler, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of theMediterranean squadron. He received instructions to take under hisconvoy the merchant ships bound to Turkey, Spain, and Italy; to cruisethirty days in a certain latitude for the protection of the Spanishplate-fleet homeward bound; to leave part of his squadron at Cadizas convoy to the trade for England; to proceed with the rest to theMediterranean; to join the Spanish fleet in his return; and to act inconcert with them, until he should be joined by the fleet from Turkeyand the Straits, and accompany them back to England. About the latterend of October he set sail from Saint Helen's, and in January arrivedat Cadiz with the ships under his convoy. There leaving rear-admiralHopson, he proceeded for the Mediterranean. In the bay of Gibraltar hewas overtaken by a dreadful tempest, under a lee-shore, which he couldnot possibly weather, and where the ground was so foul that no anchorwould hold. This expedient however was tried. A great number of shipswere driven ashore, and many perished. The admiral's ship foundered atsea, and he and all his crew were buried in the deep, except two Moorswho were miraculously preserved. Two other ships of the line, threeketches, and six merchant ships were lost. The remains of the fleetwere so much shattered, that, instead of prosecuting their voyage, they returned to Cadiz in order to be refitted, and sheltered from theattempts of the French squadrons, which were still at sea under thecommand 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 theparliament 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 hiscountry, continued to tamper with the duke of Savoy, and, by the canalof the pope, made some offers to the king of Spain, which were rejected. Meanwhile he resolved to stand upon the defensive during the ensuingcampaign, in every part but Catalonia, where his whole naval force mightco-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 conditionto sail; but before he arrived at Portsmouth, the Brest squadron hadquitted that harbour. On the third day of May the admiral sailedfrom 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 withtwo fire-ships, to destroy a fleet of French merchant ships nearConquet-bay; and this service being performed, he returned to St. Helen's, where he had left Adm. Cloudesley Shovel with a squadron, totake on board a body of land forces intended for a descent upon thecoast of France. These being embarked under the command of generalPtolemache, 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 thefleet designed for this expedition should separate from the rest andproceed to Camaret-bay, where the forces should be landed. On the fifthday of June, lord Berkeley, who commanded this squadron, parted with thegrand fleet, and on the seventh anchored between the bays of Camaret andBertaume. Next day the marquis of Carmarthen, afterwards duke ofLeeds, who served under Berkeley as rear-admiral of the blue, enteredCamaret-bay with two large ships and six frigates, to cover the troopsin landing. The French had received intelligence of the design, andtaken such precautions, under the conduct of the celebrated engineerVauban, that the English were exposed to a terrible fire from newerected batteries, as well as from a strong body of troops, and thoughthe ships cannonaded them with great vigour, the soldiers could notmaintain any regularity in landing. A good number were killed in theopen boats before they reached the shore; and those who landed weresoon repulsed, in spite of all the endeavours of general Ptolemache, who received a wound in the thigh, which proved mortal. Seven hundredsoldiers are said to have been lost on this occasion, besides those whowere killed on board of the ships. The Monk ship of war was towed offwith great difficulty; but a Dutch frigate of thirty guns fell into thehands of the enemy. After this unfortunate attempt, lord Berkeley, with the advice of acouncil of war, sailed back for England, and at St. Helen's receivedorders from the queen to call a council, and deliberate in what mannerthe ships and forces might be best employed. They agreed to make someattempt upon the coast of Normandy. With this view they set sail on thefifth day of July. They bombarded Dieppe, and reduced the greatest partof the town to ashes. Thence they steered to Havre-de-Grace, which metwith the same fate. They harassed the French troops who marched afterthem along shore. They alarmed the whole coast, and filled every townwith such consternation that they would have been abandoned by theinhabitants had not they been detained by military force. On thetwenty-sixth of July, lord Berkeley returned to St. Helen's, where hequitted the fleet, and the command devolved upon sir Cloudesley Shovel. This officer having received instructions to make an attempt uponDunkirk, sailed round to the Downs, where he was joined by M. Meesters, with six-and-twenty Dutch pilots. On the twelfth of September heappeared before Dunkirk; and next day sent in the Charles galley, withtwo bomb-ketches, and as many of the machines called infernals. Thesewere set on fire without effect, and the design miscarried; then Shovelsteered to Calais, which having bombarded with little success, hereturned to the coast of England; and the bomb-ketches and machines weresent into the river Thames. ADMIRAL RUSSEL RELIEVES BARCELONA. During these transactions, admiral Russel with the grand fleet sailedfor the Mediterranean; and being joined by rear-admiral Neville fromCadiz, together with Callemberg and Evertzen, he steered towardsBarcelona, which was besieged by the French fleet and army. At hisapproach, Tourville retired with precipitation into the harbour ofToulon; and Noailles abandoned his enterprise. The Spanish affairs werein such a deplorable condition, that without this timely assistance thekingdom must have been undone. While he continued in the Mediterranean, the French admiral durst not venture to appear at sea, and all hisprojects were disconcerted. After having asserted the honour of theBritish flag in those seas during the whole summer, he sailed in thebeginning of November to Cadiz, where, by an express order of theking, he passed the winter, during which he took such precautions forpreventing Tourville from passing the Straits, that he did not thinkproper 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 consultedwith the states-general. On the third day of June he repaired toBeth-lem-abbey near Louvain, the place appointed for the rendezvous ofthe 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 topromise an active campaign. On the third day of June the dauphin assumedthe command of the French forces, with which Luxembourg had taken postbetween Mons and Maubeuge; and passing the Sambre, encamped at Fleuras, but on the eighteenth he removed from thence, and took up his quartersbetween St. Tron and Wanheim; while the confederates lay at Roosbeck. On the eleventh of July, the dauphin marched in four columns to Oerleupon the Jaar, where he pitched his camp. On the twenty-second theconfederates marched to Romale; then the dauphin took the route toVignamont, where he secured his army by entrenchments, as his forceswere inferior in number to those of the allies; and as he had beendirected by his father to avoid an engagement. In this situation botharmies remained till the fifteenth day of August, when king William sentthe heavy baggage to Louvain; and on the eighteenth made a motion toSombref. This was no sooner known to the enemy than they decamped; andhaving marched all night, posted themselves between Temploux and Masy, within a league and a half of the confederates. The king of Englandresolved to pass the Scheld, and with this view marched by the way ofNivelle and Soignes to Chievres; from thence he detached the duke ofWirtemberg, with a strong body of horse and foot, to pass the river atOudenarde, while the elector of Bavaria advanced with another detachmentto pass it at Pont de Espieres. Notwithstanding all the expeditionthey could make, their purpose was anticipated by Luxembourg, who beingapprised of their route had detached four thousand horse, with eacha foot soldier behind the trooper, to reinforce M. De Valette whocommanded that part of the French line. These were sustained by a choicebody of men, who travelled with great expedition without observing theformalities of a march. Mareschal de Villeroy followed the same routewith all the cavalry of the right wing, the household troops, and twentyfield-pieces; and the rest of the army was brought up by the dauphin inperson. They marched with such incredible diligence, that the electorof Bavaria could scarce believe his own eyes when he arrived in sight ofthe Scheld and saw them intrenching themselves on the other side of theriver. King William having reconnoitred their disposition, thought itimpracticable to pass at that place; and therefore marched down theriver to Oudenarde, where a passage had been already effected by theduke of Wirtemberg. Here the confederates passed the Scheld on thetwenty-seventh day of the month; and the king fixed his head-quarters atWanneghem. His intention was to have taken possession of Courtray, andestablished winter-quarters for a considerable part of his army in thatdistrict; but Luxembourg having posted himself between that place andMenin, extended his lines in such a manner that the confederates couldnot attempt to force them, nor even hinder him from subsisting his armyat the enginse (expense ?) of the castellany of Courtray, during theremainder of the campaign. This surprising march was of such importanceto the French king, that he wrote with his own hand a letter of thanksto his army; and ordered that it should be read to every particularsquadron 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. Hedrafted troops from the garrison of Liege and Maestricht; and on thethird day of September reinforced his body with a large detachment fromhis own camp, conferring the command upon the duke of Holstein-Ploen, with orders to undertake the siege of Huy. Next day the wholeconfederate forces passed the Lys, and encamped at Wouterghem. Fromthence the king with a part of the army marched to Roselsær; thisdiversion obliged the dauphin to make considerable detachments for thesecurity cf Ypres and Menin on the one side, and to cover Furnes andDunkirk on the other. At this juncture, a Frenchman, being seized in thevery act of setting fire to one of the ammunition waggons in the alliedarmy, confessed he had been employed for this purpose by some of theFrench generals, and suffered death as a traitor. On the sixteenth dayof the month the duke of Holstein-Ploen invested Huy, and earned on thesiege with such vigour that in ten days the garrison capitulated. Theking ordered Dixmuyde, Deynse, Ninove, and Tirelemont, to be secured forwinter quarters to part of the army; the dauphin returned to Versailles;William quitted the camp on the last day of September; and both armiesbroke up about the middle of October. The operations on the Rhine were preconcerted between king William andthe prince of Baden, who had visited London in the winter. The disputebetween the emperor and the elector of Saxony was compromised; and thisyoung prince dying during the negotiation, the treaty was perfected byhis brother and successor, who engaged to furnish twelve thousand menyearly, in consideration of a subsidy from the court of Vienna. In thebeginning of June, mareschal de Lorges passed the Rhine at Philipsburgh, in order to give battle to the imperialists encamped at Halibron. Theprince of Baden, who was not yet joined by the Saxons, Hessians, nor bythe troops of Munster and Paderborn, dispatched couriers to quicken themarch of these auxiliaries, and advanced to Eppingen, where he proposedto wait till they should come up; but on the fifteenth, receivingundoubted intelligence that the enemy were in motion towards him, headvanced to meet them in order of battle. De Lorges concluded that thiswas a desperate effort, and immediately halted to make the necessarypreparations for an engagement. This pause enabled prince Louis to takepossession of a strong pass near Sintzheim, from which he could noteasily be dislodged. Then the mareschal proceeded to Viseloch, andravaged the adjacent country, in hopes of drawing the imperialists fromtheir intrenchments. The prince being joined by the Hessians, resolvedto beat up the quarters of the enemy; and the French general beingapprised of his design, retreated at midnight with the utmostprecipitation. Having posted himself at Ruth, he sent his heavy baggageto Philipsburgh; then he moved to Gonsbergh in the neighbourhood ofManheim, repassed the Rhine, and encamped between Spires and Worms. Theprince of Baden being joined by the allies, passed the river by abridge of boats near Hagenbach, in the middle of September; and laid thecountry of Alsace under contribution. Considering the advanced season ofthe year this was a rash undertaking; and the French general resolvedto profit by his enemy's temerity. He forthwith advanced against theimperialists, foreseeing that should they be worsted in battle, theirwhole army would be ruined. Prince Louis, informed of his intention, immediately passed the Rhine; and this retreat was no sooner effectedthan 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 afterthis incident both armies retired into winter-quarters. The campaignin Hungary produced no event of importance. It was opened by the newvizier, who arrived at Belgrade in the middle of August: and about thesame time Caprara assembled the imperial army in the neighbourhood ofPeterwaraden. The Turks passed the Saave in order to attack their camp, and carried on their approaches with five hundred pieces of cannon; butmade very little progress. The imperialists received reinforcements; theseason wasted away; a feud arose between the vizier and the chain of theTartars; and the Danube being swelled by heavy rains, so as to interruptthe operations of the Turks, their general decamped in the night ofthe first of October. They afterwards made an unsuccessful attempt uponTitul, while the imperial general made himself master of Giula. Inthe course of this summer the Venetians, who were also at war with theTurks, reduced Cyclut, a place of importance on the river Naranta, andmade 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 actvigorously in Catalonia. In the beginning of May, the duke de Noaillesadvanced 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 withsixteen thousand Spaniards. The French general passed the river inthe face of this army, and attacked their intrenchments with suchimpetuosity, that in less than an hour they were totally defeated. Thenhe marched to Palamos, and undertook the siege of that place, while atthe same time it was blocked up by the combined squadrons of Brest andToulon. Though the besieged made an obstinate defence, the town wastaken by storm, the houses were pillaged, and the people put to thesword, without distinction of age, sex, or condition. Then he investedGironne, which in a few days capitulated. Ostalric met with the samefate, and Noailles was created viceroy of Catalonia by the French king. In the beginning of August he distributed his forces into quarters ofrefreshment along the river Ter-dore, resolving to undertake the siegeof Barcelona, which was saved by the arrival of admiral Russel. The warlanguished in Piedmont, on account of a secret negotiation between theking of France and the duke of Savoy; notwithstanding the remonstrancesof Rouvigny earl of Galway, who had succeeded the duke of Schomberg inthe command of the British forces in that country. Casal was closelyblocked up by the reduction of Fort St. George, and the Vaudois gainedthe advantage in some skirmishes in the valley of Ragclas; but no designof 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 weexcept some little commotions occasioned by the practices, or pretendedpractices, of the Jacobites. Prosecutions were revived against certaingentlemen of Lancashire and Cheshire, for having been concerned in theconspiracy formed in favour of the late king's projected invasionfrom Normandy. These steps were owing to the suggestions of infamousinformers, whom the ministry countenanced. Colonel Parker and one Crosbywere imprisoned, and bills of treason found against them; but Parkermade his escape from the Tower, and was never retaken, though a rewardof four hundred pounds was set upon his head. The king having settledthe affairs of the confederacy at the Hague, embarked for England on theeighth of November, and next day landed at Margate. On the twelfth heopened the session of parliament with a speech, in which he observedthat the posture of affairs was improved both by sea and land since theylast parted; in particular, that a stop was put to the progress ofthe French arms. He desired they would continue the act of tonnage andpoundage, which would expire at Christmas; he reminded them of thedebt for the transport ships employed in the reduction of Ireland; andexhorted them to prepare some good bill for the encouragement of seamen. A majority in both houses was already secured; and in all probability hebargained for their condescension by agreeing to the bill for triennialparliaments. This Mr. Harley brought in by order of the lower houseimmediately after their first adjournment; and it kept pace with theconsideration of the supplies. The commons having examined the estimatesand 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 thesubsidy of tonnage and poundage for five years, and imposed new dutieson different commodities. * The triennial bill enacted, that a parliamentshould be held once within three years at least; that within three yearsat farthest after the dissolution of the parliament then subsisting, andso from time to time for ever after, legal writs under the great sealshould be issued by the direction of the crown for calling, assembling, and holding another new parliament; that no parliament should continuelonger than three years at farthest, to be accounted from the first dayof the first session; and that the parliament then subsisting shouldcease and determine on the first day of November next following, unlesstheir majesties should think fit to dissolve it sooner. The duke ofDevonshire, the marquis of Halifax, the earls of Weymouth and Aylesbury, protested against this bill, because it tended to the continuance of thepresent parliament longer than, as they apprehended, was agreeable tothe 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 ofCanterbury, was seized with a fit of the dead palsy in the chapelof Whitehall, and died on the twenty-second day of November, deeplyregretted by the king and queen, who shed tears of sorrow at hisdecease; and sincerely lamented by the public, as a pattern of elegance, ingenuity, meekness, charity, and moderation. These qualities he mustbe allowed to have possessed, notwithstanding the invectives of hisenemies, who accused him of puritanism, flattery, and ambition; andcharged him with having conduced to a dangerous schism in the church, byaccepting the archbishopric during the life of the deprived Sancroft. He was succeeded in the metropolitan See by Dr. Tennison, bishop ofLincoln, recommended by the whig-party which now predominated in thecabinet. The queen did not long survive her favourite prelate. In abouta month after his decease she was taken ill of the smallpox, and thesymptoms proving dangerous, she prepared herself for death with greatcomposure. She spent some time in exercises of devotion and privateconversation with the new archbishop; she received the sacrament withall the bishops who were in attendance; and expired on the twenty-eighthday of December, in the thirty-third year of her age, and in the sixthof her reign, to the inexpressible grief of the king, who for some weeksafter her death could neither see company nor attend to the business ofstate. Mary was in her person tall and well-proportioned, with an ovalvisage, lively eyes, agreeable features, a mild aspect, and an airof dignity. Her apprehension was clear, her memory tenacious, and herjudgment solid. She was a zealous protestant, scrupulously exact inall the duties of devotion, of an even temper, and of a calm and mildconversation. She was ruffled by no passion, and seems to have been astranger to the emotions of natural affection; for she ascended withoutcompunction the throne from which her father had been deposed, andtreated her sister as an alien to her blood. In a word, Mary seems tohave imbibed the cold disposition and apathy of her husband; and tohave centered all her ambition in deserving the epithet of an humble andobedient 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 hermajesty; but this request was not granted. She was thanked for herexpression of concern; and given to understand, that the physicians haddirected that the queen should be kept as quiet as possible. Before herdeath, however, she sent a forgiving message to her sister; and afterher decease, the earl of Sunderland effected a reconciliation betweenthe king and the princess, who visited him at Kensington, where she wasreceived with uncommon civility. He appointed the palace of St. Jamesfor her residence, and presented her with the greater part of thequeen's jewels. But a mutual jealousy and disgust subsisted under theseexteriors of friendship and esteem. The two houses of parliament waitedon the king at Kensington, with consolatory addresses on the death ofhis consort; their example was followed by the regency of Scotland, thecity and clergy of London, the dissenting ministers, and almost all thegreat 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. [Illustration: 2-056-william3. Jpg WILLIAM III. ] 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. _ {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } ACCOUNT OF THE LANCASHIRE PLOT. THE kingdom now resounded with the complaints of the papists andmalcontents, who taxed the ministry with subornation of perjury inthe case of the Lancashire gentlemen who had been persecuted for theconspiracy. One Lunt, an Irishman, had informed sir John Trench-ard, secretary of state, that he had been sent from Ireland with commissionsfrom king James to divers gentlemen in Lancashire and Cheshire; that hehad assisted in buying arms and enlisting men to serve that king inhis projected invasion of England; that he had been twice despatched bythose gentlemen to the court of St. Germain's, assisted many Jacobitesin repairing to France, helped to conceal others that came from thatkingdom; and that all those persons told him they were furnished withmoney by sir John Friend, to defray the expense of their expeditions. His testimony was confirmed by other infamous emissaries, who receivedbut too much countenance from the government. Blank warrants wereissued, and filled up occasionally with such names as the informerssuggested. These were delivered to Aaron Smith, solicitor to thetreasury, who with messengers accompanied Lunt and his associatesto Lancashire, under the protection of a party of Dutch horse-guardscommanded by one captain Baker. They were empowered to break openhouses, seize papers, and apprehend persons, according to theirpleasure; and they committed many acts of violence and oppression. Thepersons against whom these measures were taken, being apprized of theimpending danger, generally retired from their own habitations. Some, however, were taken and imprisoned; a few arms were secured; and inthe house of Mr. Standish, at Standish-hall, they found the draft ofa declaration to be published by king James at his landing. Asthis prosecution seemed calculated to revive the honour of a staleconspiracy, and the evidences were persons of abandoned characters, the friends of those who were persecuted found no great difficulty inrendering the scheme odious to the nation. They even employed the penof Ferguson, who had been concerned in every plot that was hatched sincethe Rye-house conspiracy. This veteran, though appointed housekeeper tothe excise-office, thought himself poorly recompensed for the part hehad acted in the revolution, became dissatisfied, and upon this occasionpublished a letter to sir John Trenchard on the abuse of power. Itwas replete with the most bitter invectives against the ministry, andcontained a great number of flagrant instances in which the courthad countenanced the vilest corruption, perfidy, and oppression. Thisproduction was in every body's hand, and had such an effect upon thepeople, that when the prisoners were brought to trial at Manchester, the populace would have put the witnesses to death had they not beenprevented by the interposition of those who were friends of the accusedpersons, 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 himselfdisappointed in his hope of reward from the ministry, was privatelygained over by the agents for the prisoners. Lunt, when desired in courtto point out the persons whom he had accused, committed such a mistakeas greatly invalidated his testimony; and Taaffe declared before thebench, that the pretended plot was no other than a contrivance betweenhimself and Lunt in order to procure money from the government. Theprisoners were immediately acquitted, and the ministry incurred aheavy load of popular odium, as the authors or abettors of knavishcontrivances to insnare the innocent. The government, with a view toevince their abhorrence of such practices, ordered the witnesses tobe prosecuted for a conspiracy against the lives and estates of thegentlemen who had been accused; and at last the affair was brought intothe house of commons. The Jacobites triumphed in their victory. Theyeven turned the battery of corruption upon the evidence for the crown, not without making a considerable impression. But the cause was nowdebated before judges who were not at all propitious to their views. Thecommons having set on foot an inquiry, and examined all the papers andcircumstances relating to the pretended plot, resolved that there wassufficient ground for the prosecution and trials of the gentlemen atManchester; and that there was a dangerous conspiracy against the kingand government. They issued an order for taking Mr. Standish intocustody; and the messenger reporting that he was not to be found, theypresented an address to the king, desiring a proclamation might bepublished offering a reward for apprehending his person. The peersconcurred with the commons in their sentiments of this affair; forcomplaints having been laid before their house also by the personswho thought themselves aggrieved, the question was put whether thegovernment had cause to prosecute them, and carried in the affirmative, though a protest was entered against this vote by the earls of Rochesterand Nottingham. Notwithstanding these decisions, the accused gentlemenprosecuted Lunt and two of his accomplices for perjury at the Lancasterassizes, and all three were found guilty. They were immediately indictedby the crown for a conspiracy against the lives and liberties of thepersons they had accused. The intention of the ministry in layingthis indictment was to seize the opportunity of punishing some ofthe witnesses for the gentlemen who had prevaricated in giving theirtestimony; but their design being discovered, the Lancashire men refusedto produce their evidence against the informers; the prosecution droppedof consequence, and the prisoners were discharged. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } 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 inhabitantsof Royston presented a petition, complaining that the officers andsoldiers of the regiment belonging to colonel Hastings, which wasquartered upon them, exacted subsistence-money, even on pain of militaryexecution. The house was immediately kindled into a flame by thisinformation. The officers and Pauncefort, agent for the regiment, wereexamined: then it was unanimously resolved that such a practice wasarbitrary, illegal, and a violation of the rights and liberties of thesubject. Upon further inquiry, Pauncefort and some other agents werecommitted to the custody of the sergeant, for having neglected to paythe subsistence money they had received for the officers and soldiers. He was afterwards sent to the Tower, together with Henry Guy, a memberof the house and secretary to the treasury, the one for giving and theother for receiving a bribe to obtain the king's bounty. Pauncefort'sbrother was likewise committed for being concerned in the same commerce. Guy had been employed, together with Trevor the speaker, as thecourt-agent for securing a majority in the house of commons; for thatreason he was obnoxious to the members in the opposition, who took thisopportunity to brand him, and the courtiers could not with any decencyscreen him from their vengeance. The house having proceeded in thisinquiry, drew up an address to the king, enumerating the abuses whichhad crept into the army, and demanding immediate redress. He promisedto consider the remonstrance and redress the grievances of which theycomplained. Accordingly, he cashiered colonel Hastings; appointed acouncil of officers to sit weekly and examine all complaints against anyofficer and soldier; and published a declaration for the maintenanceof strict discipline, and the due payment of quarters. Notwithstandingthese concessions, the commons prosecuted their examinations: theycommitted Mr. James Craggs, one of the contractors for clothing thearmy, because he refused to answer upon oath to such questions as mightbe put to him by the commissioners of accounts. They brought in a billfor obliging him and Mr. Richard Harnage, the other contractor, togetherwith the two Paunceforts, to discover how they had disposed of the sumspaid into their hands on account of the army, and for punishing them incase they should persist in their refusal. At this period they receiveda petition against the commissioners for licensing hackney-coaches. Three of them, by means of an address to the king, were removed withdisgrace for having acted arbitrarily, corruptly, and contrary to thetrust reposed in them by act of parliament. Those who encouraged this spirit of reformation, introduced anotherinquiry about the orphans' bill, which was said to have passed into anact by virtue of undue influence. A committee being appointed to inspectthe chamberlain's books, discovered that bribes had been given to sirJohn Trevor, speaker of the house, and Mr. Hungerford, chairman ofthe grand committee. The first being voted guilty of a high crime andmisdemeanor, abdicated the chair, and Paul Foley was appointed speakerin his room. Then sir John and Hungerford were expelled the house: oneNois, a solicitor for the bill, was taken into custody because he hadscandalized the commons, in pretending he was engaged to give great sumsto several members, and denying this circumstance on his examination. The reformers in the house naturally concluded that the same arts hadbeen practised in obtaining the new charter of the East India company, which had been granted so much against the sense of the nation. Theirbooks were subjected to the same committee that carried on the formerinquiry, and a surprising scene of venality and corruption was soondisclosed. It appeared that the company, in the course of the precedingyear, had paid near ninety thousand rounds in secret services, and thatsir Thomas Cooke, one of the directors, and a member of the house, hadbeen the chief managers of this infamous commerce. Cooke, refusing toanswer, was committed to the Tower, and a bill of pains and penaltiesbrought in obliging him to discover how the sum mentioned in the reportof the committee had been distributed. The bill was violently opposedin the upper house by the duke of Leeds, as being contrary to lawand equity, and furnishing a precedent of a dangerous nature. Cooke, agreeably to his own petition, being brought to the bar of the house oflords, declared that he was ready and willing to make a full discovery, in case he might be favoured with an indemnifying vote to secure himagainst all actions and suits, except those of the East India companywhich he had never injured. The lords complied with his request andpassed a bill for this purpose, to which the commons added a penalclause, 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 themoney-bills, he endeavoured to discourage this inquiry by tellingthe parliament that the season of the year was far advanced, and thecircumstances of affairs extremely pressing, he therefore desired theywould despatch such business as they should think of most importanceto the public, as he should put an end to the session in a few days. Notwithstanding this shameful interposition, both houses appointeda joint committee to lay open the complicated scheme of fraud andiniquity. Cooke, on his first examination, confessed that hehad delivered tallies for ten thousand pounds to Francis Tyssen, deputy-governor, for the special service of the company; an equal sumto Richard Acton, for employing his interest in preventing a newsettlement, and endeavouring to establish the old company; besides twothousand pounds by way of interest and as a further gratuity; a thousandguineas to colonel Fitzpatrick, five hundred to Charles Bates, and threehundred and ten to Mr. Molinenx, a merchant, for the same purpose; andhe owned that sir Basil Firebrace had received forty thousand pounds onvarious pretences. He said he believed the ten thousand pounds paidto Tyssen had been delivered to the king by sir Josiah Child, as acustomary present which former kings had received, and that the sumspaid to Acton were distributed among some members of parliament. Firebrace being examined, affirmed that he had received the whole fortythousand pounds for his own use and benefit; but that Bates had receivedsums of money, which he understood were offered to some persons of thefirst quality. Acton declared that ten thousand pounds of the sum whichhe had received was distributed among persons who had interest withmembers of parliament, and that great part of the money passed throughthe hands of Craggs, who was acquainted with some colonels in thehouse and northern members. Bates owned he had received the money inconsideration of using his interest with the duke of Leeds in favour ofthe company; that this nobleman knew of the gratuity; and that the sumwas reckoned by his grace's domestic, one Robart, a foreigner, who keptit in his possession until this inquiry was talked of, and then it wasreturned. In a word, it appeared by this man's testimony, as well as bythat of Firebrace on his second examination, that the duke of Leedswas not free from corruption, and that sir John Trevor was a hirelingprostitute. THE DUKE OF LEEDS IMPEACHED. The report of the committee produced violent altercations, and the mostsevere strictures upon the conduct of the lord president. At length thehouse resolved that there was sufficient matter to impeach Thomas, duke of Leeds, of high crimes and misdemeanors, and that he should beimpeached thereupon. Then it was ordered that Mr. Comptroller Whartonshould impeach him before the lords in the name of the house and of allthe commons in England. The duke was actually in the middle of a speechfor his own justification, in which he assured the house, upon hishonour, that he was not guilty of the corruptions laid to his charge, when one of his friends gave him intimation of the votes which hadpassed in the commons. He concluded his speech abruptly, and repairingto the lower house, desired he might be indulged with a hearing. He wasaccordingly admitted, with the compliment of a chair, and leave tobe covered. After having sat a few minutes, he took off his hat andaddressed himself to the commons in very extraordinary terms. Havingthanked them for the favour of indulging him with a hearing, he saidthat house would not have been then sitting but for him. He protestedhis own innocence with respect to the crime laid to his charge. Hecomplained that this was the effect of a design which had been longformed against him. He expressed a deep sense of his being under thedispleasure of the parliament and nation, and demanded speedy justice. They forthwith drew up the articles of impeachment, which beingexhibited at the bar of the upper house, he pleaded not guilty, and thecommons promised to make good their charge; but by this time such artshad been used as all at once checked the violence of the prosecution. Such a number of considerable persons were involved in this mystery ofcorruption, that a full discovery was dreaded by both parties. The dukesent his domestic Robart out of the kingdom, and his absence furnisheda 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 thethird day of May, when he thanked the parliament for the supplies theyhad granted; signified his intention of going abroad; assured them hewould place the administration of affairs in persons of known care andfidelity; and desired that the members of both houses would be more thanordinarily vigilant in preserving the public peace. The parliament wasthen prorogued to the eighteenth of June. [057] _[See note M, at the endof this Vol. ]_ The king immediately appointed a regency to govern thekingdom in his absence; but neither the princess of Denmark norher husband were intrusted with any share in the administration--acircumstance that evinced the king's jealousy, and gave offence to agreat part of the nation. [058] _[See note N, at the end of this Vol. ]_ THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT. A session of parliament was deemed necessary in Scotland, to provide newsubsidies for the maintenance of the troops of that kingdom, which hadbeen so serviceable in the prosecution of the war. But as a great outcryhad been raised against the government on account of the massacre ofGlencoe, and the Scots were tired of contributing towards the expenseof a war from which they could derive no advantage, the ministry thoughtproper to cajole them with the promise of some national indulgence. In the meantime, a commission passed the great seal for taking aprecognition of the massacre, as a previous step to the trial of thepersons concerned in that perfidious transaction. On the ninth dayof May, the session was opened by the marquis of Tweedale, appointedcommissioner, who, after the king's letter had been read, expatiatedon his majesty's care and concern for their safety and welfare; and hisfirm purpose to maintain the presbyterian discipline in the church ofScotland. Then he promised, in the king's name, that if they would passan act for establishing a colony in Africa, America, or any other partof the world where a colony might be lawfully planted, his majesty wouldindulge them with such rights and privileges as he had granted in likecases to the subjects of his other dominions. Finally, he exhortedthem to consider ways and means to raise the necessary supplies formaintaining their land forces, and for providing a competent number ofships of war to protect their commerce. The parliament immediately votedan address of condolence to his majesty on the death of the queen; andthey granted one hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterling for theservice of the ensuing year, to be raised by a general poll-tax, aland-tax, and an additional excise. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } THEY INQUIRE INTO THE MASSACRE OF GLENCOE. Their next step was to desire the commissioner would transmit theirhumble thanks to the king for his care to vindicate the honour of thegovernment and the justice of the nation, in ordering a precognitionto be taken with respect to the slaughter of Glencoe. A motion wasafterwards made that the commissioners should exhibit an account oftheir proceedings in this affair; accordingly a report, consistingof the king's instructions, Dalrymple's letters, the depositionsof witnesses, and the opinion of the committee, was laid before theparliament. The motion is said to have been privately influenced bysecretary Johnston, for the disgrace of Dalrymple, who was his rival inpower and interest. The written opinion of the commissioners, who werecreatures of the court, imported, That Macdonald of Glencoe had beenperfidiously murdered; that the king's instructions contained nothingto warrant the massacre; and that secretary Dalrymple had exceeded hisorders. The parliament concurred with this report. They resolved, ThatLivingston was not to blame for having given the orders contained inhis letters to lieutenant-colonel Hamilton; that this last was liableto prosecution; that the king should be addressed to give orders, eitherfor examining major Duncanson in Flanders, touching his concern in thisaffair, or for sending him home to be tried in Scotland; as also, thatCampbell of Glenlyon; captain Drummond, lieutenant Lindsey, ensignLundy, and sergeant Barber, should be sent to Scotland, and prosecutedaccording to law, for the parts they had acted in that execution. Inconsequence of these resolutions, the parliament drew up an address tothe king, in which they laid the whole blame of the massacre upon theexcess in the master of Stair's letters concerning that transaction. They begged that his majesty would give such orders about him, as heshould think fit for the vindication of his government; that the actorsin that barbarous slaughter might be prosecuted by the king's advocateaccording to law; and that some reparation might be made to the men ofGlencoe who escaped the massacre, for the losses they had sustainedin their effects upon that occasion, as their habitations had beenplundered and burned, their lands wasted, and their cattle driven away;so that they were reduced to extreme poverty. Notwithstanding thisaddress of the Scottish parliament, by which the king was so solemnlyexculpated, his memory is still loaded with the suspicion of havingconcerted, countenanced, and enforced this barbarous execution, especially as the master of Stair escaped with impunity, and the otheractors of the tragedy, far from being punished, were preferred in theservice. While the commissioners were employed in the inquiry, they madesuch discoveries concerning the conduct of the earl of Breadalbane, asamounted to a charge of high treason; and he was committed prisonerto the castle of Edinburgh; but it seems he had dissembled with thehighlanders by the king's permission, and now sheltered himself underthe 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 kingto his commissioner, prepared an act for establishing a company tradingto Africa and the Indies, empowering them to plant colonies, holdcities, towns, or forts, in places uninhabited, or in others with theconsent of the natives; vesting them with an exclusive right, and anexemption 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 uponthe isthmus of Darien, in such a manner as to carry on a trade in theSouth Sea as well as in the Atlantic; nay, even to extend it as faras the East Indies: a great number of London merchants, allured by theprospect of gain, were eager to engage in such a company, exemptedfrom all manner of imposition and restriction. The Scottish parliamentlikewise passed an act in favour of the episcopal clergy, decreeing, That those who should enter into such engagements to the king as wereby law required, might continue in their benefices under his majesty'sprotection, without being subject to the power of presbytery. Seventyof the most noted ministers of that persuasion took the benefit ofthis indulgence. Another law was enacted, for raising nine thousand menyearly to recruit the Scottish regiments abroad; and an act for erectinga public bank; then the parliament was adjourned to the seventh day ofNovember. PROCEEDINGS IN THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. Ireland began to be infected with the same factions which had broke outin England since the revolution: lord Capel, lord-deputy, governed in avery partial manner, oppressing the Irish papists without any regard toequity or decorum. He undertook to model a parliament in such a mannerthat they should comply with all the demands of the ministry; and hesucceeded in his endeavours by making such arbitrary changes in officesas best suited his purpose. These precautions being taken, he convokeda parliament for the twenty-seventh day of August, when he openedthe session with a speech, expatiating upon their obligations toking-William, and exhorting them to make suitable returns to such agracious sovereign. He observed, that the revenue had fallen shortof the establishment; so that both the civil and military lists weregreatly in debt; that his majesty had sent over a bill for an additionalexcise, and expected they would find ways and means to answer thedemands of the service. They forthwith voted an address of thanks, andresolved to assist his majesty to the utmost of their power, againstall his enemies, foreign and domestic. They passed the bill for anadditional excise, together with an act for taking away the writ "_Deheretico comburendo_;" another annulling all attainders and acts passedin the late pretended parliament of king James; a third to preventforeign education; a fourth for disarming papists; and a fifth forsettling the estates of intestates. Then they resolved, That a sumnot exceeding one hundred and sixty-three thousand three hundred andtwenty-five pounds, should be granted to his majesty; to be raised bya poll-bill, additional customs, and a continuation of the additionalexcise. Sir Charles Porter, the chancellor, finding his importancediminished, if not entirely destroyed, by the assuming disposition andpower of the lord-deputy, began to court popularity by espousing thecause of the Irish against the severity of the administration, andactually formed a kind of tory interest which thwarted lord Capel in allhis measures. A motion was made in parliament to impeach the chancellorfor sowing discord and division among his majesty's subjects; but beingindulged with a hearing by the house of commons, he justified himself somuch to their satisfaction, that he was voted clear of all imputationby a great majority. Nevertheless, they, at the end of the session, sent over an address, in which they bore testimony to the mild and justadministration of their lord-deputy. DISPOSITION OF THE ARMIES. King William having taken such steps as were deemed necessary forpreserving the peace of England in his absence, crossed the sea toHolland in the middle of May, fully determined to make some great effortin the Netherlands that might aggrandize his military character, andhumble the power of France which was already on the decline. Thatkingdom was actually exhausted in such a manner that the haughty Louisfound himself obliged to stand upon the defensive against enemies overwhom he had been used to triumph with uninterrupted success. He heardthe clamours of his people which he could not quiet; he saw his advancesto peace rejected; and to crown his misfortunes, he sustained anirreparable loss in the death of Francis de Montmorency, duke ofLuxembourg, to whose military talents he owed the greatest part of hisglory and success. That great officer died in January at Versailles, inthe sixty-seventh year of his age; and Louis lamented his death the moredeeply, as he had not another general left in whose understanding hecould confide. The conduct of the army in Flanders was intrusted tomareschal Villeroy, and Boufflers commanded a separate army thoughsubject to the other's orders. As the French king took it for grantedthat the confederates would have a superiority of numbers in the field, and was well acquainted with the enterprising genius of their chief, heordered a new line to be drawn between Lys and the Scheld; he caused adisposition 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-twosquadrons of horse and dragoons, chiefly English and Scots, encampedat Ærseele, Caneghem, and Wouterghem, between Thield and Deynse, tobe commanded by the king in person, assisted by the old prince ofVaudemont. The other army, composed of sixteen battalions of foot andone hundred and thirty squadrons of horse, encamped at Zellich andHamme, on the road from Brussels to Dendermonde, under the commandof the elector of Bavaria, seconded by the duke of Holstein-Ploen. Major-general Ellemberg was posted near Dixmuyde with twenty battalionsand ten squadrons; and another body of Brandenburg and Dutch troops, with a reinforcement from Liege, lay encamped on the Mehaigne, under theconduct of the baron de Heyden, Lieutenant-general of Brandenburgh, andthe count de Berlo, general of the Liege cavalry. King-William arrivedin the camp on the fifth clay of July, and remained eight days atÆrseele. Then he marched to Bekelar, while Villeroy retired behind hislines between Menin and Ypres, after having detached ten thousand mento reinforce Boufflers, who had advanced to Pont d'Espieres; but he tooretreating within his lines, the elector of Bavaria passed the Scheldand took post at Kirkhoven; at the same time the body under Heydenadvanced towards Namur. WILLIAM UNDERTAKES THE SIEGE OF NAMUR. The king of England having by his motions drawn the forces of the enemyon the side of Flanders, directed the baron de Heyden and the earl ofAthlone, who commanded forty squadrons from the camp of the elector ofBavaria, to invest Namur, and this service was performed on the thirdday of July; but as the place was not entirely surrounded, mareschalBoufflers threw himself into it with such a reinforcement of dragoonsas augmented the garrison to the number of fifteen thousand chosen men. King William and the elector brought up the rest of the forces, whichencamped on both sides of the Sambre and the Mose, and the lines ofcircumvallation were begun on the sixth day of July under the directionof the celebrated engineer, general Coehorn. The place was formerlyvery strong, both by situation and art; but the French, since its lastreduction, had made such additional works that both the town and citadelseemed impregnable. Considering the number of the garrison and thequality of the troops, commanded by a mareschal of France distinguishedby his valour and conduct, the enterprise was deemed an undeniable proofof William's temerity. On the eleventh the trenches were opened, andnext day the batteries began to play with incredible fury. The kingreceiving intelligence of a motion made by a body of French troops witha view to intercept the convoys, detached twenty squadrons of horse anddragoons to observe the enemy. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } FAMOUS RETREAT OF PRINCE VAUDEMONT. Prince Vaudemont, who was left at Roselsær with fifty battalions, andthe like number of squadrons, understanding that Villeroy had passed theLys in order to attack him, took post with his left near Grammen, hisright by Ærseele and Caneghem, and began to fortify his camp with aview to expect the enemy. Their vanguard appearing on the evening of thethirteenth at Dentreghem, he changed the disposition of his camp, and intrenched himself on both sides. Next day, however, perceivingVilleroy's design was to surround him by means of another body of troopscommanded by M. Montai, who had already passed the Scheld for thatpurpose, he resolved to avoid an engagement, and effected a retreatto Ghent, which is celebrated as one of the most capital efforts ofmilitary conduct. He forthwith detached twelve battalions and twelvepieces of cannon to secure Newport, which Villeroy had intended toinvest; but that general now changed his resolution, and undertook thesiege of Dixmuyde, garrisoned by eight battalions of foot and a regimentof dragoons, commanded by major-general Ellemberg, who in six-and-thirtyhours after the trenches were opened, surrendered himself and hissoldiers prisoners of war. This scandalous example was followed bycolonel O'Farrel, who yielded up Deynse on the same shameful conditions, even before a battery was opened by the besiegers. In the sequel, theywere both tried for their misbehaviour; Ellemberg suffered death, andO'Farrel was broke with infamy. The prince of Vaudemont sent a messageto 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 severalmarches and countermarches, appeared before Brussels on the thirteenthday of August, and sent a letter to the prince of Berghem, governor ofthat city, importing that the king his master had ordered him to bombardthe town, by way of making reprisals for the damage done by the Englishfleet to the maritime towns of France; he likewise desired to know inwhat part the electress of Bavaria resided, that he might not fireinto that quarter. After this declaration, which was no more than anunmeaning compliment, he began to bombard and cannonade the place withred-hot bullets, which produced conflagrations in many different partsof the city, and frightened the electress into a miscarriage. On thefifteenth, the French discontinued their firing, and retired to Enghein. During these transactions, the siege of Namur was prosecuted with greatardour under the eye of the king of England; while the garrison defendedthe place with equal spirit and perseverance. On the eighteenth dayof July, major-general Ramsay and lord Cutis, at the head of fivebattalions, English, Scots, and Dutch, attacked the enemy's advancedworks on the right of the counterscarp. They were sustained by sixEnglish battalions commanded by brigadier-general Fitzpatrick; whileeight foreign regiments, with nine thousand pioneers, advanced on theleft 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 verygates of the town, though not before they had killed or wounded twelvehundred men of the confederate army. The king was so well pleased withthe behaviour of the British troops, that during the action he laid hishand upon the shoulder of the elector of Bavaria, and exclaimed withemotion, "See, my brave English. " On the twenty-seventh the English andScots, lander Ramsay and Hamilton, assaulted the counterscarp, wherethey met with prodigious opposition from the fire of the besieged. Nevertheless, being sustained by the Dutch, they made a lodgement on theforemost covered-way before the gate of St. Nicholas, as also upon partof the counterscarp. The valour of the assailants on this occasion wasaltogether unprecedented, and almost incredible; while on the other handthe courage of the besieged was worthy of praise and admiration. Severalpersons were killed in the trenches at the side of the king, and amongthese Mr. Godfrey, deputy-governor of the bank of England, who had cometo the camp to confer with his majesty about remitting money for thepayment of the army. On the thirtieth day of July the elector of Bavariaattacked Vauban's line that surrounded the works of the castle. GeneralCoehorn was present in this action, which was performed with equalvalour and success. They not only broke the line, but even tookpossession of Coehorn's fort, in which however they found it impossibleto effect a lodgement. On the second day of August, lord Cutts, withfour hundred English and Dutch grenadiers, attacked the salient angleof a demi-bastion, and lodged himself on the second counterscarp. Thebreaches being now practicable, and preparations made for a generalassault, count Guiscard the governor capitulated for the town on thefourth of August; and the French retired into the citadel, against whichtwelve batteries played upon the thirteenth. The trenches meanwhile werecarried on with great expedition, notwithstanding all the efforts of thebesieged, who fired without ceasing, and exerted amazing diligence andintrepidity in defending and repairing the damage they sustained. Atlength the annoyance became so dreadful from the unintermitting showersof bombs and red-hot bullets, that Boufflers, after having made diversfurious sallies, formed a scheme for breaking through the confederatecamp with his cavalry. This however was prevented by the extremevigilance of king William. After the bombardment of Brussels, Villeroy, being-reinforced with allthe troops that could be drafted from garrisons, advanced towards Namurwith an army of ninety thousand men; and prince Vaudemont, being joinedby the prince of Hesse with a strong body of forces from the Rhine, tookpossession of the strong camp at Masy, within five English miles ofthe besieging army. The king understanding that the enemy had reachedFleurus, where they discharged ninety pieces of cannon as a signal toinform the garrison of their approach, left the conduct of the siegeto the elector of Bavaria, and took upon himself the command of thecovering army, in order to oppose Villeroy, who being further reinforcedby a detachment from Germany, declared that he would hazard a battle forthe relief of Namur. But when he viewed the posture of the allies nearMasy, 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 ofthe French infantry, gave him to understand that mareschal Villeroy hadretired towards the Mehaigne; so that the garrison could not expect tobe relieved. No immediate answer being returned to this message, theparley was broke off, and the king resolved to proceed without delay toa general assault, which he had already planned with the elector and hisother generals. Between one and two in the afternoon, lord Cutts, whodesired the command though it was not his turn of duty, rushed outof the trenches of the second line, at the head of three hundredgrenadiers, to make a lodgement in the breach of Terra-nova, supportedby the regiments of Coulthorp, Buchan, Hamilton, and Mackay;while colonel Marselly with a body of Dutch, the Bavarians, andBrandenburghers, attacked at two other places. The assailants met withsuch a warm reception, that the English grenadiers were repulsed, even after they had mounted the breach, lord Cutts being for sometime disabled by a shot in the head. Marselly was defeated, taken, andafterwards killed by a. Cannon ball from the batteries of the besiegers. The Bavarians by mistaking their way were exposed to a terrible fire, bywhich their general count Rivera, and a great number of their officers, were slain: nevertheless, they fixed themselves on the outwardintrenchment on the point of the Coehorn next to the Sambre, andmaintained their ground with amazing fortitude. Lord Cutts, when hiswound was dressed, returned to the scene of action, and ordered twohundred chosen men of Mackay's regiment, commanded by lieutenant Cockle, to attack the face of the salient angle next to the breach sword inhand, while the ensigns of the same regiment should advance and planttheir colours on the pallisadoes. Coekle and his detachment executed thecommand he had received with admirable intrepedity. They broke throughthe pallisadoes, drove the French from the covered way, made a lodgementin one of the batteries, and turned the cannon against the enemy. TheBavarians being thus sustained, made their post good. The major-generalsLa Cave and Schwerin lodged themselves at the same time on the coveredway; 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 withthe lives of two thousand men, including many officers of great rankand reputation. During the action the elector of Bavaria signalised hiscourage in a very remarkable manner, riding from place to place throughthe hottest of the fire, giving his directions with notable presenceof mind, according to the emergency of circumstances, animating theofficers with praise and promise of preferment, and distributinghandfuls of gold among the private soldiers. On the first day of September, the besieged having obtained a cessationof arms that their dead might be buried, the count de Guiscard appearingon the breach, desired to speak with the elector of Bavaria. Hishighness immediately mounting the breach, the French governor offeredto surrender the fort of Cohorn; but was given to understand, that ifhe intended to capitulate, he must treat for the whole. This reply beingcommunicated to Boufflers, he agreed to the proposal: the cessationwas prolonged, and that very evening the capitulation was finished. Villeroy, who lay encamped at Gemblours, was no sooner apprised of thisevent by a triple discharge of all the artillery, and a running firealong the lines of the confederate army, than he passed the Sambre nearCharleroy with great precipitation; and having reinforced the garrisonof Dinant, retreated towards the lines in the neighbourhood of Mons. Onthe fifth day of September the French garrison, which was now reducedfrom fifteen to five thousand five hundred men, evacuated the citadel ofNamur. Boufflers, in marching out, was arrested in name of his Britannicmajesty, by way of reprisal for the garrisons of Dixmuyde and Deynse, which the French king had detained contrary to the cartel subsistingbetween the two nations. The mareschal was not a little discomposed atthis unexpected incident, and expostulated warmly with Mr. Dyckvelt, who assured him that the king of Great Britain entertained a profoundrespect for his person and character. William even offered to set him atliberty, provided he would pass his word that the garrisons of Dixmuydeand Deynso should be sent back, or that he himself would return in afortnight. He said that he could not enter into any such engagement, as he did not know his master's reasons for detaining the garrisons inquestion. He was therefore reconveyed to Namur; from thence removedto Maestricht, and treated with great reverence and respect, tillthe return of an officer whom he had despatched to Versailles with anaccount of his captivity. Then he engaged his word, that the garrisonsof Dixmuyde and Deynse should be sent back to the allied army. He wasimmediately released and conducted in safety to Dinant. When he repairedto Versailles, Louis received him with very extraordinary marks ofesteem and affection. He embraced him in public with the warmestexpressions of regard; declared himself perfectly well satisfied withhis conduct; created him a duke and peer of France; and presented himwith a very large sum, in acknowledgment of his signal services. CAMPAIGN ON THE RHINE. After the reduction of Namur, which greatly enhanced the militarycharacter of king William, he retired to his house at Loo, which washis favourite place of residence, leaving the command to the electorof Bavaria; and about the latter end of September both armies began toseparate. The French forces retired within their lines. A good number ofthe allied troops were distributed in different garrisons; and a strongdetachment marched towards Newport, under the command of the prince ofWirtemberg, for the security of that place. Thus ended the campaign inthe Netherlands. On the Rhine nothing of moment was attempted by eitherarmy. The mareschal de Lorges, in the beginning of June, passed theRhine at Philipsburgh; and posting himself at Brucksal, sent out partiesto ravage the country. On the eleventh of the same month the prince ofBaden joined the German army at Steppach, and on the eighth day of Julywas reinforced by the troops of the other German confederates, in theneighbourhood of Wiselock. On the nineteenth the French retired withoutnoise, in the night, towards Manheim, where they repassed the riverwithout any interruption from the imperial general; then he sent off alarge detachment to Flanders. The same step was taken by the prince ofBaden; and each army lay inactive in their quarters for the remainingpart of the campaign. The command of the Germans in Hungary wasconferred upon the elector of Saxony; but the court of Vienna was sodilatory in their preparations, that he was not in a condition to acttill the middle of August. Lord Paget had been sent ambassadorfrom England to the Ottoman Porte, with instructions relating to apacification; but before he could obtain an audience the sultan died, and was succeeded by his nephew Mustapha, who resolved to prosecute thewar in person. The warlike genius of this new emperor afforded but anuncomfortable prospect to his people, considering that Peter, the czarof Muscovy, had taken the opportunity of the war in Hungary, to invadethe Crimea and besiege Azoph; so that the Tartars were too much employedat home to spare the succours which the sultan demanded. Nevertheless, Mustapha and his vizier took the field before the imperialists couldcommence the operations of the campaign, passed the Danube, took Lippaand Titul by assault, stormed the camp of general Veterani, who wasposted at Lugos with seven thousand men, and who lost his life in theaction. The infantry were cut to pieces, after having made a desperatedefence; but the horse retreated to Caronsebes, under the conduct ofgeneral Trusches. The Turks after this exploit retired to Orsowa. Theirnavy meanwhile surprised the Venetian fleet at Scio, where several shipsof the republic were destroyed, and they recovered that island, whichthe Venetians thought proper to abandon; but in order to balance thismisfortune, these last obtained a complete victory over the pacha ofNegropont in the Morea. THE DUKE OF SAVOY TAKES CASAL. The French king still maintained a secret negotiation with the duke ofSavoy, whose conduct had been for some time mysterious and equivocal. Contrary to the opinion of his allies, he undertook the siege ofCasal, which was counted one of the strongest fortifications in Europe, defended by a numerous garrison, abundantly supplied with ammunition andprovisions. The siege was begun about the middle of May; and theplace was surrendered by capitulation in about fourteen days, to theastonishment of the confederates, who did not know that this was asacrifice by which the French court obtained the duke's forbearanceduring the remaining part of the campaign. The capitulation imported, that the place should be restored to the duke of Mantua, who was therightful proprietor; that the fortifications should be demolished at theexpense of the allies; that the garrison should remain in the forttill that work should be completed; and hostages were exchanged forthe performance of these conditions. The duke understood the art ofprocrastination so well, that September was far advanced before theplace was wholly dismantled; and then he was seized with an ague, whichobliged him to quit the army. TRANSACTIONS IN CATALONIA. In Catalonia the French could hardly maintain the footing they hadgained. Admiral Russel, who wintered at Cadiz, was created admiral, chief-commander, and captain general of all his majesty's shipsemployed, or to be employed, in the narrow-seas and in theMediterranean. He was reinforced by four thousand five hundred soldiers, under the command of brigadier-general Stewart; and seven thousandmen, Imperialists as well as Spaniards, were drafted from Italy for thedefence of Catalonia. These forces were transported to Barcelona underthe convoy of admiral Nevil, detached by Russel for that purpose. Theaffairs of Catalonia had already changed their aspect. Several Frenchparties had been defeated. The Spaniards had blocked up Ostalric andCastel-Follit: Noailles had been recalled, and the command devolved tothe duke de Vendôme, who no sooner understood that the forces from Italywere landed, than he dismantled Ostalric and Castel-Follit, and retiredto Palamos. The viceroy of Catalonia and the English admiral havingresolved to give battle to the enemy and reduce Palamos, the Englishtroops were landed on the ninth day of August, and the allied armyadvanced to Palamos. The French appeared in order of battle; but theviceroy declined an engagement. Far from attacking the enemy he withdrewhis forces, and the town was bombarded by the admiral. The miscarriageof this expedition was in a great measure owing to a misunderstandingbetween Russel and the court of Spain. The admiral complained that hiscatholic majesty had made no preparations for the campaign; that he hadneglected to fulfil his engagements with respect to the Spanish squadronwhich ought to have joined the fleets of England and Holland; thathe had taken no care to provide tents and provisions for the Britishforces. On the twenty-seventh day of August he sailed for the coast ofProvence, where the fleet was endangered by a terrible tempest; then hesteered down the Straits, and toward the latter end of September arrivedin the bay of Cadiz. There he left a number of ships under the commandof sir David Mitchel, until he should be joined by sir George Rookewho was expected from England, and returned home with the rest of thecombined squadrons. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } 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 fleetunder the command of lord Berkeley of Stratton, assisted by the Dutchadmiral 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 toPortsmouth. The bomb vessels being refitted, the fleet sailed round tothe Downs, where four hundred soldiers were embarked for an attempt uponDunkirk, under the direction of Meesters the famous Dutch engineer, whohad prepared his infernals and other machines for the service. On thefirst day of August the experiment was tried without success. The bombsdid some execution; but two smoke ships miscarried. The French hadsecured the Ris-bank and wooden forts with piles, bombs, chains, andfloating batteries, in such a manner that the machine-vessels could notapproach near enough to produce any effect. Besides, the councils of theassailants were distracted by violent animosities. The English officershated Meesters, because he was a Dutchman, and had acquired some creditwith the king; he on the other hand treated them with disrespect. Heretired with his machines in the night, and refused to co-operate withlord 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 suchprecautions as rendered his scheme abortive. EXPEDITION TO THE WEST INDIES. A squadron had been sent to the West Indies under the joint-command ofcaptain Robert Wilmot and colonel Lilingston, with twelve hundredland forces. They had instructions to co-operate with the Spaniardsin Hispaniola, against the French settlements on that island, and todestroy their fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland in their return. They were accordingly joined by seventeen hundred Spaniards raisedby the president of St. Domingo; but instead of proceeding againstPetit-Guavas, according to the directions they had received, Wilmottook possession of Port François, and plundered the country for his ownprivate advantage, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Lilingston, who protested against his conduct. In a word, the sea and land officerslived in a state of perpetual dissension; and both became extremelydisagreeable to the Spaniards, who soon renounced all connexion withthem and their designs. In the beginning of September the commodore setsail for England, and lost one of his ships in the gulph of Florida. Hehimself died in his passage; and the greater part of the men being sweptoff by an epidemical distemper, the squadron returned to Britain in amost miserable condition. Notwithstanding the great efforts the nationhad made to maintain such a number of different squadrons for theprotection of commerce, as well as to annoy the enemy, the tradesuffered severely from the French privateers, which swarmed in bothchannels and made prize of many rich vessels. The marquis of Cærmarthen, being stationed with a squadron off the Scilly islands, mistook a fleetof merchant ships for the Brest fleet, and retired with precipitationto Milford-Haven. In consequence of this retreat, the privateers tooka good number of ships from Barbadoes, and five from the East-Indies, valued at a million sterling. The merchants renewed their clamouragainst the commissioners of the Admiralty, who produced their ordersand instructions in their own defence. The marquis of Cærmarthen hadbeen guilty of flagrant misconduct on this occasion; but the chiefsource of those national calamities was the circumstantial intelligencetransmitted to France from time to time by the malcontents of England;for they were actuated by a scandalous principle which they stillretain, namely, that of rejoicing in the distress of their country. A NEW PARLIAMENT. King William, after having conferred with the states of Holland and theelector of Brandenburgh who met him at the Hague, embarked for Englandon the nineteenth day of October, and arrived in safety at Margate, fromwhence he proceeded to London, where he was received as a conqueror, amidst the rejoicings and acclamations of the people. On the same day hesummoned a council at Kensington, in which it was determined to convokea new parliament. While the nation was in good humour, it was supposedthat they would return such members only as were well affected tothe government; whereas the present parliament might proceed inits inquiries into corruption and other grievances, and be the lessinfluenced by the crown, as their dependence was of such short duration. The parliament was therefore dissolved by proclamation, and a new onesummoned to meet at Westminster on the twenty-second day of November. While the whole nation was occupied in the elections, William, by theadvice of his chief confidants, laid his own disposition under restraintin another effort to acquire popularity. He honoured the diversionsof Newmarket with his presence, and there received a compliment ofcongratulation from the university of Cambridge. Then he visited theearls of Sunderland, Northampton, and Montague, at their differenthouses in the country; and proceeded with a splendid retinue to Lincoln, from whence he repaired to Welbeck, a seat belonging to the duke ofNewcastle in Nottinghamshire, where he was attended by Dr. Sharp, archbishop of York, and his clergy. He lodged one night with lord Brookeat Warwick castle, dined with the duke of Shrewsbury at Ryefort, and bythe way of Woodstock, made a solemn entry into Oxford, having been metat some distance from the city by the duke of Or-mond, as chancellor ofthe university, the vice-chancellor, the doctors in their habits, andthe magistrates in their formalities. He proceeded directly to thetheatre, where he was welcomed in an elegant Latin speech; he receivedfrom the chancellor on his knees the usual presents of a large EnglishBible, and book of Common-Prayer, the cuts of the university, and a pairof gold-fringed gloves. The conduits ran with wine, and a magnificentbanquet was prepared; but an anonymous letter being found in the street, importing that there was a design to poison his majesty, Williamrefused to eat or drink in Oxford, and retired immediately to Windsor. Notwithstanding this abrupt departure, which did not savour much ofmagnanimity, the university chose sir William Trumball, secretary ofstate, 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 evenof that party were malcontents; and when the parliament met, Foleywas again chosen speaker of the commons. The king in his first speechextolled the valour of the English forces; expressed his concern atbeing obliged to demand such large supplies from his people; observedthat the funds had proved very deficient, and the civil list was ina precarious condition; recommended to their compassion the miserablesituation of the French protestants; took notice of the bad state ofthe coin; desired they would form a good bill for the encouragement andincrease of seamen; and contrive laws for the advancement of commerce. He mentioned the great preparations which the French were making fortaking the field early; in treated them to use despatch; expressedhis satisfaction at the choice which his people had made of theirrepresentatives in the house of commons; and exhorted them to proceedwith temper and unanimity. Though the two houses presented addresses ofcongratulation to the king upon his late success, and promised to assisthim in prosecuting the war with vigour, the nation loudly exclaimedagainst the intolerable burdens and losses to which they were subjectedby a foreign scheme of politics, which, like an unfathomable abyss, swallowed up the wealth and blood of the kingdom. All the king'sendeavours to cover the disgusting side of his character had provedineffectual; he was still dry, reserved, and forbidding; and themalcontents inveighed bitterly against his behaviour to the princessAnne of Denmark. When the news of Namur's being reduced arrived inEngland, this lady congratulated him upon his success in a dutifulletter, to which he would not deign to send a reply, either by writingor message, nor had she or her husband been favoured with the slightestmark of regard since his return to England. The members in the lowerhouse, who had adopted opposing maxims either from principle orresentment, resolved that the crown should purchase the supplies withsome concession in favour of the people. They therefore brought in theso long contested bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason, and misprison of treason; and considering the critical juncture ofaffairs, the courtiers were afraid of obstructing such a popularmeasure. The lords inserted a clause, enacting, that a peer should betried by the whole peerage; and the commons at once assented to thisamendment. The bill provided, that persons indicted for high treason, ormisprison of treason, should be furnished with a copy of the indictmentfive days before the trial; and indulged with council to plead in theirdefence; that no person should be indicted but upon the oaths of twolawful witnesses swearing to overt-acts; that in two or more distincttreasons of divers kinds, alleged in one bill of indictment, onewitness to one, and another witness to another, should not be deemedtwo witnesses; that no person should be prosecuted for any such crime, unless the indictment be found within three years after the offencecommitted, except in case of a design or attempt to assassinate orpoison the king, where this limitation should not take place; thatpersons indicted for treason, or misprison of treason, should bosupplied with copies of the panel of the jurors, two days at leastbefore the trial, and have process to compel their witnesses to appear;that no evidence should be admitted of any overt-act not expressly laidin the indictment; that this act should not extend to any impeachment, or other proceeding in parliament; nor to any indictment forcounterfeiting his majesty's coin, his great seal, privy seal, signmanual, or signet. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } RESOLUTIONS WITH RESPECT TO A NEW COINAGE. This important affair being discussed, the commons proceeded to examinethe accounts and estimates, and voted above five millions for theservice of the ensuing year. The state of the coin was by this timebecome such a national grievance as could not escape the attentionof parliament. The lords prepared an address to the throne, for aproclamation to put a stop to the currency of diminished coin; andto this they desired the concurrence of the commons. The lower house, however, determined to take this affair under their own inspection. Theyappointed a committee of the whole house to deliberate on the state ofthe nation with respect to the currency. Great opposition was made to arecoinage, which was a measure strenuously recommended and supportedby Mr. Montague, who acted on this occasion by the advice of the greatmathematician sir Isaac Newton. The enemies of this expedient argued, that should the silver coin be called in, it would be impossible tomaintain the war abroad, or prosecute foreign trade, inasmuch as themerchant could not pay his bills of exchange, nor the soldier receivehis subsistence; that a stop would bo put to all mutual payment; andthis would produce universal confusion and despair. Such a reformationcould not be effected without some danger and difficulty; but it wasbecome absolutely necessary, as the evil daily increased, and in alittle time must have terminated in national anarchy. After long andvehement debates, the majority resolved to proceed with all possibleexpedition to a new coinage. Another question arose, Whether the newcoin, in its different denominations, should retain the original weightand purity of the old; or the established standard be raised in value?The famous Locke engaged in this dispute against Mr. Lowndes, whoproposed that the standard should be raised; the arguments of Mr. Lockewere so convincing, that the committee resolved the established standardshould be preserved with respect to weight and fineness. They likewiseresolved, 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 moneyshould pass in payment, except to the collectors of the revenue andtaxes, or upon loans or payments into the exchequer; that after anotherday to be appointed, no clipped money of any sort should pass in anypayment whatsoever; and that a third day should be fixed for all personsto bring in their clipped money to be recoined, after which they shouldhave no allowance upon what they might offer. They addressed the kingto issue a proclamation agreeably to these resolutions; and on thenineteenth day of December it was published accordingly. Such werethe fears of the people, augmented and inflamed by the enemies ofthe government, that all payment immediately ceased, and a face ofdistraction appeared through the whole community. The adversaries ofthe bill seized this opportunity to aggravate the apprehensions ofthe public. They inveighed against the ministry as the authors of thisnational grievance; they levelled their satire particularly at Montague;and it required uncommon fortitude and address to avert the mostdangerous consequences of popular discontent. The house of commonsagreed to the following resolutions: that twelve hundred thousand poundsshould be raised by a duty on glass windows, to make up the loss onthe clipped money; that the recompence for supplying the deficiencyof clipped money should extend to all silver coin, though of a coarseralloy than the standard; that the collectors and receivers of hismajesty's aids and revenues should be enjoined to receive all suchmonies; that a reward of five per cent, should be given to all suchpersons as should bring in either milled or broad undipped money, to beapplied in exchange of the clipped money throughout the kingdom; that areward of threepence per ounce should be given to all persons who shouldbring wrought plate to the mint to be coined; that persons might payin their whole next year's land-tax in clipped money, at one convenienttime to be appointed for that purpose; that commissioners should beappointed in every county to pay and distribute the milled and broadundipped money, and the new coined money in lieu of that which wasdiminished. A bill being prepared agreeably to these determinations, was sent up to the house of lords, who made some amendments which thecommons rejected; but in order to avoid cavils and conferences, theydropped the bill and brought in another without the clauses which thelords had inserted. They were again proposed in the upper house andover-ruled by the' majority; and on the twenty-first day of January thebill received the royal assent, as did another bill enlarging the timefor purchasing annuities and continuing the duties on low wines. At thesame time the king passed the bill of trials for high treason, andan act to prevent mercenary elections. Divers merchants and traderspetitioned the house of commons that the losses in their trade andpayments, occasioned by the rise of guineas, might be taken intoconsideration. A bill was immediately brought in for taking off theobligation and encouragement for coining guineas for a certain time; andthen the commons proceeded to lower the value of this coin, a task inwhich they met with great opposition from some members, who allegedthat it would foment the popular disturbances. At length, however, the majority agreed that a guinea should be lowered from thirty toeight-and-twenty shillings, and afterwards to six-and-twenty. At lengtha clause was inserted in the bill for encouraging people to bring plateto the mint, settling the price of a guinea at two-and-twenty shillings, and it naturally sunk to its original value of twenty shillings andsixpence. Many persons, however, supposing that the price of gold wouldbe raised the next session, hoarded up their guineas; and upon the samesupposition, encouraged by the malcontents, the new coined silver moneywas reserved, to the great detriment of commerce. The king ordered mintsto be erected in York, Bristol, Exeter, and Chester, for the purpose ofthe re-coinage, which was executed with unexpected success, so thatin 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 objectof a more private nature. The earl of Portland, who enjoyed the greatestshare of the king's favour, had obtained a grant of some lordshipsin Derbyshire. While the warrant was depending, the gentlemen of thatcounty resolved to oppose it with all their power. In consequence ofa petition, they were indulged with a hearing by the lords of thetreasury. Sir William Williams, in the name of the rest, alleged thatthe lordships in question were the ancient demesnes of the prince ofWales, absolutely unalienable; that the revenues of those lordshipssupported the government of Wales in paying the judges and othersalaries; that the grant was of too large an extent for any foreignsubject; and that the people of the county were too great to be subjectto any foreigner. Sundry other substantial reasons were used against thegrant, which, notwithstanding all their remonstrances, would have passedthrough the offices, had not the Welsh gentlemen addressed themselvesby petition to the house of commons. Upon this occasion, Mr. Price, amember of the house, harangued with great severity against the Dutch ingeneral, and did not even abstain from sarcasms upon the king's person, title, and government. The objections started by the petitioners beingduly considered, were found so reasonable that the commons presentedan address to the king, representing that those manors had been usuallyannexed to the principality of Wales, and settled on the princes ofWales for their support; that many persons in those parts held theirestates 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. Theytherefore besought his majesty to recall the grant which was indiminution of the honour and interest of the crown; and prayed thatthe said manors and lands might not be alienated without the consent ofparliament. This address met with a cold reception from the king, who promised to recall the grant which had given such offence to thecommons, and said he would find some other way of showing his favour tothe 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 interestand intelligence to injure the trade of England, that the commerce ofhis own country might flourish without competition. To his suggestionsthey imputed the act and patent in favour of the Scottish company, whichwas supposed to have been thrown in as a bone of contention between thetwo kingdoms. The subject was first started in the house of lords, who invited the commons to a conference; a committee was appointedto examine into the particulars of the act for erecting the Scottishcompany; and the two houses presented a joint address against it, as ascheme that would prejudice all the subjects concerned in the wealth andtrade of the English nation. They represented, that in consequence ofthe exemption from taxes and other advantages granted to the Scottishcompany, that kingdom would become a free port for all East and WestIndia commodities; that the Scots would be enabled to supply allEurope at a cheaper rate than the English could afford to sell theirmerchandise for, therefore England would lose the benefit of itsforeign trade; besides, they observed that the Scots would smuggle theircommodities into England, to the great detriment of his majesty andhis customs. To this remonstrance the king replied that he had been illserved in Scotland; but that he hoped some remedies would be found toprevent the inconveniencies of which they were apprehensive. In allprobability he had been imposed upon by the ministry of that kingdom;for in a little time he discarded the marquis of Tweedale, and dismissedboth the Scottish secretaries of state, in lieu of whom he appointedlord Murray, son to the marquis of Athol. Notwithstanding the king'sanswer, the committee proceeded on the inquiry, and, in consequenceof their report confirming a petition from the East India company, thehouse resolved that the directors of the Scottish company were guiltyof a high crime and misdemeanor in administering and taking an oath _defideli_ in this kingdom, and that they should be impeached for the same. Meanwhile, Roderick Mackenzie, from whom they had received theirchief information, began to retract his evidence, and was ordered intocustody; but he made his escape and could not be retaken, although theking at their request issued a proclamation for that purpose. The Scotswere extremely incensed against the king when they understood he haddisowned their company, from which they had promised themselves suchwealth and advantage. The settlement of Darien was already planned andafterwards put in execution, though it miscarried in the sequel, and hadlike to have produced abundance of mischief. INTRIGUES OF THE JACOBITES. The complaints of the English merchants who had suffered by the war wereso loud at this juncture, that the commons resolved to take theircase into consideration. The house resolved itself into a committee toconsider the state of the nation with regard to commerce, and havingduly weighed all circumstances, agreed to the following resolutions:that a council of trade should be established by act of parliament, withpowers to take measures for the more effectual preservation of commerce;that the commissioners should be nominated by parliament, but noneof them have seats in the house; that they should take an oathacknowledging the title of king William as rightful and lawful; andabjuring the pretensions of James, or any other person. The kingconsidered these resolutions as an open attack upon his prerogative, andsignified his displeasure to the earl of Sunderland, who patronised thismeasure; but it was so popular in the house, that in all probability itwould have been put in execution, had not the attention of thecommons been diverted from it at this period by the detection of a newconspiracy. The friends of king James had, upon the death of queen Mary, renewed their practices for effecting a restoration of that monarch, onthe supposition that the interest of William was considerably weakenedby the decease of his consort. Certain individuals, whose zeal for Jamesovershot their discretion, formed a design to seize the person ofking William, and convey him to France, or put him to death in case ofresistance. They had sent emissaries to the court of St. Germain's todemand a commission for this purpose, which was refused. The earlof Aylesbury, lord Montgomery, son to the marquis of Powis, sir JohnFenwick, sir John Friend, captain Charnock, captain Porter, and oneMr. Goodman, were the first contrivers of this project. Charnock wasdetached with a proposal to James, that he should procure a body ofhorse and foot from France to make a descent in England, and they wouldengage not only to join him at his landing, but even to replace him onthe throne of England. These offers being declined by James, on pretence that the French kingcould not spare such a number of troops at that juncture, the earl ofAylesbury went over in person, and was admitted to a conference withLouis, in which the scheme of an invasion was actually concerted. In thebeginning of February the duke of Berwick repaired privately to England, where he conferred with the conspirators, assured them that king Jameswas 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, hefound every thing prepared for the expedition. The troops were drawndown to the sea-side; a great number of transports were assembled atDunkirk; monsieur Gabaret had advanced as far as Calais with a squadronof ships, which, when joined by that of Du Bart at Dunkirk, was judgeda sufficient convoy; and James had come as far as Calais in his way toembark. Meanwhile the Jacobites in England were assiduously employedin making preparations for a revolt. Sir John Friend had very nearcompleted a regiment of horse; considerable progress was made in levyinganother by sir William Perkins; sir John Fenwick had enlisted fourtroops; colonel Tempest had undertaken for one regiment of dragoons;colonel Parker was preferred to the command of another; Mr. Curzon wascommissioned for a third; and the malcontents intended to raise a fourthin Suffolk, where their interest chiefly prevailed. CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LIFE OF WILLIAM. While one part of the Jacobites proceeded against William in theusual way of exciting an insurrection, another, consisting of the mostdesperate conspirators, had formed a scheme of assassination. Sir GeorgeBarclay, a native of Scotland, who had served as an officer in the armyof James, a man of undaunted courage, a furious bigot in the religionof Rome, yet close, circumspect, and determined, was landed with otherofficers in Romneymarsh, by one captain Gill, about the beginningof January, and is said to have undertaken the task of seizing orassassinating king William. He imparted his design to Harrison, _alias_Johnston, a priest, Char-nock, Porter, and sir William Perkins, by whomit was approved; and he pretended to have a particular commission forthis service. After various consultations, they resolved to attack theking on his return from Richmond, where he commonly hunted on Saturdays;and the scene of their intended ambuscade was a lane between Brentfordand Turnham-Green. As it would be necessary to charge and disperse theguards that attended the coach, they agreed that their number should beincreased to forty horsemen, and each conspirator began to engageproper persons for the enterprise. When their complement was full, theydetermined to execute their purpose on the fifteenth day of February. They concerted the manner in which they should meet in small partieswithout suspicion, and waited with impatience for the hour of action. In this interval some of the underling actors, seized with horror at thereflection of what they had undertaken, or captivated with the prospectof reward, resolved to prevent the execution of the design by a timelydiscovery. On the eleventh day of February, one Fisher informed the earlof Portland of the scheme, and named some of the conspirators; but hisaccount was imperfect. On the thirteenth however he returned with acircumstantial detail of all the particulars. Next day the earl wasaccosted by one Pendergrass, an Irish officer, who told his lordship hehad just come from Hampshire at the request of a particular friend, andunderstood that he had been called up to town with a view of engaginghim in a design to assassinate king William. He said, he had promisedto embark in the undertaking, though he detested it in his own mind, andtook this first opportunity of revealing the secret, which was of suchconsequence to his majesty's life. He owned himself a Roman catholic, but declared that he did not think any religion could justify such atreacherous purpose. At the same time he observed, that as he lay underobligations to some of the conspirators, his honour and gratitudewould not permit him to accuse them by name; and that he would upon noconsideration appear as an evidence. The king had been so much used tofictitious plots and false discoveries, that he paid little regard tothe informations until they were confirmed by the testimony of anotherconspirator called La Rue, a Frenchman, who communicated the sameparticulars to brigadier Levison, without knowing the least circumstanceof the other discoveries. Then the king believed there was somethingreal in the conspiracy; and Pendergrass and La Rue were severallyexamined in his presence. He thanked Pendergrass in particular for thisinstance of his probity; but observed that it must prove ineffectualunless he would discover the names of the conspirators; for, withoutknowing who they were, he should not be able to secure his life againsttheir attempts. At length Pendergrass was prevailed upon to give a listof those he knew, yet not before the king had solemnly promised thathe should not be used as an evidence against them, except with his ownconsent. As the king did not go to Richmond on the day appointed, theconspirators postponed the execution of their design till the Saturdayfollowing. They accordingly met at different houses on the Friday, whenevery man received his instructions. There they agreed, that after theperpetration of the parricide, they should ride in a body as far asHammersmith, and then dispersing, enter London by different avenues. Buton the morning, when they understood that the guards were returned totheir quarters, and the king's coaches sent back to the Mews, theywere seized with a sudden damp, on the suspicion that their plot wasdiscovered. Sir George Barclay withdrew himself, and every one beganto think of providing for his own safety. Next night, however, a greatnumber of them were apprehended, and then the whole discovery wascommunicated to the privy council. A proclamation was issued againstthose that absconded; and great diligence was used to find sir GeorgeBarclay, who was supposed to have a particular commission from James forassassinating the prince of Orange; but he made good his retreat, and itwas never proved that any such commission had been granted. DESIGN OF AN INVASION DEFEATED. This design and the projected invasion proved equally abortive. Jameshad scarce reach Calais when the duke of Wirtemberg despatched hisaidecamp from Flanders to king William, with an account of the purposeddescent. Expresses with the same tidings arrived from the elector ofBavaria and the prince de Vaude-mont. Two considerable squadrons beingready for sea, admiral Russel embarked at Spithead and stood over tothe French coast with about fifty sail of the line. The enemy wereconfounded at his appearance, and hauled in their vessels under theshore, in such shallow water that he could not follow and destroy them;but he absolutely ruined their design, by cooping them up in theirharbours. King James, after having tarried some weeks at Calais, returned to St. Germain's. The forces were sent back to the garrisonsfrom which they had been drafted; the people of France exclaimed, thatthe malignant star which ruled the destiny of James had blasted this andevery other project formed for his restoration. By means of the rewardoffered in the proclamation, the greater part of the conspirators werebetrayed or taken. George Harris, who had been sent from France withorders to obey sir George Barclay, surrendered himself to sir WilliamTrumball, and confessed the scheme of assassination in which he had beenengaged. Porter and Pendergrass were apprehended together. This lastinsisted upon the king's promise that he should not be compelled to giveevidence; but when Porter owned himself guilty, the other observed hewas 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 wellas the advices he had received touching the invasion; he explainedthe steps he had taken to defeat the double design, and professed hisconfidence in their readiness and zeal to concur with him in every thingthat should appear necessary for their common safety. That sameevening the two houses waited upon him at Kensington in a body, with anaffectionate address, by which they expressed their abhorrence of thevillanous and barbarous design which had been formed against his sacredperson, of which they besought him to take more than ordinary care. Theyassured him they would to their utmost defend his life, and supporthis government against the late king James and all other enemies; anddeclared, that in case his majesty should come to a violent death, they would revenge it upon his adversaries and their adherents. He wasextremely well pleased with this warm address, and assured them in histurn he would take all opportunities of recommending himself to thecontinuance of their loyalty and affection. The commons forthwithempowered him by bill to secure all persons suspected of conspiringagainst his person and government. They brought in another, providing, that in case of his majesty's death, the parliament then being shouldcontinue until dissolved by the next heir in succession to the crown, established by act of parliament; that if his majesty should chance todie between two parliaments, that which had been last dissolved shouldimmediately re-assemble, and sit for the despatch of national affairs. They voted an address to desire that his majesty would banish byproclamation all papists to the distance of ten miles from the cities ofLondon and Westminster; and give instructions to the judges going onthe circuits to put the laws in execution against Roman catholics andnonjurors. They drew up an association, binding themselves to assisteach other in support of the king and his government, and to revenge anyviolence that should be committed on his person. This was signed byall the members then present; but as some had absented themselveson frivolous pretences, the house ordered, that in sixteen days theabsentees should either subscribe or declare their refusal. Severalmembers neglecting to comply with this injunction within the limitedtime, 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 suchas pretended to be ill in town. The absentees finding themselves pressedin this manner, thought proper to sail with the stream, and sign theassociation, 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 kingreceived them with uncommon complacency; declared that he heartilyentered into the same association; that he should be always ready toventure his life with his good subjects against all who should endeavourto subvert the religion, laws, and liberties of England; and he promisedthat this and all other associations should be lodged among the recordsof the Tower of London. Next day the commons resolved, that whoevershould affirm an association was illegal, should be deemed a promoterof the designs of the late king James, and an enemy to the laws andliberties of the kingdom. The lords followed the example of the lowerhouse in drawing up an association; but the earl of Nottingham, sirEdward Seymour, and Mr. Finch, objected to the words rightful and lawfulas applied to his majesty. They said as the crown and its prerogativeswere vested in him, they would yield obedience, though they could notacknowledge him as their rightful and lawful king. Nothing could be more absurd than this distinction, started by menwho had actually constituted part of the administration; unless theysupposed that the right of king William expired with queen Mary. The earl of Rochester proposed an expedient in favour of such tenderconsciences, by altering the words that gave offence; and this wasadopted accordingly. Fifteen of the peers, and ninety-two commoners, signed the association with reluctance. It was, however, subscribed byall sorts of people in different parts of the kingdom; and the bishopsdrew up a form for the clergy, which was signed by a great majority. Thecommons 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 thecommissions in England, that those who had not signed it voluntarilyshould be dismissed from the service as disaffected persons. ESTABLISHMENT OF A LAND-BANK. After these warm demonstrations of loyalty, the commons proceeded uponways and means for raising the supplies. A new bank was constituted asa fund, upon which the sum of two millions five hundred and sixty-fourthousand pounds should be raised; and it was called the land-bank, because established on land securities. This scheme, said to have beenprojected by the famous Dr. Chamberlain, was patronised by the earl ofSunderland, and managed by Foley and Harley; so that it seemed to bo atory plan which Sunderland supported, in order to reconcile himself tothat party. [067] _[See note O, at the end of this Vol. ]_ The bank ofEngland petitioned against this bill, and were heard by their counsel;but their representations produced no effect, and the bill having passedthrough both houses, received the royal assent. On the twenty-seventhday of April the king closed the session with a short but graciousspeech; 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 fellowsof Magdalen-college, who, in the reign of James, had renounced theprotestant religion; the next were lieutenant King and Thomas Keys, which last had been formerly a trumpeter, but of late servant to captainPorter. 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 forassassinating the prince of Orange; Charnock in particular observed, that he had received frequent assurances of the king's having rejectedsuch proposals when they had been offered; and that there was no othercommission but that for levying war in the usual form. Sir John Friendand sir William Perkins were tried in April. The first, from meanbeginnings, had acquired great wealth and credit, and always firmlyadhered to the interests of king James. The other was likewise a man offortune, violently attached to the same principles, though he hadtaken the oaths to the present government as one of the six clerks inchancery. Porter and Blair, another evidence, deposed, that sir JohnFriend had been concerned in levying men under a commission from kingJames, and that he knew of the assassination plot, though not engagedin it as a personal actor. He endeavoured to invalidate the testimonyof Blair, by proving him guilty of the most shocking ingratitude. Heobserved that both the evidences were reputed papists. The curate ofHackney, who officiated as chaplain in the prisoner's house, declaredupon 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 notcomply with the present government, he would live peaceably under it, and never engage in any conspiracy. Mr. Hoadley, father of the presentbishop 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 ameeting in Leadenhall-street, but heard nothing of raising men, or anydesign against the government. He likewise affirmed that a consultationto levy war was not treason; and that his being at a treasonable consultcould amount to no more than a misprison of treason. Lord chief justiceHolt declared, that although a bare conspiracy, or design to levy war, was not treason within the statute of Edward III. , yet if the design orconspiracy be to kill, or depose, or imprison the king, by the means oflevying war, then the consultation and conspiracy to levy war becomeshigh treason though no war be actually levied. The same inference mighthave been drawn against the authors and instruments of the revolution. The judge's explanation influenced the jury, who, after somedeliberation, found the prisoner guilty. Next day sir William Perkinswas brought to the bar, and upon the testimony of Porter, Ewebank, hisown groom, and Haywood, a notorious informer, was convicted of havingbeen concerned not only in the invasion, but also in the design againstthe king's life. The evidence was scanty, and the prisoner having beenbred to the law, made an artful and vigorous defence: but the judgeacted as counsel for the crown; and the jury decided by the hints theyreceived from the bench. He and sir John Friend underwent the sentenceof death, and suffered at Tyburn on the third day of April. Friendprotested before God that he knew of no immediate descent purposed byking James, and therefore had made no preparations; that he was utterlyignorant of the assassination scheme; that he died in the communion ofthe church of England, and laid down his life cheerfully in the causefor 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 theprince of Orange and his adherents, and to seize all forts, castles, &c, but that he neither saw nor heard of any commission particularlylevelled 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 ornone but the immediate undertakers. These two criminals were in theirlast moments attended by Collier, Snatt, and Cook, three nonjuringclergymen, who absolved them in the view of the populace, with animposition of hands; a public insult on the government which did notpass unnoticed. Those three clergyman were presented by the grand juryfor having countenanced the treason by absolving the traitors, andthereby encouraged other persons to disturb the peace of the kingdom. Anindictment being preferred against them, Cook and Snatt were committedto Newgate; but Collier absconded, and published a vindication of theirconduct, in which he affirmed that the imposition of hands was thegeneral practice of the primitive church. On the other hand, thetwo metropolitans and twelve other bishops subscribed a declaration, condemning the administration of absolution without a previousconfession made, and abhorrence expressed, by the prisoners of theheinous crimes for which they suffered. In the course of the same month, Rookwood, Cranborne, and Lowick, weretried as conspirators by a special commission in the king's-bench, andconvicted on the joint testimony of Porter, Harris, La Rue, Bertram, Fisher, and Pendergrass. Some favourable circumstances appeared in thecase of Lowick. The proof of his having been concerned in the designagainst the king's life was very defective; many persons of reputationdeclared he was an honest, good natured, inoffensive man; and he himselfconcluded his defence with the most solemn protestation of his owninnocence. Great intercession was made for his pardon by some noblemen;but all their interest proved ineffectual. Cranborne died in a transportof indignation, leaving a paper which the government thought proper tosuppress. Lowick and Rookwood likewise delivered declarations to thesheriff, the contents of which as being less inflammatory were allowedto be published. Both solemnly denied any knowledge of a commission fromking James to assassinate the prince of Orange; the one affirming thathe was incapable of granting such an order; and the other assertingthat he, the best of kings, had often rejected proposals of that nature. Lowick owned that he would have joined the king at his landing; butdeclared he had never been concerned in any bloody affair during thewhole course of his life. On the contrary, he said he had endeavouredto prevent bloodshed as much as lay in his power; and that he would notkill the most miserable creature in the world, even though such an actwould save his life, restore his sovereign, and make him one ofthe greatest men in England. Rookwood alleged he was engaged by hisimmediate commander, whom he thought it was his duty to obey, though theservice was much against his judgment and inclination. He professed hisabhorrence of treachery even to an enemy. He forgave all mankind, even the prince of Orange, who as a soldier, he said, ought to haveconsidered his case before he signed his death warrant; he prayed Godwould open his eyes, and render him sensible of the blood that was fromall parts crying against him, so as he might avert a heavier executionthan that which he now ordered to be inflicted. The next person broughtto trial was Mr. Cooke, son of sir Miles Cooke, one of the six clerksin chancery. Porter and Goodman deposed that he had been present at twomeetings at the King's-head tavern in Leadenhall-street, with the lordsAylesbury and Montgomery, sir William Perkins, sir John Fenwick, sir John Friend, Charnock, and Porter. The evidence of Goodman wasinvalidated by the testimony of the landlord and two drawers belongingto the tavern, who swore that Goodman was not there while the noblemenwere present. The prisoner himself solemnly protested, that he was everaverse to the introduction of foreign forces; that he did not so muchas hear of the intended invasion until it became the common topic ofconversation; and that he had never seen Goodman at the King's-head. Hedeclared his intention of receiving the blessed sacrament, and wished hemight perish in the instant if he now spoke untruth. No respect waspaid to these asseverations. The solicitor-general Hawles, and lordchief-justice Treby, treated him with great severity in the prosecutionand charge to the jury, by whom he was capitally convicted. Afterhis condemnation, the court-agents tampered with him to make furtherdiscoveries; and after his fate had been protracted by divers shortreprieves, he was sent into banishment. From the whole tenour ofthese discoveries and proceedings, it appears that James had actuallymeditated an invasion; that his partisans in England had madepreparations for joining him on his arrival; that a few desperadoes ofthat faction had concerted a scheme against the life of king William;that in prosecuting the conspirators, the court had countenancedinformers; that the judges had strained the law, wrested circumstances, and even deviated from the function of their office, to convictthe prisoners; in a word, that the administration had used the samearbitrary and unfair practices against those unhappy people, which theythemselves had in the late reigns numbered among the grievances of thekingdom. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } THE ALLIES BURN THE MAGAZINE AT GIVET. The warmth, however, manifested on this occasion may have been owingto national resentment of the purposed invasion. Certain it is, thetwo houses of parliament and the people in general were animated withextraordinary indignation against France at this juncture. Thelords besought his majesty in a solemn address to appoint a day ofthanksgiving to Almighty God for having defeated the barbarous purposeof his enemies; and this was observed with uncommon zeal and devotion. Admiral Russel, leaving a squadron for observation on the Frenchcoast, returned to the Downs; but sir Cloudesley Shovel, being properlyprepared for the expedition, subjected Calais to another bombardment, bywhich the town was set on fire in different parts, and the inhabitantswere overwhelmed with consternation. The generals of the allied army inFlanders resolved to make some immediate retaliation upon the French fortheir unmanly design upon the life of king William, as they took it forgranted that Louis was accessary to the scheme of assassination. Thatmonarch, on the supposition that a powerful diversion would be madeby the descent on England, had established a vast magazine at Givet, designing, when the allies should be enfeebled by the absence ofthe British troops, to strike some stroke of importance early inthe campaign. On this the confederates now determined to wreak theirvengeance. In the beginning of March the carl of Athlone and monsieurde Coehorn, with the concurrence of the duke of Holstein-Ploen, whocommanded the allies, sent a strong detachment of horse, drafted fromBrussels and the neighbouring garrisons, to amuse the enemy on the sideof Charleroy, while they assembled forty squadrons, thirty battalions, with fifteen pieces of cannon, and six mortars, in the territory ofNamur. Athlone with a part of this body invested Dinant, while Coehornwith the remainder advanced to Givet. He forthwith began to batter andbombard the place, which in three hours was on fire, and by four in theafternoon wholly destroyed, with the great magazine it contained. Then the two generals joining their forces returned to Namur withoutinterruption. Hitherto the republic of Venice had deferred acknowledgingking William; but now they sent an extraordinary embassy for thatpurpose, consisting of signiors Soranzo and Venier, who arrived inLondon, and on the first day of May had a public audience. The king onthis occasion knighted Soranzo as the senior ambassador, and presentedhim with the sword according to custom. On that day, too, Williamdeclared in council that he had appointed the same regency which hadgoverned the kingdom during his last absence, and embarking on theseventh at Margate, arrived at Orange-Polder in the evening, underconvoy of vice-admiral Aylmer. This officer had been ordered to attendwith a squadron, as the famous Du Bart still continued at Dunkirk, and some attempt of importance was apprehended from his enterprisinggenius. * * 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 beassembled; but no transaction of consequence distinguished this campaigneither upon the Rhine or in Flanders. The scheme of Louis was stilldefensive on the side of the Netherlands, while the active plans ofking William were defeated by want of money. All the funds for this yearproved defective: the land-bank failed, and the national bank sustaineda rude shock in its credit. The loss of the nation upon the recoinage, amounted to two millions two hundred thousand pounds; and though thedifferent mints were employed without interruption, they could not forsome months supply the circulation, especially as great part of the newmoney was kept up by those who received it in payment, or disposed ofit at an unreasonable advantage. The French king having exhausted thewealth and patience of his subjects, and greatly diminished theirnumber in the course of this war, began to be diffident of his arms, andemployed all the arts of private negotiation. While his minister D'Avauxpressed the king of Sweden to offer his mediation, he sent Callieres toHolland with proposals for settling the preliminaries of a treaty. He took it for granted that as the Dutch were a trading people, whosecommerce had greatly suffered in the war, they could not be averse toa pacification; and he instructed his emissaries to tamper withthe malcontents of the republic, especially with the remains of theLouvestein faction, which had always opposed the schemes of thestadtholder. Callieres met with a favourable reception from the states, which began to treat with him about the preliminaries, though notwithout the consent and concurrence of king William and the rest of theallies. Louis, with a view to quicken the effect of this negotiation, pursued offensive measures in Catalonia, where his general the duke deVendome attacked and worsted the Spaniards in their camp near Ostalrick, though the action was not decisive; for that general was obliged toretreat after having made vigorous efforts against their intrenchments. On the twentieth day of June, mareschal de Lorges passed the Rhineat Philips-burg and encamped within a league of Eppingen, where theImperial troops were obliged to intrench themselves, under the commandof the prince of Baden, as they were not yet joined by the auxiliaryforces. The French general after having faced him about a month, thought proper to repass the river. Then he detached a body of horse toFlanders, and cantoned the rest of his troops at Spires, Franckendahl, Worms, and Ostofen. On the last day of August the prince of Badenretaliated the insult, by passing the Rhine at Mentz and Cocsheim. Onthe tenth he was joined by general Thungen, who commanded a separatebody, together with the militia of Suabia and Franconia, and advanced tothe camp of the enemy, who had reassembled; but they were posted in sucha manner that he would not hazard an attack. Having therefore cannonadedthem for some days, scoured the adjacent country by detached parties, and taken the little castle of Wiezengen, he repassed the river atWorms on the seventh day of October: the French likewise crossed atPhilipsburgh in hopes of surprising general Thungen, who had taken postin the neighbourhood of Strasbourg; but he retired to Eppingen beforetheir arrival, and in a little time both armies were distributed inwinter quarters. Peter, the czar of Muscovy, carried on the siege ofAzoph with such vigour, that the garrison was obliged to capitulateafter the Russians had defeated a great convoy sent to its relief. Thecourt of Vienna forthwith engaged in an alliance with the Muscoviteemperor; but they did not exert themselves in taking advantage of thedisaster which the Turks had undergone. The Imperial army, commanded bythe elector of Saxony, continued inactive on the river Marosch till thenineteenth day of July, then they made a feint of attacking Temiswaer;but they inarched towards Betzkerch, in their route to Belgrade, onreceiving advice that the grand seignor intended to besiege Titul. Onthe twenty-first day of August, the two armies were in sight of eachother. The Turkish horse attacked the Imperialists in a plain near theriver Begue, but were repulsed. The Germans next day made a show ofretreating, in hopes of drawing the enemy from their intrenchments. Thestratagem succeeded. On the twenty-sixth the Turkish army was in motion. A detachment of the Imperialists attacked them in flank as they marchedthrough a wood. A very desperate action ensued, in which the generalsHeusler and Poland, with many other gallant officers, lost their lives. At length the Ottoman horse were routed; but the Germans were so roughlyhandled, that on the second day after the engagement they retreated atmidnight, and the Turks remained quiet in their intrenchments. In Piedmont the face of affairs underwent a strange alteration. The dukeof Savoy, who had for some time been engaged in a secret negotiationwith France, at length embraced the offers of that crown, and privatelysigned a separate treaty of peace at Loretto, to which place he repairedon a pretended pilgrimage. The French king engaged to present him withfour millions of livres by way of reparation for the damage he hadsustained, to assist him with a certain number of auxiliaries against allhis enemies, and to effect a marriage between the duke of Burgundy andthe princess of Piedmont, as soon as the parties should be marriageable. The treaty was guaranteed by the pope and the Venetians, who wereextremely desirous of seeing the Germans driven out of Italy. King William being apprized of this negotiation, communicated theintelligence to the earl of Galway, his ambassador at Turin, whoexpostulated with the duke upon this defection; but he persisted indenying any such correspondence, until the advance of the French armyenabled him to avow it without fearing the resentment of the allies whomhe had abandoned. Catinat marched into the plains of Turin at thehead of fifty thousand men, an army greatly superior to that of theconfederates. Then the duke imparted to the ministers of the allies theproposals which France had made; represented the superior strengthof her army; the danger to which he was exposed; and, finally, hisinclination to embrace her offers. On the twelfth of July a truce wasconcluded for a month, and afterwards prolonged till the fifteenth ofSeptember. He wrote to all the powers engaged in the confederacy, exceptKing William, expatiating on the same topics, and soliciting theirconsent. Though each in particular refused to concur, he on thetwenty-third day of August signed the treaty in public which he hadbefore concluded in private. The emperor was no sooner informed of hisdesign, than he took every step which he thought could divert him fromhis purpose. He sent the count Mansfeldt to Turin with proposals for amatch between the king of the Romans and the princess of Savoy, as wellas with offers to augment his forces and his subsidy; but the duke hadalready settled his terms with France, from which he would not recede. Prince Eugene, though his kinsman, expressed great indignation at hisconduct. The young prince de Commercy was so provoked at his defectionthat he challenged him to single combat, and the duke accepted ofhis challenge; but the quarrel was compromised by the intervention offriends, and they parted in an amicable manner. He had concealed thetreaty until he should receive the remaining part of the subsidies dueto him from the confederates. A considerable sum had been remittedfrom England to Genoa for his use; but lord Galway no sooner receivedintimation of his new engagement, than he put a stop to the payment ofthis money, which he employed in the Milanese for the subsistence ofthose troops that were in the British service. King William was encampedat Gemblours when the duke's envoy notified the separate peace which hismaster had concluded with the king of France. Though he was extremelychagrined at the information, he dissembled his anger and listened tothe minister without the least emotion. One of the conditions of thistreaty was, that within a limited time the allies should evacuate theduke's dominions, otherwise they should be expelled by the joint forcesof France and Savoy. A neutrality was offered to the confederates;and this being rejected, the contracting powers resolved to attack theMilanese. Accordingly when the truce expired, the duke, as generalissimoof the French king, entered that duchy and undertook the siege ofValentia; 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 theduke of Savoy prosecuted the siege with uncommon impetuosity. But afterthe trenches had been open for thirteen days, a courier arrived fromMadrid with an account of his catholic majesty's having agreed to theneutrality for Italy. This agreement imported that there should be asuspension of arms until a general peace could be effected; and that theImperial and French troops should return to their respective countries. Christendom had well nigh been embroiled anew by the death of JohnSobieski, king of Poland, who died at the age of seventy in the courseof this summer, after having survived his faculties and reputation. As the crown was elective, a competition arose for the succession. Thekingdom was divided by factions; and the different powers of Europeinterested themselves warmly in the contention. NAVAL TRANSACTIONS. Nothing of consequence had been lately achieved by the naval force ofEngland. When the conspiracy was first discovered, sir George Rooke hadreceived orders to return from Cadiz, and he arrived in the latterend of April. While he took his place at the board of admiralty, lordBerkeley succeeded to the command of the fleet, and in the month ofJune set sail towards Ushant in order to insult the coast of France. Hepillaged and burned the villages on the islands Grouais, Houat, and Heydie; made prize of about twenty vessels; bombarded St. Martin's on theisle of Ehé, and the town of Olonne, which was set on fire in fifteendifferent places with the shells and carcasses. Though these appear tohave been enterprises of small import, they certainly kept the wholecoast of France in perpetual alarm. The ministry of that kingdom wereso much afraid of invasion, that between Brest and Goulet they orderedabove one hundred batteries to be erected, and above sixty thousand menwere continually in arms for the defence of the maritime places. In themonth of May rear-admiral Benbow sailed with a small squadron inorder to block up Du Bart in the harbour of Dunkirk; but that famousadventurer found means to escape in a fog, and steering to the eastwardattacked 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 shipsof the line, he was obliged to burn four of the frigates, turn the fifthadrift, and part with all his prizes except fifteen, which he carriedinto Dunkirk. PROCEEDINGS IN THE PARLIAMENTS OF SCOTLAND AND IRELAND. The parliament of Scotland met on the eighth day of September, and lordMurray, secretary of state, now earl of Tullibardine, presided as king'scommissioner. Though that kingdom was exhausted by the war and twosuccessive bad harvests, which had driven a great number of theinhabitants 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 formaintaining their forces by sea and land. They passed an act forsecuring their religion, lives, and properties, in case his majestyshould come to an untimely death. By another they obliged all personsin public trust to sign the association, and then the parliament wasadjourned to the eighth day of December. The disturbances of Irelandseemed now to be entirely appeased. Lord Capel dying in May, thecouncil, by virtue of an act passed in the reign of Henry VIII. , elected the chancellor, sir Charles Porter, to be lord justice and chiefgovernor of that kingdom, until his majesty's pleasure should be known. The parliament met in June: the commons expelled Mr. Sanderson, theonly member of that house who had refused to sign the association, andadjourned to the fourth day of August. By that time sir Charles Porterand the earls of Montrath and Drogheda were appointed lords justices, and signified the king's pleasure that they should adjourn. In thebeginning 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 underthe command of the elector of Bavaria, and about the latter end ofAugust repaired to his palace at Loo, where he enjoyed his favouriteexercise of stag-hunting. He visited the court of Brandenburgh atCleves; 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 thisjuncture from the sinking of public credit, and the stagnation thatnecessarily attended a recoinage. These grievances were with difficultyremoved by the clear apprehension, the enterprising genius, the unshakenfortitude of Mr. Montague, chancellor of the exchequer, operating upona national spirit of adventure, which the monied interest had produced. The king opened the session of parliament on the twentieth day ofOctober, with a speech importing that overtures had been made for anegotiation, but that the best way of treating with France would besword in hand. He therefore desired they would be expeditious in raisingthe supplies for the service of the ensuing year, as well as for makinggood the funds already granted. He declared that the civil list couldnot be supported without their assistance. He recommended the miserablecondition of the French protestants to their compassion. He desiredthey would contrive the best expedients for the recovery of the nationalcredit. He observed that unanimity and despatch were now more than evernecessary, for the honour, safety, and advantage of England. The commonshaving taken this speech into consideration, resolved that theywould support his majesty and his government, and assist him in theprosecution of the war; that the standard of gold and silver should notbe altered; and that they would make good all parliamentary funds. Thenthey presented an address in a very spirited strain, declaring, thatnotwithstanding the blood and treasure of which the nation had beendrained, the commons of England would not be diverted from their firmresolutions of obtaining by war a safe and honourable peace. Theytherefore renewed their assurances that they would support his majestyagainst all his enemies at home and abroad. The house of lords deliveredanother to the same purpose, declaring that they would never be wantingor backward on their parts in what might be necessary to his majesty'shonour, the good of his kingdoms, and the quiet of Christendom. Thecommons, in the first transports of their zeal, ordered two seditiouspamphlets to be burned by the hands of the common hangman. Theydeliberated upon the estimates, and granted above six millions forthe service of the ensuing-year. They resolved that a supply shouldbe granted for making good the deficiency of parliamentary funds, andappropriated several duties for this purpose. RESOLUTIONS TOUCHING THE COIN, &c. With respect to the coin they brought in a bill repealing an act fortaking off the obligation and encouragement of coining guineas for acertain time, and for importing and coining guineas and half guineas, asthe extravagant price of those coins which occasioned this act was nowfallen. They passed a second bill for remedying the ill state of thecoin; and a third, explaining an act in the preceding session for layingduties on low wines and spirits of the first extraction. In orderto raise the supplies of the year, they resolved to tax all personsaccording to the true value of their real and personal estates, theirstock upon land and in trade, their income by offices, pensions, andprofessions. A duty of one penny per week for one year was laid upon allpersons not receiving alms. A further imposition of one farthing in thepound per week was fixed upon all servants receiving four pounds perannum as wages, and upwards to eight pounds a-year inclusive. Those whoreceived from eight to sixteen pounds were taxed at one halfpenny perpound. An aid of three shillings in the pound for one year was laid uponall lands, tenements, and hereditaments, according to their true value. Without specifying the particulars of those impositions, we shall onlyobserve that, in the general charge, the commons did not exempt onemember of the commonwealth that could be supposed able to bear any partof the burden. Provision was made that hammered money should be receivedin payment of these duties at the rate of five shillings and eightpenceper ounce. All the deficiencies on annuities and monies borrowed on thecredit of the exchequer, were transferred to this aid. The treasurywas enabled to borrow a million and a half at eight per cent, and tocirculate exchequer bills to the amount of as much more. To cancel thesedebts the surplus of all the supplies, except the three-shilling-aid, was appropriated. The commons voted one hundred and twenty-five thousandpounds for making good the deficiency in recoining the hammered money, and the recompence for bringing in plate to the mint. This sum wasraised by a tax or duty upon wrought plate, paper, pasteboard, vellum, and parchment, made or imported. Taking into consideration the servicesand the present languishing state of the bank, whose notes were attwenty per cent, discount, they resolved that it should be enlargedby new subscriptions, made by four-fifths in tallies struck onparliamentary funds, and one-fifth in bank-bills or notes; thateffectual provision should be made by parliament for paying theprincipal of all such tallies as should be subscribed into the bank, outof 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 thebank should be prolonged to the first day of August, in the year onethousand seven hundred and ten. That all assignments of orders ortallies subscribed into the bank should be registered in the exchequer;that before the day should be fixed for the beginning of the newsubscriptions, the old should be made one hundred per cent. , and whatmight exceed that value should be divided among the old members; thatall the interest due on those tallies which might be subscribed into thebank-stock, at that time appointed for subscriptions, to the end of thelast preceding quarter on each tally, should be allowed as principal;that liberty should be given by parliament to enlarge the number ofbank-bills to the value of the sum that should be so subscribed overand above the twelve hundred thousand pounds, provided they shouldbe obliged to answer such bills on demand, and in default thereof beanswered by the exchequer out of the first money due to them; that noother bank should be erected or allowed by act of parliament during thecontinuance of the bank of England; that this should be exempted fromall tax or imposition; that no act of the corporation should forfeitthe particular interest of any person concerned therein; that provisionshould be made to prevent the officers of the exchequer, and all otherofficers and receivers of the revenue, from diverting, delaying, orobstructing the course of payments to the bank; that care should betaken to prevent the altering, counterfeiting, or forging any bank billsor notes; that the estates and interest of each member in the stock ofthe corporation should be made a personal estate; that no contractmade for any bank stock to be bought or sold, should be valid in law orequity unless actually registered in the bank books within seven days, and actually transferred within fourteen days after the contractshould be made. A bill upon these resolutions was brought in underthe direction of the chancellor of the exchequer: it related to thecontinuation of tonnage and poundage upon wine, vinegar, and tobacco, and comprehended a clause for laying an additional duty upon salt fortwo years and three quarters. All the several branches constituted ageneral fund, since known by the name of the general mortgage, withoutprejudice to their former appropriations. The bill also provided thatthe tallies should bear eight per cent, interest; that from the tenthof 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 wholeinterest, it was provided that every proprietor should receive hisproportion of the product, and the deficiency be made good from the nextaid; but should the fund produce more than the interest, the surpluswas destined to operate as a sinking fund for the discharge of theprincipal. In order to make up a deficiency of above eight hundredthousand pounds occasioned by the failure of the land-bank, additionalduties were laid upon leather; the time was enlarged for persons to comein and purchase the annuities payable by several former acts, and toobtain more certain interest in such annuities. Never were more vigorous measures taken to support the credit ofthe government; and never was the government served by such a set ofenterprising undertakers. The commons having received a message from theking touching the condition of the civil list, resolved that a sum notexceeding five hundred and fifteen thousand pounds should be granted forthe support of the civil list for the ensuing year, to be raised by amalt tax and additional duties upon mum sweets, cyder, and perry. Theylikewise resolved that an additional aid of one shilling in the poundshould be laid upon land, as an equivalent for the duty of ten percent, upon mixed goods. Provision was made for raising one million fourhundred thousand pounds by a lottery. The treasury was empowered toissue an additional number of exchequer bills to the amount of twelvehundred thousand pounds, every hundred pounds bearing interest at therate of fivepence a-day, and ten per cent, for circulation; finally, inorder to liquidate the transport-debt, which the funds established forthat purpose had not been sufficient to defray, a money-bill was broughtin to oblige pedlars and hawkers to take out licenses, and pay for themat certain stated prices. One cannot without astonishment reflect uponthe prodigious efforts that were made upon this occasion, or considerwithout indignation the enormous fortunes that were raised up by usurersand extortioners from the distresses of their country. The nationdid not seem to know its own strength, until it was put to thisextraordinary trial; and the experiment of mortgaging funds succeeded sowell, that later ministers have proceeded in the same system, imposingburden upon burden, as if they thought the sinews of the nation couldnever be overstrained. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } 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 JohnFen-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 byone Webber, who accompanied him; but this man being seized, the letterwas found, containing such a confession as plainly evinced him guilty. He then entered into a treaty with the court for turning evidence, anddelivered a long information in writing, which was sent abroad to hismajesty. He made no discoveries that could injure any of the Jacobites, who, by his account, and other concurring testimonies, appeared tobe divided into two parties, known by the names of compounders andnon-com-pounders. The first, headed by the earl of Middleton, insistedupon receiving security from king James that the religion and libertiesof England should be preserved; whereas the other party, at the headof which was the earl of Melfort, resolved to bring him in withoutconditions, relying upon his own honour and generosity. King Williamhaving sent over an order for bringing Fenwick to trial, unless heshould make more material discoveries, the prisoner, with a view toamuse the ministry until he could take other measures for his ownsafety, accused the earls of Shrewsbury, Marlborough, and Bath, thelord Godolphin, and admiral Russel, of having made their peace withking James, and engaged to act for his interest. Meanwhile his lady andrelations tampered with the two witnesses, Porter and Goodman. The firstof these discovered those practices to the government; and oneClancey, who acted as agent for lady Fenwick, was tried, convictedof subornation, fined, and set in the pillory; but they had succeededbetter in their attempts upon Goodman, who disappeared; so that onewitness only remained, and Fenwick began to think his life was outof danger. Admiral Russel acquainted the house of commons that he andseveral persons of quality had been reflected upon in some informationsof sir John Fenwick; he therefore desired that he might have anopportunity to justify his own character. Mr. Secretary Trumballproduced the papers, which having been read, the commons ordered thatsir John Fenwick should be brought to the bar of the house. There he wasexhorted by the speaker to make an ample discovery; which, however, he declined, except with the proviso that he should first receive somesecurity that what he might say should not prejudice himself. He wasordered to withdraw until they should have deliberated on his request. Then he was called in again, and the speaker told him that he mightdeserve the favour of the house by making a full discovery. He desiredhe might be indulged with a little time to recollect himself, andpromised to obey the command of the house. This favour being denied, heagain insisted upon having security; which they refusing to grant, hechose to be silent, and was dismissed from the bar. The house votedthat his informations reflecting upon the fidelity of several noblemen, members of the house, and others, upon hearsay, were false andscandalous, contrived to undermine the government, and create jealousiesbetween 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 hightreason, a warm debate ensued, and the question being put, was carriedin the affirmative by a great majority. He was furnished with a copy ofthe bill, and allowed the use of pen, ink, paper, and counsel. When hepresented a petition praying that his counsel might be heard againstpassing the bill, they made an order that his counsel should be allowedto make his defence at the bar of the house; so that he was surprisedinto an irregular trial, instead of being indulged with an opportunityof offering objections to their passing the bill of attainder. He wasaccordingly brought to the bar of the house; and the bill being readin his hearing, the speaker called upon the king's counsel to open theevidence. The prisoner's counsel objected to their proceeding to trial, alleging that their client had not received the least notice of theirpurpose, and therefore could not be prepared for his defence; but thatthey came to offer their reasons against the bill. The house, after along debate, resolved, that he should be allowed further time to producewitnesses in his defence; that the counsel for the king should likewisebe allowed to produce evidence to prove the treasons of which he stoodindicted; and an order was made for his being brought to the baragain in three days. In pursuance of this order he appeared, whenthe indictment which had been found against him by the grand jury wasproduced; and Porter was examined as an evidence. Then the record ofClancey's conviction was read; and one Roe testified that Deighton, theprisoner's solicitor, had offered him an annuity of one hundred poundsto discredit the testimony of Goodman. The king's counsel moved, thatGoodman's examination, as taken by Mr. Vernon, clerk of the council, might be read. Sir J. Powis and sir Bartholomew Shower, the prisoner'scounsel, warmly opposed this proposal; they affirmed that a depositiontaken when the party affected by it was not present to cross-examine thedeposer, could not be admitted in a case of five shillings value; thatthough the house was not bound by the rules of inferior courts, it wasnevertheless bound by the eternal and unalterable rules of justice; thatno evidence, according to the rules of law, could be admitted in such acase but that of living witnesses; and that the examination of a personwho is absent was never read to supply his testimony. The disputebetween the lawyers on this subject gave rise to a very violent debateamong the members of the house. Sir Edward Seymour, sir Richard Temple, Mr. Harley, Mr. Harcourt, Mr. Manly, sir Christopher Musgrave, and allthe leaders of the tory party, argued against the hardship and injusticeof admitting this information as an evidence. They demonstrated that itwould be a step contrary to the practice of all courts of judicature, repugnant to the common notions of justice and humanity, diametricallyopposite 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 thatthe house was not bound by any form of law whatsoever; that this wasan extraordinary case in which the safety of the government was deeplyconcerned; that though the common law might require two evidences incases of treason, the house had a power of deviating from those rulesin extraordinary cases; that there was no reason to doubt of sir JohnFenwick's being concerned in the conspiracy; that he or his friends hadtampered with Porter; and that there were strong presumptions to believethe same practices had induced Goodman to abscond. In a word, thetories, either from party or patriotism, strenuously asserted the causeof liberty and humanity by those very arguments which had been usedagainst them in the former reigns; while the wings, with equalviolence and more success, espoused the dictates of arbitrary power andoppression, in the face of their former principles, with which theywere now upbraided. At length the question was put, whether or notthe information of Goodman should be read? and was carried in theaffirmative by a majority of seventy-three voices. Then two of the grandjury who had found the indictment, recited the evidence which had beengiven to them by Porter and Goodman; lastly, the king's counsel insistedupon producing the record of Cooke's conviction, as he had been triedfor the same conspiracy. The prisoner's counsel objected, that if suchevidence was admitted, the trial of one person in the same company wouldbe the trial of all; and it could not be expected that they who came todefend sir John Fenwick only, should be prepared to answer the chargeagainst Cooke. This article produced another vehement debate among themembers; and the whigs obtained a second victory. The record was read, and the king's counsel proceeded to call some of the jury who servedon Cooke's trial to affirm that he had been convicted on Goodman'sevidence. Sir Bartholomew Shower said he would submit it to theconsideration of the house, whether it was just that the evidenceagainst one person should conclude against another standing at adifferent bar, in defence of his life? The parties were again ordered towithdraw; and from this point arose a third debate, which ended as thetwo former to the disadvantage of the prisoner. The jury being examined, Mr. Sergeant Gould moved, that Mr. Vernon might be desired to producethe intercepted letter from sir John Fenwick to his lady. The prisoner'scounsel warmly opposed this motion, insisting upon their proving it tobe his hand writing before it could be used against him; and no furtherstress was laid on this evidence. When they were called upon to enteron his defence, they pleaded incapacity to deliver matters of suchimportance after they had been fatigued with twelve hours' attendance. The house resolved to hear such evidence as the prisoner had to producethat night. His counsel declared that they had nothing then to producebut the copy of a record; and the second resolution was, that he shouldbe brought up again next day at noon. He accordingly appeared at thebar, and sir J. Powis proceeded on his defence. He observed that thebill under consideration affected the lives of the subjects; and suchprecedents were dangerous; that sir John Fenwick was forthcoming inorder to be tried by the ordinary methods of justice; that he wasactually under process, had pleaded, and was ready to stand trial;that if there was sufficient clear evidence against him, as the king'ssergeant had declared, there was no reason for his being deprived of thebenefit 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 avery odd reason for the bill. He took notice that even the regicides hadthe benefit of such a trial; that the last act for regulating trials incases of treason proved the great tenderness of the laws which affectedthe life of the subject; and he expressed his surprise that the veryparliament which had passed that law should enact another for puttinga person to death without any trial at all. He admitted that therehad been many bills of attainder, but they were generally levelled atoutlaws and fugitives; and some of them had been reversed in the sequelas arbitrary and unjust. He urged that this bill of attainder did notallege or say that sir John Fenwick was guilty of the treason for whichhe had been indicted; a circumstance which prevented him from producingwitnesses to that and several matters upon which the king's counsel hadexpatiated. He said they had introduced evidence to prove circumstancesnot alleged in the bill, and defective evidence of those that were; thatPorter was not examined upon oath; that nothing could be more severethan to pass sentence of death upon a man, corrupt his blood, andconfiscate his estate, upon parole evidence; especially of such a wretchwho, by his own confession, had been engaged in a crime of the blackestnature, not a convert to the dictates of conscience, but a coward, shrinking from the danger by which he had been environed, and evennow drudging for a pardon. He invalidated the evidence of Goodman'sexamination. He observed that the indictment mentioned a conspiracyto call in a foreign power; but as this conspiracy had not been put inpractice, such an agreement was not a sufficient overt-act of treason, according to the opinion of Hawles the solicitor-general, concerned inthis very prosecution. So saying, he produced a book of remarks whichthat lawyer had published on the cases of lord Russel, colonel Sidney, and others, who had suffered death in the reign of Charles II. Thisauthor, said he, takes notice, that a conspiracy or agreement to levywar is not treason without actually levying war; a sentiment in whichhe concurred with lord Coke, and lord chief-justice Hales. He concludedwith saying, "We know at present on what ground we stand; by thestatute of Edward III. We know what treason is; by the two statutes ofEdward VI. And the late act, we know what is proof; by the Magna Chartawe 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 ofattainder come into fashion, we shall neither know what is treason, whatis evidence, nor how nor where we are to be tried. " He was seconded bysir Bartholomew Shower, who spoke with equal energy and elocution; andtheir arguments were answered by the king's counsel. The arguments infavour of the bill imported that the parliament would not interposeexcept in extraordinary cases; that here the evidence necessary ininferior courts being defective, the parliament, which was not tied downby legal evidence, had a right to exert their extraordinary power inpunishing an offender, who would otherwise escape with impunity; thatas the law stood, he was but a sorry politician that could not ruin thegovernment, and yet elude the statute of treason; that if a plot, after being discovered, should not be thoroughly prosecuted, it wouldstrengthen and grow upon the administration, and probably at lengthsubvert the government; that it was notorious that parties were formingfor king James; persons were plotting in every part of the kingdom, andan open invasion was threatened; therefore this was a proper time forthe parliament to exert their extraordinary power; that the Englishdiffered from all other nations in bringing the witnesses and theprisoner face to face, and requiring two witnesses in cases of treason;nor did the English law itself require the same proof in some cases asin others, for one witness was sufficient in felony, as well as for thetreason of coining; that Fenwick was notoriously guilty, and deservedto feel the resentment of the nation; that he would have been broughtto exemplary punishment in the ordinary course of justice, had he noteluded it by corrupting evidence and withdrawing a witness. Ifthis reasoning be just, the house of commons has a right to act indiametrical opposition to the laws in being; and is vested with adespotic power over the lives and fortunes of their constituents, forwhose protection they are constituted. Let us therefore reflect uponthe possibility of a parliament debauched by the arts of corruption intoservile compliance with the designs of an arbitrary prince, and tremblefor the consequence. The debate being finished, the prisoner was, at thedesire of admiral Russel, questioned with regard to the imputations hehad fixed upon that gentleman and others from hearsay; but he desiredto be excused on account of the risk he ran while under a doubleprosecution, if any thing which should escape him might be turned to hisprejudice. After he was removed from the bar, Mr. Vernon, at the desire of thehouse, recapitulated the arts and practices of sir John Fenwick and hisfriends to procrastinate the trial. The bill was read a second time;and the speaker asking, If the question should be put for its beingcommitted? the house was immediately kindled into a new flame ofcontention. Hawles, the solicitor-general, affirmed that the house inthe present case should act both as judge and jury. Mr. Harcourt said heknew 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 itwas 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 onhis oath, nor of a judge who had not power to examine witnesses uponoath, and who was not empowered to save the innocent as well as tocondemn the guilty. Sir Thomas Lyttleton was of opinion that theparliament ought not to stand upon little niceties and forms of othercourts when the government was at stake. Mr. Howe asserted that to do athing of this nature, because the parliament had power to do it, wasa strange way of reasoning; that what was justice and equity atWestminster-hall, was justice and equity every where; that one badprecedent in parliament was of worse consequence than an hundred inWestminster-hall, because personal or private injuries did not foreclosethe claims of original right; whereas the parliament could ruin thenation beyond redemption, because it could establish tyranny by law. SirRichard Temple, in arguing against the bill, observed that the power ofparliament is to make any law, but the jurisdiction of parliament is togovern itself by the law; to make a law, therefore, against all the lawsin England was the _ultimum remedium et pessimum_, never to be used butin case of absolute necessity. He affirmed that by this precedent thehouse overthrew all the laws of England; first, in condemning a man uponone witness; secondly, in passing an act without any trial. The commonsnever did nor can assume a jurisdiction of trying any person: they mayfor their own information hear what can be offered; but it is not atrial where witnesses are not upon oath. All bills of attainder havepassed against persons that were dead or fled, or without the compass ofthe law: some have been brought in after trials in Westminster-hall; butnone of those have been called trials, and they were generally reversed. He denied that the parliament had power to declare anything treasonwhich was not treason before. When inferior courts were dubious, thecase might be brought before parliament to judge whether it be treasonor felony; but then they must judge by the laws in being, and thisjudgment was not in the parliament by bill but only in the house oflords. Lord Digby, Mr. Harley, and colonel Granville, spoke to the samepurpose. But their arguments and remonstrances had no effect upon themajority, by whom the prisoner was devoted to destruction. The bill wascommitted, passed, and sent up to the house of lords, where itproduced the longest and warmest debates which had been known since theRestoration. Bishop Burnet signalized his zeal for the government by along speech in favour of the bill, contradicting some of the fundamentalmaxims which he had formerly avowed in behalf of the liberties of thepeople. At length it was carried by a majority of seven voices; andone-and-forty lords, including eight prelates, entered a protest couchedin the strongest terms against the decision. When the bill received the royal assent, another act of the like naturepassed against Barclay, Holmes, and nine other conspirators who had fledfrom justice, in case they should not surrender themselves on or beforethe twenty-fifth day of March next ensuing. Sir John Fenwick solicitedthe mediation of the lords in his behalf, while his friends implored theroyal mercy. The peers gave him to understand that the success of hissuit would depend upon the fulness of his discoveries. He would havepreviously stipulated for a pardon, and they insisted upon his dependingon their favour. He hesitated some time between the fears of infamy andthe terrors of death, which last he at length chose to undergo ratherthan incur the disgraceful character of an informer. He was complimentedwith the axe in consideration of his rank and alliance with the houseof Howard, and suffered on Tower-hill with great composure. In the paperwhich he delivered to the sheriff, he took God to witness that heknew not of the intended invasion until it was the common subject ofdiscourse, nor was he engaged in any shape for the service of kingJames. He thanked those noble and worthy persons who had opposed hisattainder in parliament; protested before God that the informationhe gave to the ministry he had received in letters and messages fromFrance; and observed that he might have expected mercy from the princeof Orange, as he had been instrumental in saving his life by preventingthe execution of a design which had been formed against it--acircumstance which in all probability induced the late conspirators toconceal their purpose of assassination from his knowledge. He professedhis 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 onfoot some practices against the duke of Shrewsbury. One Matthew Smith, nephew to sir William Perkins, had been entertained as a spy by thisnobleman, who finding his intelligence of very little use or importance, dismissed him as a troublesome dependent. Then he had recourse to theearl of Monmouth, into whom he infused unfavourable sentiments of theduke, insinuating that he had made great discoveries which from sinistermotives were suppressed. Monmouth communicated those impressions tothe earl of Portland, who enlisted Smith as one of his intelligencers. Copies of the letters he had sent to the duke of Shrewsbury weredelivered to secretary Trumball sealed up for the perusal of hismajesty at his return from Flanders. When Fenwick mentioned the duke ofShrewsbury in his discoveries, the earl of Monmouth resolved to seizethe opportunity of ruining that nobleman. He, by the channel of theduchess of Norfolk, exhorted lady Fenwick to prevail upon her husbandto 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 ofattainder appeared in the house of lords, he spoke in favour of itwith peculiar vehemence. Lady Fenwick, provoked at this cruel outrage, prevailed upon her nephew the earl of Carlisle to move the house thatsir John might be examined touching any advices that had been sentto him with relation to his discoveries. Fenwick being interrogatedaccordingly, gave an account of all the particulars of Monmouth'sscheme, which was calculated to ruin the duke of Shrewsbury by bringingSmith's letters on the carpet. The duchess of Norfolk and a confidantwere examined and confirmed the detection. The house called for Smith'sletters, which were produced by sir William Trumball. The earlof Monmouth was committed to the Tower and dismissed from all hisemployments. He was released however at the end of the session, and thecourt made up all his losses in private lest he should be tempted tojoin the opposition. INQUIRY INTO MISCARRIAGES BY SEA. The whigs, before they were glutted with the sacrifice of Fenwick, haddetermined to let loose their vengeance upon sir George Rooke, who wasa leader in the opposite interest. Sir Cloudesley Shovel had been sentwith a squadron to look into Brest, where, according to the intelligencewhich the government had received, the French were employed in preparingfor a descent upon England; but this information was false. They werebusy in equipping an armament for the West Indies, under the command ofM. Pointis, who actually sailed to the coast of New Spain and took thecity of Carfehagena. Rooke had been ordered to intercept the Toulonsquadron in its way to Brest; but his endeavours miscarried. The commonsin a committee of the whole house resolved to inquire why this fleet wasnot intercepted; Rooke underwent a long examination, and was obligedto produce his journal, orders, and letters. Shovel and Mitchel werelikewise examined; but nothing appearing to the prejudice of theadmiral, the house thought proper to desist from their prosecution. After they had determined on the fate of Fenwick, they proceeded toenact several laws for regulating the domestic economy of the nation;among others they passed an act for the more effectual relief ofcreditors in cases of escape, and for preventing abuses in prisons andpretended privileged places. Ever since the reformation certain placesin and about the city of London, which had been sanctuaries during theprevalence of the popish religion, afforded asylum to debtors, and werebecome receptacles of desperate persons who presumed to set the law atdefiance. One of these places called White-friars was filled with a crewof ruffians, who every day committed acts of violence and outrage; butthis law was so vigorously put in execution that they were obligedto abandon the district, which was soon filled with more creditableinhabitants. On the sixteenth day of April the king closed the sessionwith a short speech, thanking the parliament for the great suppliesthey had so cheerfully granted, and expressed his satisfaction at themeasures they had taken for retrieving the public credit. Before hequitted the kingdom he ventured to produce upon the scene the earl ofSunderland, who had hitherto promoted his councils behind the curtain. That politician was now sworn of the privy council, and gratified withthe office of lord-chamberlain, which had been resigned by the earl ofDorset, a nobleman of elegant talents and invincible indolence, severeand poignant in his writings and remarks upon mankind in general, buthumane, good-natured, and generous to excess, in his commerce withindividuals. NEGOTIATIONS AT RYSWICK. William having made some promotions * and appointed a regency, embarkedon the twenty-sixth day of April for Holland, that he might be at handto 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 Frenchminister, and Mr. Dykvelt in behalf of the states-general, who resolved, in consequence of the concessions made by France, that, in concert withtheir allies, the mediation of Sweden might be accepted. The emperor andthe court of Spain, however, were not satisfied with those concessions;yet his imperial majesty declared he would embrace the profferedmediation, provided the treaty of Westphalia should be re-established;and provided the king of Sweden would engage to join his troopswith those of the allies, in case France should break through thestipulation. This proposal being delivered, the ministers of Englandand Holland at Vienna presented a joint memorial, pressing his imperialmajesty to accept the mediation without reserve, and name a placeat which the congress might bo opened. The emperor complied withreluctance. On the fourteenth day of February all the ministers of theallies, except the ambassador of Spain, agreed to the proposal; andnext day signified their assent in form to M. Lillienroot, the Swedishplenipotentiary. Spain demanded, as a preliminary, that France shouldagree to restore all the places mentioned in a long list which theminister of that crown presented to the assembly. The emperor proposedthat the congress should be held at Aix-la-Chapelle, or Franckfort, or some other town in Germany. The other allies were more disposed tonegotiate in Holland. At length the French king suggested, that no placewould be more proper than a palace belonging to king William calledNewbourg-house, situated between the Hague and Delft, close by thevillage of Ryswick; and to this proposition the ministers agreed. Thoseof England were the earl of Pembroke, a virtuous, learned, and popularnobleman, the lord Villiers, and sir Joseph Williamson: France sentHarlay and Crecy to the assistance of Callieres. Louis was not onlytired of the war, on account of the misery in which it had involved hiskingdom; but in desiring a peace he was actuated by another motive. Theking of Spain had been for some time in a very ill state of health, andthe French monarch had an eye to the succession: this aim could notbo accomplished while the confederacy subsisted; therefore he eagerlysought a peace, that he might at once turn his whole power against Spainas soon as Charles should expire. The emperor harboured the same designupon the Spanish crown, and for that reason interested himself in thecontinuance of the grand alliance. Besides, he foresaw he should in alittle time be able to act against France with an augmented force. The czar of Muscovy had engaged to find employment for the Turks andTartars. He intended to raise the elector of Saxony to the throne ofPoland; and he had made some progress in a negotiation with the circlesof the Rhine for a considerable body of auxiliary troops. The Dutch hadno other view but that of securing a barrier in the Netherlands. KingWilliam insisted upon the French king's acknowledging his title; and theEnglish 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 Westphaliaand Nimeguen should be the basis of this negotiation; that Strasbourgshould be restored to the empire, and Luxembourg to the Spaniards, together with Mons, Charleroy, and all places taken by the French inCatalonia since the treaty of Nimeguen; that Dinant should be ceded tothe bishop of Liege, and all reunion since the treaty of Nimeguen bemade void; that the French king should make restitution of Lorraine, and, upon conclusion of the peace, acknowledge the prince of Orange asking of Great Britain, without condition or reserve. The conferenceswere interrupted by the death of Charles XI. King of Sweden, who wassucceeded by his son Charles, then a minor: but the queen and fivesenators, whom the late king had by will appointed administrators of thegovernment, resolved to pursue the mediation, and sent a new commissionto Lillienroot for that purpose. The ceremonials being regulatedwith the consent of all parties, the plenipotentiaries of the emperordelivered their master's demands to the mediator on the twenty-secondday of May, and several German ministers gave in the pretensions therespective princes whom they represented. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } THE FRENCH TAKE BARCELONA. Meanwhile the French king, in the hope of procuring more favourableterms, resolved to make his last effort against the Spaniards inCatalonia and in the Netherlands, and to elevate the prince of Contito the throne of Poland; an event which would have greatly improvedthe interest of France in Europe. Louis had got the start of theconfederates in Flanders, and sent thither a very numerous armycommanded by Catinat, Villeroy, and Boufflers. The campaign was openedwith the siege of Aeth, which was no sooner invested than king William, having recovered of an indisposition, took the field, and had aninterview with the duke of Bavaria, who commanded a separate body. Hedid not think proper to interrupt the enemy in their operations beforeAeth, 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 determinedto besiege. In Catalonia the duke of Vendôme invested Barcelona, inwhich there was a garrison of ten thousand regular soldiers, besidesfive thousand burghers who had voluntarily taken arms on this occasion. The governor of the place was the prince of Hesse d Armstadt, who hadserved in Ireland; and been vested with the command of the Imperialtroops which were sent into Spain. The French general being reinforcedfrom Provence and Languedoc, carried on his approaches with surprisingimpetuosity; and was repulsed in several attacks by the valour of thedefendants. At length the enemy surprised and routed the viceroy ofCatalonia; and flushed with this victory, stormed the outworks, whichhad been long battered with their cannon. The dispute was very bloodyand obstinate; but the French, by dint of numbers, made themselvesmasters of the covered-way and two bastions. There they erectedbatteries of cannon and mortars, and fired furiously on the town, whichhowever the prince of Hesse resolved to defend to the last extremity. The court of Madrid, however, unwilling to see the place entirelyruined, as in all probability it would be restored at the peace, despatched an order to the prince to capitulate; and he obtained veryhonourable 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 theSpaniards became as eager for peace as they had been before averse to anegotiation. EXPEDITION OF ADMIRAL NEVIL TO THE WEST INDIES. Their impatience was not a little inflamed by the success of Pointis inAmerica, where he took Carthagena, in which he found a booty amountingto eight millions of crowns. Having ruined the fortifications of theplace, and received advice that an English squadron under admiral Nevilhad arrived in the West Indies, with a design to attack him in hisreturn, he bore away for the straits of Bahama. On the twenty-second dayof May he fell in with the English fleet, and one of his fly-boats wastaken; but such was his dexterity, or good fortune, that he escapedafter having been pursued five days, during which the English and Dutchrear-admirals sprang their fore-top-masts and received other damage, sothat they could not proceed. Then Nevil steered to Carthagena, whichhe found quite abandoned by the inhabitants, who after the departureof Pointis had been rifled a second time by the buccaneers, on pretencethat they had been defrauded of their share of the plunder. This wasreally the case; they had in a great measure contributed to the successof Pointis, and were very ill rewarded. In a few days the Englishadmiral discovered eight sail of their ships, two of which were forcedon the shore and destroyed, two taken and the rest escaped. Then hedirected his course to Jamaica, and by the advice of the governor, sirWilliam Beeston, detached rear-admiral Meeze with some ships and forcesto attack Petit-Guavas, which he accordingly surprised, burned, andreduced to ashes. After this small expedition, Nevil proceeded to theHavannah on purpose to take the galleons under his convoy for Europe, according to the instructions he had received from the king; but thegovernor of the place, and the general of the plate-fleet, suspectingsuch an offer, would neither suffer him to enter the harbour, nor putthe galleons under his protection. He now sailed through the gulf ofFolrida to Virginia, where he died of chagrin, and the command ofthe fleet devolved on captain Dilkes, who arrived in England on thetwenty-fourth day of October, with a shattered squadron half manned, tothe unspeakable mortification of the people, who flattered themselveswith the hopes of wealth and glory from this expedition. Pointissteering 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 thearrival of a French fleet, at first concluded that it was the squadronof M. Nesmond come to attack him, and exerted his utmost endeavours toput the place in a posture of defence; but afterwards understandingthat it was Pointis returning with the spoil of Carthagena, he called acouncil of war, and proposed to go immediately in quest of the enemy. Hewas however over-ruled by a majority, who gave it as their opinion thatthey should remain where they were without running unnecessary hazard. By virtue of this scandalous determination, Pointis was permittedto proceed on his voyage to Europe; but he had not yet escaped everydanger. On the fourteenth day of August he fell in with a squadron underthe command of captain Harlow, by whom he was boldly engaged till nightparted the combatants. He was pursued next day; but his ships sailingbetter than those of Harlow, he accomplished his escape, and on themorrow entered the harbour of Brest. That his ships, which were foul, should out-sail the English squadron, which had just put to sea, was amystery which the people of England could not explain. They complainedof having been betrayed through the whole course of the West Indianexpedition. The king owned he did not understand marine affairs, theentire conduct of which he abandoned to Russel, who became proud, arbitrary, and unpopular, and was supposed to be betrayed by hisdependents. Certain it is, the service was greatly obstructed by factionamong the officers, which with respect to the nation had all the effectsof 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 theremonstrance of the abbé de Polignac, who managed the affairs of Francein that kingdom, resolved to support the prince of Conti as a candidatefor the crown, and remitted great sums of money which wore distributedamong the Polish nobility. The emperor had at first declared for theson of the late king; but finding the French party too strong for hiscompetitor, he entered into a negotiation with the elector of Saxony, who agreed to change his religion, to distribute eight millions offlorins among the Poles, to confirm their privileges, and advance withhis troops to the frontiers of that kingdom. Having performed thesearticles, he declared himself a candidate, and was publicly espousedby the Imperialists. The duke of Lorraine, the prince of Baden, and donLivio Odeschalchi, nephew to pope Innocent, were likewise competitors;but finding their interest insufficient, they united their influencewith that of the elector, who was proclaimed king of Poland. Heforthwith took the oath required, procured an attestation from theImperial court of his having changed his religion, and marched with hisarmy to Cracow, where he was crowned with the usual solemnity. Louispersisted in maintaining the pretensions of the prince of Conti, andequipped a fleet at Dunkirk for his convoy to Dantzick in his way toPoland. But the magistrates of that city, who had declared for the newking, would not suffer his men to land, though they offered toadmit himself with a small retinue. He therefore went on shore atMarien-burgh, where he was met by some chiefs of his own party; butthe new king Augustus acted with such vigilance, that he found itimpracticable to form an army; besides he suspected the fidelity of hisown Polish partizans; he therefore refused to part with the treasure hehad 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 somemeasure owing to the conduct of Peter the czar of Muscovy, who havingformed great designs against the Ottoman Porte, was very unwilling tosee the crown of Poland possessed by a partizan of France, which was inalliance with the grand seignor. He therefore interested himself warmlyin the dispute, and ordered his general to assemble an army on thefrontiers of Lithuania, which by over-awing the Poles that were in theinterest of the prince of Conti, considerably influenced the election. This extraordinary legislator, who was a strange compound of heroism andbarbarity, conscious of the defects in his education, and of the grossignorance that overspread his dominions, resolved to extend his ideas, and improve his judgment by travelling; and that he might be theless restricted by forms, or interrupted by officious curiosity, hedetermined to travel in disguise. He was extremely ambitious of becominga maritime power, and in particular of maintaining a fleet in theBlack-sea; and his immediate aim was to learn the principles ofship-building. He appointed an embassy for Holland, to regulate somepoints of commerce with the states-general. Having intrusted the careof his dominions to persons in whom he could confide, he now disguisedhimself, and travelled as one of their retinue. He first disclosedhimself to the elector of Brandenburgh in Prussia, and afterwards toking William, with whom he conferred in private at Utrecht. He engagedhimself as a common labourer with a ship-carpenter in Holland, whomhe served for some months with wonderful patience and assiduity. Heafterwards visited England, where he amused himself chiefly with thesame kind of occupation. From thence he set out for Vienna, wherereceiving advices from his dominions, that his sister was concernedin managing intrigues against his government, he returned suddenly toMoscow, and found the machinations of the conspirators were alreadybaffled by the vigilance and fidelity of the foreigners to whom he hadleft the care of the administration. His savage nature, however, brokeout upon this occasion; he ordered some hundreds to be hanged all roundhis capital; and a good number were beheaded, he himself with his ownhands performing the office of executioner. CONGRESS AT RYSWICK. The negotiations at Ryswick proceeded very slowly for some time. TheImperial minister demanded, that Franco should make restitution of allthe places and dominions she had wrested from the empire since the peaceof Munster, whether by force of arms or pretence of right. The Spaniardsclaimed all they could demand by virtue of the peace of Nimeguen and thetreaty of the Pyrenees. The French affirmed, that if the preliminariesoffered by Callieres were accepted, these propositions could not betaken into consideration. The Imperialists persisted in demanding acircumstantial answer, article by article. The Spaniards insisted uponthe same manner of proceeding, and called upon the mediator and Dutchministers to support their pretensions. The plenipotentiaries of Francedeclared, they would not admit any demand or proposition contrary to thepreliminary articles; but were willing to deliver in a project ofpeace in order to shorten the negotiations, and the Spanish ambassadorsconsented to this expedient. During these transactions the earl ofPortland held a conference with mareschal Boufflers near Halle, insight of the two opposite armies, which was continued in five successivemeetings. On the second day of August they retired together to a housein the suburbs of Halle, and mutually signed a paper, in whichthe principal articles of the peace between France and England wereadjusted. Next day king William quitted the camp, and retired to hishouse at Loo, confident of having taken such measures for a pacificationas could not be disappointed. The subject of this field negotiation issaid to have turned upon the interest of king James, which the Frenchmonarch promised to abandon; others however suppose that the firstfoundation of the partition treaty was laid in this conference. But inall probability, William's sole aim was to put an end to an expensiveand unsuccessful war, which had rendered him very unpopular in his owndominions, and to obtain from the court of France an acknowledgmentof his title, which had since the queen's death become the subject ofdispute. He perceived the emperor's backwardness towards a pacification, and foresaw numberless difficulties in discussing such a complicationof interests by the common method of treating; he therefore chose sucha step as he thought would alarm the jealousy of the allies, and quickenthe negotiation at Ryswick. Before the congress was opened, king Jameshad published two manifestoes, addressed to the catholic and protestantprinces of the confederacy, representing his wrongs, and cravingredress; but his remonstrances being altogether disregarded, heafterwards issued a third declaration, solemnly protesting against allthat might or should be negotiated, regulated, or stipulated withthe usurper of his realms, as being void of all rightful and lawfulauthority. On the twentieth day, of July the French ambassadors producedtheir project of a general peace, declaring at the same time that shouldit not be accepted before the last day of August, France would nothold herself bound for the conditions she now offered; but Caunitz, the emperor's plenipotentiary, protested he would pay no regard to thislimitation. On the thirtieth of August, however, he delivered to themediators an ultimatum, importing that he adhered to the treatiesof Westphalia and Nimeguen, and accepted of Strasbourg with itsappurtenances; that he insisted upon the restitution of Lorraine to theprince of that name; and demanded that the church and chapter of Liegeshould be re-established in the possession of their incontestablerights. Next day the French plenipotentiaries declared that the month ofAugust being now expired, all their offers were vacated; that thereforethe king of France would reserve Strasbourg, and unite it with itsdependencies to his crown for ever; that in other respects he wouldadhere to the project, and restore Barcelona to the crown of Spain; butthat these terms must be accepted in twenty days, otherwise he shouldthink himself at liberty to recede. The ministers of the electors andprinces of the empire joined in a written remonstrance to the Spanishplenipotentiaries, representing the inconveniencies and dangers thatwould accrue to the Germanic body from France being in possession ofLuxembourg, and exhorting them in the strongest terms to reject alloffers of an equivalent for that province. They likewise presentedanother to the states-general, requiring them to continue the waraccording to their engagements, until France should have compliedwith the preliminaries. No regard however was paid to either of theseaddresses. Then the Imperial ambassadors demanded the good offices ofthe mediator on certain articles; but all that he could obtain of Francewas, that the term for adjusting the peace between her and the emperorshould be prolonged till the first day of November, and in the meantimean armistice be punctually observed. Yet even these concessions weremade on condition that the treaty with England, Spain, and Holland, should be signed on that day, even though the emperor and empire shouldnot concur. THE AMBASSADORS SIGN THE TREATY. Accordingly on the twentieth day of September, the articles weresubscribed by the Dutch, English, Spanish, and French ambassadors, whilethe Imperial ministers protested against the transaction, observingthis was the second time that a separate peace had been concluded withFrance; and that the states of the empire, who had been imposed uponthrough their own credulity, would not for the future be so easilypersuaded to engage in confederacies. In certain preparatory articlessettled between England and France, king William promised to pay ayearly pension to queen Mary D'Esté, of fifty thousand pounds, or suchsum as should be established for that purpose by act of parliament. Thetreaty itself consisted of seventeen articles. The French king engaged, that he would not disturb or disquiet the king of Groat Britain in thepossession of his realms or government; nor assist his enemies, norfavour conspiracies against his person. This obligation was reciprocal. A free commerce was restored. Commissaries were appointed to meet atLondon and settle the pretensions of each crown to Hudson's bay, takenby the French during the late peace, and retaken by the English inthe course of the war; and to regulate the limits of the places tobe restored, as well as the exchanges to be made. It was likewisestipulated, that, in case of a rupture, six months should be allowed tothe subjects of each power for removing their effects; that the separatearticles of the treaty of Nimeguen, relating to the principality ofOrange, should be entirely executed; and that the ratifications shouldbe exchanged in three weeks from the day of signing. The treaty betweenFrance and Holland imported a general armistice, a perpetual amity, amutual restitution, a reciprocal renunciation of all pretensions uponeach other, a confirmation of the peace of Savoy, a re-establishment ofthe treaty concluded between France and Brandenburgh in the year I onethousand six hundred and seventy-nine, a comprehension of Sweden, andall those powers that should be named before the ratification, or in sixmonths after the conclusion of the treaty. Besides, the Dutch ministersconcluded a treaty of commerce with France, which was immediately put inexecution. 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 bythe French in the province of Luxembourg, Namur, Brabant, Flanders, andHainault, except eighty-two towns and villages claimed by the French;this dispute was left to the decision of commissaries; or in casethey should not agree, to the determination of the states-general. Aremonstrance in favour of the French protestant refugees in England, Holland, and Germany, was delivered by the earl of Pembroke to themediators, in the name of the protestant allies, on the day thatpreceded the conclusion of the treaty; but the French plenipotentiariesdeclared in the name of their master, that as he did not pretend "toprescribe rules to king William about the English subjects, he expectedthe same liberty with respect to his own. " No other effort was made inbehalf of those conscientious exiles; the treaties were ratified, andthe peace proclaimed at Paris and London. A GENERAL PACIFICATION. The emperor still held out, and perhaps was encouraged to persevere inhis obstinacy by the success of his arms in Hungary, where his general, prince Eugene of Savoy, obtained a complete victory at Zenta over theforces of the grand seignor, who commanded his army in person. In thisbattle, which was fought on the eleventh day of September, the grandvizier, the aga of the janissaries, seven-and-twenty pachas, and aboutthirty thousand men, were killed or drowned in the river Theysse sixthousand were wounded or taken, together with all their artillery, tents, baggage, provisions, and ammunition, the grand seignor himselfescaping with difficulty; a victory the more glorious and acceptable, as the Turks had a great superiority in point of number, and as theImperialists did not lose a thousand men during the whole action. The emperor perceiving that the event of this battle had no effect inretarding the treaty, thought proper to make use of the armistice, and continue the negotiation after the forementioned treaties had beensigned. This was likewise the case with the princes of the empire;though those of the protestant persuasion complained that their interestwas neglected. In one of the articles of the treaty, it was stipulatedthat in the places to be restored by France, the Roman catholic religionshould continue as it had been re-established. The ambassadors of theprotestant princes joined in a remonstrance, demanding that the Lutheranreligion should be restored in those places where it had formerlyprevailed; but this demand was rejected, as being equally disagreeableto France and the emperor. Then they refused to sign the treaty, whichwas now concluded between France, the emperor, and the catholic princesof the empire. By this pacification, Triers, the Palatinate, andLorraine, were restored to their respective owners. The countries ofSpanheim and Valdentz, together with the duchy of Deux Ponts, wereceded to the king of Sweden. Francis Louis Palatine was confirmed inthe electorate of Cologn; and cardinal Furstemberg restored to all hisrights and benefices. The claims of the duchess of Orleans upon thePalatinate were referred to the arbitration of France and the emperor;and in the meantime the elector Palatine agreed to supply her highnesswith an annuity of one hundred thousand florins. The ministers of theprotestant princes published a formal declaration against the clauserelating to religion, and afterwards solemnly protested against themanner in which the negotiation had been conducted. Such was the issueof a long and bloody war, which had drained England of her wealth andpeople, almost entirely ruined her commerce, debauched her morals, byencouraging venality and corruption, and entailed upon her the curseof foreign connexions, as well as a national debt which was graduallyincreased to an intolerable burden. After all the blood and treasurewhich had been expended, William's ambition and revenge remainedunsatisfied. Nevertheless, he reaped the solid advantage of seeinghimself firmly established on the English throne; and the confederacy, though not successful in every instance, accomplished their great aimof putting a stop to the encroachments of the French monarch. Theymortified his vanity, they humbled his pride and arrogance, andcompelled him to disgorge the acquisitions which, like a robber, he hadmade in violation of public faith, justice, and humanity. Had the alliesbeen true to one another; had they acted from genuine zeal for thecommon interests of mankind; and prosecuted with vigour the plan whichwas originally concerted, Louis would in a few campaigns have beenreduced to the most abject state of disgrace, despondence, andsubmission; for he was destitute of true courage and magnanimity. KingWilliam having finished this important transaction, returned to Englandabout the middle of November, and was received in London amidst theacclamations of the people, who now again hailed him as their delivererfrom a war, by the continuance of which they must have been infalliblybeggared. 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. _ {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } WHEN the king opened the session of parliament on the third day ofDecember, he told them the war was brought to the end they all proposed, namely, an honourable peace. He gave them to understand there was aconsiderable debt on account of the fleet and army; that the revenuesof the crown had been anticipated. He expressed his hope that they wouldprovide for him during his life, in such a manner as would conduceto his own honour and that of the government. He recommended themaintenance of a considerable navy; and gave it as his opinion, thatfor the present England could not be safe without a standing army. Hepromised to rectify such corruptions and abuses as might have creptinto any part of the administration during the war; and effectually todiscourage profaneness and immorality. Finally, he assured them that ashe had rescued their religion, laws, and liberties, when they were inthe extremest danger, so he should place the glory of his reign inpreserving and leaving them entire to latest posterity. To this speechthe commons replied in an address, by a compliment of congratulationupon the peace, and an assurance, that they would be ever ready toassist and support his majesty, who had confirmed them in the quietpossession of their rights and liberties, and by putting an end to thewar fully completed the work of their deliverance. Notwithstanding theseappearances of good humour, the majority of the house, and indeed thewhole nation, were equally alarmed and exasperated at a project formaintaining a standing army, which was countenanced at court, and evenrecommended by the king in his speech to the parliament. William'sgenius was altogether military. He could not bear the thought of beinga king without power. He could not without reluctance dismiss thoseofficers who had given so many proofs of their courage and fidelity. He did not think himself safe upon the naked throne, in a kingdom thatswarmed with malcontents who had so often conspired against his personand government. He dreaded the ambition and known perfidy of the Frenchking, who still retained a powerful army. He foresaw that a reduction ofthe forces would lessen his importance both at home and abroad; diminishthe dependence upon his government; and disperse those foreigners inwhose attachment he chiefly confided. He communicated his sentimentson this subject to his confidant, the earl of Sunderland, who knew byexperience the aversion of the people to a standing army; neverthelesshe encouraged him with hope of success, on the supposition that thecommons would see the difference between an army raised by the king'sprivate authority, and a body of veteran troops maintained by consentof parliament for the security of the kingdom. This was a distinction towhich the people paid no regard. All the jealousy of former parliamentsseemed to be roused by the bare proposal; and this was inflamed by anational prejudice against the refugees, in whose favour the king hadbetrayed repeated marks of partial indulgence. They were submissive, tractable, and wholly dependent upon his will and generosity. TheJacobites failed not to cherish the seeds of dissatisfaction, andreproach the whigs who countenanced this measure. They branded thatparty with apostacy from their former principles. They observed thatthe very persons who in the late reigns endeavoured to abridge theprerogative, and deprive the king of that share of power which wasabsolutely necessary to actuate the machine of government, were nowbecome advocates for maintaining a standing army in time of peace; nay, and impudently avowed, that their complaisance to the court in thisparticular was owing to their desire of excluding from all share in theadministration a faction disaffected to his majesty, which might misleadhim into more pernicious measures. The majority of those who reallyentertained revolution principles, opposed the court from apprehensionthat a standing army, once established, would take root and grow into anhabitual maxim of government; that should the people be disarmed and thesword left in the hands of mercenaries, the liberties of the nationmust be entirely at the mercy of him by whom these mercenaries shouldbe commanded. They might overawe elections, dictate to parliaments, andestablish a tyranny, before the people could take any measures for theirown protection. They could not help thinking it was possible to forma militia, that, with the concurrence of a fleet, might effectuallyprotect the kingdom from the dangers of an invasion. They firmlybelieved that a militia might be regularly trained to arms, so as toacquire the dexterity of professed soldiers; and they did not doubt theywould surpass those hirelings in courage, considering that they wouldbe animated by every concurring motive of interest, sentiment, andaffection. Nay, they argued, that Britain, surrounded as it was by aboisterous sea, secured by floating bulwarks, abounding with stout andhardy inhabitants, did not deserve to be free if her sons could notprotect their liberties without the assistance of mercenaries, who wereindeed the only slaves of the kingdom. Yet among the genuine friendsof their country, some individuals espoused the opposite maxims. Theyobserved that the military system of every government in Europe was nowaltered, that war was become a trade, and discipline a science not to belearned but by those who made it their sole profession; that therefore, while France kept up a large standing army of veterans ready to embarkon the opposite coast, it would be absolutely necessary for the safetyof the nation to maintain a small standing force, which should be votedin parliament from year to year. They might have suggested anotherexpedient which in a few years would have produced a militia ofdisciplined men. Had the soldiers of this small standing army beenenlisted for a term of years, at the expiration of which they might haveclaimed their discharge, volunteers would have offered themselves fromall parts of the kingdom, even from the desire of learning the use andexercise of arms, the ambition of being concerned in scenes of actualservice, and the chagrin of little disappointments or temporarydisgusts, which yet would not have impelled them to enlist as soldierson the common terms of perpetual slavery. In consequence of such asuccession, the whole kingdom would soon have been stocked with membersof a disciplined militia, equal if not superior to any army of professedsoldiers. But this scheme would have defeated the purpose of thegovernment, which was more afraid of domestic foes than of foreignenemies; and industriously avoided every plan of this nature, which could contribute to render the malcontents of the nation moreformidable. CHARACTERS OF THE MINISTERS. Before we proceed to the transactions of parliament in this session, itmay not be amiss to sketch the outlines of the ministry as it stood atthis juncture. The king's affection for the earl of Portland had begunto abate in proportion as his esteem for Sunderland increased, togetherwith his consideration for Mrs. Villiers, who had been distinguished bysome particular marks of his majesty's favour. These two favourites aresaid to have supplanted Portland, whose place in the king's bosom wasnow filled by Van Keppel, a gentleman of Guelderland who had firstserved his majesty as a page, and afterwards acted as private secretary. The earl of Portland growing troublesome, from his jealousy of thisrival, the king resolved to send him into honourable exile, in qualityof an ambassador-extraordinary to the court of France; and Trumball, hisfriend and creature, was dismissed from the office of secretary, whichthe king conferred upon Vernon, a plodding man of business who had actedas under-secretary to the duke of Shrewsbury. This nobleman rivalled theearl of Sunderland in his credit at the council-board, and was supportedby 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 consummatecourtier, affable, mild, and insinuating. Orford appears to have beenrough, turbulent, factious, and shallow. Montague had distinguishedhimself early by his poetical genius; but he soon converted hisattention to the cultivation of more solid talents. He rendered himselfremarkable for his eloquence, décemment, and knowledge of the Englishconstitution. To a delicate taste he united an eager appetite forpolitical studies. The first catered for the enjoyments of fancy; theother was subservient to his ambition. He at the same time was thedistinguished encourager of the liberal arts, and the professed patronof projectors. In his private deportment he was liberal, easy, andentertaining; 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 fermentin the nation, that the dependents of the court in the house of commonsdurst not openly oppose the reduction of the forces; but they shiftedthe battery, and employed all their address in persuading the houseto agree that a very small number should be retained. When the commonsvoted, That all the forces raised since the year one thousand sixhundred and eighty should be disbanded, the courtiers desired the votemight be re-committed, on pretence that it restrained the king to theold tory regiments, on whose fidelity he could not rely. This motionhowever was overruled by a considerable majority. Then they proposedan amendment, which was rejected, and afterwards moved, That the sumof five hundred thousand pounds per annum should be granted forthe maintenance of guards and garrisons. This provision would havemaintained a very considerable number; but they were again disappointed, and fain to embrace a composition with the other party, by which threehundred and fifty thousand pounds were allotted for the maintenanceof ten thousand men; and they afterwards obtained an addition of threethousand marines. The king was extremely mortified at these resolutionsof the commons; and even declared to his particular friends, that hewould never have intermeddled with the affairs of the nation had heforeseen they would make such returns of ingratitude and distrust. Hisdispleasure was aggravated by the resentment against Sunderland, who wassupposed to have advised the unpopular measure of retaining a standingarmy. This nobleman dreading the vengeance of the commons, resolvedto avert the fury of the impending storm, by resigning his office andretiring from court, contrary to the entreaties of his friends, and theearnest desire of his majesty. CIVIL LIST ESTABLISHED, &c. The house of commons, in order to sweeten the unpalatable cup they hadpresented to the king, voted the sum of seven hundred thousand poundsper annum for the support of the civil list, distinct from all otherservices. Then they passed an act prohibiting the currency of silverhammered coin, including a clause for making out new exchequer-bills, inlieu of those which were or might be filled up with endorsements; theyframed another to open the correspondence with France, under a varietyof provisos; a third for continuing the imprisonment of certain personswho had been concerned in the late conspiracy; a fourth, grantingfurther time for administering oaths with respect to tallies and ordersin the exchequer and bank of England. These bills having received theroyal assent, they resolved to grant a supply, which, together with thefunds already settled for that purpose, should be sufficient to answerand cancel all exchequer-bills, to the amount of two millions sevenhundred thousand pounds. Another supply was voted for the payment andreduction of the army, including half-pay to such commission officersas were natural born subjects of England. They granted one million fourhundred thousand pounds, to make good deficiencies. They resolved, That the sum of two millions three hundred and forty-eight thousand onehundred and two pounds, was necessary to pay off arrears, subsistence, contingencies, general-officers, guards, and garrisons; of which sumeight hundred and fifty-five thousand five hundred and two pounds, remained in the hands of the pay-master. Then they took intoconsideration the subsidies due to foreign powers, and the sums owingto contractors for bread and forage. Examining further the debts of thenation, they found the general debt of the navy amounted to one millionthree hundred and ninety-two thousand seven hundred and forty-twopounds. That of the ordnance was equal to two hundred and four thousandone hundred and fifty-seven pounds. The transport debt contracted forthe reduction of Ireland and other services, did not fall short of fourhundred and sixty-six thousand four hundred and ninety-three pounds; andthey owed nine-and-forty thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine pounds, for quartering and clothing the army which had been raised by one act ofparliament in the year 1677, and disbanded by another in the year 1679. As this enormous load of debt could not be discharged at once, thecommons passed a number of Arotes for raising sums of money, by which itwas considerably lightened; and settled the funds for those purposes bythe continuation of the land tax, and other impositions. With respect tothe civil list, it was raised by a new subsidy of tonnage and poundage, the hereditary and temporary excise, a weekly portion from the revenueof the post-office, the first-fruits and tenths of the clergy, thefines in the alienation office, and post-fines, the revenue of thewine-license, money arising by sheriffs, proffers, and compositions inthe exchequer; and seizures, the income of the duchy of Cornwall, therents of all other crown lands in England or Wales, and the duty of fourand a half per cent, upon specie from Barbadoes and the Leeward-islands. The bill imported, That the overplus arising from these funds should beaccounted for to parliament. Six hundred thousand pounds of this moneywas allotted for the purposes of the civil list: the rest was grantedfor the jointure of fifty thousand pounds per annum, to be paid to queenMary d'Esté, according to the stipulation at Ryswick; and to maintain acourt 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; norwould the king allow above fifteen thousand pounds per annum for theuse of the duke of Gloucester, to whom Burnet, bishop of Salisbury, wasappointed preceptor. COGNIZANCE TAKEN OF FRAUDULENT ENDORSEMENTS OF EXCHEQUER BILLS. The commons having discussed the ways and means for raising the suppliesof the ensuing year, which rose almost to five millions, took cognizanceof some fraudulent endorsements of exchequer bills, a species offorgery which had been practised by a confederacy, consisting ofCharles Duncomb, receiver-general of the excise, Bartholomew Burton, whopossessed a place in that branch of the revenue, John Knight, treasurerof the customs, and Reginald Marriot, a deputy-teller of the exchequer. This last became evidence, and the proof turning out very strong andfull, the house resolved to make examples of the delinquents. Duncomband Knight, both members of parliament, were expelled and committed tothe Tower; Burton was sent to Newgate; and bills of pains and penaltieswere ordered to be brought in against them. The first, levelled atDuncomb, 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 hisescape. The other two bills met with the same fate. The peers dischargedDuncomb from his confinement; but he was recommitted by the commons, andremained in custody till the end of the session. While the commonswere employed on ways and means, some of the members in the oppositionproposed, that one fourth part of the money arising from improper grantsof the crown, should be appropriated to the service of the public; butthis was a very unpalatable expedient, as it affected not only the whigsof king William's reign, but also the tories who had been gratified byCharles II. And his brother. A great number of petitions were presentedagainst this measure, and so many difficulties raised, that both partiesagreed to lay it aside. In the course of this inquiry, they discoveredthat one Railton held a grant in trust for Mr. Montague, chancellor ofthe exchequer. A motion was immediately made, that he should withdraw;but passed in the negative by a great majority. Far from prosecutingthis minister, the house voted it was their opinion, That Mr. Montague, for his good services to the government, did deserve his majesty'sfavour. A NEW EAST INDIA COMPANY CONSTITUTED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT. This extraordinary vote was a sure presage of success in the executionof a scheme which Montague had concerted against the East India company. They had been sounded about advancing a sum of money for the publicservice, by way of loan, in consideration of a parliamentary settlement;and they offered to raise seven hundred thousand pounds on thatcondition: but before they formed this resolution, another body ofmerchants, under the auspices of Mr. Montague, offered to lend twomillions at eight per cent, provided they might be gratified with anexclusive privilege of trading to the East Indies. This proposal wasvery well received by the majority in the house of commons. A bill forthis purpose was brought in, with additional clauses of regulation. Apetition was presented by the old company, representing their rights andclaims under so many royal charters; the regard due to the propertyof above a thousand families interested in the stock; as also to thecompany's property in India, amounting to forty-four thousand poundsof yearly revenue. They alleged they had expended a million infortifications; that during the war they had lost twelve great ships, worth fifteen hundred thousand pounds; that since the last subscriptionthey had contributed two hundred and ninety-five thousand pounds to thecustoms, with above eighty-five thousand pounds in taxes; that they hadfurnished six thousand barrels of gunpowder on a very pressing occasion:and eighty thousand pounds for the circulation of exchequer bills, ata very critical juncture, by desire of the lords of the treasury;who owned that their compliance was a very important service to thegovernment. No regard being paid to their remonstrances, they undertookto raise the loan of two millions, and immediately subscribed twohundred thousand pounds as the first payment. The two proposals beingcompared and considered by the house, the majority declared for thebill, which was passed, and sent up to the house of lords. There theold company delivered another petition, and was heard by counsel;nevertheless the bill made its way, though not without opposition, anda formal protestation by one-and-twenty lords, who thought it was ahardship upon the present company; and doubted whether the separatetrade allowed in the bill, concurrent with a joint stock, might notprove such an inconsistency as would discourage the subscription. Thisact, by which the old company was dissolved, in a great measure blastedthe reputation of the whigs, which had for some time been on the declinewith the people. They had stood up as advocates for a standing army;they now unjustly superseded the East India company; they were accusedof having robbed the public by embezzling the national treasure, andamassing wealth by usurious contracts, at the expense of their fellowsubjects groaning under the most oppressive burdens. Certain it is, theywere at this period the most mercenary and corrupt undertakers thathad ever been employed by any king or administration since the firstestablishment of the English monarchy. The commons now transferred their attention to certain objects in whichthe people of Ireland were interested. Colonel Michelburn, who had beenjoint governor of Londonderry with Dr. Walker during the siege of thatplace, petitioned the house in behalf of himself, his officers, andsoldiers, to whom a considerable sum of money was due for subsistence;and the city itself implored the mediation of the commons withhis majesty, that its services and sufferings might be taken intoconsideration. The house having examined the allegations containedin both petitions, presented an address to the king, recommending thecitizens of Londonderry to his majesty's favour; that they might nolonger remain a ruinous spectacle to all, a scorn to their enemies, anda discouragement to well affected subjects: they likewise declaredthat the governor and garrison did deserve some special marks of royalfavour, for a lasting monument to posterity. To this address the kingreplied, that he would consider them according to the desire of thecommons. William Molineux, a gentleman of Dublin, having publisheda book to prove that the kingdom of Ireland was independent of theparliament of England, the house appointed a committee to inquire intothe cause and nature of this performance. An address was voted to theking, desiring he would give directions for the discovery and punishmentof the author. Upon the report of the committee, the commons in a bodypresented an address to his majesty, representing the dangerous attemptswhich had been lately made by some of his subjects in Ireland, toshake off their subjection and dependence upon England; attempts whichappeared not only from the bold and pernicious assertions contained ina book lately published, but more fully and authentically by some votesand proceedings of the commons in Ireland. These had, during their lastsession, transmitted an act for the better security of his majesty'sperson and government, whereby an English act of parliament waspretended to be re-enacted with alterations obligatory on the courts ofjustice and the great seal of England. The English commons, therefore, besought his majesty to give effectual orders for preventing any suchencroachments for the future, and the pernicious consequences of whatwas past, by punishing those who had been guilty thereof: that he wouldtake care to see the laws which direct and restrain the parliament ofIreland punctually observed, and discourage everything which mighthave a tendency to lessen the dependence of Ireland upon England. Thisremonstrance was graciously received, and the king-promised to complywith their request. The jealousy which the commons entertained of the government in Ireland, animated them to take other measures that ascertained the subjectionof that kingdom. Understanding that the Irish had established diverswoollen manufactures, they in another address entreated his majesty totake measures for discouraging the woollen manufactures in Ireland, as they interfered with those of England, and promote the linenmanufacture, which would be profitable to both nations. At the sametime, receiving information the French had seduced some Englishmanufacturers, and set up a great work for cloth-making in Picardy, theybrought in a bill for explaining and better executing former acts forpreventing the exportation of wool, fullers earth, and scouring clay;and this was immediately passed into a law. A petition being presentedto the house by the lustring company, against certain merchants who hadsmuggled alamodes and lustrings from France, even during the war; thecommittee of trade was directed to inquire into the allegations, andall the secrets of this traffic were detected. Upon the report thehouse resolved, That the manufacture of alamodes and lustrings set upin England had been beneficial to the kingdom; that there had been adestructive and illegal trade carried on during the war, for importingthese commodities, by which the king had been defrauded of his customs, and the English manufactures greatly discouraged; that, by the smugglingvessels employed in this trade, intelligence had been carried intoFrance during the war, and the enemies of the government conveyedfrom justice. Stephen Seignoret Rhene, Baudoin, John Goodet, NicholasSantini, 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 respectivecircumstances. They were in the meantime committed to Newgate untilthose fines should be paid; and the commons addressed the king, that themoney might be appropriated to the maintenance of Greenwich hospital. The house having taken cognizance of this affair, and made some newregulations in the prosecution of the African trade, presented a solemnaddress to the king, representing the general degeneracy and corruptionof the age, and beseeching his majesty to command all his judges, justices, and magistrates, to put the laws in execution againstprofaneness and immorality. The king professed himself extremely wellpleased with this remonstrance, promised to give immediate directionsfor a reformation, and expressed his desire that some more effectualprovision might be made for suppressing impious books, containingdoctrines against the Trinity; doctrines which abounded at this period, and took their origin from the licentiousness and profligacy of thetimes. 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 instructionof ignorant people, were sent to the English colonies in America. Thislaudable design was supported by voluntary contribution; and the billhaving been brought into the house of commons for the better discoveryof estates given to superstitious uses, Dr. Bray presented a petition, praying that some part of these estates might be set apart for thepropagation of the reformed religion in Maryland, Virginia, and theLeeward islands. About this period, a society for the reformation ofmanners was formed under the king's countenance and encouragement. Considerable collections were made for maintaining clergymen to readprayers at certain hours in places of public worship, and administer thesacrament every Sunday. The members of this society resolved to informthe magistrates of all vice and immorality that should fall undertheir cognizance; and with that part of the fines allowed by law tothe informer, constitute a fund of charity. The business of the sessionbeing terminated, the king on the third day of July prorogued theparliament, after having thanked them in a short speech for the manytestimonies of their affection he had received; and in two days afterthe 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 hisembassy to France, where he was received with very particular marks ofdistinction. He made a public entry into Paris with such magnificenceas is said to have astonished the French nation. He interceded forthe protestants in that kingdom, against whom the persecution had beenrenewed with redoubled violence: he proposed that king James should beremoved to Avignon, in which case his master would supply him withan honourable pension; but his remonstrances on both subjects provedineffectual. 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 totallyeclipsed in the king's favour by Keppel, now created earl of Albemarle, resigned his employments in disgust; nor could the king's solicitationsprevail upon him to resume any office in the household, though hepromised to serve his majesty in any other shape, and was soon employedto negotiate the treaty of partition. If this nobleman miscarried in thepurposes of his last embassy at the court of Versailles, the agents ofFrance were equally unsuccessful in their endeavours to retrieve theircommerce with England which the war had interrupted. Their commissary, sent over to London with powers to regulate the trade between the twonations, met with insuperable difficulties. The parliament had burdenedthe French commodities with heavy duties which were already appropriatedto different uses; and the channel of trade was in many respectsentirely altered. The English merchants supplied the nation with winesfrom Italy, Spain, and Portugal; with linen from Holland and Silesia;and manufactures of paper, hats, stuffs, and silks, had been set up andsuccessfully 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 oppositionand discouragements their new company had sustained. They had employedagents in England, Holland, and Hamburgh, to receive subscriptions. Theadventurers in England were intimidated by the measures which had beentaken in parliament against the Scottish company. The Dutch East Indiacompany took the alarm, and exerted all their interest to prevent theircountrymen from subscribing; and the king permitted his resident atHamburgh to present a memorial against the Scottish company to thesenate of that city. The parliament of Scotland being assembled by theearl of Marchmont as king's commissioner, the company presented it witha remonstrance containing a detail of their grievances, arising from theconduct of the English house of commons, as well as from the memorialpresented by the king's minister at Hamburgh, in which he actuallydisowned the act of parliament and letters patent which had passedin their favour, and threatened the inhabitants of that city withhis majesty's resentment in case they should join the Scots in theirundertaking. They represented that such instances of interposition hadput a stop to the subscriptions in England and Hamburgh, hurt the creditof the company, discouraged the adventurers, and threatened the entireruin of a design in which all the most considerable families of thenation were deeply engaged. The parliament having taken their case intoconsideration, sent an address to his majesty representing the hardshipsto which the company had been exposed, explaining how far the nation ingeneral was concerned in the design, and entreating that he would takesuch measures as might effectually vindicate the undoubted rights andprivileges of the company. This address was seconded by a petition fromthe company itself, praying that his majesty would give some intimationto the senate of Hamburgh, permitting the inhabitants of that city torenew the subscriptions they had withdrawn; that, as a gracious mark ofhis royal favour to the company, he would bestow upon them two smallfrigates then lying useless in the harbour of Burnt Island; and that, in consideration of the obstructions they had encountered, he wouldcontinue their privileges and immunities for such longer time as shouldseem reasonable to his majesty. Though the commissioner was whollydevoted to the king, who had actually resolved to ruin this company, he could not appease the resentment of the nation; and the heats ofparliament became so violent that he was obliged to adjourn it to thefifth day of November. In this interval the directors of the company, understanding from their agent at Hamburgh that the address of theparliament and their own petition had produced no effect in theirfavour, wrote a letter of complaint to the lord Seafield, secretaryof state, observing that they had received repeated assurances of theking's having given orders to his resident at Hamburgh touching theirmemorial, and entreating the interposition of his lordship that justicemight be done to the company. The secretary in his answer promised totake the first convenient opportunity of representing the affair to hismajesty; but he said this could not be immediately expected, as theking was much engaged in the affairs of the English parliament. Thisdeclaration the directors considered, as it really was, a mere evasion, which helped to alienate the minds of that people from the king's personand government. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } HE EMBARKS FOR HOLLAND. King William at this time revolved in his own mind a project of fargreater consequence to the interest of Europe--namely, that of settlingthe succession to the throne of Spain, which in a little time wouldbe vacated by the death of Charles IL, whose constitution was alreadyexhausted. He had been lately reduced to extremity, and his situationwas no sooner known in France than Louis detached a squadron towardsCadiz, with orders to intercept the plate fleet, in case the king ofSpain should die before its arrival. William sent another fleet toprotect the galleons; but it arrived too late for that service, andthe nation loudly exclaimed against the tardiness of the equipment. His catholic majesty recovered from his disorder, contrary to theexpectation of his people; but continued in such an enfeebled andprecarious state of health, that a relapse was every moment apprehended. In the latter end of July king William embarked for Holland, onpretence of enjoying a recess from business which was necessary to hisconstitution. He was glad of an opportunity to withdraw himself for sometime from a kingdom in which he had been exposed to such opposition andchagrin. But the real motive of his voyage was a design of treatingwith the French king remote from the observation of those who mighthave penetrated into the nature of his negotiation. He had appointed aregency to govern the kingdom in his absence; and, as one of the number, nominated the earl of Marlborough, who had regained his favour andbeen constituted governor of the duke of Gloucester. At his majesty'sdeparture, sealed orders were left with the ministry directing thatsixteen thousand men should be retained in the service, notwithstandingthe vote of the commons by which the standing army was limited to tenthousand. He alleged that the apprehension of troubles which might ariseat the death of king Charles induced him to transgress this limitation;and he hoped that the new parliament would be more favourable. Hisenemies, however, made a fresh handle of this step to depreciate hischaracter in the eyes of the people. FIRST TREATY OF PARTITION. Having assisted at the assembly of the states-general, and givenaudience to divers ambassadors at the Hague, he repaired to his house atLoo, attended by the earls of Essex, Portland, and Selkirk. There he wasvisited by count Tallard the French minister, who had instructions tonegotiate the treaty concerning the Spanish succession. The earl ofPortland, by his majesty's order, had communicated to Secretary Vernonthe principal conditions which the French king proposed; he himselfwrote a letter to lord chancellor Somers, desiring his advice withregard to the propositions, and full powers under the great seal, withblanks to be filled up occasionally, that he might immediately beginthe treaty with count Tallard. At the same time he strictly enjoinedsecrecy. The purport of Portland's letter was imparted to the dukeof Shrewsbury and Mr. Montague, who consulted with the chancellor andVernon upon the subject, and the chancellor wrote an answer to the kingas the issue of their joint deliberation; but before it reached hismajesty, the first treaty of partition was signed by the earl ofPortland and sir Joseph Williamson. The contracting powers agreed, that in case the king of Spain should die without issue, the kingdom ofNaples and Sicily, with the places depending on the Spanish monarchy, and situated on the coast of Tuscany or the adjacent islands; themarquisate of Final, the province of Guipuscoa, all places on theFrench side of the Pyrenees, or the other mountains of Navarre, Alva, or Biscay, on the other side of the province of Guipuscoa, with allthe ships, vessels, and stores, --should devolve upon the dauphin inconsideration of his right to the crown of Spain, which, with all itsother dependencies, should descend to the electoral prince of Bavaria, under the guardianship of his father; that the duchy of Milan shouldhe settled on the emperor's second son, the archduke Charles; thatthis treaty should be communicated to the emperor and the elector ofBavaria, by the king of England and the states-general; that if eithershould refuse to agree to this partition, his proportion should remainin sequestration until the dispute should be accommodated; that in casethe electoral prince of Bavaria should die before his father, then theelector and his other heirs should succeed him in those dominions;and should the archduke reject the duchy of Milan, they agreed that itshould be sequestered and governed by the prince of Vaudemont. It maybe necessary to observe that Philip IV. , father to the present king ofSpain, had settled his crown by will on the emperor's children; that thedauphin was son to Maria-Theresa, daughter of the same monarch, whoseright to the succession Louis had renounced in the most solemn manner;as for the electoral prince of Bavaria, he was grandson to a daughter ofSpain. This treaty of partition was one of the most impudent schemesof encroachment that tyranny and injustice ever planned. Louis, who hadmade a practice of sacrificing all ties of honour and good faith tothe interest of his pride, vanity, and ambition, foresaw that he shouldnever be able to accomplish his designs upon the crown of Spain whileWilliam was left at liberty to form another confederacy against them. Hetherefore resolved to amuse him with a treaty, in which he would seemto act as umpire in the concerns of Europe. He knew that William was toomuch of a politician to be restricted by notions of private justice;and that he would make no scruple to infringe the laws of particularcountries, or even the rights of a single nation, when the balance ofpower was at stake. He judged right in this particular. The king ofEngland lent a willing ear to his proposals, and engaged in a plan fordismembering a kingdom in despite of the natives, and in violation ofevery law human or divine. INTRIGUES OF FRANCE AT THE COURT OF MADRID. While the French king cajoled William with this negotiation, themarquis d'Harcourt, his ambassador to Spain, was engaged in a game of adifferent nature at Madrid. The queen of Spain, suspecting the designsof France, exerted all her interest in behalf of the king of the Romans, to whom she was nearly related. She new-modelled the council, bestowedthe government of Milan on prince Vaudemont, and established the princeof Hesse Darmstadt as viceroy of Catalonia. Notwithstanding all herefforts, she could not prevent the French minister from acquiring someinfluence in the Spanish councils. He was instructed to procure thesuccession of the crown for one of the dauphin's sons, or at least tohinder it from devolving upon the emperor's children. With a view togive weight to his negotiations, the French king ordered an army ofsixty thousand men to advance towards the frontiers of Catalonia andNavarre, while a great number of ships and galleys cruised along thecoast, and entered the harbours of Spain. Harcourt immediately began toform his party; he represented that Philip IV. Had no power to disposeof his crown against the laws of nature and the constitution of therealm; that, by the order of succession, the crown ought to descend tothe children of his daughter in preference to more distant relations;that if the Spaniards would declare in favour of the dauphin's secondson, the duke of Anjou, they might train him up in the manners andcustoms of their country. When he found them averse to this proposal, he assured them that his master would approve of the electoral prince ofBavaria rather than consent to the succession's devolving upon a son ofthe emperor. Nay, he hinted that if they would choose a sovereign amongthemselves, they might depend upon the protection of his most christianmajesty, who had no other view than that of preventing the house ofAustria from becoming too formidable to the liberties of Europe. Thequeen of Spain, having discovered the intrigues of this minister, conveyed the king to Toledo, on pretence that the air of Madrid wasprejudicial to his health. Harcourt immediately took the alarm. Hesupposed her intention was to prevail upon her husband in his solitudeto confirm the last will of his father; but his doubts were all removedwhen 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 positiveorder to deliver it into the king's own hand. He was given to understandthat the management of foreign affairs had been left to the care ofcardinal Corduba at Madrid, and that the king's health would not permithim to attend to business. The purport of the memorial was, an offer ofFrench forces to assist in raising the siege of Ceuta in Barbary, whichthe Moors had lately undertaken; but this offer was civilly declined. Harcourt, not yet discouraged, redoubled his efforts at Madrid, andfound means to engage cardinal Portocarrcro in the interests of hismaster. In the meantime Louis concluded an alliance with Sweden, underthe pretext of preserving and securing the common peace by such means asshould be adjudged most proper and convenient. During these transactionsking William was not wanting in his endeavours to terminate the war inHungary, which had raged fifteen years without intermission. About themiddle of August, lord Paget and Mr. Colliers, ambassadors from Englandand Holland, arrived in the Turkish camp near Belgrade, and a conferencebeing opened under their mediation, the peace of Carlowitz was signed onthe twenty-sixth day of January By this treaty, the emperor remained inpossession of all his conquests; Caminieck was restored to the Poles;all the Morea, with several fortresses in Dalmatia, were ceded to theVenetians; and the czar of Muscovy retained Azoph during a truce of twoyears: so that the Turks by this pacification lost great part of theirEuropean dominions. The cardinal primate of Poland, who had strenuouslyadhered to the prince of Conti, was prevailed upon to acknowledgeAugustus; and the commotions in Lithuania being appeased, peace wasestablished through all Christendom. In the beginning of December the king arrived in England, where a newparliament had been chosen and prorogued on account of his majesty'sabsence, 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 donot seem to have been much devoted to the person of their sovereign; yettheir choice of sir Thomas Lyttleton for speaker, seemed to presage asession favourable to the ministry. The two houses being convened on thesixth day of December, the king in his speech observed that the safety, honour, and happiness of the kingdom would in a great measure dependupon the strength which they should think proper to maintain by sea andland. He desired they would make some further progress in dischargingthe national debt; contrive effectual expedients for employing the poor;pass good bills for the advancement of trade, and the discouragement ofprofaneness; and act with unanimity and despatch. The commons of thisnew parliament were so irritated at the king's presuming to maintaina greater number of troops than their predecessors had voted, that theyresolved he should feel the weight of their displeasure. They omittedthe common compliment of an address; they resolved that all the forcesof England, in English pay, exceeding seven thousand men, shouldbe forthwith disbanded; as also those in Ireland exceeding twelvethousand; and that those retained should be his majesty's natural bornsubjects. A bill was brought in on these resolutions and prosecuted withpeculiar eagerness, to the unspeakable mortification of kingWilliam, who was not only extremely sensible of the affront, but alsoparticularly chagrined to see himself disabled from maintaining hisDutch guards and the regiments of French refugees, to which he wasuncommonly attached. Before the meeting of the parliament, the ministrygave him to understand that they should be able to procure a vote forten or twelve thousand, but they would not undertake for a greaternumber. He professed himself dissatisfied with the proposal, observingthat they might as well disband the whole as leave so few. The ministerswould not run the risk of losing all their credit by proposing a greaternumber; and, having received no directions on this subject, sat silentwhen it was debated in the house of commons. Such was the indignation of William, kindled by this conduct ofhis ministry and his parliament, that he threatened to abandon thegovernment, and had actually penned a speech to be pronounced to bothhouses on that occasion; but he was diverted from this purpose by hisministry and confidants, and resolved to pass the bill by which he hadbeen so much offended. Accordingly, when it was ready for the royalassent, he went to the house of peers, where having sent for thecommons, he told them that although he might think himself unkindly usedin being deprived of his guards, which had constantly attended him inall his actions; yet, as he believed nothing could be more fatal to thenation than any distrust or jealousy between him and his parliament, hewas come to pass the bill according to their desire. At the same time, for his own justification, and in discharge of thetrust reposed in him, he declared that in his own judgment the nationwas left too much exposed; and that it was incumbent upon them toprovide such a strength as might be necessary for the safety of thekingdom. They thanked him in an address for this undeniable proof of hisreadiness to comply with the desires of his parliament. They assuredhim he should never have reason to think the commons were undutiful orunkind; for they would on all occasions stand by and assist him in thepreservation of his sacred person, and in the support of his government, against all his enemies whatsoever. The lords presented an address tothe same effect; and the king assured both houses he entertained nodoubts of their loyalty and affection. He forthwith issued orders forreducing the army to the number of seven thousand men, to be maintainedin England under the name of guards and garrisons; and hoping the heartsof the commons were now mollified, he made another effort in favour ofhis Dutch guards, whom he could not dismiss without the most sensibleregret. Lord Ranelagh was sent with a written message to the commons, giving them to understand that the necessary preparations were made fortransporting the guards who came with him into England, and that theyshould embark immediately, unless out of consideration to him, thehouse should be disposed to find a way for continuing them longer in theservice; a favour which his majesty would take very kindly. The commons, instead of complying with his inclination, presented an address, inwhich they professed unspeakable grief that he should propose anythingto which they could not consent with due regard to the constitutionwhich he had come over to restore, and so often hazarded his royalperson to preserve. They reminded him of the declaration, in whichhe had promised that all the foreign forces should be sent out of thekingdom. They observed, that nothing conduced more to the happiness andwelfare of the nation than an entire confidence between the king andpeople, which could no way be so firmly established as by intrustinghis sacred person with his own subjects, who had so eminently signalizedthemselves during the late long and expensive war. They received asoothing answer to this address, but remained firm to their purpose, in which the king was fain to acquiesce; and the Dutch guards weretransported to Holland. At a time when they declared themselves so wellpleased with their deliverer, such an opposition in an affair ofvery little consequence savoured more of clownish obstinacy than ofpatriotism. In the midst of all their professions of regard, theyentertained a national prejudice against himself and all the foreignersin his service. Even in the house of commons, his person was treatedwith great disrespect in virulent insinuations. They suggested thathe neither loved nor trusted the English nation; that he treated thenatives with the most disagreeable reserve, and chose his confidantsfrom the number of strangers that surrounded him; that after everysession of parliament, he retired from the kingdom to enjoy an indolentand inglorious privacy with a few favourites. These suggestions werecertainly true. He was extremely disgusted with the English, whom heconsidered as malicious, ignorant, and ungrateful, and he took no painsto disguise his sentiments. THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KING. The commons having effected a dissolution of the army, voted fifteenthousand seamen, and a proportionable fleet, for the security of thekingdom; they granted one million four hundred and eighty-four thousandand fifteen pounds for the services of the year, to be raised by a taxof three shillings in the pound upon lands, personal estates, pensions, and offices. A great number of priests and Roman catholics, who had beenfrighted away by the revolution, were now encouraged by the treatyof Ryswick to return, and appeared in all public places of London andWestminster with remarkable effrontery. The enemies of the governmentwhispered about that the treaty contained a secret article in favourof those who professed that religion; and some did not even scruple toinsinuate that William was a papist in his heart. The commons, alarmedat the number and insolence of those religionists, desired the king, inan address, to remove by proclamation all papists and nonjurors from thecity of London and parts adjacent, and put the laws in executionagainst them, that the wicked designs they were always hatching might beeffectually disappointed. The king gratified them in their request ofa proclamation, which was not much regarded; but a remarkable law wasenacted against papists in the course of the ensuing session. The oldEast India company, about this period, petitioned the lower house tomake some provision that their corporation might subsist for the residueof the term of twenty-one years granted by his majesty's charter; thatthe payment of the five pounds per cent. By the late act for settlingthe trade to the East Indies, might be settled and adjusted in sucha manner as not to remain a burden on the petitioners; and that suchfurther considerations might be had for their relief, and for thepreservation of the East India trade, as should be thought reasonable. A bill was brought in upon the subject of this petition, but rejectedat the second reading. Discontents had risen to such a height, that somemembers began to assert they were not bound to maintain the votesand credit of the former parliament; and, upon this maxim, would havecontributed their interest towards a repeal of the act made in favour ofthe new company: but such a scheme was of too dangerous consequence tothe public credit to be carried into execution. That spirit of peevishness which could not be gratified with thissacrifice, produced an inquiry into the management of naval affairs, which was aimed at the earl of Orford, a nobleman whose power gaveumbrage, and whose wealth excited envy. He officiated both as treasurerof the navy and lord commissioner of the admiralty, and seemed to haveforgot the sphere from which he had risen to title and office. Thecommons drew up an address complaining of some unimportant articles ofmismanagement in the conduct of the navy; and the earl was wise enoughto avoid further prosecution by resigning his employments. On the fourthday of May the king closed the session with a short speech, hintingdissatisfaction at their having neglected to consider some points whichhe had recommended to their attention; and the parliament was proroguedto the first of June. * In a little time after this prorogation, hismajesty appointed a regency; and on the second day of June embarked forHolland. * 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 thatkingdom passed an act for raising one hundred and twenty thousandpounds on lands, tenements, and hereditaments, to defray the expense ofmaintaining twelve thousand men, who had been voted by the commons ofEngland; then the assembly was prorogued. A new commission afterwardsarrived at Dublin, constituting the duke of Bolton, the earls ofBerkeley and Galway, lords-justices of Ireland. The clamour in Scotlandincreased against the ministry, who had disowned their company, and ina great measure defeated the design from which they had promisedthemselves such heaps of treasure. Notwithstanding the discouragementsto which their company had been exposed, they fitted out two of fourlarge ships which had been built at Hamburgh for their service. Thesewere laden with a cargo for traffic, with some artillery and militarystores; and the adventurers embarking to the number of twelve hundred, they sailed from the Frith of Edinburgh, with some tenders, on theseventeenth day of July in the preceding year. At Madeira they took in asupply of wine, and then steered to Crab-island in the neighbourhood ofSt. Thomas, lying between Santa-Cruz and Porto Rico. Their design was totake possession of this little island; but when they entered the road, they saw a large tent pitched upon the strand, and the Danish coloursflying. Finding themselves anticipated in this quarter, they directedtheir course to the coast of Darien, where they treated with the nativesfor the establishment of their colony, and taking possession of theground, to which they gave the name of Caledonia, began to execute theirplan of erecting a town under the appellation of New Edinburgh, by thedirection of their council, consisting of Patterson the projector, andsix other directors. They had no sooner completed their settlement, than they wrote a letter to the king containing a detail of theirproceedings. They pretended they had received undoubted intelligencethat the French intended to make a settlement on that coast; and thattheir colony would be the means of preventing the evil consequenceswhich might arise to his majesty's kingdom and dominions from theexecution of such a scheme. They acknowledged his goodness in grantingthose privileges by which their company was established; they imploredthe continuance of his royal favour and protection, as they hadpunctually adhered to the conditions of the act of parliament, and thepatent 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 beenconsumed before they set sail from Scotland, and foresaw that they mustbe reduced to a starving condition if not supplied from the Englishcolonies. That they might be debarred of all such assistance, he sentorders to the governors of Jamaica and the other English settlementsin America, to issue proclamations prohibiting, under the severestpenalties, all his majesty's subjects from holding any correspondencewith the Scottish colony, or assisting it in any shape with arms, ammunition, or provisions; on pretence that they had not communicatedtheir design to his majesty, but had peopled Darien in violation of thepeace subsisting between him and his allies. Their colony was doubtlessa very dangerous encroachment upon the Spaniards, as it would havecommanded the passage between Porto-Bello and Panama, and divided theSpanish empire in America. The French king complained of the invasion, and offered to supply the court of Madrid with a fleet to dislodge theinterlopers. Colonna, marquis de Canales, the Spanish ambassador at thecourt of London, presented a memorial to king William, remonstratingagainst the settlement of this colony as a mark of disregard, and abreach of the alliance between the two crowns; and declaring that hismaster would take proper measures against such hostilities. TheScots affirmed that the natives of Darien were a free people, who theSpaniards had in vain attempted to subdue; that therefore they had anoriginal and incontrovertible right to dispose of their own lands, partof which the company had purchased for a valuable consideration. Butthere was another cause more powerful than the remonstrances of theSpanish court to which this colony fell a sacrifice; and that was thejealousy of the English traders and planters. Darien was said to be acountry abounding with gold, which would in a little time enrich theadventurers. The Scots were known to be an enterprising and pertinaciouspeople; and their harbour near Golden Island was already declared a freeport. The English apprehended that their planters would be allured intothis new colony by the double prospect of finding gold and plunderingthe Spaniards; that the buccaneers in particular would choose itas their chief residence; that the plantations of England would bedeserted; that Darien would become another Algiers; and that thesettlement would produce a rupture with Spain, in consequence of whichthe English effects in that kingdom would be confiscated. The Dutchtoo are said to have been jealous of a company which in time might haveproved their competitors in the illicit commerce to the Spanish main;and to have hardened the king's heart against the new settlers, whomhe abandoned to their fate, notwithstanding the repeated petitionsand remonstrances of their constituents. Famine compelled the firstadventurers to quit the coast: a second recruit of men and provisionswas sent thither from Scotland; but one of their ships, laden withprovisions, being burnt by accident, they likewise deserted the place. Another reinforcement arrived, and being better provided than the twoformer, might have maintained their footing; but they were soon dividedinto factions that rendered all their schemes abortive. The Spaniardsadvanced against them; when finding themselves incapable of withstandingthe enemy, they solicited a capitulation, by virtue of which they werepermitted to retire. Thus vanished all the golden dreams of the Scottishnation, which had engaged in this design with incredible eagerness, andeven embarked a greater sum of money than ever they had advancedupon any other occasion. They were now not only disappointed in theirexpectations of wealth and affluence, but a great number of familieswere absolutely ruined by the miscarriage of the design, which theyimputed solely to the conduct of king William. The whole kingdom ofScotland seemed to join in the clamour that was raised againsttheir sovereign, taxed him with double dealing, inhumanity, and baseingratitude, to a people who had lavished their treasure and best bloodin support of his government, and in the gratification of his ambition;and had their power been equal to their animosity, in all probability arebellion would have ensued. REMONSTRANCES OF THE SPANISH COURT. William meanwhile enjoyed himself at Loo, where he was visited bythe duke of Zell, with whom he had long cultivated an intimacy offriendship. During his residence in this place, the earl of Portlandand the grand pensionary of Holland frequently conversed with the Frenchambassador, count Tallard, upon the subject of the Spanish succession. The first plan of the partition being defeated by the death of the youngprince of Bavaria, they found it necessary to concert another, and begana private negotiation for that purpose. The court of Spain, apprizedof their intention, sent a written remonstrance to Mr. Stanhope, the English minister at Madrid, expressing their resentment at thisunprecedented method of proceeding, and desiring that a stop might beput to those intrigues, seeing that the king of Spain would of himselftake the necessary steps for preserving the public tranquillity in casehe should die without heirs of his body. A representation of the samekind was made to the ministers of France and Holland; the marquis deCanales, the Spanish ambassador at London, delivered a memorial tothe lords-justices couched in the most virulent terms against thistransaction, and even appealing from the king to the parliament. ThisSpaniard was pleased with an opportunity to insult king William, whohated his person, and had forbid him the court, on account of hisappearing covered in his majesty's presence. The regency had no soonercommunicated this paper to the king, than he ordered the ambassador toquit the kingdom in eighteen days, and to remain within his own housetill the time of his departure. He was likewise given to understandthat no writing would be received from him or any of his domestics. Mr. Stanhope was directed to complain at Madrid of the affront offered tohis master, which he styled an insolent and saucy attempt to stir upsedition in the kingdom, by appealing to the people and parliament ofEngland against his majesty. The court of Spain justified what theirminister had done, and in their turn ordered Mr. Stanhope to leave theirdominions. Don Bernardo de Quiros, the Spanish ambassador in Holland, prepared a memorial on the same subject to the states-general; whichhowever they refused to accept. These remonstrances did not interruptthe negotiation, in which Louis was so eager that he complained ofWilliam as if he had not employed his whole influence in prevailingupon the Dutch to signify their accession to the articles agreed upon byFrance and England; but his Britannic majesty found means to remove thisjealousy. THE COMMONS PERSIST IN THEIR RESOLUTIONS. About the middle of October, William returned to England, and conferredupon the duke of Shrewsbury the office of chamberlain, vacant since theresignation of Sunderland. * Mr. Montague at the same period resignedhis seat at the treasury-board, together with the chancellorship of theexchequer; either foreseeing uncommon difficulty in managing a houseof commons after they had been dismissed in ill humour, or dreading theinterest of his enemies, who might procure a vote that his two placeswere inconsistent. The king opened the session of parliament on thesixteenth day of November, with a long speech, advising a furtherprovision for the safety of the kingdom by sea and land, as well as therepairs of ships and fortifications; exhorting the commons to make goodthe deficiencies of the funds, discharge the debts of the nation, andprovide the necessary supplies. He recommended some good bill forthe more effectual preventing and punishing unlawful and clandestinetrading; and expressed a desire that some method should be taken foremploying the poor, which were become a burden to the kingdom. Heassured them his resolutions were to countenance virtue and discouragevice; and that he would decline no difficulties and dangers where thewelfare and prosperity of the nation was concerned. He concluded withthese words: "Since then our aims are only for the general good, letus act with confidence in one another; which will not fail, with God'sblessing, to make me a happy king, and you a great and flourishingpeople. " The commons were now become wanton in their disgust. Thoughthey had received no real provocation, they resolved to mortify him withtheir proceedings. They affected to put odious interpretations onthe very harmless expression of "Let us act with confidence in oneanother. " Instead of an address of thanks, according to the usualcustom, they presented a sullen remonstrance, complaining that ajealousy and distrust had been raised of their duty and affection; anddesiring he would show marks of his high displeasure towards all personswho had presumed to misrepresent their proceedings to his majesty. Hedeclared, in his answer, that no person had ever dared to misrepresenttheir proceedings, and that if any should presume to impose upon him bysuch 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. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } INQUIRY INTO THE EXPEDITION Of CAPTAIN KIDD. The house was not in a humour to be appeased with soothing promisesand protestations; they determined to distress him by prosecuting hisministers. During the war the colonies of North America had grown richby piracy. One Kidd, the master of a sloop, undertook to suppress thepirates, provided the government would furnish him with a ship of thirtyguns well manned. The board of admiralty declaring that such a number ofseamen could not be spared from the public service, Kidd was equipped bythe 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 contributeone-half of the expense, and reserved to himself one-tenth of theprofits; but he never advanced the money. Kidd being thus equipped, andprovided with a commission to act against the French, as well as tomake war on certain pirates therein mentioned by name, set sail fromPlymouth; but instead of cruising on the coast of America, he directedhis course to the East Indies, where he himself turned pirate, and tooka rich ship belonging to the Moors. Having divided his booty with hiscrew, ninety of whom left him in order to join other adventurers, heburned his own ship and sailed with his prize to the West Indies. Therehe purchased a sloop in which he steered for North America, leaving partof his men in the prize, to remain in one of the Leeward Islands untilthey should receive further instructions. Arriving on the coast of NewYork, 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 anaccount of his proceedings to the secretary of state, desiring that hewould send for the prisoners to England, as there was no law in thatcolony for punishing piracy with death, and the majority of the peoplefavoured that practice. The admiralty, by order of the lords-justices, despatched the ship Rochester to bring home the prisoners and theireffects; but, after having been tossed for some time with tempestuousweather, this vessel was obliged to return to Plymouth in a shatteredcondition. This incident furnished the malcontents with a colourto paint the ministry as the authors and abettors of a piraticalexpedition, which they wanted to screen from the cognizance of thepublic. The old East India company had complained to the regency of thecapture made by Kidd in the East Indies, apprehending, as the vesselbelonged to the Moors, they should be exposed to the resentments of theMogul. In the beginning of December, this subject being brought abruptlyinto the house of commons, a motion was made, That the letters patentgranted to the earl of Bellamont and others, of pirates' goods, weredishonourable to the king, against the laws of nations, contrary to thelaws and statutes of the land, invasive of property, and destructive oftrade and commerce. A warm dispute ensued, in the course of which somemembers declaimed with great bitterness against the chancellor andthe duke of Shrewsbury, as partners in a piratical scheme; but theseimputations were refuted, and the motion was rejected by a greatmajority. Not but they might have justly stigmatized the expedition as alittle mean adventure, in which those noblemen had embarked with a viewto their own private advantage. While this affair was in agitation among the commons, the attention ofthe upper house was employed upon the case of Dr. Watson, bishop of St. David's. This prelate was supposed to have paid a valuable considerationfor his bishopric; and, after his elevation, had sold the prefermentsin his gift with a view of being reimbursed. He was accused of simony;and, after a solemn hearing before the archbishop of Canterbury and sixsuffragans, convicted and deprived. Then he pleaded his privilege: sothat the affair was brought into the house of lords, who refused to ownhim 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'ssentence was confirmed. The next effort that the commons made, witha 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 unfitpreceptor for the duke of Gloucester, both as a Scottish man, andauthor of that pastoral letter which had been burned by order of theparliament, for asserting that William had a right to the crown fromconquest. A motion was made for addressing his majesty that thisprelate might be dismissed from his employment, but rejected by a greatmajority. Burnet had acted with uncommon integrity in accepting thetrust. He had declined the office, which he was in a manner forced toaccept. He had offered to resign his bishopric, thinking the employmentof a tutor would interfere with the duty of a pastor. He insisted uponthe duke's residence all the summer at Windsor, which is in the dioceseof Sarum, and added to his private charities the whole income of his newoffice. INQUIRY INTO THE IRISH FORFEITURES. The circumstance on which the anti-courtiers built their chief hope ofdistressing or disgracing the government, was the inquiry into the Irishforfeitures, 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, sirFrancis Brewster, and sir Richard Leving. The first four were actuatedby all the virulence of faction; the other three were secretly guidedby ministerial influence. They began their inquiry in Ireland, andproceeded with such severity as seemed to flow rather from resentmentto the court, than from a love of justice and abhorrence of corruption. They in particular scrutinized a grant of an estate which the kinghad made to Mrs. Villiers, now countess of Orkney, so as to expose theking's partiality for that favourite, and subject him to an additionalload of popular odium. In the course of their examination the earl ofDrogheda, Leving, and Brewster, opposed the rest of the commissioners indivers articles of the report, which they refused to sign, and sentover a memorial to the house of commons explaining their reasons fordissenting from their colleagues. By this time, however, they wereconsidered as hirelings of the court, and no regard was paid to theirrepresentations. The others delivered their report, declaring thata million and a half of money might be raised from the sale of theconfiscated estates; and a bill was brought in for applying them to theuse of the public. A motion being made to reserve a third part forthe king's disposal, it was overruled: then the commons passed anextraordinary vote, importing that they would not receive any petitionfrom any person whatsoever concerning the grants, and that they wouldconsider the great services performed by the commissioners appointedto inquire into the forfeited estates. They resolved, That the fourcommissioners who had signed the report had acquitted themselves withunderstanding, courage, and integrity; and, That sir Richard Leving, as author of groundless and scandalous aspersions cast upon his fourcolleagues, should be committed prisoner to the Tower. They afterwardscame to the following resolution, which was presented to the king inform of an address, --That the procuring and passing those grants hadoccasioned great debts upon the nation, and heavy taxes upon the people, and highly reflected upon the king's honour; and, That the officers andinstruments concerned in the same had highly failed in the performanceof their trust and duty. The king answered, That he was not only led byinclination, but thought himself obliged in justice to reward thosewho had served well in the reduction of Ireland, out of the estatesforfeited to him by the rebellion in that kingdom. He observed, thatas the long war had left the nation much in debt, their taking just andeffectual ways for lessening that debt and supporting public credit waswhat, in his opinion, would best contribute to the honour, interest, andsafety of the kingdom. This answer kindled a flame of indignation inthe house. They forthwith resolved, That the adviser of it had used hisutmost endeavours to create a misunderstanding and jealousy between theking and his people. THE COMMONS PASS A BILL OF RESUMPTION. They prepared, finished, and passed a bill of resumption. They orderedthe report of the commissioners, together with the king's promise andspeeches, and the former resolutions of the house touching the forfeitedestates in Ireland, to be printed and published for their justification;and they resolved, That the procuring or passing exorbitant grants byany member now of the privy council, or by any other that had been aprivy councillor in this or any former reign, to his use or benefit, wasa high crime or misdemeanor. That justice might be done to purchasersand creditors in the act of resumption, thirteen trustees wereauthorized and empowered to hear and determine all claims relatingto those estates, to sell them to the best purchasers; and the moneyarising 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 majestyby the sale of forfeited and other estates and interests in Ireland;and that it might undergo no alteration in the house of lords, it wasconsolidated with the money-bill for the service of the year. In thehouse of lords it produced warm debates; and some alterations were madewhich the commons unanimously rejected. They seemed to be now more thanever exasperated against the ministry, and ordered a list of the privycouncil 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 soprovoked at their interfering in a money-bill, that they determined togive a loose to their resentment. They ordered all the doors of theirhouse to bo shut that no members should go forth. Then they took intoconsideration the report of the Irish forfeitures, with the list of theprivy councillors; and a question was moved, That an address should bemade to his majesty to remove John lord Somers, chancellor of England, from his presence and councils for ever. This however was carried in thenegative by a great majority. The king was extremely chagrined at thebill, which he considered as an invasion of his prerogative, an insulton his person, and an injury to his friends and servants; and he atfirst resolved to hazard all the consequences of refusing to pass itinto a law; but he was diverted from his purpose by the remonstrances ofthose in whom he chiefly confided. * He could not, however, dissemble hisresentment. He became sullen, peevish, and morose; and his enemies didnot fail to make use of this additional ill humour as a proof of hisaversion to the English people. Though the motion against the chancellorhad miscarried, the commons resolved to address his majesty that noperson who was not a native of his dominions, except his royal highnessprince George of Denmark, should be admitted into his majesty's councilsin England or Ireland. This resolution was levelled against the earlsof Portland, Albemarle, and Galway; but before the address could bepresented, the king went to the house of peers, and having passed thebill which had produced such a ferment, with some others, commandedthe earl of Bridge-water, speaker of the house in the absence of thechancellor, who was indisposed, to prorogue the parliament to thetwenty-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 theirinquiry into the conduct of Kidd, brought in a bill for the moreeffectual suppressing of piracy, which passed into a law; understandingafterwards that Kidd was brought over to England, they presented anaddress to the king desiring that he might not be tried, discharged, orpardoned, till the next session of parliament; and his majesty compliedwith their request. Boiling still with indignation against the lordchancellor, representing the necessity of an immediate parliament. Itwas circulated about the kingdom for subscriptions, signed by a greatnumber of those who sat in parliament, and presented to the king by lordBoss, who with some others was deputed for that purpose. The king toldthem they should know his intention in Scotland; and in the meantimeadjourned their parliament by proclamation. The people exasperatedat this new provocation, began to form the draft of a second nationaladdress, to be signed by the shires and boroughs of the kingdom; butbefore this could be finished, the king wrote a letter to the duke ofQueensberry and the privy council of that nation, which was publishedfor the satisfaction of the people. He professed himself grieved at thenation's loss, and willing to grant what might be needful for the reliefand ease of the kingdom. He assured them he had their interest at heart;and that his good subjects should have convincing proofs of his sincereinclination to advance the wealth and prosperity of that his ancientkingdom. He said he hoped this declaration would be satisfactory to allgood men; that they would not suffer themselves to be misled; nor giveadvantage to enemies and ill-designing persons, ready to seize everyopportunity of embroiling the government. He gave them to understandthat his necessary absence had occasioned the late adjournment; but assoon as God should bring him back, their parliament should be assembled. Even this explanation, seconded by all the credit and address of hisministers, failed in allaying the national ferment, which rose to thevery verge of rebellion. LORD SOMERS DISMISSED. The king, who from his first accession to the throne had veeredoccasionally from one party to another, according to the circumstancesof his affairs and the opposition he encountered, was at this period soincensed and embarrassed by the caprice and insolence of the commons, that he willingly lent an ear to the leaders of the tories, whoundertook to manage the parliament according to his pleasure, providedhe would part with some of his ministers who were peculiarly odious tothe commons. The person against whom their anger was chiefly directedwas the lord chancellor Somers, the most active leader of the whigparty. They demanded his dismission, and the king exhorted him to resignhis office; but he refusing to take any step that might indicate a fearof his enemies or a consciousness of guilt, the king sent a peremptoryorder for the seals by the lord Jersey, to whom Somers delivered themwithout hesitation. They were successively offered to lord chief justiceHolt, and Trevor the attorney-general, who declined accepting such aprecarious office. Meanwhile the king granted a temporary commission tothree judges to sit in the court of chancery; and at length bestowedthe seals, with the title of lord keeper, on Nathan Wright, one of thesergeants at law, a man but indifferently qualified for the office towhich he was now preferred. Though William seemed altogether attached tothe tories and inclined to a new parliament, no person appeared to takethe lead in the affairs of government; and, indeed, for some time theadministration seemed to be under no particular direction. SECOND TREATY OF PARTITION. During the transactions of the last session, the negotiation for asecond partition treaty had been carried on in London by the Frenchminister Tallard, in conjunction with the earls of Portland and Jersey, and was soon brought to perfection. On the twenty-first day of Februarythe treaty was signed in London; and on the twenty-fifth of the nextmonth it was subscribed at the Hague by Briord, the French envoy, andthe plenipotentiaries of the states-general. By this convention thetreaty of Ryswiek was confirmed. The contracting parties agreed, that, in case of his catholic majesty's dying without issue, the dauphin shouldpossess, for himself and his heirs, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the islands of St. Stephano, Porto Hercole, Orbitello, Telamone, PortoLongone, Piombino, the city and marquisate of Final, the province ofGuipuscoa, the duchies of Lorraine and Bar; in exchange for which last, the duke of Lorraine should enjoy the duchy of Milan; but that thecounty of Biche should remain in sovereignty to the prince of Vaudemont;that the archduke Charles should inherit the kingdom of Spain and allits dependencies in and out of Europe; but in case of his dying withoutissue, it should devolve to some other child of the emperor, exceptinghim who might succeed as emperor or king of the Romans: that thismonarchy should never descend to a king of France or dauphin; and thatthree months should be allowed to the emperor, to consider whether ornot he would accede to this treaty. Whether the French king was reallysincere in his professions at this juncture, or proposed this treatywith a view to make a clandestine use of it at the court of Spain formore interested purposes, it is not easy to determine; at first howeverit was concealed from the notice of the public, as if the parties hadresolved to take no step in consequence of it during the life of hiscatholic majesty. In the beginning of July the king embarked for Holland, after havingappointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence. On thetwenty-ninth day of the same month the young duke of Gloucester, theonly remaining child of seventeen which the princess Anne had borne, died of a malignant fever, in the eleventh year of his age. His deathwas much lamented by the greater part of the English nation, not only onaccount of his promising talents and gentle behaviour, but also, as itleft the succession undetermined, and might create disputes of fatalconsequence to the nation. The Jacobites openly exulted in an eventwhich they imagined would remove the chief bar to the interest of theprince of Wales; but the protestants generally turned their eyes uponthe princess Sophia, electress dowager of Hanover, and grand-daughterof James I. It was with a view to concert the establishment of hersuccession, that the court of Brunswick now returned the visit of kingWilliam. The present state of affairs in England, however, afforded avery uncomfortable prospect. The people were generally alienated fromthe person and government of the reigning king, upon whom they seem tohave surfeited. The vigour of their minds was destroyed by luxury andsloth; the severity of their morals was relaxed by a long habit ofvenality and corruption. The king's health began to decline, and evenhis faculties decayed apace. No person was appointed to ascend thethrone when it should become vacant. The Jacobite faction alone waseager, vigilant, enterprising and elate. They despatched Mr. Graham, brother of lord Preston, to the court of St. Germain's, immediatelyafter the death of the duke of Gloucester; they began to bestirthemselves all over the kingdom. A report was spread that the princessAnne had privately sent a message to her father, and that Britain wasonce 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 andPoland, with the elector of Brandenburgh, had formed a league to crushthe young-king of Sweden, by invading his dominions on different sides. The Poles actually entered Livonia, and undertook the siege of Riga; theking of Denmark, having demolished some forts in Holstein, the dukeof which was connected with Sweden, invested Tonninghen. The Swedishminister in England demanded that assistance of William which had beenstipulated in a late renewal of the ancient treaty between Englandand Sweden. The states of Holland were solicited to the same purpose. Accordingly, a fleet of thirty sail, English and Dutch, was sent to theBaltic under the command of sir George Rooke, who joined the Swedishsquadron, and bombarded Copenhagen, to which the Danish fleet hadretired. At the same time the duke of Lunenbourg, with the Swedishforces which happened to be at Bremen, passed the Elhe, and marched tothe assistance of the duke of Holstein. The Danes immediately abandonedthe siege of Tonninghen, and a body of Saxons, who had made an irruptioninto the territories of the duke of Brunswick, were obliged to retreatin disorder. By the mediation of William, a negotiation was begun fora treaty between Sweden and Denmark, which in order to quicken, Charlesthe young king of Sweden made a descent upon the isle of Zealand. Thiswas executed with great success. Charles was the first man who landed;and here he exhibited such marks of courage and conduct, far above hisyears, as equally astonished and intimidated his adversaries. Then hedetermined to besiege Copenhagen; a resolution that struck such terrorinto the Danes, that they proceeded with redoubled diligence in thetreaty, which was brought to a conclusion, between Denmark, Sweden, and Holstein, about the middle of August. Then the Swedes retired toSchonen, and the squadrons of the maritime powers returned from theBaltic. SECOND TREATY OF PARTITION. When the new partition treaty was communicated by the ministers of thecontracting parties to the other powers of Europe, it generally met witha very unfavourable construction. Saxony and the northern crowns werestill embroiled with their own quarrels, consequently could not givemuch attention to such a remote transaction. The princes of Germanyappeared cautious and dilatory in their answers, unwilling to beconcerned in any plan that might excite the resentment of the house ofAustria. The elector of Brandenburgh in particular had set his heartupon the regal dignity, which he hoped to obtain from the favourand authority of the emperor. The Italian states were averse to thepartition treaty, from their apprehension of seeing France in possessionof Naples and other districts of their country. The duke of Savoyaffected a mysterious neutrality, in hopes of being, able to barterhis consent for some considerable advantage. The Swiss cantons declinedacceding as guarantees. The emperor expressed his astonishment that anydisposition should be made of the Spanish monarchy without the consentof the present possessor, and the states of the kingdom. He observed, that neither justice nor decorum could warrant the contracting powersto compel him, who was the rightful heir, to accept a part of hisinheritance within three months, under penalty of forfeiting even thatshare to a third person not yet named; and he declared that he couldtake no final resolution until he should know the sentiments of hiscatholic majesty, on an affair in which their mutual interest was sonearly concerned. Leopold was actually engaged in a negotiation with theking of Spain, who signed a will in favour of his second son Charles;yet he took no measures to support the disposition, either by sendingthe archduke with a sufficient force to Spain, or by detaching troopsinto Italy. THE FRENCH INTEREST PREVAILS AT THE COURT OF SPAIN. The people of Spain were exasperated at the insolence of the threeforeign powers who pretended to parcel out their dominions. Their pridetook the alarm at the prospect of their monarchy's being dismembered;and their grandees repined at the thoughts of losing so many lucrativegovernments which they now enjoyed. The king's life became every daymore and more precarious, from frequent returns of his disorder. Theministry was weak and divided, the nobility factious, and the peoplediscontented. The hearts of the nation had been alienated from the houseof Austria, by the insolent carriage and rapacious disposition ofthe queen Mariana. The French had gained over to their interests thecardinal Portocarrero, the marquis de Monterey, with many other noblemenand persons of distinction. These perceiving the sentiments of thepeople, employed their emissaries to raise a general cry that Francealone could maintain the succession entire; that the house of Austriawas feeble and exhausted, and any prince of that line must owe his chiefsupport to detestable heretics. Portocarrero tampered with the weaknessof his sovereign. He repeated and exaggerated all these digestions; headvised him to consult Pope Innocent XII. On this momentous point ofregulating the succession. That pontiff, who was a creature of France, having taken the advice of a college of cardinals, determined that therenunciation of Maria Theresa was invalid and null, as being foundedupon compulsion, and contrary to the fundamental laws of the Spanishmonarchy. He therefore exhorted king Charles to contribute to thepropagation of the faith, and the repose of Christendom, by making a newwill in favour of a grandson of the French monarch. This admonitionwas seconded by the remonstrance of Portocarrero; and the weak princecomplied with the proposal. In the meantime the king of France seemed toact heartily as a principal in the treaty of partition. His ministersat foreign courts co-operated with those of the maritime powers insoliciting the accession of the different potentates in Europe. When count Zinzendorf, the imperial ambassador at Paris, presented amemorial, desiring to know what part France would act should the king ofSpain voluntarily place a grandson of Louis upon the throne, the marquisde Torcy answered in writing, that his most christian majesty would byno means listen to such a proposal; nay, when the emperor's ministergave them to understand that his master was ready to begin a separatenegotiation with the court of Versailles, touching the Spanishsuccession, Louis declared he could not treat on that subject withoutthe concurrence of his allies. The nature of the partition-treaty was no sooner known in England, thancondemned by the most intelligent part of the nation. They first of allcomplained, that such an important affair should be concluded withoutthe advice of parliament. They observed that the scheme was unjust, and the execution of it hazardous; that in concerting the terms, themaritime powers seemed to have acted as partizans of France; for thepossession of Naples and the Tuscan ports would subject Italy toher dominion, and interfere with the English trade to the Levant andMediterranean; while Guipuscoa, on any future rupture, would affordanother inlet into the heart of the Spanish dominions; they, for thesereasons, pronounced the treaty destructive of the balance of power, and prejudicial to the interest of England. All these arguments weretrumpeted by the malcontents, so that the whole kingdom echoed with theclamour of disaffection. Sir Christopher Musgrave, and others of thetory faction, began to think in earnest of establishing the successionof the English crown upon the person of the prince of Wales. They aresaid to have sent over Mr. Graham to St. Germain's with overtures tothis purpose, and an assurance that a motion would be made in the houseof commons, to pass a vote that the crown should not be supported in theexecution of the partition treaty. King William was not ignorant of thecensure he had undergone, and not a little alarmed to find himself sounpopular among his own subjects. That he might be the more ableto bestow his attention effectually upon the affairs of England, heresolved to take some measures for the satisfaction of the Scottishnation. He permitted the parliament of that kingdom to meet on thetwenty-eighth day of October, and wrote a letter to them from his houseat Loo, containing an assurance that he would concur in every thing thatcould be reasonably proposed for maintaining and advancing the peace andwelfare of their kingdom. He promised to give his royal assent tosuch acts as they should frame for the better establishment ofthe presbyterian discipline; for preventing the growth of popery, suppressing vice and immorality, encouraging piety and virtue, preserving and securing personal liberty, regulating and advancingtrade, retrieving the losses, and promoting the interest of theirAfrican and Indian companies. He expressed his concern that he could notassert the company's right of establishing a colony at Darien, withoutdisturbing the peace of Christendom, and entailing a ruinous war on thathis ancient kingdom. He recommended unanimity and despatch in raisingcompetent taxes for their own defence; and told them he had thought fitto continue the duke of Queensberry in the office of high commissioner. Notwithstanding this soothing address, the national resentment continuedto rage, and the parliament seemed altogether intractable. By this timethe company had received certain tidings of the entire surrender oftheir settlement; and on the first day of the session, they representedto parliament, that, for want of due protection abroad, some personshad been encouraged to break in upon their privileges even at home. Thisremonstrance was succeeded by another national address to the king, whotold them he could not take any further notice of that affair, sincethe 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 otherexpedients for allaying the ferment of that nation. His ministers andtheir agents bestirred themselves so successfully, that the heats inparliament were entirely cooled, and the outcry of the people subsidedinto unavailing murmurs. The parliament resolved, that in considerationof their great deliverance by his majesty, and as next, under God, theirsafety and happiness wholly depended on his preservation and that of hisgovernment, they would support both to the utmost of their power, andmaintain such forces as should be requisite for those ends. They passedan act for keeping on foot three thousand men for two years, to bemaintained by a land-tax. Then the commissioner produced the king'sletter, desiring to have eleven hundred men on his own account to thefirst day of June following; they forthwith complied with this request, and were prorogued to the sixth of May. The supernumerary troops weresent over to the states-general; and the earl of Argyle was honouredwith the title of duke, as a recompence for having concurred with thecommissioners in managing this session of parliament. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } 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 himselfinvolved; and in the beginning of the next month, he received advicethat the king of Spain was actually dead. He could not be surprised atthis event, which had been so long-expected; but it was attended with acircumstance which he had not foreseen. Charles, by his last will, haddeclared the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin, the sole heir ofthe Spanish monarchy. In case this prince should die without issue, orinherit the crown of France, he willed that Spain should devolve to theduke of Berry: in default of him, and children, to the archduke Charlesand 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 ofthe archduchesses. When this testament was first notified to the Frenchcourt, Louis seemed to hesitate between his inclination and engagementsto William and the states-general. Madame de Maintenon is said to havejoined her influence to that of the dauphin, in persuading the king toaccept of the will; and Pontchartrain was engaged to support the samemeasure. A cabinet-council was called in her apartment. The rest of theministry declared for the treaty of partition; the king affected a kindof neutrality. The dauphin spoke for his son with an air of resolutionhe had never assumed before; Pontchartain seconded his argument; madamede Main-tenon asked, what the duke of Anjou had done to provoke theking, that he should be barred of his right to that succession? Then therest of the members espoused the dauphin's opinion; and the king ownedhimself convinced by their reasons. In all probability the decisionof this council was previously settled in private. After the will wasaccepted, Louis closeted the duke of Anjou, to whom he said in presenceof 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 loveyour 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 princesof the blood; nevertheless, the duke of Orleans and his son protestedagainst the will, because the archduke was placed next in successionto the duke of Berry, in bar of their right as descendants of Anneof Austria, whose renunciation could be of no more force than that ofMaria-Theresa. On the fourth day of December the new king set out forSpain, to the frontiers of which he was accompanied by his two brothers. When the will was accepted, the French minister de Torcy endeavoured tojustify his master's conduct to the earl of Manchester, who residedat Paris in the character of ambassador from the court of London. Heobserved, that the treaty of partition was not likely to answer the endfor which it had been concerted; that the emperor had refused toaccede; that it was relished by none of the princes to whom it had beencommunicated; that the people of England and Holland had expressed theirdiscontent at the prospect of France being in possession of Naples andSicily; that if Louis had rejected the will, the archduke would have hada 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 beforethe treaty could be executed; that the ships to be furnished by GreatBritain and Holland would not be sufficient for the purposes of such awar, and it was doubtful whether England and the states-general wouldengage themselves in a greater expense. He concluded with saying, Thatthe treaty would have been more advantageous to France than the will, which the king accepted purely from a desire of preserving the peaceof Europe. His master hoped therefore that a good understanding wouldsubsist between him and the king of Great Britain. The same reasonswere communicated by Briod, the French ambassador at the Hague, to thestates-general. Notwithstanding this address, they ordered their envoyat Paris to deliver a memorial to the French king, expressing theirsurprise at his having accepted the will; and their hope, that as thetime specified for the emperor's acceding to the treaty was notexpired, his most christian majesty would take the affair again into hisconsideration, and adhere to his engagements in every article. Louis inhis answer to this memorial, which he despatched to all the courtsof Europe, declared that what he chiefly considered was the principaldesign of the contracting parties, namely, the maintenance of peace inEurope; and that, true to his principle, he only departed from the wordsthat 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 tounderstand that the peace of Europe was so firmly established by thewill of the king of Spain, in favour of his grandson, that he did notdoubt their approbation of his succession to the Spanish crown. Thestates observed, that they could not declare themselves upon an affairof such consequence, without consulting their respective provinces. Louis admitted the excuse, and assured them of his readiness to concurwith whatever they should desire for the security of the SpanishNetherlands. The Spanish ambassador at the Hague presented them with aletter from his new master, who likewise notified his accession to allthe powers of Europe, except the king of England. The emperor loudlyexclaimed against the will, as being more iniquitous than the treaty ofpartition; and threatened to do himself justice by force of arms. The Spaniards, apprehending that a league would be formed betweenhis imperial majesty and the maritime powers for setting aside thesuccession of the duke of Anjou, and conscious of their own inability todefend their dominions, resigned themselves entirely to the protectionof the French monarch. The towns in the Spanish Netherlands and theduchy of Milan admitted French garrisons: a French squadron anchored inthe port of Cadiz; and another was detached to the Spanish settlementsin the West Indies. Part of the Dutch army that was quartered atLuxembourg, Mon, and Namur, were made prisoners of war, becausethey would not own the king of Spain, whom their masters had not yetacknowledged. The states were overwhelmed with consternation by thisevent, especially when they considered their own naked situation, andreflected that the Spanish garrisons might fall upon them before theycould assemble a body of troops for their defence. The danger was soimminent, that they resolved to acknowledge the king of Spain withoutfurther hesitation, and wrote a letter to the French king for thatpurpose; this was no sooner received, than orders were issued forsending 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 apparentindifference, that some people naturally believed he had been privy tothe transaction. Others imagined that he was discouraged from engagingin a new war by his bodily infirmities, which daily increased, as wellas by the opposition in parliament to which he should be inevitablyexposed. But his real aim was to conceal his sentiments until he shouldhave sounded the opinions of other powers in Europe, and seen how farhe could depend upon his new ministry. He now seemed to repose his chiefconfidence in the earl of Rochester, who had undertaken for thetories, and was declared lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Lord Godolphin wasappointed first commissioner of the treasury, lord Tankerville succeededlord Lonsdale, lately deceased, as keeper of the privy-seal, and sirCharles Hedges was declared secretary of state, in the room of the earlof Jersey; but the management of the commons was intrusted to Mr. RobertHarley, who had hitherto opposed the measures of the court with equalvirulence and ability. These new undertakers, well knowing they shouldfind it very difficult, if not impossible, to secure a majority inthe present parliament, prevailed on the king to dissolve it byproclamation; then the sheriffs were changed according to theirnomination, and writs issued for a new parliament to meet on the sixthday of February. During this interval, count Wratislaw arrived inEngland, as ambassador from the emperor, to explain Leopold's title tothe Spanish monarchy, supported by repeated entails and renunciations, confirmed in the most solemn treaties. This minister met with a verycold reception from those who stood at the helm of affairs. They soughtto avoid all connexions, that might engage their country as a principalin another war upon the Continent; smarting as they were from thelosses and incumbrances which the last had entailed upon them and theirposterity. They seemed to think that Louis, rather than involve himselfin fresh troubles, would give all the security that could be desired formaintaining the peace of Europe; or even should this be refused, theysaw no reason for Britain exhausting her wealth and strength to supporta chimerical balance, in which her interest was but remotely concerned. It was their opinion, that by keeping aloof she might render herselfmore respectable. Her reserve would overawe contending powers; theywould in their turn sue for her assistance, and implore her goodoffices; and, instead of declaring herself a party, she would have thehonour to decide as arbitress of their disputes. Perhaps they extendedthis idea too far; and, in all probability, their notions were inflamedby a spirit of faction. They hated the whigs as their politicaladversaries, and detested the war, because it had been countenancedand supported by the interest of that party. The king believed that aconjunction of the two monarchies of France and Spain would prove fatalto the liberties of Europe; and that this could not be prevented byany other method than a general union of the other European powers. Hecertainly was an enthusiast in his sentiments of this equilibrium; andfully convinced that he himself, of all the potentates in Christendom, was the only prince capable of adjusting the balance. The imperialambassador could not therefore be long ignorant of his real purpose, ashe conversed with the Dutch favourites, who knew and approved of theirmaster's design, though he avoided a declaration until he should haverendered his ministers more propitious to his aim. The true secret, however, of that reserve with which count Wratislaw was treated at hisfirst arrival, was a private negotiation which the king had set on footwith the regency of Spain, touching a barrier in the Netherlands. Heproposed that certain towns should be garrisoned with English and Dutchtroops, by way of security against the ambitious designs of France; butthe regency were so devoted to the French interest, that they refusedto listen to any proposal of this nature. While this affair was inagitation, William resolved to maintain a wary distance from theemperor; but when his efforts miscarried, the ambassador found him muchmore 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 ofFebruary, when Mr. Harley was chosen speaker by a great majority, inopposition to sir Richard Onslow. The king had previously told sirThomas Lyttleton, it would be for his service that he should yield hispretensions to Harley at this juncture; and that gentleman agreed toabsent himself from the house on the day of election. The king observedin his speech, that the nation's loss in the death of the duke ofGloucester, had rendered it absolutely necessary for them to makefurther provision for the succession of the crown in the protestantline; that the death of the king of Spain had made such an alteration inthe affairs of the Continent, as required their mature deliberation. Therest of his harangue turned upon the usual topics of demanding suppliesfor the ensuing year, reminding them of the deficiencies and publicdebts, recommending to their inquiry the state of the navy andfortifications; exhorting them to encourage commerce, employ the poor, and proceed with vigour and unanimity in all their deliberations. Thoughthe elections had been generally carried in favour of the tory interest, the ministry had secured but one part of that faction. Some of the mostpopular leaders, such as the duke of Leeds, the marquis of Normanby, theearls of Nottingham, Seymour, Musgrave, Howe, Finch, and Showers, hadbeen either neglected or found refractory, and resolved to oppose thecourt measures with all their influence. Besides, the French king, knowing that the peace of Europe would in a great measure depend on theresolutions of the English parliament, is said to have distributed greatsums of money in England, by means of his minister Tallard, in order tostrengthen the opposition of the house of commons. Certain it is, thenation abounded at this period with the French coins called louis d'orsand pistoles; but whether this redundancy was owing to a balance oftrade in favour of England, or to the largesses of Louis, we shallnot pretend to determine. We may likewise observe, that the infamouspractice of bribing electors had never been so flagrant as in the choiceof representatives for this parliament. This scandalous traffic had beenchiefly carried on by the whig party, and therefore their antagonistsresolved to spare no pains in detecting their corruption. Sir EdwardSeymour distinguished himself by his zeal and activity; he brought someof these practices to light, and, in particular, stigmatized the newEast-India company for having been deeply concerned in this species ofvenality. An inquiry being set on foot in the house of commons, severalelections were declared void; and divers persons who had been illegallyreturned, were first expelled the house, and afterwards detained inprison. Yet these prosecutions were carried on with such partiality, as plainly indicated that they flowed rather from party zeal than frompatriotism. A great body of the commons had resolved to present an address to hismajesty, desiring he would acknowledge the king of Spain; and the motionin 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 heatof his declamation against this measure, said he expected the next votewould be for owning the pretended prince of Wales. Though there waslittle or no connexion between these two subjects, a great many memberswere startled at the information, and deserted the measure, which wasdropped accordingly. The king's speech being taken into consideration, the house resolved to support his majesty and his government; to takesuch effectual measures as might best conduce to the interest andsafety of England, and the preservation of the protestant religion. This resolution was presented in an address to the king, who receivedit favourably. At the same time, he laid before them a memorial hehad received from the states-general, and desired their adviceand assistance in the points that constituted the substance ofthe remonstrance. The states gave him to understand, that they hadacknowledged the duke of Anjou as king of Spain; that France had agreedto a negotiation, in which they might stipulate the necessary conditionsfor securing the peace of Europe; and that they were firmly resolvedto do nothing without the concurrence of his majesty and their otherallies. They therefore begged he would send a minister to the Hague, with necessary powers and instructions to co-operate with them in thisnegotiation; they told him that in case it should prove ineffectual, or Holland bo suddenly invaded by the troops which Louis had orderedto advance towards their frontiers, they relied on the assistance ofEngland, and hoped his majesty would prepare the succours stipulated bytreaty, to be used should occasion require. The memorial was like-wisecommunicated to the house of lords. Meanwhile the commons desired thatthe treaties between England and the states-general should be laidbefore the house. These being perused, they resolved upon an address, to desire his majesty would enter into such negotiations with thestates-general, and other potentates, as might most effectually conduceto the mutual safety of Great Britain and the united provinces, as wellas to the preservation of the peace of Europe, and to assure him oftheir support and assistance in performance of the treaty subsistingbetween England and the states-general. This resolution however wasnot carried without great opposition from those who were averse to thenation involving itself in another war upon the continent. The kingprofessed himself extremely well pleased with this address, and toldthem he would immediately order his ministers abroad to act in concertwith the states-general and other powers, for the attainment of thoseends they proposed. AN INTERCEPTED LETTER. He communicated to the commons a letter, written by the earl of Melfortto his brother the earl of Perth, governor to the pretended princeof Wales. It had been mislaid by, accident, and came to London in theFrench mail. It contained a scheme for another invasion of England, together with some reflections on the character of the earl ofMiddleton, who had supplanted him at the court of St. Germain's. Melfortwas a mere projector, and seems to have had no other view than thatof recommending himself to king James, and bringing his rival intodisgrace. The house of lords, to whom the' letter was also imparted, ordered it to be printed. Next day they presented an address, thankinghis majesty for his care of the protestant religion; desiring all thetreaties made since the last war might be laid before them; requestinghim to engage in such alliances as he should think proper for preservingthe balance of power in Europe; assuring him of their concurrence;expressing their acknowledgment for his having communicated Melfort'sletter; desiring he would give orders for seizing the horses and arms ofdisaffected persons; for removing papists from London; and for searchingafter those arms and provisions of war mentioned in the letter; finally, they requested him to equip speedily a sufficient fleet for the defenceof himself and the kingdom. They received a gracious answer to thisaddress, which was a further encouragement to the king to put hisown private designs in execution; towards the same end the lettercontributed not a little, by inflaming the fears and resentment of thenation against France, which in vain disclaimed the earl of Melfort asa fantastical schemer, to whom no regard was paid at the court ofVersailles. The French ministry complained of the publication of thisletter, as an attempt to sow jealousy between the two crowns; and asa convincing proof of their sincerity, banished the earl of Melfort toAngers. SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN SETTLED. The credit of exchequer bills was so lowered by the change of theministry, and the lapse of the time allotted for their circulation, thatthey fell nearly twenty per cent, to the prejudice of the revenue, andthe discredit of the government in foreign countries. The commons havingtaken this affair into consideration, voted, That provision should bemade from time to time for making good the principal and interest due onall parliamentary funds; and afterwards passed a bill for renewing thebills of credit, commonly called exchequer bills. This was sent up tothe lords on the sixth day of March, and on the thirteenth receivedthe royal assent. The next object that engrossed the attention of thecommons, was the settlement of the succession to the throne, which theking had recommended to their consideration in the beginning of thesession. Having deliberated on this subject, they resolved, That for thepreservation of the peace and happiness of the kingdom, and the securityof the protestant religion, it was absolutely necessary that a furtherdeclaration should be made of the limitation and succession of the crownin the protestant line, after his majesty and the princess, and theheirs of their bodies respectively; and that further provision should befirst made for the security of the rights and liberties of the people. Mr. Harley moved, That some conditions of government might be settledas preliminaries, before they should proceed to the nomination ofthe person, that their security might be complete. Accordingly, theydeliberated on this subject, and agreed to the following resolutions;That whoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown, shalljoin in communion with the church of England as by law established; thatin case the crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereaftercome 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 anydominions or territories which do not belong to the crown of England, without the consent of parliament; that no person who shall hereaftercome to the possession of the crown, shall go out of the dominions ofEngland, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of parliament; that, fromand after the time that the further limitation by this act shall takeeffect, all matters and things relating to the well-governing of thiskingdom, which are properly cognizable in the privy-council, by the lawsand customs of the realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolutionstaken thereupon shall be signed by such of the privy-council as shalladvise and consent to the same; that, after the limitation shall takeeffect, no person born out of the kingdom of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging, although he benaturalized, and made a denizen (except such as are born of Englishparents), shall be capable to be of the privy-council, or a member ofeither house of parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements, orhereditaments from the crown to himself, or to any others in trust forhim; 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 amember of the house of commons; that, after the limitation shall takeeffect, judges' commissions be made _quamdiu se bene gesserint_, andtheir salaries ascertained and established; but upon the address of bothhouses of parliament, it may be lawful to remove them; but no pardonunder the great seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment bythe commons in parliament. Having settled these preliminaries, theyresolved, that the princess Sophia, duchess dowager of Hanover, be declared the next in succession to the crown of England, in theprotestant line, after his majesty, and the princess, and the heirs oftheir bodies respectively; and, that the further limitation of thecrown be to the said princess Sophia and the heirs of her body, beingprotestants. A bill being formed on these resolutions, was sent up tothe house of lords, where it met with some opposition from the marquisof Normanby; a protest was likewise entered against it by the earlsof Huntingdon and Plymouth, and the lords Guilford and Jeffries. Nevertheless it passed without amendments, and on the twelfth day ofJune received the royal assent: the king was extremely mortified at thepreliminary limitations, which he considered as an open insult onhis own conduct and administration; not but that they were necessaryprecautions, naturally suggested by the experience of those evils towhich the nation had been already exposed, in consequence of raisinga foreign prince to the throne of England. As the tories lay underthe imputation of favouring the late king's interest, they exertedthemselves zealously on this occasion to wipe off the aspersion, andinsinuate themselves into the confidence of the people; hoping that inthe sequel they should be able to restrain the nation from engaging toodeep in the affairs of the continent, without incurring the charge ofdisaffection to the present king and government. The act of settlementbeing passed, the earl of Macclesfield was sent to notify thetransaction to the electress Sophia, who likewise received from hishands the order of the garter. The act of succession gave umbrage to all the popish princes, who weremore nearly related to the crown than this lady, whom the parliament hadpreferred to all others. The duchess of Savoy, grand-daughter to kingCharles I. By her mother, ordered her ambassador, count Maffei, to makea protestation to the parliament of England, in her name, against allresolutions and decisions contrary to her title, as sole daughter to theprincess Henrietta, next in succession to the crown of England, afterking William and the princess Anne of Denmark. Two copies of thisprotest, Maffei sent in letters to the lord keeper and the speaker ofthe lower house, by two of his gentlemen, and a public notary to attestthe delivery; but no notice was taken of the declaration. The duke ofSavoy, while his minister was thus employed in England, engaged in analliance with the crowns of France and Spain, on condition, That hiscatholic majesty should espouse his youngest daughter without a dowry;that he himself should command the allied army in Italy, and furnisheight thousand infantry, with five-and-twenty hundred horse, inconsideration of a monthly subsidy of fifty thousand crowns. INEFFECTUAL NEGOTIATION with FRANCE. During these transactions, Mr. Stanhope, envoy extraordinary to thestates-general, was empowered to treat with the ministers of Franceand Spain, according to the addresses of both houses of parliament. Herepresented, that though his most christian majesty had thought fit todeviate from the partition-treaty, it was not reasonable that the kingof England should lose the effect of that convention; he thereforeexpected some security for the peace of Europe; and for that purposeinsisted upon certain articles, importing, That the French king shouldimmediately withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlands; that forthe security of England, the cities of Ostend and Nieuport should bedelivered 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 anypretence whatever; that the subjects of his Britannic majesty shouldretain all the privileges, rights, and immunities, with regard to theirnavigation and commerce in the dominions of Spain, which they enjoyedat 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 alltreaties of peace and conventions between England and Spain should berenewed; and that a treaty formed on these demands should be guaranteedby such powers as one or other of the contractors should solicit andprevail upon to accede. Such likewise were the proposals made by thestates-general, with this difference, that they demanded as cautionarytowns, all the strongest places in the Netherlands. Count D'A vaux, theFrench minister, was so surprised at these exorbitant demands, that hecould not help saying, They could not have been higher, if his masterhad lost four successive battles. He assured them that his mostchristian majesty would withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlandsas soon as the king of Spain should have forces of his own sufficient toguard the country; with respect to the other articles, he could give noother answer, but that he would immediately transmit them to Versailles. Louis was filled with indignation at the insolent strain of thoseproposals, which he considered as a sure mark of William's hostileintentions. He refused to give any other security for the peace ofEurope, than a renewal of the treaty of Ryswick; and he is said to havetampered, by means of his agents and emissaries, with the members of theEnglish parliament, that they might oppose all steps tending to a newwar on the continent. {WILLIAM, 1688--1701. } SEVERE ADDRESSES FROM BOTH HOUSES. King William certainly had no expectation that France would close withsuch proposals; but he was not without hope that her refusal would warmthe English nation into a concurrence with his designs. He communicatedto the house of commons the demands which had been made by him and thestates-general; and gave them to understand, that he would from timeto time make them acquainted with the progress of the negotiation. Thecommons suspecting that his intention was to make them parties in acongress which he might conduct to a different end from that which theyproposed, resolved to signify their sentiments in the answer to thismessage. They called for the treaty of partition, which being read, they voted an address of thanks to his majesty, for his most graciousdeclaration that he would make them acquainted with the progress of thenegotiation; but they signified their disapprobation of the partitiontreaty, signed with the great seal of England, without the advice of theparliament which was then sitting, and productive of ill consequences tothe kingdom, as well as to the peace of Europe, as it assigned over tothe French king such a large portion of the Spanish dominion. Nothingcould be more mortifying to the king than this open attack upon his ownconduct, yet he suppressed his resentment, and without taking the leastnotice of their sentiments with respect to the partition treaty, assuredthem that he should be always ready to receive their advice on thenegotiation which he had set on foot according to their desire. Thedebates in the house of commons upon the subject of the partition treatyrose to such violence, that divers members, in declaiming against it, transgressed the bounds of decency. Sir Edward Seymour compared thedivision which had been made of the Spanish territories, to a robberyon the highway; and Mr. Howe did not scruple to say it was a felonioustreaty: an expression which the king resented to such a degree, that hedeclared he would have demanded personal satisfaction with his sword, had he not been restrained by the disparity of condition between himselfand the person who had offered such an outrageous insult to his honour. Whether the tories intended to alienate the minds of the nation from allforeign connexions, or to wreak their vengeance on the late ministers, whom they hated as the chiefs of the whig party, certain it is, they nowraised an universal outcry against the partition treaty, which was notonly condemned in public pamphlets and private conversation, but evenbrought into the house of lords as an object of parliamentary censure. In the month of March a warm debate on this subject was begun bySheffield marquis of Nonnanby, and carried on with great vehemence byother noblemen of the same faction. They exclaimed against the articleby which so many territories were added to the crown of France; theycomplained, that the emperor had been forsaken; that the treaty wasnot communicated to the privy-council or ministry, but clandestinelytransacted by the earls of Portland and Jersey; that the sanction ofthe great seal had been unjustly and irregularly applied, first to blankpowers, and afterwards to the treaty itself. The courtiers replied, that the king had engaged in a treaty of partition at the desire of theemperor, who had agreed to every article except that relating to theduchy of Milan, and afterwards desired, that his majesty would procurefor him the best terms he could obtain; above all things recommendingsecrecy, that he might not forfeit his interest in Spain, by seeming toconsent to the treaty; that foreign negotiations being intrusted to thecare of the crown, the king lay under no legal obligation to communicatesuch secrets of state to his council; far less was he obliged to followtheir advice; and that the keeper of the great seal had no authority forrefusing to apply it to any powers or treaty which the king shouldgrant or conclude, unless they were contrary to law, which had made noprovision 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 uponhis head, declared on the second day of the debate, that he had, by theking's order, communicated the treaty, before it was concluded, to theearls of Pembroke and Marlborough, the lords Lonsdale, Somers, Halifax, and secretary Vernon. These noblemen owned, that they had been madeacquainted with the substance of it: that when they excepted to someparticulars, they were told his majesty had carried the matter as faras it could be advanced, and that he could obtain no better terms; thusassured that every article was already settled, they said they no longerinsisted upon particulars, but gave their advice that his majesty shouldnot engage himself in any measure that would produce a new war, seeingthe nation had been so uneasy under the last. After long debates, andgreat variety as well as virulence of altercation, the house agreedto an address in which they disapproved of the partition treaty, asa scheme inconsistent with the peace and safety of Europe, as well asprejudicial to the interest of Great Britain. They complained, thatneither the instructions given to his plenipotentiaries, nor the draftof the treaty itself, had been laid before his majesty's council. Theyhumbly besought him, that for the future he would, in all matters ofimportance, require and admit the advice of his natural born subjectsof known probity and fortune; and that he would constitute a council ofsuch persons, to whom he might impart all affairs which should any wayconcern him and his dominions. They observed, that interest and naturalaffection to their country would incline them to every measure thatmight tend to its welfare and prosperity; whereas strangers could not beso much influenced by these considerations; that their knowledge ofthe country would render them more capable than foreigners could be ofadvising his majesty touching the true interests of his kingdom; thatthey had exhibited such repeated demonstrations of their duty andaffection, 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 hissecret and arduous affairs; finally, as the French king appeared to haveviolated the treaty of partition, they advised his majesty, in futurenegotiations with that prince, to proceed with such caution as mightimply 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 takecare that all treaties he made should be for the honour and safety ofEngland. Though he deeply felt this affront, he would not alter hisconduct towards the new ministers; but he plainly perceived theirintention was to thwart him in his favourite measure, and humble himinto a dependence upon their interest in parliament. On the last day ofMarch, he imparted to the commons the French king's declaration, that hewould grant no other security than a renewal of the treaty of Ryswick;so that the negotiation seemed to be at an end. He likewise communicatedtwo resolutions of the states-general, with a memorial from their envoyin England, relating to the ships they had equipped with a view to jointhe English fleet, and the succours stipulated in the treaty concludedin the year 1677, which they desired might be sent over with allconvenient expedition. The house having considered this message, unanimously resolved to desire his majesty would carry on thenegotiations in concert with the states-general, and take such measurestherein as might most conduce to their safety; they assured him theywould effectually enable him to support the treaty of 1677, by whichEngland was bound to assist them with ten thousand men, and twenty shipsof war, in case they should be attacked. Though the king was nettledat that part of this address, which, by confining him to one treaty, implied their disapprobation of a new confederacy, he discovered nosigns of emotion; but thanked them for the assurance they had given, andtold them he had sent orders to his envoy at the Hague, to continue theconferences with the courts of Franco and Spain. On the nineteenth dayof April, the marquis de Torcy delivered to the earl of Manchester, atParis, a letter from the new king of Spain to his Britannic majesty, notifying his accession to that throne, and expressing a desire ofcultivating a mutual friendship with the king and crown of England. How averse soever William might have been to any correspondence of thissort, the earl of Rochester and the new ministers importuned him in sucha manner to acknowledge Philip, that he at length complied with theirentreaties, and wrote a civil answer to his most catholic majesty. Thiswas a very alarming incident to the emperor, who was bent upon a warwith the two crowns, and had determined to send prince Eugene with anarmy into Italy, to take possession of the duchy of Milan as a fief ofthe empire. The new pope Clement XI. , who had succeeded to the papacy inthe preceding year, was attached to the French interest; the Venetiansfavoured the emperor; but they refused to declare themselves at thisjuncture. 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 ina separate treaty. Finding them determined to act in concert with theking of England, he protracted the conferences in order to gain time, while he erected fortifications and drew lines on the frontiers ofHolland, divided the princes of the empire by his intrigues, andendeavoured to gain over the states of Italy. The Dutch meanwhileexerted themselves in providing for their own security. They reinforcedtheir garrisons, purchased supplies, and solicited succours from foreignpotentates. The states wrote a letter to king William, explaining thedanger of their situation, professing the most inviolable attachmentto the interest of England, and desiring that the stipulated numberof troops should be sent immediately to their assistance. Thethree Scottish regiments which he had retained in his own pay, wereimmediately transported from Scotland. The letter of the states-generalhe communicated to the house of commons, who having taken it intoconsideration, resolved to assist his majesty to support his allies inmaintaining the liberty of Europe; and to provide immediate succours forthe states-general, according to the treaty of 1677. The house of peers, to whom the letter was also communicated, carried their zeal stillfarther. They presented an address, in which they desired his majestywould not only perform the articles of any former treaty with thestates-general, but also engage with them in a strict league offensiveand defensive, for their common preservation; and invite into it allthe princes and states that were concerned in the present visible dangerarising from the union of Franco and Spain. They exhorted him toenter into such alliances with the emperor as his majesty should thinknecessary, pursuant to the ends of the treaty concluded in the year1689. They assured him of their hearty and sincere assistance, notdoubting that Almighty God would protect his sacred person in sorighteous a cause; and that the unanimity, wealth, and courage ofhis subjects would carry him with honour and success through all thedifficulties of a just war. Lastly, they took leave humbly to represent, that the dangers to which his kingdom and allies had been exposed, werechiefly owing to the fatal counsels that prevented his majesty's soonermeeting his people in parliament. These proceedings of both houses could not but be very agreeable to theking, who expressed his satisfaction in his answer to each apart. Theywere the more remarkable, as at this very time considerable progress wasmade in a design to impeach the old ministry. This deviation thereforefrom the tenour of their former conduct, could be owing to no othermotive than a sense of their own danger, and resentment against France, which, even during the negotiation, had been secretly employed in makingpreparations to surprise and distress the states-general. The commonshaving expressed their sentiments on this subject, resumed theconsideration of the partition treaty. They had appointed a committeeto examine the journals of the house of lords, and to report theirproceedings in relation to the treaty of partition. When the report wasmade by sir Edward Seymour, the house resolved itself into a committeeto consider the state of the nation; after warm debates they resolved, That William earl of Portland, by negotiating and concluding the treatyof partition, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor. They orderedsir 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 ofwhat had passed between the earl of Portland and secretary Vernon, inrelation to the partition treaty, as also what other information theyhad obtained concerning negotiations or treaties of partition of theSpanish monarchy. The lords demurring to this demand, the lower houseresolved to address the king, That copies of both treaties of partition, together with all the powers and instructions for negotiating thosetreaties, should be laid before them. The copies were accordinglyproduced, and the lords sent down to the commons two papers containingthe powers granted to the earls of Portland and Jersey for signing bothtreaties of partition. The house afterwards ordered, That Mr. SecretaryVernon should lay before them all the letters which had passed betweenthe earl of Portland and him, in relation to those treaties; and hethought proper to obey their command. Nothing could be more scandalouslypartial than the conduct of the commons on this occasion. They resolvedto screen the earl of Jersey, sir Joseph Williamson, and Mr. Vernon, who had been as deeply concerned as any others in that transaction; andpointed all their vengeance against the earls of Portland and Orford, and the lords Somers and Halifax. Some of the members even tampered withKidd, who was now a prisoner in Newgate, to accuse lord Somers as havingencouraged him in his piracy. He was brought to the bar of the house andexamined; but he declared that he had never spoke to lord Somers; andthat he had no order from those concerned in the ship, but that ofpursuing his voyage against the pirates in Madagascar. Finding him unfitfor their purpose, they left him to the course of law; and he was hangedwith some of his accomplices. {WILLIAM, 1688-1701. } EARL OF ORFORD, &c, IMPEACHED. Lord Somers, understanding that he was accused in the house of commonsof having consented to the partition treaty, desired that he might beadmitted and heard in his own defence. His request being granted, hetold the house that when he received the king's letter concerning thepartition treaty, with an order to send over the necessary powers in themost secret manner, he thought it would have been taking too much uponhim to put a stop to a treaty of such consequence when the life ofthe king of Spain was so precarious; for, had the king died beforethe treaty was finished, and he been blamed for delaying the necessarypowers, he could not have justified his own conduct, since the king'sletter was really a warrant; that, nevertheless, he had written a letterto his majesty objecting to several particulars in the treaty, andproposing other articles which he thought were for the interest of hiscountry; that he thought himself bound to put the great seal to thetreaty when it was concluded; that, as a privy counsellor, he hadoffered his best advice, and as chancellor, executed his officeaccording to his duty. After he had withdrawn, his justification gaverise to a long debate which ended in a resolution, carried by a majorityof seven voices, That John lord Somers, by advising his majesty toconclude the treaty of partition, whereby large territories of theSpanish monarchy were to be delivered up to France, was guilty of ahigh crime and misdemeanor. Votes to the same effect were passed againstEdward carl of Orford, and Charles lord Halifax; and all three wereimpeached at the bar of the upper house. But the commons knowing thatthose impeachments would produce nothing in the house of lords, wherethe opposite interest predominated, they resolved to proceed againstthe accused noblemen in a more expeditious and effectual way of brandingtheir reputation. They voted and presented an address, to the king, desiring he would remove them from his councils and presence forever, as advisers of a treaty so pernicious to the trade and welfareof England. They concluded by repeating their assurance that they wouldalways stand by and support his majesty to the utmost of their power, against all his enemies both at home and abroad. The king, in hisanswer, artfully overlooked the first part of the remonstrance. Hethanked them for their repeated assurances; and told them he wouldemploy none in his service but such as should be thought most likelyto improve that mutual trust and confidence between him and his people, which was so necessary at that conjuncture, both for their own securityand the preservation of their allies. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES. The lords, incensed at this step of the commons, which they consideredas an insult upon their tribunal, and a violation of common justice, drew up and delivered a counter-address, humbly beseeching his majestythat he would not pass any censure upon the accused lords until theyshould be tried on the impeachments, and judgments be given accordingto the usage of parliament. The king was so perplexed by these oppositerepresentations, that he knew not well what course to follow. He madeno reply to the counter-address; but allowed the names of the impeachedlords to remain in the council-books. The commons having carried theirpoint, which was to stigmatize those noblemen and prevent their beingemployed for the future, suffered the impeachments to be neglected untilthey themselves moved for trial. On the fifth day of May the house oflords sent a message to the commons, importing, That no articles hadas yet been exhibited against the noblemen whom they had impeached. Thecharge was immediately drawn up against the earl of Orford: him theyaccused of having received exorbitant grants from the crown; of havingbeen concerned with Kidd the pirate; of having committed abuses inmanaging and victualling the fleet when it lay on the coast of Spain;and lastly, of having advised the partition treaty. The earl, in his owndefence, declared that he had received no grant from the king except avery distant reversion, and a present of ten thousand pounds after hehad defeated the French at La Hogue; that in Kidd's affair he had actedlegally, and with a good intention towards the public, though to his ownloss; that his accounts with regard to the fleet which he commanded hadbeen examined and passed; yet he was ready to waive the advantage, andjustify himself in every particular; and he absolutely denied that hehad given any advice concerning the treaty of partition. Lord Somerswas accused of having set the seals to the powers, and afterwards to thetreaties; of having accepted some grants; of having been an accomplicewith Kidd; and of having some guilt of partial and dilatory proceedingsin chancery. He answered every article in the charge; but no replicationwas made by the commons either to him or the earl of Orford. When thecommons were stimulated by another message from the peers, relating tothe impeachments of the earl of Portland and lord Halifax, they declinedexhibiting articles against the former on pretence of respect for hismajesty; but on the fourteenth of June, the charge against Halifax wassent up to the lords. He was taxed with possessing a grant in Ireland, without paying the produce of it according to the law lately enactedconcerning those grants; with enjoying another grant out of the forestof Deane, to the waste of the timber and the prejudice of the navy; withhaving held places that were incompatible, by being at the same timecommissioner of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer; and withhaving advised the two treaties of partition. He answered, that hisgrant in Ireland was of debts and sums of money, and within the actconcerning confiscated estates; that all he had ever received from itdid 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 beimpeached who did not discharge his debts at the very day of payment. Heobserved, that as his grant in the forest of Deane extended to weedingsonly, it could occasion no waste of timber nor prejudice to the navy;that the auditor's place was held by another person, until he obtainedthe king's leave to withdraw from the treasury; that he never saw thefirst 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 wasnow to evade the trials, had not the lords pressed them by messages toexpedite the articles. They even appointed a day for Orford's trial, and signified their resolution to the commons. These desired that acommittee of both houses should be named for settling preliminaries, oneof which was, That the lord to be tried should not sit as a peer; andthe other imported, That those lords impeached for the same mattershould not vote in the trial of each other. They likewise desired thatlord Somers should be first tried. The lords made no objection to thislast demand; but they rejected the proposal of a committee consisting ofboth houses, alleging that the commons were parties, and had no titleto sit in equality with the judges, or to settle matters relating tothe trial; that this was a demand contrary to the principles of law andrules of justice, and never practised in any court or nation. The lords, indeed, had yielded to this expedient in the popish plot, because it wasa case of treason, in which the king's life and safety of the kingdomwere concerned, while the people were jealous of the court, and thewhole nation was in a ferment; but at present the times were quiet, andthe charge amounted to nothing more than misdemeanors; therefore thelords could not assent to such a proposal as was derogatory from theirjurisdiction. Neither would they agree to the preliminaries; but on thetwelfth day of June resolved, That no peer impeached for high crimesand misdemeanors should, upon his trial, be without the bar; and that nopeer impeached could be precluded from voting on any occasion exceptin his own trial. Divers messages passed between the two houses, --thecommons still insisting upon a committee to settle preliminaries; atlength the dispute was brought to a free conference. THE IMPEACHED LORDS ACQUITTED. Meanwhile the king, going to the house of peers, gave the royalassent to the bill of succession. In his speech he expressed his warmacknowledgments for their repeated assurances of supporting him in suchalliances as should be most proper for the preservation of the libertyof Europe, and for the security of England and the states-general. Heobserved that the season of the year was advanced; that the postureof affairs absolutely required his presence abroad; and he recommendeddespatch of the public business, especially of those matters which wereof the greatest importance. The commons thanked him in an address forhaving approved of their proceedings: they declared they would supporthim in such alliances as he should think fit to make in conjunctionwith the emperor and the states-general, for the peace of Europe, andreducing the exorbitant power of France. They then resumed their disputewith the upper house. In the free conference, lord Haversham happened totax the commons with partiality, in impeaching some lords and screeningothers who were equally guilty of the same misdemeanors. Sir ChristopherMusgrave and the managers for the commons immediately withdrew; thisunguarded sally being reported to the house, they immediately resolved, That John lord Haversham had uttered most scandalous reproaches andfalse expressions, highly reflecting upon the honour and justice of thehouse of commons, tending to a breach in the good correspondence betweenthe two houses, and to the interruption of the public justice of thenation; that the said lord Haversham should be charged before the lordsfor the said words; that the lords should be desired to proceed injustice against him, and to inflict upon him such punishment as so highan offence against the commons did deserve. The commons had now found apretence to justify their delay; and declared they would not renew theconference until they should have received satisfaction. Lord Havershamoffered to submit to a trial; but insisted on their first provingthe words which he was said to have spoken. When this declaration wasimparted to the commons, they said the lords ought to have censured himin 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 acommittee of both houses concerning the trial of the impeached lords. Then they resolved, That lord Somers should be tried at Westminster-hallon Tuesday the seventeenth day of June, and signified this resolutionto the lower house; reminding them, at the same time, of the articlesagainst the earl of Portland. The commons refused to appear, allegingthey 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 pointpiecemeal by dint of different votes, against which very severe protestswere entered. On the day appointed for the trial, they sent a messageto the commons that they were going to Westminster-hall. The otherimpeached lords asked leave, and were permitted to withdraw. Thearticles of impeachment against lord Somers, and his answers, being readin Westminster-hall, and the commons not appearing to prosecute, thelords adjourned to their own house, where they debated concerningthe question that was to be put. This being settled, they returned toWestminster-hall; and the question being put, "That John lord Somers beacquitted of the articles of impeachment against him, exhibited bythe house of commons, and all things therein contained; and, That theimpeachment be dismissed, " it was carried by a majority of thirty-five. The commons, exasperated at these proceedings, resolved, That thelords had refused justice to the commons; that they had endeavoured tooverturn the right of impeachment lodged in the commons by the ancientconstitution of the kingdom; that all the ill consequences which mightattend the delay of the supplies given for the preservation of thepublic peace, and the maintenance of the balance of Europe, would beowing to those who, to procure an indemnity for their own crimes, hadused their utmost endeavours to make a breach between the two houses. The lords sent a message to the commons, giving them to understand thatthey had acquitted lord Somers and dismissed the impeachment, as nobodyhad appeared to support the articles; and that they had appointed nextMonday for the trial of the earl of Orford. They resolved, That unlessthe charge against lord Haversham should be prosecuted by the commonsbefore the end of the session, the lords would adjudge him innocent;that the resolutions of the commons on their late votes, contained mostunjust reflections on the honour and justice of the peers; that theywere contrived to cover their affected and unreasonable delays inprosecuting the impeached lords; that they manifestly tended to thedestruction of the judicature of the lords; to the rendering trials onimpeachments impracticable for the future, and to the subverting theconstitution of the English government; that therefore, whatever illconsequence might arise from the so long deferring the supplies forthis year's service, wore to be attributed to the fatal counsel of theputting off the meeting of a parliament so long, and to the unnecessarydelays of the house of commons. On the twenty-third day of June, thearticles of impeachment against Edward earl of Orford were read inWestminster-hall; but the house of commons having previously orderedthat none of the members should appear at this pretended trial, thosearticles were not supported, so that his lordship was acquitted and theimpeachment dismissed. Next day the impeachments against the duke ofLeeds, which had lain seven years neglected, together with those againstthe earl of Portland and lord Halifax as well as the charge againstlord Haversham, were dismissed for want of prosecution. Each houseordered a narrative of these proceedings to be published; and theirmutual animosity had proceeded to such a degree of rancour as seemed topreclude all possibility of reconciliation. The commons, in the wholecourse of this transaction, had certainly acted from motives of factionand revenge; for nothing could be more unjust, frivolous, and partial, than the charge exhibited in the articles of impeachment, theiranticipating address to the king, and their affected delay in theprosecution. Their conduct on this occasion was so flagrant as toattract the notice of the common people, and inspire the generality ofthe nation with disgust. This the whigs did not fail to augment by thearts of calumny, and, in particular, by insinuating that the court ofVersailles had found means to engage the majority of the commons in itsinterest. PETITION OF KENT. This faction had, since the beginning of this session, employed theiremissaries in exciting a popular aversion to the tory ministers andmembers, and succeeded so well in their endeavours, that they formed ascheme of obtaining petitions from different counties and corporationsthat should induce the commons to alter their conduct, on thesupposition that it was contrary to the sense of the nation. Inexecution of this scheme, a petition signed by the deputy-lieutenants, above twenty justices of the peace, the grand jury and freeholders ofthe county of Kent, had been presented to the house of commons on theeighteenth of May, by five gentlemen of fortune and distinction. Thepurport of this remonstrance was to recommend union among themselves, and confidence in his majesty, whose great actions for the nation couldnever be forgotten without the blackest ingratitude; to beg they wouldhave regard to the voice of the people; that their religion and safetymight be effectually provided for; that their loyal addresses might beturned into bills of supply; and that his most sacred majesty might beenabled powerfully to assist his allies before it should be too late. The house was so incensed at the petulance of the petition, that theyvoted it scandalous, insolent, and seditious; and ordered the gentlemenwho had presented it to be taken into custody. They were afterwardscommitted to the Gate-house, where they remained till the prorogationof parliament; but they had no reason to repine at their imprisonment, which recommended them to the notice and esteem of the public. They werevisited and caressed by the chiefs of the whig interest, and consideredas martyrs to the liberties of the people. Their confinement gaverise to a very extraordinary paper, entitled, "A memorial from thegentlemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of the counties of------, inbehalf of themselves and many thousands of the good people of England. "It was signed _Legion_, and sent to the speaker in a letter, commandinghim, in the name of two hundred thousand Englishmen, to deliver itto the house of commons. In this strange expostulation, the house wascharged with illegal and unwarrantable practices in fifteen particulars;a new claim of right was ranged under seven heads; and the commonswere admonished to act according to their duty, as specified in thismemorial, on pain of incurring the resentment of an injured nation. Itwas concluded in these words--"For Englishmen are no more to be slavesto parliaments than to kings-our name is Legion, and we are many. " Thecommons were equally provoked and intimidated by this libel, which wasthe production of one Daniel de Foe, a scurrilous party-writer in verylittle estimation. They would not, however, deign to take notice of itin the house; but a complaint being made of endeavours to raise tumultsand seditions, a committee was appointed to draw up an address to hismajesty, informing him of those seditious endeavours, and beseeching himto provide for the public peace and security. The house, however, perceiving plainly that they had incurred theodium of the nation, which began to clamour for a war with France, anddreading the popular resentment, thought fit to change their measureswith respect to this object, and present the address we have alreadymentioned, in which they promised to support him in the alliances heshould contract with the emperor and other states in order to bridle theexorbitant power of France. They likewise proceeded in earnest upon thesupply, and voted funds for raising about two millions seven hundredthousand pounds to defray the expense of the ensuing year. They votedthirty thousand seamen, and resolved that ten thousand troops should betransported from Ireland to Holland, as the auxiliaries stipulated inthe treaty of 1677 with the states-general. The funds were constitutedof a land-tax, certain duties on merchandise, and a weekly deductionfrom the excise, so as to bring down the civil list to six hundredthousand pounds, as the duke of Gloucester was dead, and James' queenrefused her allowance. They passed a bill for taking away allprivileges of parliament in legal prosecutions during the intermediateprorogations; their last struggle with the lords was concerning a billfor appointing commissioners to examine and state the public accounts. The persons nominated for this purpose were extremely obnoxious to themajority of the peers, as violent partizans of the tory faction; whenthe bill, therefore, was sent up to the lords, they made some amendmentswhich the commons rejected. The former animosity between the two housesbegan to revive, when the king interrupted their disputes by puttingan end to the session on the twenty-fourth day of Juno, after havingthanked the parliament for their zeal in the public service, andexhorted them to a discharge of their duties in their several counties. He was, no doubt, extremely pleased with such an issue of a session thathad began with a very inauspicious aspect. His health daily declined;but he concealed the decay of his constitution, that his allies mightnot be discouraged from engaging in a confederacy of which he was deemedthe head and chief support. He conferred the command of the ten thousandtroops destined for Holland upon the earl of Marlborough, and appointedhim at the same time his plenipotentiary to the states-general, a choicethat evinced his discernment and discretion; for that nobleman surpassedall 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 thebeginning of July. On his arrival at the Hague he assisted at anassembly of the states-general, whom he harangued in very affectionateterms, and was answered with great cordiality; then he made a progressround the frontiers to examine the state of the garrisons, and gavesuch orders and directions as he judged necessary for the defence of thecountry. Meanwhile, the French minister D'Avaux, being recalled fromthe Hague, delivered a letter to the states from the French king, whocomplained that they had often interrupted the conferences, from whichno good fruits were to be expected; but he assured them it whollydepended upon themselves whether they should continue to receive marksof his ancient friendship for their republic. The letter was accompaniedby an insolent memorial, to which the states-general returned a veryspirited answer. As they expected nothing now but hostilities fromFrance, they redoubled their diligence in making preparations for theirown defence. They repaired their fortifications, augmented their army, and hired auxiliaries. King William and they had already engaged in analliance with the king of Denmark, who undertook to furnish a certainnumber of troops in consideration of a subsidy; and they endeavouredto mediate a peace between Sweden and Poland; but this they could noteffect. France had likewise offered her mediation between those powersin hopes of bringing over Sweden to her interest; and the court ofVienna had tampered with the king of Poland; but he persisted in hisresolution to prosecute the war. The Spaniards began to be very uneasyunder the dominion of their new master. They were shocked at theinsolence of his French ministers and attendants, and much more atthe manners and fashions which they introduced. The grandees foundthemselves very little considered by their sovereign, and resented hiseconomy; for he had endeavoured to retrench the expense of the court, which had used to support their magnificence. Prince Eugene, at the headof the Imperial army, had entered Italy by Vicenza, and passed the Adigenear Carpi, where he defeated a body of five thousand French forces. Theenemy were commanded by the duke of Savoy, assisted by mareschal Catinatand the prince of Vaudemont, who did not think proper to hazard anengagement; but mareschal Villeroy arriving in the latter end of Augustwith orders to attack the Imperialists, Catinat retired in disgust. Thenew general marched immediately towards Chiari, where prince Eugene wasintrenched, and attacked his camp; but met with such a reception thathe was obliged to retire with the loss of five thousand men. Towardsthe end of the campaign the prince took possession of all the Mantuanterritories, except Mantua itself, and Goito, the blockade of which heformed. He reduced all the places on the Oglio, and continued in thefield during the whole winter, exhibiting repeated marks of the mostinvincible courage, indefatigable vigilance, and extensive capacityin the art of war. In January he had well nigh surprised Cremona, byintroducing a body of men through an old aqueduct. They forced one ofthe 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 beenjoined by another body of troops which he had ordered to march fromthe Parmesan and secure the bridge. These not arriving at the timeappointed, an Irish regiment in the French service took possession ofthe bridge, and the prince was obliged to retire with his prisoner. {WILLIAM, 1688-1701. } SITUATION OF AFFAIRS IN EUROPE. The French king, alarmed at the activity and military genius of theImperial general, sent a reinforcement to his army in Italy, and theduke of Vendôme to command his forces in that country; he likewiseimportuned the duke of Savoy to assist him effectually; but thatprince having obtained all he could expect from France, became cold andbackward. His second daughter was by this time married to the new kingof Spain, who met her at Barcelona, where he found himself involved indisputes with the states of Catalonia, who refused to pay a tax he hadimposed until their privileges should be confirmed; and he was obligedto gratify them in this particular. The war continued to rage in thenorth. The young king of Sweden routed the Saxons upon the river Danu:thence he marched into Courland and took possession of Mittau withoutopposition; while the king of Poland retired into Lithuania. In Hungarythe French emissaries endeavoured to sow the seeds of a new revolt. Theyexerted themselves with indefatigable industry in almost every court ofChristendom. They had already gained over the elector of Bavaria, and his brother the elector of Cologn, together with the dukes ofWolfenbuttle and Saxe-Gotha, who professed neutrality, while they leviedtroops and made such preparations for war as plainly indicated that theyhad received subsidies from France. Louis had also extorted a treaty ofalliance from the king of Portugal, who was personally attached to theAustrian interest; but this weak prince was a slave to his ministers, whom the French king had corrupted. During this summer, the Frenchcoasts were over-awed by the combined fleets of England and Hollandunder the command of sir George Rooke, who sailed down the channelin the latter end of August, and detached vice-admiral Benbow with astrong squadron to the West Indies. In order to deceive the French kingwith regard to the destination of this fleet, king William demanded thefree use of the Spanish harbours, as if his design had been to senda squadron to the Mediterranean; but he met with a repulse, while theFrench ships were freely admitted. About this period the kingrevoked his letters-patent to the commissioners of the admiralty, andconstituted the earl of Pembroke lord high-admiral of England, in orderto avoid the factions, the disputes, and divided counsels of a board. The earl was no sooner promoted to this office than he sent captainLoades with three frigates to Cadiz, to bring home the sea-stores andeffects belonging to the English in that place before the war shouldcommence; and this piece of service was successfully performed. TheFrench king, in order to enjoy all the advantages that could be derivedfrom his union with Spain, established a company to open a trade withMexico and Peru; and concluded a new Assiento treaty for supplying theSpanish plantations with negroes. At the same time he sent a strongsquadron to the port of Cadiz. The French dress was introduced into thecourt of Spain; and by a formal edict, the grandees of that kingdom andthe peers of France were put on a level in each nation. There was novigour left in the councils of Spain; her finances were exhausted; andher former spirit seemed to be quite extinguished; the nobility werebeggars, and the common people overwhelmed with indigence and distress. The condition of France was not much more prosperous. She had beenharassed by a long war, and now saw herself on the eve of another, whichin 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 maritimepowers, and served to animate their negotiations for another grandalliance. Conferences were opened at the Hague; and on the seventhday of September a treaty was concluded between his Imperial majesty, England, and the states-general. The objects proposed were to procuresatisfaction to the emperor in the Spanish succession, and sufficientsecurity for the dominions and commerce of the allies. They engaged touse their endeavours for recovering the Spanish Netherlands as a barrierbetween Holland and France, and for putting the emperor in possession ofthe duchy of Milan, Naples, and Sicily, with the lands and islands uponthe coast of Tuscany belonging to the Spanish dominions. They agreedthat the king of England and the states-general should keep and possesswhatever lands and cities they should conquer from the Spaniards inthe Indies; that the confederates should faithfully communicate theirdesigns to one another; that no party should treat of peace or truce butjointly with the rest; that they should concur in preventing the unionof France and Spain under the same government, and hinder the Frenchfrom possessing the Spanish Indies; that in concluding a peace, theconfederates should provide for the maintenance of the commerce carriedon by the maritime powers to the dominions taken from the Spaniards, andsecure the states by a barrier; that they should at the same time settlethe exercise of religion in the new conquests; that they should assistone another with all their forces in case of being invaded by theFrench king, or any other potentate, on account of this alliance; that adefensive alliance should remain between them even after the peace; thatall kings, princes, and states should be at liberty to engage in thisalliance. They determined to employ two months to obtain by amicablemeans the satisfaction and security which they demanded; and Stipulatedthat 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 unfortunatemonarch, since the miscarriage of his last attempt for recovering histhrone, had laid aside all thoughts of worldly grandeur, and devoted hiswhole attention to the concerns of his soul. Though he could not preventthe busy genius of his queen from planning new schemes of restoration, he was always best pleased when wholly detached from such chimericalprojects. Hunting was his chief diversion; but religion was his constantcare. Nothing could be more harmless than the life he led; and in thecourse of it he subjected himself to uncommon penance and mortification. He frequently visited the poor monks of la Trappe, who were much edifiedby his humble and pious deportment. His pride and arbitrary temper seemto have vanished with his greatness. He became affable, kind, and easyto all his dependents; and his religion certainly opened and improvedthe virtues of his heart, though it seemed to impair the faculties ofhis soul. In his last illness he conjured his son to prefer his religionto every worldly advantage, and even to renounce all thoughts of a crownif he could not enjoy it without offering violence to his faith. Herecommended to him the practice of justice and christian forgiveness;he himself declaring that he heartily forgave the prince of Orange, theemperor, and all his enemies. He died with great marks of devotion, and was interred, at his own request, in the church of the EnglishBenedictines 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 touchedwith his condition, and declared that, in case of his death, he wouldown his son as king of England. This promise James' queen had alreadyextorted from him by the interest of madame de Main-tenon and thedauphin. Accordingly, when James died, the pretended prince of Wales wasproclaimed king of England at St. Germain's, and treated as such at thecourt of Versailles. His title was likewise recognised by the king ofSpain, the duke of Savoy, and the pope. William was no sooner informedof this transaction, than he despatched a courier to the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty of Ryswick, to complain of this manifestviolation. At the same time he recalled the earl of Manchester fromParis, and ordered him to return without taking an audience of leave. That nobleman immediately withdrew, after having intimated to themarquis de Torcy the order he had received. Louis, in vindication of hisown conduct, dispersed through all the courts of Europe a manifesto, in which he affirmed, that in owning the prince of Wales as king ofEngland, he had not infringed any article of the treaty of Ryswick, Heconfessed that in the fourth article he had promised that he would notdisturb the king of Great Britain in the peaceable possession of hisdominions; and he declared his intention was to observe that promisepunctually. He observed that his generosity would not allow him toabandon the prince of Wales or his family; that he could not refusehim a title which was due to him by birth; that he had more reason tocomplain of the king of Great Britain and the states-general, whosedeclarations and preparations in favour of the emperor might be regardedas real contraventions to treaties; finally, he quoted some instancesfrom history in which the children enjoyed the titles of kingdomswhich their fathers had lost. These reasons, however, would hardly haveinduced the French king to take such a step, had not he perceived that awar with England was inevitable; and that he should be able to reapsome advantages in the course of it from espousing the cause of thepretender. The substance of the French manifesto was published in London, byPoussin the secretary of Tallard, who had been left in England as agentfor the court of Versailles. He was now ordered to leave kingdom, whichwas filled with indignation at Louis for having pretended to declare whoought to be their sovereign. The city of London presented an addressto the lords-justices, expressing the deepest resentment of the Frenchking's presumption; assuring his majesty that they would at all timesexert the utmost of their abilities for the preservation of his person, and the defence of his just rights, in opposition to all invaders of hiscrown and dignity. Addresses of the same nature were sent up from allparts of the kingdom, and could not but be agreeable to William. He hadnow concerted measures for acting with vigour against France; andhe resolved to revisit his kingdom after having made a considerableprogress in a treaty of perpetual alliance between England and thestates-general, which was afterwards brought to perfection by hisplenipotentiary, the earl of Marlborough. The king's return, however, was delayed a whole month by a severe indisposition, during which theSpanish minister de Quiros hired certain physicians to consult togetherupon the state and nature of his distemper. They declared that he couldnot live many weeks; and this opinion was transmitted to Madrid. Williamhowever baffled the prognostic, though his constitution had sustainedsuch a rude shock that he himself perceived his end was near. He toldthe earl of Portland he found himself so weak that he could not expectto live another summer; but charged him to conceal this circumstanceuntil he should be dead. Notwithstanding this near approach todissolution, he exerted himself with surprising diligence and spiritin establishing the confederacy, and settling the plan of operations. Asubsidiary treaty was concluded with the king of Prussia, who engagedto furnish a certain number of troops. The emperor agreed to maintainninety thousand men in the field against France; the proportion of thestates was limited to one hundred and two thousand; and that of Englanddid not exceed forty thousand, to act in conjunction with the allies. On the fourth day of November the king arrived in England, which hefound in a strange ferment, produced from the mutual animosity of thetwo factions. They reviled each other in words and writing with all thefalsehood of calumny, and all the bitterness of rancour; so that truth, candour, and temperance, seemed to be banished by consent of bothparties. The king had found himself deceived in his new ministers, whohad opposed his measures with all their influence. He was particularlydisgusted with the deportment of the earl of Rochester, who provedaltogether imperious and intractable; and, instead of moderating, inflamed the violence of his party. The king declared the year in whichthat nobleman directed his councils was the un-easiest of his wholelife. He could not help expressing his displeasure in such a coldnessof reserve, that Rochester told him he would serve his majesty no longersince he did not enjoy his confidence. William made no answer tothis 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 governmentof Ireland, in which he now remained exerting all his endeavours toacquire popularity. William foreseeing nothing but opposition from thepresent spirit of the house of commons, closeted some of their leaderswith a view to bespeak their compliance; but finding them determined topursue 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 werebecome extremely odious to the nation in general, which breathed nothingbut war and defiance against the French monarch. The parliament wasaccordingly dissolved by proclamation, and another summoned to meet onthe thirtieth day of December. THE KING'S LAST SPEECH TO BOTH HOUSES. Never did the two parties proceed with such heat and violence againsteach other, as in their endeavours to influence the new elections. The whigs, however, obtained the victory, as they included themonied-interest, which will always prevail among the borough electors. Corruption was now reduced into an open and avowed commerce; and, hadnot the people been so universally venal and profligate that no sense ofshame remained, the victors must have blushed for their success. Thoughthe majority thus obtained was staunch to the measures of the court, thechoice of speaker fell upon Mr. Harley, contrary to the inclination ofthe king, who favoured sir Thomas Lyttleton; but his majesty's speechwas received with universal applause. It was so much admired by thewell-wishers to the revolution, that they printed it with decorationsin the English, Dutch, and French languages. It appeared as a piece offurniture in all their houses, and as the king's last legacy to his ownand all protestant people. In this celebrated harangue, he expatiatedupon the indignity offered to the nation by the French king'sacknowledging the pretended prince of Wales; he explained the dangers towhich it was exposed by his placing his grandson on the throne of Spain;he gave them to understand he had concluded several alliances accordingto the encouragement given him by both houses of parliament, whichalliances should be laid before them, together with other treatiesstill depending. He observed, that the eyes of all Europe were upon thisparliament; and all matters at a stand until their resolution should beknown: therefore no time ought to be lost. He told them they had yetan opportunity to secure for themselves and their posterity the quietenjoyment of their religion and liberties, if they were not wanting tothemselves, 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 tomaintain a great strength at sea, and a force on land proportionableto that of their allies. He pressed the commons to support the publiccredit, 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 acritical time; and that the whole should be appropriated to the purposesfor which it was intended. He expressed his willingness that theaccounts should be yearly submitted to the inspection of parliament. Heagain recommended despatch, together with good bills for employing thepoor, encouraging trade, and suppressing vice. He expressed hishope that they were come together determined to avoid disputes anddifferences, and to act with a hearty concurrence for promoting thecommon cause. He said he should think it as great a blessing as couldbefal England, if they were as much inclined to lay aside those unhappyfatal animosities which divided and weakened them, as he was disposedto make all his subjects safe and easy, even as to the highest offencescommitted against his person. He conjured them to disappoint the hopesof their enemies by their unanimity. As he had always shown, and alwayswould show, how desirous he was to be the common father of all hispeople, he desired they would lay aside parties and divisions, so asthat no distinction should be heard of amongst them, but of those whowere friends to the protestant religion and present establishment, andof those who wished for a popish prince and a French government. Heconcluded by affirming, that if they in good earnest desired to seeEngland hold the balance of Europe, and be indeed at the head of theprotestant interest, it would appear by their improving the presentopportunity, The lords immediately drew up a warm and affectionateaddress, in which they expressed their resentment of the proceedingsof the French king in owning the pretended prince of Wales for king ofEngland. They assured his majesty they would assist him to the utmostof their power against all his enemies: and when it should please Godto deprive them of his majesty's protection, they would vigorouslyassist and defend against the pretended prince of Wales, and all otherpretenders whatsoever, every person and persons who had right tosucceed to the crown of England by virtue of the acts of parliament forestablishing and limiting the succession. On the fifth day of January. An address to the same effect was presented by the commons, and both metwith a very gracious reception from his majesty. The lords, as a furtherproof of their zeal, having taken into consideration the dangers thatthreatened Europe, from the accession of the duke of Anjou to the crownof Spain, drew up another address explaining their sense of that danger;stigmatizing the French king as a violator of treaties; declaring theiropinion that his majesty, his subjects, and allies, could never besafe and secure until the house of Austria should be restored to theirrights, and the invader of the Spanish monarchy brought to reason; andassuring his majesty that no time should be lost, nor any thing wantingon their parts, which might answer the reasonable expectations oftheir friends abroad; not doubting but to support the reputation ofthe English name, when engaged under so great a prince, in the gloriouscause of maintaining the liberty of Europe. The king, in order to awake the confidence of the commons, orderedMr. Secretary Vernon to lay before them copies of the treaties andconventions he had lately concluded, which were so well approved thatthe house unanimously voted the supply. By another vote they authorizedthe exchequer to borrow six hundred thousand pounds at six per cent, forthe service of the fleet, and fifty thousand pounds for the subsistenceof guards and garrisons. They deliberated upon the state of the navy, with the debt due upon it, and examined an estimate of what would benecessary for extraordinary repairs. They called for an account of thatpart of the national debt for which no provision had been made. Theordered the speaker to write to the trustees for the forfeited estatesin Ireland, to attend the house with a full detail of their proceedingsin 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 forsecuring his majesty's person, and the succession of the crown in theprotestant line, for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended princeof Wales, and all other pretenders, and their open and secret abettors. They resolved to address his majesty that he would insert an article inall his treaties of alliance, importing, That no peace should be madewith France until his majesty and the nation have reparation for thegreat indignity offered by the French king, in owning and declaring thepretended prince of Wales king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Theyagreed to maintain forty thousand men for the sea service, and a likenumber by land, to act in conjunction with the forces of the allies, according to the proportions settled by the contracting powers. Thesupplies were raised by an imposition of four shillings in the poundupon lands, annuities, pensions, and stipends, and on the profitsarising from the different professions; by a tax of two and one-half percent, on all stock in trade and money at interest; of five shillings inthe pound on all salaries, fees, and perquisites; a capitation tax offour shillings; an imposition of one per cent, on all shares in thecapital stock of any corporation or company which should be bought, sold, or bargained for; a duty of sixpence per bushel on malt, and afarther duty on mum, cyder, and perry. THE BILL OF ABJURATION PASSED. The commons seemed to vie with the lords in their zeal for thegovernment. They brought in a bill for attainting the pretended princeof Wales, which being sent up to the other house, passed with anadditional clause of attainder against the queen, who acted as regentfor the pretender. This however was not carried without great oppositionin the house of lords. When the bill was sent back to the commons, theyexcepted to the amendment as irregular. They observed that attaindersby bill constituted the most rigorous part of the law; and that thestretching of it ought to be avoided. They proposed that the queenshould be attainted by a separate bill. The lords assented to theproposal; and the bill against the pretended prince of Wales passed. Thelords passed another for attainting the queen; however it was neglectedin the house of commons. But the longest and warmest debates of thissession were produced by a bill, which the lords brought in, forabjuring the pretended prince of Wales, and swearing to the king by thetitle of rightful and lawful king, and his heirs, according to theact of settlement. It was proposed that this oath should be voluntary, tendered to all persons, and their subscription or refusal recordedwithout any other penalty. This article was violently opposed by theearl of Nottingham, and the other lords of the tory interest. Theyobserved, that the government was first settled with another oath, whichwas like an original contract; so that there was no occasion for anew imposition; that oaths relating to men's opinions had been alwaysconsidered as severe impositions; and that a voluntary oath was in itsown nature unlawful. During these disputes, another bill of abjurationwas brought into the house of commons by sir Charles Hedges, that shouldbe 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 withthe toleration for dissenters. Warm debates arose upon the question, Whether the oath should be imposed or voluntary; and at length it wascarried for imposition by the majority of one voice. They agreed toinsert an additional clause, declaring it equally penal to compass orimagine 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 andheir. In the house of peers this bill was strenuously opposed by thetories; and when, after long debates, it passed on the twenty-fourth dayof February, ten lords entered a protest against it, as an unnecessaryand 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 agreat measure moderated by the union of the two companies trading to theEast Indies, which found their mutual interest required a coalition. The tories in the house of commons having concurred so heartily with theinclinations of the people, resolved, as far it lay in their power, tojustify the conduct of their party in the preceding parliament. Theycomplained of some petitions and addresses which had reflected uponthe proceedings of the last house of commons, and particularly of theKentish petition. The majority, however, determined that it was theundoubted right of the people of England to petition or address theking for the calling, sitting, or dissolving of parliaments, and for theredressing of grievances; and that every subject under any accusation, either by impeachment or otherwise, had a right to be brought to aspeedy trial. A complaint being likewise made that the lords had deniedthe commons justice in the matter of the late impeachments, a furiousdebate ensued; and it was carried by a very small majority that justicehad not been denied. In some points, however, they succeeded: in thecase of a controverted election at Maidstone, between Thomas Blisse andThomas Culpepper, the house resolved, That the latter had been not onlyguilty of corrupt, scandalous, and indirect practices, in endeavouringto procure himself to be elected a burgess, but likewise being one ofthe instruments in promoting and presenting the scandalous, insolent, and seditious petition, commonly called the Kentish petition, to thelast house of commons, was guilty of promoting a scandalous, villainous, and groundless reflection upon that house, by aspersing the members withreceiving French money, or being in the interest of France; for whichoffence he was ordered to be committed to Newgate, and to be prosecutedby his majesty's attorney-general. They also resolved, That to assertthat the house of commons is not the only representative of the commonsof England, tends to the subversion of the rights and privileges of thehouse of commons, and the fundamental constitution of the government ofthis kingdom; that to assert that the house of commons have no powerof commitment, but of their own members, tends to the subversion of theconstitution of the house of commons; that to print or publish any booksor libels reflecting upon the proceedings of the house of commons, orany member thereof, for or relating to his service therein, is ahigh violation of the rights and privileges of the house of commons. Notwithstanding these transactions, they did not neglect the vigorousprosecution of the war. They addressed his majesty to interpose with hisallies that they might increase their quotas of land forces, to beput on board the fleet in proportion to the numbers his majesty shouldembark. When they had settled the sums appropriated to the several usesof the war, they presented a second address desiring he would providefor the half-pay officers in the first place, in the recruits and leviesto be made. The king assured them it was always his intention to providefor those officers. He went to the house of peers and gave the royalassent to an act appointing commissioners to take, examine, anddetermine 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 conductof 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 ofthat kingdom, provoked by the insolence of the trustees on one hand, andencouraged by the countenance of the courtiers on the other, endeavouredby a circular letter to spirit up the grand jury of Ireland against theact of resumption: petitions were presented to the king, couched invery strong terms, affirming that it was injurious to the protestantinterest, and had been obtained by gross misinformations. The kinghaving communicated these addresses to the house, they were immediatelyvoted scandalous, false, and groundless; and the commons resolved, Thatnotwithstanding the complaints and clamours against the trustees, itdid not appear to the house but those complaints were groundless;nevertheless they afterwards received several petitions imploring reliefagainst the said act; and they ordered that the petitioners should berelieved accordingly. Proposals were delivered in for incorporatingsuch as should purchase the said forfeitures, on certain terms thereinspecified, according to the rent-roll, when verified and made good tothe purchasers; but whereas in this rent-roll the value of the estateshad been estimated at something more than seven hundred and sixteenthousand pounds, those who undertook to make the purchase affirmedthey were not worth five hundred thousand pounds; and thus the affairremained in suspense. THE KING RECOMMENDS AN UNION. With respect to Scotland, the clamours of that kingdom had not yetsubsided. When the bill of abjuration passed in the house of peers, theearl of Nottingham had declared that although he differed in opinionfrom the majority in many particulars relating to that bill, yet hewas a friend to the design of it; and in order to secure a protestantsuccession, he thought an union of the whole island was absolutelynecessary. He therefore moved for an address to the king that he woulddissolve the parliament of Scotland now sitting, as the legality of itmight be called in question, on account of its having been originally aconvention; and that a new parliament should be summoned that they mighttreat about an union of the two kingdoms. The king had this affairso much to heart, that even when he was disabled from going to theparliament in person, he sent a letter to the commons expressing aneager desire that a treaty for this purpose might be set on foot, andearnestly recommending this affair to the consideration of the house;but as a new parliament in Scotland could not be called without a greatrisk, while the nation was in such a ferment, the project was postponedto a more favourable opportunity. HE FALLS FROM HIS HORSE. Before the king's return from Holland, he had concerted with his alliesthe operations of the ensuing campaign. He had engaged in a negotiationwith the prince of Hesse D'Armstadt, who assured him that if he wouldbesiege and take Cadiz, the admiral of Castile, and divers othergrandees of Spain, would declare for the house of Austria. The allieshad also determined upon the siege of Keyserswaert, which the electorof Cologn had delivered into the hands of the French; the elector ofHanover had resolved to disarm the princes of Wolfenbuttle; the king ofthe Romans, and prince Louis of Baden, undertook to invest Landau; andthe emperor promised to send a powerful reinforcement to princeEugene in Italy; but William did not live to see these schemes put inexecution. His constitution was by this time almost exhausted, thoughhe endeavoured to conceal the effects of his malady, and to repair hishealth by exercise. On the twenty-first day of February, in riding toHampton-court from Kensington, his horse fell under him, and he himselfwas thrown upon the ground with such violence as produced a fracturein his collar-bone. His attendants conveyed him to the palaceof Hampton-court, where the fracture was reduced by Ronjat, hissergeant-surgeon. In the evening he returned to Kensington in his coach, and the two ends of the fractured bone having been disunited by thejolting of the carriage, were replaced under the inspection of Bidloo, his physician. He seemed to be in a fair way of recovering till thefirst day of March, when his knee appeared to be inflamed, with greatpain and weakness. Next day he granted a commission under the greatseal to several peers, for passing the bills to which both housesof parliament had agreed; namely, the act of attainder against thepretended prince of Wales, and another in favour of the quakers, enacting, That their solemn affirmation and declaration should beaccepted instead of an oath in the usual form. {WILLIAM, 1688-1701. } HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER. On the fourth day of March the king was so well recovered of hislameness that he took several turns in the gallery at Kensington; butsitting down on a couch where he fell asleep, he was seized with ashivering, which terminated in a fever and diarrhoea. He was attendedby sir Thomas Millington, sir Richard Black-more, sir Theodore Colledon, Dr. Bidloo, and other eminent physicians; but their prescriptions provedineffectual. On the sixth he granted another commission for passing thebill for the malt tax, and the act of abjuration; and being so weak thathe could not write his name, he, in presence of the lord-keeper and theclerks of parliament, applied a stamp prepared for the purpose. The earlof Albemarle arriving from Holland, conferred with him in private on theposture of affairs abroad; but he received his informations with greatcoldness, and said, "_Je tire vers ma fin_--I approach the end of mylife. " In the evening he thanked Dr. Bidloo for his care and tenderness, saying, "I know that you and the other learned physicians have done allthat 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 wasadministered to him. The lords of the privy-council and divers noblemenattended in the adjoining apartments, and to some of them who wereadmitted he spoke a little. He thanked lord Auverquerque for his longand faithful services; he delivered to lord Albemarle the keys of hiscloset and scrutoire, telling him he knew what to do with them. Heinquired for the earl of Portland; but being speechless before thatnobleman arrived, he grasped his hand and laid it to his heart, withmarks of the most tender affection. On the eighth day of March heexpired, in the fifty-second year of his age, after having reignedthirteen years. The lords Lexington and Scarborough, who were inwaiting, no sooner perceived that the king was dead, than they orderedRonjat to untie from his left arm a black ribbon, to which was affixed aring containing some hair of the late queen Mary. The body being openedand embalmed, lay in state for some time at Kensington; and on thetwelfth day of April was deposited in a vault of Henry's chapelin Westminster-abbey. In the beginning of May, a will which he hadintrusted with Monsieur Schuylemberg was opened at the Hague. In thishe had declared his cousin prince Frison of Nassau, stadtholder ofFriesland, his sole and universal heir, and appointed the states-generalhis executors. By a codicil annexed, he had bequeathed the lordship ofBreevert, and a legacy of two hundred thousand guilders, to the earl ofAlbemarle. William III. Was in his person of the middle stature, a thin body, adelicate constitution, subject to an asthma and continual cough from hisinfancy. He had an aquiline nose, sparkling eyes, a large forehead, anda grave solemn aspect. He was very sparing of speech; his conversationwas dry, and his manner disgusting, except in battle, when hisdeportment was free, spirited, and animating. In courage, fortitude, andequanimity, he rivalled the most eminent warriors of antiquity; and hisnatural sagacity made amends for the defects in his education, which hadnot been properly superintended. He was religious, temperate, generallyjust and sincere, a stranger to violent transports of passion, and mighthave passed for one of the best princes of the age in which helived, had he never ascended the throne of Great Britain. But thedistinguishing criterion of his character was ambition. To this hesacrificed the punctilios of honour and decorum, in deposing his ownfather-in-law and uncle; and this he gratified at the expense of thenation that raised him to sovereign authority. He aspired to the honourof acting as umpire in all the contests of Europe; and the second objectof his attention was the prosperity of that country to which he owedhis birth and extraction. Whether he really thought the interests ofthe continent and Great Britain were inseparable, or sought only todrag England into the confederacy as a convenient ally, certain it is heinvolved these kingdoms in foreign connexions which in all probabilitywill be productive of their ruin. In order to establish this favouritepoint, he scrupled not to employ all the engines of corruption bywhich the morals of the nation were totally debauched. He procureda parliamentary sanction for a standing army, which now seems to beinterwoven in the constitution. He introduced the pernicious practiceof borrowing upon remote funds; an expedient that necessarily hatched abrood of usurers, brokers, contractors, and stock-jobbers, to prey uponthe vitals of their country. He entailed upon the nation a growing debt, and a system of politics big with misery, despair, and destruction. Tosum up his character in a few words--William was a fatalist in religion, indefatigable in war, enterprising in politics, dead to all the warm andgenerous emotions of the human heart, a cold relation, an indifferenthusband, a disagreeable man, an ungracious prince, and an imperioussovereign. NOTES: [Footnote 001: Note A, p. 1. The council consisted of the princeof Denmark, the archbishop of Canterbury, the duke of Norfolk, themarquises 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. ] [Footnote 002: Note B, p. 2. This expedient was attended with aninsurmountable absurdity. If the majority of the convention could notgrant a legal sanction to the establishment they had made, they couldnever invest the prince of Orange with a just right to ascend thethrone; for they could not give what they had no right to bestow; and ifhe ascended the throne without a just title, he could have no right tosanctify that assembly to which he owed his elevation. When the peopleare obliged, by tyranny or other accidents, to have recourse to thefirst principles of society, namely, their own preservation, in electinga new sovereign, it will deserve consideration, whether that choice isto be effected by the majority of a parliament which has been dissolved, indeed by any parliament whatsoever, or by the body of the nationassembled in communities, corporations, by tribes or centuries, tosignify their assent or dissent with respect to the person proposedas their sovereign. This kind of election might be attended with greatinconvenience and difficulty, but these cannot possibly be avoided whenthe constitution is dissolved by setting aside the lineal successionto the throne. The constitution of England is founded on a parliamentconsisting of kings, lords, and commons; but when there is no longer aking, 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, andsworn to support the rights of the crown, as well as the liberties ofthe nation; but though they are elected to maintain, they have no powerto alter, the constitution. When the king forfeits the allegiance ofhis subjects, and it becomes necessary to dethrone him, the power ofso doing cannot possibly reside in the representatives who are chosen, under certain limitations, for the purposes of a legislature which nolonger exists; their power is of course at an end, and they are reducedto a level with other individuals that constitute the community. Theright of altering the constitution, therefore, or of deviating from theestablished practice of inheritance in regard to the succession of thecrown, is inherent in the body of the people; and every individual hasan equal right to his share in the general determination, whetherhis opinion be signified _viva voce_, or by a representative whom heappoints and instructs for that purpose. It may be suggested, that theprince of Orange was raised to the throne without any convulsion, orany such difficulties and inconveniencies as we have affirmed to be thenecessary consequences of a measure of that nature. To this remark weanswer, that, since the Revolution, these kingdoms have been dividedand harassed by violent and implacable factions, that eagerly seekthe 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 arestill subjected to all those alarms and dangers which are engendered bya disputed title to the throne, and the efforts of an artful pretendersthat they are necessarily wedded to the affairs of the continent, andtheir interest sacrificed to foreign connexions, from which they cannever be disengaged. Perhaps all these calamities might have beenprevented by the interposition of the prince of Orange. King James, without forfeiting the crown, might have been laid under suchrestrictions that it would not have been in his power to tyrannizeover his subjects, either in spirituals or temporals. The power of themilitia might have been vested in the two houses of parliament, as wellas the nomination of persons to fill the great offices of the churchand state, and superintend the economy of the administration in theapplication of the public money; a law might have passed for annualparliaments, and the king might have been deprived of his power toconvoke, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve them at his pleasure. Hadthese measures been taken, the king must have been absolutely disabledfrom employing either force or corruption in the prosecution ofarbitrary designs, and the people must have been fairly represented ina rotation of parliaments, whose power and influence would have been butof one year's duration. ] [Footnote 003: Note C, p. 3. The new form of the coronation-oathconsisted in the following questions and answers:--"Will you solemnlypromise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of England, andthe dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in parliamentagreed on, and the laws and customs of the same?"--"I solemnly promiseso to do. " "Will you, to the utmost of your power, cause law and justice in mercyto be executed in all your judgments?" "I will. " "Will You, to theutmost of your power, maintain the laws of God, the true profession ofthe Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion as by law established;and will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and tothe churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privilegesas by law do or shall appertain unto them or any of them?"--"All this Ipromise to do. " Then the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the Gospels, shallsay, "The things which I have here before promised, I will perform andkeep. So help me God. "] [Footnote 008: Note D, p. 8. The lords of the articles, by the gradualusurpation of the crown, actually constituted a grievance intolerablein a free nation. The king empowered the commissioner to choose eightbishops, whom he authorized to nominate eight noblemen: these togetherchoose eight barons and eight burgesses; and this whole number, inconjunction with the officers of state as supernumeraries, constitutedthe lords of the articles. This committee possessed the sole exclusiveright and liberty of bringing in motions, making overtures forredressing wrongs, and proposing means and expedients for the reliefand benefit of the subjects. --_Proceedings of the Scots Parliamentvindicated_. ] [Footnote 010: Note E, p. 10. James in this expedition was attended bythe duke of Berwick, and by his brother Mr. Fitzjames, grand prior, theduke of Powis, the earls of Dover, Melfort, Abercorn, and Seaforth; thelords Henry and Thomas Howard, the lords Drummond, Dungan, Trendrauglit, Buchan, Hunsdon, and Brittas; the bishops of Chester and Galway; thelate 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 CharlesCarney, sir Edward Vaudrey, sir Charles Murray, sir Robert Parker, sir Alphonso Maiolo, sir Samuel Foxon, and sir William Wallis; by thecolonels Porter, Sarsfield, Anthony and John Hamilton, Simon and HenryLuttrel, Ramsay, Dorrington, Sutherland, Clifford, Parker, Parcel, Cannon, and Fielding, with about two-and-twenty other officers ofinferior rank. ] [Footnote 016: F, p. 16. The franchises were privileges of asylum, annexed not only to the ambassadors at Rome, but even to the wholedistrict in which any ambassador chanced to live. This privilege wasbecome a terrible nuisance, inasmuch as it afforded protection to themost atrocious criminals, who filled the city with rapine and murder. Innocent XI. Resolving to remove this evil, published a bull, abolishingthe franchises; and almost all the catholic powers of Europe acquiescedin what he had done, upon being duly informed of the grievance. LouisXIV. However, from a spirit of pride and insolence, refused to part withanything that looked like a prerogative of his crown. He said the kingof France was not the imitator, but a pattern and example for otherprinces. He rejected with disdain the mild representations of thepope; he sent the marquis de Lavarden as his ambassador to Rome, with aformidable train, to insult Innocent even in his own city. Thatnobleman swaggered through the streets of Rome like a bravo, taking allopportunities to affront the pope, who excommunicated him in revenge. Onthe other hand, the parliament of Paris appealed from the pope's bull toa 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 setthe holy father at defiance. ] [Footote 021: G, p. 21. The following persons were exempted from thebenefit of this act:--William, marquis of Powis; Theophilus, earl ofHuntingdon; Robert, earl of Sunderland; John, earl of Melfort; Roger, earl of Castlemain; Nathaniel, lord bishop of Durham; Thomas, lordbishop of Saint David's; Henry, lord Dover; lord Thomas Howard;sir-Edward Hales, sir Francis Withers, sir Edward Lutwych, sir ThomasJenner, sir Nicholas Butler, sir William Herbert, sir Richard Holloway, sir Richard Heath, sir Roger l'Estrange William Molineux, ThomasTynde-sly, colonel Townley, colonel Lundy, Robert Brent, Edward Morgan, Philip Burton, Richard Graham, Edward Petre, Obadiah Walker, MatthewCrone, and George lord Jeffries, deceased. ] [Footnote 035: H, p. 35. In the course of this session, Dr. Welwood, aScottish physician, was taken into custody, and reprimanded at thebar of the house of commons, for having reflected upon that house in aweekly paper, entitled _Mercurius Reformatus_; but, as it was written indefence of the government, the king appointed him one of his physiciansin ordinary. At this period, Charles Montague, afterwards earl ofHalifax, distinguished himself in the house of commons by his finetalents and eloquence. The privy seal was committed to the earl ofPembroke; 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, whohad been recommended to the king as a divine remarkable for his pietyand moderation. ] [Footnote 046: I, p. 48. The other laws made in this session were thosethat follow:--An act for preventing suits against such as had acted fortheir majesties' service in defense of this kingdom. An act for raisingthe militia in the year 1693. An act for authorizing the judges toempower 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 apprehendingof highwaymen. An act for preventing clandestine marriages. An act forthe regaining, encouraging, and settling the Greenland trade. An act toprevent malicious informations in the court of King's Bench, and for themore easy reversal of outlawries in that court. An Act for the betterdiscovery of judgments in the courts of law. An Act for deliveringdeclarations to prisoners for debt. An act for regulating proceedings inthe Crown Office. An act for the more easy discovery and convictionof such as should destroy the game of this kingdom, And an act forcontinuing the acts for prohibiting all trade and commerce with France, and for the encouragement of privateers. ] [Footnote 053: K, p. 53. Besides the bills already mentioned, theparliament in this session passed an act for taking and stating thepublic accounts--another to encourage ship-building--a third for thebetter disciplining the navy--the usual militia act--and an act enablinghis majesty to make grants and leases in the duchy of Cornwall. One wasalso passed for renewing a clause in an old statute, limiting the numberof justices of the peace in the principality of Wales. The duke ofNorfolk brought an action in the court of King's Bench against Mr. Germaine, for criminal conversation with his duchess. The cause wastried, and the jury brought in their verdict for one hundred marks, andcosts of suit, in favour of the plaintiff. Before the king embarked, he gratified a good number of his friends withpromotions. Lord Charles Butler, brother to the duke of Ormond, wascreated 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 ofMulgrave, being reconciled to the court measures, was gratified with apension 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 therank of dukes. The marquis of Caermarthen was made duke of Leeds; lordviscount Sidney, created earl of Romney; and viscount Newport, earl ofBedford. Russel was advanced to the head of the admiralty board. SirGeorge Rooke and sir John Houblon were appointed joint-commissioners inthe room of Killegrew and Délavai. Charles Montague was made chancellorof the exchequer; and sir William Trumbal and John Smith commisioners ofthe treasury, in the room of sir Edward Seymour and Mr. Hambden. ] [Footnote 056: L, p. 56. Her obsequies were performed with greatmagnificence. The body was attended from Whitehall to Westminster Abbeyby all the judges, sergeants at law, the lord-mayor and aldermen of thecity of London, and both houses of parliament; and the funeral sermonwas preached by Dr. Tennison, archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Kenn, thedeprived bishop of Bath and Wells, reproached him in a letter, for nothaving called upon her majesty on her death-bed to repent of the shareshe had in the Revolution. This was answered by another pamphlet. Oneof the Jacobite clergy insulted the queen's memory, by preaching on thefollowing text: "Go now, see this cursed woman, and bury her, for sheis a king's daughter. " On the other hand, the lord-mayor, aldermen, andcommon council of London came to a resolution to erect her statue, withthat of the king, in the Royal Exchange. ] [Footnote 058: M, p. 58. In the course of this session, the lordsinquired into the particulars of the Mediterranean expedition, andpresented an address to the king, declaring, that the fleet in thoseseas had conduced to the honour and advantage of the nation. On theother hand, the commons, in an address, besought his majesty to takecare that the kingdom might be put on an equal footing and proportionwith the allies, in defraying the expense of the war. The coin of the kingdom being greatly diminished and adulterated, theearls of Rochester and Nottingham expatiated upon this national evilin the house of lords: an act was passed, containing severe penaltiesagainst clippers; but this produced no good effect. The value of moneysunk in the exchange to such a degree, that a guinea was reckonedadequate to thirty shillings; and this public disgrace lowered thecredit of the funds and of the government. The nation was alarmed by thecirculation of fictitious wealth, instead of gold and silver, suchas bank bills, exchequer tallies, and government securities. Themalcontents took this opportunity to exclaim against the bank, and evenattempted to shake the credit of it in parliament; but their endeavoursproved abortive--the monied interest preponderated in both houses. ] [Footnote 059: N, p. 58. The regency was composed of the archbishop ofCanterbury; 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 thetreasury. Sir John Trenchard dying, his place of secretary was filledby sir William Trumbal, an eminent civilian, learned, diligent, andvirtuous, who had been envoy at Paris and Constantinople. William Nassaude Zulycrstein, son of the king's natural uncle, was created baron ofEnfield, viscount Tunbridge, and earl of Rochibrd. Ford, lord Grey ofWerke, was made viscount Glendale, and earl of Tankerville. The month ofApril of this year was distinguished by the death of the famous GeorgeSaville, marquis of Halifax, who had survived, in a good measure, histalents and reputation. ] [Footnote 067: Note 0, p. 67. The commons resolved, That a fund, redeemable by parliament, be settled in a national land bank, to beraised by new subscriptions; That no person be concerned in both banksat the same time; That the duties upon coals, culm, and tonnage of shipsbe taken off, from the seventeenth day of March; That the sum of twomillions five hundred and sixty-four thousand pounds be raised on thisperpetual fund, redeemable by parliament; That the new bank shouldbe restrained from lending money but upon land securities, or to thegovernment in the exchequer; That for making up the fund of interest forthe capital stock, certain duties upon glass wares, stone and earthenbottles, granted before to the king for a term of years, be continued tohis majesty, his heirs, and successors; That a further duty be laid uponstone and earthen ware, and another upon tobacco-pipes. This bank wasto lend out five hundred thousand pounds a-year upon land securities, at three pounds ten shillings per cent, per annum, and to cease anddetermine, unless the subscription should be full, by the first day ofAugust next ensuing. The most remarkable laws enacted in this session were these:--An act forvoiding all the elections of parliament men, at which the elected hadbeen at any expense in meat, drink, or money, to procure votes. Another against unlawful and double returns. A third, for the more easyrecovery of small tithes. A fourth, to prevent marriages without licenseor banns. A fifth, for enabling the inhabitants of Wales to dispose ofall their personal estates as they should think fit: this law was in barof a custom that had prevailed in that country--the widows and youngerchildren 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 ofwool, and encouraging the importation thereof from Ireland. An act forencouraging the linen manufactures of Ireland. An act for regulatingjuries. An act for encouraging the Greenland trade. An act of indulgenceto the quakers, that their solemn affirmation should be accepted insteadof an oath. And an act for continuing certain other acts that were nearexpiring. Another bill passed for the better regulating elections formembers of parliament; but the royal assent was denied. The question wasput in the house of commons, That whosoever advised his majesty not togive his assent to that bill was an enemy to his country; but it wasrejected by a great majority. ] CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT MAPS: [Illustration: map9. Jpg MAP OF CENTRAL AMERICA AND WEST INDIES] [Illustration: map10. Jpg MAP OF THE EAST INDIAN ISLANDS] [Illustration: map11. Jpg MAP OF IRELAND] [Illustration: map12. Jpg MAP OF THE EASTERN HEMISPHERE] QUEEN ANNE CHAPTER VII. [Illustration: 105. Jpg Portrait of Queen Anne] _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, 1701--1714} ANNE SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE. William was succeeded as sovereign of England by Anne princess ofDenmark, who ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. Even the Jacobitesseemed pleased with her elevation, on the supposition that as in allprobability she would leave no heirs of her own body, the dictates ofnatural affection would induce her to alter the succession in favour ofher own brother. She had been taught to cherish warm sentiments of thetories, whom she considered as the friends of monarchy, and thetrue sons of the church; and they had always professed an inviolableattachment to her person and interest; but her conduct was whollyinfluenced by the countess of Marlborough, a woman of an imperioustemper and intriguing genius, who had been intimate with the princessfrom her tender years, and gained a surprising ascendancy over her. Annehad undergone some strange vicissitudes of fortune in consequence ofher father's expulsion, and sustained a variety of mortifications in thelate reign, during which she conducted herself with such discretionas left little or no pretence for censure or resentment. Such conductindeed was in a great measure owing to a natural temperance ofdisposition not easily ruffled or inflamed. She was zealously devoted tothe church of England, from which her father had used some endeavoursto detach her before the Revolution; and she lived in great harmony withher husband, to whom she bore six children, all of whom she hadalready survived. William had no sooner yielded up his breath, than theprivy-council in a body waited on the new queen, who, in a short butsensible speech, assured them that no pains nor diligence should bewanting on her part to preserve and support the religion, laws, andliberties of her country, to maintain the succession in the protestantline, and the government in church and state, as by law established. Shedeclared her resolution to carry on the preparations for opposing theexorbitant power of France, and to assure the allies that she wouldpursue the true interest of England, together with theirs, for thesupport of the common cause. The members of the privy-council havingtaken the oaths, she ordered a proclamation to be published, signifyingher pleasure that all persons in office of authority or governmentat the decease of the late king, should so continue till furtherdirections. By virtue of an act passed in the late reign, the parliamentcontinued sitting even after the king's death. Both houses metimmediately, and unanimously voted an address of condolence andcongratulation; and in the afternoon the queen was proclaimed. Nextday the lords and commons severally attended her with an address, congratulating her majesty's accession to the throne; and assuringher of their firm resolution to support her against all her enemieswhatsoever. The lords acknowledged that their great loss was nootherwise to be repaired but by a vigorous adherence to her majesty andher allies, in the prosecution of those measures already concerted toreduce the exorbitant power of France. The commons declared theywould maintain the succession of the crown in the protestant line, andeffectually provide for the public credit of the nation. These addresseswere graciously received by the queen, who, on the eleventh day ofMarch, went to the house of peers with the usual solemnity, where, in aspeech to both houses, she expressed her satisfaction at their unanimousconcurrence with her opinion, that too much could not be done for theencouragement of their allies in humbling the power of France; anddesired they would consider of proper methods towards obtaining anunion between England and Scotland. She observed to the commons that therevenue for defraying the expenses of civil government was expired; andthat she relied entirely on their affection for its being supplied insuch a manner as should be most suitable to the honour and dignity ofthe crown. She declared it should be her constant endeavour to make themthe best return for their duty and affection, by a careful and diligentadministration for the good of all her subjects. "And as I know my ownheart to be entirely English (continued she) I can very sincerely assureyou, there is not any thing you can expect or desire from me which Ishall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England;and you shall always find me a strict and religious observer of myword. " These assurances were extremely agreeable to the parliament; andshe received the thanks of both houses. Addresses of congratulation werepresented by the bishop and clergy of London; by the dissenters inand about that city; and by all the counties, cities, towns, andcorporations of England. She declared her attachment to the church; shepromised her protection to the dissenters; and received the complimentsof 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 wasfilled with consternation. The states immediately assembled, and forsome time gazed at each other in silent fear and astonishment. Theysighed, wept, and interchanged embraces and vows that they would actwith unanimity, and expend their clearest blood in defence of theircountry. Then they despatched letters to the cities and provinces, informing them of this unfortunate event, and exhorting them to unionand perseverance. The express from England having brought the queen'sspeech to her privy-council, it was translated and published to revivethe drooping spirits of the people. Next day pensionary Fagel impartedto the states of Holland a letter which he had received from the earlof Marlborough, containing assurances, in the queen's name, of unionand assistance. In a few days, the queen wrote a letter in the Frenchlanguage to the States, confirming these assurances; it was deliveredby Mr. Stanhope, whom she had furnished with fresh credentials as envoyfrom England. Thus animated, the states resolved to prosecute vigorousmeasures; their resolutions were still more inspirited by the arrival ofthe earl of Marlborough, whom the queen honoured with the order of thegarter, and invested with the character of ambassador-extraordinary andplenipotentiary to the states-general; he was likewise declared captaingeneral of her forces both at home and abroad. He assured the statesthat her Britannic majesty would maintain the alliances which had beenconcluded by the late king, and do every thing that the common concernsof Europe required. The speech was answered by Dickvelt, president ofthe week, who, in the name of the states, expressed their hearty thanksto her majesty, and their resolutions of concurring with her in avigorous 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 diffuseditself through the kingdom of France at the news of his decease. Theperson who first brought the tidings to Calais, was imprisoned by thegovernor until his information was confirmed. The court of Versaillescould hardly restrain their transports so as to preserve common decorum;the people of Paris openly rejoiced at the event; all decency was laidaside at Rome, where this incident produced such indecent raptures, thatcardinal Grimani, the imperial minister, complained of them to thepope, 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 ofFrance, together with instructions to renew the negotiation with thestates, in hope of detaching them from the alliance. This ministerpresented a memorial implying severe reflections on king William, and the past conduct of the Dutch; and insinuating that now they hadrecovered their liberty, the court of France hoped they would consulttheir true interest. The count de Goes, envoy from the emperor, animadverted on these expressions in another memorial, which waslikewise published; the states produced in public an answer to thesame remonstrance, expressing their resentment at the insolence ofsuch insinuations, and their veneration for the memory of their latestadtholder. The earl of Marlborough succeeded in every part of hisnegotiation. He animated the Dutch to a full exertion of their vigour;he concerted the operations of the campaign; he agreed with thestates-general and the imperial minister, that war should be declaredagainst France on the same day at Vienna, London, and the Hague; andon the third of April embarked for England, after having acquired theentire 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 listupon the queen for her life. When the bill received the royal assent, she assured them that one hundred thousand pounds of this revenue shouldbe applied to the public service of the current year; at the same timeshe 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 provedineffectual to detect and punish those individuals who shamefullypillaged their country. The villany was so complicated, the vice sogeneral, and the delinquents so powerfully screened by artifice andinterest, as to elude all inquiry. On the twenty-fourth day of March theoath of abjuration was taken by the speaker and members, according to anact for the further security of her majesty's person, and the successionof the crown in the protestant line, and for extinguishing the hopesof the pretended prince of Wales. The queen's inclination to thetories plainly appeared in her choice of ministers. Doctor John Sharp, archbishop of York, became her ghostly director and counsellor inall ecclesiastical affairs; the earl of Rochester was continuedlord-lieutenant of Ireland, and enjoyed a great share of her majesty'sconfidence; the privy-seal was intrusted to the marquis of Normandy; theearl of Nottingham and sir Charles Hedges were appointed secretariesof state; the earl of Abingdon, viscount Weymouth, lord Dartmouth, sir Christopher Musgrave, Grenville, Howe, Gower, and Harcourt, wereadmitted as members of the privy-council, together with sir EdwardSeymour, now declared comptroller of the household. The lord Godolphindeclined accepting the office of lord high-treasurer, until he wasover-ruled by the persuasions of Marlborough, to whose eldest daughterhis son was married. This nobleman refused to command the forces abroad, unless the treasury should be put into the hands of Godolphin, on whosepunctuality in point of remittances he knew he could depend. George, prince of Denmark, was invested with the title of generalissimo of allthe queen's forces by sea and land; and afterwards created lord highadmiral, the earl of Pembroke having been dismissed from this officewith the offer of a large pension, which he generously refused. PrinceGeorge, as admiral, was assisted by a council, consisting of sir GeorgeRooke, sir David Mitch el, George Churchill, and Richard Hill. Thoughthe legality of this board was doubted, the parliament had such respectand veneration for the queen, that it was suffered to act withoutquestion. WAR DECLARED AGAINST FRANCE. A rivalship for the queen's favour already appeared between the earls ofRochester and Marlborough. The former, as first cousin to the queen, and chief of the tory faction, maintained considerable influence inthe council; but even there the interest of his rival predominated. Marlborough was not only the better courtier, but by the canal of hiscountess, actually directed the queen in all her resolutions. Rochesterproposed in council, that the English should avoid a declaration of warwith France, and act as auxiliaries only. He was seconded by some othermembers; but the opinion of Marlborough preponderated. He observed, that the honour of the nation was concerned to fulfil the late king'sengagements; and affirmed that France could never be reduced within duebounds, 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 beingresolved to declare war, communicated her intention to the house ofcommons, by whom it was approved; and on the fourth day of May thedeclaration was solemnly proclaimed. The king of France was, in thisproclamation, taxed with having taken possession of great part of theSpanish dominions; with designing to invade the liberties of Europe; andobstruct the freedom of navigation and commerce; with having offered anunpardonable insult to the queen and her throne, by taking upon him todeclare the pretended prince of Wales king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The three declarations of the emperor, England, andthe states-general, which were published in one day, did not fail todisconcert, as well as to provoke the French monarch. When his ministerDe Torcy recited them in his hearing, he spoke of the queen with someacrimony; but with respect to the states-general, he declared with greatemotion, that "Messieurs the Dutch merchants should one day repent oftheir insolence and presumption, in declaring war against so powerfula monarch;" he did not, however, produce his declaration till the thirdday of July. THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. The house of commons, in compliance with the queen's desire, brought ina bill empowering her majesty to name commissioners to treat with theScots for an union of the two kingdoms. It met with warm opposition fromsir Edward Seymour and other tory members, who discharged abundance ofsatire and ridicule upon the Scottish nation; but the measure seemed sonecessary at that juncture, to secure the protestant succession againstthe practices of France and the claims of the pretender, that themajority espoused the bill, which passed through both houses, and on thesixth day of May received the royal assent, together with some bills ofless importance. The enemies of the late king continued to revile hismemory. [107] _[See note P, at the end of this Vol. ]_ They even chargedhim with having formed a design of excluding the princess Anne from thethrone, and of introducing the elector of Hanover as his own immediatesuccessor. This report had been so industriously circulated, that itbegan to gain credit all over the kingdom. Several peers interestedthemselves in William's character, and a motion was made in the upperhouse that the truth of this report should be inquired into. The houseimmediately desired that those lords who had visited the late king'spapers, would intimate whether or not they had found any among themrelating to the queen's succession, or to the succession of the houseof 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, whomthey besought to give orders that the authors or publishers of suchscandalous reports should be prosecuted by the attorney-general. Thesame censure was passed upon some libels and pamphlets tending toinflame the factions of the kingdom, and to propagate a spirit ofirreligion. [108] _[See note Q, at the end of this Vol. ]_ On thetwenty-first day of May, the commons in an address advised her majestyto engage the emperor, the states-general, and her other allies, to joinwith her in prohibiting all intercourse with France and Spain; and toconcert such methods with the states-general as might most effectuallysecure the trade of her subjects and allies. The lords presented anotheraddress, desiring the queen would encourage her subjects to equipprivateers, as the preparations of the enemy seemed to be made for apiratical war, to the interruption of commerce; they likewise exhortedher majesty to grant commissions or charters to all persons who shouldmake such acquisitions in the Indies, as she in her great wisdom shouldjudge most expedient for the good of her kingdoms. On the twenty-fifthday of May the queen having passed several public and private bills, [109] _[See note R, at the end of this Vol. ]_ dismissed the parliamentby prorogation, after having in a short speech thanked them for theirzeal, recommended unanimity, and declared she would carefully preserveand 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 inthe opposition, concerning the existence of the present parliament. The queen had signified her accession to the throne in a letter to herprivy-council for Scotland, desiring they would continue to act in thatoffice until she should send a new commission. Meanwhile she authorizedthem to publish a proclamation ordaining all officers of state, counsellors, and magistrates, to act in all things conformably to thecommissions and instructions of his late majesty until new commissionsshould be prepared. She likewise assured them of her firm resolutionto protect them in their religion, laws, and liberties, and in theestablished government of the church. She had already, in presence oftwelve Scottish counsellors, taken the coronation-oath for that kingdom;but those who wanted to embroil the affairs of their country, affirmedthat this was an irregular way of proceeding, and that the oath oughtto have been tendered by persons deputed for that purpose either by theparliament 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 alate act for continuing the parliament that should be then in being, six months after the death of the king, and that it should assemble intwenty days after that event. The queen had, by several adjournments, deferred the meeting almost three months after the king's decease; andtherefore the anti-revolutioners affirmed that it was dissolved. Theduke of Hamilton was at the head of this party which clamoured loudlyfor a new parliament. This nobleman, together with the marquis ofTweedale, the carls Marshal and Kothes, and many other noblemen, repaired to London in order to make the queen acquainted with theirobjections to the continuance of the present parliament. She admittedthem to her presence and calmly heard their allegations; but she wasdetermined by the advice of her privy-council for that kingdom, whowere of opinion that the nation was in too great a ferment to hazardthe convocation of a new parliament. According to the queen's lastadjournment, the parliament met at Edinburgh on the ninth day of June, the duke of Queensberry having been appointed high commissioner. Beforethe queen's commission was read, the duke of Hamilton for himself andhis adherents, declared their satisfaction at her majesty's accession tothe throne, not only on account of her undoubted right by descent, butlikewise because of her many personal virtues and royal qualities. Hesaid they were resolved to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in defenceof her majesty's right against all her enemies whatever; but, at thesame time, they thought themselves bound in duty to give their opinionthat they were not warranted by law to sit and act as a parliament. Hethen read a paper to the following effect:--That forasmuch as, by thefundamental laws and constitution of this kingdom, all parliaments dodissolve on the death of their sovereign, except in so far as innovatedby an act in the preceding reign, that the parliament in being at hismajesty's decease should meet and act what might be needful for thedefence of the true protestant religion as by law established, and forthe maintenance of the succession to the crown as settled by the claimof right, and for the preservation and security of the public peace; andseeing these ends are fully answered by her majesty's succession to thethrone, we conceive ourselves not now warranted by law to meet, sit, oract; and therefore do dissent from anything that shall be done or acted. The duke having recited this paper, and formally protested against theproceedings of the parliament, withdrew with seventy-nine members amidstthe acclamations of the people. THEY RECOGNISE HER MAJESTY'S AUTHORITY. Notwithstanding their secession, the commissioner, who retained a muchgreater number, produced the queen's letter signifying her resolutionto maintain and protect her subjects in the full possession of theirreligion, laws, liberties, and the presbyterian discipline. She informedthem of her having declared war against France; she exhorted them toprovide competent supplies for maintaining such a number of forces asmight be necessary for disappointing the enemy's designs, and preservingthe present happy settlement; and she earnestly recommended to theirconsideration an union of the two kingdoms. The duke of Queensberry andthe carl of Marchmont having enforced the different articles of thisletter, committees were appointed for the security of the kingdom, for controverted elections, for drawing up an answer to her majesty'sletter, and for revising the minutes. Meanwhile the duke of Hamilton andhis adherents sent the lord Blantyre to London with an address tothe queen, who refused to receive it, but wrote another letter to theparliament expressing her resolution to maintain their dignity andauthority against all opposers. They, in answer to the former, hadassured her that the groundless secession of some members shouldincrease and strengthen their care and zeal for her majesty's service. They expelled sir Alexander Bruce for having given vent to somereflections against presbytery. The lord advocate prosecuted the facultyof advocates before the parliament for having passed a vote amongthemselves in favour of the protestation and address of the dissentingmembers. The faculty was severely reprimanded; but the whole nationseemed to resent the prosecution. The parliament passed an act forrecognising her majesty's royal authority; another for adjourning thecourt of judicature called the session; a third declaring this meetingof parliament legal, and forbidding any person to disown, quarrel with, or impugn the dignity and authority thereof, under the penalty ofhigh treason; a fourth for securing the true protestant religion andpresbyterian church government; a fifth for a land tax; and a sixth, enabling her majesty to appoint commissioners for an union between thetwo kingdoms. THE QUEEN APPOINTS COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT OF AN UNION. The earl of Marchmont, of his own accord, and even contrary to theadvice of the high commissioner, brought in a bill for abjuring thepretended prince of Wales; but this was not supported by the courtparty, as the commissioner had no instructions how to act on theoccasion. Perhaps the queen and her English ministry resolved to keepthe succession open in Scotland as a check upon the whigs and house ofHanover. On the thirtieth day of June the commissioner adjournedthe parliament, after having thanked them for their cheerfulness andunanimity in their proceedings; and the chiefs of the opposite partieshastened to London to make their different representations to thequeen and her ministry. In the meantime she appointed commissionersfor treating about the union, and they met at the Cockpit on thetwenty-second day of October. On the twentieth day of the next monththey adjusted preliminaries, importing, That nothing agreed on amongthemselves should be binding except ratified by her majesty and therespective parliaments of both nations; and that unless all the headsproposed for the treaty were agreed to, no particular thing agreedon should be binding. The queen visited them in December, in orderto quicken their mutual endeavours. They agreed that the two kingdomsshould be inseparably united into one monarchy, under her majesty, herheirs, and successors, and under the same limitations according to theActs of Settlement; but when the Scottish commissioners proposed thatthe rights and privileges of their company trading to Africa and theIndies should be preserved and maintained, such a difficulty aroseas could not be surmounted, and no further progress was made in thiscommission. The tranquillity of Ireland was not interrupted by any newcommotion. That kingdom was ruled by justices whom the earl of Rochesterhad appointed; and the trustees for the forfeited estates maintainedtheir authority. STATE OF AFFAIRS ON THE CONTINENT. While Britain was engaged in these civil transactions, her allies werenot idle on the continent. The old duke of Zell, and his nephew, the elector of Brunswick, surprised the dukes of Wolfenbuttle andSaxe-Gotha, whom they compelled to renounce their attachments to France, and concur in the common councils of the empire. Thus the north ofGermany was reunited to the interest of the confederates; and theprinces would have been in a condition to assist them effectually, hadnot the neighbourhood of the war in Poland deterred them from partingwith their forces. England and the states-general endeavoured in vainto mediate a peace between the kings of Sweden and Poland. Charles wasbecome enamoured of war and ambitious of conquest. He threatened toinvade Saxony through the dominions of Prussia. Augustus retiredto Cracow, while Charles penetrated to Warsaw, and even ordered thecardinal-primate to summon a diet for choosing a new king. The situationof 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. Hisbrother, the elector of Cologn, admitted French garrisons into Liege andall his places on the Rhine. The elector of Saxony was too hard pressedby the king of Sweden to spare his full proportion of troops to theallies; the king of Prussia was overawed by the vicinity of the Swedishconqueror; the duke of Savoy had joined his forces to those of France, and overrun the whole state of Milan; and the pope, though he professeda neutrality, evinced himself strongly biassed to the French interests. {ANNE, 1701--1714} KEISEESWAERT AND LANDAU TAKEN. The war was begun in the name of the elector-palatine with the siege ofKeiserswaert, which was invested in the month of April by the prince ofNassau-Saarburgh, mareschal-du-camp to the emperor: under this officerthe Dutch troops served as auxiliaries, because war had not yet beendeclared by the states-general. The French garrison made a desperatedefence. They worsted the besiegers in divers sallies, and maintainedthe place until it was reduced to a heap of ashes. At length the alliesmade a general attack upon the counterscarp and ravelin, which theycarried after a very obstinate engagement, with the loss of twothousand men. Then the garrison capitulated on honourable terms, andthe fortifications were razed. During this siege, which lasted fromthe eighteenth day of April to the middle of June, count Tallard postedhimself on the opposite side of the Rhine, from whence he supplied thetown with fresh troops and ammunition, and annoyed the besiegers withhis artillery; but finding it impossible to save the place, he joinedthe grand army commanded by the duke of Burgundy in the Netherlands. Thesiege of Keiserswaert was covered by a body of Dutch troops under theearl of Athlone, who lay encamped in the duchy of Cleve. Meanwhilegeneral Coehorn, at the head of another detachment, entered Flanders, demolished the French lines between the forts of Donat and Isabella, andlaid the chatellaine of Bruges under contribution; but a considerablebody of French troops advancing under the marquis de Bedmar, and thecount de la Motte, he overflowed the country, and retired under theAvails of Sluys. The duke of Burgundy, who had taken the command of theFrench army under Bouifflers, encamped at Zanten near Cleve, and laid ascheme for surprising Nimeguen; in which, however, he was baffled bythe vigilance and activity of Athlone, who, guessing his design, marchedthither and encamped under the cannon of the town. In the beginning ofJune, Landau was invested by prince Louis of Baden: in July, the kingof the Romans arrived in the camp of the besiegers with such pomp andmagnificence as exhausted his father's treasury. On the ninth dayof September the citadel was taken by assault, and then the townsurrendered. 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 withthe English general; but the states obliged him to yield this point infavour of Marlborough, whom they declared generalissimo of all theirforces. In the beginning of July he repaired to the camp at Nimeguen, where he soon assembled an army of sixty thousand men, well providedwith all necessaries; then he convoked a council of the general officersto concert the operations of the campaign. On the sixteenth day ofthe month he passed the Maese, and encamped at Overasselt, within twoleagues and a half of the enemy, who had entrenched themselves betweenGoch and Gedap. He afterwards repassed the river below the Grave, andremoved to Gravenbroeck, where he was joined by the British train ofartillery from Holland. On the second day of August, he advancedto Petit Brugel, and the French retired before him, leaving SpanishGuelderkind to his discretion. He had resolved to hazard an engagement, and issued orders accordingly; but he was restrained by the Dutchdeputies, who were afraid of their own interest in case the battleshould have proved unfortunate. The duke of Burgundy, finding himselfobliged to retreat before the allied army, rather than expose himselflonger to such a mortifying indignity, returned to Versailles, leavingthe command to Boufflers, who lost the confidence of Louis by the illsuccess of this campaign. The deputies of the states-general havingrepresented to the earl of Marlborough the advantages that wouldaccrue to Holland, from his dispossessing the enemy of the places theymaintained in the Spanish Guelderland, by which the navigation of theMaese was obstructed, and the important town of Maestricht in amanner blocked up, he resolved to deliver them from such a troublesomeneighbourhood. He detached general Schultz with a body of troops toreduce the town and castle of Werk, which were surrendered after aslight resistance. In the beginning of September he undertook the siegeof Venlo, which capitulated on the twenty-fifth day of the month, after fort St. Michael had been stormed and taken by lord Cutts andthe English volunteers, among whom the young earl of Huntingdondistinguished himself by very extraordinary acts of valour. Then thegeneral invested Euremonde, which he reduced after a very obstinatedefence, together with the fort of Stevensuaert, situated on the sameriver. Boufflers, confounded at the rapidity of Marlborough's success, retired towards Liege in order to cover that city; but, at the approachof the confederates, he retired with precipitation to Tongeren, fromwhence he directed his route towards Brabant, with a view to defendsuch places as the allies had no design to attack. When the earl ofMarlborough arrived at Liege, he found the suburbs of St. Walburghhad been set on fire by the French garrison, who had retired into thecitadel and the Chartreux. The allies took immediate possession of thecity; and in a few days opened the trenches against the citadel, which was taken by assault. On this occasion, the hereditary prince ofHesse-Cassel charged at the head of the grenadiers, and was the firstperson who mounted the breach. Violani the governor, and the duke ofCharost, were made prisoners. Three hundred thousand florins in gold andsilver were found in the citadel, besides notes for above one milliondrawn upon substantial merchants in Liege, who paid the money. Immediately after this exploit, the garrison of the Chartreuxcapitulated on honourable terms, and were conducted to Antwerp. By thesuccess of this campaign the earl of Marlborough raised his militarycharacter above all censure, and confirmed himself in the entireconfidence of the states-general, who, in the beginning of the season, had trembled for Nimeguen, and now saw the enemy driven back into theirown 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. Accordinglyhe embarked in a large boat, with five-and-twenty soldiers under thecommand of a lieutenant. Next morning he was joined at Ruremonde byCoehorn in a larger vessel, with sixty men, and they were moreoverescorted by fifty troopers, who rode along the bank of the river. Thelarge boat outsailed the other, and the horsemen mistook their way inthe dark. A French partisan, with five-and-thirty men from Gueldres, wholurked among the rushes in wait for prey, seized the rope by whichthe boat was drawn, hauled it ashore, discharged their small arms andhand-grenades, then rushing into it, secured the soldiers before theycould put themselves in a posture of defence. The earl of Marlboroughwas accompanied by general Opdam, and mynheer Gueldermalsen, one of thedeputies, who were provided with passports. The earl had neglected thisprecaution; but recollecting he had an old passport for his brothergeneral Churchill, he produced it without any emotion, and the partisanwas in such confusion that he never examined the date. Nevertheless, herifled their baggage, carried off the guard as prisoners, and allowedthe boat to proceed. The governor of Venlo receiving information thatthe earl was surprised by a party and conveyed to Gueldres, immediatelymarched out with his whole garrison to invest that place. The sameimperfect account being transmitted to Holland, filled the wholeprovince with consternation. The states forthwith assembling, resolvedthat all their forces should march immediately to Gueldres, and threatenthe garrison of the place with the utmost extremities unless they wouldimmediately deliver the general. But, before these orders could bedespatched, the earl arrived at the Hague, to the inexpressible joy ofthe 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 inFlanders. The elector of Bwaria surprised the city of Ulm in Suabia by astratagem, and then declared for France, which had by this time compliedwith all his demands. The diet of the empire assembled at Batisbon wereso incensed at his conduct in seizing the city of Ulm by perfidy, thatthey presented a memorial to his Imperial majesty, requesting he wouldproceed against the elector according to the constitutions of theempire. They resolved, by a plurality of voices, to declare war in thename of the empire against the French king and the duke of Anjou, forhaving invaded several fiefs of the empire in Italy, the archbishopricof Cologn, and the diocese of Liege; and they forbade the ministersof Bavaria and Cologn to appear in the general diet. In vain did thesepowers protest against their proceedings. The empire's declaration ofwar was published and notified, in the name of the diet, to the cardinalof Limberg, the emperor's commissioner. Meanwhile the French madethemselves masters of Neuburgh, in the circle of Suabia, while Louisprince of Baden, being weakened by sending off detachments, was obligedto lie inactive in his camp near Fridlinguen. The French army wasdivided into two bodies, commanded by the marquis de Villars and thecount de Guiscard; and the prince thinking himself in danger of beingenclosed by the enemy, resolved to decamp. Villars immediately passedthe Rhine to fall upon him in his retreat, and an obstinate engagementensuing, the Imperialists were overpowered by numbers. The prince havinglost two thousand men, abandoned the field of battle to the enemy, together with his baggage, artillery, and ammunition, and retiredtowards Stauffen without being pursued. The French army, even after theyhad gained the battle, were unaccountably seized with such a panic, thatif the Imperial general had faced them with two regiments he would havesnatched the victory from Villars, who was upon this occasionsaluted mareschal of France by the soldiers; and next day the town ofFridlinguen surrendered. The prince being joined by some troops undergeneral Thungen and other reinforcements, resolved to give battle tothe enemy; but Villars declined an engagement, and repassed the Rhine. Towards the latter end of October, count Tallard and the marquis deLo-marie, with a body of eighteen thousand men, reduced Triers andTraerbach; on the other hand, the prince of Hesse-Cassel, with adetachment from the allied army at Liege, retook from the French thetowns of Zinch, Lintz, Brisac, and Andernach. BATTLE OF LUZZARA, IN ITALY. In Italy prince Eugene laboured under a total neglect of the Imperialcourt, where his enemies, on pretence of supporting the king of theRomans in his first campaign, weaned the emperor's attention entirelyfrom his affairs on the other side of the Alps, so that he left his bestarmy to moulder away for want of recruits and reinforcements. The princethus abandoned could not prevent the duke de Vendôme from relievingMantua, and was obliged to relinquish some other places he had taken. Philip, king of Spain, being inspired with the ambition of putting anend to the war in this country, sailed in person for Naples, where hewas visited by the cardinal-legate with a compliment from the pope; yethe could not obtain the investiture of the kingdom from his holiness. The emperor, however, was so disgusted at the embassy which the popehad sent to Philip, that he ordered his ambassador at Eome to withdraw. Philip proceeded from Naples to Final under convoy of the French fleetwhich had brought him to Italy; here he had an interview with the dukeof Savoy, who began to be alarmed at the prospect of the French king'sbeing 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 inthe camp. Prince Eugene, understanding that the French army intended toattack Luzzara and Guastalla, passed the Po with an army of about halfthe number of the enemy, and posted himself behind the dike of Zeroin such a manner that the French were ignorant of his situation. Heconcluded that on their arrival at the ground they had chosen, the horsewould march out to forage, while the rest of the army would be employedin pitching tents and providing for their refreshment. His design wasto seize that opportunity of attacking them, not doubting that he shouldobtain a complete victory; but he was disappointed by mere accident. Anadjutant with an advanced guard had the curiosity to ascend the dikein order to view the country, when he discovered the Imperial infantrylying on their faces, and their horse in the rear, ranged in order ofbattle. The French camp was immediately alarmed, and as the intermediateground was covered with hedges which obliged the assailants to defile, the enemy were in a posture of defence before the Imperialists couldadvance to action; nevertheless, the prince attacked them with greatvivacity in hopes of disordering their line, which gave way in severalplaces; but night interposing, he was obliged to desist, and in a fewdays the French reduced Luzzara and Guastalla. The prince, however, maintained his post, and Philip returned to Spain without havingobtained any considerable advantage. THE KING OF SWEDEN DEFEATS AUGUSTUS AT LISSOU. The French king employed all his artifice and intrigues in raising upnew enemies against the confederates. He is said to have bribed countMansfield, president of the council of war at Vienna, to withholdthe supplies from prince Eugene in Italy. At the Ottoman Porte he hadactually gained over the vizier, who engaged to renew the war with theemperor. But the mufti and all the other great officers were averse tothe design, and the vizier fell a sacrifice to their resentment. Louis continued to broil the kingdom of Poland by means of thecardinal-primate. The young king of Sweden advanced to Lissou, wherehe defeated Augustus. Then he took possession of Cracow, and raisedcontributions; nor could he be persuaded to retreat, although theMuscovites and Lithuanians had ravaged Livonia, and even made anirruption into Sweden. FRUITLESS EXPEDITION TO CADIZ. The operations of the combined squadrons at sea did not fully answer theexpectation of the public. On the twelfth day of May, sir John Mundensailed with twelve ships to intercept a French squadron appointed as aconvoy to a new viceroy of Mexico, from Corunna to the West Indies. Onthe twenty-eighth day of the month, he chased fourteen sail of Frenchships into Corunna. Then he called a council of war, in which it was agreed that as theplace was strongly fortified, and by the intelligence they had received, it appeared that seventeen of the enemy's ships of war rode at anchor inthe harbour, it would be expedient for them to follow the latter part oftheir instructions, by which they were directed to cruise in soundingsfor the protection of the trade. They returned accordingly, andbeing distressed by want of provisions, came into port to the generaldiscontent of the nation. For the satisfaction of the people, sirJohn Munden was tried by a court-martial and acquitted; but as thismiscarriage had rendered him very unpopular, prince George dismissed himfrom the service. We have already hinted that king William had projecteda scheme to reduce Cadiz, with intention to act afterwards against theSpanish settlements in the West Indies. This design queen Anne resolvedto put in execution. Sir George Rooke commanded the fleet, and the dukeof Ormond was appointed general of the land forces destined for thisexpedition. The combined squadrons amounted to fifty ships of the line, exclusive of frigates, fire-ships, and smaller vessels; and the numberof soldiers embarked was not far short of fourteen thousand. In thelatter end of June the fleet sailed from St. Helen's; on the twelfth ofAugust they anchored at the distance of two leagues from Cadiz. Next daythe duke of Ormond summoned the duke de Brancaccio, who was governor, to submit to the house of Austria; but that officer answered he wouldacquit himself honourably of the trust reposed in him by the king. Onthe fifteenth the duke of Ormond landed with his forces in the bay ofBulls, under cover of a smart fire from some frigates, and repulseda body of Spanish cavalry; then he summoned the governor of Fort St. Catharine's to surrender, and received an answer, importing, that thegarrison was prepared for his reception. A declaration was publishedin the Spanish language, intimating, that the allies did not come asenemies to Spain, but only to free them from the yoke of France, andassist them in establishing themselves under the government of the houseof Austria. These professions produced very little effect among theSpaniards, who were either cooled in their attachment to that family, or provoked by the excesses of the English troops. These having takenpossession of Fort St. Catharine and Port St. Mary's, instead ofprotecting, plundered the natives, notwithstanding the strict ordersissued by the duke of Ormond to prevent this scandalous practice; evensome general officers were concerned in the pillage. A battery wasraised against Montagorda fort opposite to the Puntal; but the attemptmiscarried, and the troops were re-embarked. SPANISH GALLEONS TAKEN and DESTROYED. Captain Hardy having been sent to water in Lagos bay, receivedintelligence that the galleons from the West Indies had put into Vigounder convoy of a French squadron. He sailed immediately in quest of sirGeorge Rooke, who was now on his voyage back to England, and falling inwith him on the sixth day of October, communicated the substance of whathe had learned. Rooke immediately called a council of war, in which itwas determined to alter their course and attack the enemy at Vigo. Heforthwith detached some small vessels for intelligence, and receiveda confirmation that the galleons and the squadron commanded by ChateauRenault, were actually in the harbour. They sailed thither, and appearedbefore the place on the eleventh day of October. The passage into theharbour was narrow, secured by batteries, forts, and breast-works oneach side; by a strong boom, consisting of iron chains, top-masts, andcables, moored at each end of a seventy-gun ship, and fortified withinby five ships of the same strength lying athwart the channel with theirbroadsides to the offing. As the first and second rates of the combinedfleets were too large to enter, the admirals shifted their flags intosmaller ships; and a division of five-and-twenty English and Dutch shipsof the line, with their frigates, fire-ships, and ketches, was destinedfor the service. In order to facilitate the attack, the duke of Ormondlanded with five-and-twenty hundred men, at the distance of six milesfrom Vigo, and took by assault a fort and platform of forty pieces ofcannon at the entrance of the harbour. The British ensign was no soonerseen flying at the top of this fort than the ships advanced to theattack. Vice-admiral Hop-son, in the Torbay, crowding all his sail, randirectly against the boom, which was broken by the first shock; then thewhole squadron entered the harbour through a prodigious fire from theenemy's ships and batteries. These last, however, were soon stormed andtaken by the grenadiers who had been landed. The great ships lay againstthe forts at each side of the harbour, which in a little time theysilenced, though vice-admiral Hop-son narrowly escaped from a fire-shipby which he was boarded. After a very vigorous engagement, the French, finding themselves unable to cope with such an adversary, resolved todestroy their ships and galloons, that they might not fall into thehands of the victors. They accordingly burned and ran ashore eight shipsand as many advice-boats; but ten ships of war were taken, together witheleven galleons. Though they had secured the best part of their plateand merchandize before the English fleet arrived, the value of fourteenmillions of pieces of eight, in plate and rich commodities, wasdestroyed in six galleons that perished; and about half that value wasbrought off by the conquerors; so that this was a dreadful blow to theenemy, and a noble acquisition to the allies. Immediately after thisexploit, sir George Rooke was joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, who hadbeen sent out with a squadron to intercept the galleons. This officerwas 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 somemeasure tarnished by the conduct of some officers in the West Indies. Thither admiral Benbow had been detached with a squadron of ten sail inthe course of the preceding year. At Jamaica he received intelligencethat monsieur Du Casse was in the neighbourhood of Hispaniola, andresolved to beat up to that island. At Leogane he fell in with a Frenchship of fifty guns, which her captain ran ashore and blew up. He tookseveral other vessels, and having alarmed Petit-Guavas, bore away forDonna Maria bay, where he understood that Du Casse had sailed for thecoast of Carthagena. Benbow resolved to follow the same course; andon the nineteenth of August discovered the enemy's squadron near SaintMartha, consisting of ten sail, steering along shore. He formed theline, and an engagement ensued, in which he was very ill seconded bysome of his captains. Nevertheless, the battle continued till night, andhe determined to renew it next morning, when he perceived all hisships at the distance of three or four miles astern, except the Ruby, commanded by captain George Walton, who joined him in plying the enemywith chase guns. On the twenty-first these two ships engaged the Frenchsquadron; and the Ruby was so disabled that the admiral was obliged tosend her back to Jamaica. Next day the Greenwich, commanded by Wade, wasfive leagues astern; and the wind changing, the enemy had the advantageof the weather-gage. On the twenty-third the admiral renewed the battlewith his single ship unsustained by the rest of the squadron. On thetwenty-fourth his leg was shattered by a chain-shot; notwithstandingwhich accident, he remained on the quarter-deck in a cradle andcontinued the engagement. One of the largest ships of the enemy lyinglike a wreck upon the water, four sail of the English squadron pouredtheir broadsides into her, and then ran to leeward without paying anyregard to the signal for battle. Then the French bearing down upon theadmiral with their whole force, shot away his main-top-sail-yard, anddamaged his rigging in such a manner that he was obliged to lie by andrefit, while they took their disabled ship in tow. During this intervalhe called a council of his captains, and expostulated with them on theirbehaviour. They observed, that the French were very strong, and advisedhim to desist. He plainly perceived that he was betrayed, and with theutmost reluctance returned to Jamaica, having not only lost a leg, butalso received a large wound in his face, and another in his arm, whilehe in person attempted to board the French admiral. Exasperated atthe treachery of his captains, he granted a commission to rear-admiralWhetstone and other officers, to hold a court-martial and try them forcowardice. Hudson, of the Pendennis, died before his trial: Kirbyand Wade were convicted, and sentenced to be shot: Constable, of theWindsor, was cashiered and imprisoned: Vincent, of the Falmouth, andFogg, the admiral's own captain of the Breda, were convicted of havingsigned a paper that they would not fight under Benbow's command; but asthey behaved gallantly in the action, the court inflicted upon them noother punishment than that of a provisional suspension. Captain Waltonhad likewise joined in the conspiracy while he was heated with the fumesof intoxication, but he afterwards renounced the engagement, and foughtwith admirable courage until his ship was disabled. The boisterousmanner of Benbow had produced this base confederacy. He was a roughseamen; but remarkably brave, honest, and experienced. [112] _[See noteS, 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 feveroccasioned by his wounds, put a period to his life. Wade and Kirby weresent home in the Bristol; and, on their arrival at Plymouth, shot onboard of the ship, by virtue of a dead warrant for their immediateexecution, which had lain there for some time. The same precaution hadbeen taken in all the western ports, in order to prevent applications intheir favour. {ANNE, 1701--1714} A NEW PARLIAMENT. During these transactions the queen seemed to be happy in the affectionof her subjects. Though the continuance of the parliament was limitedto six months after the king's decease, she dissolved it by proclamationbefore the term was expired; and issued writs for electing another, in which the tory interest predominated. In the summer the queen gaveaudience to the count de Platens, envoy-extraordinary from the electorof Hanover; then she made a progress with her husband to Oxford, Bath, and Bristol, where she was received with all the marks of the mostgenuine affection. The new parliament meeting on the twentieth dayof October, Mr. Harley was chosen speaker. The queen in her speech, declared that she had summoned them to assist her in carrying on thejust and necessary war in which the nation was engaged. She desired thecommons would inspect the accounts of the public receipts and payments, that if any abuses had crept into the management of the finances, theymight be detected and the offenders punished. She told them that thefunds assigned in the last parliament had not produced the sums granted;and that the deficiency was not supplied even by the one hundredthousand pounds which she had paid from her own revenue for the publicservice. She expressed her concern for the disappointment at Cadiz, aswell as for the abuses committed at Port St. Mary's, which had obligedher to give directions for the strictest examination of the particulars. She hoped they would find time to consider of some better and moreeffectual method to prevent the exportation of wool, and improve thatmanufacture, which she was determined to encourage. She professed a firmpersuasion, that the affection of her subjects was the surest pledge oftheir duty and obedience. She promised to defend and maintain the churchas by law established; and to protect her subjects in the full enjoymentof all their rights and liberties. She protested, that she relied ontheir care of her: she said her interest and theirs were inseparable;and that her endeavours should never be wanting to make them all safeand happy. She was presented with a very affectionate address fromeither 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 onthe late reign, importing, that the wonderful progress of her majesty'sarms under the earl of Marlborough had signally "retrieved" theancient honour and glory of the English nation. This expression hadexcited a warm debate in the house, in the course of which many severereflections were made on the memory of king William. At length thequestion was put, whether the word "retrieved" should remain? andcarried 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 intheir inquiry concerning controverted elections. The borough of Hindon, near Salisbury, was convicted of bribery, and a bill brought in fordisfranchising the town; yet no vote passed against the person whoexercised this corruption, because he happened to be a tory. Mr. Howewas declared duly elected for Gloucestershire, though the majority ofthe electors had voted for the other candidate. Sir John Packingtonexhibited a complaint against the bishop of Worcester and his son, forhaving endeavoured to prevent his election: the commons having takenit into consideration, resolved, that the proceedings of William lordbishop of Worcester, and his son, had been malicious, unchristian, andarbitrary, in high violation of the liberties and privileges of thecommons of England. They voted an address to the queen, desiring her toremove the father from the office of lord-almoner; and they ordered theattorney-general to prosecute the son, after his privilege as memberof the convocation should be expired. A counter address wasimmediately voted and presented by the lords, beseeching her majestywould 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; asit was the undoubted right of every lord of parliament, and of everysubject of England, to have an opportunity to make his defence beforehe suffers any sort of punishment. The queen said she had not as yetreceived any complaint against the bishop of Worcester; but she lookedupon it as her undoubted right to continue or displace any servantattending upon her own person, when she should think proper. The peershaving received this answer, unanimously resolved, That no lord of theirhouse ought to suffer any sort of punishment by any proceedings of thehouse of commons, otherwise than according to the known and ancientrules and methods of parliament. When the commons attended the queenwith their address against the bishop, she said she was sorry therewas occasion for such a remonstrance, and that the bishop of Worcestershould no longer continue to supply the place of her almoner. Thisregard to their address was a flagrant proof of her partiality to thetories, who seemed to justify her attachment by their compliance andliberality. THE LORDS INQUIRE INTO THE CONDUCT OF SIR GEORGE ROOKE. In deliberating on the supplies, they agreed to all the demands of theministry. They voted forty thousand seamen, and the like number ofland forces, to act in conjunction with those of the allies. For themaintenance of these last, they granted eight hundred and thirty-threethousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds; besides three hundred andfifty thousand pounds for guards and garrisons; seventy thousand ninehundred and seventy-three pounds for ordnance; and fifty-one thousandeight hundred and forty-three pounds for subsidies to the allies. Lord Shannon arriving with the news of the success at Vigo, the queenappointed a day of thanksgiving for the signal success of her arms underthe earl of Marlborough, the duke of Ormond, and sir George Rooke; andon 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 peersvoted the thanks of their house to the duke of Ormond for his servicesat 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 laybefore them an account of their proceedings: a request with which hermajesty complied. These two officers were likewise thanked by the houseof commons: vice-admiral Hopson was knighted, and gratified witha considerable pension. The duke of Ormond, at his return from theexpedition, complained openly of Rooke's conduct, and seemed determinedto subject him to a public accusation; but that officer was such afavourite among the commons, that the court was afraid to disobligethem by an impeachment, and took great pains to mitigate the duke'sresentment. This nobleman was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, andRooke was admitted into the privy-council. A motion however being madein the house of lords, that the admiral's instructions and journalsrelating to the last expedition might be examined, a committee wasappointed for that purpose, and prepared an unfavourable report; but itwas rejected by a majority of the house; and they voted, That sir GeorgeRooke had done his duty, pursuant to the councils of war, like a braveofficer, to the honour of the British nation. THE PARLIAMENT MAKE A SETTLEMENT ON PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK. On the twenty-first day of November, the queen sent a message to thehouse of commons by Mr. Secretary Hedges, recommending further provisionfor the prince her husband, in case he should survive her. This messagebeing considered, Mr. Howe moved, that the yearly sum of one hundredthousand pounds should be settled on the prince, in case he shouldsurvive her majesty. No opposition was made to the proposal; but warmdebates were excited by a clause in the bill, exempting the princefrom that part of the act of succession by which strangers, thoughnaturalized, were rendered incapable of holding employments. This clauserelated only to those who should be naturalized in a future reign; andindeed was calculated as a restriction upon the house of Hanover. Manymembers argued against the clause of exemption, because it seemedto imply, that persons already naturalized would be excluded fromemployments in the next reign, though already possessed of the rightof natural-born subjects, a consequence plainly contradictory to themeaning of the act. Others opposed it, because the lords had alreadyresolved by a vote, that they would never pass any bill sent up fromthe 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 holdemployments was a circumstance altogether distinct from a settlement inmoney. The queen expressed uncommon eagerness in behalf of this bill;and the court influence was managed so successfully that it passedthrough both houses, though not without an obstinate opposition, and aformal protest by seven-and-twenty peers. EARL OF MARLBOROUGH CREATED A DUKE. The earl of Marlborough arriving in England about the latter end ofNovember, received the thanks of the commons for his great and signalservices, which were so acceptable to the queen, that she created hima duke, gratified him with a pension of five thousand pounds upon therevenue of the post office during his natural life; and in a messageto the commons, expressed a desire that they would find some method tosettle it on the heirs male of his body. This intimation was productiveof warm debates, during which sir Christopher Musgrave observed, that hewould not derogate from the duke's eminent services; but he affirmedhis grace had been very well paid for them by the profitable employmentswhich he and his duchess enjoyed. The duke, understanding that thecommons were heated by the subject, begged her majesty would ratherforego her gracious message in his behalf, than create any uneasinesson his account, which might embarrass her affairs, and be of illconsequence 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 anaddress, acknowledging the eminent services of the duke of Marlborough, yet expressing their apprehension of making a precedent to alienate therevenue of the crown, which had been so much reduced by the exorbitantgrants of the late reign, and so lately settled and secured by hermajesty's unparalleled grace and goodness. The queen was satisfied withtheir apology; but their refusal in all probability helped to alienatethe 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 tounderstand, that the states-general had pressed her to augment herforces, as the only means to render ineffectual the great and earlypreparations of the enemy. The commons immediately resolved, that tenthousand men should be hired, as an augmentation of the forces to actin conjunction with the allies; but on condition that an immediate stopshould be put to all commerce and correspondence with France and Spainon the part of the states-general. The lords presented an address to thequeen on the same subject, and to the same effect; and she ownedthat the condition was absolutely necessary for the good of the wholealliance. The Dutch, even after the declaration of war, had carried ona traffic with the French; and at this very juncture Louis found itimpossible to make remittances of money to the elector of Bwaria inGermany, and to his forces in Italy, except through the channel ofEnglish, Dutch, and Geneva merchants. The states-general, though shockedat the imperious manner in which the parliament of England prescribedtheir conduct, complied with the demand without hesitation, andpublished a prohibition of all commerce with the subjects of France andSpain. BILL FOR PREVENTING OCCASIONAL CONFORMITY. The commons of this parliament had nothing more at heart than a billagainst occasional conformity. The tories affected to distinguishthemselves as the only true friends to the church and monarchy; and theyhated the dissenters with a mixture of spiritual and political disgust. They looked upon these last as an intruding sect, which constitutedgreat part of the whig faction that extorted such immense sums ofmoney from the nation in the late reign, and involved it in perniciousengagements, from whence it had no prospect of deliverance. Theyconsidered them as encroaching schismatics that disgraced and endangeredthe hierarchy; and those of their own communion, who recommendedmoderation, they branded with the epithets of lukewarm christians, betrayers, and apostates. They now resolved to approve themselveszealous sons of the church, by seizing the first opportunity that was intheir power to distress the dissenters. In order to pave the way tothis persecution, sermons were preached, and pamphlets were printed, toblacken the character of the sect, and inflame the popular resentmentagainst them. On the fourth day of November, Mr. Bromley, Mr. St. John, and Mr. Annesley, were ordered by the house of commons to bring ina bill for preventing occasional conformity. In the preamble, allpersecution for conscience sake was condemned: nevertheless it enacted, that all those who had taken the sacrament and test for offices oftrust, or the magistracy of corporations, and afterwards frequentedany meeting of dissenters, should be disabled from holding theiremployments, pay a fine of one hundred pounds, and five pounds for everyday in which they continued to act in their employment after having beenat any such meeting: they were also rendered incapable of holding anyother employment, till after one whole year's conformity; and, upona relapse, the penalties and time of incapacity were doubled. Thepromoters of the bill alleged, that an established religion and nationalchurch were absolutely necessary, when so many impious men pretended toinspiration, and deluded such numbers of people: that the most effectualway to preserve this national church, would be the maintenance of thecivil power in the hands of those who expressed their regard to thechurch in their principles and practice: that the parliament, by thecorporation and test acts, thought they had raised a sufficient barrierto the hierarchy, never imagining that a set of men would rise up, whoseconsciences would be too tender to obey the laws, but hardened enoughto break them: that, as the last reign began with an act in favour ofdissenters, so the commons were desirous that in the beginning of hermajesty's auspicious government an act should pass in favour of thechurch of England: that this bill did not intrench on the act oftoleration, or deprive the dissenters of any privileges they enjoyed bylaw, or add any thing to the legal rights of the church of England: thatoccasional conformity was an evasion of the law, by which the dissentersmight insinuate themselves into the management of all corporations: thata separation from the church, to which a man's conscience will allow himoccasionally to conform, is a mere schism, which in itself was sinful, without the superaddition of a temporal law to make it an offence: thatthe toleration was intended only for the ease offender consciences, andnot to give a license for occasional conformity: that conforming andnon-conforming were contradictions; for nothing but a firm persuasionthat the terms of communion required are sinful and unlawful, couldjustify the one; and this plainly condemns the other. The memberswho opposed the bill argued, that the dissenters were generally wellaffected to the present constitution: that to bring any real hardshipupon them, or give rise to jealousies and fears at stich a juncture, might be attended with dangerous consequences; that the toleration hadgreatly contributed to the security and reputation of the church, andplainly proved that liberty of conscience and gentle measures were themost effectual means for increasing the votaries of the church, anddiminishing the number of dissenters: that the dissenters could not betermed schismatics without bringing a heavy charge upon the church ofEngland, which had not only tolerated such schism, but even allowedcommunion with the reformed churches abroad: that the penalties of thisbill were more severe than those which the laws imposed on papists, for assisting at the most solemn act of their religion: in a word, thattoleration and tenderness had been always productive of peace and union, whereas persecution had never failed to excite disorder and extendsuperstition. Many alterations and mitigations were proposed, withouteffect. In the course of the debate, the dissenters were mentioned andreviled with great acrimony; and the bill passed the lower house byvirtue of a considerable majority. The lords, apprehensive that the commons would tack it to somemoney-bill, voted, that the annexing any clause to a money-bill wascontrary to the constitution of the English government, and the usage ofparliament. 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 modelcorporations, so as to eject all those who would not vote in electionsfor the tories. Some imagined this was a preparatory step towards arepeal of the toleration; and others concluded that the promoters of thebill designed to raise such disturbances at home as would discourage theallies abroad, and render the prosecution of the war impracticable. The majority of the bishops, and among these Burnet of Sarum, objectedagainst it on the principles of moderation, and from motives ofconscience. Nevertheless, as the court supported this measure with itswhole power and influence, the bill made its way through the house, though not without alterations and amendments, which were rejected bythe commons. The lower house pretended, that the lords had no right toalter any fines and penalties that the commons should fix in bills sentup for their concurrence, on the supposition that those were mattersconcerning money, the peculiar province of the lower house; the lordsordered a minute inquiry to be made into all the rolls of parliamentsince the reign of Henry the Seventh; and a great number of instanceswere found, in which the lords had begun the clauses imposing fines andpenalties, altered the penalties which had been fixed by the commons, and even changed the uses to which they were applied. The precedentswere entered in the books; but the commons resolved to maintain theirpoint without engaging in any dispute upon the subject. After warmdebates, and a free conference between the two houses, the lords adheredto their amendments, though this resolution was carried by a majorityof one vote only; the commons persisted in rejecting them; the billmiscarried, and both houses published their proceedings, by way ofappeal 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'sconsideration to those who had not taken the oath abjuring the pretendedprince of Wales. The lords added three clauses, importing, that thosepersons who should take the oath within the limited time might return totheir benefices and employments, unless they should be already legallyfilled; that any person endeavouring to defeat the succession to thecrown, as now limited by law, should be deemed guilty of high treason;and that the oath of abjuration should be imposed upon the subjects inIreland. The commons made some opposition to the first clause; butat length the question being put, Whether they should agree to theamendments, it was carried in the affirmative by one voice. INQUIRY INTO THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS. No object engrossed more time, or produced more violent debates, thandid the inquiry into the public accounts. The commissioners appointedfor this purpose pretended to have made great discoveries. They chargedthe earl of Ranelagh, paymaster-general of the army, with flagrantmismanagement. He acquitted himself in such a manner as screened himfrom all severity of punishment; nevertheless, they expelled him fromthe house for a high crime and misdemeanor, in misapplying several sumsof the public money; and he thought proper to resign his employment. Along address was prepared and presented to the queen, attributing thenational debt to mismanagement of the funds; complaining that the oldmethods of the exchequer had been neglected; and that iniquitous fraudshad been committed by the commissioners of the prizes. Previous to thisremonstrance, the house, in consequence of the report of the committee, had passed several severe resolutions, particularly against Charles lordHalifax, auditor of the receipt of the exchequer, as having neglectedhis duty, and been guilty of a breach of trust. For these reasonsthey actually besought the queen, in an address, that she would givedirections to the attorney-general to prosecute him for the saidoffences; and she promised to comply with their request. On the otherhand, the lords appointed a committee to examine all the observationswhich the commissioners of accounts had offered to both houses. Theyascribed the national debt to deficiencies in the funds: they acquittedlord Halifax, the lords of the treasury, and their officers, whom thecommons had accused; and represented these circumstances in an addressto the queen, which was afterwards printed with the vouchers to everyparticular. This difference blew up a fierce flame of discord betweenthe two houses, which manifested their mutual animosity in speeches, votes, resolutions, and conferences. The commons affirmed, that nocognizance the lords could take of the public accounts would enable themto supply any deficiency, or appropriate any surplusage of the publicmoney; that they could neither acquit nor condemn any person whatsoever, upon any inquiry arising originally in their own house; and that theirattempt to acquit Charles lord Halifax was unparliamentary. The lordsinsisted upon their right to take cognizance originally of all publicaccounts; they affirmed, that in their resolutions, with respect tolord Halifax, they had proceeded according to the rules of justice. Theyowned however that their resolutions did not amount to any judgmentor acquittal; but that finding a vote of the commons reflected upon amember of their house, they thought fit to give their opinion in theirlegislative 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 washeld after another, at length both sides despaired of an accommodation. The lords ordered their proceedings to be printed, and the commonsfollowed their example. On the twenty-seventh day of February, thequeen, having passed all the bills that were ready for the royalassent, ordered the lord-keeper to prorogue the parliament, after havingpronounced a speech in the usual style. She thanked them for their zeal, affection, and despatch; declared, she would encourage and maintain thechurch as by law established; desired they would consider some furtherlaws for restraining the great license assumed for publishing scandalouspamphlets and libels; and assured them, that all her share of theprizes which might be taken in the war, should be applied to the publicservice. By this time the earl of Eochester was entirely removed fromthe queen's councils. Finding himself outweighed by the interest ofthe duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin, he had become sullen andintractable; and, rather than repair to his government of Ireland, choseto resign the office, which, as we have already observed, was conferredupon the duke of Ormond, an accomplished nobleman, who had acquiredgreat popularity by the success of the expedition to Vigo. The partiesin the house of lords were so nearly matched, that the queen, in orderto ascertain an undoubted majority in the next session, created four newpeers, [115] _[See note-J, at the end of this Vol. ]_ who had signalizedthemselves by the violence of their speeches in the house of commons. {ANNE, 1701--1714} 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 intereststhat prevailed in the upper and lower. The last, in imitation of thecommons, was desirous of branding the preceding reign; and it was withgreat difficulty that they concurred with the prelates in an address ofcongratulation to her majesty. Then their former contest was revived. The lower house desired, in an application to the archbishop ofCanterbury and his suffragans, that the matters in dispute concerningthe manner of synodical proceedings, and the right of the lower houseto hold intermediate assemblies, might be taken into consideration andspeedily determined. The bishops proposed, that in the intervals ofsessions, the lower house might appoint committees to prepare matters;and when business should be brought regularly before them, thearchbishop would regulate the prorogations in such a manner, that theyshould have sufficient time to sit and deliberate on the subject. Thisoffer did not satisfy the lower house, which was emboldened to persistin its demand by a vote of the commons. These, in consequence of anaddress of thanks from the clergy, touching Mr. Lloyd, son to the bishopof Worcester, whom they ordered to be prosecuted after his privilegeas member of the convocation should be expired, had resolved, that theywould on all occasions assert the just rights and privileges of thelower house of convocation. The prelates refused to depart from thearchbishop's right of proroguing the whole convocation with consent ofhis suffragans. The lower house proposed to refer the controversy to thequeen's decision. The bishops declined this expedient, as inconsistentwith the episcopal authority, and the presidency of the archbishop. Thelower house having incurred the imputation of favouring presbytery, bythis opposition to the bishops, entered in their books a declaration, acknowledging the order of bishops as superior to presbyters, and to bea divine apostolical institution. Then they desired the bishops in anaddress to concur in settling the doctrine of the divine apostolicalright of episcopacy, that it might be a standing rule of the church. They likewise presented a petition to the queen, complaining, that inthe convocation called in the year 1700, after an interruption often years, several questions having arisen concerning the rightsand liberties of the lower house, the bishops had refused a verbalconference; and afterwards declined a proposal to submit the dispute toher majesty's determination; they therefore fled for protection toher majesty, begging she would call the question into her own royalaudience. The queen promised to consider their petition, which wassupported by the earl of Nottingham; and ordered their council toexamine the affair, how it consisted with law and custom. Whether theirreport was unfavourable to the lower house, or the queen was unwillingto 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 theform of ordination contained a declaration of three orders of ministersfrom the times of the apostles; namely, bishops, priests, and deacons, to which they had subscribed; but he and his brethren conceived, thatwithout a royal license, they had not authority to attempt, enact, promulge, or execute any canon, which should concern either doctrine ordiscipline. The lower house answered this declaration in very petulantterms; and the dispute subsisted when the parliament was prorogued. Butthese contests produced divisions through the whole body of the clergy, who ranged themselves in different factions, distinguished by the namesof high-church and low-church. The first consisted of ecclesiasticaltories; the other included those who professed revolution principles, and recommended moderation towards the dissenters. The high-church partyreproached the other as time-servers, and presbyterians in disguise; andwere in their turn stigmatized as the friends and abettors of tyrannyand persecution. At present, however, the tories both in churchand state triumphed in the favour of their sovereign. The right ofparliaments, the memory of the late king, and even the act limiting thesuccession of the house of Hanover, became the subjects of ridicule. The queen was flattered as possessor of the prerogatives of the ancientmonarchy; the history written by her grandfather, the earl of Clarendon, was now for the first time published, to inculcate the principles ofobedience, and inspire the people with an abhorrence of opposition toan anointed sovereign. Her majesty's hereditary right was deduced fromEdward 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 theepiscopalians and anti-revolutioners of that kingdom. The earls ofMarchmont, Melvil, Selkirk, Leven, and Hyndford, were laid aside; theearl of Seafield was appointed chancellor; the duke of Queensberryand the lord viscount Tarbat, were declared secretaries of state; themarquis of Annandale was made president of the council, and the earl ofTullibardin, lord privy-seal. A new parliament having been summoned, theearl of Seafield employed his influence so successfully, that a greatnumber of anti-revolutioners were returned as members. The duke ofHamilton had obtained from the queen a letter to the privy-council inScotland, in which she expressed her desire that the presbyterianclergy should live in brotherly love and communion with such dissentingministers 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 tothe queen, imploring her protection; and humbly beseeching her to allowthose parishes in which there was a majority of episcopal freeholders, to bestow the benefice on ministers of their principles. This petitionwas presented by Dr. Skeen and Dr. Scot, who were introduced by the dukeof Queensberry to her majesty. She assured them of her protection andendeavours to supply their necessities; and exhorted them to live inpeace and christian love with the clergy, who were by law invested withthe church-government in her ancient kingdom of Scotland. A proclamationof indemnity having been published in March, a great number of Jacobitesreturned from France and other countries, pretended to have changedtheir sentiments, and took the oaths, that they might be qualifiedto sit in parliament. They formed an accession to the strength of theanti-revolutioners and episcopalians, who now hoped to out-number thepresbyterians, and outweigh their interest. But this confederacy wascomposed of dissonant parts, from which no harmony could be expected. The presbyterians and revolutioners were headed by the duke ofArgyle. The country party of malcontents, which took its rise from thedisappointments of the Darien settlement, acted under the auspicesof the duke of Hamilton and marquis of Tweedale; and the earl of Humeappeared as chief of the anti-revolutioners. The different parties whonow united, pursued the most opposite ends. The majority of the countryparty were friends to the revolution, and sought only redress ofthe grievances which the nation had sustained in the late reign. Theanti-revolutioners considered the accession and government of kingWilliam as an extraordinary event, which they were willing to forget, believing that all parties were safe under the shelter of her majesty'sgeneral indemnity. The Jacobites submitted to the queen, as tutrix orregent for the prince of Wales, whom they firmly believed she intendedto establish on the throne. The whigs under Argyle, alarmed at thecoalition of all their enemies, resolved to procure a parliamentarysanction for the revolution. DANGEROUS HEATS IN THE PARLIAMENT. The parliament being opened on the sixth day of May at Edinburgh, bythe duke of Queensberry as commissioner, the queen's letter was read, inwhich she demanded a supply for the maintenance of the forces, advisedthem to encourage trade, and exhorted them to proceed with wisdom, prudence, and unanimity. The duke of Hamilton immediately offered thedraft of a bill for recognising her majesty's undoubted right and titleto the imperial crown of Scotland, according to the declaration ofthe estates of the kingdom, containing the claim of right. It wasimmediately received; and at the second reading, the queen's advocateoffered an additional clause, denouncing the penalties of treasonagainst any person who should question her majesty's right and title tothe crown, or her exercise of the government, from her actual entryto the same. This, after a long and warm debate, was carried by theconcurrence of the anti-revolutioners. Then the earl of Hume producedthe draft of a bill for the supply; immediately after it was read, themarquis of Tweedale made an overture, that, before all other business, the parliament would proceed to make such conditions of government, andregulations in the constitution of the kingdom, to take place after thedecease of her majesty and the heirs of her body, as should be necessaryfor the preservation of their religion and liberty. This overture andthe bill were ordered to lie upon the table; and in the meantime thecommissioner found himself involved in great perplexity. The duke ofArgyle, the marquis of Annandale, and the earl of Marchmont, gave himto understand in private, that they were resolved to move for an actratifying the revolution; and for another confirming the presbyteriangovernment; that they would insist upon their being discussed beforethe bill of supply, and that they were certain of carrying the points atwhich they aimed. The commissioner now found himself reduced to a verydisagreeable alternative. There was a necessity for relinquishing allhope of a supply, or abandoning the anti-revolutioners, to whom hewas connected by promises of concurrence. The whigs were determined tooppose all schemes of supply that should come from the cavaliers;and these last resolved to exert their whole power in preventing theconfirmation of the revolution and the presbyterian discipline. Heforesaw that on this occasion the whigs would be joined by the duke ofHamilton and his party, so as to preponderate against the cavaliers. Heendeavoured 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 onother subjects. The marquis of Tweedale insisted upon his overture;and after warm debates, the house resolved to proceed with such acts asmight be necessary for securing the religion, liberty, and trade ofthe nation, before any bill for supply or other business should bediscussed. The marquis of Athol offered an act for the security of thekingdom, in case of her majesty's decease; but before it was read, the duke of Argyle presented his draft of a bill for ratifying therevolution, and all the acts following thereupon, An act for limitingthe succession after the death of her majesty, and the heirs of herbody, was produced by Mr. Fletcher of Saltoun. The earl of Rothesrecommended another, importing, that after her majesty's death, andfailing 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 queenof Scotland, have power to make peace or war without the con* sentof parliament. The earl of Marchmont recited the draft of an act forsecuring the true protestant religion and presbyterian government; onewas also suggested by sir Patrick Johnston, allowing the importation ofwines, and other foreign liquors. All these bills were ordered tolie upon the table. Then the earl of Strath-more produced an act fortoleration to all protestants in the exercise of religious worship. Butagainst this the general assembly presented a most violent remonstrance;and the promoters of the bill, foreseeing that it would meet with greatopposition, allowed it to drop for the present. On the third day ofJune, the parliament passed the act for preserving the true reformedprotestant religion, and confirming presbyterian church government, asagreeable to the word of God, and the only government of Christ's churchwithin the kingdom. The same party enjoyed a further triumph in thesuccess of Argyle's act, for ratifying and perpetuating the first act ofking William's parliament; for declaring it high treason to disown theauthority of that parliament, or to alter or renovate the claim of rightor any article thereof. This last clause was strenuously opposed; butat last the bill passed with the concurrence of all the ministry, exceptthe marquis of Athol and the viscount Tarbat, who began at this periodto 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 hisbreach of promise, and then renounced his interest, resolving toseparate themselves from the court, and jointly pursue such measures asmight be for the interest of their party. But of all the bills that wereproduced in the course of this remarkable session, that which producedthe most violent altercation was the act of security, calculated toabridge the prerogative of the crown, limit the successor, and throwa vast additional power into the hands of the parliament. It wasconsidered paragraph by paragraph; many additions and alterations wereproposed, and some adopted; inflammatory speeches were uttered; bittersarcasms retorted from party to party; and different votes passed ondifferent clauses. At length, in spite of the most obstinate oppositionfrom the ministry and the cavaliers, it was passed by a majority offifty-nine voices. The commissioner was importuned to give it the royalassent; but declined answering their entreaties till the tenth dayof September. Then he made a speech in parliament, giving them tounderstand that he had received the queen's pleasure, and was empoweredto give the royal assent to all the acts voted in this session, exceptthe act for the security of the kingdom. A motion was made to solicitthe royal assent in an address to her majesty; but the question beingput, it was carried in the negative by a small majority. On the sixthday of the same month, the earl of Marchmont had produced a bill tosettle the succession on the house of Hanover. At first the import of itwas not known; but when the clerk in reading it mentioned the princessSophia, the whole house was kindled into a flame. Some proposed thatthe overture should be burned; others moved that the earl might be sentprisoner to the castle; and a general dissatisfaction appeared in thewhole assembly. Not that the majority in parliament were averse tothe succession in the house of Hanover; but they resolved to avoida nomination without stipulating conditions; and they had alreadyprovided, in the act of security, that it should be high treason to ownany person as king or queen after her majesty's decease, until he or sheshould take the coronation oath, and accept the terms of the claim ofright, and such conditions as should be settled in this or any ensuingparliament. HE IS IN DANGER OF HIS LIFE. Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a man of undaunted courage and inflexibleintegrity, who professed republican principles, and seemed designed bynature as a member of some Grecian commonwealth, after having observedthat the nation would be enslaved should it submit, either willingly orby commission, to the successor of England, without such conditions ofgovernment as should secure them against the influence of an Englishministry, offered the draft of an act, importing, that after the deceaseof her majesty, without heirs of her body, no person being successor tothe English throne should succeed to the crown of Scotland but underthe following limitations, which, together with the coronation oath andclaim of right, they should swear to observe: namely, that all officesand places, civil and military, as well as pensions, should for thefuture be conferred by a parliament to be chosen at every Michaelmashead-court, to sit on the first day of November, and adjourn themselvesfrom time to time till the ensuing Michaelmas; that they should choosetheir own president; that a committee of six-and-thirty members, chosenout of the whole parliament, without distinction of estates, should, during the intervals of parliament, be vested, under the king, with theadministration of the government, act as his council, be accountable toparliament, and call it together on extraordinary occasions. He proposedthat the successor should be nominated by the majority; declaring forhimself that he would rather concur in nominating the most rigid papistwith those conditions, than the truest protestant without them. Themotion was seconded by many members; and though postponed for thepresent, in favour of an act of trade under the consideration ofthe house, it was afterwards resumed with great warmth. In vain thelord-treasurer represented that no funds were as yet provided for thearmy, and moved for a reading of the act presented for that purpose; acertain member observed, that this was a very unseasonable juncture topropose a supply, when the house had so much to do for the security ofthe nation; he said they had very little encouragement to grant supplieswhen they found themselves frustrated of all their labour and expensefor these several months; and when the whole kingdom saw that suppliesserved for no other use but to gratify the warice of some insatiableministers. Mr. Fletcher expatiated upon the good consequences thatwould arise from the act which he had proposed. The chancelloranswered, that such an act was laying a scheme for a commonwealth, and tending to innovate the constitution of a monarchy. The ministryproposed a state of a vote, whether they should first give a reading toFletcher's act or to the act of subsidy. The country party moved thatthe question might be, "Overtures for subsidies, or overtures forliberty. " Fletcher withdrew his act, rather than people should pervertthe meaning of laudable designs. The house resounded with the cryof "Liberty or Subsidy. " Bitter invectives were uttered against theministry. One member said it was now plain the nation was to expect noother return for their expense and toil than that of being loaded witha subsidy, and being obliged to bend their necks under the yoke ofslavery, which was prepared for them from that throne; another observed, that as their liberties were suppressed, so the privileges of parliamentwere like to be torn from them; but that he would venture his life indefence of his birthright, and rather die a free man than live a slave. When the vote was demanded, and declined by the commissioner, the earlof Roxburgh declared, that if there was no other way of obtaining sonatural and undeniable a privilege of parliament, they would demandit with their swords in their hands. The commissioner, foreseeing thisspirit of freedom and contradiction, ordered the foot-guard to be inreadiness, and placed a strong guard upon the eastern gate of the city. Notwithstanding these precautions, he ran the risk of being torn topieces; and, in this apprehension, ordered the chancellor to inform thehouse that the parliament should proceed upon overtures for liberty attheir next sitting. This promise allayed the ferment which had begunto rise. Next day the members prepared an overture, implying, that theelective members should be chosen for every seat at the Michaelmas headcourts; that a parliament should be held once in two years at least;that the short adjournments _de die in diem_ should be made by theparliaments themselves as in England; and that no officer in the army, customs, or excise, nor any gratuitous pensioner, should sit as anelective member. The commissioner being apprised of their proceedings, called for such acts as he was empowered to pass, and having given theroyal assent to them, prorogued the parliament to the twelfth day ofOctober. [117] _[See note X, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Such was theissue of this remarkable session of the Scottish parliament, in whichthe duke of Queensberry was abandoned by the greatest part of theministry; and such a spirit of ferocity and opposition prevailed, asthreatened the whole kingdom with civil war and confusion. The queenconferred titles upon those who appeared to have influence in the nation[118] _[See note Y, at the end of this Vol. ]_ and attachment to hergovernment, and revived the order of the thistle, which the late kinghad dropped. PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. Ireland was filled with discontent by the behaviour and conduct ofthe trustees for the forfeited estates. The earl of Rochester hadcontributed to foment the troubles of the kingdom by encouraging thefactions which had been imported from England. The duke of Ormond wasreceived with open arms as heir to the virtues of his ancestors, who hadbeen the bulwarks of the protestant interest in Ireland. He opened theparliament on the twenty-first day of September, with a speech to bothhouses, in which he told them that his inclination, his interest, andthe examples of progenitors, were indispensable obligations upon him toimprove every opportunity to the advantage and prosperity of his nativecountry. The commons having chosen Allen Broderick to be their speaker, proceeded to draw up very affectionate addresses to the queen and thelord lieutenant. In that to the queen they complained that their enemieshad misrepresented them, as desirous of being independent of the crownof England; they, therefore, to vindicate themselves from such falseaspersions, declared and acknowledged that the kingdom of Ireland wasannexed and united to the imperial crown of England. In order to expresstheir hatred of the trustees, they resolved, that all the protestantfreeholders of that kingdom had been falsely and maliciouslymisrepresented, traduced, and abused, in a book entitled, "The Reportof the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Irish Forfeitures;"and it appearing that Francis Annesley, member of the house, JohnTrenchard, Henry Langford, and James Hamilton, were authors of thatbook, they further resolved, that these persons had scandalously andmaliciously misrepresented and traduced the protestant freeholders ofthat kingdom, and endeavoured to create a misunderstanding and jealousybetween the people of England and the protestants of Ireland. Annesleywas expelled the house, Hamilton was dead, and Trenchard had returnedto England. They had finished the inquiry before the meeting of thisparliament; and sold at an undervalue the best of the forfeited estatesto the sword-blade company of England. This, in a petition to the Irishparliament, prayed that heads of a bill be brought in for enabling themto take conveyance of lands in Ireland; but the parliament was verylittle disposed to confirm the bargains of the trustees, and thepetition lay neglected on the table. The house expelled John Asgil, who, as agent to the sword-blade company, had offered to lend money to thepublic in Ireland, on condition that the parliament would pass an actto confirm the company's purchase of the forfeited estates. Hisconstituents disowned his proposal; and when he was summoned to appearbefore the house, and answer for his prevarication, he pleaded hisprivilege as member of the English parliament. The commons, in arepresentation of the state and grievances of the nation, gave hermajesty to understand that the constitution of Ireland had been oflate greatly shaken; and their lives, liberties, and estates, calledin question, and tried in a manner unknown to their ancestors; thatthe expense to which they had been unnecessarily exposed by the latetrustees for the forfeited estates, in defending their just rights andtitles, had exceeded in value the current cash of the kingdom; thattheir trade was decayed, their money exhausted; and that they werehindered from maintaining their own manufactures; that many protestantfamilies had been constrained to quit the kingdom in order to earn alivelihood in foreign countries; that the want of frequent parliamentsin Ireland had encouraged evil-minded men to oppress the subject; thatmany civil officers had acquired great fortunes in that impoverishedcountry, by the exercise of corruption and oppression; that others, in considerable employments, resided in another kingdom, neglectingpersonal attendance on their duty, while their offices were illexecuted, to the detriment of the public, and the failure of justice. They declared, that it was from her majesty's gracious interpositionalone they proposed to themselves relief from those their manifoldgrievances and misfortunes. The commons afterwards voted the necessarysupplies, and granted one hundred and fifty thousand pounds to make goodthe deficiencies of the necessary branches of the establishment. A SEVERE ACT PASSED AGAINST PAPISTS. They appointed a committee to inspect the public accounts, by whichthey discovered that above one hundred thousand pounds had been falselycharged as a debt upon the nation. The committee was thanked by thehouse for having saved this sum, and ordered to examine what personswere concerned in such a misrepresentation, which was generally imputedto those who acted under the duke of Ormond. He himself was a noblemanof honour and generosity, addicted to pleasure, and fond of popularapplause; but he was surrounded by people of more sordid principles, whohad ingratiated themselves into his confidence by the arts of adulation. The commons voted a provision for the half-pay officers; and abolishedpensions to the amount of seventeen thousand pounds a-year, asunnecessary branches of the establishment. They passed an act settlingthe succession of the crown after the pattern set them by England; butthe most important transaction of this session was a severe bill toprevent the growth of popery. It bore a strong affinity to that whichhad passed three years before in England; but contained more effectualclauses. Among others it enacted, that all estates of papists should beequally divided among the children, notwithstanding any settlement tothe contrary, unless the person to whom they might be settled shouldqualify themselves by taking the oaths, and communicating with thechurch of England. The bill was not at all agreeable to the ministryin England, who expected large presents from the papists, by whom aconsiderable sum had been actually raised for this purpose. But as theydid not think proper to reject such a bill while the English parliamentwas sitting, they added a clause which they hoped the parliament ofIreland would refuse: namely, that no persons in that kingdom should becapable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy of any city, who did not qualify themselves by receiving the sacrament accordingto the test act passed in England. Though this was certainly a greathardship on the dissenters, the parliament of Ireland sacrificed thisconsideration to their common security against the Roman catholics, andaccepted the amendment without hesitation. This affair being discussed, the commons of Ireland passed a vote against a book entitled, "Memoirsof the late king James II. " as a seditious libel. They ordered it tobe burned by the hands of the common hangman; and the bookseller andprinter to be prosecuted. When this motion was made, a member informedthe house that in the county of Limerick the Irish papists had begun toform themselves into bodies, to plunder the protestants of their armsand money; and to maintain a correspondence with the disaffected inEngland. The house immediately resolved, that the papists of the kingdomstill retained hopes of the accession of the person known by the name ofthe Prince of Wales in the life-time of the late king James, and now bythe name of James III. In the midst of this zeal against popery andthe pretender, they were suddenly adjourned by the command of thelord-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 chieflyengrossed by the affairs of the continent. The emperor agreed with theallies that his son, the archduke Charles should assume the title ofking of Spain, demand the infanta of Portugal in marriage, and undertakesomething of importance, with the assistance of the maritime powers. Mr. Methuen, the English minister at Lisbon, had already made some progressin a treaty with his Portuguese majesty; and the court of Viennapromised to send such an army into the field as would in a littletime drive the elector of Bavaria from his dominions. But they were sodilatory in their preparations, that the French king broke all theirmeasures by sending powerful reinforcements to the elector, in whoseability and attachment Louis reposed great confidence. MareschalVillars, who commanded an army of thirty thousand men at Strasburgh, passed the Rhine and reduced fort Kehl, the garrison of which wasconducted to Philipsburgh. The emperor, alarmed at this event, orderedcount Schlick to enter Bwaria on the side of Saltsburgh, with aconsiderable body of forces; and sent another, under count Stirum, toinvade the same electorate by the way of Newmark, which was surrenderedto him after he had routed a party of Bavarians; the city of Amberg metwith the same fate. Meanwhile count Schlick defeated a body of militiathat 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 whichplace Schlick advanced with the greatest part of his infantry, leavingbehind his cavalry and cannon. The elector having by this feint dividedthe Imperialists, passed the bridge of Scardingen with twelve thousandmen, and, after an obstinate engagement, compelled the Imperialists toabandon the field of battle; then he marched against the Saxon troopswhich guarded the artillery, and attacked them with such impetuositythat they were entirely defeated. In a few days after these actions, hetook Newburgh on the Inn by capitulation. He obtained another advantageover an advanced post of the Imperialists near Burgenfeldt, commandedby the young prince of Brandenburgh Anspach, who was mortally woundedin the engagement. He advanced to Batisbon, where the diet of theempire was assembled, and demanded that he should be immediately put inpossession of the bridge and gate of the city. The burghers immediatelytook to their arms, and planted cannon on the ramparts; but when theysaw a battery erected against them, and the elector determined tobombard the place, they thought proper to capitulate, and comply withhis demands. He took possession of the town on the eighth day of April, and signed an instrument obliging himself to withdraw his troops as soonas the emperor should ratify the diet's resolution for the neutrality ofRatisbon. Mareschal Villars having received orders to join the electorat all events, and being reinforced by a body of troops under countTallard, resolved to break through the lines which the prince of Badenhad made at Stolhoffen. This general had been luckily joined by eightDutch battalions, and received the French army, though double hisnumber, with such obstinate resolution, that Villars was obliged toretreat with great loss, and directed his route towards Offingen. Nevertheless he penetrated through the Black Forest, and effected ajunction with the elector. Count Stirum endeavoured to join princeLouis of Baden; but being attacked near Schwemmingen, retired under thecannon of Nortlingen. THE ALLIES REDUCE BONNE. The confederates were more successful on the Lower Rhine and in theNetherlands. The duke of Marlborough crossed the sea in the beginning ofApril, and assembling the allied army, resolved that the campaign shouldbe begun with the siege of Bonne, which was accordingly invested onthe twenty-fourth day of April. Three different attacks were carriedon against this place: one by the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel;another by the celebrated Coehorn; and a third by lieutenant-generalFagel. The garrison defended themselves vigorously till the fourteenthday of May, when the fort having been taken by assault, and the breachesrendered practicable, the marquis d'Alegre, the governor, ordered aparley to be beat; hostages were immediately exchanged; on the sixteenththe capitulation was signed; and in three days the garrison evacuatedthe place in order to be conducted to Luxembourg. During the siege ofBonne, the mareschals Boufflers and Villeroy advanced with an army offorty thousand men towards Tongeren, and the confederate army, commandedby M. D'Auverquerque, was obliged at their approach to retreat underthe cannon of Maestricht. The enemy having taken possession of Tongeren, made a motion against the confederate army, which they found alreadydrawn up in order of battle, and so advantageously posted, that, notwithstanding their great superiority in point of number, they wouldnot hazard an attack, but retired to the ground from whence theyhad advanced. Immediately after the reduction of Bonne, the dukeof Marlborough, who had been present at the siege, returned to theconfederate army in the Netherlands, now amounting to one hundred andthirty squadrons, and fifty-nine battalions. On the twenty-fifth day ofMay, the duke having passed the river Jecker in order to give battle tothe enemy, they marched with precipitation to Boekwren, and abandonedTongeren, after having blown up the walls of the place with gunpowder. The duke continued to follow them to Thys, where he encamped, while theyretreated to Hannye, retiring as he advanced. Then he resolved to forcetheir lines: this service was effectually performed by Coehorn, at thepoint of Callo, and by baron Spaar, in the county of Waes, near Stoken. The duke had formed the design of reducing Antwerp, which was garrisonedby Spanish troops under the command of the marquis de Bedmar. Heintended with the grand army to attack the enemy's lines on the side ofLouvaine and Mechlin: he detached Coehorn with his flying camp on theright of the Scheldt towards Dutch Flanders, to amuse the marquisde Bed-mar on that side; and he ordered the baron Opdam, with twelvethousand men, to take post between Eckeren and Capelle, near Antwerp, that he might act against that part of the lines which was guarded bythe Spanish forces. {ANNE, 1701--1714} 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 detachmentof twenty thousand men from Villeroy's army, surprised him at Eckeren, where the Dutch were put in disorder; and Opdam, believing all waslost, fled to Breda. Nevertheless, the troops rallying under generalSchlangenburg, maintained their ground with the most obstinatevalour till night, when the enemy was obliged to retire, and left thecommunication free with fort Lillo, to which place the confederatesmarched without further molestation, having lost about fifteen hundredmen in the engagement. The damage sustained by the French was moreconsiderable. They were frustrated in their design, and had actuallyabandoned the field of battle; yet Louis ordered _Te Deum_ to be sungfor the victory; nevertheless Boufflers was censured for his conduct onthis occasion, and in a little time totally disgraced. Opdam presenteda justification of his conduct to the states-general; but by thisoversight he forfeited the fruits of a long service, during which hehad exhibited repeated proofs of courage, zeal, and capacity. The stateshonoured Schlangenburg with a letter of thanks for the valour andskill he had manifested in this engagement; but in a little time theydismissed him from his employment on account of his having given umbrageto the duke of Marlborough, by censuring his grace for exposing such asmall number of men to this disaster. After this action, Villeroy, who lay encamped near Saint Job, declared he waited for the duke ofMarlborough, who forthwith advanced to Hoogstraat, with a view to givehim battle; but at his approach the French general, setting fire to hiscamp, retired within his lines with great precipitation. Then theduke invested Huy, the garrison of which, after a vigorous defence, surrendered themselves prisoners of war on the twenty-seventh day ofAugust. At a council of war held in the camp of the confederates, theduke proposed to attack the enemies' lines between the Mehaigne andLeuwe, and was seconded by the Danish, Hanoverian, and Hessian generals;but the scheme was opposed by the Dutch officers, and the deputiesof the states, who alleged that the success was dubious, and theconsequences of forcing the lines would be inconsiderable; theytherefore recommended the siege of Limburgh, by the reduction of whichthey would acquire a whole province, and cover their own country, aswell as Juliers and Gueldres, from the designs of the enemy. The siegeof Limburgh was accordingly undertaken. The trenches were opened onthe five-and-twentieth day of September, and in two days the place wassurrendered; the garrison remaining prisoners of war. By this conquestthe allies secured the country of Liege, and the electorate of Cologn, from the incursions of the enemy; before the end of the year theyremained masters of the whole Spanish Guelderland, by the reduction ofGueldres, which surrendered on the seventeenth day of September, afterhaving been long blockaded, bombarded, and reduced to a heap ofashes, by the Prussian general Lottum. Such was the campaign in theNetherlands, which in all probability would have produced events ofgreater importance, had not the duke of Marlborough been restricted bythe deputies of the states-general, who began to be influenced by theintrigues 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 Vendômewas ordered to march from the Milanese to Tyrol, and there join theelector of Bwaria, who had already made himself master of Inspruck. Butthe boors rising in arms, drove him out of the country before he couldbe joined by the French general, who was therefore obliged to returnto the Milanese. The Imperialists in Italy were so ill supplied by thecourt of Vienna, that they could not pretend to act offensively. TheFrench invested Ostiglia, which, however, they could not reduce; but thefortress of Barsillo, in the duchy of Beggio, capitulating after a longblockade, they took possession of the duke of Modena's country. Theelector of Bwaria rejoining Villars, resolved to attack count Stirum, whom prince Louis of Baden had detached from his army. With this viewthey passed the Danube at Donawert, and discharged six guns as a signalfor the marquis D'Usson, whom they had left in the camp at Lavingen, tofall upon the rear of the imperialists, while they should charge themin front. Stirum no sooner perceived the signal than he guessed theintention of the enemy, and instantly resolved to attack D'Usson beforethe elector and the mareschal should advance. He accordingly chargedhim at the head of some select squadrons with such impetuosity, that theFrench cavalry were totally defeated; and all his infantry would havebeen killed and taken, had not the elector and Villars come up intime to turn the fate of the day. The action continued from six in themorning till four in the afternoon, when Stirum, being overpowered bynumbers, was obliged to retreat to Norlin-gen, with the loss of twelvethousand men, and all his baggage and artillery. In the meantime theduke of Burgundy, assisted by Tallard, undertook the siege of OldBrisac, with a prodigious train of artillery. The place was verystrongly fortified, though the garrison was small and ill provided withnecessaries. In fourteen days the governor surrendered the place, andwas condemned to lose his head for having made such a slender defence. The duke of Burgundy returned in triumph to Versailles, and Tallard wasordered to invest Landau. The prince of Hesse-Cassel being detachedfrom the Netherlands for the relief of the place, joined the count ofNassau-Weilbourg, general of the Palatine forces, near Spires, wherethey resolved to attack the French in their lines. But by this timeMons. Pracon-tal, with ten thousand men, had joined Tallard, and enabledhim to strike a stroke which proved decisive. He suddenly quitted hislines, and surprised the prince at Spirebach, where the French obtaineda complete victory after a very obstinate and bloody engagement, inwhich the prince of Hesse distinguished himself by uncommon marks ofcourage and presence of mind. Three horses were successively killedunder him, and he slew a French officer with his own hand. Afterincredible efforts, he was fain to retreat with the loss of somethousands. The French paid dear for their victory, Pracontal having beenslain in the action. Nevertheless they resumed the siege, and the placewas surrendered by capitulation. The campaign in Germany was finished bythe reduction of Augsburg by the elector of Bwaria, who took it in themonth 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 whomhe intrusted the government of their country. They derived courage fromdespair. They seized this opportunity, when the emperor's forces weredivided, and his councils distracted, to exert themselves in defence oftheir liberties. They ran to arms under the auspices of prince Ragotzki. They demanded that their grievances should be redressed, and theirprivileges restored. Their resentment was kept up by the emissaries ofFrance and Bwaria, who likewise encouraged them to persevere in theirrevolt, by repeated promises of protection and assistance. The emperor'sprospect, however, was soon mended by two incidents of very greatconsequence to his interest. The duke of Savoy foreseeing how much heshould be exposed to the mercy of the French king, should that monarchbecome master of the Milanese, engaged in a secret negotiation with theemperor, which, notwithstanding all his caution, was discovered by thecourt of Versailles. Louis immediately ordered the duke of Vendômeto disarm the troops of Savoy that were in his army, to the number oftwo-and-twenty thousand men; to insist upon the duke's putting him inpossession of four considerable fortresses; and demand that the numberof his troops should be reduced to the establishment stipulated in thetreaty of 1696. The duke, exasperated at these insults, ordered theFrench ambassador, and several officers of the same nation, to bearrested. Louis endeavoured to intimidate him by a menacing letter, inwhich he gave him to understand that since neither religion, honour, interest, nor alliances, had been able to influence his conduct, theduke de Vendôme should make known the intentions of the French monarch, and allow him four-and-twenty hours to deliberate on the measures heshould pursue. This letter was answered by a manifesto: in the meantimethe duke concluded a treaty with the court of Vienna; acknowledgedthe archduke Charles as king of Spain; and sent envoys to England andHolland. Queen Anne, knowing his importance as well as his selfishdisposition, assured him of her friendship and assistance; and both sheand the states sent ambassadors to Turin. He was immediately joined bya body of imperial horse under Visconti, and afterwards by countStaremberg, at the head of fifteen thousand men, with whom that generalmarched from the Modenese in the worst season of the year, through anenemy's country, and roads that were deemed impassable. In vain theFrench forces harassed him in his march, and even surrounded him in manydifferent places on the route: he surmounted all these difficulties withincredible courage and perseverance, and joined the duke of Savoy atCanelli, so as to secure the country of Piedmont. The other incidentwhich proved so favourable to the imperial interest, was a treaty bywhich the king of Portugal acceded to the grand alliance. His ministryperceived that should Spain be once united to the crown of France, theirmaster would sit very insecure upon his throne. They were intimidated bythe united fleets of the maritime powers, which maintained the empire ofthe sea; and they were allured by the splendour of a match between theirinfanta and the archduke Charles, to whom the emperor and the king ofthe Romans promised to transfer all their pretensions to the Spanishcrown. By this treaty, concluded at Lisbon between the emperor, thequeen of Great Britain, the king of Portugal, and the states-general, it was stipulated that king Charles should be conveyed to Portugal by apowerful fleet, having on board twelve thousand soldiers, with a greatsupply of money, arms, and ammunition; and that he should be joinedimmediately upon his landing by an army of eight-and-twenty thousandPortuguese. SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL SAILS WITH A FLEET. The confederates reaped very little advantage from the naval operationsof this summer. Sir George Rooke cruised in the channel, in order toalarm the coast of France, and protect the trade of England. On thefirst day of July, sir Cloudesley Shovel sailed from St. Helen's withthe combined squadrons of England and Holland: he directed his courseto the Mediterranean, and being reduced to great difficulty by wantof water, steered to Altea, on the coast of Valentia, where brigadierSeymour landed, and encamped with five-and-twenty hundred marines. Theadmiral published a short manifesto, signifying that he was not cometo disturb but to protect the good subjects of Spain, who should swearallegiance to their lawful monarch the archduke Charles, and endeavourto shake off the yoke of France. This declaration produced little or noeffect; and the fleet being watered, sir Cloudesley sailed to Leghorn. One design of this armament was to assist the Cevennois, who had in thecourse of the preceding year been persecuted into a revolt on account ofreligion, and implored the assistance of England and the states-general. The admiral detached two ships into the gulf of Narbonne, withsome refugees and French pilots, who had concerted signals with theCevennois; but the mareschal de Montrevil having received intimation oftheir design, took such measures as prevented all communication; and theEnglish captains having repeated their signals to no purpose, rejoinedsir Cloudesley at Leghorn. This admiral, having renewed the peace withthe piratical states of Barbary, returned to England without havingtaken one effectual step for annoying the enemy, or attempted any thingthat looked like the result of a concerted scheme for that purpose. Thenation naturally murmured at the fruitless expedition, by which it hadincurred such a considerable expense. The merchants complained that theywere ill supplied with convoys. The ships of war were victualled withdamaged 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 WestIndies. Sir George Rooke, in the preceding year, had detached from theMediterranean captain Hovenden Walker, with six ships of the line andtransports, having on board four regiments of soldiers, for theLeeward islands. Being joined at Antigua by some troops under colonelCodrington, they made a descent upon the island of Guadaloupe, where they razed the fort, burned the town, ravaged the country, andreimbarked with precipitation, in consequence of a report that theFrench had landed nine hundred men on the back of the island. Theyretired to Nevis, where they must have perished by famine, had theynot been providentially relieved by vice-admiral Graydon, in his wayto Jamaica. This officer had been sent out with three ships to succeedBenbow, and was convoyed about one hundred and fifty leagues by twoother ships of the line. He had not sailed many days when he fell inwith part of the French squadron, commanded by Du Casse, on their returnfrom the West Indies, very full and richly laden. Captain Cleland, ofthe Montagu, engaged the sternmost; but he was called off by a signalfrom the admiral, who proceeded on his voyage without taking-furthernotice of the enemy. When he arrived at Jamaica, he quarrelled with theprincipal planters of the island; and his ships beginning to be crazy, he resolved to return to England. He accordingly sailed through thegulf of Florida, with a view to attack the French at Placentia inNewfoundland; but his ships were dispersed in a fog that lasted thirtydays; and afterwards the council of war which he convoked were ofopinion that he could not attack the settlement with any prospect ofsuccess. At his return to England, the house of lords, then sitting, seton foot an inquiry into his conduct. They presented an address to thequeen, desiring she would remove him from his employments; and he wasaccordingly dismissed. The only exploit that tended to distress theenemy was performed by rear-admiral Dilkes, who in the month of Julysailed to the coast of France with a small squadron; and, in theneighbourhood of Granville, took or destroyed about forty ships andtheir convoy. Yet this damage was inconsiderable, when compared to thatwhich the English navy sustained from the dreadful tempest that beganto blow on the twenty-seventh day of November, accompanied with suchflashes of lightning, and peals of thunder, as overwhelmed the wholekingdom with consternation. The houses in London shook from theirfoundations, and some of them falling buried the inhabitants in theirruins. The water overflowed several streets, and rose to a considerableheight in Westminster-hall. London bridge was almost choked with thewrecks of vessels that perished in the river. The loss sustained bythe capital was computed at a million sterling; and the city of Bristolsuffered to a prodigious amount; but the chief national damage fell uponthe navy. Thirteen ships of war were lost, together with fifteen hundredseamen, including rear-admiral Beaumont, who had been employed inobserving the Dunkirk squadron, and was then at anchor in the Downs, where his ship foundered. This great loss, however, was repaired withincredible diligence, to the astonishment of all Europe. The queenimmediately issued orders for building a greater number of ships thanthat which had been destroyed; and she exercised her bounty for therelief of the shipwrecked seamen, and the widows of those who weredrowned, 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 wasvisited by the duke of Marlborough, who, in the name of his mistress, congratulated him upon his accession to the crown of Spain. Charlesreceived him with the most obliging courtesy. In the course of theirconversation, taking off his sword he presented it to the Englishgeneral, with a very gracious aspect, saying, in the French language, "I am not ashamed to own myself a poor prince. I possess nothing but mycloak and sword; the latter may be of use to your grace; and I hopeyou will not think it the worse for my wearing it one day. "--"On thecontrary, " replied the duke, "it will always put me in mind of yourmajesty's just right and title, and of the obligations I lie under tohazard my life in making you the greatest prince in Christendom. " Thisnobleman returned to England in October and king Charles embarking forthe same kingdom, under convoy of an English and Dutch squadron, arrivedat Spithead on the twenty-sixth day of December. There he was receivedby 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'sdeportment towards him was equally noble and obliging; and he expressedthe most profound respect and veneration for this illustrious princess. He spoke but little; yet what he said was judicious; and he behavedwith such politeness and affability, as conciliated the affection of theEnglish nobility. After having been magnificently entertained for threedays, he returned to Portsmouth, from whence on the fourth of January hesailed for Portugal, with a great fleet commanded by sir George Rooke, having on board a body of land forces under the duke of Schomberg. Whenthe admiral had almost reached Cape Finisterre, he was driven back bya storm to Spithead, where he was obliged to remain till the middle ofFebruary. Then being favoured with a fair wind, he happily performed thevoyage to Lisbon, where king Charles was received with great splendour, though the court of Portugal was overspread with sorrow excited by thedeath of the infanta, whom the king of Spain intended to espouse. InPoland all hope of peace seemed to vanish. The cardinal-primate, bythe instigation of the Swedish king, whose army lay encamped in theneighbourhood of Dantzick, assembled a diet at Warsaw, which solemnlydeposed Augustus, and declared the throne vacant. Their intention was toelect young Sobieski, son of their late monarch, who resided at Breslauin Silesia: but their scheme was anticipated by Augustus, who retiredhastily into his Saxon dominions, and seizing Sobieski, with hisbrother, 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 noticeof the declaration by the duke of Savoy, and the treaty with Portugal, as circumstances advantageous to the alliance. She told them, thatalthough no provision was made for the expedition to Lisbon, and theaugmentation of the land forces, the funds had answered so well, and theproduce of prizes been so considerable, that the public had not run indebt by those additional services; that she had contributed out of herown revenue to the support of the circle of Suabia, whose firm adherenceto the interest of the allies deserved her seasonable assistance. Shesaid, she would not engage in any unnecessary expense of her own, thatshe might have the more to spare towards the ease of her subjects. Sherecommended despatch and union, and earnestly exhorted them to avoid anyheats or divisions that might give encouragement to the common enemiesof the church and state. Notwithstanding this admonition, and theaddresses of both houses, in which they promised to avoid all divisions, a motion was made in the house of commons for renewing the bill againstoccasional conformity, and carried by a great majority. In the newdraft, however, the penalties were lowered and the severest clausesmitigated. As the court no longer interested itself in the success ofthis measure, the house was pretty equally divided with respect to thespeakers, and the debates on each side were maintained with equal spiritand ability; at length it passed, and was sent up to the lords, whohandled it still more severely. It was opposed by a small majority ofthe bishops, and particularly by Burnet of Sarum, who declaimed againstit as a scheme of the papists to set the church and protestants atvariance. It was successively attacked by the duke of Devonshire, theearl of Pembroke, the lords Haversham, Mohun, Ferrars, and Wharton. Prince George of Denmark absented himself from the house; and thequestion being put for a second reading, it was carried in the negative;yet the duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin entered their dissentagainst its being rejected, although the former had positively declaredthat he thought the bill unseasonable. The commons having perused a copyof the treaty with Portugal, voted forty thousand men, including fivethousand marines, for the sea service of the ensuing year; and a likenumber of land forces, to act in conjunction with the allies, besidesthe additional ten thousand: they likewise resolved, that the proportionto be employed in Portugal should amount to eight thousand. Sums weregranted for the maintenance of these great armaments, as well as for thesubsidies payable to her majesty's allies; and funds appointed equalto the occasion. Then they assured the queen, in an address, that theywould provide for the support of such alliances as she had made, orshould make with the duke of Savoy. CONSPIRACY OF SIMON FRASER, LORD LOVAT. At this period the nation was alarmed by the detection of a conspiracysaid to be hatched by the Jacobites of Scotland. Simon Fraser, lordLovat, a man of desperate enterprise, profound dissimulation, abandonedmorals, and ruined fortune, who had been outlawed for having ravished asister of the marquis of Athol, was the person to whom the plot seems tohave owed its origin. He repaired to the court of St. Germain's, wherehe undertook to assemble a body of twelve thousand highlanders to act infavour of the pretender, if the court of France would assist them with asmall reinforcement of troops, together with officers, arms, ammunition, and money. The French king seemed to listen to the proposal; butas Fraser's character was infamous, he doubted his veracity. He wastherefore sent back to Scotland with two other persons, who wereinstructed to learn the strength and sentiments of the clans, and endeavour to engage some of the nobility in the design of aninsurrection. Fraser had no sooner returned, than he privatelydiscovered the whole transaction to the duke of Queensberry, andundertook to make him acquainted with the whole correspondence betweenthe pretender and the Jacobites. In consequence of this service he wasprovided with a pass, to secure him from all prosecution; and madea progress through the highlands, to sound the inclination of thechieftains. Before he set out on this circuit, he delivered to theduke a letter from the queen dowager at St. Germain's, directed to themarquis of Athol: it was couched in general terms, and superscribed in adifferent character; so that, in all probability, Fraser had forged thedirection with a view to ruin the marquis, who had prosecuted him forthe 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 Hollandfrom the earl of Nottingham, though it was expedited tinder a borrowedname. The duke had communicated his discovery to the queen withoutdisclosing his name, which he desired might be concealed: her majestybelieved the particulars, which were confirmed by her spies at Paris, as well as by the evidence of sir John Maclean, who had lately beenconvoyed from France to England in an open boat, and apprehended atFeldstone. This gentleman pretended at first that his intention was togo through England to his own country, in order to take the benefit ofthe queen's pardon; and this in all probability was his real design;but being given to understand that he would be treated in England asa traitor, unless he should merit forgiveness by making importantdiscoveries, he related all he knew of the proposed insurrection. Fromhis informations the ministry gave directions for apprehending oneKeith, whose uncle had accompanied Fraser from France, and knew all theintrigues of the court of St. Germain's. He declared that there was noother design on foot, except that of paving the way for the pretender'sascending the throne after the queen's decease. Ferguson, that veteranconspirator, affirmed that Fraser had been employed by the duke ofQueensberry to decoy some persons whom he hated into a conspiracy, thathe might have an opportunity to effect their ruin; and by the discoveryestablish his own credit, which began to totter. Perhaps there was toomuch reason for this imputation. Among those who were seized atthis time was a gentleman of the name of Lindsay, who had beenunder-secretary to the earl of Middleton. He had returned from France toScotland in order to take the benefit of the queen's pardon, underthe shelter of which he came to England, thinking himself secure fromprosecution. He protested he knew of no designs against the queen or hergovernment; and that he did not believe she would ever receive the leastinjury or molestation from the court of St. Germain's. The house oflords having received intimation of this conspiracy, resolved, thata committee should be appointed to examine into the particulars; andordered that sir John Maclean should be next day brought to their house. The queen, who was far from being pleased with this instance of theirofficious interposition, gave them to understand by message, that shethought it would be inconvenient to change the method of examinationalready begun; and that she would in a short time inform the house ofthe whole affair. On the seventeenth day of December the queen went tothe house of peers, and having passed the bill for the land-tax, made aspeech to both houses, in which she declared that she had unquestionableinformation of ill practices and designs carried on by the emissariesof France in Scotland. The lords persisting in their resolution tobring the inquiry into their own house, chose their select committee byballot; and, in an address, thanked her majesty for the information shehad been pleased to communicate. {ANNE, 1701--1714} A REMONSTRANCE PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN. The commons, taking it for granted that the queen was disobliged atthese proceedings of the upper house--which indeed implied an insultupon her ministry, if not upon herself--presented an address, declaringthemselves surprised to find that when persons suspected of treasonablepractices were taken into custody by her majesty's messengers in orderto be examined, the lords, in violation to the known laws of the land, had wrested them out of her hands, and arrogated the examination solelyto themselves; so that a due inquiry into the evil practices and designsagainst her majesty's person and government, might in a great measure beobstructed. They earnestly desired that she would suffer no diminutionof the prerogative; and they assured her they would, to the utmost oftheir power, support her in the exercise of it at home, as well as inasserting it against all invasions whatsoever. The queen thanked themfor their concern and assurances; and was not ill pleased at the natureof the address, though the charge against the peers was not strictlytrue; for there were many instances of their having assumed such aright of inquiry. The upper house deeply resented the accusation. Theydeclared, that by the known laws and customs of parliament, they had anundoubted right to take examinations of persons charged with criminalmatters, whether those persons were or were not in custody. Theyresolved, 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, tocreate an ill opinion in her majesty of the house of peers, of dangerousconsequence to the liberties of the people, the constitution ofthe kingdom, and privileges of parliament. They presented a longremonstrance to the queen, justifying their own conduct, explaining thesteps they had taken, recriminating upon the commons, and expressing themost fervent zeal, duty, and affection to her majesty. In her answer tothis representation, which was drawn up with elegance, propriety, andprecision, she professed her sorrow for the misunderstanding which hadhappened between the two houses of parliament, and thanked them forthe concern they had expressed for the rights of the crown and theprerogative; which she should never exert so willingly as for the goodof her subjects, and the protection of their liberties. Among other persons seized on the coast of Sussex on their landing fromFrance, was one Boucher, who had been aidecamp to the duke of Berwick. This man, when examined, denied all knowledge of any conspiracy: hesaid, that being weary of living so long abroad, and having made someunsuccessful attempts to obtain a pass, he had chosen rather to casthimself on the queen's mercy than to remain longer in exile fromhis native country. He was tried and condemned for high treason, yetcontinued to declare himself ignorant of the plot. He proved that inthe war of Ireland, as well as in Flanders, he had treated the Englishprisoners with great humanity. The lords desisted from the prosecution;he obtained a reprieve, and died in Newgate. On the twenty-ninth dayof January, the earl of Nottingham told the house that the queenhad commanded him to lay before them the papers containing all theparticulars hitherto discovered of the conspiracy in Scotland; but thatthere was one circumstance which could not yet bo properly communicatedwithout running the risk of preventing a discovery of greaterimportance. They forthwith drew up and presented an address, desiringthat all the papers might be immediately submitted to their inspection. The queen said she did not expect to be pressed in this mannerimmediately after the declaration she had made; but in a few days theearl of Nottingham delivered the papers, sealed, to the house, and allthe lords were summoned to attend on the eighth day of February, thatthey might be opened and perused. Nottingham was suspected of a designto stifle the conspiracy. Complaint was made in the house of commonsthat he had discharged an officer belonging to the late king James, whohad been seized by the governor of Berwick. A warm debate ensued, andat length ended in a resolve, That the earl of Nottingham, one of hermajesty's principal secretaries of state, for his great ability anddiligence in the execution of his office, for his unquestionablefidelity to the queen and her government, and for his steady adherenceto the church of England as by law established, highly merited the trusther majesty had reposed in him. They ordered the speaker to present thisresolution to the queen, who said, she was glad to find them so wellsatisfied with the earl of Nottingham, who was trusted by her in soconsiderable an office. They perused the examinations of the witnesseswhich were laid before them, without passing judgment or offering adviceon the subject; but they thanked her majesty for having communicatedthose particulars, as well as for her wisdom and care of the nation. When the lords proceeded with uncommon eagerness in their inquiry, thelower house, in another address, renewed their complaints against theconduct of the peers, which they still affirmed was without a precedent. But this was the language of irritated faction, by which indeedboth sides were equally actuated. The select committee of the lordsprosecuted the inquiry, and founded their report chiefly on theconfession of sir John Maclean, who owned that the court of St. Germain's had listened to Lovat's proposal; that several councils hadbeen held at the pretender's court on the subject of an invasion; andthat persons were sent over to sound some of the nobility in Scotland. But the nature of their private correspondence and negotiation could notbe discovered. Keith had tampered with his uncle to disclose the wholesecret; and this was the circumstance which the queen declined impartingto the lords until she should know the success of his endeavours, whichproved ineffectual. The uncle stood aloof; and the ministry did notheartily engage in the inquiry. The house of lords having finished theseexaminations, and being warmed with violent debates, voted that therehad been dangerous plots between some persons in Scotland and thecourts of France and St. Germain's; and that the encouragement for thisplotting arose from the not settling the succession to the crown ofScotland in the house of Hanover. These votes were signified to thequeen in an address; and they promised, that when the succession shouldbe thus settled, they would endeavour to promote the union of the twokingdoms upon just and reasonable terms. Then they composed anotherrepresentation in answer to the second address of the commons touchingtheir proceedings. They charged the lower house with want of zeal inthe whole progress of this inquiry. They produced a great numberof precedents to prove that their conduct had been regular andparliamentary; and they, in their turn, accused the commons ofpartiality and injustice in vacating legal elections. The queen, inanswer to this remonstrance, said, she looked upon any misunderstandingbetween the two houses as a very great misfortune to the kingdom;and that she should never omit anything in her power to prevent alloccasions of them for the future. DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES. The lords and commons, animated by such opposite principles, seizedevery opportunity of thwarting each other. An action having been broughtby one Matthew Ashby against William White and the other constables ofAylesbury, for having denied him the privilege of voting in the lastelection, the cause was tried at the assizes, and the constables werecast with damages. But an order was given in the queen's bench to quashall the proceedings, since no action had ever been brought on thataccount. The cause being moved by writ of error into the house oflords, was argued with great warmth; at length it was carried by a greatmajority, that the order of the queen's bench should be set aside, andjudgment pronounced according to the verdict given at the assizes. Thecommons considered these proceedings as encroaching on their privileges. They passed five different resolutions, importing, That the commonsof England, in parliament assembled, had the sole right to examine anddetermine all matters relating to the right of election of their ownmembers; that the practice of determining the qualifications of electorsin any court of law would expose all mayors, bailiffs, and returningofficers, to a multiplicity of vexatious suits and insupportableexpenses, and subject them to different and independent jurisdictions, as well as to inconsistent determinations in the same case, withoutrelief; that Matthew Ashby was guilty of a breach of privilege, aswere 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 ofWestminster-hall. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committeeto draw up a state of the case; and, upon their report, resolved, Thatevery person being wilfully hindered to exercise his right of voting, might maintain an action in the queen's courts against the officer bywhom his vote should be refused, to assert his right, and recover damagefor the injury; that an assertion to the contrary was destructive ofthe property of the subjects, against the freedom of elections, andmanifestly tended to the encouragement of partiality and corruption;that the declaring of Matthew Ashby guilty of a breach of privilege ofthe house of commons, was an unprecedented attempt upon the judicatureof parliament, and an attempt to subject the law of England to the votesof the house of commons. Copies of the case, and these resolutions, weresent by the lord-keeper to all the sheriffs of England, to be circulatedthrough 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 Hedgesto tell the house of commons that she had remitted the arrears ofthe tenths to the poor clergy; that she would grant her whole revenuearising out of the first fruits and tenths, as far as it should becomefree from incumbrance, as an augmentation of their maintenance; that ifthe house of commons could find any method by which her intentions tothe poor clergy might be made more effectual, it would be an advantageto the public, and acceptable to her majesty. The commons immediatelybrought in a bill enabling her to alienate this branch of the revenue, and create a corporation by charter, to direct the application of it tothe uses proposed; they likewise repealed the statute of mortmain, sofar as to allow all men to bequeath by will, or grant by deed, any sumthey should think fit to give towards the augmentation of benefices. Addresses of thanks and acknowledgment from all the clergy of Englandwere presented to the queen for her gracious bounty; but very littleregard was paid to Burnet, bishop of Sarum, although the queen declaredthat prelate author of the project. He was generally hated, either as aScot, a low-churchman, or a meddling partisan. INQUIRY INTO NAVAL AFFAIRS. In March, an inquiry into the condition of the navy was begun in thehouse of lords. They desired the queen in an address to give speedyand effectual orders that a number of ships, sufficient for the homeservice, should be equipped and manned with all possible expedition. They resolved, that admiral Graydon's not attacking the four Frenchships in the channel, had been a prejudice to the queen's service, anda disgrace to the nation; that his pressing men in Jamaica, and hisseverity towards masters of merchant vessels and transports, had beena great discouragement to the inhabitants of that island, as well asprejudicial to her majesty's service; and they presented an addressagainst him, in consequence of which he was dismissed. They examinedthe accounts of the earl of Oxford, against which great clamour had beenraised; and taking cognizance of the remarks made by the commissionersof the public accounts, found them false in fact, ill-grounded, and ofno importance. The commons besought the queen to order a prosecution onaccount of ill practices in the earl of Ranelagh's office; and theysent up to the lords a bill for continuing the commission on the publicaccounts. Some alterations were made in the upper house, especially inthe nomination of commissioners; but these were rejected by the commons. The peers adhering to their amendments, the bill dropped, and thecommission expired. No other bill of any consequence passed in thissession, except an act for raising recruits, which empowered justices ofthe peace to impress idle persons for soldiers and marines. On the thirdday of April the queen went to the house of peers, and having madea short speech on the usual topics of acknowledgment, unity, andmoderation, prorogued the parliament to the fourth day of July. Thedivision still continued between the two houses of convocation; so thatnothing of moment was transacted in that assembly, except their addressto the queen upon her granting the first fruits and tenths for theaugmentation of small benefices. At the same time, the lower house senttheir prolocutor with a deputation to wait upon the speaker of the houseof commons, to return their thanks to that honourable house for havingespoused the interest of the clergy; and to assure them that theconvocation would pursue such methods as might best conduce to thesupport, honour, interest, and security of the church as now bylaw established. They sent up to the archbishop and prelates diversrepresentations, containing complaints, and proposing canons andarticles of reformation; but very little regard was paid to theirremonstrances. TRIAL OF LINDSAY. About this period the earl of Nottingham, after having ineffectuallypressed the queen to discard the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, resigned the seals. The carl of Jersey and sir Edward Seymour weredismissed; the earl of Kent was appointed chamberlain, Harley secretaryof state, and Henry St. John secretary of war. The discovery of theScottish conspiracy was no sooner known in France, than Louis orderedFraser to be imprisoned in the Bastile. In England, Lindsay beingsentenced to die for having corresponded with France, was given tounderstand that he had no mercy to expect, unless he would discoverthe conspiracy, He persisted in denying all knowledge of any suchconspiracy; and scorned to save his life by giving false information. Inorder to intimidate him into a confession, the ministry ordered himto be conveyed to Tyburn, where he still rejected life upon the termsproposed; then he was carried back to Newgate, where he remained someyears; at length he was banished, and died of hunger in Holland. Theministers had been so lukewarm and languid in the investigation of theScottish conspiracy, that the whigs loudly exclaimed against them asdisguised Jacobites, and even whispered insinuations, implying, that thequeen herself had a secret bias of sisterly affection for the court ofSt. Germain's. What seemed to confirm this allegation was the disgraceof the duke of Queensberry, who had exerted himself with remarkable zealin the detection; but the decline of his interest in Scotland was thereal cause of his being laid aside at this juncture. {1704} THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT. The design of the court was to procure in the Scottish parliament thenomination of a successor to the crown, and a supply for the forces, which could not be obtained in the preceding session. SecretaryJohnston, in concert with the marquis of Tweedale, undertook to carrythese points in return for certain limitations on the successor, towhich her majesty agreed. The marquis was appointed commissioner. Theoffice of lord-register was bestowed upon Johnston; and the parliamentmet on the sixth day of July. The queen, in her letter, expressed herconcern that these divisions should have risen to such a height, asto encourage the enemies of the nation to employ their emissaries fordebauching her good subjects from their allegiance. She declared herresolution to grant whatever could in reason be demanded for quietingthe minds of the people. She told them she had empowered the marquis ofTweedale to give unquestionable proofs of her determination to maintainthe government in church and state, as by law established in thatkingdom; to consent to such laws as should be found wanting for thefurther security of both, and for preventing all encroachments for thefuture. She earnestly exhorted them to settle the succession in theprotestant line, as a step absolutely necessary for their own peace andhappiness, the quiet and security of all her dominions, the reputationof her affairs abroad, and the improvement of the protestantinterest through all Europe. She declared that she had authorized thecommissioners to give the royal assent to whatever could be reasonablydemanded, and was in her power to grant, for securing the sovereigntyand liberties of that her ancient kingdom. The remaining part ofthe letter turned upon the necessity of their granting a supply, thediscouragement of vice, the encouragement of commerce, and the usualrecommendation of moderation and unanimity. VIOLENT OPPOSITION TO THE MINISTRY. The duke of Hamilton presented a resolve, that the parliament would notname a successor to the crown, until the Scots should have concluded aprevious treaty with England in relation to commerce and other concerns. This motion produced a warm debate, in the course of which Fletcher ofSaltoun expatiated upon the hardships and miseries which the Scots hadsustained since the union of the two crowns under one sovereign, and theimpossibility of bettering their condition, unless they should takecare to anticipate any design that tended to a continuation of thesame calamities. Another resolve was produced by the earl of Rothes, importing, that the parliament should proceed to make such limitationsand conditions of the government as might be judged proper forrectifying the constitution--for vindicating and securing thesovereignty and independency of the nation; and that then parliamentwould take into consideration the other resolve offered by the duke ofHamilton, for a treaty previous to the nomination of a successor. Thisproposal was seconded by the court party, and violent heats ensued. Atlength sir James Falconer of Phesdo offered an expedient, which neitherparty could refuse with any show of moderation. He suggested a resolve, that the parliament would not proceed to the nomination of a successoruntil the previous treaty with England should be discussed; and that itwould make the necessary limitations and conditions of government beforethe successor should be nominated. This joint resolve being put tothe vote, was carried by a great majority. The treaty with England wasneglected, and the affair of the succession consequently postponed. Theduke of Athol moved, that her majesty should be desired to send down thewitnesses and all the papers relating to the conspiracy, that, after dueexamination, those who were unjustly accused might be vindicated, and the guilty punished according to their demerits. The commissionerdeclared, that he had already written, and would write again to thequeen on that subject. The intention of the cavaliers was to convictthe duke of Queensberry of malice and calumny in the prosecution of thataffair, that they might wreak their vengeance upon him for that instanceof his animosity, as well as for his having deserted them in the formersession. He found means however to persuade the queen, that such aninquiry would not only protract the session, but also divert them fromthe settlement of the succession, and raise such a ferment as might beproductive of tragical consequences. Alarmed at these suggestions, sheresolved to prevent the examination, and gave no answer to the repeatedapplications made by her parliament and ministers. Meanwhile the dukeof Queensberry appeased his enemies in Scotland, by directing all hisfriends to join in the opposition. THEY PASS THE ACT OF SECURITY. The duke of Hamilton again moved, that the parliament should proceed tothe limitations, and name commissioners to treat with England previousto all other business, except an act for a land tax of two monthsnecessary for the immediate subsistence of the forces. The earl ofMarchmont proposed an act to exclude all popish successors; but this waswarmly opposed, as unseasonable, by Hamilton and his party, A bill ofsupply being offered by the lord justice Clerk, the cavaliers tacked toit great part of the act of security, to which the royal assent had beenrefused in the former session. Violent debates arose; so that the housewas filled with rage and tumult. The national spirit of independencehad been wrought up to a dangerous pitch of enthusiasm. The streets werecrowded with people of all ranks, exclaiming against English influence, and threatening to sacrifice as traitors to their country all whoshould embrace measures that seemed to favour a foreign interest. Thecommissioner and his friends were confounded and appalled. Finding itimpossible to stem the torrent, he, with the concurrence of the otherministers, wrote a letter to the queen, representing the uncomfortablesituation of affairs, and advising her majesty to pass the billencumbered as it was with the act of security. Lord Godolphin, on whosecouncil she chiefly relied, found himself involved in great perplexity. The tories had devoted him to destruction. He foresaw that the queen'sconcession to the Scots in an affair of such consequence, would furnishhis enemies with a plausible pretence to arraign the conduct of herminister; but he chose to run that risk rather than see the armydisbanded for want of a supply, and the kingdom left exposed to aninvasion. He therefore seconded the advice of the Scottish ministers;and the queen authorized the commissioner to pass the bill that wasdepending. The act provided, that in case of the queen's dying withoutissue a parliament should immediately meet and declare the successor tothe crown, different from the person possessing the throne of England, unless before that period a settlement should be made in parliament ofthe rights and liberties of the nation, independent of English councils;by another clause they were empowered to arm and train the subjects, soas to put them in a posture of defence. The Scottish parliament having, by a laudable exertion of spirit, obtained this act of security, grantedthe supply without further hesitation; but not yet satisfied withthis sacrifice, they engaged in debates about the conspiracy, and theproceedings of the house of lords in England, which they termed anofficious intermeddling in their concerns, and an encroachment upon thesovereignty and independency of the nation, They drew up an address tothe queen, desiring that the evidence and papers relating to the plotmight be subjected to their examination in the next session. Meanwhile, the commissioner, dreading the further progress of such an ungovernableferocity, prorogued the parliament to the seventh day of October. The act of security being transmitted to England, copies of it werecirculated by the enemies of Godolphin, who represented it as ameasure of that minister; and the kingdom was filled with murmurs anddiscontent. People openly declared, that the two kingdoms were nowseparated by law so as never to be rejoined. Reports were spread thatgreat quantities of arms had been conveyed to Scotland, and that thenatives were employed in preparations to invade England. All the blameof these transactions was imputed to lord Godolphin, whom the toriesdetermined to attack, while the other party resolved to exert theirwhole influence for his preservation; yet, in all probability, heowed his immediate support to the success of his friend the duke ofMarlborough. SITUATION OF THE EMPEROR'S AFFAIRS. Nothing could be more deplorable than the situation to which the emperorwas reduced in the beginning of the season. The malcontents in Hungaryhad rendered themselves formidable by their success; the elector ofBavaria possessed all the places on the Danube as far as Passau, andeven threatened the city of Vienna, which must have been infalliblylost, had the Hungarians and Bavarians acted in concert. By the adviceof prince Eugene, the emperor implored the assistance of her Britannicmajesty; and the duke of Marlborough explained to her the necessityof undertaking his relief. This nobleman in the month of January hadcrossed the sea to Holland, and concerted a scheme with the deputiesof the states-general for the operations of the ensuing campaign. Theyagreed that general Averquerque should lie upon the defensive with asmall body of troops in the Netherlands, while the main army of theallies should act upon the Rhine, under the command of the duke ofMarlborough. Such was the pretext under which this consummate generalconcealed another plan, which was communicated to a few only in whosediscretion he could confide. It was approved by the pensionary andsome leading men, who secured its favourable reception with thestates-general when it became necessary to impart the secret to thatnumerous assembly. In the meantime, the preparations were made onpretence 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 generalChurchill, lieutentant-general Lumley, the earl of Orkney, and otherofficers of distinction, embarked for Holland, where he had a longconference with a deputation of the states concerning a proposal ofsending a large army towards the Moselle. The deputies of Zealandopposed this measure of sending their troops to stich a distance sostrenuously, that the duke was obliged to tell them in plain termshe had received orders to march thither with the British forces. Heaccordingly assembled his army at Maestricht, and on the eight day ofMay began his march into Germany. The French imagined his intention wasto begin the campaign with the siege of Traerbach, and penetrate intoFrance along the Moselle. In this persuasion they sent a detachment tothat river, and gave out that they intended to invest Huy, a pretenceto which the duke paid no regard. He continued his route by Bedburgh, Kerpenord, Kalsecken; he visited the fortifications of Bonne, where hereceived certain advice that the recruits and reinforcements for theFrench army in Bavaria had joined the elector at Villigen. He redoubledhis diligence, passed the Neckar on the third of June, and halted atLadenburgh; from thence he wrote a letter to the states-general, givingthem to understand that he had the queen's orders to march to the reliefof the empire, and expressing his hope that they would approve thedesign, and allow their troops to share the honour of the expedition Bythe return of a courier he received their approbation, and full powerto command their forces He then proceeded to Mildenheim, where he wasvisited by prince Eugene; and these two great men, whose talents werecongenial, immediately contracted an intimacy of friendship, Next dayprince Louis of Baden arrived in the camp at Great Hippach, He toldthe duke, his grace was come to save the empire, and to give him anopportunity of vindicating his honour, which he knew was at the laststake in the opinion of some people. The duke replied he was come tolearn of him how to serve the empire: that they must be ignorant indeedwho did not know that the prince of Baden, when his health permittedhim, 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 princeLouis from day to day, and that prince Eugene should command a separatearmy on the Rhine, Prince Louis returned to his army on the Danube, prince Eugene set out for Philipsburgh; the duke of Marlborough beingjoined by the imperial army under prince Louis of Baden at Wastertellen, prosecuted his march by Elchingen, Gingen, and Landthaussen. Onthe first day of July he was in sight of the enemy's entrenchments atDillingen, and encamped with his right at Amerdighem, and his left atOnderin-gen. Understanding that the elector of Bavaria had detached thebest part of his infantry to reinforce the count D'Arco, who was postedbehind strong lines at Schellenberg near Donawert, he resolved to attacktheir entrenchments without delay On the second day of July he advancedtowards the enemy, and passed the river Wermitz; about five o'clock inthe 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 upat the head of the imperialists to another part of the line, made adiversion in their favour. After an obstinate resistance they forcedthe entrenchments, and the horse entering with the infantry, fell sofuriously upon the enemy, already disordered, that they were routed withgreat slaughter. They fled with the utmost trepidation to Donawert andthe Danube, leaving six thousand men dead on the field of battle, Theconfederates 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 manygallant officers, among whom were the generals Goor and Beinheim, and count Stirum was mortally wounded. Next day the Bavarian garrisonabandoned 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. Theconfederates having crossed the Danube on several bridges of pontoons, a detachment was sent to pass the Leche, and take post in the country ofthe elector, who had retired under the cannon of Augsburgh. The garrisonof Neuburgh retiring to Ingoldstadt, the place was secured by theconfederates, and the count de Frize was detached with nine battalionsand fifteen squadrons to invest the town of Rain. Advice arriving fromprince Eugene that the mareschals Villeroy and Tallard had passed theRhine at Fort Kehl, with an army of five-and-forty thousand men, tosuccour the elector of Bavaria, the generals of the allies immediatelydetached prince Maximilian of Hanover with thirty squadrons of horse asa reinforcement to the prince. In a few days Rain surrendered, and Aichawas taken by assault. The emperor no sooner received a confirmation ofthe victory of Schellenberg, than he wrote a letter of acknowledgmentto the duke of Marlborough, and ordered count Wratislau to intimate hisintention of investing him with the title of prince of the empire, whichthe duke declined accepting until the queen interposed her authority atthe desire of Leopold. {ANNE, 1701--1714} FRUITLESS NEGOTIATION WITH THE ELECTOR. The allies advanced within a league of Augsburgh, and though they foundthe elector of Bavaria too securely posted under the cannon of that cityto be dislodged or attacked with any prospect of success, they encampedwith Friedburgh in the centre, so as to cut off all communicationbetween him and his dominions. The duke of Marlborough having reducedhim to this situation, proposed very advantageous terms of peace, provided he would abandon the French interest, and join the imperialistsin Italy. His subjects seeing themselves at the mercy of the allies, pressed him to comply with these offers rather than expose his countryto ruin and desolation. A negotiation was begun, and he seemed ready tosign the articles, when hearing that mareschal Tallard had passed theBlack Forest to join him with a great body of forces, he declared thatsince 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 faras Munich: upwards of three hundred towns, villages, and castles wereinhumanly destroyed, to the indelible disgrace of those who countenancedand conducted such barbarbous practices. The elector, shocked at thesebrutal 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 putan end to them by a speedy accommodation. Incensed at this reply, hedeclared that since they had obliged him to draw the sword, hewould throw away the scabbard. The duke and prince Louis finding itimpracticable to attack the elector in his strong camp, resolved toundertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, and for that purpose passed the Paernear the town of Schrobbenhausen, where they encamped, with their leftat Closterburgh. On the fifth day of August the elector of Bavariamarched to Biberach, where he was joined by Tallard. He resolved to passthe Danube at Lawingen to attack prince Eugene, who had followed theFrench 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 andencamping at Blenheim. The allies resolved that prince Louis shouldundertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, whilst prince Eugene and the dukeshould observe the elector of Bavaria. Advice being received that he hadactually crossed the Danube at Lawingen, the duke of Marlborough joinedthe forces of prince Eugene at the camp of Munster on the eleventh dayof August, prince Louis having by this time marched off towards theplace he intended to besiege. Next day the duke of Marlborough andprince Eugene observed the posture of the enemy, who were advantageouslyposted on a hill near Hochstadt, their right being covered by the Danubeand the village of Blenheim, their left by the village of Lutzengen, andtheir front by a rivulet, the banks of which were steep, and the bottommarshy. THE CONFEDERATES OBTAIN A COMPLETE VICTORY AT HOCHSTADT. Notwithstanding these difficulties, the generals resolved to attack themimmediately, rather than lie inactive until their forage and provisionsshould be consumed. They were moreover stimulated to this hazardousenterprise by an intercepted letter to the elector of Bavaria, frommareschal Villeroy, giving him to understand that he had received ordersto ravage the country of Wirtem-berg, and intercept all communicationbetween the Rhine and the allied army. The dispositions being made forthe attack, and the orders communicated to the general officers, theforces advanced into the plain on the thirteenth day of August, andwere ranged in order of battle. The cannonading began about nine inthe morning, and continued on both sides till one in the afternoon. TheFrench and Bavarians amounted to about sixty thousand men, MareschalTallard commanded on the right, and posted twenty-seven battalions, withtwelve squadrons, in the village of Blenheim, supposing that there theallies would make their chief effort: their left was conducted by theelector of Bavaria, assisted by Marsin, a French general of experienceand capacity. The number of the confederates did not exceed fifty-fivethousand: their right was under the direction of prince Eugene, andtheir left commanded by the duke of Marlborough. At noon the battle wasbegun by a body of English and Hessians under major-general Wilkes, whohaving passed the rivulet with difficulty, and filed off to the leftin the face of the enemy, attacked the village of Blenheim with greatvigour; but were repulsed after three successive attempts. Meanwhile thetroops in the centre, and part of the right wing, passed the rivuleton planks in different places, and formed on the other side without anymolestation from the enemy. At length, however, they were charged by theFrench horse with such impetuosity, and so terribly galled in flank bythe troops posted at Blenheim, that they fell in disorder, and part ofthem repassed the rivulet; but a reinforcement of dragoons coming up, the French cavalry were broke in their turn, and driven to the veryhedges of the village of Blenheim. The left wing of the confederatesbeing 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 avigorous effort, ordered ten battalions to fill up the intervals of hiscavalry. The duke, perceiving his design, sent three battalions of thetroops of Zell to sustain his horse. Nevertheless, the line was a littledisordered by the prodigious fire from the French infantry, and evenobliged to recoil about sixty paces: but the confederates advancing tothe charge with redoubled ardour, routed the French horse; and theirbattalions being thus abandoned, were cut in pieces. Tallard, havingrallied his broken cavalry behind some tents that were still standing, resolved to draw off the troops he had posted in the village ofBlenheim, and sent an aidecamp to Marsdin, who was with the elector ofBavaria on the left, to desire he would face the confederates with sometroops to the right of the village of Oberklau, so as to keep them inplay, and favour the retreat of the forces from Blenheim. That officerassured 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 nowmore than half decided. The French cavalry being vigorously attackedin flank, were totally defeated. Part of them endeavoured to gain thebridge which they had thrown over the Danube between Hochstadt andBlenheim, but they were so closely pursued, that those who escaped theslaughter 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, themajor-generals de Seppeville, de Silly, de la Valiere, and many otherofficers of distinction. While these occurrences passed on the loftwing, Marsin's quarters at the village of Oberklau, in the centre, wereattacked by ten battalions under the prince of Holsteinbeck, who passedthe rivulet with undaunted resolution; but before he could form his menon the other side, he was overpowered by numbers, mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. His battalions being supported by some Danish andHanoverian cavalry, renewed the charge, and were again repulsed: atlength the duke of Marlborough in person brought up some fresh squadronsfrom the body of reserve, and compelled the enemy to retire. By thistime prince Eugene had obliged the left wing of the enemy to giveground, after having surmounted a great number of difficulties, sustained a very obstinate opposition, and seen his cavalry, in whichhis chief strength seemed to lie, three times repulsed. The duke ofMarlborough had no sooner defeated the right wing, than he made adisposition to reinforce the prince, when he understood from an aidecampthat his highness had no occasion for assistance; and that the elector, with monsieur de Mar-sin, had abandoned Oberklau and Luteingen. Theywere pursued as far as the villages of Morselingen and Teissenhoven, from whence they retreated to Dillingen and Lawingen. The confederatesbeing now masters of the field of battle, surrounded the village ofBlenheim, in which, as we have already observed, twenty-seven battalionsand twelve squadrons were posted. These troops seeing themselves cut offfrom all communication with the rest of their army, and despairing ofbeing able to force their way through the allies, capitulated abouteight in the evening, laid down their arms, delivered their colours andstandards, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, on conditionthat the officers should not be rifled. This was one of the mostglorious and complete victories that ever was obtained. Ten thousandFrench and Bavarians were left dead on the field of battle: the greaterpart of thirty squadrons of horse and dragoons perished in the riverDanube: thirteen thousand were made prisoners: one hundred pieces ofcannon were taken, with twenty-four mortars, one hundred and twenty-ninecolours, one hundred and seventy-one standards, seventeen pair ofkettle-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, aboutfour thousand five hundred men were killed, and about eight thousandwounded or taken. The loss of the battle was imputed to two capitalerrors committed by Tallard; namely, his weakening the centre bydetaching such a number of troops to the village of Blenheim, and hissuffering the confederates to pass the rivulet, and form unmolested. Certain it is, these circumstances contributed to the success of theduke of Marlborough, who rode through the hottest of the fire with thecalmest intrepidity, giving his orders with that presence of mind anddeliberation which were so peculiar to his character. When he next dayvisited Tallard, he told that general he was sorry such a misfortuneshould happen personally to one for whom he had a profound esteem. Themareschal congratulated him on having vanquished the best troops in theworld; a compliment to which the duke replied, that he thought his ownthe best troops in the world, seeing they had conquered those upon whomthe mareschal had bestowed such an encomium. SIEGE OF LANDAU. The victorious generals having by this decisive stroke saved the houseof Austria from entire ruin, and entirely changed the face of affairsin the empire, signified their opinion to prince Louis of Baden, that itwould be for the advantage of the common cause to join all their forcesand drive the French out of Germany, rather than lose time at thesiege of Ingoldstadt, which would surrender of course. This opinion wasconfirmed by the conduct of the French garrison at Augsburg, who quittedthat place on the sixteenth day of August. The magistrates sent adeputation, craving the protection of the duke of Marlborough, whoforthwith ordered a detachment to take possession of that importantcity. The duke having sent mareschal de Tallard under a guardof dragoons to Frankfort, and disposed of the other prisoners ofdistinction in the adjacent places, encamped at Sefillingen, within halfa league of Ulm. Here he held a conference with the princes Eugeneand Louis of Baden, in which they agreed that, as the enemy retreatedtowards the Bhine, the confederate army should take the same rout, excepting three-and-twenty battalions and some squadrons to be left forthe siege of Ulm, under general Thungen. They began their march onthe twenty-sixth day of August, by different routes, to the generalrendezvous at Bruschal near Philipsburgh. Then they resolved that princeLouis of Baden should undertake the siege of Landau, in order to securethe circle of Suabia from the incursions of that garrison. Consideringthe consternation that prevailed all over France, nothing could be moreimpolitic than this measure, which gave the enemy time for recollection, and recruiting their forces. It was a proposal on which the princeof Baden insisted with uncommon obstinacy. He was even suspected ofcorruption: he was jealous of the glory which the duke of Marlboroughhad acquired, and such a bigoted papist, that he repined at thesuccess of an heretical general. On the twelfth day of September hemarched towards Landau with the troops destined for the siege; and theduke of Marlborough, with prince Eugene, encamped at Croon Weissenburghto cover the enterprise. By this time Ulm had surrendered to Thungen, even before the trenches were opened. Villeroy advanced with his armytowards Landau, as if he had intended to attack the confederates; butretired without having made any attempt for the relief of the place, which was defended with the most obstinate valour till the twenty-thirdday of November, when the besiegers having lodged themselves on thecounterscarp, the breaches being practicable, and the dispositionsmade for a general assault, the garrison capitulated upon honourableconditions. The king of the Romans had arrived in the camp, that hemight have the credit of taking the place, the command of which hebestowed on the count de Frize, who had before defended it with equalcourage and ability. MARLBOROUGH RETURNS TO ENGLAND. The next enterprise which the confederates undertook was the siege ofTraerbach. The hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, being intrusted withthe direction of the attacks, invested the castle in the beginning ofNovember. Though it was strongly fortified and well defended, he carriedon his operations with such spirit and assiduity, that in about sixweeks the garrison surrendered the place on honourable terms. In themeantime the duke of Marlborough repaired to Berlin, where he negotiatedfor a reinforcement of eight thousand Prussians, to serve under princeEugene in Italy during the next campaign. Thence he proceeded to thecourt of Hanover, where, as in all other places, he was received withparticular marks of distinction. When he arrived at the Hague, he wascongratulated by the states-general on his victories at Schellenberg andBlenheim, and as much considered in Holland as if he had been actuallystadt-holder. He had received a second letter from the emperor couchedin the warmest terms of acknowledgment, and was declared prince of theempire. In December he embarked for England, where he found the peoplein a transport of joy, and was welcomed as a hero who had retrieved theglory of the nation. STATE OF THE WAR IN EUROPE. In Flanders nothing of moment was executed, except the bombardment ofBruges and Namur by baron Spaar, with nine thousand Dutch troops; andtwo attempts upon the French lines, which were actually penetrated byAuverquerque, though he was not able to maintain the footing he hadgained. The elector of Bavaria, who had retired to Brussels after hisdefeat, formed a scheme for surprising the Dutch general at the end ofthe campaign, and assembled all his troops at Tirlemont: but the Frenchcourt, apprehensive of his temerity, sent Villeroy to watch his conduct, and prevent his hazarding an engagement, except with a fair prospect ofadvantage. The mareschal finding him determined to give battle at allevents, represented the improbability of succeeding against an enemyso advantageously posted; and the ill consequences of a repulse: butfinding the elector deaf to all his remonstrances, he flatly refused tomarch, and produced the king's order to avoid an engagement. In Italythe French met with no opposition. The duke of Savoy, being unable toface the enemy in the field, was obliged to lie inactive. He saw theduke de Vendome reduce Vercelli and Ivrea, and undertake the siege ofVerac; while he posted his little army on the other side of the Po, atCrescentino, where he had a bridge of communication by which he suppliedthe place occasionally with fresh troops and provisions. The placeheld out five months against all the efforts of the French general: atlength, the communication being cut off, the duke of Savoy retired toChivas. He bore his misfortunes with great equanimity, and told theEnglish minister that though he was abandoned by the allies, he wouldnever abandon himself. The emperor had neglected Italy that he might actwith more vigour against Ragotzki and the Hungarian malcontents, over whom he obtained several advantages; notwithstanding which theycontinued formidable, from their number, bravery, and resolution. Theministers of the allies pressed Leopold to enter into a negotiation fora peace with those rebels, and conferences were opened; but he wasnot sincerely disposed to an accommodation, and Ragotzki aimed at theprincipality of Transylvania, which the court of Vienna would not easilyrelinquish. The emperor was not a little alarmed by a revolution at theOttoman porte, until the new sultan despatched a chiaus to Vienna, withan assurance that he would give no assistance to the malcontents ofHungary. In Poland, the diet being assembled by the cardinal-primate, Stanislaus Lezinski, palatine of Posnania, was elected and proclaimedking, and recognised by Charles of Sweden, who still maintained his armyby contributions in that country, more intent upon the ruin of Augustusthan upon the preservation of his own dominions; for he paid no regardto the progress of the Muscovites, who had ravaged Livonia, reducedNarva, and made incursions into Sweden. Augustus retreated into hisSaxon dominions, which he impoverished in order to raise a great armywith which he might return to Poland; the pope espoused the interest ofthis new convert, so far as to cite the cardinal-primate to appear atRome, and give an account of the share he had in the Polish troubles. The protestants of the Cevennois, deriving courage from despair, becameso troublesome to the government of France, that Louis was obliged totreat them with lenity: he sent mareschal Villars against them witha fresh reinforcement, but at the same time furnished him withinstructions to treat for an accommodation. This officer immediatelycommenced a negotiation with Cavalier, the chief of the revolters; and aformal treaty was concluded, by which they were indulged with libertyof conscience: but these articles were very ill observed by the Frenchministry. 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 openingthe campaign. The Portuguese ministry favoured the French in secret; thepeople were averse to heretics; the duke of Schom-berg was on ill termswith Fagel, the Dutch general; the Portuguese forces consisted of rawundisciplined peasants; and the French ambassador had bought up thebest horses in the kingdom; so that the troopers could not be properlymounted. The king of Portugal had promised to enter Spain with Charlesby the middle of May; but he was not ready till the beginning of June, when they reached Santaran. By this time they had published theirrespective manifestoes; Charles displaying his title to the crown ofSpain, and promising pardon to all his subjects who would in threemonths join his army; and the king of Portugal declaring, that his soleaim 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 ofCharles to that monarchy. The present possessor, whom they mentioned bythe name of the duke of Anjou, had already anticipated their invasion. His general, the duke of Berwick, entering Portugal, took the townof Segura by stratagem. The governor of Salvaterra surrendered atdiscretion; Cebreros was reduced without much opposition; Zode-bre wasabandoned by the inhabitants; and the town of Lhana la Viella was takenby assault. Portugal was at the same time invaded in different parts bythe marquis de Jeoffreville, prince Tserclas de Tilly, and the marquisde Villadarias. Two Dutch battalions were attacked and taken by the dukeof Berwick at Sodreira Formosa. Then he passed the Tagus, and joinedprince Tserclas. King Philip arriving in the army, invested Portalegre;and the garrison, including an English regiment of foot commanded bycolonel Stanhope, were made prisoners of war. The next place he besiegedwas Castel Davide, which met with the same fate. On the other hand, the marquis Das Minas, in order to make a diversion, entered Spainwith fifteen thousand men, took Feuenta Grimaldo in Castile, by assault, defeated a body of French and Spaniards commanded by Don Ronquillo, andmade himself master of Manseinto. The weather growing excessively hot, Philip sent his troops into quarters of refreshment; and the alliesfollowed his example. Duke Schomberg finding his advice very littleregarded by the Portuguese ministry, and seeing very little prospect ofsuccess, desired leave to resign his command, which the queen bestowedupon the earl of Galway, who, with a reinforcement of English and Dutchtroops, arrived at Lisbon on the thirtieth day of July. About the latterend of September, the two kings repaired to the camp near Almeida, resolving to invade Castile; but they found the river Aguada so wellguarded by the duke of Benvick, that they would not attempt a passage. They therefore retired into the territories of Portugal, and the armywas put into winter quarters. The Spaniards were now so weakened bydetachments sent with the marquis de Villadarias towards Gibraltar, thatthe duke of Berwick could not execute any scheme of importance duringthe remaining part of the campaign. SIR GEORGE KOOKE TAKES GIBRALTAR. The arms of England were not less fortunate by sea than they had beenupon the Danube. Sir George Rooke having landed king Charles at Lisbon, sent a squadron to cruise off Cape Spartell, under the command of rearadmiral Dilkes, who on the twelfth of March, engaged and took threeSpanish ships of war, bound from St. Sebastian's to Cadiz. Rookereceived orders from the queen to sail to the relief of Nice and VillaFranca, which were threatened with a siege by the duke de Vendôme; atthe same time he was pressed by king Charles to execute a scheme uponBarcelona, projected by the prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, who declared hisopinion, 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 inequipping a strong squadron at Brest, and judging it was destined to actin the Mediterranean, sent out sir Cloudesley Shovel with a considerablefleet, to watch the motions of the Brest squadron; and he was providedwith instructions how to act, in case it should be sailed to theMediterranean. Meanwhile, sir George Rooke, in compliance with theentreaties of King Charles, sailed with the transports under his convoyto Barcelona, and on the eighteenth of May appeared before the city. Next day the troops were landed by the prince of Hesse, to the numberof two thousand, and the Dutch ketches bombarded the place; but by thistime the governor had secured the chiefs of the Austrian party; and thepeople exhibiting no marks of attachment to king Charles, the princere-embarked his soldiers, from an apprehension of their being attackedand overpowered by superior numbers. On the sixteenth day of June, sirGeorge Rooke, being joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, resolved to proceedup the Mediterranean in quest of the French fleet, which had sailedthither from Brest, and which Rooke had actually discovered, in thepreceding month, on their voyage to Toulon. On the seventeenth day ofJuly the admiral called a council of war in the road of Tetuan, whenthey resolved to make an attempt upon Gibraltar, which was but slenderlyprovided with a garrison. Thither they sailed, and on the twenty-firstday of the month the prince of Hesse landed on the isthmus with eighteenhundred marines; then he summoned the governor to surrender, and wasanswered, that the place would be defended to the last extremity. Nextday the admiral gave orders for cannonading the town; perceiving thatthe enemy were driven from their fortifications at the south mole-head, he commanded captain Whi-taker to arm all the boats, and assault thatquarter. The captains Hicks and Juniper, who happened to be nearest themole, immediately manned their pinnaces, and entered the fortificationssword in hand. The Spaniards sprung a mine, by which two lieutenants, and about a hundred men were killed or wounded. Nevertheless, the twocaptains took possession of a platform, and kept their ground until theywere sustained by captain Whi-taker, and the rest of the seamen, whotook by storm a redoubt between the mole and the town. Then the governorcapitulated; and the prince of Hesse entered the place, amazed at thesuccess 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 returnedto Tetuan to take in wood and Water; and when he sailed, on the ninthday of August, he descried the French fleet, to which he gave chase withall 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 numberof two-and-fifty great ships, and four-and-twenty galleys, under thecommand of the count de Tholouse, high-admiral of France, with theinferior flags of the white and blue divisions. The English fleetconsisted 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 wellas in weight of metal, and altogether unprovided with galleys, fromwhich the enemy reaped great advantage during the engagement. A littleafter ten in the morning the battle began, with equal fury on bothsides, and continued to rage with doubtful success till two in theafternoon, when the van of the French gave way; nevertheless, the fightwas maintained till night, when the enemy bore away to leeward. The windshifting before morning, the French gained the weather-gage; but theymade no use of this advantage; for two successive days the Englishadmiral endeavoured to renew the engagement, which the count de Tholousedeclined, and at last he disappeared. The loss was pretty equal on bothsides, though not a single ship was taken or destroyed by either; butthe honour of the day certainly remained with the English. Over andabove the disadvantages we have enumerated, the bottoms of the Britishfleet were foul, and several large ships had expended all their shotlong 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, atthis distance of time, plainly proves that he was reduced to themean shift of imposing upon his subjects, by false and partialrepresentations. Among other exaggerations in this detail, we findmention made of mischief done to French ships by English bombs; thoughnothing is more certain than that there was not one bomb vessel in thecombined fleet. The French academy, actuated by a servile spirit ofadulation, caused a medal to be struck on the occasion, which, insteadof perpetuating the glory of their prince, served only to transmit theirown shame to posterity. After the battle, sir George Rooke sailed toGibraltar to refit, and leaving a squadron with sir John Leake, set sailfor England on the twenty-fourth day of August. He arrived in September, and was received by the ministry, and the people in general, with thosemarks of esteem and veneration which were due to his long services andsignal success; but he was still persecuted with a spirit of envy anddetraction. Philip king of Spain, alarmed at the reduction of Gibraltar, sent the marquis de Villadarias with an army to retake it. The siegelasted four months, during which the prince of Hesse exhibited manyshining proofs of courage and ability. The place was supplied with menand provisions by convoys from Lisbon, until monsieur de Pointis put astop to that communication, by entering the bay with a strong squadron;but he was obliged to retire at the approach of sir John Leake andadmiral Vanderdussen; and the marquis de Villadarias, having madelittle 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 remarkablesuccess with which God had blessed her arms, produced unanimous joyand satisfaction through all parts of the kingdom; and that a timelyimprovement of the present advantages would enable her to procure alasting foundation of security for England, as well as a firm supportfor the liberty of Europe. She declared her intention was to be kind andindulgent to all her subjects. She expressed her hope that they would donothing to endanger the loss of this opportunity; and that there wouldbe no contention among them, but an emulation to promote the publicwelfare. Congratulatory addresses were voted and presented by bothhouses. They were equal in their professions of duty and affection tothe queen; but the addresses imbibed a very different colour from thedifferent sanctions by which the two houses were influenced. The lordscongratulated her on the great and glorious success of her arms underthe command of the duke of Marlborough, without deigning to mention sirGeorge Rooke, who had defeated the French navy at sea, and added theimportant fortress of Gibraltar to the British conquests. On the otherhand, the commons affected to mention the battle of Blenheim, andRooke's naval victory, as events of equal glory and importance. Howeverthey might be warped by prejudice against individuals, they did notsuffer the war to languish for want of supplies. Having taken intoconsideration the services of the army and navy, they voted that thequeen should be desired to bestow her bounty on the seamen and landforces who had behaved themselves so gallantly. Then they deliberatedupon the different articles of national expense, and granted fourmillions six hundred and seventy thousand nine hundred and thirty-onepounds, for the occasion's of the ensuing year, to be raised by a landtax, by the sale of annuities, and other expedients. These measures weretaken with such expedition, that the land tax received the royal assenton the ninth day of December; when the queen, in a short speech, thankedthe commons for their despatch, which she considered a sure pledge oftheir affection. AN ACT OF ALIENATION PASSED. The high church party took this occasion to promote the bill againstoccasional conformity, which was revived and brought into the house ina new model by Mr. William Bromley, who moved that it might be tacked tothe land-tax bill, and sent up to the lords for their concurrence. The court no longer espoused this measure, and the violent party wasweakened by defection. After a warm and tedious debate, the tack wasrejected by a great majority. The bill, however, passed the house ofcommons, 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 beenpresent, and desirous of hearing what could be said on both sides ofthe question. For the information and satisfaction of her majesty thesubject was again discussed, and all the arguments being repeated, the bill was rejected by a majority of one-and-twenty voices. The nextsubject on which the house of lords employed their attention, was thelate conduct of the Scottish parliament. The lord Haversham, in a setspeech, observed, that the settlement of the succession in Scotland hadbeen postponed, partly because the ministry for that kingdom were weakand divided; partly from a received opinion that the succession wasnever sincerely and cordially intended by those who managed theaffairs of Scotland in the cabinet-council. He expatiated on the badconsequences that might attend the act of security, which he styled abill of exclusion, and particularly mentioned that clause by which theheritors and boroughs were ordained to exercise their fencible men everymonth. He said the nobility and gentry of Scotland were as learned andbrave as any nation in Europe, and generally discontented: that thecommon people were very numerous, very stout, and very poor; and heasked who was the man that could tell what such a multitude, so armed, and so disciplined, might do under such leaders could opportunities suittheir intention. He recommended these circumstances to the considerationof the house, and concluded with these words of Lord Bacon, "Let menbeware 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 lordsresolved 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 ofNottingham reflected so severely on the memory of king William, that hewould have been sent to the Tower, had not the lords declined any suchmotion out of respect to her majesty. After much declamation on theScottish act of security, the grand committee of the peers, by theadvice of lord Wharton, resolved that the queen should be enabled byact of parliament on the part of England, to name commissioners to treatabout an union with Scotland, provided that the parliament of Scotlandshould first appoint commissioners on their part for the same purpose;that no Scotsmen should enjoy the privileges of Englishmen, except suchas were settled in England, Ireland, and the plantations, and such aswere or might be in the sea or land service, until an union could beeffected, or the succession settled as in England: that the trafficby cattle from Scotland to England should be prevented: that the lordadmiral should issue orders for taking such vessels as should be foundtrading from Scotland to France, or to the ports of any of her majesty'senemies: and that care should be taken to prevent the exportation ofEnglish wool into Scotland. On these resolutions a bill was formed foran entire union, and passed the house on the twentieth day of December. The lords presented an address to the queen, representing that they hadduly weighed the dangerous and pernicious effects that were likely tobe produced by divers acts of parliament lately passed in Scotland: thatthey were of opinion the safety of the kingdom required that speedyand effectual orders should be given to put Newcastle in a posture ofdefence, to secure the port of Tynemouth, and repair the fortificationsof Hull and Carlisle. They likewise advised her majesty to givedirections for disciplining the militia of the four northern counties;for providing them with arms and ammunition; for maintaining a competentnumber of regular troops on the northern borders of England, as well asin the north of Ireland; and for putting the laws in execution againstpapists. The queen promised that a survey should be made of the placesthey had mentioned, and laid before parliament, and that she would givethe necessary directions upon the other articles of the address. Thecommons seemed to concur with the lords in their sentiments of theScottish act of security. They resolved that a bill should be broughtin for the effectual securing the kingdom of England from the apparentdangers that might arise from several acts lately passed in theparliament of Scotland, and this was formed on nearly the sameresolutions which had been taken in the upper house. The bill sent downby the lords was thrice read, and ordered to lie on the table, but theypassed their own, to take effect at Christmas, provided before that timethe Scots should not settle the succession. When it was offered to thelords they passed it without any amendment, contrary to the expectationand even to the hope of some members who were no friends to the house ofHanover, and firmly believed the lords would have treated this bill withthe same contempt which had been manifested for that which they had sentdown to the commons. The duke of Marlborough, at his first appearance in the house afterhis return to England, was honoured with a very extraordinary eulogium, pronounced by the lord-keeper, in the name of the peers of England; anda compliment of the same nature was presented to him by a committeeof the house of commons. Doctor Delaune, vice-chancellor of Oxford, accompanied by the principal members of the University, attended thequeen with an address of congratulation upon the success of her arms inGermany, under the admirable conduct and invincible courage of the dukeof Marlborough; and at sea, under the most brave and faithful admiralsir George Booke. He received a civil answer from her majesty, thoughnow she took umbrage at Booke's being raised upon a level with the dukeof Marlborough, whose great victories had captivated her administration, and whose wife had alienated her affection from the tories. The commonsperceiving how high he stood in her majesty's esteem, and having beenproperly tutored for the purpose, took into consideration the greatservices of the duke; and, in an address, besought her majesty toconsider some proper means to perpetuate the memory of such nobleactions. In a few days she gave them to understand, by a message thatshe was inclined to grant the interest of the crown in the honour andmanor of Woodstock and hundred of Wooton, to the duke of Marlborough andhis heirs; and that as the lieutenancy and rangership of the parks, withthe rents and profits of the manors and hundreds, were granted fortwo lives, she wished that incumbrance could be removed. A bill wasimmediately brought in, enabling the queen to bestow these honoursand manors on the duke of Marlborough and his heirs, and the queen wasdesired to advance the money for clearing the incumbrances. She not onlycomplied with this address, but likewise ordered the comptroller of herworks to build in Woodstock-park a magnificent palace for the duke, upona plan much more solid than beautiful. By this time sir George Rooke waslaid aside, and the command of the fleet bestowed upon sir CloudesleyShovel, now declared rear-admiral of England. Mareschal de Tallard, withthe other French generals taken at Hochstadt, arrived on the sixteenthof December in the river Thames, and were immediately conveyed toNottingham and Lichfield, attended by a detachment of the royal regimentof horse guards. They were treated with great respect, and allowed theprivilege of riding ten miles around the places of their confinement. {ANNE, 1701--1714} DISAGREEMENT ON THE SUBJECT OF THE AYLESBURY CONSTABLES. While the house of commons, in two successive addresses, thanked thequeen for the treaty which the duke of Marlborough had concluded withPrussia concerning the troops to be sent to the duke of Savoy, anddesired she would use her interest with the allies that they might nextyear furnish their complete proportions of men by sea and land; thelords examined into all the proceedings at sea and all the instructionsof the admiralty, and presented an address to the queen, explaining allthe different articles of mismanagement. She promised to consider themparticularly, and give such directions upon them as might be most forthe advantage of the public service. The remaining part of the sessionwas consumed in disputes and altercations between the two houses onthe subject of the Aylesbury constables, who were sued by five otherinhabitants for having denied them the right of voting at the election. These five persons were committed to Newgate by order of the house ofcommons. They moved for a _habeas-corpus_ in the King's Bench, butthe court would take no cognizance of the affair. Two of the prisonerspetitioned the queen that their case might be brought before her majestyin parliament. The commons, in an address, besought the queen torefuse granting a writ of error in this case, which would tend to theoverthrowing the undoubted rights and privileges of the commons ofEngland. She assured them she would not do any thing to give them justcause of complaint, but this matter relating to the course of judicialproceedings being of the highest importance, she thought it necessary toweigh and consider very carefully what might be proper for her to do ina thing of so great concern. They voted all the lawyers, who had pleadedon the return of the _habeas-corpus_ in behalf of the prisoners, guiltyof a breach of privilege, and ordered them to be taken into custody. They likewise ordered the prisoners to be removed from Newgate into thecustody of their serjeant-at-arms, lest they should have been dischargedby the queen's granting writs of error. The prisoners, findingthemselves at the mercy of the exasperated commons, petitioned the lordsfor relief. The upper house passed six different resolutions against theconduct of the commons, as being an obstruction to justice, and contraryto Magna Charta. The lower house demanded a conference, in which theyinsisted upon the sole right of determining elections: they affirmedthat they only could judge who had a right of voting, and that theywere judges of their own privileges, in which the lords could notintermeddle. THE PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. The upper house demanded a free conference, which proved ineffectual. New resolutions were taken by the commons, diametrically opposite tothose of the peers; who, on the other hand, attended the queen withalong representation of all the particulars relating to this affair. They affirmed that the proceedings of the house of commons againstthe Aylesbury men, were wholly new and unprecedented: that it was thebirthright of every Englishman, who apprehended himself injured, to seekfor redress in her majesty's courts of justice: that if any power couldcontrol this right, and prescribe when he should, and when he shouldnot, be allowed the benefit of the laws, he ceased to be a freeman, andhis liberty and property were precarious. They requested, therefore, that no consideration whatever should prevail with her majesty to sufferan obstruction to the known course of justice, but that she would bepleased to give effectual orders for the immediate issuing of the writsof error. The queen assured them that she would have complied with theirrequest, but finding an absolute necessity for putting an immediate endto the session, she knew there could be no further proceedings on thatmatter. On the very day, which was the fourteenth of March, she went tothe house of lords and passed the bills that were ready for the royalassent. Then she thanked the parliament for having despatched the publicbusiness: she warned them to avoid the fatal effects of animosity anddissension: and ordered the lord keeper to prorogue them to Thursdaythe first of May; but on the fifth of April they were dissolved byproclamation, and another was published for calling a new parliament. The queen, accompanied by the prince of Denmark, made an excursion toNewmarket, and afterwards dined by invitation with the university ofCambridge, where she conferred the honour of knighthood upon Dr. Ellisthe vice-chancellor, upon James Montague, counsel for the University, and upon the celebrated Isaac Newton, mathematical professor. The twohouses of convocation still continued at variance. The lower housepenned petulant representations, and the archbishop answered them byverbal reprehension and admonition. The tory interest was now in thewane. The duke of Buckinghamshire was deprived of the privy-seal, andthat office conferred on the duke of Newcastle, a nobleman of powerfulinfluence with the whig party. The earl of Montague was created marquisof Mounthermer and duke of Montague; the earl of Peterborough and lordCholmondeley were chosen of the privy-council; and lord Cutts was sentto 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 ofTweedale and Johnston having been found unequal to the undertaking, weredismissed. The duke of Queensberry resumed the management of affairsin that kingdom under the title of lord privy-seal, and the office ofcommissioner was conferred upon the young duke of Argyle, who succeededto his father's influence among the presbyterians. He was a noblemanpossessed of good natural talents, which had not been neglected; candid, open, and sincere; brave, passionate, and aspiring; had he been enduedwith a greater share of liberality, his character would have been trulyheroic. At this juncture he was instructed to procure an act of theScottish parliament, settling the protestant succession, or to set onfoot a treaty for the union of the two kingdoms. At the opening of thesession in June, the members were divided into three parties, namely, the cavaliers or Jacobites, the revolutioners, the squadrone volante, orflying squadron, headed by the marquis of Tweedale, who disclaimed theother two factions, and pretended to act from the dictates of consciencealone. The parliament was adjourned to the third day of July, when hermajesty's letter was read, earnestly recommending the settlement of thesuccession in the protestant line, and an act for a commission to treatof an union between the two kingdoms. The marquis of Annandale proposedthat the parliament should proceed on the limitations and conditionsof government: that a committee should be appointed to consider thecondition of the coin and the commerce of the nation. The earl of Marmoved that the house would, preferable to all other business, considerthe means for engaging in a treaty with England. After a long debatethey resolved to proceed on the coin and the commerce. Schemes forsupplying the nation with money by a paper credit were presented by Dr. Hugh Chamberlain and John Law, but rejected. The house resolved thatany kind of paper credit, by the circulation of bills, was an improperexpedient, and appointed a council to put the laws relating to trade inexecution. The duke of Hamilton proposed that the parliament should notproceed to the nomination of a successor until the treaty with Englandshould be discussed, and the limitations settled. This proposal beingapproved, a draft of an answer to her majesty's letter was presented bythe marquis of Tweedale. Two different forms of an act for a treatywith England were offered by the earl of Mar and the marquis of Lothian:others were produced concerning the elections of officers of state, andthe regulation of commerce. {1705} ACT PASSED FOR A TREATY OF UNION. The chief aim of the cavaliers was to obstruct the settlement of thesuccession, and with that view they pressed the project of limitations, to which they knew the court would never assent. A motion being madeto grant the first reading to an act of commission for a treaty withEngland, the duke of Hamilton insisted on the limitations, and a votebeing stated in these terms, "Proceed to consider the act for a treatyof limitation, " the latter was carried in favour of the cavaliers. Onthe twenty-second day of August an act for this purpose was approved;and next day an act for a triennial parliament, which the courtierswere enabled to defeat. They likewise passed an act, ordaining, that theScottish ambassadors representing Scotland should be present when thesovereign 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 republicanprinciples. He afterwards enlarged upon every article, endeavouring toprove that they were absolutely necessary to prevent the consequencesof English influence; to enable the nation to defend its rights andliberties; to deter ministers of state from giving bad advice to theirsovereign; to preserve the courts of judicature from corruption, andscreen the people from tyranny and oppression. The earl of Stair havingargued against these limitations, Fletcher replied, "It is no wonder heopposed the scheme; for, had such an act subsisted, his lordship wouldhave been hanged for the bad counsel he had given to king James; for theconcern he had in the massacre of Glencoe; and for his conduct since therevolution. " The next subject on which the parliament deliberated wasthe conspiracy. A motion being made that the house might know whatanswer the queen had returned to their address in the last session, thechancellor delivered to the clerk register the papers relating to theplot, that they might be perused by the members: but these being copies, and the evidences remaining at London, no further progress was madein the affair. Yet the duke of Athol, in a distinct narrative of thepretended conspiracy, boldly accused the duke of Queensberry of havingendeavoured to mislead the queen by false accusations against her goodsubjects. When the act for a treaty of union fell under consideration, adraft for that purpose, presented by the earl of Mar, was compared withthe English act, importing, that the queen should name and appoint notonly the commissioners for England, but likewise for Scotland. Fletcher did not fail to inveigh against the imperious conduct of theEnglish parliament in this affair. He exhorted the house to resent suchtreatment, and offered the draft of an address to her majesty on thesubject, but this the house rejected. Duke Hamilton proposed that aclause might be added to the act, importing, that the union shouldnowise derogate from any fundamental laws, ancient privileges, offices, rights, liberties, and dignities of the Scottish nation. This occasioneda long debate; and a question being put, was carried in the negative. Another clause was proposed, that the Scottish commissioners should notbegin to treat until the English parliament should have rescinded theirclause enacting that the subjects of Scotland should be adjudged andtaken as aliens after the twenty-fifth day of December. The courtiers, considering the temper of the house, would not venture to oppose thismotion directly, but proposed that the clause should be formed into aseparate act, and the expedient was approved. Though the Duke of Atholentered a vigorous protest, to which the greater part of the cavaliersand all the squadrone adhered, comprehending four-and-twenty peers, seven-and-thirty barons, and eighteen boroughs, the act for the treatyof union was, after much altercation, finished, empowering commissionersto meet and treat of an union; but restraining them from treating of anyalterations of the church government as by law established. Whilst thisimportant subject was under consideration, the duke of Hamilton, tothe amazement of his whole party, moved that the nomination of thecommissioners should be left to the queen. Fourteen or fifteen of thecavaliers ran out of the house in a transport of indignation, exclaimingthat they were deserted and basely betrayed by the duke of Hamilton. A very hot debate ensued, in the course of which the duke was severelyhandled by those whom he had hitherto conducted: but at length thequestion being put whether the nomination should be left to the queenor to the parliament, the duke's motion was approved by a very smallmajority. He afterwards excused himself for his defection, by saying hesaw it was in vain to contend, and that since the court had acquired agreat majority, he thought he might be allowed to pay that compliment tohis sovereign. He was desirous of being in the commission, and the dukeof Argyle promised he should be nominated. The queen refusing to honourhim with that mark of distinction, Argyle would not suffer himself tobe named, and threatened to oppose the union, but means were found toappease his resentment. Two drafts of an address being presented by theearl of Sutherland and Fletcher of Saltoun, beseeching her majesty touse her endeavours with the parliament of England to rescind that partof their act which declared the subjects of Scotland aliens; andan overture of a bill being offered, ordaining that the Scottishcommissioners should not enter upon the treaty of union until thatclause should be repealed; the courtiers moved that the parliamentshould proceed by way of order to their commissioners, and by addressto her majesty. After some debate, the house assenting to this proposal, the order and address was drawn up and approved. The great and weightyaffair of the treaty being at length happily transacted, though notwithout a protest by Athol and his adherents, the parliament granteda supply of fifty thousand pounds, and the house was adjourned to thetwentieth day of December; then the queen declaring the earl of Marsecretary of state in the room of the marquis of Annandale, who wasappointed 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 thenecessary branches of the establishment. A dispute arose between thecommons and the lower house of convocation, relating to the tithesof hemp and flax, ascertained in a clause of a bill for the betterimprovement of the hempen and flaxen manufactures of the kingdom. Thelower house of convocation presented a memorial against this clause asprejudicial to the rights and properties of the clergy. The commonsvoted the person who brought it in guilty of a breach of privilege, and ordered him to be taken into custody. Then they resolved that theconvocation were guilty of a contempt and breach of the privilege ofthat house. The convocation presuming to justify their memorials, thecommons voted that all matters relating to it should be razed out ofthe journals and books of convocation. The duke of Ormond, dreading theconsequences of such heats, adjourned the parliament to the first dayof May, when the houses meeting again, came to some resolutions thatreflected obliquely on the eon-vocation as enemies to her majesty'sgovernment and the protestant succession. The clergy, in order to acquitthemselves of all suspicion, resolved in their turn that the churchand nation had been happily delivered from popery and tyranny by kingWilliam at the revolution: that the continuance of these blessings weredue, under God, to the auspicious reign and happy government of hermajesty queen Anne: that the future security and preservation of thechurch and nation depended wholly, under God, on the succession of thecrown as settled by law in the protestant line: that if any clergymanshould by word or writing declare anything in opposition to theseresolutions, they should look upon him as a sower of divisions amongthe protestants, and an enemy to the constitution. They levelled anotherresolution against the presbyterians, importing, that to teach or topreach against the doctrine, government, rites, or ceremonies of thechurch, or to maintain schools or seminaries for the education ofyouth, in principles contrary to those of the established church, wasa contempt of the ecclesiastical laws of the kingdom; of perniciousconsequence; and served only to continue and widen the unhappy schismsand divisions in the nation. In June the parliament was prorogued to thesame month of the following year: then the duke of Ormond embarked forEngland, leaving the administration in the hands of sir Richard Cox, lord chancellor, and lord Cutts, the commander-in-chief of the queen'sforces, who were appointed lords-justices during the duke's absence. CAMPAIGN ON THE MOSELLE. During these transactions in Great Britain and Ireland, the allies hadnot been remiss in their preparations for the ensuing campaign. The dukeof Marlborough had fixed upon the Moselle for the scene of action; andmagazines of all sorts were formed at Triers. On the thirteenth dayof March the duke embarked for Holland, where he prevailed upon thestates-general to contribute their troops for the execution of hisproject. Having concerted with the deputies of the states and the Dutchgenerals the necessary measures for opening the campaign, he set out forMaestricht in order to assemble his army. On the fifth day of May theemperor Leopold died at Vienna, and was succeeded on the imperial throneby his eldest son Joseph, king of the Romans, a prince who resembled hisfather in meekness of disposition, narrowness of intellect, and bigotryto the Romish religion. On the fifteenth of June the English troopspassed the Maese, and continued their march towards the Moselle, underthe command of general Churchill; and the duke set out for Cruetznach, to confer with prince Louis of Baden, who excused himself on pretenceof being much indisposed. Marlborough visited him at Castadt, where ina conference they resolved that a sufficient number of German troopsshould be left for the security of the lines of Lauterburg andStolhoffen, under the command of general Thungen, and that prince Louisof Baden should march with a large detachment towards the Saar, to actin concert with the duke of Marlborough. The confederate army passed theMoselle and the Saar in the beginning of June, and encamped at Elft insight of the enemy, who retired with great precipitation, and intrenchedthemselves in the neighbourhood of Coningsmarcheren. The duke's designwas to besiege Saar-Louis; but prince Louis failed in the performanceof his engagement: he feigned himself sick, and repaired to the bath atSchlangenbacle, leaving the small number of imperial troops he conductedas far as Cruetznach, under the command of the count de Frize. He wassuspected of treachery; but probably acted from envy of the duke'smilitary 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 theMoselle, the French did not fail to take advantage of their superiorityin the Netherlands, where general d'Auverquerque was obliged to standon the defensive. They invested Huy, and carried on their operations sovigorously, that in a few days the garrison were obliged to surrenderthemselves prisoners of war; then Villeroy undertook the reduction ofLiege, and actually began his works before the citadel. Marlborough wasno 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 theNetherlands. The troops were in motion on the nineteenth of June, andmarched with such expedition that they passed the Maese on the firstday of July. Villeroy having received advice of the duke's approach, abandoned his enterprise, and retired to Tonegren, from whence heretreated within his lines, that reached from Marche aux Dames on theMouse, along the Mehaigne as far as Lenuive. Marlborough having joinedd'Auverquerque, sent general Scholten with a detachment to invest Huy, and in a few days the garrison surrendered at discretion. The Englishgeneral, resolving to strike some stroke of importance that should atonefor his disappointment on the Moselle, sent general Hompesch to thestates, with a proposal for attacking the French lines; and obtainedtheir permission to do whatever he should think proper for the goodof the common cause. Then he explained the scheme in two successivecouncils 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 hundredbattalions, and one hundred and forty-six squadrons. The allied armydid not much exceed that number. In order to divide them, d'Auverquerquemade a false motion, and passed the Mehaigne as if he had intended toattack the lines about Messelin. The stratagem succeeded. The Frenchweakened the other parts by strengthening that which was on the sideof the Gerbise towards Namur. The duke of Marlborough having madethe disposition, the army began to march in the night between theseventeenth and eighteenth of July, in order to force a passage ofthe French lines at Heylesem, the castle of Wauge, and the villagesof Wauge, Neerhespen, and Oostmalen. These posts were taken with verylittle difficulty; but before the infantry could come up, the enemyadvanced with fifty squadrons and twenty battalions, and began to firefrom eight pieces of cannon with triple barrels, which did considerableexecution. The duke perceiving that they were continually reinforcedfrom the other parts of the lines, ordered the horse to charge theircavalry, which were soon broken and routed; but rallying behind theirinfantry, interlined with foot, and joined by fresh squadrons, theyadvanced again towards the allies, who were now sustained by theirinfantry, and moved forward to renew the charge. After a warm thoughshort engagement, the enemy's horse were defeated with great slaughter. The infantry, seeing themselves abandoned in the plain, retreated ingreat disorder, between the villages of Heylesem and Golsteven, wherethey were joined by the rest of their army, and formed again in orderof battle. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough ordered all his troops toenter the lines; and extended his right towards the great Geete beforeTirlemont, where the enemy had left the battalion of Montluc, whichsurrendered at discretion. In this action the confederates took themarquis d'Alegre and the count de Home, lieutenant-generals, onemajor-general, two brigadier-generals, with many other officers, anda great number of common soldiers; a large heap of standards, fourcolours, one pair of kettle-drums, and ten pieces of cannon. In theaction, as the duke of Marlborough advanced to the charge at the headof several squadrons, a Bavarian officer rode up to attack him sword inhand; but in raising himself on his stirrups to strike with the greateradvantage, he fell from his horse and was immediately slain. The body of troops commanded by monsieur d'Alegre being thus defeatedwith little or no loss to the confederates, the elector of Bavaria andthe mareschal de Villeroy passed the great Geete and the Deule, withgreat expedition, and took possession of the strong camp at Parck, theirleft extending to Eoselser, and their right to Winselen against theheight of Louvain. Next day the duke of Marlborough, marching throughthe plain of Parck, took twelve hundred prisoners, who could not keeppace with the rest of the enemy's forces; and in the evening he encampedwith 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 considerablebody of forces, to attack some posts on the Deule which were slenderlyguarded. Their advanced guard accordingly passed the river and repulsedthe enemy; but for want of timely support, they were obliged to passit and retire. On the third of August baron Spaar, with a body of Dutchtroops, marched to Raboth on the canal of Bruges, forced the Frenchlines at Lovendegen, and took four forts by which they were defended;but receiving advice that the enemy were on their march towards him, heretired to Mildegem, and carried with him several hostages as securityfor the payment of the contributions he had raised. On the fifteenth theduke moved from Mildert to Corbais; next day he continued his marchto Genap, from whence he advanced to Fischer-mont. On the seventeenthgeneral d'Auverquerque took the post of Waterloo; and next day theconfederate army was drawn up in order of battle before the enemy, whoextended from Overysche, near the wood of Soignies, to Neerysche, with the little river Ysche in their front, so as to cover Brussels andLouvain. The duke of Marlborough proposed to attack them immediately, before they should recollect themselves from their consternation; andd'Auverquerque approved of the design; but it was opposed by generalSchlangenburg and other Dutch officers, who represented it in such alight to the deputies of the states, that they refused to concur in theexecution. The duke being obliged to relinquish the scheme, wrote anexpostulatory letter to the states-general, complaining of their havingwithdrawn that confidence which they had reposed in him while he actedGermany. This letter being published at the Hague, excited murmurs amongthe people, and the English nation were incensed at the presumption ofthe deputies, who wrote several letters in their own justification tothe states-general; but these had no effect upon the populace, by whomthe duke was respected even to a degree of adoration. The states beingapprised of the resentment that prevailed over all England, and thatthe earl of Pembroke, lord-president of the council, was appointedas envoy-extraordinary to Holland, with instructions to demandsatisfaction, thought proper to anticipate his journey by makingsubmissions to the duke, and removing Schlangenburg from his command. The confederate army returned to Corbais, from whence it inarched toPerwitz, where it encamped. The little town of Sout-Leeuwe, situatedin the middle of a morass, and constituting the chief defence ofthe enemy's lines, being taken by a detachment under the command oflieutenant-general Dedem, the duke ordered the lines from this place toWasseigne to be levelled, and the town of Tirlemont to bo dismantled;then passing the Demer, he encamped on the nineteenth day ofSeptember at Aerschot. About the latter end of the month he marched toHeventlials; from hence the duke repaired to the Hague, where he hadseveral conferences with the pensionary. In a few days he returned tothe army, which decamping from Heventlials, marched to Clampthout. On the twenty-fourth day of October, the count de Noyelles investedSantvliet, which surrendered before the end of the month. {ANNE, 1701--1714} HE VISITS THE COURT OF VIENNA. At this period the duke, in consequence of pressing letters from theemperor, set out for Vienna in order to concert the operations forthe ensuing campaign, and other measures of importance, in which theconcerns of the allies were interested. In his way he was magnificentlyentertained by the elector Palatine, and him of Triers, and complimentedby the magistracy of Frankfort, where he conferred with prince Louisof Baden. On the twelfth of November he arrived at Vienna, where he wastreated with the highest marks of distinction and cordial friendship bytheir imperial majesties. His son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, had been sent thither as envoy-extraordinary; and now they conferredtogether with the emperor and his ministers. They resolved to maintainthe war with redoubled vigour. The treaties were renewed, andprovision made for the security of the duke of Savoy. The emperor, inconsideration 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 hisreturn with the earl of Sunderland he visited the courts of Berlin andHanover, where he was received with that extraordinary respect which wasdue to his character; and arrived at the Hague on the fourteenth day ofDecember. There he settled the operations of the next campaign withthe states-general, who consented to join England in maintaining anadditional body of ten thousand men reinforcement to the army ofprince Eugene in Italy. While the allies were engaged in the siege ofSantvliet, the elector of Bavaria sent a detachment, under the commandof don Marcello de Grimaldi, to invest Diest, the garrison of which weremade prisoners of war. STATE OF THE WAR ON THE UPPER RHINE, IN HUNGARY, &c. On the Upper Rhine, mareschal Villars besieged and took Homburgh, andpassed the Rhine at Strasburgh on the sixth day of August. Prince Louisof Baden arriving in the camp of the Imperialists at Stolhoffen, notonly obliged him to retire, but having passed the river, forced theFrench lines at Hagenau; then he reduced Drusenheim and Hagenau, butattempted no enterprise equal to the number of his army, although theemperor had expostulated with him severely on his conduct, and he hadnow a fair opportunity of emulating the glory of Marlborough, uponwhom he looked with the eyes of an envious rival. In Italy a battle wasfought at Casano, between prince Eugene and the duke de Vendôme, withdubious success. The duke de Feuillade reduced Chivas, and investedNice, which, after an obstinate defence, surrendered in December. Allthe considerable places belonging to the duke of Savoy were now taken, except Coni and Turin; and his little army was reduced to twelvethousand men, whom he could hardly support. His duchess, his clergy, andhis subjects in general, pressed him to submit to the necessity of hisaffairs; but he adhered to the alliance with surprising fortitude. Hewithstood the importunities of his duchess, excluded all the bishops andclergy from his councils; and when he had occasion for a confessor, hechose a priest occasionally either from the Dominicans or Franciscans. The campaign in Portugal began with a very promising aspect. The alliesinvaded Spain by the different frontiers of Beyra and Alentejo. Theirarmy, under the command of the Condo das Galveas, undertook the siegeof Valencia D'Alcantara in May, and took it by assault; Albuquerquesurrendered upon articles, and then the troops were sent into quartersof refreshment. The marquis de las Minas, who commanded the Portuguesein the province of Beyra, reduced the town of Salva-terra, plundered andburned Sarca, but was obliged to retire to Panamacos at the approachof the enemy. Towards the end of September the confederates, beingreassembled, invested Badajox, by the advice of the earl of Gal-way, wholost 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 hadmade considerable progress towards the reduction of the place, when themarquis de Thessé found means to throw in a powerful reinforcement, andthen the confederates abandoned the enterprise. The war continuedto rage in Hungary with various success. Ragotzki, though frequentlyworsted, appeared still in arms, and ravaged the country, which became ascene of misery and desolation. In Poland the old cardinal-primate ownedStanislaus, but died before the coronation, which was performed by thebishop of Cujavia. In the beginning of winter king Augustus had passedthrough Poland in disguise to the Muscovite army, which was put underhis command in Lithuania; and the campaign was protracted through thewhole winter season, notwithstanding the severity of the weather in thatnorthern climate. In the spring the Swedish general, Reinchild, obtaineda complete victory over the Saxon army, which was either cut in piecesor taken, with their camp, baggage, and artillery; yet the war wasnot extinguished. The king of Sweden continued obstinately deaf to allproposals of peace, and was become as savage in his manners, as brutalin his revenge. THE FRENCH FLEET DESTROYED, &c. At sea the arms of the allies were generally prosperous. Philip ofSpain, being obstinately bent upon retaking Gibraltar, sent mareschal deThessé to renew the siege, while de Pontis was ordered to block up theplace by sea with his squadron. These French officers carried on thesiege with such activity, that the prince of Hesse despatched an expressto Lisbon with a letter, desiring sir John Leake to sail immediately tohis assistance. This admiral having been reinforced from England by sirThomas Dilkes, with five sail of the line and a body of troops, set sailimmediately; and on the tenth day of March descried five ships of warhauling out of the bay of Gibraltar. These were commanded by de Pontisin person, to whom the English admiral gave chase. One of them struck, after having made a very slight resistance; and the rest ran ashore tothe westward of Marbella, where they were destroyed. The remaining partof the French squadron had been blown from their anchors, and takenshelter in the bay of Malaga; but now they slipped their cables and madethe best of their way to Toulon. The mareschal de Thessé, inconsequenceof this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, andwithdrew the greater part of his forces. While sir John Leake wasemployed in this expedition, sir George Byng, who had been ordered tocruise in soundings for the protection of trade, took a ship of fortyguns from the enemy, together with twelve privateers, and seven vesselsrichly 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 ofBarcelona, by the celebrated earl of Peterborough and sir CloudesleyShovel, who sailed from St. Helen's in the latter end of May with theEnglish fleet, having on board a body of five thousand land forces; andon the twentieth day of June arrived at Lisbon; where they were joinedby 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. Theprince of Hesse-d'Armstadt arriving from Gibraltar, assured king Charlesthat the province of Catalonia and the kingdom of Valencia were attachedto his interest; and his majesty, being weary of Portugal, resolved toaccompany the earl of Peterborough to Barcelona. He accordinglyembarked with him on board of the Ranelagh; and the fleet sailed on thetwenty-eighth day of July, the earl of Galway having reinforced themwith two regiments of English dragoons. At Gibraltar they took on boardthe English guards, and three old regiments, in lieu of which they lefttwo new raised battalions. On the eleventh day of August they anchoredin the bay of Altea, where the earl of Peterborough published amanifesto in the Spanish language, which had such an effect that allthe inhabitants of the place, the neighbouring villages, and adjacentmountains, acknowledged king Charles as their lawful sovereign. They seized the town of Denia for his service; and he sent thither agarrison of four hundred men under the command of major-general Ramos. On the twenty-second they arrived in the bay of Barcelona: the troopswere disembarked to the eastward of the city, where they encamped in astrong situation, and were well received by the country people. KingCharles landed amidst the acclamations of an infinite multitude fromthe neighbouring towns and villages, who threw themselves at his feet, exclaiming, "Long live the king!" and exhibiting all the marks of themost extravagant joy. The inhabitants of Barcelona were well affectedto the house of Austria, but overawed by a garrison of five thousandmen under the duke de Popoli, Velasco, and other officers devoted to theinterest of king Philip. Considering the strength of such a garrison, and the small number of Dutch and English troops, nothing could appearmore desperate and dangerous than the design of besieging the place; yetthis was proposed by the prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, who served in theexpedition as a volunteer, strongly urged by king Charles, and approvedby the earl of Peterborough and sir Cloudesley Shovel. The city wasaccordingly invested on one side; but, as a previous step to thereduction of it, they resolved to attack the fort of Montjuic, stronglysituated on a hill that commanded the city. The out-works were takenby storm, with the loss of the gallant prince of Hesse, who wasshot through the body, and expired in a few hours: then the earl ofPeterborough began to bombard the body of the fort; and a shell chancingto fall into the magazine of powder, blew it up, together with thegovernor and some of the best officers: an accident which struck sucha terror into the garrison, that they surrendered without furtherresistance. THE EARL'S PROGRESS IN SPAIN. This great point being gained, the English general erected his batteriesagainst the town, with the help of the Miquelets and seamen; the bombketches began to fire with such execution, that in a few days thegovernor capitulated, and on the fourth day of October king Charlesentered in triumph. [136] _[See note K, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Allthe other places in Catalonia declared for him, except Roses; so thatthe largest and richest province of Spain was conquered with an armyscarce double the number of the garrison of Barcelona. King Charleswrote a letter with his own hand to the queen of England, containinga circumstantial detail of his affairs, the warmest expressions ofacknowledgment, and the highest encomiums on her subjects, particularlythe earl of Peterborough. In a council of war it was determined thatthe king and the earl should continue in Catalonia with the landforces; that sir Cloudesley Shovel should return to England; thatfive-and-twenty English and fifteen Dutch ships of war should winter atLisbon under the command of sir John Leake and the Dutch rear-admiralWassenaer; and that four English and two Dutch frigates should remain atBarcelona. Don Francisco de Velasco was transported to Malaga with abouta thousand men of his garrison; the rest voluntarily engaged in theservice of king Charles, and six other regiments were raised bythe states of Catalonia. The count de Cifuentas, at the head of theMiquelets and Catalans attached to the house of Austria, securedTar-ragonia, Tortosa, Lerida, San-Mattheo, Gironne, and other places. Don Raphael Nevat, revolting from Philip with his whole regiment ofhorse, joined general Ramos at Denia, and made themselves masters ofseveral places of importance in the kingdom of Valencia. Flushed withsuch unexpected success, they penetrated to the capital of the samename, which they surprised, together with the marquis de Villa-Gracia, the viceroy, and the archbishop. These advantages however were notproperly improved. The court of Charles was divided into factions, and so much time lost in disputes, that the enemy sent a body of sixthousand men into the kingdom of Valencia, under the command of theconde de las Torres, who forthwith invested San-Mattheo, guarded bycolonel Jones at the head of five hundred Miquelets. This being aplace of great consequence on account of its situation, the earl ofPeterborough marched thither with one thousand infantry, and two hundreddragoons; and by means of feigned intelligence artfully conveyed to theconde, 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 horsesat Castillon de la Plana, began to form a body of cavalry which did goodservice in the sequel. Having assembled a little army, consisting of tensquadrons of horse and dragoons, and four battalions of regular troops, with about three thousand militia, he marched to Molviedro, which wassurrendered to him by the governor, brigadier Mahoni. Between thisofficer and the duke d'Arcos, the Spanish general, he excited suchjealousies by dint of artifices, not altogether justifiable even in war, that the duke was more intent upon avoiding the supposed treachery ofMahoni than upon interrupting the earl's march to Valencia, where theinhabitants expressed uncommon marks of joy at his arrival. About thisperiod a very obstinate action happened at St. Istevan de Litera, wherethe chevalier d'Asfeldt, with nine squadrons of horse and dragoons, andas many battalions of French infantry, attacked colonel Wills atthe head of a small detachment; but this last being supported bylieutenant-general Cunningham, who was mortally wounded in theengagement, repulsed the enemy, though three times his number, with theloss of four hundred men killed upon the spot. The troops on both sidesfought with the most desperate valour, keeping up their fire until themuzzles of their pieces met, and charging each other at the point ofthe bayonet. The only misfortune that attended the English arms in thecourse 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 Dunkirksquadron under the command of the count de St. Paul, though he himselfwas killed in the engagement. When an account of this advantage wascommunicated to the French king, he replied with a sigh, "Very well, Iwish the ships were safe again in any English port, provided the countde St. Paul could be restored to life. " After the death of the famous duBart, this officer was counted the best seaman in France. NEW PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND. The kingdom of England was now wholly engrossed by the election ofmembers for the new parliament. The tories exerted themselves with greatindustry, and propagated the cry of the church's being in danger; a cryin which the Jacobites joined with great fervour; but, notwithstandingall their efforts in words and writing, a majority of whigs wasreturned; and now the lord Godolphin, who had hitherto maintained aneutrality, thought proper openly to countenance that faction. By hisinterest, co-operating with the influence of the duchess of Marlborough, sir Nathan Wright was deprived of the great seal, which was committed toMr. William Cowper, with the title of lord-keeper. This was a lawyer ofgood extraction, superior talents, engaging manners, and eminence in hisprofession. He was staunch to whig principles, and for many years hadbeen considered as one of their best speakers in the house of commons. The new parliament meeting on the twenty-fifth day of October, a violentcontest arose about the choice of a speaker. Mr. Bromley was supportedby the tories, and the whigs proposed Mr. John Smith, who was electedby a majority of forty-three voices. The queen in her speech representedthe necessity of acting vigorously against France, as a common enemyto the liberties of Europe; she commended the fortitude of the duke ofSavoy, which she said was without example; she told them her intentionwas to expedite commissions for treating of an union with Scotland; sheearnestly 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, byendeavouring to distract the nation with unreasonable and groundlessdistrusts and jealousies; she declared she would always affectionatelysupport and countenance the church of England, as by law established;that she would inviolably maintain the toleration; that she wouldpromote religion and virtue, encourage trade, and every thing else thatmight make them a happy and flourishing people. BILL FOR A REGENCY. The majority in both houses now professed the same principles, andwere well disposed to support the queen in all her designs. Theyfirst presented the usual addresses in the warmest terms of duty andaffection. Then the commons drew up a second, assuring her they would, to the utmost of their power, assist her in bringing the treaty of unionto a happy conclusion. They desired that the proceedings of the lastsession of parliament, relating to the union and succession, might belaid before the house. The lords had solicited the same satisfaction;and her majesty promised to comply with their request. The lower househaving heard and decided in some cases of controverted elections, proceeded to take into consideration the estimates for the service ofthe ensuing year, and granted the supplies without hesitation. In thehouse of lords, while the queen was present, lord Haversham, at the endof a long speech, in which he reflected upon the conduct of the duke ofMarlborough, both on the Moselle and in Brabant, moved for an addressto desire her majesty would invite the presumptive heir to the crownof England to come and reside in the kingdom. This motion was earnestlysupported by the duke of Buckingham, the earls of Rochester, Nottingham, and Anglesea. They said there was no method so effectual to secure thesuccession as that of the successor's being upon the spot, ready toassume and maintain his or her right against any pretender; and theyobserved, that in former times, when the throne of England was vacant, the first comer had always succeeded in his pretensions. The proposalwas vehemently opposed by the whigs, who knew it was disagreeable tothe queen, whom they would not venture to disoblige. They argued, thata rivalry between the two courts might produce distractions, and beattended with very ill consequences; and observed, that the princessSophia had expressed a full satisfaction in the assurances of the queen, who had promised to maintain her title. The question being put, wascarried in the negative by a great majority. The design of the toriesin making this motion, was to bring the other party into disgrace eitherwith the queen or with the people. Their joining in the measure wouldhave given umbrage to their sovereign; and, by opposing it, they ranthe risk of incurring the public odium as enemies to the protestantsuccession: but the pretence of the tories was so thin, the nation sawthrough it; and the sole effect the motion produced was the queen'sresentment against the whole party. Burnet, bishop of Sarum, proposed, that provision might be made for maintaining the public quiet in theinterval between the queen's decease and the arrival of her successor;the motion was seconded by the lord-treasurer, and a bill brought in forthe better security of her majesty's person and government, and of thesuccession to the crown of England. By this act a regency was appointed, of the seven persons that should possess the offices of archbishopof Canterbury, lord-chancellor, or lord-keeper, lord-treasurer, lord-president, lord privy-seal, lord high-admiral, and the lordchief-justice of the queen's bench. Their business was to proclaim thenext successor through the kingdom of England, and join with a certainnumber of persons named as regents by the successor, in three liststo be sealed up and deposited with the archbishop of Canterbury, thelord-keeper, and the ministry residentiary of Hanover. It was enacted, that these joint regencies should conduct the administration; that thelast parliament, even though dissolved, should reassemble, and continuesitting for six months after the decease of her majesty. The bill metwith a warm opposition from the tories, and did not pass the upperhouse without a protest. It was still further obstructed in the houseof commons even by some of the whig party, who were given to understandthat the princess Sophia had expressed an inclination to reside inEngland. 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 successionwas at first settled; for among other limitations, the parliament hadprovided, that when the crown should devolve to the house of Hanover, noman who had either place or pension should be capable of sitting in thehouse of commons. After tedious disputes and zealous altercations, they agreed that a certain number of offices should be specifiedas disqualifying places. This self-denying clause, and some otheramendments, produced conferences between the two houses, and at lengththe bill passed by their mutual assent. Lord Haversham moved for aninquiry into the miscarriages of the last campaign, hoping to find somefoundation for censure in the conduct of the duke of Marlborough; butthe proposal was rejected as invidious; and the two houses presented anaddress to the queen, desiring she would preserve a good correspondenceamong all the confederates. They likewise concurred in repealing theact by which the Scots had been alienated, and all the northern countiesalarmed with the apprehension of a rupture between the two nations. The lord Shannon and brigadier Stanhope arriving with an account ofthe expedition to Catalonia, the queen communicated the good news in aspeech to both houses, expressing her hope that they would enable her toprosecute the advantages which her arms had acquired. The commonswere so well pleased with the tidings, that they forthwith granted twohundred and fifty thousand pounds for her majesty's proportion in theexpense of prosecuting the successes already gained by king Charles III. For the recovery of the monarchy of Spain to the house of Austria. Onthe fifteenth day of November, the queen gave the royal assent to an actfor exhibiting a bill to naturalize the princess Sophia, and the issueof her body. These measures being taken, the sixth day of December was appointed forinquiring into those dangers to which the tories affirmed the church wasexposed; and the queen attended in person, to hear the debates on thisinteresting subject. The earl of Eochester compared the expressions inthe queen's speech at the beginning of the session, to the law enactedin the reign of Charles II. Denouncing the penalties of treason againstthose who should call the king a papist; for which reason, he said, healways thought him of that persuasion. He affirmed that the church'sdanger arose from the act of security in Scotland, the absence of thesuccessor to the crown, and the practice of occasional conformity. Hewas answered by lord Halifax, who, by way of recrimination, observedthat king Charles II. Was a Roman-catholic, at least his brotherdeclared him a papist after his death; that his brother and successorwas a known Roman-catholic, yet the church thought herself secure; andthose patriots who stood up in its defence were discountenanced andpunished: nay, when the successor ascended the throne, and the churchwas apparently in the most imminent danger by the high commission courtand otherwise, the nation was then indeed generally alarmed; and everybody knew who sat in that court, and entered deeply into the measureswhich were then pursued. Compton, bishop of London, declared thatthe church was in danger, from profaneness, irreligion, and thelicentiousness of the press. He complained, that sermons were preachedwherein rebellion was countenanced, and resistance to the higher powersencouraged. He alluded to a sermon preached before the lord mayor by Mr. Hoadly, now bishop of Winchester. Burnet of Sarum said, the bishop ofLondon was the last man who ought to complain of that sermon; for ifthe doctrine it contained was not good, he did not know what defence hislordship could make for his appearing in arms at Nottingham. He affirmedthe church would be always subject to profaneness and irreligion, butthat they were not now so flagrant as they usually had been; he saidthe society set up for reformation in London and other cities, hadcontributed considerably to the suppression of vice; he was sure thecorporation for propagating the gospel had done a great deal towardsinstructing men in religion, by giving great numbers of books inpractical divinity; by erecting libraries in country parishes; bysending many able divines to the foreign plantations, and foundingschools to breed up children in the christian knowledge; though tothis expense very little had been contributed by those who appeared sowonderfully zealous for the church. The archbishop of York expressedhis apprehension of danger from the increase of dissenters, particularlyfrom the many academies they had instituted; he moved, that the judgesmight be consulted with respect to the laws that were in force againstsuch seminaries, and by what means they might be suppressed. LordWharton moved, that the judges might also be consulted about means ofsuppressing schools and seminaries held by non-jurors, in one of whichthe sons of a noble lord in that house had been educated. To thissarcasm the archbishop replied, that his sons were indeed taught byMr. Ellis, a sober virtuous man; but that when he refused the oath ofabjuration, they were immediately withdrawn from his instructions. LordWharton proceeded to declare, that he had carefully perused a pamphletentitled "The Memorial, " which was said to contain a demonstration thatthe church was in danger; but all he could learn was, that the duke ofBuckingham, the earls of Rochester and Nottingham, were out of place;that he remembered some of these noblemen sat in the high commissioncourt, and then made no complaint of the church's being in danger. Patrick, bishop of Ely, complained of the heat and passion manifestedby the gentlemen belonging to the universities, and of the undutifulbehaviour of the clergy towards their bishops. He was seconded byHough of Litchfield and Coventry, who added, that the inferior clergycalumniated their bishops, as if they were in a plot to destroy thechurch, and had compounded to be the last of their order. Hooper of Bathand Wells, expatiated on the invidious distinction implied in the terms"high church, " and "low church. " The duke of Leeds asserted, that thechurch could not be safe without an act against occasional conformity. Lord Somers recapitulated all the arguments which had been used on bothsides of the question: he declared his own opinion was, that the nationwas happy under a wise and just administration; that for men to raisegroundless jealousies at that juncture, could mean no less than anintention to embroil the people at home, and defeat the glorious designsof the allies abroad. The debate being finished, the question was put, Whether the church of England was in danger? and carried in the negativeby a great majority: then the house resolved, that the church ofEngland, as by law established, which was rescued from the extremestdanger by king William III. Of glorious memory, is now, by God'sblessings under the happy reign of her majesty, in a most safe andnourishing condition; and that whoever goes about to suggestor insinuate that the church is in danger, under her majesty'sadministration, is an enemy to the queen, the church, and the kingdom. Next day the commons concurred in this determination, and joined thelords in an address to the queen, communicating this resolution, beseeching her to take effectual measures for making it public, and alsofor punishing the authors and spreaders of the seditious and scandalousreports of the church's being in danger. She accordingly issued aproclamation containing the resolution of the two houses, and offeringa reward for discovering the author of the memorial of the church ofEngland, and for apprehending David Edwards, a professed papist, chargedupon oath to be the printer and publisher of that libel. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. After a short adjournment, a committee of the lower house presented thethanks of the commons to the duke of Marlborough, for his great servicesperformed to her majesty and the nation in the last campaign, and forhis prudent negotiations with her allies. This nobleman was in suchcredit with the people, that when he proposed a loan of five hundredthousand 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; theforces were well paid; the treasury was punctual; and, though a greatquantity of coin was exported for the maintenance of the war, the papercurrency supplied the deficiency so well, that no murmurs were heard, and the public credit flourished both at home and abroad. All the fundsbeing established, one in particular for two millions and a-half by wayof annuities for ninety-nine years, at six and a-half per cent. , and allthe bills having received the royal assent, the queen went to the houseof peers on the nineteenth day of March, where, having thanked bothhouses for the repeated instances of their affection which she hadreceived, she prorogued the parliament to the twenty-first day of Mayfollowing. * * 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 ofthe parliament, revived the divisions by which the former had beendistracted, and the two houses seemed to act with more determinedrancour against each other. The upper house having drawn tip a warmaddress of thanks to the queen for her affectionate care of the church, the lower house refused to concur, nor would they give any reason fortheir dissent. They prepared another in a different strain, which wasrejected by the archbishop. Then they agreed to divers resolutions, asserting their right of having what they offered to the upper housereceived by his grace and their lordships. In consequence of thisdissension the address was dropped, and a stop put to all furthercommunication between the two houses. The dean of Peterborough protestedagainst the irregularities of the lower house. The queen, in a letter tothe archbishop, signified her resolution to maintain her supremacy, andthe due subordination of presbyters to bishops. She expressed her hopethat he and his suffragans would act conformably to her resolution, inwhich case they might be assured of the continuance of her favour andprotection: she required him to impart this declaration to the bishopsand clergy, and to prorogue the convocation to such time as shouldappear most convenient. When he communicated this letter to the lowerhouse, the members were not a little confounded: nevertheless, theywould not comply with the prorogation, but continued to sit in defianceof 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 theutmost consequence to the whole island; namely, the treaty for an unionof the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The queen having appointedthe commissioners [139] _[See note 2 A, at the end of this Vol. ]_ onboth sides, they met on the sixteenth day of April, in the councilchamber of the Cockpit near Whitehall, which was the place appointedfor the conferences. Their commissions being opened and read by therespective secretaries, and introductory speeches being pronounced bythe lord-keeper of England, and the lord chancellor of Scotland, they agreed to certain preliminary articles, importing, that all theproposals should be made in writing; and every point, when agreed, reduced to writing; that no points should be obligatory, till allmatters should be adjusted in such a manner as would be proper to belaid before the queen and the two parliaments for their approbation;that a committee should be appointed from each commission, to revise theminutes of what might pass, before they should be inserted in the booksby the respective secretaries; and that all the proceedings duringthe treaty should be kept secret. The Scots were inclined to a federalunion, like that of the United Provinces; but the English were bent uponan incorporation, so that no Scottish parliament should ever have powerto repeal the articles of the treaty. The lord-keeper proposed that thetwo kingdoms of England and Scotland should be for ever united into onerealm, by the name of Great Britain: that it should be represented byone and the same parliament; and that the succession of this monarchy, failing of heirs of her majesty's body, should be according to thelimitations mentioned in the act of parliament passed in the reign ofking William, intituled, an act for the further limitation of the crown, and the better securing the rights and liberties of the subject. TheScottish commissioners, in order to comply in some measure with thepopular clamour of their nation, presented a proposal implying that thesuccession to the crown of Scotland should be established upon the samepersons mentioned in the act of king William's reign; that the subjectsof Scotland should for ever enjoy all the rights and privileges of thenatives in England, and the dominions thereunto belonging; and thatthe subjects of England should enjoy the like rights and privileges inScotland; that there should be a free communication and intercourse oftrade and navigation between the two kingdoms, and plantations thereuntobelonging; and that all laws and statutes in either kingdom, contrary to the terms of this union, should be repealed. The Englishcommissioners declined entering into any considerations upon theseproposals, declaring themselves fully convinced that nothing but anentire union could settle a perfect and lasting friendship betweenthe two kingdoms. The Scots acquiesced in this reply, and both sidesproceeded in the treaty without any other intervening dispute. They weretwice visited by the queen, who exhorted them to accelerate the articlesof a treaty that would prove so advantageous to both kingdoms. At lengththey were finished, arranged, and mutually signed, on the twenty-secondof 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 deliveredby the lord chancellor of Scotland; and each made a short oration on thesubject, to which the queen returned a very gracious reply. That sameday she dictated an order of council, that whoever should be concernedin 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 theunited kingdom of Great Britain should be vested in the princess Sophia, and her heirs, according to the acts already passed in the parliament ofEngland: that the united kingdoms should be represented by one and thesame parliament: that all the subjects of Great Britain should enjoy acommunication of privileges and advantages: that they should have thesame allowances, encouragements, and drawbacks; and be under the sameprohibitions, restrictions, and regulations, with respect to commerceand customs: that Scotland should not be charged with the temporaryduties on some certain commodities: that the sum of three hundred andninety-eight thousand and eighty-five pounds ten shillings, should begranted to the Scots, as an equivalent for such parts of the customs andexcise charged upon that kingdom in consequence of the union, as wouldbe applicable to the payment of the debts of England, according to theproportion which the customs and excise of Scotland bore co those ofEngland: that, as the revenues of Scotland might increase, a furtherequivalent should be allowed for such proportion of the said increaseas should be applicable to the payment of the debts of England: thatthe sura to be paid at present, as well as the monies arising from thefuture equivalents, should be employed in reducing the coin of Scotlandto the standard and value of the English coin; in paying off the capitalstock and interest due to the proprietors of the African company, whichshould be immediately dissolved; in discharging all the public debts ofthe kingdom of Scotland; in promoting and encouraging manufactures andfisheries, under the direction of commissioners to be appointed by hermajesty, and accountable to the parliament of Great Britain: that thelaws concerning public right, policy, and civil government, should bethe same throughout the whole united kingdom; but that no alterationshould be made in laws which concerned private right, except for evidentutility of the subjects within Scotland: that the court of sessionand all other courts of judicature in Scotland, should remain as thenconstituted by the laws of that kingdom, with the same authorityand privileges as before the union; subject, nevertheless, to suchregulations as should be made by the parliament of Great Britain: thatall heritable offices, superiorities, heritable jurisdictions, officesfor life, and jurisdictions for life, should be reserved to the owners, as rights and property, in the same manner as then enjoyed by the lawsof Scotland: that the rights and privileges of the royal boroughs inScotland should remain entire after the union: that Scotland shouldbe represented in the parliament of Great Britain by sixteen peersand forty-five commoners, to be elected in such a manner as shouldbe settled by the present parliament of Scotland: that all peers ofScotland, and the successors to their honours and dignities, should, from and after the union, be peers of Great Britain, and should haverank and precedency next and immediately after the English peers of thelike orders and degrees, at the time of the union; and before all peersof Great Britain of the like orders and degrees, who might be createdafter the union: that they should be tried as peers of Great Britain, and enjoy all privileges of peers, as fully as enjoyed by the peersof England, except the right and privilege of sitting in the house oflords, and the privileges depending thereon, and particularly the rightof sitting upon the trials of peers: that the crown, sceptre, and swordof state, the records of parliament, and all other records, rolls, andregisters whatsoever, should still remain as they were, within that partof the united kingdom called Scotland: that all laws and statutes ineither kingdom, so far as they might be inconsistent with the termsof these articles, should cease and be declared void by the respectiveparliaments of the two kingdoms. --Such is the substance of that treatyof union which was so eagerly courted by the English ministry, andproved 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 prosperedsurprisingly in the Netherlands, in Spain, and in Piedmont. The Frenchking had resolved to make very considerable efforts in these countries;and, indeed, at the beginning of the campaign his armies were veryformidable. He hoped that, by the reduction of Turin and Barcelona, thewar would be extinguished in Italy and Catalonia. He knew that he couldout-number any body of forces that prince Louis of Baden should assembleon the Rhine; and he resolved to reinforce his army in Flanders, so asto be in a condition to act offensively against the duke of Marlborough. This nobleman repaired to Holland in the latter end of April, andconferred with the states-general. Then he assembled the army betweenBorschloen and Groes Waren, and found it amounted to seventy-fourbattalions of foot, and one hundred and twenty-three squadrons of horseand dragoons, well furnished with artillery and pontoons. The court ofFrance having received intelligence that the Danish and Prussian troopshad not yet joined the confederates, ordered the elector of Bavariaand the mareschal Villeroy to attack them before the junction couldbe effected. In pursuance of this order they passed the Deule onthe nineteenth day of May, and posted themselves at Tirlemont, beingsuperior in number to the allied army. There they were joined by thehorse of the army, commanded by mareschal Marsin, and encamped betweenTirlemont and Judoigne. On Whitsunday, early in the morning, the duke ofMarlborough advanced with his army in eight columns towards the villageof Ramillies, being by this time joined by the Danes; and he learnedthat the enemy were in march to give him battle. Next day the Frenchgenerals perceiving the confederates so near them, took possession of astrong camp, the right extending to the tomb of Hautemont, on the sideof the Mehaigne; their left to Anderkirk; and the village of Ramilliesbeing near their centre. The confederate army was drawn up in order ofbattle, with the right wing near Foltz on the brook of Yause, and theleft by the village of Franquenies, which the enemy had occupied. Theduke ordered lieutenant-general Schultz, with twelve battalions andtwenty pieces of cannon, to begin the action by attacking Eamillies, which was strongly fortified with artillery. At the same timevelt-mareschal d'Auverquerque on the left commanded colonel Wertmuller, with four battalions and two pieces of cannon, to dislodge the enemy'sinfantry posted among the hedges of Franquenies. Both these orderswere successfully executed. The Dutch and Danish horse of the left wingcharged with great vigour and intrepidity, but were so roughly handledby the troops of the French king's household, that they began to giveway, when the duke of Marlborough sustained them with the body ofreserve, and twenty squadrons drawn from the right, where a morassprevented them from acting. In the meantime, he in person rallied someof the broken squadrons, in order to renew the charge, when his ownhorse falling, he was surrounded by the enemy, and must have been eitherkilled or taken prisoner, had not a body of infantry come seasonably tohis relief. When he remounted his horse, the head of colonel Brienfield, his gentleman of the horse, was carried off by a cannon ball while heheld the duke's stirrup. Before the reinforcement arrived, the best partof the French mousquetaires were cut in pieces. All the troops posted inRamillies were either killed or taken. The rest of the enemy's infantrybegan to retreat in tolerable order, under cover of the cavalry on theirleft wing, which formed themselves in three lines between Ossuz andAnderkirk; but the English horse having found means to pass the rivuletwhich divided them from the enemy, fell upon them with such impetuosity, that they abandoned their foot, and were terribly slaughtered in thevillage of Anderkirk. They now gave way on all sides. The horse fledthree different ways, but were so closely pursued that very few escaped. The elector of Bavaria and the mareschal de Villeroy saved themselveswith the utmost difficulty. Several waggons of the enemy's van-guardbreaking down in a narrow pass, obstructed the way in such a mannerthat the baggage and artillery could not proceed; nor could their troopsdefile in order. The victorious horse being informed of this accident, pressed on them so vigorously that great numbers threw down theirarms and submitted. The pursuit was followed through Judoigne tilltwo o'clock in the morning, five leagues from the field of battle, andwithin two of Louvaine. In a word, the confederates obtained a completevictory. They took the enemy's baggage and artillery, about one hundredand twenty colours or standards, six hundred officers, six thousandprivate 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; themajor-general Palavicini and Mizieres were taken, together with themarquasses de Bar, de Nonant, and de la Beaume, (this last the son ofthe mareschal de Tallard, ) monsieur de Montmorency, nephew to the dukeof Luxembourg, and many other persons of distinction. The loss of theallies did not exceed three thousand men, including prince Louis ofHesse, and Mr. Bentinck, who were slain in the engagement. The Frenchgenerals retired with precipitation to Brussels, while the allies tookpossession of Louvaine, and next day encamped at Bethlem. The battle ofEamillies 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 siegeof ten days. Menin, esteemed the most finished fortification in theNetherlands, 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 weredispirited. The city of Paris was overwhelmed with consternation. Louisaffected to bear his misfortunes with calmness and composure; but theconstraint had such an effect upon his constitution, that hisphysicians thought it necessary to prescribe frequent bleeding, whichhe accordingly underwent. At his court no mention was made of militarytransactions: all was solemn, silent, and reserved. THE SIEGE OF BARCELONA RAISED. Had the issue of the campaign in Catalonia been such as the beginningseemed to prognosticate, the French king might have in some measureconsoled himself for his disgraces in the Netherlands. On the sixthday of April king Philip, at the head of a numerous army, undertook thesiege of Barcelona, while the count de Thoulouse blocked it up with apowerful squadron. The inhabitants, animated by the presence of kingCharles, made a vigorous defence; and the garrison was reinforcedwith some troops from Gironne and other places. But, after the fort ofMontjuic was taken, the place was so hard pressed, that Charles ranthe utmost risk of falling into the hands of the enemy; for the carl ofPeterborough, who had marched from Valencia with two thousand men, foundit impracticable to enter the city. Nevertheless, he maintained hispost upon the hills; and, with surprising courage and activity, keptthe besiegers in continual alarm. At length, sir John Leake sailedfrom Lisbon with thirty ships of the line; and on the eighth day of Mayarrived in sight of Barcelona. The French admiral no sooner receivedintelligence of his approach, than he set sail for Toulon. In threedays after his departure, king Philip abandoned the siege and retired ingreat disorder, leaving behind his tents, with the sick and wounded. On the side of Portugal, the duke of Berwick was left with such aninconsiderable force as proved insufficient to defend the frontiers. Theearl of Galway, with an army of twenty thousand men, undertook the siegeof Alcantra; and in three days the garrison, consisting of four thousandmen, were made prisoners of war. Then he marched to Placentia, andadvanced as far as the bridge of Almaris; but the Portuguese wouldpenetrate no farther until they should know the fate of Barcelona. When they understood the siege was raised, they consented to proceed toMadrid. Philip guessed their intention, posted to that capital, and senthis queen with all his valuable effects to Burgos, whither he followedher in person, after having destroyed everything that he could not carryaway. About the latter end of June, the earl of Galway entered the citywithout resistance; but the Spaniards were extremely mortified to seean army of Portuguese, headed by an heretic, in possession of theircapital. King Charles loitered away his time in Barcelona, until hiscompetitor recovered his spirits, and received such reinforcements asenabled him to return to Madrid with an army equal to that commanded bythe earl of Galway. This general made a motion towards Arragon, in orderto facilitate his conjunction with Charles, who had set out by the wayof Saragossa, where he was acknowledged as sovereign of Arragonand Valencia. In the beginning of August this prince arrived at thePortuguese camp with a small reinforcement; and in a few days wasfollowed by the carl of Peterborough, at the head of five hundreddragoons. The two armies were now pretty equal in point of number; butas each expected farther reinforcements, neither chose to hazard anengagement. The earl of Peterborough, who aspired to the chief command, and hated the prince of Lichtenstein, who enjoyed the confidence of kingCharles, retired in disgust; and embarking on board an English ship ofwar, set sail for Genoa. The English fleet continued all the summerin the Mediterranean; they secured Carthagena, which had declared forCharles; they took the town of Alicant by assault, and the castle bycapitulation. Then sailing out of the Straits, one squadron was detachedto the West Indies, another to lie at Liston, and the rest were senthome 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 inFlanders after the-battle of Ramillies, the duke of Orleans was placedat the head of the army in Piedmont, under the tutorage and direction ofthe mareschal de Marsin. They were ordered to besiege Turin, which wasaccordingly invested in the month of May, and the operations carried ontill the beginning of September. Great preparations had been made forthis siege. It was not undertaken until the duke of Savoy had rejectedall the offers of the French monarch, which were sufficient to haveshaken a prince of less courage and fortitude. The duke de la Feuilladehaving finished the lines of circumvallation and contravallation, senthis quarter-master-general with a trumpet to offer passports and aguard for the removal of the duchess and her children. The duke ofSavoy replied, that he did not intend to remove his family, and that themareschal might begin to execute his master's orders whenever he shouldthink fit; but, when the siege began with uncommon fury, and the Frenchfired red-hot balls into the place, the two duchesses, with the youngprince and princesses, quitted Turin, and retired to Quierasco, fromwhence they were conducted through many dangers into the territories ofGenoa. The duke himself forsook his capital in order to put himself atthe head of his cavalry; and was pursued from place to place by fiveand forty squadrons, under the command of the count d'Aubeterre. Notwithstanding the very noble defence which was made by the garrison ofTurin, which destroyed fourteen thousand of the enemy during the courseof the siege, the defences were almost ruined, their ammunition began tofail, and they had no prospect of relief but from prince Eugene, whohad numberless difficulties to en-counter before he could march to theirassistance. The duke de Vendôme, before he left Italy, had secured allthe fords of the Adige, the Mincio, and the Oglio, and formed such linesand intrenchments as he imagined would effectually hinder the Imperialgeneral from arriving in time to relieve the city of Turin. But theprince surmounted all opposition; passed four great rivers in despite ofthe enemy, and reached the neighbourhood of Turin on the thirteenth dayof August. There, being joined by the duke of Savoy, he passed the Pobetween Montcalier and Cavignan. On the fifth day of September they tooka 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 theconvent of Capuchins, called Notre Dame de la Campagne, in their centre. When prince Eugene approached Turin, the duke of Orleans proposed tomarch out of the intrenchments and give him battle; and this proposalwas seconded by all the general officers, except Marsin, who, findingthe duke determined, produced an order from the French king commandingthe duke to follow the mareschal's advice. The court of Versailles wasnow become afraid of hazarding an engagement against those who had sooften defeated their armies; and this officer had private instructionsto keep within the trenches. On the seventh day of September theconfederates marched up to the entrenchments of the French in eightcolumns, through a terrible fire from forty pieces of artillery, andwere formed in order of battle within half cannon-shot of the enemy. Then they advanced to the attack with surprising resolution, and metwith such a warm reception as seemed to stop their progress. PrinceEugene perceiving this check, drew his sword, and putting himself atthe head of the battalions on the left, forced the entrenchments at thefirst charge. The duke of Savoy met with the same success in the centre, and on the right near Lucengo. The horse advanced through theintervals of the foot, left for that purpose; and breaking in with vastimpetuosity, completed the confusion of the enemy, who were defeated onall hands, and retired with precipitation to the other side of thePo, while the duke of Savoy entered his capital in triumph. The dukeof Orleans exhibited repeated proofs of the most intrepid courage, andreceived several wounds in the engagement. Mareschal de Marsin fell intothe hands of the victors, his thigh being shattered with a ball, anddied in a few hours after the amputation. Of the French army aboutfive thousand men were slain on the field of battle; a great number ofofficers, and upwards of seven thousand men were taken, together withtwo hundred and fifty-five pieces of cannon, one hundred and eightymortars, an incredible quantity of ammunition, all the tents andbaggage, five thousand beasts of burden, ten thousand horsesbelonging to thirteen regiments of dragoons, and the mules of thecommissary-general, so richly laden that this part of the booty alonewas valued at three millions of livres. The loss of the confederates didnot exceed three thousand men killed or disabled in the action, besidesabout the same number at the garrison of Turin, which had fallen sincethe beginning of the siege. This was such a fatal stroke to the interestof Louis, that madame de Main-tenon would not venture to make him follyacquainted with the state of his affairs. He was told that the duke ofOrleans 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 spiritsof the French were a little comforted in consequence of an advantagegained about this time by the count de Medavigrancey, who commanded abody of troops left in the Mantuan territories. He surprised the princeof Hesse in the neighbourhood of Castiglione, and obliged him to retireto the Adige with the loss of two thousand men; but this victory wasattended with no consequence in their favour. The duke of Orleansretreated into Dauphiné, while the French garrisons were driven outof every place they occupied in Piedmont and Italy, except Cremona, Valenza, and the castle of Milan, which were blocked up by theconfederates. {ANNE, 1701--1714} SIR C. SHOVEL SAILS WITH A REINFORCEMENT TO CHARLES. Over and above these disasters which the French sustained in the courseof this campaign, they were miserably alarmed by the project of aninvasion from Britain, formed by the marquis de Guiscard, who, actuatedby a family disgust, had abandoned his country and become a partisan ofthe confederates. He was declared a lieutenant-general in the emperor'sarmy, and came over to London, after having settled a correspondencewith the malcontents in the southern parts of France. He insinuatedhimself into the friendship of Henry St. John, secretary of war, andother persons of distinction. His scheme of invading France was approvedby the British ministry, and he was promoted to the command of aregiment of dragoons destined for that service. About eleven thousandmen were embarked under the conduct of Earl Rivers, with a large trainof artillery; and the combined squadrons, commanded by sir CloudesleyShovel, set sail from Plymouth on the thirteenth day of August. Next daythey were forced into Torbay by contrary winds, and there they held acouncil of war to concert their operations, when they discovered thatGuiscard's plan was altogether chimerical, or at least founded upon suchslight assurances and conjectures as could not justify their proceedingto execution. An express was immediately despatched to the admiraltywith the result of this council; and, in the meantime, letters arrivedat court from the earl of Galway, after his retreat from Madrid toValencia, soliciting succours with the most earnest entreaties. Theexpedition to France was immediately postponed, and sir CloudesleyShovel was ordered to make the best of his way to Lisbon, there to takesuch measures as the state of the war in Spain should render necessary. Guiscard and his officers being set on shore, the fleet sailed withthe first fair wind, and towards the latter end of October arrived atLisbon. On the twenty-eighth day of the next month the king of Portugaldied, and his eldest son and successor being but eighteen years of age, was even more than his father influenced by a ministry which had privateconnexions with the court of Versailles. Nevertheless, sir CloudesleyShovel and Earl Rivers, being pressed by letters from king Charles andthe earl of G-alway, sailed to their assistance in the beginning ofJanuary; and on the twenty-eighth arrived at Alicant, from whence theearl of Rivers proceeded by land to Valencia, in order to assist at ageneral council of war. The operations of the ensuing campaign beingconcerted, and the army joined by the reinforcement from England, earlRivers, 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 Lusatiainto Saxony; and in a little time laid that whole electorate undercontribution. Augustus being thus cut off from all resource, resolvedto obtain peace on the Swede's own terms, and engaged in a secret treatyfor this purpose. In the meantime the Poles and Muscovites attacked theSwedish forces at Kalish in Great Poland, and by dint of numbers routedthem with great slaughter. Notwithstanding this event, Augustus ratifiedthe treaty, by which he acknowledged Stanislaus as true and rightfulking of Poland, reserving to himself no more than the empty title ofsovereign. The confederates were not a little alarmed to find Charlesin the heart of Germany, and the French court did not fail to courthis alliance; but he continued on the reserve against all theirsolicitations. Then they implored his mediation for a peace; and heanswered, that he would interpose his good offices as soon as heshould know they would be agreeable to the powers engaged in the grandalliance. THE FRENCH KING DEMANDS CONFERENCES FOR A PEACE. The pride of Louis was now humbled to such a degree as might haveexcited the compassion of his enemies. He employed the elector ofBavaria to write letters in his name to the duke of Marlborough andthe deputies of the states-general, containing proposals for openinga congress. He had already tampered with the Dutch, in a memorialpresented by the marquis d'Alegre. He likewise besought the pope tointerpose in his behalf. He offered to cede either Spain and the WestIndies, or Milan, Naples, and Sicily, to king Charles; to give up abarrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands; and to indemnify the duke ofSavoy for the ravages that had been committed in his dominions. Thoughhis real aim was' peace, yet he did not despair of being able to excitesuch jealousies among the confederates as might shake the basis of theirunion. His hope was not altogether disappointed. The court of Vienna wasso much alarmed at the offers he had made, and the reports circulatedby his emissaries, that the emperor resolved to make himself master ofNaples before the allies should have it in their power to close with theproposals of France. This was the true motive of his concluding a treatywith Louis in the succeeding winter, by which the Milanese was entirelyevacuated, and the French king at liberty to employ those troopsin making strong efforts against the confederates in Spain and theNetherlands. The Dutch were intoxicated with success, and theirpensionary, Heinsius, entirely influenced by the duke of Marlborough, who found his account in the continuance of the war, which at oncegratified his warice and ambition; for all his great qualities wereobscured by the sordid passion of accumulating wealth. During the wholewar the allies never had such an opportunity as they now enjoyed tobridle the power of France effectually, and secure the liberties ofthe empire; and indeed, if their real design was to establish an equalbalance between the houses of Austria and Bourbon, it could not havebeen better effected than by dividing the Spanish monarchy between thesetwo potentates. The accession of Spain, with all its appendages, toeither, would have destroyed the equilibrium which the allies proposedto establish. But other motives contributed to a continuation of thewar. The powers of the confederacy were fired with the ambition ofmaking conquests; and England in particular thought herself intitled toan imdemnification for the immense sums she had expended. Animatedby these concurring considerations, queen Anne and the states-generalrejected the offers of France; and declared that they would not enterinto 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 againstthe duke of Marlborough. They looked upon him as a selfish nobleman, whosacrificed the interest of the nation, in protracting a ruinous warfor his own private advantage. They saw their country oppressed with anincreasing load of taxes, which they apprehended would in a little timebecome an intolerable burden; and they did not doubt but at this periodsuch terms might be obtained as would fully answer the great purpose ofthe confederacy. This indeed was the prevailing opinion among all thesensible people of the nation who were not particularly interested inthe prosecution of the war, either by being connected with the general, or in some shape employed in the management of the finances. The torieswere likewise instigated by a party spirit against Marlborough, who, bymeans of his wife, was in full possession of the queen's confidence, and openly patronized the whig faction. But the attention of people ingeneral was now turned upon the Scottish parliament, which tookinto consideration the treaty of union lately concluded between thecommissioners of both kingdoms. On the third day of October the duke ofQueensberry, as high commissioner, produced the queen's letter, in whichshe expressed her hope that the terms of the treaty would be acceptableto her parliament of Scotland. She said, an entire and perfect unionwould be the solid foundation of a lasting peace: it would secure theirreligion, liberty, and property; remove the animosities that prevailedamong themselves, and the jealousies that subsisted between the twonations: it would increase their strength, riches, and commerce:the whole island would be joined in affection, and free from allapprehensions of different interests: it would be enabled to resist allits enemies, support the protestant interest everywhere, and maintainthe liberties of Europe. She renewed her assurance of maintainingthe government of their church; and told them, that now they had anopportunity of taking such steps as might be necessary for its securityafter the union. She demanded the necessary supplies. She observed, thatthe great success with which Almighty God had blessed her arms, affordedthe nearer prospect of a happy peace, with which they would enjoy thefull advantages of this union: that they had no reason to doubt but theparliament of England would do all that should be necessary on theirpart to confirm the union: finally, she recommended calmness andunanimity in deliberating on this great and weighty affair, of suchconsequence to the whole island of Great Britain. VIOLENT OPPOSITION TO THE UNION. Hitherto the articles of the union had been industriously concealed fromthe knowledge of the people: but the treaty being recited in parliament, and the particulars divulged, such a flame was kindled through thewhole nation as had not appeared since the restoration. The cavaliers orJacobites had always foreseen that this union would extinguish all theirhopes of a revolution in favour of the pretender. The nobility foundthemselves degraded in point of dignity and influence, by being excludedfrom their seats in parliament. The trading part of the nationbeheld their commerce saddled with heavy duties and restrictions, andconsidered the privilege of trading to the English plantations asa precarious and uncertain prospect of advantage. The barons, orgentlemen, were exasperated at a coalition by which their parliamentwas annihilated, and their credit destroyed. The people in generalexclaimed, that the dignity of their crown was betrayed; that theindependency of their nation had fallen a sacrifice to treachery andcorruption; that whatever conditions might be speciously offered, theycould not expect they would be observed by a parliament in which theEnglish had such a majority. They exaggerated the dangers to which theconstitution of their church would be exposed from a bench of bishops, and a parliament of episcopalians. This consideration alarmed thepresbyterian ministers to such a degree, that they employed all theirpower and credit in waking the resentment of their hearers against thetreaty, which produced an universal ferment among all ranks of people. Even the most rigid puritans joined the cavaliers in expressing theirdetestation of the union; and laying aside their mutual animosities, promised to co-operate in opposing a measure so ignominous andprejudicial to their country. In parliament, the opposition was headedby the dukes of Hamilton and Athol, and the marquis of Annandale. Thefirst of these noblemen had wwered so much in his conduct, that it isdifficult to ascertain his real political principles. He was generallysupposed to favour the claim of the pretender; but he was afraid ofembarking too far in his cause, and avoided violent measures in thediscussion of the treaty, lest he should incur the resentment of theEnglish parliament, and forfeit the estate he possessed in that kingdom. Athol was more forward in his professions of attachment to the court ofSt. Germain's; but he had less ability, and his zeal was supposed tobe inflamed by resentment against the ministry. The debates upon thedifferent articles of the treaty were carried on with great heat andvivacity, and many shrewd arguments were used against this scheme ofincorporating the union. One member affirmed, that it would furnish ahandle to any aspiring prince to overthrow the liberties of all Britain;for if the parliament of Scotland could alter, or rather subvert itsconstitution, this circumstance might be a precedent for the parliamentof Great Britain to assume the same power: that the representatives forScotland would, from their poverty, depend upon those who possessedthe means of corruption; and having expressed so little concern for thesupport of their own constitution, would pay very little regard to thatof any other. "What!" said the duke of Hamilton, "shall we in halfan hour give up what our forefathers maintained with their lives andfortunes for many ages? Are here none of the descendants of those worthypatriots 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? Whereare the Douglasses and Campbells? Where are the peers, where arethe barons, once the bulwark of the nation? Shall we yield up thesovereignty and independency of our country, when we are commanded bythose we represent to preserve the same, and assured of their assistanceto support us?" The duke of Athol protested against an incorporatingunion, as contrary to the honour, interest, fundamental laws, andconstitution of the kingdom of Scotland, the birthright of the peers, the rights and privileges of the barons and boroughs, and to theclaim of right, property, and liberty of the subjects. To this protestnineteen peers and forty-six commoners adhered. The earl-marshal entereda protest, importing, that no person being successor to the crownof England should inherit that of Scotland, without such previouslimitations as might secure the honour and sovereignty of the Scottishcrown 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 thirdarticle of the union, stipulating, that both kingdoms should berepresented by one and the same parliament, the country party observedthat, by assenting to this expedient, they did in effect sink their ownconstitution, while that of England underwent no alteration: that in allnations there are fundamentals which no power whatever can alter: thatthe rights and privileges of parliament being one of those fundamentalsamong the Scots, no parliament, or any other power, could ever legallyprohibit the meeting of parliaments, or deprive any of the three estatesof its right of sitting or voting in parliament, or give up the rightsand privileges of parliament: but that by this treaty the parliament ofScotland was entirely abrogated, its rights and privileges sacrificed, and those of the English parliament substituted in their place. Theyargued that though the legislative power in parliament was regulated anddetermined by a majority of voices; yet the giving up the constitution, with the rights and privileges of the nation, was not subject tosuffrage, being founded on dominion and property, and therefore couldnot be legally surrendered without the consent of every person who had aright to elect and be represented in parliament. They affirmed, that theobligation laid on the Scottish members to reside so long in London inattendance on the British parliament, would drain Scotland of all itsmoney, impoverish the members, and subject them to the temptation ofbeing corrupted. Another protest was entered by the marquis ofAnnandale against an incorporating union, as being odious to the people, subversive of the constitution, sovereignty, and claim of right, andthreatening ruin to the church as by law established. Fifty-two membersjoined in this protestation. Almost every article produced the mostinflammatory disputes. The lord Belhaven enumerated the mischiefs whichwould attend the union in a pathetic speech, that drew tears from theaudience, and is at this day looked upon as a prophecy by great partof the Scottish nation. Addresses against the treaty were presented toparliament by the convention of boroughs, the commissioners of thegeneral assembly, the company trading to Africa and the Indies, as wellas from several shires, stewartries, boroughs, towns, and parishes, inall the different parts of the kingdom, without distinction of whig ortory, episcopalian or presbyterian. The earl of Buchan for the peers, Lockhart of Camwarth for the barons, sir William Stuart in behalf ofthe peers, barons, boroughs, the earls of Errol and Marischal forthemselves, as high-constable and earl-marshal of the kingdom, protestedseverally against the treaty of union. While this opposition raged within doors, the resentment of the peoplerose to transports of fury and revenge. The more rigid presbyterians, known by the name of Cameronians, chose officers, formed themselvesinto regiments, provided horses, arms, and ammunition, and marching toDumfries, burned the articles of union at the Market-cross, justifyingtheir conduct in a public declaration. They made a tender of theirattachment to duke Hamilton, from whom they received encouragementin secret. They reconciled themselves to the episcopalians and thecavaliers: they resolved to take the route to Edinburgh, and dissolvethe parliament; while the duke of Athol undertook to secure the pass ofStirling with his highlanders, so as to open the communication betweenthe western and northern parts of the kingdom. Seven or eight thousandmen were actually ready to appear in arms at the town of Hamilton, and march directly to Edinburgh, under the duke's command, when thatnobleman altered his opinion, and despatched private couriers throughthe whole country, requiring the people to defer their meeting tillfurther directions. The more sanguine cavaliers accused his grace oftreachery, but in all likelihood he was actuated by prudential motives. He alleged, in his own excuse, that the nation was not in a conditionto carry on such an enterprise, especially as the English had alreadydetached troops to the border, and might in a few days have wafted overa considerable reinforcement from Holland. During this commotion amongthe Cameronians, the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow were filled withtumults. Sir Patrick Johnston, provost of Edinburgh, who had been oneof the commissioners for the union, was besieged in his own house bythe populace, and would have been torn in pieces had not the guardsdispersed the multitude. The privy-council issued a proclamation againstriots, commanding all persons to retire from the streets whenever thedrum should beat; ordering the guards to fire upon those who shoulddisobey this command, and indemnifying them from all prosecution formaiming or slaying the lieges. These guards were placed all round thehouse in which the peers and commons were assembled, and the councilreceived the thanks of the parliament for having thus provided fortheir safety. Notwithstanding these precautions of the government, thecommissioner was constantly saluted with the curses and imprecations ofthe people as he passed along: his guards were pelted, and some of hisattendants wounded with stones as they sat by him in the coach, so thathe was obliged to pass through the streets on full gallop. Against all this national fury the dukes of Queensberry and Argyle, theearls of Montrose, Seafield, and Stair, and the other noblemen attachedto the union, acted with equal prudence and resolution. They arguedstrenuously against the objections that were started in the house. They magnified the advantages that would accrue to the kingdom from theprivileges of trading to the English plantations, and being protectedin their commerce by a powerful navy; as well as from the exclusion ofa popish pretender, who they knew was odious to the nation in general. They found means, partly by their promises, and partly by corruption, tobring over the earls of Roxburgh and Marchmont, with the whole squadronwho had hitherto been unpropitious to the court. They disarmed theresentment of the clergy, by promoting an act to be inserted in theunion, declaring the presbyterian discipline to be the only governmentin the church of Scotland, unalterable in all succeeding times, and afundamental article of the treaty. They soothed the African company withthe prospect of being indemnified for the losses they had sustained. They amused individuals with the hope of sharing the rest of theequivalent. They employed emissaries to allay the ferment among theCameronians, and disunite them from the cavaliers, by canting, praying, and demonstrating the absurdity, sinfulness, and danger of such acoalition. These remonstrances were reinforced by the sum of twentythousand pounds, which the queen privately lent to the Scottishtreasury, and which was now distributed by the ministry in such a manneras might best conduce to the success of the treaty. By these practicesthey diminished, though they could not silence, the clamour of thepeople, and obtained a considerable majority in parliament, whichout-voted all opposition. Not but that the duke of Queensberry at onetime despaired of succeeding, and being in continual apprehension forhis life, expressed a desire of adjourning the parliament, until by timeand good management he should be able to remove those difficulties thatthen seemed to be insurmountable. But the lord-treasurer Godolphin, whoforesaw that the measure would be entirely lost by delay, and was nojudge of the difficulties, insisted upon his proceeding. It was at thisperiod that he remitted the money, and gave directions for having forcesready at a call, both in England and Ireland. At length the Scottishparliament approved and ratified all the articles of the union with somesmall variation. Then they prepared an act for regulating the electionof the sixteen peers and forty-five commoners to represent Scotland inthe British parliament. This being touched with the sceptre, the threeestates proceeded to elect their representatives. The remaining partof the session was employed in making regulations concerning the coin, in examining the accounts of their African company, and providingfor the due application of the equivalent, which was scandalouslymisapplied. On the twenty-fifth day of March the commissioner adjournedthe parliament, after having, in a short speech, taken notice of thehonour they had acquired in concluding an affair of such importance totheir country. Having thus accomplished the great purpose of the court, he set out for London, in the neighbourhood of which he was met by aboveforty noblemen in their coaches, and about four hundred gentlemen onhorseback. Next day he waited upon the queen at Kensington, from whomhe met with a very gracious reception. Perhaps there is not anotherinstance upon record of a ministry's having carried a point of thisimportance against such a violent torrent of opposition, and contraryto the general sense and inclination of a whole exasperated people. TheScots were persuaded that their trade would be destroyed, their nationoppressed, and their country ruined, in consequence of the union withEngland, and indeed their opinion was supported by very plausiblearguments. The majority of both nations believed that the treaty wouldproduce violent convulsions, or at best prove ineffectual. But wenow see it has been attended with none of the calamities that wereprognosticated; that it quietly took effect, and fully answered all thepurposes for which it was intended. Hence we may learn that many greatdifficulties are surmounted, because they are not seen by those whodirect the execution of any great project; and that many schemes, whichtheory deems impracticable, will yet succeed in the experiment. PROCEEDINGS in the ENGLISH PARLIAMENT. The English parliament assembling on the third day of December, thequeen, in her speech to both houses, congratulated them on the glorioussuccesses of her arms. She desired the commons would grant such suppliesas might enable her to improve the advantages of this successfulcampaign. She told them that the treaty of union, as concluded by thecommissioners of both kingdoms, was at that time under the considerationof the Scottish parliament; and she recommended despatch in the publicaffairs, that both friends and enemies might be convinced of thefirmness and vigour of their proceedings. The parliament was perfectlywell disposed, to comply with all her majesty's requests. Warm debateswere presented by both houses. Then they proceeded to the considerationof the supply, and having examined the estimates in less than aweek, voted near six millions for the service of the ensuing year. Nevertheless, in examining the accounts some objections arose. Theyfound that the extraordinary supplies for the support of king Charlesof Spain, amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds more than the sumsprovided by parliament. Some members argued that very ill consequencesmight ensue, if a ministry could thus run the nation in debt, and expectthe parliament should pay the money. The courtiers answered, that ifanything had been raised without necessity, or ill applied, it wasreasonable that those who were in fault should be punished; but as thisexpense was incurred to improve advantages, at a time when the occasioncould not be communicated to parliament, the ministry was rather tobe applauded for their zeal, than condemned for their liberality. Thequestion being put, the majority voted that those sums had been expendedfor the preservation of the duke of Savoy, for the interest of kingCharles against the common enemy, and for the safety and honour of thenation. When the speaker presented the money-bills, he told her, that asthe glorious victory obtained by the duke of Marlborough at Ramillies, was fought before it could be supposed the armies were in the field, soit was no less surprising that the commons had granted supplies toher majesty, before the enemy could well know that the parliament wassitting. The general was again honoured with the thanks of both houses. The lords in an address besought the queen to settle his honours onhis posterity. An act was passed for this purpose; and, in pursuance ofanother address from the commons, a pension of five thousand pounds outof the post-office was settled upon him and his descendants. The lordsand commons having adjourned themselves to the last day of December, thequeen closed the year with triumphal processions. As the standards andcolours taken at Blenheim had been placed in Westminster-hall, so nowthose that had been brought from the field of Ramillies were put up inGuildhall, as trophies of that victory. About this time the earls ofKent, Lindsey, and Kingston, were raised to the rank of marquisses. Thelords Wharton, Paulet, Godolphin, and Cholmondeley, were created earls. Lord Walden, son and heir-apparent to the earl of Suffolk, obtained thetitle of earl of Bindon. The lord-keeper Cowper, and sir Thomas Pelham, were ennobled as barons. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE COMMONS APPROVE OF THE ARTICLES OF THE UNION. The parliament being assembled after their short recess, the earl ofNottingham moved for an address to the queen, desiring her majesty wouldorder the proceedings of the commissioners for the union, as well asthose of the Scottish parliament on the said subject, to be laidbefore them. He was seconded by the duke of Buckingham and the earl ofRochester; and answered by the earl of Godolphin, who told themthey needed not doubt but that her majesty would communicate thoseproceedings, as soon as the Scottish parliament should have discussedthe subject of the union. The lords Wharton, Somers, and Halifaxobserved, that it was for the honour of the nation that the treaty ofunion should first come ratified from the parliament of Scotland; andthat then and not before, it would be a proper time for the lords totake it into consideration. On the twenty-eighth clay of January, thequeen in person told both houses that the treaty of union, with someadditions and alterations, was ratified by an act of the Scottishparliament: that she had ordered it to be laid before them; and hopedit would meet with their concurrence and approbation. She desired thecommons would provide for the payment of the equivalent, in case thetreaty should be approved. She observed to both houses, that now theyhad an opportunity of putting the last hand to a happy union of the twokingdoms; and that she should look upon it as a particular happinessif this great work, which had been so often attempted without success, could be brought to perfection in her reign. When the commons formedthemselves into a committee of the whole house, to deliberate on thearticles of the union, and the Scottish act of ratification, thetory party, which was very weak in that assembly, began to start someobjections. Sir John Packington disapproved of this incorporating union, which he likened to a marriage with a woman against her consent. He saidit was a union carried on by corruption and bribery within doors, byforce and violence without; that the promoters of it had basely betrayedtheir trust, in giving up their independent constitution, and he wouldleave it to the judgment of the house, to consider whether or not menof such principles were fit to be admitted into their house ofrepresentatives. 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 ofScotland in one and the same kingdom. Now, said he, after this union isin force, who shall administer this oath to her majesty? It is not thebusiness of the Scots, who are incapable of it, and no well-wishers tothe 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 athing so contrary to their own order and institution, as thus to promotethe establishment of the presbyterian church government in the unitedkingdom? He added, that the church of England being established _juredivino_, and the Scots pretending that the kirk was also _jure divino_, he could not tell how two nations that clashed in so essential anarticle could unite; he therefore thought it proper to consult theconvocation about this critical point. A motion was made, that thefirst article of the treaty, which implies a peremptory agreement toan incorporating union, should be postponed; and that the house shouldproceed to the consideration of the terms of the intended union, contained in the other articles. This proposal being rejected, sometory members quitted the house; and all the articles were examined andapproved without further opposition. The whigs were so eager in theprosecution of this point, that they proceeded in a very superficialmanner, and with such precipitation as furnished their enemies with aplausible pretence to affirm, that they had not considered the treatywith the coolness and deliberation which an affair of this importancerequired. Before the lords began to investigate the articles of the union, they, at the instance of the archbishop of Canterbury, brought in a bill forthe security of the church of England, to be inserted as a fundamentaland essential part of that treaty. It passed through both houses withoutopposition, and received the royal assent. On the fifteenth clay ofFebruary, the debates concerning the union began in the house oflords, the queen being present, and the bishop of Sarum chairman ofthe committee. The earls of Rochester, Anglesea, and Nottingham, arguedagainst the union; as did the bishop of Bath and Wells. Lord Haversham, in a premeditated harangue, said the question was, whether two nationsindependent in their sovereignties, that had their distinct laws andinterests, their different forms of worship, church-government, andorder, should be united into one kingdom? He supposed it a union made upof so many mismatched pieces, of such jarring incongruous ingredients, that should it ever take effect, it would carry the necessaryconsequences of a standing power and force to keep them from fallingasunder and breaking in pieces every moment. Pie repeated what hadbeen said by lord Bacon, that an unity pieced up by direct admissionof contrarieties in the fundamental points of it, is like the toes ofNebuchadnezzar's image, which were made of iron and clay---they maycleave together, but would never incorporate. He dissented from theunion for the sake of the good old English constitution, in which hedreaded some alteration from the additional weight of sixty-one Scottishmembers, and these too returned by a Scottish privy-council. He tooknotice, that above one hundred Scottish peers, and as many commoners, were excluded from sitting and voting in parliament, though they hadas much right of inheritance to sit there as any English peer had ofsitting in the parliament of England. He expressed his apprehension ofthis precedent; and asked what security any peer of England had for thisright and privilege of peerage, which those lords had not. He said, Ifthe bishops would weaken their own cause, so far as to give up the twogreat points of episcopal ordination and confirmation; if theywould approve and ratify the act for securing the presbyterianchurch-government in Scotland, as the true protestant religion andpurity of worship; they must give up that which had been contended forbetween them and the presbyterians for thirty years, and been defendedby the greatest and most learned men in the church of England. Heobjected to the exempting articles, by which heritable offices andsuperiorities were reserved. He affirmed that the union was contraryto the sense of the Scottish nation; that the murmurs of the people hadbeen so loud as to fill the whole kingdom; and so bold as to reach evento the doors of the parliament; that the parliament itself had suspendedtheir 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 intumults. From these circumstances he concluded, that the Scottish nationwas averse to an incorporating union, which he looked upon as one ofthe most dangerous experiments to both nations. Lord North and Greycomplained of the small and unequal proportion of the land-tax imposedupon Scotland. The earl of Nottingham said it was highly unreasonablethat the Scots, who were by the treaty let into all the branches of theEnglish trade, and paid so little towards the expense of the government, should moreover have such a round sum by way of equivalent. Thesame topics were insisted on by the lords North and Grey, Guernsey, Granville, Stawel, and Abingdon. The earl of Nottingham, after havingopposed every article separately, concluded with words to this effect;"As sir John Maynard said to the late king at the revolution, thathaving buried all his contemporaries in Westminster-hall, he was afraid, if his majesty had not come in that very juncture of time, he might havelikewise outlived the very laws; so, if this union do pass, as I have noreason to doubt but it will, I may justly affirm I have outlived all thelaws, and the very constitution of England: I, therefore, pray to Godto avert the dire effects which may probably ensue from such anincorporating union. " These arguments and objections were answered by the lord-treasurerGodolphin, the earls of Sunderland and Wharton, the lords Townshend, Halifax, and So-mers, the bishops of Oxford, Norwich, and Sarum. Theyobserved that such an important measure could not be effected withoutsome inconveniences; but that these ought to be borne in considerationof the greatness of the advantage: that the chief dangers to which thechurch was exposed arose from France and popery; and this union wouldeffectually secure it against these evils: that Scotland lay on theweakest side of England, which could not be defended but by an expensivearmy. Should a war break out between the two nations, and Scotland beconquered, yet even in that case it would be necessary to keep it underwith a standing army, which any enterprising prince might model forhis ambitious purposes, and joining with the Scots, enslave hisEnglish dominion; that any union after a conquest would be compulsive, consequently of short duration; whereas now it was voluntary, it wouldbe lasting; that with regard to ecclesiastical affairs, all heats andanimosities might be allayed by soft and gentle management. The cantonsof Switzerland, though they professed different religions, were yetunited in one general body; and the diet of Germany was composed ofprinces and states, among whom three different persuasions prevailed;so that two sorts of discipline might very well subsist under onelegislature. If there was any danger on either side, it threatened theScots much more than the English, as five hundred and thirteen memberscould certainly be too hard for forty-five; and in the house of lords, six-and-twenty bishops would always preponderate against sixteen peersfrom Scotland. Notwithstanding all the opposition made by the lordsof the tory interest, every article was approved by a great majority, though not without a good number of protestations; and a bill ofratification was prepared in the lower house by sir Simon Harcourt, thesolicitor-general, in such an artful manner as to prevent all debates. All the articles, as they passed in Scotland, were recited by wayof preamble, together with the acts made in both parliaments for thesecurity of the several churches; and, in conclusion, there was oneclause by which the whole was ratified and enacted into a law. By thiscontrivance, those who were desirous of starting new difficulties foundthemselves disabled from pursuing their design. They could not object tothe recital, which was barely matter of fact; and they had not strengthsufficient to oppose the general enacting clause. On the other hand, the whigs promoted it with such zeal that it passed by a majority of onehundred and fourteen, before the others had recollected themselves fromthe surprise which the structure of the bill had occasioned. It madeits way through the house of lords with equal despatch; and, whenit received the royal sanction, the queen expressed the utmostsatisfaction. She said she did not doubt but it would be remembered andspoke of hereafter to the honour of those who had been instrumental inbringing it to such a happy conclusion. She desired that her subjects ofboth kingdoms should from henceforward behave with all possible respectand kindness towards one another, that so it might appear to all theworld they had hearts disposed to become one people. {1707} PARLIAMENT REVIVED BY PROCLAMATION. As the act of union did not take place till the first of May, a greatnumber of traders in both kingdoms resolved to make advantage of thisinterval. The English proposed to export into Scotland such commoditiesas entitled them to a drawback, with a view to bring them back after thefirst of May. The Scots, on the other hand, as their duties were muchlower than those in England, intended to import great quantities ofwine, brandy, and other merchandise, which they could sell at a greateradvantage in England after the union, when there would be a freeintercourse between the two nations. Some of the ministers had embarkedin this fraudulent design, which alarmed the merchants of Englandto 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 somemeasure infringed the articles of the union, and that it might giveumbrage to the Scottish nation, it was dropped. The frauds had been in agood measure prevented by the previous resolutions of the house; andthe first day of May was now at hand; so that the bill was thoughtunnecessary. On the twenty-fourth day of April the queen proroguedthe parliament, after having given them to understand that she wouldcontinue by proclamation the lords and commons already assembled, asmembers in the first British parliament on the part of England, pursuantto the powers vested in her by the acts of parliament of both kingdoms, ratifying the treaty of union. The parliament was accordingly revivedby proclamation, and another issued to convoke the first parliament ofGreat Britain for the twenty-third day of October. The Scots repairedto London, where they were well received by the queen, who bestowedthe title of duke on the earls of Roxburgh and Montrose. She likewisegranted a commission for a new privy-council in that kingdom, to be inforce till the next session of parliament, that the nation might not bedisgusted by too sudden an alteration of outward appearances. The firstof May was appointed as a day of public thanksgiving; and congratulatoryaddresses were sent up from all parts of England; but the university ofOxford prepared no compliment; and the Scots were wholly silent on thisoccasion. 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 Nevisin the West Indies, which had been ravaged by the enemy. They likewiseresolved, that an humble address should be presented to her majesty, praying she would concert measures for suppressing a body of pirateswho had made a settlement on the island of Madagascar, as also forrecovering and preserving the ancient possessions, trade, and fishery inNewfoundland. The French refugees likewise delivered a remonstrance tothe queen, recapitulating the benefits which the persecuted protestantsin 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 drivenfrom their native country; and imploring her majesty's interpositionand good offices in favour of their distressed and persecuted brethrenabroad. She graciously received this address, declaring she had alwaysgreat compassion for the unhappy circumstances of the protestants inFrance; that she would communicate her thoughts on this subject to herallies; and she expressed her hope that such measures might be taken asshould effectually answer the intent of their petition. In the month ofMay she granted an audience to an ambassador-extraordinary from theczar of Muscovy, who delivered a letter from his master, containingcomplaints of king Augusts, who had maltreated the Russian troops sentto his assistance, concluded a dishonourable peace with Charles kingof Sweden, without the knowledge of his allies, and surrendered countPatkul, 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 officesfor the enlargement of the count, and the other Russian prisonersdetained at Stockholm; and that she would take into her protectionthe remains of the Russian auxiliaries upon the Rhine, that they mighteither enter into the service of the allies, or be at liberty to returnin safety to their own country. The queen actually interposed in behalfof Patkul; but her intercession proved ineffectual, and that unhappyminister was put to death with all the circumstances of wantonbarbarity. As many severe and sarcastic writings had lately appeared inwhich the whigs and ministry were reviled, and reflections hinted tothe prejudice of the queen's person, the government resolved to makeexamples 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 whichhe afterwards wrote to Mr. Secretary Hailey. William Stevens, rector ofSutton in Surrey, underwent the same sentence, as author of a pamphletcalled "A Letter to the Author of the Memorial of the Church ofEngland. " Edward Ward was fined and set in the pillory, for havingwritten a burlesque poem on the times, under the title of "HudibrasRedivivus;" and the same punishment was inflicted upon William Pittes, author of a performance, intituled "The Case of the Church of England'sMemorial fairly stated. " PROCEEDINGS IN CONVOCATION. The lower house of convocation still continued to wrangle with theirsuperiors; and though they joined the upper house in a congratulatoryaddress to the queen on the success of her arms, they resolved to makeapplication to the commons against the union. The queen being apprisedof their design, desired the archbishop to prorogue them for threeweeks, before the expiration of which the act of union had passed inparliament. The lower house delivered a representation to the bishops, in which they affirmed no such prorogation had ever been ordered duringthe session of parliament. The bishops found in their records seven oreight precedents of such prorogations, and above thirty instances of theconvocation having sat sometimes before, and sometimes after, a sessionof parliament; nay, sometimes even when the parliament was dissolved. The queen, informed of these proceedings, wrote a letter to thearchbishop, intimating that she looked upon the lower house as guiltyof an invasion of her royal supremacy; and that if any thing of the samenature should be attempted for the future, she would use such meansfor punishing offenders as the law warranted. The prolocutor absentinghimself from the convocation, the archbishop pronounced sentence ofcontumacy against him. The lower house, in a protestation, declared thissentence unlawful and altogether null. Nevertheless the prolocutor madea full submission, with which the archbishop was satisfied, and thesentence was repealed. About this period the earl of Sunderland wasappointed one of the secretaries of state, in the room of sir CharlesHedges. This change was not effected without great opposition fromHarley, who was in his heart an enemy to the duke of Marlborough andall his adherents; and had already, by his secret intrigues, madeconsiderable progress in a scheme for superseding the influence of theduchess. FRANCE THREATENED WITH TOTAL RUIN. The French king at this juncture seemed to be entirely abandoned byhis former good fortune. He had sustained such a number of successivedefeats as had drained his kingdom of people, and his treasury wasalmost exhausted. He endeavoured to support the credit of his governmentby issuing mint-bills, in imitation of the bank-notes of England;but, notwithstanding all his precautions, they passed at a discount ofthree-and-fifty per cent. The lands lay uncultivated; the manufacturescould 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, inconsequence of the victory at Ramillies; the army of king Charles wasconsiderably reinforced; a scheme was formed for the conquest of Toulon, by the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, supplied with alarge sum of money by queen Anne, and assisted by the combined fleetsof England and Holland, under the command of sir Cloudesley Shovel. Ina word, France seemed to be reduced to the verge of destruction, fromwhich nothing in all probability could have saved her but the jealousyand misconduct of the confederates. Louis, by virtue of his capitulationwith the emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcementsinto Spain as turned the fortune of the war in that country; while thedistractions in the council of king Charles prevented that unanimityand concurrence without which no success can be expected. The earlof Peterborough declared against an offensive war, on account of thedifficulty of finding subsistence in Castile; and advised Charles totrust 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, andgive battle to the enemy wherever they should appear. On the thirteenthday of March the army was assembled at Caudela, to the number of sixteenthousand men; under the auspices of the marquis das Minas, to whom theearl of Galway was second in command. They marched towards Yecla, andundertook the siege of Vilena; but having received intelligence thatthe duke of Berwick was in the neighbourhood, they advanced on thefourteenth day of April in four columns towards the town of Almanza, where the enemy were drawn up in order of battle, their number beingconsiderably superior to that of the confederates. The battle beganabout two in the afternoon, and the whole front of each army was fullyengaged. The English and Dutch squadrons on the left, sustained by thePortuguese horse of the second line, were overpowered after a gallantresistance. The centre, consisting chiefly of battalions from GreatBritain and Holland, obliged the enemy to give way, and drove theirfirst upon their second line; but the Portuguese cavalry on the rightbeing 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 emergencythey formed themselves into a square, and retired from the field ofbattle. By this time the men were quite spent with fatigue, and alltheir ammunition exhausted: they were ignorant of the country, abandonedby their horse, destitute of provisions, and cut off from all hopeof supply. Moved by these dismal considerations, they capitulated andsurrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the amount of thirteenbattalions. The Portuguese, and part of the English horse, with theinfantry that guarded the baggage, retreated to Alcira, where theywere joined by the earl of Galway, with about five and twenty hundreddragoons which he had brought from the field of battle. About threethousand men of the allied army were killed upon the spot, and amongthat number brigadier Killegrew, with many officers of distinction. The earl of Galway, who charged in person at the head of Guiscard'sdragoons, received two deep cuts in the face. The marquis das Minas wasrun through the arm, and saw his concubine, who fought in the habit ofan Amazon, killed by his side: the lords Tyrawley, Mark Ker, and colonelGlayton, were wounded: all their artillery, together with an hundred andtwenty colours and standards, and about ten thousand men, were taken; sothat no victory could be more complete; yet it was not purchasedwithout the loss of two thousand men slain in the action, including someofficers of eminence. The duke of Berwick, who commanded the troopsof king Philip, acquired a great addition of fame by his conduct andbehaviour before and during the engagement; but his authority wassuperseded by the duke of Orleans, who arrived in the army immediatelyafter the battle. This prince seemed to entertain some private views ofhis own; for he took no effectual step to improve the victory. He begana private negotiation with the earl of Galway, during which the twoarmies lay inactive on the banks of the Cinca; and he concluded thecampaign with the siege of Lerida, which was surrendered by capitulationon the second day of November: then the troops on both sides went intowinter quarters. The earl of Galway and the Marquis das Minas embarkedat Barcelona for Lisbon, and general Carpenter remained commander of theEnglish forces quartered in Catalonia, which was now the only part ofSpain that remained to king Charles. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT UPON TOULON. The attempt upon Toulon by the duke of Savoy and prince Eugenemight have succeeded, if the emperor, notwithstanding the repeatedremonstrances of the maritime powers, had not divided his army inItaly, by detaching a considerable body through the ecclesiastical statetowards Naples, of which he took possession without any difficulty. Besides, ten thousand recruits destined for the Imperial forces in Italywere detained in Germany, from an apprehension of the king of Sweden, who remained in Saxony, and seemed to be upon very indifferent termswith 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 ofan army of thirty thousand men, and marched directly towards Toulon, whither the artillery and ammunition were conveyed on board of thecombined squadrons. The French king was extremely alarmed at thisattempt, as five thousand pieces of cannon, vast magazines, and the bestpart of his fleet, were in the harbour of Toulon, and ran the greatestrisk of being entirely taken or destroyed. The whole kingdom of Francewas filled with consternation when they found their enemies were in thebosom of their country. The monarch resolved to leave no stone unturnedfor the relief of the place, and his subjects exerted themselves ina very extraordinary manner for its preservation. The nobility of theadjacent provinces armed their servants and tenants, at the head of whomthey marched into the city: they coined their plate, and pawned theirjewels 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, andthe ordnance being landed, erected batteries. From these they began tocannonade and bombard the city, while the fleet attacked and reducedtwo forts at the entrance of the Mole, and co-operated in the siegewith their great guns and bomb-ketches. The garrison was numerous, anddefended the place with great vigour. They sunk ships in the entranceto the Mole: they kept up a prodigious fire from the ramparts: they madedesperate sallies, and even drove the besiegers from one of their postswith great slaughter. The French king, alarmed at this design of hisenemies, ordered troops to march towards Toulon from all parts of hisdominions. He countermanded the forces that were on their route toimprove the victory of Almanza: a great part of the army under Villarson the Bhine was detached to Provence, and the court of Versaillesdeclared, that the duke of Burgundy should march at the head of a strongarmy to the relief of Toulon. The duke of Savoy being apprized ofthese preparations, seeing no hope of reducing the place, and beingapprehensive that his passage would be intercepted, resolved to abandonhis enterprise. The artillery being re-embarked, with the sickand wounded, he decamped in the night, under favour of a terriblebombardment and cannonading from the English fleet, and retreated tohis own country without molestation. * Then he undertook the reduction ofSusa, the garrison of which surrendered at discretion. By this conquesthe not only secured the key to his own dominions, but also opened tohimself 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 forthe Mediterranean service, set sail for England with the rest of thefleet, and was in soundings on the twenty-second day of October. Abouteight o'clock at night his own ship, the Association, struck upon therocks of Scilly, and perished with every person on board. This waslikewise the fate of the Eagle and the Romney: the Firebrand was dashedin pieces on the rocks; but the captain and four-and-twenty men savedthemselves in the boat: the Phoenix was driven on shore: the Royal Annewas saved by the presence of mind and uncommon dexterity of sir GeorgeByng and his officers: the St. George, commanded by lord Dursley, struckupon the rocks, but a wave set her afloat again. The admiral's bodybeing cast ashore, was stripped and buried in the sand; but afterwardsdiscovered and brought into Plymouth, from whence it was conveyed toLondon, and interred in Westminster-abbey. Sir Cloudesley Shovel wasborn of mean parentage in the county of Suffolk; but raised himself tothe chief command at sea, by his industry, valour, skill, and integrity. On the upper Rhine the allies were unprosperous. [150] _[See note C, atthe end of this Vol. ]_ The prince of Baden was dead, and the German armyso inconsiderable, that it could not defend the lines of Buhl againstthe mareschal de Villars, who broke through this work, esteemed therampart of Germany, reduced Rastadt, defeated a body of horse, laid theduchy of Wirtemberg under contribution, took Stutgard and Schorndorf;and routed three thousand Germans intrenched at Lorch, under the commandof general Janus, who was made prisoner. In all probability, this activeofficer would have made great progress towards the restoration of theelector of Bavaria, had not he been obliged to stop in the middle ofhis career, in consequence of his army's being diminished by sending offdetachments to Provence. The Imperial army retired towards Hailbron, andthe command of it was, at the request of the emperor and allies, assumedby the elector of Hanover, who restored military discipline, andacted with uncommon prudence and circumspection; but he had not forcesufficient to undertake any enterprise of importance. {ANNE, 1701--1714} INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE KING OF SWEDEN AND THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. In the month of April, the duke of Marlborough set out from the Haguefor Leipsic, with a letter from the queen to Charles XII. Of Sweden, whose designs were still so mysterious, that the confederates could nothelp being alarmed at his being in the heart of Germany. The duke waspitched upon as the most proper ambassador, to soothe his vanity andpenetrate 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 hisappearance and economy, savage in his deportment, ferocious, illiterate, stubborn, implacable, and reserved. The English general assailed himon 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 thechancery, but from the heart of the queen my mistress, and writtenwith her own hand. Had not her sex prevented her from taking so long ajourney, she would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by thewhole universe. I esteem myself happy in having the honour of assuringyour majesty of my regard; and I should think it a great happiness, ifmy affairs would allow me, to learn under so great a general as yourmajesty, what I want to know in the art of war. " Charles was pleasedwith this overstrained compliment, which seems to have been calculatedfor a raw unintelligent barbarian, unacquainted with the characters ofmankind. He professed particular veneration for queen Anne, as well asfor the person of her ambassador, and declared he would take no steps tothe prejudice of the grand alliance. Nevertheless, the sincerity of thisdeclaration has been questioned. The French court is said to have gainedover his minister, count Piper, to their interest. Certain it is, heindustriously sought occasion to quarrel with the emperor, and treatedhim with great insolence, until he submitted to all his demands. Thetreaty being concluded upon the terms he thought proper to impose, hehad no longer the least shadow of pretence to continue his disputes withthe court of Vienna; and therefore began his march for Poland, which wasby this time overrun by the czar of Muscovy. INACTIVE CAMPAIGN in the NETHERLANDS. The duke of Marlborough returning from Saxony, assembled the allied armyat Anderlach near Brussels, about the middle of May; and, understandingthat the elector of Bavaria and the duke de Vendôme, who commanded theFrench forces, had quitted their lines, he advanced to Soignies witha design to engage them in the plain of Fleuras. But receiving certainintelligence that the enemy were greatly superior to the allies innumber, by the help of drafts from all the garrisons, he retreatedtowards Brussels, and took post at Mildert; while the French advancedto Gemblours. Both armies lay inactive until the enemy sent off a largedetachment towards Provence. Then the duke of Marlborough and generalD'Auverquerque resolved to attack them in their fortified camp atGemblours. But they retreated with such celerity from one post toanother, that the confederates could not come up with them until theywere safely encamped with their right at Pont-a-Tresin, and their leftunder the cannon of Lisle, covered with the river Schelde, and securedby intrenchments. The allies chose their camp at Helchin, and foragedunder the cannon of Tournay, within a league of the enemy; but nothingcould induce them to hazard an engagement; and both armies went intowinter quarters in the latter end of October. The duke of Marlboroughset out for Franckfort, where he conferred with the electors of Mentz, Hanover, and Palatine, about the operations of the next campaign: thenhe returned to the Hague, and having concerted the necessary measureswith the deputies of the states-general, embarked for England in thebeginning of November. A PArTY FORMED AGAINST MARLBOROUGH. The queen's private favour was now shifted to a new object. The duchessof Marlborough was supplanted by Mrs. Masham, her own kinswoman, whomshe had rescued from indigence and obscurity. This favourite succeededto that ascendancy over the mind of her sovereign which the duchess hadformerly possessed. She was more humble, pliable, and obliging than herfirst patroness, who had played the tyrant, and thwarted the queen insome of her most respected maxims. Her majesty's prepossession in favourof the tories and high-churchmen was no longer insolently condemned andviolently opposed. The new confidant conformed to all her prejudices, and encouraged all her designs with assent and approbation. In politicalintrigues she acted as associate, or rather auxiliary, to Mr. SecretaryHarley, who had insinuated himself into the queen's good graces, anddetermined to sap the credit of the duke of Marlborough and the earlof Godolphin. His aim was to unite the tory interest under his ownauspices, and expel the whigs from the advantages they possessed underthe government. His chief coadjutor in this scheme was Henry St. John, afterwards lord Bolingbroke, a man of warm imagination and eleganttaste, penetrating, eloquent, ambitious, and enterprising, whose talentswere rather specious than solid, and whose principles were loose andfluctuating. He was at first contented to act in an inferior capacity, subservient to the designs of the secretary; but, when he understoodthe full extent of his own parts and influence, he was fired with theambition of eclipsing his principal, and from the sphere of his ministerraised himself to the character of his rival These politicians, with theassistance of sir Simon Har court, a colleague of uncommon ability andcredit, exerted their endeavours to rally and reconcile the disunitedtories, who were given to understand that the queen could no longer bearthe tyranny of the whigs: that she had been always a friend in herheart to the tory and high-church party; and that she would nowexhibit manifest proof of her inclination. She accordingly bestowedthe bishoprics of Chester and Exeter upon sir William Dawes and Dr. Blackall, who though otherwise of unblemished characters, had openlycondemned the revolution. The people in general began to be sick of the whig ministry, whom theyhad formerly caressed. To them they imputed the burdens under which theygroaned; burdens which they had hitherto been animated to bear bythe pomp of triumph and uninterrupted success. At present they werediscouraged by the battle of Almanza, the miscarriage of the expeditionagainst Toulon, the loss of sir Cloudesley Shovel, and the fate of fourships of the line, destroyed or taken by a squadron under the commandof messieurs Forbin and Du Guai Trouin, two of the most enterprisingsea-officers in the French service. No new advantage had been obtainedin the Netherlands: France, instead of sinking under the weight of theconfederacy, seemed to rise with fresh vigour from every overthrow: theEnglish traders had lately sustained repeated losses for want of properconvoys; the coin of the nation was visibly diminished, and the publiccredit began to decline. The tories did not fail to inculcate andexaggerate these causes of discontent, and the ministry were too remissin taking proper steps for the satisfaction of the nation. Instead ofsoothing, by gentle measures and equal administration, the Scots, whohad expressed such aversion to the union, they treated them in such amanner as served to exasperate the spirits of that people. A stop wasput to their whole commerce for two months before it was diverted intothe new channel. Three months elapsed before the equivalent was remittedto that kingdom, and it was afterwards applied with the most shamefulpartiality. Seizures of wines and other merchandise imported from thenceinto England, were made in all the northern parts with an affectationof severity and disdain: so that the generality of the Scottish nationloudly exclaimed against the union and the government. The Jacobiteswere again in commotion. They held conferences: they maintained acorrespondence with the court of St. Germains: a great number of themost rigid whigs entered so far into their measures as to thinka revolution was absolutely necessary to preserve the liberties, independence, and commerce of their country: the pretender's birth-daywas publicly celebrated in many different parts of the kingdom, andeverything seemed to portend an universal revolt. Ireland continuedquiet under the administration of the earl of Pembroke, whom the queenhad appointed lord-lieutenant of that kingdom. A parliament having metat Dublin in the month of July, presented addresses of congratulationto her majesty on the late union of the two kingdoms. The commons havinginspected the public accounts, resolved, that the kingdom had been putto excessive charge, by means of great arrears of rent returned by thelate trustees, as due out of the forfeited estates, which returns werefalse and unjust; and that an humble representation should be laidbefore her majesty on this subject. They passed another laudableresolution in favour of their own manufactures. They granted thenecessary supplies, and having finished several bills for the royalassent, 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 parliamentof Great Britain assembled at Westminster, when the queen in her speechto both houses palliated the miscarriages in Provence and in Spain:represented the necessity of making further efforts against the commonenemy; and exhorted them to be upon their guard against those whoendeavoured to sow jealousies in the commonwealth. The commons in theiraddress expressed the continuance of their former zeal and devotionto her majesty's government; but, in the house of lords, the earl ofWharton expatiated upon the scarcity of money, the decay of trade, andthe mismanagement of the navy. He was seconded by lord Somers and theleaders of the tory party, who proposed that, previous to every measure, they should consider the state of the nation. The design of Whartonand Somers was to raise the earl of Orford once more to the head of theadmiralty; and the tories, who did not perceive their drift, hoped, inthe course of the inquiry, to fix the blame of all mismanagement uponthe whig ministers. A day being fixed for this examination, thehouse 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 thelord-admiral, who answered all the articles separately: then the toriesmoved for an address, in which the blame of the miscarriages mightbe laid upon the ministry and cabinet-council; but the motion wasoverruled: the queen was presented with a bare representation ofthe facts, and desired that she would take the proper measures forpreventing such evils for the future. The commons made some progressin an inquiry of the same nature, and brought in a bill for the bettersecuring the trade of the kingdom. They cheerfully granted the suppliesfor the service of the ensuing year. They prepared another bill forrepealing the Scottish act of security, and that about peace and war, which had excited such jealousy in the English nation. They resolvedthat there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of GreatBritain: that the militia of Scotland should be put on the same footingwith that of England: that the powers of the justices of the peaceshould be the same through the whole island: that the lords ofjusticiary in Scotland should go circuits twice in the year; that thewrits for electing Scottish members to serve in the house of commonsshould be directed, and returns made, in the same manner as practisedin England. An act being formed on these resolutions, they brought ina bill for preserving the trade with Portugal: then they considered thestate of the war in Spain. INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE WAR IN SPAIN. When the queen passed these bills, she recommended an augmentation inthe aids and auxiliaries granted to the king of Spain and the duke ofSavoy. This intimation produced a debate in the house of lords on theaffairs of Spain. The services of the earl of Peterborough were extolledby the earl of Rochester and lord Haver-sham, who levelled some obliquereflections on the earl of Galway. Several lords enlarged upon thenecessity of carrying on the war until king Charles should be fullyestablished upon the throne of Spain. The earl of Peterborough said theyought to contribute nine shillings in the pound rather than make peaceon any other terms: he declared himself ready to return to Spain, andserve even under the earl of Galway. The earl of Rochester repeateda maxim of the old duke of Schom-berg, that attacking France in theNetherlands was like taking a bull by the horns. He therefore proposedthat the allies should stand on the defensive in Flanders, and detachfrom thence fifteen or twenty thousand men into Catalonia. He wasseconded by the earl of Nottingham; but warmly opposed by the duke ofMarlborough, who urged that the great towns in Brabant which he hadconquered could not be preserved without a considerable number of men;and that if the French should gain any advantage in Flanders from theirsuperiority in point of number, the discontented party in Holland, whichwas very numerous, and bore with impatience the burden of the war, wouldnot fail crying aloud for peace. Being challenged by Rochester to showhow troops could be procured for the service of Italy and Spain, heassured the house that measures had been already concerted with theemperor for forming an army of forty thousand men under the duke ofSavoy, for sending powerful succours to king Charles. This declarationfinished the debate, which issued in an affectionate address to hermajesty. The lords resolved, that no peace could be safe and honourablefor her majesty and her allies, if Spain and the Spanish West Indieswere suffered to continue in the power of the house of Bourbon. Theypresented an address, in which they desired she would press the emperorto send powerful succours to Spain under the command of prince Eugene, with all possible expedition, to make good his contract with the duke ofSavoy, and strengthen the army on the Rhine, which was now happilyput under the conduct of that wise and valiant prince, the elector ofHanover. The commons concurred in this remonstrance, in consequence ofwhich the queen desired the emperor to bestow the command in Spain uponprince Eugene. The court of Vienna, however, did not comply with thisrequest, but sent thither count Staremberg, who, of all the Germangenerals, was next to the prince in military reputation. The commons nowproceeded to consider of ways and means, and actually establishedfunds for raising the supply, which amounted to the enormous sum of sixmillions. At this period Mr. Harley's character incurred suspicion, from thetreachery of William Gregg, an inferior clerk in his office, who wasdetected in a correspondence with monsieur Chamillard, the French king'sminister. When his practices were detected he made an ample confession, and pleading guilty to his indictment at the Old Bailey, was condemnedto death for high-treason. At the same time, John Bara and AlexanderValiere were committed to Newgate for corresponding with the enemy;and Claude Baud, secretary to the duke of Savoy's minister, was, at therequest of his master, apprehended for traitorous practices against hermajesty and her government. A committee of seven lords being appointedto examine these delinquents, made a report to the house, which wascommunicated to the queen, in an address, importing, that Gregg haddiscovered secrets of state to the French minister: that AlexanderValiere and John Bara had managed a correspondence with the governorsand commissaries of Calais and Boulogn; and, in all probability, discovered to the enemy the stations of the British cruisers, thestrength of their convoys, and the times at which the merchant shipsproceeded on their voyages; that all the papers in the office of Mr. Secretary Harley had been for a considerable time exposed to the view ofthe meanest clerks, and that the perusal of all the letters to and fromthe French prisoners had been chiefly trusted to Gregg, a person of avery suspicious character, and known to be extremely indigent. The queengranted a reprieve to this man, in hope of his making some importantdiscovery, but he really knew nothing of consequence to the nation. Hewas 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 beingrewarded for his treachery; but he was discovered before he had reapedany fruits from his correspondence. As he had no secrets of importanceto impart, he was executed at Tyburn, where he delivered a paper to thesheriff, in which he declared Mr Harley entirely ignorant of all histreasonable connexions, notwithstanding some endeavours that were madeto engage him in an accusation of that minister. The queen had refused to admit the earl of Peterborough into herpresence until he should have vindicated his conduct, of which kingCharles had complained in divers letters. He was eagerly desirous of aparliamentary inquiry. His military proceedings, his negotiations, his disposal of the remittances, were taken into consideration by bothhouses; but he produced such a number of witnesses and original papersto justify every transaction, that his character triumphed in theinquiry, which was dropped before it produced any resolution inparliament. Then they took cognizance of the state of affairs in Spain, and found there had been a great deficiency in the English troops atthe battle of Almanza. This, however, was explained so much to theirsatisfaction, that they voted an address to the queen, thanking herfor having taken measures to restore the affairs in Spain, and provideforeign troops for that service. The bill for rendering the union morecomplete, met with a vigorous opposition in the house of lords from thecourt-party, on account of the clause enacting, that, after the firstof May, there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of GreatBritain. The ministry, finding it was strenuously supported by allthe tories and a considerable number of the other faction, would havecompromised the difference, by proposing that the privy-council ofScotland should continue to the first day of October. They hinted thisexpedient, in hope of being able to influence the ensuing elections;but their design being palpable, the motion was overruled, and the billreceived the royal assent: a court of exchequer, however, was erected inScotland upon the model of that in England. The execution of Gregg, andthe examination of Valiere and Bara, who had acted as smugglers to thecoast of France, under the protection of Harley, to whom they engagedfor intelligence, affected the credit of that minister, who wasreviled and traduced by the emissaries of the whig party. The duke ofMarlborough and the earl of Godolphin, being apprised of his secretpractices with Mrs. Masham, wrote to the queen that they could serve herno longer, should Mr. Harley continue in the post of secretary. Beingsummoned to the cabinet-council, they waited on her in person, andexpostulated on the same subject. She endeavoured to appease theirresentment with soft persuasion, which had no effect; and when theyretired from court, to the astonishment of all the spectators, sherepaired in person to the council. There Mr. Secretary Harley began toexplain the cause of their meeting, which was some circumstance relatingto foreign affairs. The duke of Somerset said, he did not see how theycould deliberate on such matters while the general and treasurer wereabsent: the other members observed a sullen silence; so that the councilbroke up, and the queen found herself in danger of being abandoned byher ministers. Next day her majesty sent for the duke of Marlborough, and told him that Harley should immediately resign his office, whichwas conferred upon Mr. Henry Boyle, chancellor of the exchequer; but shedeeply 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, andMr. St. John, relinquished their several posts upon the disgrace ofHarley. THE PRETENDER EMBARKS AT DUNKIRK FOR SCOTLAND. The kingdom was at this period alarmed with a threatened invasion fromFrance. The court of St. Germain's had sent over one colonel Hook withcredentials to Scotland, to learn the situation, number, and abilityof the pretender's friends in that country. This minister, by hismisconduct, produced a division among the Scottish Jacobites. Being acreature of the duke of Perth, he attached himself wholly to the dukeof Athol, and those other zealous partisans who were bent upon receivingthe pretender without conditions; and he neglected the duke of Hamilton, the earl-marshal, and other adherents of that house, who adopted themore moderate principles avowed by the earl of Middleton, At his returnto France, he made such a favourable report of the disposition and powerof the Scottish nation, that Louis resolved to equip an armament, andsend over the pretender to that kingdom. His pretence was to establishthat prince on the throne of his ancestors; but his real aim was to makea diversion from the Netherlands, and excite a revolt in Great Britain, which should hinder queen Anne from exerting herself against Franceon the continent. He began to make preparations for this expeditionat Dunkirk, where a squadron was assembled under the command of thechevalier de Fourbin; and a body of land forces were embarked withmonsieur de Gace, afterwards known by the appellation of the mareschalde Matignon. The pretender, who had assumed the name of the chevalierde 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 partingpresented him with a sword studded with valuable diamonds, and repeatedwhat he had formerly said to this adventurer's father: "He hoped heshould never see him again. " The pope contributed to the expense of thisexpedition, and accommodated him with divers religious inscriptions, which were wrought upon his colours and standards. Queen Anne beinginformed of these preparations, and the design of the French monarch, communicated to the commons the advices which she had received fromHolland and the Netherlands, touching the destination of the Dunkirkarmament; both houses concurred in an address, assuring her they wouldassist her majesty with their lives and fortunes against the pretendedprince 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 convictedrecusants. By another, they suspended the _habeas-corpus_ act tillOctober, with relation to persons apprehended by the government onsuspicion of treasonable practices. The pretender and his adherents wereproclaimed traitors and rebels; and a bill was passed, discharging theclans of Scotland from all vassalage to those chiefs who should take uparms against her majesty. Transports were hired to bring over ten British battalions from Ostend;a large fleet being equipped with incredible diligence, sailed from Dealtowards 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 wereamazed and confounded when this fleet appeared off Mardyke: a stop wasimmediately put to the embarkation of their troops; frequent expresseswere despatched to Paris; the count de Fourbin represented to the Frenchking the little probability of succeeding in this enterprise, and thedanger that would attend the attempt; but he received positive orders toembark the forces, and set sail with the first favourable wind. The British fleet being forced from their station by severe weatheron the fourteenth day of March, the French squadron sailed on theseventeenth from the road of Dunkirk; but the wind shifting, it anchoredin Newport-pits till the nineteenth in the evening, when they set sailagain with a fair breeze, steering their course to Scotland. Sir GeorgeByng having received advice of their departure, from an Ostend vesselsent out for that purpose by major-general Cadogan, gave chase to theenemy, after having detached a squadron, under admiral Baker, to convoythe troops that were embarked at Ostend for England. On the tenth day ofMarch the queen went to the house of peers, where, in a speech to bothhouses, she told them that the French fleet had sailed; that sir GeorgeByng was in pursuit of them; and that ten battalions of her troops wereexpected every day in England. This intimation was followed by two verywarm addresses from the lords and commons, in which they repeated theirassurances of standing by her against all her enemies. They exhorted herto persevere in supporting the common cause, notwithstanding this pettyattempt to disturb her dominions; and levelled some severe insinuationsagainst those who endeavoured to foment jealousies between her majestyand her most faithful servants. Addresses on the same occasion were sentup from different parts of the kingdom; so that the queen seemed to lookwith contempt upon the designs of the enemy. Several regiments of foot, with some squadrons of cavalry, began their march for Scotland; the earlof Leven, commander-in-chief of the forces in that country, and governorof the castle of Edinburgh, hastened thither to put that fortress in aposture of defence, and to make the proper dispositions to oppose thepretender at his landing. But the vigilance of sir George Byng renderedall these precautions unnecessary. He sailed directly to the Frith ofEdinburgh, where he arrived almost as soon as the enemy, who immediatelytook the advantage of a land breeze, and bore away with all the sailthey could carry. The English admiral gave chase; and the Salisbury, one of their ships, was boarded and taken. At night monsieur de Fourbinaltered his course, so that next day they were out of reach of theEnglish squadron. The pretender desired they would proceed to thenorthward, and land him at Inverness, and Fourbin seemed willing togratify his request; but the wind changing, and blowing in theirteeth with great violence, he represented the danger of attempting toprosecute the voyage; and, with the consent of the chevalier de St. George and his general, returned to Dunkirk, after having been tossedabout a whole month in very tempestuous weather. In the meantime sirGeorge Byng sailed up to Leith road, where he received the freedom ofthe city of Edinburgh in a golden box, as a testimony of gratitude forhis having delivered them from the dreadful apprehensions under whichthey laboured. STATE OF THE NATION AT THAT PERIOD. Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourableopportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in generalwere disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regulartroops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and evengreat part of these would in all probability have joined the invader;the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in allappearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case theJacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in thatfortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in theshire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of thepretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents ofthat house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand wasmade upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those whodreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroyor lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom wasthreatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurersignified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allowfor six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which wasdouble the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offeredto them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whoseinterest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called intwenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answerall the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen andpersons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to thecourt of St. Germain's, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in thecastle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Toweror in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means tomake his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the otherprisoners were admitted to bail. [153] _[See note 2 D, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ {ANNE, 1701--1714} PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. On the first day of April the parliament was prorogued, and afterwardsdissolved by proclamation. Writs were issued out for new elections, together with a proclamation commanding all the peers of North Britainto assemble at Holyrood-house in Edinburgh, on the seventeenth day ofJune, to elect sixteen peers to represent them in the ensuing Britishparliament, pursuant to the twenty-second article of the treaty ofunion. After the dissolution of the parliament, the lords Griffin andClermont, two sons of the earl of Middleton, and several Scottish andIrish officers who had been taken on board the Salisbury, were broughtto London and imprisoned in the Tower or in Newgate. Lord Griffin beingattainted by outlawry, for high treason committed in the reign of kingWilliam, was brought to the bar of the court of king's bench, and a rulemade for his execution; but he was reprieved from month to month, untilhe died a natural death in prison. The privy-council of Scotland wasdissolved; the duke of Queensberry was created a British peer, by thetitle of baron of Ripon, marquis of Beverley, and duke of Dover; and theoffice of secretary at war, vacant by the resignation of Henry St. John, was bestowed upon Robert Walpole, a gentleman who had rendered himselfconsiderable in the house of commons, and whose conduct Ave shall haveoccasion to mention more at large in the sequel. About the same timea proclamation was issued for distributing prizes, in certainproportions, to the different officers and seamen of the royal navy; aregulation that still prevails. THE FRENCH SURPRISE GHENT AND BRUGES. The French king, not at all discouraged by the miscarriage of hisprojected invasion, resolved to improve the advantages he had gained onthe continent during the last campaign, and indeed he made efforts thatwere altogether incredible, considering the consumptive state of hisfinances. [154] _[See note 2 E, at the end of this Vol. ]_ He assembleda prodigious army in the Netherlands, under the command of the duke ofBurgundy, assisted by Vendôme, and accompanied by the duke of Berry andthe chevalier de St. George. The elector of Bavaria was destined to thecommand of the troops on the Rhine, where he was seconded by the duke ofBerwick; and the mareschal de Villeroy was sent to conduct the forcesin Dauphiné. About the latter end of March, the duke of Marlboroughrepaired to the Hague, where he was met by prince Eugene: these twocelebrated generals conferred with the pensionary Heinsius, and thedeputies of the states-general. Then they made an excursion to Hanover, where they prevailed upon the elector to be satisfied with acting uponthe defensive in his command on the Rhine, and spare part of his forces, that the confederates might be enabled to make vigorous efforts in theNetherlands. The prince proceeded to Vienna, and the duke immediatelyreturned to Flanders, where he assembled the army towards the latterend of May. On the twenty-fifth day of that month, the duke de Vendômemarched to Soignies, and posted himself within three leagues of theconfederates, who were encamped at Billinghen and Halle. The duke ofMarlborough having received intelligence that the enemy were on theirmarch by Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Braine-la-Leuwe, concluded theirintention was to take post on the banks of the Deule, to hinder theallies from passing that river, and to occupy Louvaine. He, therefore, commanded the army to march all night, and on the third day of Juneencamped at Terbank, general d'Auverquerque fixing his quarters in thesuburbs of Louvaine, while the French advanced no farther than Genap andBraine-la-Leuwe. As they were more numerous than the confederates, andheaded by a prince of the blood, the generals of the allies at firstexpected that they would hazard a battle; but their scheme was toretrieve by stratagem the places they lost in Flanders. The elector ofBavaria had rendered himself extremely popular in the great towns;the count de Bergeyck, who had considerable interest among them, wasdevoted to the house of Bourbon; the inhabitants of the great citieswere naturally inconstant and mutinous, and particularly dissatisfiedwith the Dutch government. The French generals resolved to profit bythese circumstances. A detachment of their troops, under the brigadiersla Faile and Pasteur, surprised the city of Ghent, in which there was nogarrison; at the same time the count de la Motte, with a strong bodyof forces, appeared before Bruges, which was surrendered to him withoutopposition; then he made a fruitless attempt upon Damme, and marched tothe little fort of Plassendhal, which he took by assault. The duke ofMarlborough was no sooner apprised of the enemy's having sent a strongdetachment towards Tabize, than he marched from Terbank, passed thecanal, and encamped at Anderlach. The French crossed the Senne at Halleand Tabize, and the allies resolved to attack them next morning; but theenemy passed the Dender in the night with great expedition; and the dukeof Marlborough next day encamped at Asche, where he was joined by princeEugene, who had marched with a considerable reinforcement of Germansfrom the Moselle. The enemy understanding that this general was on hismarch, determined to reduce Oudenarde, the only pass on the Scheldepossessed by the confederates; and invested it on the ninth day of July, hoping to subdue it before the allies could be reinforced. The duke ofMarlborough was immediately in motion, and made a surprising march fromAsche, as far as Herselingen, where he was joined by the reinforcement. Then he took possession of the strong camp at Lessines, which the Frenchhad 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. Thetwo generals of the confederates were bent upon bringing them to anengagement. Cadogan was sent with sixteen battalions and eight squadronsto repair the roads, and throw bridges over the Schelde below Oudenarde. The army was in motion about eight o'clock, and marched with suchexpedition, that by two in the afternoon the horses had reached thebridges over which Cadogan and his detachment were passing. The enemyhad posted seven battalions in the village of Heynem, situated on thebanks of the Schelde, and the French household troops were drawn upin order of battle on the adjacent plain, opposite to a body of troopsunder major-general Bantzaw, who were posted behind a rivulet that raninto the river. The duke de Vendôme intended to attack the confederateswhen one half of their army should have passed the Schelde; but hewas thwarted by the duke of Burgundy, who seemed to be perplexed andirresolute. This prince had ordered the troops to halt in their march toGavre, as if he had not yet formed any resolution; and now he recalledthe squadrons from the plain, determined to avoid a battle. Vendômeremonstrated against this conduct, and the dispute continued till threein the afternoon, when the greater part of the allied army had passedthe Schelde without opposition. Then the duke of Burgundy declaredfor an engagement, and Vendôme submitted to his opinion with greatreluctance, as the opportunity was now lost, and the army unformed. Major-general Grimaldi was ordered to attack Rantzaw with the horseof the king's household, who, finding the rivulet marshy, refused tocharge, and retired to the right. Meanwhile Cadogan attacked the villageof Heynem, which he took, with three of the seven battalions by which itwas guarded. Bantzaw, passing the rivulet, advanced into the plain anddrove before him several squadrons of the enemy. In this attack theelectoral prince of Hanover, his late majesty George IL, charged atthe head of Bulau's dragoons with great intrepidity. His horse wasshot under him, and colonel Laschky killed by his side. Divers Frenchregiments were entirely broken, and a good number of officers andstandards fell into the hands of the Hanoverians. The confederatescontinued still passing the river, but few or none of the infantry werecome up till five in the afternoon, when the duke of Argyle arrived withtwenty battalions, which immediately sustained a vigorous assault fromthe 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 wereengaged through the whole extent of their lines about seven in theevening. Europe had not for many years produced two such noble armies:above one hundred general officers appeared in the field, and twohundred and fifty colonels fought at the head of their respectiveregiments. The number of the French exceeded that of the alliesby twelve thousand; but their generals were divided, their forcesill-disposed; and the men dispirited by the uninterrupted successof their adversaries. They seemed from the beginning averse to anengagement, and acted in hurry and trepidation. Nevertheless, theaction was maintained until general d'Auverquerque and count Tilly, whocommanded on the left of the allies, obliged the right of the enemy togive ground; and the prince of Orange, with count Oxienstern, attackedthem in flank with the Dutch infantry. Then they began to give way, and retired in great confusion. The duke de Vendôme, alighting fromhis horse, rallied the broken battalions, called the officers by name, conjured them to maintain the honour of their country, and animated themen with his voice and example. But notwithstanding all his endeavours, they were forced back among the enclosures in great confusion. Someregiments were cut in pieces; others desired to capitulate; and if thedarkness had not interposed, their whole army would have been ruined. The night coming on, so that it became impossible to distinguish friendsfrom enemies, the two generals ordered the troops to cease firing, andthe enemy took this opportunity of escaping by the road which leads fromOudenarde to Ghent. The duke de Vendôme seeing the French forces flyingin the utmost terror and precipitation, formed a rear-guard of aboutfive-and-twenty squadrons, and as many battalions, with which he securedthe retreat. To this precaution the safety of their army was entirelyowing; for at day-break the duke of Marlborough sent a large detachmentof horse and foot, under the lieutenant-generals Bulau and Lumley, topursue the fugitives; but the hedges and ditches that skirted the roadwere lined with the French grenadiers in such a manner, that the cavalrycould not form, and they were obliged to desist. The French reachedGhent about eight in the morning, and marching through the city, encamped at Lovendegen on the canal. There they thought proper to castup intrenchments, upon which they planted their artillery, which theyhad left at Gavre with their heavy baggage. About three thousand wereslain on the field of battle; two thousand deserted; and about seventhousand were taken, including a great number of officers, together withten pieces of cannon, above an hundred standards and colours, and fourthousand horses. The loss of the allies did not amount to two thousandmen; nor was one officer of distinction killed on their side during thewhole 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, adetachment was ordered to level the French lines between Ypres andthe Lys; another was sent to raise contributions as far as Arras; theyravaged the country, and struck terror even into the city of Paris. While the allies plundered the province of Picardy, a detachment fromthe French army, under the chevalier de Rozen, made an irruption intoDutch-Flanders, broke through the lines of Bervilet, which had been leftunguarded, and made a descent upon the island of Cadsandt, which theylaid under contribution. THE ALLIES INVEST LISLE. The generals of the allies now undertook an enterprise, which, in theopinion of the French generals, savoured of rashness and inconsiderateself-sufficiency. This was the siege of Lisle, the strongest town inFlanders, provided with all necessaries, stores of ammunition, and agarrison reinforced with one and twenty battalions of the best troopsin France, commanded by mareschal de Boufflers in person. But these werenot the principal difficulties which the allies encountered. The enemyhad cut off the communication between them and their magazines atAntwerp and Sas-Fan-Ghent; so that they were obliged to bring theirconvoys from Ostend along a narrow causeway, exposed to the attack of anarmy more numerous than that with which they sat down before Lisle. Onthe thirteenth of August it was invested on one side by prince Eugene, and on the other by the prince of Orange-Nassau, stadtholder ofFriesland; while the duke of Marlborough encamped at Hel-chin, to coverthe siege. The trenches were opened on the twenty-second day of August, and carried on with that vigour and alacrity which is always inspired byvictory and success. The dukes of Burgundy and Vendôme being now joinedby the duke of Berwick, resolved, if possible, to relieve the place; andmade several marches and counter-marches for this purpose. Marlboroughbeing apprized of their intention, inarched out of his lines to givethem battle, being reinforced by a considerable body of troops from thesiege, including Augustus king of Poland, and the landgrave of Hesse, as volunteers; but the enemy declined an engagement, and the alliesreturned to their camp, which they fortified with an intrenchment. On the seventh day of September, the besiegers took by assault thecounterscarp of Lisle, after an obstinate action, in which they lost athousand men. The French generals continued to hover about the campof the confederates, which they actually cannonaded; and the duke ofMarlborough again formed his army in order of battle; but their designwas only to harass the allies with continual alarms, and interrupt theoperations of the siege. They endeavoured to surprise the town ofAeth, by means of a secret correspondence with the inhabitants; but theconspiracy was discovered before it took effect. Then they cut off allcommunication between the besiegers and the Schelde, the banks of whichthey fortified with strong intrenchments, and a prodigious number ofcannon; so that now all the stores and necessaries were sent to the campof the confederates from Ostend. On the twenty-first day of September, prince Eugene, who was in the trenches, seeing the troops driven bythe enemy from a lodgement they had made on the counterscarp of thetenaille, rallied and led them back to the charge; but being woundedover the left eye with a musket-shot, he was obliged to retire, and forsome days the duke of Marlborough sustained the whole command, both inthe siege and of the covering army. On the twenty-third the tenaille wasstormed, and a lodgement made along the covered way. Mareschal Boufflershaving found means to inform the duke de Vendôme that his ammunition wasalmost expended, this general detached the chevalier de Luxembourg, witha body of horse and dragoons, to supply the place with gunpowder, every man carrying a bag of forty pounds upon the crupper. They werediscovered in passing through the camp of the allies, and pursued to thebarrier of the town, into which about three hundred were admitted; but agreat number were killed by the confederates, or miserably destroyed bythe explosion of the powder which they carried. The next attempt of the French generals was to intercept a convoy fromOstend. The count de la Motte marched from Ghent, with about two andtwenty thousand men, to attack this convoy, which was guarded by sixthousand of the allies, commanded by major-general Webb. This officermade such an admirable disposition by the wood of Wynendale, andreceived the enemy with such a close fire, that, after a very warmaction that lasted two hours, they retired in the utmost confusion, notwithstanding their great superiority in number, leaving six thousandmen killed upon the field of battle; the loss of the allies notexceeding nine hundred and twelve officers and soldiers. This was themost honourable exploit performed during the whole war, and of suchconsequence to the confederates, that if the convoy had been taken, the siege must have been raised. The duke de Vendôme ordered the dikesbetween Bruges and Newport to be cut, so as to lay the whole countryunder water, in hopes of destroying the communication between Ostendand the camp of the confederates; and, after a regular siege, he tookcolonel Caulfield, and a body of British troops posted in the village ofLeffinghen, by whose means the convoys had been forwarded to the dukeof Marlborough. On the twenty-second of October, mareschal Boufflersdesired to capitulate for the town of Lisle: next day the articles weresigned: on the twenty-fifth the allies took possession of the place, andthe mareschal retired into the citadel with the remains of his garrison, which, from twelve thousand, was reduced to less than the half of thatnumber. A negotiation was begun for the surrender of the citadel; butBoufflers made such extravagant demands as were rejected with disdain. Hostilities were renewed on the twenty-ninth day of the month; and theearl of Stair was detached to provide corn for the army in the districtsof Fumes and Dixmuyde. During these transactions, veldt-mareschalD'Auverquerque died at Roselser, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, after having, in above thirty campaigns, exhibited innumerable proofs ofuncommon courage, ability, and moderation. The duke de Vendôme did notdespair of obliging the confederates to abandon their enterprise: theFrench ministers at Rome and Venice publicly declared the allied armywas cooped up in such a manner, that it must either raise the siege orbe famished. The elector of Bavaria, with a detachment of ten thousandmen, marched to Brussels, and attacked the counterscarp with incrediblefury; but was repulsed by the garrison, under the command of generalPaschal, and retired with precipitation, when he understood that theduke of Marlborough was in motion to relieve the place. This noblemanand prince Eugene no sooner understood the danger to which Brussels wasexposed, than they marched with the covering army to the Schelde, which they passed in pontoons without opposition, notwithstanding theformidable works which the French had raised. They now abandoned themwith precipitation, to the surprise of the confederates, who had laidtheir account with the loss of a thousand men in the attack. Havingpassed the river between Eskenaffe and Hauterive, as well as at otherplaces, they marched to Oudenarde, where they received intelligence thatthe elector had retreated. Then prince Eugene returned to Lisle, and theduke of Marlborough proceeded to Brussels, where he was received withjoy and acclamation. He afterwards took post at Oudenarde, so as tomaintain a communication with prince Eugene. LISLE SURRENDERED, GHENT TAKEN, AND BRUGES ABANDONED. The besiegers having made lodgements and raised batteries on the secondcounterscarp of the citadel, sent a message to Boufflers, intimating, that if he would surrender before the opening of the batteries, heshould have an honourable capitulation; otherwise he and his garrisonmust be made prisoners of war. He chose to avoid the last part of thealternative: hostages were exchanged on the eighth day of December, andthe articles signed on the tenth; when the mareschal and his garrisonmarched out with the honours of war, and were conducted to Douay. Inthis great enterprise, spirit and perseverance made amends for want offoresight and skill, which was flagrant on the side of the confederates;yet their success was owing in a great measure to the improvidence andmisconduct of the besieged. The French generals never dreamed that theallies would attempt any thing of consequence after the reduction ofLisle, considering the advanced season of the year, and therefore theyreturned to Paris, after having distributed their army into winterquarters. But their indefatigable antagonists were determined to strikeanother stroke of importance before their forces should separate. On thetwentieth day of December they invested the city of Ghent on all sides;and on the thirtieth, when the batteries were ready to open, the countde la Motte, who commanded the garrison, desired to capitulate. On thethird day of January, 1708, he marched out with thirty battalions andsixteen squadrons, which were conducted to Tournay; while the duke ofArgyle, with six British battalions, took possession of the town andcitadel. Then the enemy abandoned Bruges, Plassendahl, and Leffengen;and the generals of the allies, having settled the plan of winterquarters, repaired to Holland, leaving their forces under the commandof count Tilly. The French king was confounded and dismayed at theseconquests 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 Savoymade himself master of the important fortresses of Exilles, La Perouse, the valley of St. Martin, and Fenestrells; so that by the end of thecampaign he had secured a barrier to his own frontiers, and opened a wayinto the French provinces, after having made a diversion in favour ofking Charles, by obliging the enemy to send a strong detachment fromRousillon to the assistance of Villars. {1708} CONQUEST OF MINORCA. The campaign in Catalonia was productive of a great event. Count Guidode Staremberg arrived at Barcelona on the last day of April; but theImperial troops brought from Italy by admiral Leake did not land intime 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 andMinorca. Sir John Leake, having taken on board a handful of troops, under the conduct of the marquis d'Alconzel, set sail for Cagliari, andsummoned the viceroy to submit to king Charles. As he did not sendan immediate answer, the admiral began to bombard the city, and theinhabitants compelled him to surrender at discretion. The greater partof the garrison enlisted themselves in the service of Charles. Thedeputies of the states being assembled by the marquis d'Alconzel, acknowledged that prince as their sovereign, and agreed to furnishhis army with thirty thousand sacks of corn, which were accordinglytransported to Catalonia, where there was a great scarcity ofprovisions. Major-general Stanhope having planned the conquest ofMinorca, and concerted with the admiral the measures necessary to putit in execution, obtained from count Staremberg a few battalions ofSpaniards, Italians, and Portuguese; at the head of these he embarkedat Barcelona with a fine train of British artillery, accompanied bybrigadier Wade and colonel Petit, an engineer of great reputation. Theylanded on the island about ten miles from St. Philip's fort, on the26th of August, with about eight hundred marines, which augmented theirnumber to about three thousand. Next day they erected batteries; andgeneral Stanhope ordered a number of arrows to be shot into a place, towhich papers were affixed, written in the Spanish and French languages, containing threats, that all the garrison should be sent to the minesif they would not surrender before the batteries were finished. Thegarrison consisted of a thousand Spaniards, and six hundred Frenchmarines, commanded by colonel la Jonquire, who imagined that the numberof the besiegers amounted to at least ten thousand, so artfully had theybeen drawn up in sight of the enemy. The batteries began to play, andin a little time demolished four towers that served as out-works tothe fort; then they made a breach in the outward wall, through whichbrigadier Wade, at the head of the grenadiers, stormed a redoubt, withsuch extraordinary valour as struck the besieged with consternation. On the second or third day they thought proper to beat a parley, andcapitulate, on condition that they should march out with the honours ofwar: that the Spaniards should be transported to Murcia, and the Frenchto Toulon. These last, however, were detained, by way of reprisal forthe garrison of Denia. The Spanish governor was so mortified when helearned the real number of besiegers, that on his arrival at Murcia, hethrew himself out of a window in despair, and was killed upon the spot. La Jonquire was confined for life, and all the French officers incurredtheir master's displeasure. Fort St. Philip being thus reduced, tothe amazement of all Europe, and the garrison of Fort Fornelles havingsurrendered themselves prisoners to the admirals Leake and Whitaker, theinhabitants gladly submitted to the English government, for king Philiphad oppressed and deprived them of their privileges: general Stanhopeappointed colonel Petit governor of Fort St. Philip, and deputy-governorof the whole island. After this important conquest he returned tothe 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, butlikewise overawed the pope, who had endeavoured to form a league of theprinces in Italy against the emperor. This pontiff had manifested hispartiality to the house of Bourbon in such a palpable manner, that hisImperial majesty ordered monsieur de Bonneval to march with the troopsthat were in Italy, reinforced by those belonging to the duke of Modena, and invade the duchy of Ferrara. He accordingly took possession ofComachio and some other places, pretending they were allodial estatesbelonging to the duke of Modena, and fiefs of the emperor, to which theholy see had no lawful claim. The viceroy of Naples was forbid toremit any money to Rome; and the council of the kingdom drew up a longmemorial, containing the pretensions of his catholic majesty, whichstruck at the very foundation of the pope's temporal power. His holinesswrote a long remonstrance to the emperor on the injustice of thoseproceedings, and declared that he would assert his cause though heshould lose his life in the contest. He forthwith began to raise anarmy, and revived a plan of forming a league among the princes andstates of Italy for their mutual defence. Sir John Leake had receivedorders to bombard Civita-Vecchia, in resentment for the pope's havingcountenanced the pretender's expedition to Great Britain; but as theemperor and duke of Savoy hoped to effect an accommodation with thecourt of Rome, they prevailed upon the English admiral to suspendhostilities until they should have tried the method of negotiation. Themarquis de Prie, a Piedmontese nobleman, was sent as ambassador to Rome;but the pope would not receive him in that quality. Elated with thepromises of France, he set the emperor at defiance; and his troopshaving surprised a body of Imperialists, were so barbarous as to cutthem all in pieces. The duke of Savoy having ended the campaign, thetroops of the emperor, which had served under that prince, were orderedto march into the papal territories, and drove the forces of hisholiness before them, without any regard to number. Bologna capitulated;and Rome began to tremble with the apprehension of being once moresacked by a German army. Then the pope's courage failed; he was gladto admit the marquis de Prie as envoy from the emperor. He consented todisband his new levies; to accommodate the Imperial troops with winterquarters in the papal territories; to grant the investiture of Naples toking Charles; and to allow at all times a passage to the Imperial troopsthrough his dominions. On the Upper Rhine the electors of Bavariaand Hanover were so weak, that they could not undertake any thing ofconsequence against each other. In Hungary the disputes still continuedbetween the emperor and the malcontents. Poland was at length deliveredfrom the oppression exercised by the king of Sweden, who marched intothe Ukraine against the czar of Muscovy, notwithstanding the submissionwith which that monarch endeavoured to appease his indignation. Duringthe course of this year the English merchants sustained no considerablelosses by sea: the cruisers were judiciously stationed, and the tradewas regularly supplied with convoys. In the West Indies, commodore Wagerdestroyed the admiral of the galleons, and took the rear-admiral on thecoast of Carthagena. Had the officers of his squadron done their duty, the greatest part of the fleet would have fallen into his hands. At hisreturn to Jamaica, two of his captains were tried by a court-martial anddismissed from the service. DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK. The court of England was about this time not a little disquieted bythe consequences of an outrage committed on the person of the count deMatueof, the Muscovite ambassador. He was publicly arrested at the suitof a laceman, and maltreated by the bailiffs, who dragged him toprison, where he continued until he was bailed by the earl of Feversham. Incensed at this insult, he demanded redress of the government, and wasseconded in his remonstrances by the ministers of the emperor, the kingof Prussia, and several other foreign potentates. The queen expresseduncommon indignation against the authors of this violence, who wereimmediately apprehended, and orders were given to prosecute them withthe utmost severity of the law. Matueof repealed his complaints withgreat acrimony; and Mr. Secretary Boyle assured him, in the queen'sname, that he should have ample satisfaction. Notwithstanding thisassurance, he demanded a pass for himself and family; refused theordinary presents at his departure; and retired to Holland. From thencehe transmitted a memorial, with a letter from the czar to the queen, insisting upon her punishing with death all the persons concerned inviolating the law of nations upon the person of his ambassador. Suchpunishment being altogether inconsistent with the laws of England, the queen and her ministry were extremely perplexed, and held severalcouncils to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken on such anoccasion. On the twenty-eighth day of October, prince George of Denmarkdied 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 andambition. He had always lived in harmony with the queen, who, during thewhole term of their union, and especially in his last illness, approvedherself a pattern of conjugal truth and tenderness. At his death theearl of Pembroke was created lord-high-admiral, the earl of Whartonpromoted to the government of Ireland, and lord Somers appointedpresident of the council. Notwithstanding these promotions of the whignoblemen, the duke of Marlborough declined apace in his credit with thequeen, 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 tounderstand by a commission under the great seal, that the archbishop ofCanterbury, the chancellor, the lord-treasurer, the lord steward, andthe master of the horse, were appointed to represent the person of hermajesty, whom decency would not permit to appear in the house so soonafter the death of her consort. Sir Richard Onslow being chosen speakerof the lower house with the queen's approbation, the chancellor, in aspeech to both houses, recommended the vigorous prosecution of thewar, telling them her majesty hoped they would enable her to make aconsiderable augmentation for preserving and improving the advantageswhich the allies had gained in the Netherlands; that she desiredthey would prepare such bills as might confirm and render the unioneffectual; and that if they would propose means for the advancementof trade and manufacture, she would take pleasure in enacting suchprovisions. Both houses having presented addresses of condolence andcongratulation, on the death of prince George, and the success of hermajesty's arms during the last campaign, the commons took cognizance ofcontroverted elections, which were decided with shameful partiality forthe whig faction. Then they proceeded to consider the different branchesof 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 poundsin exchequer bills for the government, on condition that the term oftheir continuance should be prolonged for one-and-twenty years; and thattheir stock of two millions, two hundred and one thousand, one hundredand seventy-one pounds, should be doubled by a new subscription. Thetwo-thirds subsidy was appropriated for the interest of the money raisedby this expedient. {ANNE, 1701--1714} NATURALIZATION BILL. Great debates having arisen about Scottish elections, the houseconsidered the petitions and representations that were delivered, touching the incapacity of the eldest sons of Scottish peers, excludedfrom sitting in the parliament of Great Britain. Counsel being heardupon the subject, that incapacity was confirmed; and new writs wereissued, that new members might be elected for the shires of Aberdeen andLinlithgow, in the room of William lord Haddo, and James lord Johnston. Petitions were likewise presented to the house of lords by some Scottishpeers, concerning their right of voting and signing proxies. After warmdebates, the house, upon a division, determined that a Scottish lordcreated a peer of Great Britain should no longer retain his vote inScotland; and that the noblemen who were in the castle of Edinburgh hada right to sign proxies, after having taken the oaths to the government. The Scottish peers and commoners that sat in the British parliament weredivided into two factions. The duke of Queensberry was in greatcredit with the Queen and the lord-treasurer, by whose interest he wasappointed secretary of state for Scotland. His influence in electionswas so great, that all offices in that kingdom were bestowed accordingto his recommendation. He was opposed by the dukes of Hamilton, Montrose, and Roxburgh, who were supported by the earl of Sunderland andlord Somers; so that the whole interest in that country was engrossed byone or other member of the ministry. A bill for a general naturalizationof all protestants was brought into the house, and notwithstandingviolent opposition from the tories, both among the lords and commons, was enacted into a law. The whigs argued for this bill, as a measurethat would encourage industry, improve trade and manufacture, and repairthe waste of men which the war had occasioned; but one of their chiefmotives was to throw an addition of foreigners into the balance againstthe landed interest. The tories pleaded that a conflux of aliens mightprove dangerous to the constitution; that they would retain a fondnessfor their native countries, and, in times of war, act as spies andenemies; that they would insinuate themselves into places of trust andprofit; become members of parliament; and by frequent intermarriagescontribute to the extinction of the English race: that they would addto the number of the poor, already so expensive; and share the bread ofthe labourers and tradesmen of England. ACT OF GRACE. An inquiry being set on foot in both houses concerning the lateintended invasion in Scotland, lord Haversham and the other tory membersendeavoured to demonstrate, that proper precautions had not been takenfor the security of that kingdom, even after the ministry had receivedundoubted intelligence of the pretender's design; that since theattempt had miscarried, many persons of quality had been apprehended andseverely used by the government, on pretended suspicion of high treason;though in all probability the aim of the ministry, in confining thosepersons, was to remove all possibility of their opposing the court atthe ensuing elections for members of parliament. These assertionswere supported by many incontested facts and shrewd arguments, notwithstanding which, the majority were so little disposed to findfault, that the inquiry issued in a joint address to the queen, containing resolutions, that timely and effectual care had been takento disappoint the designs of her majesty's enemies, both at home andabroad. A bill, however, was brought into the house of lords, underthe title of "An act for improving the union of the two kingdoms. "It related to trials for treason in Scotland, which by this law wereregulated according to the manner of proceeding in England, with somesmall variation. The Scottish members opposed it as an encroachment uponthe form of their laws; and they were joined by those who had laid itdown as a maxim to oppose all the court measures; nevertheless, the billpassed through both houses, and received the royal assent. Yet, in orderto sweeten this unpalatable medicine, the queen consented to an act ofgrace, by which all treasons were pardoned, except those committed onthe high seas; an exception levelled at those who had embarked with thepretender. Major-general Webb, who had been defrauded of his due honour, in a partial representation of the battle of Wynendale, transmitted byCardonnel, secretary to the duke of Marlborough, was now thanked bythe house of commons for the great and eminent services which he hadperformed in that engagement. This motion was made by the tories; andthe whigs did not fail to procure a compliment of the same nature to theduke of Marlborough, even before he returned to England. When the newsof Ghent's being taken arrived, the lords and commons congratulated thequeen on this last effort of a glorious campaign; and the duke at hisarrival was thanked, in the name of the peers, by the lord chancellor. As he was supposed to have brought over proposals of peace, the twohouses, in an address, desired the queen would insist on the demolitionof Dunkirk, which was a nest of pirates that infested the ocean, anddid infinite prejudice to the commerce of England. The queen promisedto comply with their request. But she was not a little surprised at thenext address they presented, humbly entreating, that she would havesuch indulgence to the hearty desires of her subjects, as to entertainthoughts of a second marriage. She told them, that the provision she hadmade for the protestant succession would always be a proof how much shehad at heart the future happiness of the kingdom; but the subject ofthis address was of such a nature, that she was persuaded they did notexpect a particular answer. {1709} DISPUTES ABOUT THE MUSCOVITE AMBASSADOR COMPROMISED. The laws having been found insufficient to punish capitally the authorsof the insult offered to the Muscovite ambassador, a bill was broughtinto the house of commons for preserving the privileges of ambassadorsand other foreign ministers; and passed through both houses, as didanother, to prevent the laying of wagers relating to the public, apractice which had been carried to a degree of infatuation; and bywhich many unwary persons fell a sacrifice to crafty adventurers. On thefourteenth day of March, the commons voted the sum of one hundred andthree thousand, two hundred and three pounds, for the relief of theinhabitants of Nevis and St. Christopher's, who had suffered by thelate invasion; and on the twenty-first day of April, the parliament wasprorogued. The Muscovite ambassador continued to write expostulatoryletters to Mr. Secretary Boyle, who at last owned that the laws of thekingdom did not admit of such punishment as he demanded. An informationwas tried in the court of king's bench for her majesty against ThomasMorton, laceman, and thirteen other persons concerned in the insult, ofwhich they were found guilty; and the special matter of the privilegesof ambassadors was to be argued next term before the judges. Meanwhile, the queen, by way of satisfaction to the czar, condescended to makesolemn excuses by her ambassador; to repair Matueof's honour by aletter, and indemnify him for all his costs and damages: concessionswith which the czar and his ambassador declared themselves wellsatisfied. The convocation had been summoned, chosen, and returned witha new parliament; but as the old spirit was supposed to prevail inthe lower house, the queen, by writ to the archbishop, ordered him. To prorogue it from time to time, until the session of parliament wasfinished. 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 humiliationby the losses of the last campaign, and a severe winter, which completedthe misery of his subjects, that he resolved to sacrifice all theconsiderations of pride and ambition, as well as the interest of hisgrandson, to his desire of peace, which was now become so necessary andindispensable. He despatched the president Rouillé privately to Holland, with general proposals of peace, and the offer of a good barrier to thestates-general, still entertaining hopes of being able to detach themfrom the confederacy. This minister conferred in secret with Buys andVanderdussen, the pensionaries of Amsterdam and Gouda, at Moerdyke, from whence he was permitted to proceed to Woerden, between Leyden andUtrecht. The states immediately communicated his proposals to the courtsof Vienna and Great Britain. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborougharrived at the Hague in April, and conferred with the grand pensionaryHeinsius, Buys, and Vanderdussen, on the subject of the Frenchproposals, which were deemed unsatisfactory. Rouillé immediatelydespatched a courier to Paris, for further instructions; and the duke ofMarlborough returned to England, to make the queen acquainted with theprogress of the negotiation. Louis, in order to convince the statesof his sincerity, sent the marquis de Torcy, his secretary for foreignaffairs, to the Hague, with fresh offers, to which the deputies wouldmake no answer until they knew the sentiments of the queen of GreatBritain. The duke of Marlborough crossed the seas a second timeaccompanied by the lord Townshend, as ambassador-extraordinary andjoint plenipotentiary; prince Eugene being likewise at the Hague, theconferences were begun. The French minister declared that his masterwould consent to the demolition of Dunkirk; that he would abandon thepretender, and dismiss him from his dominions; that he would acknowledgethe queen's title and the protestant succession; that he would renounceall pretensions to the Spanish monarchy, and cede the places in theNetherlands which the states-general demanded for their barrier; that hewould treat with the emperor on the footing of the treaty concludedat Rys-wick, and even demolish the fortifications of Strasburgh. Theministers of the allies, rendered proud and wanton by success, andseeing their own private interest in the continuation of the war, insisted upon the restitution of the Upper and Lower Alsace to theempire; upon the French monarch's restoring Strasburgh in its presentcondition; upon his ceding the town and castellany of Lisle, demolishingDunkirk, New Brisac, Fort-Louis, and Hunningen. In a word, theirdemands were so insolent, that Louis would not have suffered them to bementioned in his hearing, had not he been reduced to the last degreeof distress. One can hardly read them without feeling a sentiment ofcompassion for that monarch, who had once given law to Europe, andbeen so long accustomed to victory and conquest. Notwithstanding thediscouraging despatches he had received from the president Rouillé, after his first conferences with the deputies, he could not believethat the Dutch would be so blind to their own interest, as to reject theadvantages in commerce, and the barrier which he had offered. He couldnot conceive that they would choose to bear the burden of excessivetaxes in prosecuting a war, the events of which would always beuncertain, rather than enjoy the blessings of peace, security, andadvantageous commerce: he flattered himself that the allies would not sofar deviate from their purposed aim of establishing a balance of power, as to throw such an enormous weight into the scale of the house ofAustria, which cherished all the dangerous ambition and arbitraryprinciples, without the liberality of sentiment peculiar to the house ofBourbon. In proportion as they rose in their demands, Louis fell in hiscondescension. His secretary of state, the marquis de Torcy, postedin disguise to Holland, on the faith of a common blank passport. Hesolicited, he soothed, he supplicated, and made concessions in thename of his sovereign. He found the states were wholly guided by theinfluence of prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough. He found thesegenerals elated, haughty, overbearing, and implacable. He in privateattacked the duke of Marlborough on his weakest side: he offered tothat nobleman a large sum of money, provided he would effect a peaceon certain conditions. The proposal was rejected. The duke found hisenemies in England increasing, and his credit at court in the wane; andhe knew that nothing but a continuation of the war, and new victories, could support his influence in England. Torcy was sensible that hiscountry was utterly exhausted, that Louis dreaded nothing so much as theopening of the campaign; and he agreed to those articles upon whichthey insisted as preliminaries. The French king was confounded atthese proposals; he felt the complicated pangs of grief, shame, andindignation. He rejected the preliminaries with disdain. He even deignedto submit his conduct to the judgment of his subjects. His offerswere published, together with the demands of the allies. His peopleinterested themselves in the glory of their monarch. They exclaimedagainst the cruelty and arrogance of his enemies. Though impoverishedand half-starved by the war, they resolved to expend their wholesubstance in his support; and rather to fight his battles withoutpay, than leave him in the dire necessity of complying with suchdishonourable terms. Animated by these sentiments, they made suchefforts as amazed the whole world. The preliminaries being rejected bythe French king, Rouillé was ordered to quit Holland in four-and-twentyhours; and the generals of the confederates resolved to open thecampaign without further hesitation. THE ALLIED ARMY TAKE TOURNAY. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Flanders, andtowards 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 sametime, the mareschal Villars, accounted the most fortunate general inFrance, assembled the French forces in the plain of Lens, where he beganto throw up intrenchments. The confederate generals having observed hissituation, and perceiving he could not be attacked with any probabilityof success, resolved to undertake the siege of Tournay, the garrison ofwhich Villars had imprudently weakened. Accordingly, they made afeint upon Ypres, in order to deceive the enemy, and convert all theirattention to that side, while they suddenly invested Tournay on thetwenty-seventh day of June. Though the garrison did not exceed twelveI weakened battalions, and four squadrons of dragoons, the place wasso strong, both by art and nature, and lieutenant de Surville, the governor, possessed such admirable talents, that the siege wasprotracted contrary to the expectation of the allies, and cost them agreat number of men, notwithstanding all the precautions that could betaken for the safety of the troops. As the besiegers proceeded by themethod of sap, their miners frequently met with those of the enemy underground, and fought with bayonet and pistol. The volunteers on both sidespresented themselves to these subterraneous combats, in the midst ofmines and countermines ready primed for explosion. Sometimes they werekindled by accident, and sometimes sprung by design; so that greatnumbers of those brave men were stifled below, and whole battalionsblown into the air, or buried in the rubbish. On the twenty-eighth dayof July, the besiegers having effected a practicable breach, and madethe necessary dispositions for a general assault, the enemy offered tocapitulate: the town was surrendered upon conditions, and the garrisonretired to the citadel. Surville likewise entered into a treatyabout giving up the citadel: the articles being sent to the court ofVersailles, Louis would not ratify them, except upon condition thatthere should be a general cessation in the Netherlands till the fifthday 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 rejectedby the duke of Marlborough, who gave him to understand that he hadno terms to expect, but must surrender at discretion. At length, hisprovisions being quite exhausted, he was obliged io surrender himselfand his garrison prisoners of war, though they were permitted to returnto France, on giving their parole that they would not act in the fielduntil 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 cityof Mons, which they resolved to besiege with all possible expedition. They passed the Schelde on the third day of September, and detachedthe prince of Hesse to attack the French lines from the Haisne to theSombre, which were abandoned at his approach. On the seventh dayof September, mareschal de Boufflers arrived in the French camp atQuievrain, content to act in an inferior capacity to Villars, althoughhis superior in point of seniority. The duke of Marlborough havingreceived advice that the French were on their march to attack theadvanced body under the prince of Hesse, decamped from Havre in orderto support that detachment. On the ninth the allies made a motion tothe left, by which the two armies were brought so near each other that amutual cannonading ensued. The French army, amounting to one hundredand twenty thousand men, were posted behind the woods of La Merte andTanières, in the neighbourhood of Malplaquet. The confederates, nearlyof the same number, encamped with the right near Sart and Bleron, andthe left on the edge of the wood of Lanière; the head quarters beingat Blaregnies. The enemy, instead of attacking the allies, beganto fortify their camp, which was naturally strong, with tripleintrenchments. In a word, they were so covered with lines, hedges, intrenchments, cannon and trees laid across, that they seemed to bequite inaccessible. Had the confederates attacked them on the ninth, thebattle would not have been so bloody, and the victory would have provedmore decisive; for they had not then begun to secure the camp; butMarlborough postponed the engagement until they should be reinforced byeighteen battalions which had been employed in the siege of Tournay;and in the meantime, the French fortified themselves with incrediblediligence and despatch. On the eleventh day of September, early in themorning, the confederates, favoured by a thick fog, erected batterieson each wing and in the centre; and about eight o'clock, the weatherclearing up, the attack began. Eighty-six battalions on the right, commmanded by general Schuylemburgh, the duke of Argyle, and othergenerals, and supported by two-and-twenty battalions under count Lottum, attacked the left of the enemy with such vigour, that, notwithstandingtheir lines and barricadoes, they were in less than an hour driven fromtheir intrenchments into the woods of Sart and Tanières. The prince ofOrange and baron Fagel, with six-and-thirty Dutch battalions, advancedagainst the right of the enemy, posted in the wood of La Merte, andcovered with three intrenchments. Here the battle was maintained withthe most desperate courage on both sides. The Dutch obliged the Frenchto quit the first intrenchment; but were repulsed from the second withgreat slaughter. The prince of Orange persisted in his efforts withincredible perseverance and intrepidity, even after two horses had beenkilled under him, and the greater part of his officers either slain ordisabled. The French fought with an obstinacy of courage that borderedon despair, till seeing their lines forced, their left wing and centregiving way, and their general, Villars, dangerously wounded, they madean excellent retreat towards Bavay, under the conduct of Boufflers, andtook post between Quesnoy and Valenciennes. The field of battle theyabandoned to the confederates, with about forty colours and standards, sixteen pieces of artillery, and a good number of prisoners; but thiswas the dearest victory the allies had ever purchased. About twentythousand of their best troops were killed in the engagement; whereas theenemy did not lose half that number, and retired at leisure, perfectlyrecovered of that apprehension with which they had been for some yearsinspired and overawed by the successes of their adversaries. On the sideof the allies, count Lottum, general Tettau, count Oxienstern, andthe marquis of Tullibar-dine, were killed, with many other officersof distinction. Prince Eugene was slightly wounded in the head;lieutenant-general Webb received a shot in the groin. The duke ofArgyle, 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. Georgecharged twelve times with the household troops, and in the last waswounded with a sword in the arm. The mareschal de Villars confidentlyasserted, that if he himself had not been disabled, the confederateswould certainly have been defeated. MONS SURRENDERED. Considering the situation of the French, the number of their troops, andthe manner in which they were fortified, nothing could be more rash andimprudent than the attack, which cost the lives of so many gallant men, and was attended with so little advantage to the conquerors. Perhapsthe duke of Marlborough thought a victory was absolutely necessaryto support his sinking interest at the court of Great Britain. Hisintention was to have given battle before the enemy had intrenchedthemselves; but prince Eugene insisted upon delaying the action untilthe reinforcement should arrive from Tournay. The extraordinary carnageis imputed to the impetuosity of the prince of Orange, whose aimthrough this whole war was to raise himself into consideration with thestates-general by signal acts of military prowess. The French havingretired to Valenciennes, the allies were left at liberty to besiegeMons, which capitulated about the end of October; and both armies weredistributed in winter quarters. The campaign on the Rhine producednothing but one sharp action, between a detachment of the French armycommanded 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. TheImperial officer was worsted in this encounter, with the loss of twothousand men; obliged to repass the river, and retire to Fribourg. InPiedmont, velt-mareschal Thaun commanded the confederates in the room ofthe 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 hadtaken such precautions as frustrated his intention, though part ofthe troops under the French general were employed in suppressing aninsurrection of the Camisars, and other malcontents in the Vivaraz. These were entirely defeated in a pitched battle; and Abraham, oneof their leaders, being taken, was broke alive upon the wheel;three-and-twenty were hanged, and the other prisoners sent to thegalleys. The pope delayed acknowledging king Charles under variouspretences, in hopes that the campaign would prove favourable to thehouse of Bourbon; till at length the emperor giving him to understandthat his army should take up their winter quarters in the ecclesiasticalstate, his holiness solemnly owned Charles as king of Spain, Naples, andSicily. CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN. The military operations in Spain and Portugal were unfavourable to theallies. On the seventh of May, the Portuguese and English were defeatedat Caya by the Spaniards, under the command of the mareschal de Bay. Thecastle of Alicant, guarded by two English regiments, had been besieged, and held out during a whole winter. At length the chevalier d'Asfeldtordered the rock to be undermined, and having lodged two hundred barrelsof gunpowder, gave Syburg the governor to understand, that two of hisofficers might come out and see the condition of the works. This offerbeing accepted, Asfeldt in person accompanied them to the mine: he toldthem he could not bear the thoughts of seeing so many brave men perishin the ruins of a place they had so gallantly defended, and allowed themfour-and-twenty hours to consider on the resolution they should take. Syburg continued deaf to his remonstrances; and, with an obstinacythat savoured more of stupidity than of valour, determined to stand theexplosion. When the sentinels that were posted on the side of the hillgave notice, by a preconcerted signal, that fire was set to the mine, the governor ordered the guard to retire, and walked out to the paradeaccompanied by several officers. The mine being sprung, the rock openedunder 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 theplace to the last extremity. Sir Edward Whitaker sailed from Barcelonato the relief of the place; but the enemy had erected such works aseffectually hindered the troops from landing. Then general Stanhope, whocommanded them, capitulated with the Spanish general for the garrison, which marched out with all the honours of war, and was transported toMinorca, where the men were put into quarters of refreshment. On thefrontiers 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, andsent his forces into winter quarters. The most remarkable event ofthis summer was the battle of Poultowa, in which the king of Sweden wasentirely defeated by the czar of Muscovy, and obliged to take refugeat Bender, a town of Moldavia, in the Turkish dominions. Augustusimmediately marched into Poland against Stanislaus, and renounced hisown resignation, as if it had been the effect of compulsion. He formeda project with the kings of Denmark and Prussia to attack the Swedishterritories in three different places; but the emperor and maritimepowers prevented the execution of this scheme, by entering into aguarantee for preserving the peace of the empire. Nevertheless, the kingof Denmark declared war against Sweden, and transported an army over theSound of Schonen; but they were attacked and defeated by the Swedes, and obliged to re-embark with the utmost precipitation. The war stillcontinued to rage in Hungary, where, however, the revolters were routedin 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 Francethan Louis had reason to expect, he saw that peace was as necessary asever to his kingdom; but he thought he might now treat with some freedomand dignity. His minister, Torcy, maintained a correspondence with Mr. Petkum, resident of the duke of Holstein at the Hague: he proposed tothis minister, that the negotiation should be renewed; and demandedpasses, by virtue of which the French plenipotentiaries might repair insafety to Holland. In the meantime, the French king withdrew his troopsfrom Spain, on pretence of demonstrating his readiness to obligethe allies in that particular; though this measure was the effect ofnecessity, which obliged him to recall those troops for the defence ofhis own dominions. The states-general refused to grant passes tothe French ministers; but they allowed Petkum to make a journey toVersailles. In the interim king Philip published a manifesto, protestingagainst all that should be transacted at the Hague to his prejudice. Farfrom yielding Spain and the Indies to his competitor, he declared hisintention of driving Charles from those places that were now in hispossession. He named the duke of Alba and count Bergheyck for hisplenipotentiaries, and ordered them to notify their credentials to themaritime powers; but no regard was paid to their intimation. Philiptampered likewise with the duke of Marlborough; and the marquis de Torcyrenewed his attempts upon that general; but all his application andaddress proved ineffectual. Petkum brought back from Versailles a kindof memorial, importing, that those motives which influenced the Frenchbefore the campaign was opened, no longer subsisted; that the winterseason naturally produced a cessation of arms, during which he wouldtreat of a general and reasonable peace, without restricting himself tothe form of the preliminaries which the allies had pretended to impose;that, nevertheless, he would still treat on the foundation of thoseconditions to which he had consented, and send plenipotentiaries tobegin the conference with those of the allies on the first day ofJanuary. The states-general inveighed against this memorial, as a proofof the French king's insincerity; though he certainly had a rightto retract those offers they had formerly rejected. They came to aresolution, that it was absolutely necessary to prosecute the war withrigour; and they wrote pressing letters on the subject to all theirallies. {ANNE, 1701--1714} ACCOUNT OF DE SACHEVEREL. The parliament of Great Britain being assembled on the fifteenth day ofNovember, the queen in her speech told both houses that the enemy hadendeavoured, by false appearances and deceitful insinuations of a desireafter peace, to create jealousies among the allies: that God Almightyhad been pleased to bless the arms of the confederates with a mostremarkable victory and other successes, which had laid France open tothe impression of the allied arms, and consequently rendered peace morenecessary to that kingdom than it was at the beginning of the campaign. She insisted upon the expediency of prosecuting the advantages she hadgained, by reducing that exorbitant and oppressive power which had solong threatened the liberties of Europe. The parliament were as eagerand compliant as ever.. They presented congratulatory addresses: theythanked the duke of Marlborough for his signal services; while greatpart of the nation reproached him with having wantonly sacrificed somany thousand lives to his own private interest and reputation. In lessthan a month the commons granted upwards of six millions for the serviceof the ensuing year, and established a lottery, with other funds, toanswer this enormous supply. On the thirteenth day of December, Mr. Dolben, son to the late archbishop of York, complained to the house oftwo sermons preached and published by Dr. Henry Sacheverel, rectorof St. Saviour's in Southwark, as containing positions contrary torevolution principles, to the present government, and the protestantsuccession. Sacheverel was a clergyman of narrow intellects, and anoverheated imagination. He had acquired some popularity among those whohad distinguished themselves by the name of high-churchmen, and took alloccasions to vent his animosity against the dissenters. At the summerassizes 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 violentdeclamation, defended the doctrine of non-resistance; inveighed againstthe toleration and dissenters; declared the church was dangerouslyattacked by her enemies, and slightly defended by her false friends: hesounded the trumpet for the church, and exhorted the people to puton 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. Thecomplaint of Mr. Dolben against Sacheverel, was seconded in the house ofcommons by sir Peter King and other members. The most violent paragraphswere read: the sermons were voted scandalous and seditious libels. Sacheverel, being brought to the bar of the house, acknowledged himselfthe author of both, and mentioned the encouragement he had received fromthe lord mayor to print that which was entitled, "The Perils of FalseBrethren. " Sir Samuel, who was a member, denied he had ever given himsuch encouragement. The doctor being ordered to withdraw, the houseresolved 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, inthe name of all the commons of England. A committee was appointed todraw up articles, and Sacheverel was taken into custody. At the sametime, in order to demonstrate their own principles, they resolved thatthe reverend Mr. Benjamin Hoadly, rector of St. Peter-le-Poor, forhaving often justified the principles on which her majesty and thenation proceeded in the late happy revolution, had justly merited thefavour and recommendation of the house; and they presented an addressto the queen, beseeching her to bestow some dignity in the church on Mr. Hoadly, for his eminent service both to the church and state. Thequeen returned a civil answer, though she paid no regard to theirrecommendation. Hoadly was a clergyman of sound understanding, unblemished character, and uncommon moderation, who, in a sermonpreached before the lord mayor of London, had demonstrated thelawfulness of resisting wicked and cruel governors, and vindicated thelate revolution. By avowing such doctrines, he incurred the resentmentof the high churchmen, who accused him of having preached up rebellion. Many books were written against the maxims he professed. These heanswered; and, in the course of the controversy, acquitted himselfwith superior temper, judgment, and solidity of argument. He as well asBishop Burnet and several other prelates, had been treated withgreat virulence in Sacheverel's sermon, and the-lord treasurer wasscurrilously abused under the name of Volpone. The doctor beingimpeached at the bar of the upper house, petitioned that he might beadmitted to bail; but this indulgence was refused, and the commonsseemed bent upon prosecuting him with such severity as gave disgust tomen of moderate principles. Meanwhile the tories were not idle. Theyboldly affirmed that the whigs had formed a design to pull down thechurch, and that this prosecution was intended to try their strengthbefore they could proceed openly to the execution of their project. These assertions were supported, and even credited by great part ofthe clergy, who did not fail to alarm and inflame their hearers; whileemissaries were employed to raise a ferment among the populace, alreadyprepared with discontent, arising from a scarcity which prevailed inalmost every country of Europe. The ministers magnified the dangersto which the church was exposed, from dissenters, whigs, and lukewarmprelates. These they represented as the authors of a ruinous war, whichin a little time would produce universal famine; and as the immediateencouragers of those Palatine refugees who had been brought over, to thenumber of six thousand, and maintained by voluntary contributions, untilthey could be conveniently transported into Ireland and the plantationsof America. The charity bestowed upon those unhappy strangersexasperated the poor of England, who felt severely the effects of thedearth, and helped to fill up the measure of popular discontent. The articles against Dr. Sacheverel being exhibited, his person wascommitted to the deputy-usher of the black rod, but afterwards the lordsadmitted him to bail. Then he drew up an answer to the charge, inwhich he denied some articles, and others he endeavoured to justify orextenuate. The commons having sent up a replication, declaring they wereready to prove the charge, the lords appointed the twenty-seventh day ofFebruary 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 aprivate spectator. The managers for the commons were sir Joseph Jekyl, Mr. Eyre, solicitor-general, sir Peter King, recorder of the city ofLondon, lieutenant-general Stanhope, sir Thomas Parker, and Mr. RobertWalpole, treasurer of the navy. The doctor was defended by sir SimonHarcourt and Mr. Phipps, and assisted by Dr. Atterbury, Dr. Smallridge, and Dr. Friend. A vast multitude attended him every day to and fromWestminster-hall, striving to kiss his hand, and praying for hisdeliverance, as if he had been a martyr and confessor. The queen's sedanwas beset by the populace, exclaiming, "God bless your majesty and thechurch. We hope your majesty is for Dr. Sacheverel. " They compelled allpersons to lift their hats to the doctor as he passed in his coach tothe 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 topull down those of the lord chancellor, the earl of Wharton, and thebishop of Sarum. They even proposed to attack the bank, so that thedirectors were obliged to send to Whitehall for assistance. The horseand foot guards were immediately sent to disperse the rioters, who fledat their approach. Next day the guards were doubled at Whitehall, andthe train bands of Westminster continued in arms during the wholetrial. The commons entreated the queen, in an address, to take effectualmeasures for suppressing the present tumults, set on foot and fomentedby papists, nonjurors, and other enemies to her title and government. She expressed a deep sense of their care and concern, as well as a justresentment at these tumultuous and violent proceedings. She publisheda proclamation for suppressing the tumults; and several persons beingapprehended, were afterwards tried for high-treason. Two of them wereconvicted and sentenced to die, but neither suffered. The commonspresented another address of thanks to her majesty for her graciousanswer to their first remonstrance. They took this occasion to declare, that the prosecution of the commons against Dr. Henry Sacheverelproceeded only from the indispensable obligation they lay under tovindicate the late happy revolution, the glory of their royal deliverer, her own title and administration, the present established andprotestant succession, together with the toleration and the quiet ofthe government. When the doctor's counsel had finished his defence, hehimself recited a speech, wherein he solemnly justified his intentionstowards the queen and her government, and spoke in the most respectfulterms of the revolution and the protestant succession. He maintained thedoctrine of "non-resistance" in all cases whatsoever, as a maxim ofthe church in which he was educated, and by many pathetical expressionsendeavoured to excite the compassion of the audience. He was surroundedby the queen's chaplains, who encouraged and extolled him as thechampion of the church; and he was privately favoured by the queenherself, who could not but relish a doctrine so well calculated for thesupport 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, bywriting or speaking, the particular words supposed to be criminal arenecessary to be expressly specified in such impeachments?" The judgesbeing consulted, were unanimously of opinion, that, according to law, the grounds of an indictment or impeachment ought to be expresslymentioned in both. One of the lords having suggested that the judges haddelivered their opinions according to the rules of Westminster-hall, andnot according to the usage of parliament, the house resolved, that inimpeachments they should proceed according to the laws of the land, andthe law and usage of parliament. On the sixteenth day of the month, thequeen being in the house incognita, they proceeded to consider whetheror not the commons had made good the articles exhibited against Dr. Sacheverel. The earl of Wharton observed, that the doctor's speech wasa full confutation and condemnation of his sermon: that all he hadadvanced about non-resistance and unlimited obedience was false andridiculous: that the doctrine of passive obedience, as urged by thedoctor, was not reconcileable to the practice of churchmen: that if therevolution was not lawful, many in that house, and vast numbers without, were guilty of blood, murder, rapine, and injustice; and that the queenherself was no lawful sovereign, since the best title she had to thecrown was her parliamentary title, founded upon the revolution. He wasanswered by the lord Haversham in a long speech. Lord Ferrers said, ifthe doctor was guilty of some foolish unguarded expressions, he oughtto have been tried at common law. The earl of Scarborough observed, the revolution was a nice point, and above the law; he moved that theyshould adjourn the debate, and take time to consider before they gavejudgment. Dr. Hooper, bishop of Bath and Wells, allowed the necessityand legality of resistance in some extraordinary cases; but was ofopinion, that this maxim ought to be concealed from the knowledge of thepeople, who are naturally too apt to resist; that the revolution wasnot to be boasted of, or made a precedent; but that a mantle ought to bethrown over it, and it should be called a vacancy or abdication. He saidthe original compact were dangerous words, not to be mentioned withoutgreat caution; that those who examined the revolution too nicely were nofriends to it; and that there seemed to be a necessity for preaching upnon-resistance and passive obedience at that time, when resistance wasjustified. The duke of Argyle affirmed, that the clergy in all ages haddelivered up the rights and privileges of the people, preaching up theking's power, in order to govern him the more easily; and therefore theyought not to be suffered to meddle with politics. The earl of Angleseaowned the doctor had preached nonsense; but said, that was no crime. Theduke of Leeds distinguished between resistance and revolution; for hadnot the last succeeded, it would have certainly been rebellion, since heknew of no other but hereditary right. The bishop of Salisbury justifiedresistance from the book of Maccabees; he mentioned the conduct of queenElizabeth, who assisted the Scots, the French, and the states-general, in resisting their different sovereigns, and was supported in thispractice both by her parliaments and her convocations. He observedthat king Charles I. Had assisted the citizens of Rochelle intheir rebellion; that Manwayring incurred a severe censure from theparliament, for having broached the doctrine of the divine rightof kings; and that though this became a favourite maxim after therestoration, yet its warmest asserters were the first who pleaded forresistance when they thought themselves oppressed. The archbishop ofYork, the duke of Buckingham, and other leaders of the tory interest, declared that they never read such a piece of madness and nonsense asSacheverel's sermon; but they did not think him guilty of a misdemeanor. Next day, Dr. Wake, bishop of Lincoln, accused Sacheverel of having madea strange and false representation of the design for a comprehension, which had been set on foot by archbishop Sancroft, and promoted by themost eminent divines of the church of England. He was of opinion thatsome step should be taken for putting a stop to such preaching, as, ifnot timely corrected, it might kindle heats and animosities thatwould endanger both church and state. Dr. Trimnel, bishop of Norwich, expatiated on the insolence of Sacheverel, who had arraigned archbishopGrindal, one of the eminent reformers, as a perfidious prelate, forhaving favoured and tolerated the discipline of Geneva. He enlargedupon the good effects of the toleration. He took notice of Sacheverel'spresumption in publishing inflammatory prayers, declaring himself underpersecution, while he was prosecuted for offending against the law, bythose who in common justice ought to be thought the fairest accusers, and before their lordships, who were justly acknowledged to be themost impartial judges. In discussing the fourth article, the bishopof Salisbury spoke with great vehemence against Sacheverel, who, byinveighing against the revolution, toleration, and union, seemed toarraign and attack the queen herself; since her majesty had so great ashare in the first, had often declared she would maintain the second, and that she looked upon the third as the most glorious event of herreign. He affirmed that nothing could be more plain than the doctor'sreflecting upon her majesty's ministers; and that he had so well markedout a noble peer there present, by an ugly and scurrilous epithet whichhe would not repeat, that it was not possible to mistake his meaning. Some of the younger peers could not help laughing at this undesignedsarcasm upon the lord-treasurer, whom Sacheverel had reviled underthe name of Volpone; they exclaimed, "Name him, name him;" and in allprobability the zealous bishop, who was remarkable for absence of mindand unguarded expressions, would have gratified their request, had notthe chancellor, interposing, declared that no peer Was obliged to saymore than he should think proper. After obstinate disputes, and much virulent altercation, Sacheverelwas found guilty by a majority of seventeen voices; and four-and-thirtypeers entered a protest against this decision. He was prohibited frompreaching for the term of three years: his two sermons were ordered tobe burnt by the hands of the common hangman, in presence of the lordmayor and the two sheriffs of London and Middlesex. The lords likewisevoted that the executioner should commit to the same fire the famousdecree passed in the convocation of the university of Oxford, assertingthe absolute authority and indefeasible right of princes. A likesentence was denounced by the commons upon a book intituled, "Collections of Passages referred to by Dr. Sacheverel, in his Answer tothe Articles of Impeachment. " These he had selected from impious bookslately published, and they were read by his counsel, as proofs that thechurch 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, andthey celebrated their triumph with bonfires and illuminations. {1710} On the fifth day of April, the queen ordered the parliament to beprorogued, after having, in her speech to both houses, expressed herconcern for the necessary occasion which had taken up great part oftheir time towards the latter end of the session. She declared that noprince could have a more true and tender concern for the welfare andprosperity of the church than she had, and should always have; and shesaid it was very injurious to take a pretence from wicked andmalicious libels, to insinuate that the church was in danger by heradministration. CONFERENCES AT GERTRUYDENBURGH. The French king, seeing the misery of his people daily increase, and allhis resources fail, humbled himself again before the allies, and by themeans of Petkum, who still corresponded with his ministers, imploredthe states-general that the negotiation might be resumed. In order tofacilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with alltheir other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria shouldbe re-established in their estates and dignities. These overturesbeing rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to theplenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain. Then Petkumwrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the alliesrequired his most christian majesty should declare, in plain andexpressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except thethirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in casethe Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the spaceof two months. He said the allies would send passports to the Frenchministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article. Louis was evenforced to swallow this bitter draught. He signified his consent, and appointed the mareschal D'Uxelles and the abbé Polignac hisplenipotentiaries. 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 dukeof Marlborough to assist them with his advice in these conferences. Thetwo houses of parliament seconded their request in a joint address toher majesty, who told them she had already given directions for hisdeparture; and said she was glad to find they concurred with her ina just sense of the duke's eminent services. Both the letter and theaddresses were procured by the interest of Marlborough, to let the queensee how much that nobleman was considered both at home and abroad. But she was already wholly alienated from him in her heart, and theseexpedients 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 theirconduct narrowly watched. Their accommodation was mean: their letterswere opened; and they were daily insulted by injurious libels. The Dutchdeputies would hear of no relaxation, and no expedient for removingthe difficulties that retarded the negotiation. In vain theplenipotentiaries 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 theIndies to the house of Austria; and submitting to every other articlespecified in the preliminaries. Nay, they even reserved to them selvesa power of making ulterior demands after the preliminaries should beadjusted. Louis proposed that some small provision should be made forthe duke of Anjou, which might induce him to relinquish Spain themore easily. He mentioned the kingdom of Arragon; and this hint beingdisagreeable to the allies, he demanded Naples and Sicily. When theyurged that Naples was already in possession of the house of Austria, herestricted the provision to Sicily and Sardinia. He offered to deliverup four cautionary towns in Flanders, as a security for Philip'sevacuating Spain; and even promised to supply the confederates with amonthly sum of money, to defray the expense of expelling that princefrom 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 ofthe deputies was regulated by the pensionary Heinsius, who was firmlyattached to prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, more averse thanever to a pacification. The negotiation lasted from the nineteenth dayof March to the twenty-fifth of July, during which term the conferenceswere several times interrupted, and a great many despatches and newproposals arrived from Versailles. At length the plenipotentiariesreturned to France, after having sent a letter to the pensionary, inwhich they declared that the proposals made by the deputies were unjustand impracticable; and complained of the unworthy treatment to whichthey had been exposed. Louis resolved to hazard another campaign, notwithout hope that there might be some lucky incident in the events ofwar, and that the approaching revolution in the English ministry, ofwhich he was well apprized, would be productive of a more reasonablepacification. The states-general resolved, that the enemy had departedfrom the foundation on which the negotiation had begun, and studiedpretences to evade the execution of the capital points, the restitutionof Spain and the Indies: and, in short, that France had no other viewthan to sow and create jealousy and disunion among the allies. LordTownshend, in a memorial, assured them that the queen entirely approvedtheir resolution, and all the steps they had taken in the course of thenegotiation; and that she was firmly resolved to prosecute the war withall possible vigour, until the enemy should accept such terms of peaceas 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. PrinceEugene and the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague on thefifteenth day of March for Tournay, in order to assemble the forceswhich were quartered on the Maese, in Flanders, and Brabant. On thetwentieth of April, they suddenly advanced to Pont-a-Vendin, in order toattack the lines upon which the French had been at work all the winter, hoping by these to cover Douay and other frontier towns, which werethreatened by the confederates. The troops left for the defence of thelines retired without opposition. The allies having laid bridges overthe scarp, the duke of Marlborough with his division passed the riverand encamped at Vitri. Prince Eugene remained on the other side andinvested Douay, the enemy retiring towards Cambray. Mareschal Villarsstill commanded the French army, which was extremely numerous and wellappointed, considering the distress of that kingdom. Indeed, the numberwas augmented by that distress; for many thousands saved themselves fromdying of hunger, by carrying arms in the service. The mareschal havingassembled all his forces, passed the Schelde, and encamped at Boucham, declaring that he would give battle to the confederates: an alterationwas immediately made in the disposition of the allies, and properprecautions taken for his reception. He advanced in order of battle; buthaving viewed the situation of the confederates, he marched back tothe heights of St. Lawrence, where he fixed his camp. His aim was, bycontinual alarms, to interrupt the siege of Douay, which was vigorouslydefended by a numerous garrison, under the command of monsieurAlbergotti, who made a number of successful sallies, in which thebesiegers lost a great number of men. They were likewise repulsed inseveral assaults; but still proceeded with unremitted vigour untilthe besieged, being reduced to the last extremity, were obliged tocapitulate on the twenty-sixth of June, fifty days after the trencheshad been opened. The generals finding it impracticable to attack theenemy, who were posted within strong lines from Arras towards Miramont, resolved to besiege Bethune, which was invested on the fifteenth day ofJuly, and surrendered on the twenty-ninth of August. Villars marchedout of his intrenchments with a view to raise the siege; but he did notthink proper to hazard an engagement: some warm skirmishes, however, happened between the foragers of the two armies. After the reductionof Bethune, the allies besieged at one time the towns of Aire and St. Venant, which were taken without much difficulty. Then the armies brokeup, 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 wasanything of consequence transacted in Piedmont. The duke of Savoy beingindisposed and out of humour, the command of the forces still continuedvested in count Thaun, who endeavoured to pass the Alps, and penetratedinto Dauphiné; but the duke of Berwick had cast up intrenchments in themountains, and taken such precautions to guard them, as baffled allthe attempts of the Imperial general. Spain was much more fruitful ofmilitary incidents. The horse and dragoons in the army of king Charles, headed by general Stanhope, attacked the whole cavalry of the enemyat Almennara. Stanhope charged in person, and with his own hand slewgeneral Amessaga, who commanded the guards of Philip. The Spanish horsewere entirely routed, together with nine battalions that escaped byfavour of the darkness; and the main body of the army retired withprecipitation to Lerida. General Starem-berg pursued them to Saragossa, where he found them drawn up in order of battle; and an engagementensuing on the ninth day of August, the enemy were totally defeated:five thousand of their men were killed, seven thousand taken, togetherwith all their artillery, and a great number of colours and standards. King Charles entered Saragossa in triumph, while Philip with the wreckof his army retreated to Madrid. Having sent his queen and son toVittoria, he retired to Valladolid, in order to collect his scatteredforces so as to form another army. The good fortune of Charles was ofshort duration. Stanhope proposed that he should immediately securePampeluna, the only pass by which the French king could send troops toSpain; but this salutary scheme was rejected. King Charles proceededto Madrid, which was deserted by all the grandees; and he had themortification to see that the Castilians were universally attached tohis competitor. BATTLE OF VILLAVICIOSA. While his forces continued cantoned in the neighbourhood of Toleda, theking of France, at the request of Philip, sent the duke de Vendômeto take the command of the Spanish army, which was at the same timereinforced by detachments of French troops. Vendôme's reputation was sohigh, and his person so beloved by the soldiery, that his presence wasalmost equivalent to an army. A great number of volunteers immediatelyassembled to signalize themselves under the eye of this renownedgeneral. The Castilians were inspired with fresh courage, and madesurprising efforts in favour of their sovereign; so that in less thanthree months after his defeat at Saragossa, he was in a condition to goin quest of his rival. Charles, on the other hand, was totally neglectedby the courts of Vienna and Great Britain, which took no steps to supplyhis wants, or enable him to prosecute the advantages he had gained. Inthe beginning of November his army marched back to Saragossa, andwas cantoned in the neighbourhood of Cifuentes, where Starembergestablished his head-quarters. General Stanhope, with the Britishforces, was quartered in the little town of Brihuega, where, on thetwenty-seventh day of the month, he found himself suddenly surroundedby the whole Spanish army. As the place was not tenable, and he hadvery little ammunition, he was obliged, after a short but vigorousresistance, to capitulate and surrender himself and all his forcesprisoners of war, to the amount of two thousand men, including threelieutenant-generals, one major-general, one brigadier, with all thecolonels and officers of the respective regiments. He was greatlycensured for having allowed himself to be surprised; for if he hadplaced a guard upon the neighbouring hills, according to the advice ofgeneral Carpenter, he might have received notice of the enemy's approachin time enough to retire to Cifuentes. Thither he had detached hisaide-camp with an account of his situation on the appearance of theSpanish army; and Staremberg immediately assembled his forces. Abouteleven in the forenoon, they began to march towards Brihuega; but theroads were so bad that night overtook them before they, reached theheights in the neighbourhood of that place. Staremberg is said tohave loitered away his time unnecessarily, from motives of envy to theEnglish general, who had surrendered before his arrival. The troops layall night on their arms near Villaviciosa, and on the twenty-ninth wereattacked by the enemy, who doubled their number. Staremberg's left wingwas utterly defeated, all the infantry that composed it having beeneither cut in pieces or taken; but the victors instead of following upthe blow began to plunder the baggage; and Staremberg with his rightwing fought their left with surprising valour and perseverance tillnight. Then they retired in disorder, leaving him master of the field ofbattle and of all their artillery. Six thousand of the enemy were killedon the spot; but the allies had suffered so severely that the generalcould not maintain his ground. He ordered the cannon to be nailed up, and marched to Saragossa, from whence he retired to Catalonia. Thitherhe was pursued by the duke de Vendôme, who reduced Belaguer, in which hehad left a garrison, and compelled him to take shelter under the wallsof Barcelona. At this period the duke de Noailles invested Gironne, which he reduced notwithstanding the severity of the weather; so thatPhilip, from a fugitive, became in three months absolute master of thewhole Spanish monarchy, except the province of Catalonia, and even thatlay open to his incursions. Nothing of consequence was achieved on theside of Portugal, from whence the earl of Galway returned to England bythe queen's permission. The operations of the British fleet, during thissummer, were so inconsiderable as scarce to deserve notice. Sir JohnNorris commanded in the Mediterranean, and with a view to support theCamisars, who were in arms in the Cevennois, sailed to Port Cette, within a league of Marseilles, and at the distance of fifteen from theinsurgents. The place surrendered, without opposition, to about sevenhundred men that landed under the command of major-general Suissan, anative of Languedoc. He likewise made himself master of the town andcastle of Eyde; but the duke de Noailles advancing with a body offorces to join the duke de Roquelaire, who commanded in those parts, theEnglish 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 kingof Sweden continued at Bender, and the grand seignor interested himselfso much in favour of that prince, as to declare war against the emperorof Russia. Hostilities were carried on between the Swedish and Danishfleets with various success. The malcontents in Hungary sustainedrepeated losses during the summer; but they were encouraged to maintainthe war by the rupture between the Ottoman Porte and Russia. Theywere flattered with hopes of auxiliaries from the Turks; and expectedengineers and money from the French monarch. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE WHIG MINISTRY DISGRACED. In England, the effects of those intrigues which had been formed againstthe whig ministers began to appear. The trial of Sacheverel had exciteda 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 uponanti-monarchial and republican principles. At the same timecounter-addresses were procured by the whigs, extolling the revolutionand magnifying the conduct of the present parliament. The queen beganto express her attachment to the tories, by mortifying the duke ofMarlborough. Upon the death of the earl of Essex, she wrote to thegeneral desiring that the regiment which had been commanded by thatnobleman should be given to Mr. Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham, who hadsupplanted the duchess of Marlborough in the queen's friendship, andwas, in effect, the source of this political revolution. The dukerepresented to her majesty in person, the prejudice that would redoundto the service from the promotion of such a young officer over the headsof a great many brave men, who had exhibited repeated proofs of valourand capacity. He expostulated with his sovereign on this extraordinarymark of partial regard to the brother of Mrs. Masham, which he could nothelp considering as a declaration against himself and his family, whohad so much cause to complain of that lady's malice and ingratitude. Tothis remonstrance the queen made no other reply, but that he would dowell to consult his friends. The earl of Godolphin enforced his friend'sarguments, though without effect; and the duke retired in disgust toWindsor. The queen appeared at council without taking the least noticeof his absence, which did not fail to alarm the whole whig faction. Several noblemen ventured to speak to her majesty on the subject, andexplain the bad consequences of disobliging a man who had done sucheminent services to the nation. She told them his services were stillfresh in her memory; and that she retained all her former kindness forhis person. Hearing, however, that a popular clamour was raised, andthat the house of commons intended to pass some votes that would bedisagreeable to her and her new counsellors, she ordered the earl ofGodolphin to write to the duke to dispose of the regiment as he shouldthink proper, and return to town immediately. Before he received thisintimation, he had sent a letter to the queen desiring she would permithim to retire from business. In answer to this petition, she assured himhis suspicions were groundless, and insisted upon his coming tocouncil. The duchess demanded an audience of her majesty, on pretenceof vindicating her own character from some aspersions. She hoped to workupon the queen's tenderness, and retrieve the influence she had lost. She protested, argued, wept, and supplicated; but the queen was toowell pleased with her own deliverance from the tyranny of the other'sfriendship, to incur such slavery for the future. All the humiliationof the duchess served only to render herself the more contemptible. Thequeen heard her without exhibiting the least sign of emotion, and allshe would vouchsafe, was a repetition of these words--"You desired noanswer, and you shall have none;" alluding to an expression in a lettershe had received from the duchess. As an additional mortification to theministry, the office of lord chamberlain was transferred from the dukeof Kent to the duke of Shrewsbury, who had lately voted with the tories, and maintained an intimacy of correspondence with Mr. Harley. Theinterest of the duke of Marlborough was not even sufficient to preventthe dismissal of his own son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, from thepost of secretary of state, in which he was succeeded by lord Dartmouth. The queen was generally applauded for thus asserting her justprerogative, and setting herself free from an arbitrary cabal, by whichshe had been so long kept in dependence. The duke of Beaufort went tocourt on this occasion, and told her majesty he was extremely glad thathe could now salute her queen in reality. The whole whig partywere justly alarmed at these alterations. The directors of the bankrepresented to her majesty the prejudice that would undoubtedly accrueto public credit from a change of the ministry. The emperor and thestates-general interposed in this domestic revolution. Their ministersat London presented memorials, explaining in what manner foreign affairswould be influenced by an alteration in the British ministry. Thequeen assured them, that, whatever changes might be made, the duke ofMarlborough should be continued in his employments. In the monthof August the earl of Godolphin was divested of his office, and thetreasury put in commission, subjected to the direction of Harley, appointed chancellor of the exchequer and under-treasurer. The earlof Rochester was declared president of the council in the room oflord Somers; the staff of lord steward being taken from the duke ofDevonshire, was given to the duke of Buckingham; and Mr. Boyle wasremoved from the secretary's office to make way for Mr. Henry St. John. The lord chancellor having resigned the great seal, it was first putin commission, and afterwards given to sir Simon Harcourt. The earl ofWharton surrendered his commission of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, whichthe queen conferred on the duke of Ormond. The earl of Orford withdrewhimself from the board of admiralty; and Mr. George Granville wasappointed secretary of war in the room of Mr. Eobert Walpole. Thecommand of the forces in Portugal was bestowed upon the earl ofPortmore; the duke of Hamilton was appointed lord-lieutenant of thecounty palatine of Lancaster. In a word, there was not one whig leftin any office of state, except the duke of Marlborough, who wouldhave renounced his command, had not he been earnestly dissuaded byhis particular friends from taking such a step as might have beenprejudicial to the interests of the nation. That the triumph of thetories might be complete, the queen dissolved the whig parliament, after such precautions were taken as could not fail to influence the newelection in favour of the other party. To this end nothing so effectually contributed as did the trial ofSacheverel, who was used as an instrument and tool to wind and turn thepassions of the vulgar. Having been presented to a benefice in NorthWales, he went in procession to that country with all the pomp andmagnificence of a sovereign prince. He was sumptuously entertainedby the university of Oxford, and different noblemen, who, while theyworshipped him as the idol of their faction, could not help despisingthe object of their adoration. He was received in several towns by themagistrates of the corporation in their formalities, and often attendedby 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 ofpersons on foot, wearing white knots edged with gold, and three leavesof gilt laurel in their hats. The hedges were for two miles dressed withgarlands of flowers, and lined with people; and the steeples coveredwith streamers, flags, and colours. Nothing was heard but the cry of"The church and Dr. Sacheverel. " The clergy were actuated by a spiritof enthusiasm, which seemed to spread like a contagion through all ranksand degrees of people, and had such an effect upon the elections for thenew parliament, that very few were returned as members but such as haddistinguished themselves by their zeal against the whig administration. Now the queen had the pleasure to see all the offices of state, thelieutenancy of London, the management of corporations, and the directionof both houses of parliament, in the hands of the tories. When thesemet on the twenty-fifth day of November, Mr. Bromley was chosenspeaker without opposition. The queen, in her speech, recommended theprosecution of the war with vigour, especially in Spain. She declaredherself resolved to support the church of England; to preserve theBritish constitution according to the union; to maintain the indulgenceby law allowed to scrupulous consciences; and to employ none but suchas were heartily attached to the protestant succession in the houseof Hanover. The lords, in their address, promised to concur in allreasonable measures towards procuring an honourable peace. The commonswere more warm and hearty in their assurances, exhorting her majesty todiscountenance all such principles and measures as had lately threatenedher royal crown and dignity--measures which, whenever they mightprevail, would prove fatal to the whole constitution, both in church andstate. After this declaration they proceeded to consider the estimates, and cheerfully granted the supplies for the ensuing year, part ofwhich was raised by two lotteries. In the house of peers, the earl ofScarborough moved that the thanks of the house should be returned to theduke of Marlborough; but the duke of Argyle made some objections to* themotion, and the general's friends, dreading the consequence of puttingthe question, postponed the consideration of this proposal until theduke should return from the continent. The earl of Peterborough wasappointed ambassador-extraordinary to the Imperial court; the earl ofRivers was sent in the same quality to Hanover; Mr. Richard Hill wasnominated envoy-extraordinary to the United Provinces, as well as tothe council of state appointed for the government of the SpanishNetherlands, in the room of lieutenant-general Cadogan. Meredith, Macartney, and Honey wood, were deprived of their regiments, becausein their cups they had drank confusion to the enemies of the duke ofMarlborough. DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH INSULTED. This nobleman arrived in England towards the latter end of December. Heconferred about half an hour in private with the queen, and next morningassisted at a committee of the privy-council. Her majesty give him tounderstand that he needed not expect the thanks of the parliament asformerly; and told him she hoped he would live well with her ministers. He expressed no resentment at the alterations which had been made; butresolved to acquiesce in the queen's pleasure, and retain the command ofthe army on her own terms. On the second day of January, the queen senta message to both houses, intimating that there had been an action inSpain to the disadvantage of king Charles; that the damage having fallenparticularly on the English forces, she had given directions for sendingand procuring troops to repair their loss, and hoped the parliamentwould approve her conduct. Both houses seized this opportunity ofventing their spleen against the old ministry. The history of Englandis disgraced by the violent conduct of two turbulent factions, which, in their turn, engrossed the administration and legislative power. Theparliamentary strain was quite altered. One can hardly conceive howresolutions so widely different could be taken on the same subject, with any shadow of reason and decorum. Marlborough, who but a few monthsbefore had been so highly extolled and caressed by the representativesof the people, was now become the object of parliamentary hatred andcensure, though no sensible alteration had happened in his conduct orsuccess. That hero, who had retrieved the glory of the British arms, wonso many battles, subdued such a number of towns and districts, humbledthe pride and checked the ambition of France, secured the liberty ofEurope, and, as it were, chained victory to his chariot wheels, was ina few weeks dwindled into an object of contempt and derision. Hewas 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 wascalled in question; and this consummate general was represented as thelowest of mankind. So unstable is the popularity of every character thatfluctuates 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 asthe misfortune in Spain might have been occasioned by some precedingmismanagement, they would use their utmost endeavours to discover it, so as to prevent the like for the future. They set on foot an inquiryconcerning the affairs of Spain; and the earl of Peterborough beingexamined before the committee, imputed all the miscarriages inthe 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 faithfuland honourable account of the councils of war in Valencia: that the earlof Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stanhope, in advising an offensivewar, had been the unhappy occasion of the battle of Almanza, the sourceof our misfortunes in Spain, and one great cause of the disappointmentof the expedition to Toulon, concerted with her majesty. They voted thatthe prosecution of an offensive war in Spain was approved and directedby the ministers, who were therefore justly blameable, as havingcontributed to all our misfortunes in Spain, and to the disappointmentof the expedition against Toulon; that the earl of Peterborough, duringhis command in Spain, had performed many great and eminent services;and if his opinion had been followed, it might have prevented themisfortunes that ensued. Then the duke of Buckingham moved, that thethanks of the house should be given to the earl for his remarkable andeminent services; and these he actually received from the mouth of thelord-keeper Harcourt, who took this opportunity to drop some obliquereflections 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 troopswere posted on the right of the English at the battle of Almanza, theyre solved, that the earl of Galway, in yielding this point, had actedcontrary to the honour of the imperial crown of Great Britain. Theseresolutions they included in an address to the queen, who had beenpresent during the debates, which were extremely violent; and toevery separate vote was attached a severe protest. These were not theproceedings of candour and national justice, but the ebullitions ofparty zeal and rancorous animosity. While the lords were employed in this inquiry, the commons examinedcertain abuses which had crept into the management of the navy; and somecensures were passed upon certain persons concerned in contractsfor victualling the seamen. The inhabitants of St. Olave's and otherparishes presented a petition, complaining that a great number ofPalatines, inhabiting one house, might produce among them a contagiousdistemper; and in time become a charge to the public, as they weredestitute of all visible means of subsistence. This petition had beenprocured by the tories, that the house of commons might have anotherhandle for attacking the late ministry. A committee was appointed toinquire upon what invitation or encouragement those Palatines had cometo England. The papers relating to this affair being laid before themby the queen's order, and perused, the house resolved, that the invitingand bringing over the poor Palatines of all religions, at the publicexpense, was an extravagant and unreasonable charge to the kingdom, anda scandalous misapplication of the public money, tending to theincrease and oppression of the poor, and of dangerous consequence to theconstitution in church and state; and that whoever advised their beingbrought over was an enemy to the queen and kingdom. Animated by the heatof this inquiry, they passed the bill to repeal the act for a generalnaturalization of all protestants; but this was rejected in the houseof lords. Another bill was enacted into a law, importing, that no personshould be deemed qualified for representing a county in parliament, unless he possessed an estate of six hundred pounds a-year; andrestricting the qualification of burgess to half that sum. The design ofthis bill was to exclude trading people from the house of commons, and to lodge the legislative power with the land-holders. A third actpassed, permitting the importation of French wine in neutral bottoms: abill against which the whigs loudly exclaimed, as a national evil, and ascandalous compliment to the enemy. HARLEY STABBED AT THE COUNCIL BOARD. A violent party in the house of commons began to look upon Harley as alukewarm tory, because he would not enter precipitately into all theirfactious measures; they even began to suspect his principles, when hiscredit was re-established by a very singular accident. Guiscard, theFrench partisan, of whom mention hath already been made, thought himselfvery ill rewarded for his services, with a precarious pension of fourhundred pounds, which he enjoyed from the queen's bounty. He had beenrenounced by St. John, the former companion of his pleasures; he hadin vain endeavoured to obtain an audience of the queen, with a view todemand more considerable appointments. Harley was his enemy, and allaccess to her majesty was denied. Enraged at these disappointments, heattempted to make his peace with the court of France, and offered hisservices, in a letter to one Moreau, a banker in Paris. Thispacket, which he endeavoured to transmit by the way of Portugal, wasintercepted, and a warrant issued out to apprehend him for high-treason. When the messenger disarmed him in St. James's Park, he exhibited marksof guilty confusion and despair, and begged that he would kill himdirectly. Being conveyed to the cockpit, in a sort of frenzy, heperceived a penknife lying upon a table, and took it up without beingperceived by the attendants. A committee of council was immediatelysummoned, and Guiscard brought before them to be examined. Finding thathis correspondence with Moreau was discovered, he desired to speak inprivate with secretary St. John, whom in all probability he had resolvedto assassinate. His request being refused, he said, "That's hard! notone 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 withthe penknife which he had concealed. The instrument broke upon the bone, without penetrating into the cavity; nevertheless he repeated the blowwith such force that the chancellor of the exchequer fell to the ground. Secretary St. John, seeing him fall, cried out, "The villain has killedMr. Harley!" and drew his sword. Several other members followed hisexample, and wounded Guiscard in several places. Yet he made a desperatedefence, until he was overpowered by the messengers and servants, andconveyed 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 toestablish a traitorous correspondence with France, extinguished thesuspicions of those who began to doubt that minister's integrity. Thetwo houses of parliament, in an address to the queen, declared theirbelief that Mr. Harley's fidelity to her majesty, and zeal for herservice, had drawn upon him the hatred of all the abettors of poperyand faction. They besought her majesty to take all possible care of hersacred person; and, for that purpose, to give directions for causingpapists to be removed from the cities of London and Westminster. Aproclamation was published, ordering the laws to be strictly put inexecution against papists. When Harley appeared in the house of commonsafter his recovery, he was congratulated upon it by the speaker, in aflorid and fulsome premeditated speech. An act was passed, decreeing, that an attempt upon the life of a privy-counsellor should be felonywithout benefit of clergy. The earl of Rochester dying, Harley becamesole minister, was created baron of Wigmore, and raised to the rank ofearl by the noble and ancient title of Oxford and Mortimer: to crown hisprosperity, he was appointed lord-treasurer, and vested with the supremeadministration of affairs. DEATH OF THE EMPEROR JOSEPH. The commons empowered certain persons to examine all the grants madeby king William, and report the value of them, as well as theconsiderations upon which they were made. Upon their report a bill wasformed and passed that house; but the lords rejected it at the firstreading. Their next step was to examine the public accounts, with aview to fix an imputation on the earl of Godolphin. They voted thatabove five-and-thirty millions of the money granted by parliamentremained unaccounted for. This sum, however, included some accounts inthe reigns of king Charles and king William. One half of the whole wascharged to Mr. Bridges, the pay-master, who had actually accounted forall the money he had received, except about three millions, thoughthese accounts had not passed through the auditor's office. The commonsafterwards proceeded to inquire into the debts of the navy, thatexceeded five millions, which, with many other debts, were thrown intoone stock, amounting to nine millions four hundred and seventy-onethousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds. A fund was formed forpaying an interest or annuity of six per cent, until the principalshould be discharged; and with this was granted a monopoly of aprojected trade in the South Sea, vested in the proprietors ofnavy-bills, debentures, and other public securities, which wereincorporated for this purpose. Such was the origin of the South SeaCompany, founded upon a chimerical supposition that the English wouldbe permitted to trade upon the coast of Peru in the West Indies. Perhapsthe new ministry hoped to obtain this permission, as an equivalentfor their abandoning the interest of king Charles, with respect to hispretensions upon Spain. By this time the emperor Joseph had died of thesmall-pox without male issue; so that his brother's immediate aim was tosucceed him on the Imperial throne. This event was, on the twentieth dayof April, communicated by a message from the queen to both houses. Shetold them that the states-general had concurred with her in a resolutionto support the house of Austria; and that they had already taken suchmeasures as would secure the election of Charles as head of the empire. The house of commons, in order to demonstrate their attachment tothe church, in consequence of an address from the lower house ofconvocation, and a quickening message from the queen, passed a bill forbuilding fifty new churches in the suburbs of London and Westminster, and appropriated for this purpose the duty upon coals, which had beengranted for the building of St. Paul's, now finished. This impositionwas continued until it should raise the sum of three hundred and fiftythousand pounds. At the close of the session, the commons presented aremonstrance or representation to the queen, in which they told her thatthey had not only raised the necessary supplies, but also discharged theheavy debts of which the nation had so long and justly complained. They said that, in tracing the causes of this debt, they had discoveredfraud, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public money; that theywho of late years had the management of the treasury, were guilty of anotorious breach of trust and injustice to the nation, in allowing abovethirty millions to remain unaccounted for; a purposed omission thatlooked like a design to conceal embezzlements. They begged her majestywould give immediate directions for compelling the several imprestaccountants speedily to pass their accounts. They expressed their hopethat such of the accountants as had neglected their duty in prosecutingtheir accounts, ought no longer to be intrusted with the public money. They affirmed, that from all these evil practices and worse designs ofsome persons, who had, by false professions of love to their country, insinuated themselves into her royal favour, irreparable mischief wouldhave accrued to the public, had not her majesty, in her great wisdom, seasonably discovered the fatal tendency of such measures, and removedfrom the administration those who had so ill answered her majesty'sfavourable opinion, and in so many instances grossly abused the trustreposed in them. They observed, that her people could with greaterpatience have suffered the manifold injuries done to themselves, by thefrauds and depredations of such evil ministers, had not the same menproceeded to treat her sacred person with undutifulness and disregard. This representation being circulated through the kingdom, produced thedesired effect of inflaming the minds of the people against the lateministry. Such expedients were become necessary for the executionof Oxford's project, which was to put a speedy end to a war thathad already subjected the people to grievous oppression, and evenaccumulated heavy burden s to be transmitted to their posterity. Thenation was inspired by extravagant ideas of glory and conquest, evento a rage of war-making; so that the new ministers, in order to dispelthose dangerous chimeras, were obliged to take measures for excitingtheir indignation and contempt against those persons whom they hadformerly idolized as their heroes and patriots. On the twelfth day ofJune, the queen, having given the royal assent to several public andprivate bills, made an affectionate speech to both houses. She thankedthe commons, in the warmest expressions, for having complied with allher desires; for having baffled the expectations of her enemies infinding supplies for the service of the ensuing year; in having grantedgreater sums than were ever given to any prince in one session; and inhaving settled funds for the payment of the public debts, so that thecredit of the nation was restored. She expressed her earnest concernfor the succession of the house of Hanover; and her fixed resolution tosupport and encourage the church of England as by law established. Thenthe parliament was prorogued. PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVOCATION. Of the convocation which was assembled with the new parliament, thelower house chose Dr. Atterbury their prolocutor. He was an enterprisingecclesiastic, of extensive learning, acute talents, violently attachedto tory principles, and intimately connected with the prime ministerOxford; so that he directed all the proceedings in the lower house ofconvocation in concert with that minister. The queen, in a letter tothe archbishop, signified her hope that the consultations of the clergymight be of use to repress the attempts of loose and profane persons. She sent a license under the broad seal, empowering them to sit anddo business in as ample a manner as ever had been granted since thereformation. They were ordered to lay before the queen an account of theexcessive growth of infidelity and heresy, as well as of other abuses, that necessary measures might be taken for a reformation. The bishopswere purposely slighted and overlooked, because they had lived inharmony with the late ministers. A committee being appointed to drawup a representation of the present state of the church and religion, Atterbury undertook the task, and composed a remonstrance that containedthe most keen and severe strictures upon the administration, as it hadbeen exercised since the time of the revolution. Another was penned bythe 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 byMr. Whiston, mathematical professor in Cambridge. He had been expelledthe university, and wrote a vindication of himself, dedicated to theconvocation. The archbishop doubted whether this assembly could proceedagainst a man for heresy: the judges were consulted, and the majority ofthem gave in their opinion that the convocation had a jurisdiction. Fourof them professed the contrary sentiment, which they maintained from thestatutes made at the reformation. The queen, in a letter to the bishops, said, that as there was now no doubt of their jurisdiction, she expectedthat they would proceed in the matter before them. Fresh scruplesarising, they determined to examine the book, without proceedingagainst the author, and this was censured accordingly. An extract of thesentence was sent to the queen; but she did not signify her pleasure onthis subject, and the affair remained in suspense. Whiston published awork in four volumes, justifying his doctrine, and maintaining that theapostolical constitutions were not only canonical, but also preferablein point of authority to the epistles and the gospels. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH CONTINUES TO COMMAND THE ALLIED ARMY. The new ministry had not yet determined to supersede the duke ofMarlborough in the command of the army. This was a step which couldnot be taken without giving umbrage to the Dutch and other allies. Hetherefore set out for Holland in the month of February, after the queenhad assured him that he might depend upon the punctual payment of theforces. Having conferred with the deputies of the states about theoperations of the campaign, he, about the middle of April, assembledthe army at Orchies, between Lisle and Douay; while mareschal de Villarsdrew together the French troops in the neighbourhood of Cambray andArras. Louis had by this time depopulated as well as impoverished hiskingdom; yet his subjects still flocked to his standard with surprisingspirit and attachment. Under the pressure of extreme misery they utterednot one complaint of their sovereign; but imputed all their calamitiesto the pride and obstinacy of the allies. Exclusive of all the otherimpositions that were laid upon that people, they consented to pay thetenth penny of their whole substance; but all their efforts of loyaltyand affection to their prince would have been ineffectual, had notthe merchants of the kingdom, by the permission of Philip, undertakenrepeated voyages to the South Sea, from whence they brought homeimmense treasures; while the allies took no steps for intercepting thesesupplies, though nothing could have been more easy for the English thanto deprive the enemy of this great resource, and convert it to theirown advantage. Had a squadron of ships been annually employed for thispurpose, the subjects of France and Spain must have been literallystarved, and Louis obliged to submit to such terms as the confederatesmight have thought proper to impose. Villars had found means to assemblea very numerous army, with which he encamped behind the river Sanset, insuch an advantageous post as could not be attacked with any prospect ofsuccess. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough passed the Scarpe, and formedhis camp between Douay and Bouchain, where he was joined by princeEugene on the twenty-third day of May. This general, however, did notlong remain in the Netherlands. Understanding that detachments had beenmade from the army of Villars to the Rhine, and that the elector ofBavaria intended to act in the empire, the prince, by order from thecourt of Vienna, marched towards the upper Rhine with the Imperial andPalatine troops, to secure Germany. The Duke of Marlborough repassingthe Scarpe, encamped in the plains of Lens, from whence he advancedtowards Aire, as if he had intended to attack the French lines inthat quarter. These lines beginning at Bouchain on the Schelde, werecontinued along the Sanset and the Scarpe to Arras, and thence along theUpper Scarpe to Canché. They were defended by redoubts and other worksin such a manner, that Villars judged they were impregnable, and calledthem the _Ne plus ultra_ of Marlborough. This nobleman advancing within two leagues of the French lines, ordereda great number of fascines to be made, declaring he would attack themthe next morning; so that Villars drew all his forces on that side, infull expectations of an engagement. The duke, on the supposition thatthe passage of the Sanset by Arleux would be left unguarded, had orderedthe generals Cadogan and Hompesch to assemble twenty battalions andseventeen squadrons from Douay and the neighbouring garrisons, to marchto Arleux, where they should endeavour to pass the Sanset. BrigadierSutton was detached with the artillery and pontoons, to lay bridges overthe canal near Groulezen and over the Scarpe at Vitry, while the dukewith the whole confederate army began his march for the same place aboutnine in the evening. He proceeded with such expedition, that by five inthe morning he passed the river at Vitry. There he received intelligencethat Hompesch had taken possession of the passes on the Sanset andSchelde without opposition, the enemy having withdrawn their detachmentsfrom that side just as he had imagined. He himself, with his vanguard offifty squadrons, hastened his march towards Arleux, and before eight ofthe clock arrived at Bacá-Bachuel, where in two hours he was joinedby the heads of the columns into which he hadj divided his infantry. Villars being certified of his intention, about two in the morningdecamped with his whole army, and putting himself at the head of theking's household troops, marched all night with such expedition, thatabout eleven in the forenoon he was in sight of the duke of Marlborough, who had by this time joined count Hompesch. The French generalimmediately retreated to the main body of his army, which had advancedto the high road between Arras and Cambray, while the allies encampedupon the Schelde, between Oisy and Estrun, after a march of ten leagueswithout halting, scarce to be paralleled in history. By this plan, sohappily executed, the duke of Marlborough fairly outwitted Villars, and, without the loss of one man, entered the lines which he had pronouncedimpregnable. This stroke of the English general was extolled as amasterpiece of military skill, while Villars was exposed to the ridiculeeven of his own officers. The field-deputies of the states-generalproposed that he should give battle to the enemy, who passed the Scheldeat Crevecoeur in order to cover Bouchain; but the duke would not hazardan engagement, considering how much the army was fatigued by the longmarch; and that any misfortune, while they continued within the Frenchlines, might be fatal. His intention was to besiege Bouchain; anenterprise that was deemed impracticable, inasmuch as the place wassituated in a morass, strongly fortified, and defended by a numerousgarrison, in the neighbourhood of an army superior in number to that ofthe allies. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, and the dissuasionsof his own friends, he resolved to undertake the siege; and, in themeantime, despatched brigadier Sutton to England with an account of hishaving passed the French lines; which was not at all agreeable to hisenemies. They had prognosticated that nothing would be done during thiscampaign, and began to insinuate that the duke could strike no stroke ofimportance without the assistance of prince Eugene. They now endeavouredto lessen the glory of his success; and even taxed him with havingremoved his camp from a convenient situation to a place where the troopswere in danger of starving. Nothing could be more provoking than thisscandalous malevolence to a great man who had done so much honour to hiscountry, and was then actually exposing his life in her service. BOUCHAIN REDUCED. On the tenth day of August Bouchain was invested, and the duke ofMarlborough exerted himself to the utmost extent of his vigilance andcapacity, well knowing the difficulties of the undertaking, and how muchhis reputation would depend upon his success. Villars had taken everyprecaution that his skill and experience could suggest, to baffle theendeavours of the English general. He had reinforced the garrison tothe number of six thousand chosen men, commanded by officers of knowncourage and ability. He made some efforts to raise the siege; but theywere rendered ineffectual by the consummate prudence and activity of theduke of Marlborough. Then he laid a scheme for surprising Douay, whichlikewise miscarried. If we consider that the English general, in theexecution of his plan, was obliged to form lines, erect regular forts, raise batteries, throw bridges over a river, make a causeway through adeep morass, provide for the security of convoys against a numerousarmy on the one side, and the garrisons of Condé and Valenciennes on theother, we must allow this was the boldest enterprise of the whole war;that it required all the fortitude, skill, and resolution of a greatgeneral, and all the valour and intrepidity of the confederate troops, who had scarce ever exhibited such amazing proofs of courage upon anyother occasion as they now displayed at the siege of Bouchain. Intwenty days after the trenches were opened, the garrison were obligedto surrender themselves prisoners of war; and this conquest was the lastmilitary exploit performed by the duke of Marlborough: the breachesof Bouchain were no sooner repaired than the opposite armies began toseparate, and the allied forces were quartered in the frontier towns, that they might be at hand to take the field early in the spring. Theywere now in possession of the Maese, almost as far as the Sambre; of theSchelde from Tournay; and of the Lys as far as it is navigable. Theyhad reduced Spanish Guelderland, Limburg, Brabant, Flanders, and thegreatest part of Hainault; they were masters of the Scarpe; and by theconquest of Bouchain, they had opened to themselves a way into the verybowels of France. All these acquisitions were owing to the valour andconduct of the duke of Marlborough, who now returned to the Hague, andarrived 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 theduke of Argyle, who was recalled from the service in Flanders for thatpurpose. He had long been at variance with the duke of Marlborough; acircumstance which recommended him the more strongly to the ministry. He landed at Barcelona on the twenty-ninth of May, and found the Britishtroops in the utmost distress for want of subsistence. The treasurer hadpromised to supply him liberally; the commons had granted one millionfive hundred thousand pounds for that service. All their hopes ofsuccess were fixed on the campaign in that kingdom; and indeed the armycommanded by the duke de Vendôme was in such a wretched condition, thatif Staremberg had been properly supported by the allies, he might haveobtained signal advantages. The duke of Argyle, having waited in vainfor the promised remittances, was obliged, to borrow money on hisown credit, before the British troops could take the field. At lengthStaremberg advanced towards the enemy, who attacked him at the pass ofPrato del Key, where they were repulsed with considerable damage. Afterthis action the duke of Argyle was seized with a violent fever, andconveyed back to Barcelona. Vendôme invested the castle of Cardona, which was vigorously defended till the end of December, when adetachment being sent to the relief of the place, defeated thebesiegers, killed two thousand on the spot, and took all theirartillery, ammunition, and baggage. Staremberg was unable to follow theblow; the duke of Argyle wrote pressing letters to the ministry, andloudly complained that he was altogether unsupported; but all hisremonstrances were ineffectual: no remittances arrived; and he returnedto England without having been able to attempt any thing of importance. In September, king Charles, leaving his queen at Barcelona, set sail forItaly, and at Milan had an interview with the duke of Savoy, where alldisputes were compromised. That prince had forced his way into Savoy andpenetrated as far as the Rhine; but he suddenly halted in the middle ofhis career, and after a short campaign repassed the mountains. PrinceEugene, at the head of the German forces, protected the electors atFrankfort from the designs of the enemy, and Charles was unanimouslychosen emperor; the electors of Cologn and Bavaria having been excludedfrom voting, because they lay under the ban of the empire. The warbetween the Ottoman Porte and the Muscovites was of short duration. The czar advanced so far into Moldavia, that he was cut off from allsupplies, and altogether in the power of his enemy. In this emergency, he found means to corrupt the grand vizier in private, while in publiche proposed articles of peace that were accepted. The king of Sweden, who was in the Turkish army, charged the vizier with treachery, and thatminister was actually disgraced. The grand seignor threatened to renewthe war; but he was appeased by the czar's surrendering Azoph. EXPEDITION TO CANADA. The English ministry had conceived great expectations from an expeditionagainst Quebec and Placentia, in North America, planned by colonelNicholson, who had taken possession of Nova Scotia, and garrisoned PorteRoyal, to which he gave the name of Anapolis. He had brought four Indianchiefs to England, and represented the advantages that would redoundto the nation in point of commerce, should the French be expelled fromNorth America. The ministers relished the proposal. A body of fivethousand men was embarked in transports, under the command of brigadierHill, brother to Mrs. Masham; and they sailed from Plymouth in thebeginning of May, with a strong squadron of ships commanded by sirHovenden Walker. At Boston in New England, they were joined by tworegiments of provincials; and about four thousand men, consisting ofAmerican planters, Palatines, and Indians, rendezvoused at Albany, inorder to march by land into Canada, while the fleet sailed up the riverof that name. On the twenty-first day of August they were exposed to aviolent storm, and driven among rocks, where eight transports perished, with about eight hundred men. The admiral immediately sailed back toSpanish-river bay, where it was determined, in a council of war, that asthe fleet and forces were victualled for ten weeks only, and they couldnot depend upon a supply of provisions from New England, they shouldreturn home without making any further attempt. Such was the issue ofthis paltry expedition, intrusted to the direction of an officer withouttalents and experience. In the Irish parliament held during the summer, the duke of Ormond andthe majority of the peers supported the tory interest, while the commonsexpressed the warmest attachment to revolution principles. The twohouses made strenuous representations, and passed severe resolutionsagainst each other. After the session, sir Constantine Phipps, thechancellor, and general Ingoldsby, were appointed justices in theabsence of the duke of Ormond, who returned to England in the month ofNovember. In Scotland the Jacobites made no scruple of professing theirprinciples and attachments to the pretender. The duchess of Gordonpresented the faculty of advocates with a silver medal, representing thechevalier de St. George; and on the reverse the British islands, withthe motto "_Redditte. _" After some debate, it was voted, by a majorityof sixty-three voices against twelve, that the duchess should be thankedfor this token of her regard. This task was performed by Dundas ofArnistoun, who thanked her grace for having presented them with a medalof their sovereign lord the king; hoping, and being confident, that hergrace would very soon have an opportunity to compliment the facultywith a second medal, struck upon the restoration of the king and royalfamily, upon the finishing rebellion, usurping tyranny, and whiggery. An account of this transaction being laid before the queen, thelord-advocate was ordered to inquire into the particulars. Then thefaculty were so intimidated that they disowned Dundas, and Home hisaccomplice. They pretended that the affair of the medal had beentransacted by a party at an occasional meeting, and not by generalconsent; and, by a solemn act, they declared their attachment to thequeen and the protestant succession. The court was satisfied with thisatonement; but the resident from Hanover having presented a memorial tothe queen, desiring that Dundas and his associates might be prosecuted, the government removed sir David Dalrymple from his office oflord-advocate, on pretence of his having been too remiss in prosecutingthose 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 betweenthe court of France and the new ministers, who had a double aim in thismeasure; namely, to mortify the whigs and the Dutch, whom they detested, and to free their country from a ruinous war, which had all theappearance of becoming habitual to the constitution. They foresaw therisk they would run by entering into such measures, should ever theopposite faction regain the ascendency; they knew the whigs would employall their art and influence, which was very powerful, in obstructing thepeace, and in raising o popular clamour against the treaty. But theirmotives for treating were such as prompted them to undervalue all thosedifficulties and dangers. They hoped to obtain such advantages in pointof commerce for the subject? of Great Britain, as would silence alldetraction. They did not doubt of being able to maintain the superioritywhich they had acquired in parliament; and perhaps some of themcherished views in favour of the pretender, whose succession to thecrown would have effectually established their dominion over theopposite party. The earl of Jersey, who acted in concert with Oxford, sent a private message to the court of France, importing thequeen's desire of peace, representing the impossibility of a privatenegotiation, as the ministry was obliged to act with the utmostcircumspection, and desiring that Louis would propose to the Dutch arenewal of the conferences, in which case the English plenipotentiariesshould have such instructions that it would be impossible for thestates-general to prevent the conclusion of the treaty. This intimationwas delivered by one Gualtier, an obscure priest, who acted as chaplainto count Gallas the Imperial ambassador, and had been employed as aspy by the French ministry, since the commencement of hostilities. Hisconnexion with lord Jersey was by means of that nobleman's lady, who professed the Roman catholic religion. His message was extremelyagreeable to the court of Versailles. He returned to London with aletter of compliment from the marquis de Torcy to the earl of Jersey, inwhich that minister assured him of his master's sincere inclination forpeace, though he was averse to a renewal of the conferences with thestates-general. Gualtier wrote a letter to Versailles, desiring, inthe name of the English ministry, that his most christain majesty wouldcommunicate to them his proposals for a general peace, which they wouldcommunicate to the states-general, that they might negotiate in concertwith their allies. A general answer being made to this intimation, Gualtier made a second journey to Versailles, and brought over amemorial, which was immediately transmitted to Holland. In the meantime, the pensionary endeavoured to renew the conferences in Holland. Petkumwrote to the French ministry, that if his majesty would resume thenegotiation, in concert with the queen of Great Britain, he shouldcertainly have reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the Dutchdeputies. This proposal Louis declined, at the desire of the Englishministers. The states-general having perused the memorial, assured queen Anne thatthey were ready to join with her in contributing to the conclusion ofa durable peace; but they expressed a desire that the French king wouldcommunicate a more particular plan for securing the interest of theallied powers, and for settling the repose of Europe. Gualtier was oncemore sent to Versailles, accompanied by Mr. Prior, who had residedin France as secretary to the embassies of the earls of Portland andJersey. This gentleman had acquired some reputation by his poeticaltalents; was a man of uncommon ability, and insinuating address, andperfectly devoted to the tory interest. He was empowered to communicatethe preliminary demands of the English; to receive the answer of theFrench king; and demand whether or not king Philip had transmitteda power of treating to his grandfather. He arrived incognito atFontainbleau, and presented the queen's memorial, in which she demandeda barrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands, and another on the Rhinefor the empire; a security for the Dutch commerce, and a generalsatisfaction to all her allies. She required that the strong placestaken from the duke of Savoy should be restored; and that he shouldpossess such towns and districts in Italy as had been ceded to him intreaties between him and his allies: that Louis should acknowledgequeen Anne and the protestant succession; demolish the fortifications ofDunkirk; and agree to a new treaty of commerce; that Gibraltar and PortMahon should be yielded to the crown of England; that the negro trade inAmerica, at that time carried on by the French, should be ceded to theEnglish, together with some towns on that continent, where the slavesmight be refreshed. She expected security that her subjects tradingto Spain should enjoy all advantages granted by that crown to the mostfavoured nation; that she should be put in possession of Newfoundlandand Hudson's Bay, either by way of restitution or cession; and thatboth nations should continue to enjoy whatever territories they might bepossessed of in North America at the ratification of the treaties. Shelikewise insisted upon a security that the crowns of France and Spainshould never be united on the same head. Her majesty no longer insistedupon Philip's being expelled from the throne of Spain by the arms ofhis own grandfather. She now perceived that the exorbitant power of thehouse of Austria would be as dangerous to the liberty of Europe as everthat of the family of Bourbon had been, in the zenith of its glory. Shemight have remembered the excessive power, the insolence, the ambitionof Charles V. And Philip II. Who had enslaved so many countries, andembroiled all Europe. She was sincerely desirous of peace, from motivesof humanity and compassion to her subjects and fellow-creatures; shewas eagerly bent upon procuring such advantages to her people aswould enable them to discharge the heavy load of debt under which theylaboured, and recompense them in some measure for the blood and treasurethey had so lavishly expended in the prosecution of the war. Thesewere the sentiments of a christian princess; of an amiable and pioussovereign, who bore a share in the grievances of her subjects, andlooked upon them with the eyes of maternal affection. She thought shehad the better title to insist upon those advantages, as they had beenalready 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 notnegotiate, Mr. Ménager, deputy from the city of Rouen to the board oftrade, accompanied the English minister to London, with full powers tosettle the preliminaries of the treaty. On his arrival in London, thequeen immediately commissioned the duke of Shrewsbury, the earls ofJersey, Dartmouth, Oxford, and Mr. St. John, to treat with him; and theconferences were immediately begun. After long and various disputes, they agreed upon certain preliminary articles, which, on the eighth dayof October, were signed by the French minister, and by the twosecretaries of state, in consequence of a written order from her majesty. Then Ménager was privately introduced to the queen at Windsor. She toldhim she was averse to war; that she would exert all her power toconclude a speedy peace; that she should be glad to live upon good termswith the king of France, to whom she was so nearly allied in blood; sheexpressed her hope that there would be a closer union after the peacebetween them, and between their subjects, cemented by a perfectcorrespondence and friendship. The earl of Strafford, who had beenlately recalled from the Hague where he resided as ambassador, was nowsent back to Holland, with orders to communicate to the pensionary theproposals of peace which France had made; to signify the queen'sapprobation of them, and propose a place where the plenipotentiariesshould assemble. The English ministers now engaged in an intimatecorrespondence with the court of Versailles; and mareschal Tallard beingreleased from his confinement at Nottingham, was allowed to return tohis own country on his parole. After the departure of Ménager, thepreliminaries were communicated to count Gallas the emperor's minister, who, in order to inflame the minds of the people, caused them to betranslated, and inserted in one of the daily papers. This step was somuch resented by the queen, that she sent a message desiring he wouldcome no more to court; but that he might leave the kingdom as soon as heshould think proper. He took the hint, and retired accordingly; but thequeen gave the emperor to understand, that any other minister he shouldappoint 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, asenvoy-extraordinary, to intercede with the queen that she would alterher resolutions: but she continued steady to her purpose; and theearl of Strafford demanded the immediate concurrence of the states, declaring, in the queen's name, that she would look upon any delay, ontheir part, as a refusal to comply with her propositions. Intimidated bythis declaration, they agreed to open the general conferences at Utrechton the first day of January. They granted passports to the Frenchministers; while the queen appointed Robinson, bishop of Bristol, andthe earl of Strafford, her plenipotentiaries at the congress. Charles, the new emperor, being at Milan, when he received a copy of thepreliminaries, wrote circular letters to the electors and the princes ofthe empire, exhorting them to persist in their engagements to the grandalliance. He likewise desired the states-general to join councilswith him in persuading the queen of England to reject the proposalsof France, and prosecute the war; or at least to negotiate on thefoundation of the first preliminaries, which had been signed by themarquis de Torcy. He wrote a letter to the same purpose to the queen ofGreat Britain, who received it with the most mortifying indifference. No wonder that he should zealously contend for the continuance of awar, the expense of which she and the Dutch had hitherto almost whollydefrayed. 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-morrowanswered by the other. They contained all the insinuations of maliceand contempt, all the bitterness of reproach, and all the rancour ofrecrimination. In the midst of this contention, the queen despatchedthe earl of Rivers to Hanover, with an assurance to the elector that hissuccession to the crown should be effectually ascertained in the treaty. The earl brought back an answer in writing; but, at the same time, hiselectoral highness ordered baron de Bothmar, his envoy in England, to present a memorial to the queen, representing the perniciousconsequences of Philip's remaining in possession of Spain and the WestIndies. This remonstrance the baron published, by way of appeal to thepeople, and the whigs extolled it with the highest encomiums; butthe queen and her ministers resented this step as an officious andinflammatory interposition. The proposals of peace made by the French king were disagreeable even tosome individuals of the tory party; and certain peers, who had hithertoadhered to that interest, agreed with the whigs to make a remonstranceagainst the preliminary articles. The court being apprised of theirintention, prorogued the parliament till the seventh day of December, inexpectation of the Scottish peers, who would cast the balance in favourof the ministry. In her speech, at the opening of the session, she toldthem that notwithstanding the arts of those who delighted in war, the place and time were appointed for a congress; and that thestates-general had expressed their entire confidence in her conduct. She declared her chief concern should be to secure the succession ofthe crown in the house of Hanover; to procure all the advantages to thenation which a tender and affectionate sovereign could procure for adutiful and loyal people; and to obtain satisfaction for all her allies. She observed, that the most effectual way to procure an advantageouspeace, would be to make preparations for carrying on war withvigour. She recommended unanimity, and prayed God would direct theirconsultations. In the house of lords, the earl of Nottingham, whohad now associated himself with the whigs, inveighed against thepreliminaries as captious and insufficient, and offered a clause to beinserted in the address of thanks, representing to her majesty that, inthe opinion of the house, no peace could be safe or honourable to GreatBritain or Europe, if Spain and the West Indies should be allotted toany branch of the house of Bourbon. A violent debate ensued, in thecourse of which the earl of Anglesea represented the necessity of easingthe nation of the burdens incurred by an expensive war. He affirmed thata good peace might have been procured immediately after the battle ofRamillies, if it had not been prevented by some persons who prolongedthe war for their own private interest. This insinuation was levelled atthe duke of Marlborough, who made a long speech in his own vindication. He bowed to the place where the queen sat incognito; and appealed toher, whether, while he had the honour to serve her majesty as a generaland plenipotentiary, he had not constantly informed her and her councilof all the proposals of peace which had been made; and had not desiredinstructions for his conduct on that subject. He declared, upon hisconscience, and in presence of the Supreme Being, before whomhe expected soon to appear, that he was ever desirous of a safe, honourable, and lasting peace; and that he was always very far fromentertaining any design of prolonging the war for his own privateadvantage, as his enemies had most falsely insinuated. At last thequestion being put, whether the earl of Nottingham's advice shouldbe part of the address; it was carried in the affirmative by a smallmajority. The address was accordingly presented, and the queen, in heranswer, said she should be very sorry any one could think she would notdo her utmost to recover Spain and the West Indies from the house ofBourbon. Against this advice, however, several peers protested, becausethere was no precedent for inserting a clause of advice in an addressof thanks; and because they looked upon it as an invasion of the royalprerogative. 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 dukeof Brandon, a title he had lately received, was opposed by theanti-courtiers, who pretended to foresee great danger to theconstitution from admitting into the house a greater number of Scottishpeers than the act of union allowed. Counsel was heard upon thevalidity of his patent. They observed that no objection could be made tothe queen's prerogative in conferring honours; and that all the subjectsof the united kingdom were equally capable of receiving honour. Thehouse of lords had already decided the matter, in admitting the duke ofQueensberry upon his being created duke of Dover. The debate was managedwith great ability on both sides; the Scottish peers united in defenceof the duke's claim; and the court exerted its whole strength to supportthe patent. Nevertheless, the question being put, whether Scottishpeers, created peers of Great Britain since the union, had a right tosit in that house; it was carried in the negative by a majority offive voices; though not without a protest signed by the lords in theopposition. The Scottish peers were so incensed at this decision, thatthey drew up a representation to the queen, complaining of it as aninfringement of the union, and a mark of disgrace put upon the wholepeerage of Scotland. The bill against occasional conformity was revivedby the earl of Nottingham, in more moderate terms than those that hadbeen formerly rejected; and it passed both houses by the connivance ofthe whigs, upon the earl's promise, that if they would consent to thismeasure, he would bring over many friends to join them in matters ofgreater consequence. On the twenty-second day of December, the queen, being indisposed, granted a commission to the lord-keeper and someother peers to give the royal assent to this bill, and another for theland-tax. The duke of Devonshire obtained leave to bring in a bill forgiving precedence over all peers to the electoral prince of Hanover, asthe duke of Cambridge. An address was presented to the queen, desiringshe would give instructions to her plenipotentiaries to consult with theministers of the allies in Holland before the opening of the congress, that they might concert the necessary measures for proceeding withunanimity, the better to obtain the great ends proposed by her majesty. {ANNE, 1701--1714} DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH DISMISSED FROM ALL HIS EMPLOYMENTS. The commissioners for examining the public accounts having discoveredthat the duke of Marlborough had received an annual present of five orsix thousand pounds from the contractors of bread to the army, the queendeclared in council that she thought fit to dismiss him from allhis employments, that the matter might be impartially examined. Thisdeclaration was imparted to him in a letter under her own hand, in whichshe took occasion to complain of the treatment she had received. Sheprobably alluded to the insolence of his duchess; the subjection inwhich she had been kept by the late ministry; and the pains lately takenby the whigs to depreciate her conduct, and thwart her measureswith respect to the peace. The duke wrote an answer to her majesty, vindicating himself from the charge which had been brought against hischaracter; and his two daughters, the countess of Sunderland and thelady 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 couldjustify. She created twelve peers at once, [173] _[See note 2 F, at theend of this Vol. ]_ and on the second of January they were introducedinto the upper house without opposition. The lord-keeper delivered tothe house a message from the queen, desiring they would adjourn to thefourteenth day of the month. The anti-courtiers alleged, that the queencould not send a message to any one house to adjourn, but ought to havedirected it to both houses. This objection produced a debate, which wasterminated 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 thequeen from the emperor, and instructions to propose a new scheme forprosecuting the war. His errand was far from being agreeable to theministry; and they suspected that his real aim was to manage intriguesamong the discontented party who opposed the peace. Nevertheless, hewas treated with that respect which was due to his quality and eminenttalents. 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 whichhe delivered, she expressed her concern that her health did not permither to speak with his highness as often as she could wish; but thatshe had ordered the treasurer and secretary St. John to receive hisproposals, and confer with him as frequently as he should thinkproper. He expressed extraordinary respect for the duke of Marlborough, notwithstanding his disgrace. The lord-treasurer, while he entertainedhim at dinner, declared that he looked upon that day as the happiestin the whole course of his life, since he had the honour to see inhis house the greatest captain of the age. The prince is said to havereplied, "If I am, it is owing to your lordship. " Alluding to thedisgrace of Marlborough, whom the earl's intrigues had deprived ofall military command. When bishop Burnet conversed with him about thescandalous libels that were every day published against the duke, and inparticular mentioned one paragraph, in which the author allowed hehad been once fortunate, the prince observed, it was the greatestcommendation that could be bestowed upon him, as it implied that allhis other successes were owing to his courage and conduct. While thenobility of both parties vied with each other in demonstrations ofrespect for this noble stranger; while he was adored by the whigs, andadmired by the people, who gazed at him in crowds when he appearedin public; even in the midst of all these caresses, party riots wereexcited to insult his person, and some scandalous reflections upon hismother were inserted in one of the public papers. The queen treated himwith distinguished marks of regard; and, on her birth-day, presented himwith a sword worth five thousand pounds. Nevertheless, she looked uponhim as a patron and friend of that turbulent faction to which she owedso much disquiet. She knew he had been pressed to come over by thewhig noblemen, who hoped his presence would inflame the people to somedesperate attempt upon the new ministry; she was not ignorant thathe held private conferences with the duke of Marlborough, the earl ofSunderland, 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 thedisturbances of the people. WALPOLE EXPELLED. Her majesty, who had been for some time afflicted with the gout, senta message to both houses on the seventeenth day of January, signifyingthat the plenipotentiaries were arrived at Utrecht; and that she wasemployed in making preparations for an early campaign; she hoped, therefore, that the commons would proceed in giving the necessarydespatch to the supplies. The lord-treasurer, in order to demonstratehis attachment to the protestant succession, brought in a bill which hadbeen proposed by the duke of Devonshire, giving precedence to the wholeelectoral family, as children and nephews of the crown; and, when it waspassed into an act, he sent it over to Hanover by Mr. Thomas Harley. The sixteen peers for Scotland were prevailed upon, by promise ofsatisfaction, to resume their seats in the upper house, from which theyhad absented themselves since the decision against the patent of theduke of Hamilton; but whatever pecuniary recompence they might haveobtained from the court, on which they were meanly dependent, theyreceived no satisfaction from the parliament. The commons, finding Mr. Walpole very troublesome in their house, by his talents, activity, andzealous attachment to the whig interest, found means to discover someclandestine practices in which he was concerned as secretary at war, with regard to the forage-contract in Scotland. The contractors, ratherthan admit into their partnership a person whom he had recommended forthat purpose, chose to present his friend with five hundred pounds. Their bill was addressed to Mr. Walpole, who endorsed it, and his friendtouched the money. [174] _[See note 2 G, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Thistransaction was interpreted into a bribe. Mr. Walpole was voted guiltyof corruption, imprisoned in the Tower, and expelled the house. Beingafterwards re-chosen by the same borough of Lynn-Begis, which he hadbefore represented, a petition was lodged against him, and the commonsvoted him incapable of being elected a member to serve in the presentparliament. Their next attack was upon the duke of Marlborough, who was found tohave received a yearly sum from sir Solomon Medina, a Jew, concerned inthe contract for furnishing the army with bread; to have been gratifiedby the queen with ten thousand pounds a-year to defray the expenses ofintelligence; and to have pocketed a deduction of two and a half percent, from the pay of the foreign troops maintained by England. Itwas alleged, in his justification, that the present from the Jew was acustomary perquisite, which had always been enjoyed by the generalof the Dutch army; that the deduction of two and a half per cent, wasgranted to him by an express warrant from her majesty; that all thearticles of the charge joined together did not exceed thirty thousandpounds, a sum much inferior to that which had been allowed to kingWilliam for contingencies; that the money was expended in procuringintelligence, which was so exact that the duke was never surprised;that none of his parties were ever intercepted or cut off; and allthe designs were by these means so well concerted, that he never oncemiscarried. Notwithstanding these representations, the majority votedthat his practices had been unwarrantable and illegal; and that thededuction was to be accounted for as public money. These resolutionswere communicated to the queen, who ordered the attorney-general toprosecute the duke for the money he had deducted by virtue of her ownwarrant. Such practices were certainly mean and mercenary, and greatlytarnished 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 theDutch, who had certainly exerted all their endeavours to overwhelm thenew ministry, and retard the negotiations for peace. They maintainedan intimate correspondence with the whigs of England. They diffusedthe most invidious reports against Oxford and secretary St. John. Buys, their envoy at London, acted the part of an incendiary, in suggestingviolent measures to the malcontents, and caballing against thegovernment. The ministers, by way of reprisal, influenced the house ofcommons to pass some acrimonious resolutions against the states-general. They alleged that the states had been deficient in their proportion oftroops, both in Spain and in the Netherlands, during the whole course ofthe war; and that the queen had paid above three millions of crowns insubsidies, above what she was obliged to advance by her engagements. They attacked the barrier-treaty, which had been concluded with thestates by lord Townshend after the conferences at Gertruydenburgh. Bythis agreement, England guaranteed a barrier in the Netherlands to theDutch; and the states bound themselves to maintain, with their wholeforce, the queen's title and the protestant succession. The toriesaffirmed that England was disgraced by engaging any other state todefend a succession which the nation might see cause to alter; that, by this treaty, the states were authorized to interpose in Britishcouncils; that, being possessed of all those strong towns, they mightexclude the English from trading to them, and interfere with themanufactures of Great Britain. The house of commons voted, that in thebarrier-treaty there were several articles destructive to the trade andinterest of Great Britain, and therefore highly dishonourable to hermajesty; that the lord viscount Townshend was not authorized to concludeseveral articles in that treaty; that he and all those who had advisedits being ratified were enemies to the queen and kingdom. All theirvotes were digested into a long representation presented to the queen, in which they averred that England, during the war, had been overchargednineteen millions; a circumstance that implied mismanagement or fraudin the old ministry. The states, alarmed at these resolutions, wrote arespectful letter to the queen, representing the necessity of a barrierfor the mutual security of England and the United Provinces. Theyafterwards drew up a large memorial in vindication of their proceedingsduring the war; and it was published in one of the English papers. Thecommons immediately voted it a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, reflecting upon the resolutions of the house; and the printer andpublisher 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 atoleration to the episcopal clergy in Scotland, without paying theleast regard to a representation from the general assembly to the queen, declaring that the act for securing the presbyterian government was anessential and fundamental condition of the treaty of union. The house, notwithstanding this remonstrance, proceeded with the bill, and inserteda clause prohibiting civil magistrates from executing the sentencesof the kirk-judicatories. The episcopal, as well as the presbyterianclergy, were required to take the oaths of abjuration, that they mightbe upon an equal footing in case of disobedience; for the commons wellknew that this condition would be rejected by both from very differentmotives. In order to exasperate the presbyterians with furtherprovocations, another act was passed for discontinuing the courts ofjudicature during the Christmas holidays, which had never been kept bypersons of that persuasion. When this bill was read for the thirdtime, sir David Dalrymple said, "Since the house is resolved to make notoleration on the body of this bill, I acquiesce; and only desire it maybe intituled, A bill for establishing jacobitism and immorality. " Thechagrin of the Scottish presbyterians was completed by a third bill, restoring the right of patronage, which had been taken away when thediscipline of the kirk was last established. Prince Eugene havingpresented a memorial to the queen touching the conduct of the emperorduring the war, and containing a proposal with relation to the affairsof Spain, the queen communicated the scheme to the house of commons, whotreated it with the most contemptuous neglect. The prince, finding allhis efforts ineffectual, retired to the continent, as much displeasedwith the ministry, as he had reason to be satisfied with the people ofEngland. The commons having settled the funds for the supplies of theyear, amounting to six millions, the treasurer formed the plan of a billappointing commissioners to examine the value and consideration of allthe grants made since the revolution. His design was to make a generalresumption; but, as the interest of so many noblemen was concerned, thebill met with a very warm opposition; notwithstanding which it wouldhave certainly passed, had not the duke of Buckingham and the earl ofStrafford 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 forEngland, but he dying after the correspondence with the court of Francewas established, the queen conferred that charge upon Robinson, bishopof Bristol, lord privy-seal, and the earl of Strafford. The chief of theDutch deputies named for the congress, were Buys and Vanderdussen; theFrench king granted his powers to the mareschal D'Uxelles, the abbot(afterwards cardinal) de Polignac, and Menager, who had been inEngland. The ministers of the emperor and Savoy likewise assisted atthe conferences, to which the empire and the other allies likewise senttheir plenipotentiaries, though not without reluctance. As all thesepowers, except France, entertained sentiments very different from thoseof her Britannic majesty, the conferences seemed calculated rather toretard than accelerate a pacification. The queen of England had foreseenand provided against these difficulties. Her great end was to free hersubjects from the miseries attending an unprofitable war, and to restorepeace to Europe; and this aim she was resolved to accomplish in spite ofall opposition. She had also determined to procure reasonable terms ofaccommodation for her allies, without, however, continuing to lavishthe blood and treasure of her people in supporting their extravagantdemands. The emperor obstinately insisted upon his claim to thewhole Spanish monarchy, refusing to give up the least tittle of hispretensions; and the Dutch adhered to the old preliminaries which Louishad formerly rejected. The queen saw that the liberties of Europe wouldbe exposed to much greater danger from an actual union of the Imperialand Spanish crowns in one head of the house of Austria, than from a barepossibility of Spain's being united with France in one branch of thehouse of Bourbon. She knew by experience the difficulty of dethroningPhilip, 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 toprotract the war, and augment the grievances of the British nation. She was well acquainted with the distresses of the French, which sheconsidered as pledges of their monarch's sincerity. She sought not thetotal ruin of that people, already reduced to the brink of despair. Thedictates of true policy dissuaded her from contributing to her furtherconquest in that kingdom, which would have proved the source ofcontention among the allies, depressed the house of Bourbon below thestandard of importance which the balance of Europe required it shouldmaintain, and aggrandize the states-general at the expense of GreatBritain. As she had borne the chief burden of the war, she had a rightto take the lead, and dictate a plan of pacification; at least, she hada right to consult the welfare of her own kingdom, in delivering, by aseparate peace, her subjects from those enormous loads which they couldno 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 haveacted on the same principles, though perhaps party motives may havehelped to influence their conduct. The allies concurred in opposing withall their might any treaty which could not gratify their different viewsof avarice, interest, and ambition. They practised a thousand littleartifices to intimidate the queen, to excite a jealousy of Louis, to blacken the characters of her ministers, to raise and keep up adangerous ferment among the people, by which her life and governmentwere endangered. She could not fail to resent these efforts, whichgreatly perplexed her measures, and obstructed her design. Her ministerswere sensible of the dangerous predicament in which they stood. Thequeen's health was much impaired; and the successor countenanced theopposite faction. In case of their sovereign's death, they had nothingto expect but prosecution and ruin for obeying her commands; theythey saw no hope of safety, except in renouncing their principles, andsubmitting to their adversaries; or else in taking such measures aswould hasten the pacification, that the troubles of the kingdom might beappeased, and the people be satisfied with their conduct, before deathshould deprive them of their sovereign's protection. With this viewthey advised her to set on foot a private negotiation with Louis, tostipulate certain advantages for her own subjects in a concerted plan ofpeace; to enter into such mutual confidence with that monarch, as wouldanticipate all clandestine transactions to her prejudice, and in somemeasure enable her to prescribe terms for her allies. The plan wasjudiciously formed; but executed with too much precipitation. Thestipulated advantages were not such as she had a right to demand andinsist upon; and without all doubt better might have been obtained, hadnot the obstinacy of the allies abroad, and the violent conduct of thewhig faction at home, obliged the ministers to relax in some materialpoints, and hasten the conclusion of the treaty. DEATH OF THE DAUPHIN AND HIS SON. The articles being privately regulated between the two courts of Londonand Versailles, the English plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were furnishedwith general powers and instructions, being ignorant of the agreementwhich the queen had made with the French monarch touching the kingdomof Spain, which was indeed the basis of the treaty. This secret plan ofnegotiation, however, had well nigh been destroyed by some unforeseenevents that were doubly afflicting to Louis. The dauphin died of thesmall-pox in the course of the preceding year, and his title had beenconferred upon his son the duke of Burgundy, who now expired on the lastday of February, six days after the death of his wife, Mary Adelaideof Savoy. The parents were soon followed to the grave by their eldestoffspring the duke of Bretagne, in the sixth year of his age; so thatof the duke of Burgundy's children, none remained alive but the duke ofAnjou, the late French king, who was at that time a sickly infant. Sucha series of calamities could not fail of being extremely shocking toLouis in his old age; but they were still more alarming to the queen ofEngland, who saw that nothing but the precarious life of an unhealthychild divided the two monarchies of France and Spain, the union of whichshe resolved by all possible means to prevent. She therefore sent theabbé Gualtier to Paris, with a memorial representing the danger to whichthe liberty of Europe would be exposed, should Philip ascend the throneof France; and demanding that his title should be transferred to hisbrother the duke of Berry, in consequence of his pure, simple, andvoluntary renunciation. THE QUEEN DEMANDS PHILIP'S RENUNCIATION OF THE CROWN. Meanwhile the French plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were prevailed upon todeliver their proposals in writing, under the name of specific offers, which the allies received with indignation. They were treated in Englandwith universal scorn. Lord Halifax, in the house of peers, termed themtrifling, arrogant, and injurious to her majesty and her allies. Anaddress was presented to the queen, in which they expressed theirresentment against the insolence of France, and promised to assist herwith all their power in prosecuting the war until a safe and honourablepeace should be obtained. The plenipotentiaries of the allies were notless extravagant in their specific demands, than the French had beenarrogant in their offers. In a word, the ministers seemed to have beenassembled at Utrecht rather to start new difficulties, and widen thebreach, than to heal animosities and concert a plan of pacification. They amused one another with fruitless conferences, while the queen ofGreat Britain endeavoured to engage the states-general in her measures, that they might treat with France upon moderate terms, and give law tothe rest of the allies. She departed from some of her own pretensions, in order to gratify them with the possession of some towns in FlandersShe consented to their being admitted into a participation of someadvantages in commerce; and ordered the English ministers at thecongress to tell them, that she would take her measures according to thereturn they should make on this occasion. Finding them still obstinatelyattached to their first chimerical preliminaries, she gave them tounderstand that all her offers for adjusting the differences werefounded upon the express condition, that they should come into hermeasures, and co-operate with her openly and sincerely; but they hadmade such bad returns to all her condescension towards them, that shelooked upon herself as released from all engagements. The ministers ofthe allies had insisted upon a written answer to their specific demands;and this the French plenipotentiaries declined, until they shouldreceive fresh instructions from their master. Such was the pretencefor suspending the conferences; but the real bar to a final agreementbetween England and France, was the delay of Philip's renunciation, which at length however arrived, and produced a cessation of arms. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE DUKE OF ORMOND TAKES THE COMMAND OF THE BRITISH FORCES. In the meantime the duke of Ormond, who was now invested with thesupreme command of the British forces, received a particular order thathe should not hazard an engagement. Louis had already undertaken forthe compliance of his grandson. Reflecting on his own great age, he wasshocked at the prospect of leaving his kingdom involved in a perniciouswar during a minority; and determined to procure a peace at allevents. The queen, knowing his motives, could not help believing hisprotestations, and resolved to avoid a battle, the issue of which mighthave considerably altered the situation of affairs, and consequentlyretarded the conclusion of the treaty. Preparations had been made for anearly campaign. In the beginning of March the earl of Albemarle, havingassembled a body of thirty-six battalions, marched towards Arras, which he reduced to a heap of ashes by a most terrible cannonading andbombardment. In May the duke of Ormond conferred with the deputies ofthe states-general at the Hague, and assured them that he had orders toact vigorously in the prosecution of the war. He joined prince Eugene atTournay; and on the twenty-sixth day of May, the allied army passing theSchelde, encamped at Haspre and Solemnes. The Imperial general proposedthat they should attack the French army under Villars; but by this timethe duke was restrained from hazarding a siege or battle; a circumstancewell known to the French commander, who therefore abated of his usualvigilance. It could not be long concealed from prince Eugene and thedeputies, who forthwith despatched an express to their principals onthis subject, and afterwards presented a long memorial to the duke, representing the injury which the grand alliance would sustain fromhis obedience of such an order. He seemed to be extremely uneasy at hissituation; and in a letter to secretary St. John, expressed a desirethat the queen would permit him to return to England. Prince Eugene, notwithstanding the queen's order, which Ormond hadnot yet formally declared, invested the town of Quesnoy, and the dukefurnished towards this enterprise seven battalions and nine squadronsof the foreign troops maintained by Great Britain. The Dutch deputiesat Utrecht expostulating with the bishop of Bristol upon the duke'srefusing to act against the enemy, that prelate told them that he hadlately received an express, with a letter from her majesty, in which shecomplained, that, as the states-general had not properly answered heradvances, they ought not to be surprised if she thought herself atliberty to enter into separate measures in order to obtain a peace forher own conveniency. When they remonstrated against such conduct ascontradictory to all the alliances subsisting between the queen and thestates-general, the bishop declared his instructions further imported, that considering the conduct of the states towards her majesty, shethought herself disengaged from all alliances and engagements withtheir high mightinesses. The states and the ministers of the allies wereinstantly in commotion. Private measures were concerted with the electorof Hanover, the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and some other princes of theempire, concerning the troops belonging to those powers in the pay ofGreat Britain. The states-general wrote a long letter to the queen, andordered their envoy at London to deliver it into her own hand. CountZinzendorf, the emperor's plenipotentiary, despatched expresses to hismaster, to prince Eugene, and to the Imperial ambassador at London. Thequeen held a council at Kensington upon the subject of the letter; and afresh order was sent to the duke of Ormond, directing him to concur withthe 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-operatewith prince Eugene, and moved for an address, desiring her majesty wouldorder the general to act offensively in concert with her allies. Thetreasurer observed, it was prudent to avoid a battle on the eve of apeace, especially considering they had to do with an enemy so apt tobreak his word. The earl of Wharton replied, this was a strong reasonfor keeping no measures with such an enemy. When Oxford declared thatthe 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 siegewithout either hazarding a battle, in case the enemy should attempt torelieve the place, or shamefully abandoning the enterprise. The duke ofArgyle having declared his opinion, that since the time of JuliusCaesar there had not been a greater captain than prince Eugene of Savoy, observed, that, considering the different interests of the house ofAustria and of Great Britain, it might not consist with prudence totrust him with the management of the war, because a battle won orlost might entirely break off a negociation of peace, which in allprobability was near being concluded. He added, that two years before, the confederates might have taken Arras and Cambray, instead of amusingthemselves with the insignificant conquests of Aire, Bethune, and St. Venant. The duke of Devonshire said he was, by proximity of blood, moreconcerned than any other in the reputation of the duke of Ormond; andtherefore could not help expressing his surprise, that any one woulddare to make a nobleman of the first rank, and so distinguished acharacter, the instrument of such proceedings. Earl Paulet answered, that nobody could doubt the duke of Ormond's courage; but he was notlike a certain general, who led troops to the slaughter to cause a greatnumber of officers to be knocked on the head, that he might fill hispockets by disposing of their commissions. The duke of Marlborough wasso deeply affected by this reflection, that though he suppressed hisresentment in the house, he took the first opportunity to send lordMohun to the earl with a message, importing, that he should be glad tocome to an explanation with his lordship about some expressions he hadused in that clay's debate; and desiring his company to take the air inthe country. The earl understood his meaning; but could not conceal hisemotion from the observation of his lady, by whose means the affair wascommunicated to the earl of Dartmouth, secretary of state. Two sentinelswere immediately placed at his lordship's gate: the queen, by the canalof lord Dartmouth, desired the duke of Marlborough would proceed nofarther in the quarrel; and he assured her he would punctually obeyher majesty's commands. The earl of Oxford assured the house, that aseparate peace was never intended; that such a peace would be so base, so knavish, and so villanous, that every one who served the queen knewthey must answer it with their heads to the nation; but that it wouldappear to be a safe and glorious peace, much more to the honour andinterest of the nation, than the first preliminaries insisted upon bythe allies. The question being put for adjourning, was, after a longdebate, carried in the affirmative; but twenty lords entered a protest. The earl of Strafford, who had returned from Holland, proposed thatthey should examine the negotiations of the Hague and Gertruyden-burgh, before they considered that of Utrecht. He observed, that in theformer negotiations the French ministers had conferred only with thepensionary, who communicated no more of it to the ministers of theallies than what was judged proper to let them know; so that the Dutchwere absolute masters of the secret. He asserted that the states-generalhad consented to give Naples and Sicily to king Philip; a circumstancewhich proved that the recovery of the whole Spanish monarchy was lookedupon as impracticable. He concluded with a motion for an address to hermajesty, desiring that the papers relating to the negotiations of theHague and Gertruydenburgh should be laid before the house. This wascarried without a division. In the house of commons Mr. Pulteney moved for an address, acquaintingher majesty that her faithful commons were justly alarmed at theintelligence received from abroad, that her general in Flanders haddeclined acting offensively against France in concurrence with herallies; and beseeching her majesty that he might receive speedyinstructions to prosecute the war with the utmost vigour. This motionwas rejected by a great majority. A certain member having insinuatedthat the present negotiation had been carried on in a clandestine andtreacherous manner, Mr. Secretary St. John said, he hoped it wouldnot be accounted treachery to act for the good and advantage of GreatBritain; that he gloried in the small share he had in the transaction;and whatever censure he might undergo for it, the bare satisfaction ofacting in that view would be a sufficient recompence and comfort tohim during the whole course of his life. The house resolved, thatthe commons had an entire confidence in her majesty's promise, tocommunicate to her parliament the terms of the peace before it shouldbe concluded; and that they would support her against all suchpersons, either at home or abroad, as should endeavour to obstruct thepacification. The queen thanked them heartily for this resolution, asbeing dutiful to her, honest to their country, and very seasonable ata time when so many artifices were used to obstruct a good peace, orto force one disadantageous to Britain. They likewise presented anaddress, desiring they might have an account of the negotiations andtransactions at the Hague and Gertruydenburgh, and know who were thenemployed as her majesty's plenipotentiaries. PHILIP PROMISES TO RENOUNCE THE CROWN OF FRANCE. The ministry, foreseeing that Philip would not willingly resign hishopes of succeeding to the crown of France, proposed an alternative, that, in case of his preferring his expectation of the crown of Franceto the present possession of Spain, this kingdom, with the Indies, should be forthwith ceded to the duke of Savoy; that Philip, in themeantime, should possess the duke's hereditary dominions, and thekingdom of Sicily, together with Montserrat and Mantua; all whichterritories should be annexed to France at Philip's succession to thatcrown, except Sicily, which should revert to the house of Austria. Louisseemed to relish this expedient, which, however, was rejected by Philip, who chose to make the renunciation rather than quit the throne uponwhich he was established. The queen demanded that the renunciationshould be ratified in the most solemn manner by the states of France;but she afterwards waived this demand, in consideration of its beingregistered in the different parliaments. Such forms are but slendersecurities against the power, ambition, and interest of princes. Themarquis de Torcy frankly owned, that Philip's renunciation was of itselfvoid, as being contrary to the fundamental laws and constitution of theFrench monarchy; but it was found necessary for the satisfaction of theEnglish people. Every material article being now adjusted betweenthe two courts, particularly those relating to the king of Spain, thecommerce of Great Britain, and the delivery of Dunkirk, a suspensionof arms prevailed in the Netherlands, and the duke of Ormond acted inconcert 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 peerscommunicated the plan of peace to her parliament, according to thepromise she had made. After having premised that the making peaceand war was the undoubted prerogative of the crown, and hinted at thedifficulties which had arisen both from the nature of the affair, andnumberless obstructions contrived by the enemies of peace, she proceededto enumerate the chief articles to which both crowns had agreed, without, however, concluding the treaty. She told them she had securedthe protestant succession, which France had acknowledged in thestrongest terms; and that the pretender would be removed from the Frenchdominions; that the duke of Anjou should renounce for himself and hisdescendants all claim to the crown of France; so that the two monarchieswould be for ever divided. She observed, that the nature of thisproposal was such as would execute itself; that it would be theinterest of Spain to support the renunciation; and in France, thepersons entitled to the succession of that crown upon the death of thedauphin, were powerful enough to vindicate their own right. She gavethem to understand that a treaty of commerce between England and Francehad been begun, though not yet adjusted; but provision was made, thatEngland should enjoy the same privileges that France granted to the mostfavoured nation; that the French king had agreed to make an absolutecession of the island of St. Christopher's, which had hitherto beendivided between the two nations, that he had also consented torestore the whole bay and straits of Hudson; to deliver the islandof Newfoundland, with Placentia; to cede Annapolis, with the rest ofArcadia or Nova Scotia; to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; toleave England in possession of Gibraltar, Port-Mahon, and the wholeisland of Minorca; to let the trade of Spain in the West Indies besettled as it was in the reign of his late catholic majesty; shesignified that she had obtained for her subjects the assiento, orcontract, for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes for theterm of thirty years, in the same manner as it had been enjoyed by theFrench. With respect to the allies, they declared, that France offeredto 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 theRhine, and in the islands of that river; that the protestant interest inGermany 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 ofTuscany, might be yielded to his Imperial majesty; but the dispositionof Sicily was not yet determined; that the demands of the states-generalwith relation to commerce, and the barrier in the Low Countries, wouldbe granted with a few exceptions, which might be compensated byother expedients; that no great progress had yet been made upon thepretensions of Portugal; but that those of Prussia would be admitted byFrance without much difficulty; that the difference between the barrierdemanded by the duke of Savoy in the year one thousand seven hundredand nine, and that which France now offered, was very inconsiderable;that the elector palatine should maintain his present rank among theelectors; and that France would acknowledge the electoral dignity in thehouse of Hanover. Such, were the conditions which the queen hoped wouldmake some amends to her subjects, for the great and unequal burden theyhad borne during the whole course of the war. She concluded with saying, she made no doubt but they were fully persuaded that nothing would beneglected on her part, in the progress of this negotiation, to bring thepeace to a happy and speedy issue; and she expressed her dependence uponthe entire confidence and cheerful concurrence of her parliament. Anaddress of thanks and approbation was immediately voted, drawn up, andpresented to the queen by the commons in a body. When the house of lordstook the speech into consideration, the duke of Marlborough asserted, that the measures pursued for a year past were directly contrary to hermajesty's engagements with the allies; that they sullied the triumphsand glories of her reign, and would render the English name odious toall nations. The earl of Strafford said, that some of the allies wouldnot have shown such backwardness to a peace, had they not been persuadedand encouraged to carry on the war by a member of that illustriousassembly, who maintained a secret correspondence with them, and fed themwith 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, muchless in any member of that august assembly, to hold correspondence withthe allies of the nation; stich allies especially whose interest hermajesty had declared to be inseparable from her own, in her speech atthe opening of the session; whereas it would be a hard matter to justifyand reconcile either with our laws, or with laws of honour and justice, the conduct of some persons in treating clandestinely with the commonenemy without the participation of the allies. This was a frivolousargument. A correspondence with any persons whatsoever becomes criminal, when it tends to foment the divisions of one's country, and arm thepeople against their sovereign. If England had it not in her power, without infringing the laws of justice and honour, to withdraw herselffrom a confederacy which she could no longer support, and treat forpeace on her own bottom, then was she not an associate but a slave tothe alliance. The earl of Godolphin affirmed, that the trade to Spainwas such a trifle as deserved no consideration; and that it wouldcontinually diminish until it should be entirely engrossed by the Frenchmerchants. Notwithstanding these remonstrances against the plan ofpeace, the majority agreed to an address, in which they thanked thequeen for her extraordinary condescension in communicating thoseconditions to her parliament; and expressed an entire satisfaction withher conduct. A motion was made for a clause in the address, desiring hermajesty would take such measures in concert with her allies, as mightinduce them to join with her in a mutual guarantee. A debate ensued: thequestion was put, and the clause rejected. Several noblemen entereda protest, which was expunged from the journals of the house by thedecision of the majority. In the house of commons, a complaint was exhibited against bishopFleetwood, who, in a preface to four sermons which he had published, took occasion to extol the last ministry at the expense of the presentadministration. This piece was voted malicious and factious, tendingto create discord and sedition amongst her majesty's subjects, andcondemned to be burned by the hands of the common hangman. Theypresented an address to the queen, assuring her of the just sense theyhad of the indignity offered to her, by printing and publishing a letterfrom the states-general to her majesty; and desiring she would so farresent such insults, as to give no answer for the future to any lettersor memorials that should be thus ushered into the world as inflammatoryappeals 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 powersin alliance with her majesty might be guarantees for the protestantsuccession in the illustrious house of Hanover. The question being put, was carried in the negative. Then the house resolved, that they hadsuch confidence in the repeated declarations her majesty had made of herconcern for assuring to these kingdoms the protestant succession, as bylaw established, that they could never doubt of her taking the propermeasures for the security thereof; that the house would support heragainst faction at home and her enemies abroad; and did humbly beseechher, that she would be pleased to discountenance all those who shouldendeavour to raise jealousies between her majesty and her subjects, especially by misrepresenting her good intentions for the welfare of herpeople. The queen was extremely pleased with this resolution. Whenit was presented, she told them that they had shown themselves honestasserters of the monarchy, zealous defenders of the constitution, andreal friends to the protestant succession. She thought she had verylittle reason to countenance a compliment of supererogation to aprince who had caballed with the enemies of her administration. On thetwenty-first day of June the queen closed the session with a speech, expressing her satisfaction at the addresses and supplies she hadreceived; she observed, that should the treaty be broke off, theirburdens would be at least continued, if not increased; that Britainwould lose the present opportunity of improving her own commerce, andestablishing a real balance of power in Europe; and that though some ofthe allies might be gainers by a continuance of the war, the restwould suffer in the common calamity. Notwithstanding the ferment ofthe people, which was now risen to a very dangerous pitch, addressesapproving the queen's conduct, were presented by the city of London andall the corporations in the kingdom that espoused the tory interest. Atthis 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, andthe siege carried on with uncommon vigour under cover of the forcescommanded by the duke of Ormond. This nobleman, however, having receiveda copy of the articles signed by the marquis de Torcy, and freshinstructions from the queen, signified to the prince Eugene and theDutch deputies, that the French king had agreed to several articlesdemanded by the queen, as the foundation of an armistice; and amongothers to put the English troops in immediate possession of Dunkirk;that he could therefore no longer cover the siege of Quesnoy, as he wasobliged by his instructions to march with the British troops, and thosein the queen's pay, and declare a suspension of arms as soon as heshould be possessed of Dunkirk. He expressed his hope that they wouldreadily acquiesce in these instructions, seeing their concurrence wouldact as the most powerful motive to induce the queen to take allpossible care of their interests at the congress; and he endeavoured todemonstrate that Dunkirk, as a cautionary town, was a place of greaterconsequence to the allies than Quesnoy. The deputies desired he woulddelay his march for five days, that they might have time to consulttheir principals, and he granted three days without hesitation. PrinceEugene observed, that his marching off with the British troops, and theforeigners in the queen's pay, would leave the allies at the mercy ofthe enemy; but he hoped these last would not obey the duke's order. Heand the deputies had already tampered with their commanding officers, who absolutely refused to obey the duke of Ormond, alleging, that theycould not separate from the confederacy without express directions fromtheir masters, to whom they had despatched couriers. An extraordinaryassembly of states was immediately summoned to meet at the Hague. Theministers of the allies were invited to the conferences. At length theprinces, whose troops were in the pay of Britain, assured them that theywould maintain them under the command of Prince Eugene for one month attheir own expense, and afterwards sustain half the charge, provided theother 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 Utrechtthe concessions which France would make to the allies; and proposed asuspension of arms for two months, that they might treat in a friendlymanner, and adjust the demands of all the confederates. To this proposalthey made no other answer but that they had no instructions on thesubject. Count Zinzendorf, the first Imperial plenipotentiary, presented a memorial to the states-general, explaining the danger thatwould result to the common cause from a cessation of arms; and exhortingthem to persevere in their generous and vigorous resolutions. Heproposed a renewal of the alliance for recovering the Spanish monarchyto the house of Austria, and a certain plan for prosecuting the war withredoubled ardour. Prince Eugene, in order to dazzle the confederateswith some bold enterprise, detached major-general Grovestein withfifteen hundred cavalry to penetrate into the heart of France. Thisofficer, about the middle of June, advanced into Champaigne, passed theNoire, the Maese, the Moselle, and the Saar, and retired to Traerbachwith a rich booty and a great number of hostages, after having extortedcontributions as far as the gates of Metz, ravaged the country, andreduced a great number of villages and towns to ashes. The consternationproduced by this irruption reached the city of Paris; the king of Francedid not think himself safe at Versailles with his ordinary guards; allthe troops in the neighbourhood of the capital were assembled aboutthe palace. Villars sent a detachment after Grovestein, as soon as heunderstood his destination; but the other had gained a day's march ofthe French troops, which had the mortification to follow him soclose, that they found the flames still burning in the villages hehad destroyed. By way of retaliation, major-general Pasteur, a Frenchpartisan, made an excursion beyond Bergen-op-zoom, and ravaged theisland 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 cessationof arms to the states-general, by whom it was rejected. Then heproceeded to the army of the duke of Ormond, where he arrived in a fewdays after the reduction of Quesnoy, the garrison of which were madeprisoners of war on the fourth day of July. The officers of the foreigntroops 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 andallies, that it was absolutely necessary to effect a speedy separation. Prince Eugene resolved to undertake the siege of Landresy: a design issaid to have been formed by the German generals, to confine the duke onpretence of the arrears that were due to them, and to disarm theBritish troops lest they should join the French army. In the meantime, a literary correspondence was maintained between the English general andthe mareschal de Villars. France having consented to deliver up Dunkirk, a body of troops was transported from England under the command ofbrigadier Hill, who took possession of the place on the seventh day ofJuly; the French garrison retired to Winoxberg. On the sixteenth ofthe same month prince Eugene marched from his camp at Haspre, andwas followed by all the auxiliaries in the British pay, except a fewbattalions of the troops of Holstein-Gottorp, and Walef's regiment ofdragoons, belonging to the state of Liege. Landresy was immediately invested; while the duke of Ormond, withthe English forces, removed from Chateau-Cambresis, and encamped atwensne-le-Secq, proclaimed by sound of trumpet a cessation of armsfor two months. On the same day the like armistice was declared inthe French army. The Dutch were so exasperated at the secession of theEnglish troops, that the governors would not allow the earl of Straffordto enter Bouchain, nor the British army to pass through Douay, though inthat town they had left a great quantity of stores, together with theirgeneral hospital. Prince Eugene and the Dutch deputies, understandingthat the duke of Ormond had begun his march towards Ghent, began to bein pain for that city, and sent count Nassau Woodenburgh to him with awritten apology, condemning and disavowing the conduct and commandantsof Bouchain and Douay; but, notwithstanding these excuses, the Englishtroops 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 andBruges for the queen of England; then he reinforced the garrison ofDunkirk, which he likewise supplied with artillery and ammunition. Hisconduct was no less agreeable to his sovereign, than mortifying to theDutch, who never dreamed of leaving Ghent and Bruges in the hands of theEnglish, and were now fairly outwitted and anticipated by the motionsand expedition of the British general. THE ALLIES DEFEATED AT DENAIN. The loss of the British forces was soon severely felt in the alliedarmy. Villars attacked a separate body of their troops, encamped atDenain, under the command of the earl of Albemarle. Their intrenchmentswere forced, and seventeen battalions either killed or taken. The earlhimself and all the surviving officers were made prisoners. Five hundredwaggons loaded with bread, twelve pieces of brass cannon, a largequantity of ammunition and provisions, a great number of horses, andconsiderable booty fell into the hands of the enemy. This advantage theygained in sight of prince Eugene, who advanced on the other side of theSchelde to sustain Albemarle; but the bridge over that river was brokedown by accident, so that he was prevented from lending the leastassistance. Villars immediately invested Marchiennes, where theprincipal stores of the allies were lodged. The place was surrendered onthe last day of July; and the garrison, consisting of five thousand men, were conducted prisoners to Valenciennes. He afterwards undertook thesiege of Douay; an enterprise, in consequence of which prince Eugeneabandoned his design on Landresy, and marched towards the French inorder to hazard an engagement. The states, however, would not run therisk; and the prince had the mortification to see Douay reduced by theenemy. 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 theconquest 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 Dutchand other allies to join in the armistice; but they were deaf to theproposal, and concerted measures for a vigorous prosecution of the war. Then the earl of Strafford insisted upon their admitting to the congressthe plenipotentiaries of king Philip; but he found them equally averseto this expedient. In the beginning of August, secretary St. John, nowcreated lord viscount Bolingbroke, was sent to the court of Versaillesincognito, to remove all obstructions to the treaty between England andFrance. He was accompanied by Mr. Prior and the Abbé Gualtier, treatedwith the most distinguished marks of respect, caressed by the Frenchking and the marquis de Torcy, with whom he adjusted the principalinterests of the duke of Savoy and the elector of Bavaria. He settledthe time and manner of the renunciation, and agreed to a suspension ofarms by sea and land for four months between the crowns of Franceand England; this was accordingly proclaimed at Paris and London. The negotiation being finished in a few days, Bolingbroke returned toEngland, and Prior remained as resident at the court of France. Thestates-general breathed nothing but war; the pensionary Heinsiuspronounced an oration in their assembly, representing the impossibilityof concluding a peace without losing the fruits of all the blood andtreasure they had expended. The conferences at Utrecht were interruptedby a quarrel between the domestics of Ménager and those of the count deRechteren, one of the Dutch plenipotentiaries. The populace insulted theearl of Strafford and the marquis del Borgo, minister of Savoy, whosemaster was reported to have agreed to the armistice. These obstructionsbeing removed, the conferences were renewed, and the Britishplenipotentiaries exerted all their rhetoric, both in public andprivate, to engage the allies! in the queen's measures. At length theduke of Savoy was prevailed upon to acquiesce in the offers of France. Mr. Thomas Harley had been sent ambassador to Hanover, with a view topersuade the elector that it would be for his interest to co-operatewith her majesty; but that prince's resolution was already taken. "Whenever it shall please God, " said he, "to call me to the throne ofBritain, 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 theempire. " Nor was she more successful in her endeavours to bring over theking of Prussia to her sentiments. In the meantime, lord Lexington wasappointed ambassador to Madrid, where king Philip solemnly swore toobserve the renunciation, which was approved and confirmed by theCortez. The like renunciation to the crown of Spain was afterwardsmade by the princes of France; and Philip was declared incapable ofsucceeding to the crown of that realm. The court of Portugal held outagainst the remonstrances of England, until the Marquis de Bay invadedthat kingdom at the head of twenty thousand men, and undertook the siegeof Campo-Major, and they found they had no longer any hope of beingassisted by her Britannic majesty. The Portuguese minister at Utrechtsigned the suspension of arms on the seventh day of November, andexcused this step to the allies as the pure effect of necessity. TheEnglish troops in Spain were ordered to separate from the army of countStarem-berg, and march to the neighbourhood of Barcelona, where theywere embarked on board an English squadron commanded by sir JohnJennings, and transported to Minorca. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE DUKE OF HAMILTON AND LORD MOHUN ARE KILLED IN A DUEL. The campaign being at an end in the Netherlands, the duke of Ormondreturned to England, where the party disputes were become more violentthan ever. The whigs affected to celebrate the anniversary of the lateking's birth-day, in London, with extraordinary rejoicings. Mobs werehired by both factions; and the whole city was filled with riot anduproar. A ridiculous scheme was contrived to frighten the lord-treasurerwith some squibs in a band-box, which the ministers magnified intoa conspiracy. The duke of Hamilton having been appointedambassador-extraordinary to the court of France, the whigs were alarmedon the supposition that this nobleman favoured the pretender. Somedispute arising between the duke and lord Mohun, on the subject of alawsuit, furnished a pretence for a quarrel. Mohun, who had been twicetried for murder, and was counted a mean tool, as well as the hectorof the whig party, sent a message by general Macartney to the duke, challenging him to single combat. The principals met by appointment inHyde Park, attended by Macartney and colonel Hamilton. They fought withsuch fury, that Mohun was killed upon the spot, and the duke expiredbefore he could be conveyed to his own house. Macartney disappeared, and escaped in disguise to the continent. Colonel Hamilton declared uponoath before the privy-council, that when the principals engaged, heand Macartney followed their example; that Macartney was immediatelydisarmed; but the colonel seeing the duke fall upon his antagonist, threw away the swords, and ran to lift him up; that while he wasemployed in raising the duke, Macartney, having taken up one ofthe swords, stabbed his grace over Hamilton's shoulder and retiredimmediately. A proclamation was issued, promising a reward of fivehundred pounds to those who should apprehend or discover Macartney, and the duchess of Hamilton offered three hundred pounds for the samepurpose. The tories exclaimed against this event as a party-duel; theytreated Macartney as a cowardly assassin; and affirmed that the whigshad posted others of the same stamp all round Hyde Park, to murder theduke of Hamilton, in case he had triumphed over his antagonist, andescaped the treachery of Macartney. The whigs, on the other hand, affirmed that it was altogether a private quarrel; that Macartney wasentirely innocent of the perfidy laid to his charge; that he afterwardssubmitted to a fair trial, at which colonel Hamilton prevaricated ingiving his evidence, and was contradicted by the testimony of diverspersons who saw the combat at a distance. The duke of Marlborough, hearing himself accused as the author of those party mischiefs, andseeing his enemies grow every day more and more implacable, thoughtproper to retire to the continent, where he was followed by his duchess. His friend Godolphin had died in September, with the general characterof an able, cool, dispassionate minister, who had rendered himselfnecessary to four successive sovereigns, and managed the financeswith equal skill and integrity. The duke of Shrewsbury was nominatedambassador to France in the room of the duke of Hamilton; the duked'Aumont arrived at London in the same quality from the court ofVersailles; and about the same time the queen granted an audience tothe marquis de Monte-leone, whom Philip had appointed one of hisplenipotentiaries at the congress. THE STATES-GENERAL SIGN THE BARRIER-TREATY. In vain had the British ministers in Holland endeavoured to overcomethe obstinacy of the states-general, by alternate threats, promises, and arguments. In vain did they represent that the confederacy againstFrance could be no longer supported with any prospect of success; thatthe queen's aim had been to procure reasonable terms for her allies; butthat their opposition to her measures prevented her from obtaining suchconditions as she would have a right to demand in their favour, were they unanimous in their consultations. In November, the earl ofStrafford presented a new plan of peace, in which the queen promised toinsist upon France's ceding to the states the city of Tournay, and someother places which they could not expect to possess should she concludea separate treaty. They now began to waiver in their councils. The firsttransports of their resentment having subsided, they plainly perceivedthat the continuation of the war would entail upon them a burden whichthey could not bear, especially since the duke of Savoy and the king ofPortugal had deserted the alliance; besides, they were staggered by theaffair of the new barrier, so much more advantageous than that whichFrance had proposed in the beginning of the conferences. They wereinfluenced by another motive, namely, the apprehension of new mischiefsto the empire from the king of Sweden, whose affairs seemed to take afavourable turn at the Ottoman Porte, through the intercession ofthe French monarch. The czar and king Augustus had penetrated intoPomerania; the king of Denmark had taken Staden, reduced Bremen, andlaid Hamburgh under contribution; but count Steenbock, the Swedishgeneral, defeated the Danish army in Mecklenburg, ravaged Holstein withgreat barbarity, and reduced the town of Altena to ashes. The grandseignor threatened to declare war against the czar, on pretence thathe had not performed some essential articles of the late peace; buthis real motive was an inclination to support the king of Sweden. Thisdisposition, however, was defeated by a powerful party at the Porte, whowere averse to war. Charles, who still remained at Bender, was desiredto return to his own kingdom, and given to understand that the sultanwould procure him a safe passage. He treated the person who brought thisintimation with the most outrageous insolence, rejected the proposal, fortified his house, and resolved to defend himself to the lastextremity. Being attacked by a considerable body of Turkish forces, heand his attendants fought with the most frantic valour. They slew somehundreds 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 weregenerally sold for slaves. He himself was conveyed under a strong guardto Adrianople. Meanwhile the czar landed with an army in Finland, whichhe totally reduced. Steenbock maintained himself in Tonningen until allhis supplies were cut off; and then he was obliged to deliver himselfand his troops prisoners of war. But this reverse was not foreseen whenthe Dutch dreaded a rupture between the Porte and the Muscovites, andwere given to understand that the Turks would revive the troubles inHungary. In that case, they knew the emperor would recall great part ofhis troops from the Netherlands, where the burden of the war must lieupon their shoulders. After various consultations in their differentassemblies, they came into the queen's measures, and signed thebarrier-treaty. Then the plenipotentiaries of the four associated circles presented aremonstrance to the British ministers at Utrecht, imploring the queen'sinterposition in their favour, that they might not be left in themiserable condition to which they had been reduced by former treaties. They were given to understand, that if they should not obtain what theydesired, they themselves would be justly blamed as the authors of theirown disappointment; that they had been deficient in furnishing theirproportion of troops and other necessaries, and left the whole burden ofthe war to fall upon the queen and the states in the Netherlands; thatwhen a cessation was judged necessary, they had deserted her majestyto follow the chimerical projects of prince Eugene; that while sheprosecuted the war with the utmost vigour, they had acted with coldnessand indifference; but when she inclined to peace they began to exertthemselves in prosecuting hostilities with uncommon eagerness; that, nevertheless, she would not abandon their interests, but endeavour toprocure for them as good conditions as their preposterous conduct wouldallow her to demand. Even the emperor's plenipotentiaries began to talkin more moderate terms. Zinzendorf declared that his master was verywell disposed to promote a general peace, and no longer insisted ona cession of the Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria. Philip'sministers, together with those of Bavaria and Cologn, were admittedto the congress; and now the plenipotentiaries of Britain acted asmediators for the rest of the allies. {1713} PEACE WITH FRANCE. The pacification between France and England was retarded, however, bysome unforeseen difficulties that arose in adjusting the commerce andthe limits of the countries possessed by both nations in North America. A long dispute ensued; and the duke of Shrewsbury and Prior held manyconferences with the French ministry; at length it was compromised, though not much to the advantage of Great Britain; and the Englishplenipotentiaries received an order to sign a separate treaty. Theydeclared to the ministers of the other powers, that they and some otherplenipotentiaries were ready to sign their respective treaties on theeleventh day of April. Count Zinzendorf endeavoured to postpone thistransaction until he should be furnished with fresh instructions fromVienna; and even threatened that if the states should sign the peacecontrary to his desire, the emperor would immediately withdraw histroops from the Netherlands. The ministers of Great Britain agreed withthose of France, that his Imperial majesty should have time to considerwhither he would or would not accept the proposals; but this time wasextended no farther than the first day of June; nor would they agreeto a cessation of arms during that interval. Meanwhile the peace withFrance was signed in different treaties by the plenipotentiaries ofGreat Britain, Savoy, Prussia, Portugal, and the states-general. On thefourteenth day of the month, the British plenipotentiaries delivered tocount Zinzendorf, in writing, "Offers and demands of the French king formaking peace with the house of Austria and the empire. " The count andthe ministers of the German princes exclaimed against the insolence ofFrance, which had not even bestowed the title of emperor on Joseph; butwanted to impose terms upon them with relation to the electors of Colognand Bavaria. The treaties of peace and commerce between England and France beingratified by the queen of England, the parliament was assembled on theninth day of April. The queen told them the treaty was signed, and thatin a few days the ratifications would be exchanged. She said, whatshe had done for the protestant succession, and the perfect friendshipsubsisting between her and the house of Hanover, would convince thosewho wished well to both, and desired the quiet and safety of theircountry, how vain all attempts were to divide them. She left it entirelyto the house of commons to determine what force might be necessaryfor the security of trade by sea, and for guards and garrisons. "Makeyourselves safe, " said she, "and I shall be satisfied. Next to theprotection of the Divine Providence, I depend upon the loyalty andaffection of my people. I want no other guarantee. " She recommendedto their protection those brave men who had exposed their lives in theservice of their country, and could not be employed in time of peace. She desired they would concert proper measures for easing the foreigntrade of the kingdom, for improving and encouraging manufactures and thefishery, and for employing the hands of idle people. She expressed herdispleasure at the scandalous and seditious libels which had been latelypublished. She exhorted them to consider of new laws to prevent thislicentiousness, as well as for putting a stop to the impious practice ofduelling. She conjured them to use their utmost endeavours to calm theminds of men at home, that the arts of peace might be cultivated; andthat groundless jealousies, contrived by a faction, and fomented byparty rage, might not effect that which their foreign enemies could notaccomplish. This was the language of a pious, candid, and benevolentsovereign, who loved her subjects with a truly parental affection. Theparliament considered her in that light. Each house presented her witha warm address of thanks and congratulation, expressing, in particular, their inviolable attachment to the protestant succession in theillustrious house of Hanover. The ratifications of the treaty beingexchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the fifth of May, with the usualceremonies, to the inexpressible joy of the nation in general. It wasabout this period that the chevalier de St. George conveyed a printedremonstrance to the ministers at Utrecht, solemnly protesting againstall that might be stipulated to his prejudice. The commons, in a secondaddress, had besought her majesty to communicate to the house in duetime the treaties of peace and commerce with France; and now they wereproduced by Mr. Benson, chancellor of the exchequer. THE TREATY WITH FRANCE. By the treaty of peace the French king obliged himself to abandonthe pretender, and acknowledge the queen's title and the protestantsuccession; to raze the fortifications of Dunkirk within a limited time, on condition of receiving an equivalent; to cede Newfoundland, Hudson'sBay, and St. Christopher's to England; but the French were leftin possession of Cape Breton, and at liberty to dry their fish inNewfoundland. By the treaty of commerce a free trade was established, according to the tariff of the year one thousand six hundred andsixty-four, except in some commodities that were subjected to newregulations in the year sixteen hundred and ninety-nine. It was agreedthat no other duties should be imposed on the productions of Franceimported into England than those that were laid on the same commoditiesfrom other countries; and that commissaries should meet at London toadjust all matters relating to commerce; as for the tariff with Spain, it was not yet finished. It was stipulated, that the emperor shouldpossess the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the SpanishNetherlands; that the duke of Savoy should enjoy Sicily, with the titleof king; that the same title, with the island of Sardinia, shouldbe allotted to the elector of Bavaria, as an indemnification forhis losses; that the states-general should restore Lisle and itsdependencies; 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 ofOrange and the other states belonging to that family in Franche Compté. The king of Portugal was satisfied; and the first day of June was fixedas the period of time granted to the emperor for consideration. A day being appointed by the commons to deliberate upon the treaty ofcommerce, very just and weighty objections were made to the eighth andninth articles, importing, that Great Britain and France should mutuallyenjoy all the privileges in trading with each other that either grantedto the most favoured nation; and that no higher customs should beexacted from the commodities of France, than those that were drawn fromthe same productions of any other people. The balance of trade havinglong inclined to the side of France, severe duties had been laid on allthe productions and manufactures of that kingdom, so as almost toamount to a total prohibition. Some members observed, that by the treatybetween England and Portugal, the duties charged upon the wines of thatcountry were lower than those laid upon the wines of France; that shouldthey now be reduced to an equality, the difference of freight was sogreat, that the French wines would be found much cheaper than those ofPortugal; and, as they were more agreeable to the taste of the nation ingeneral, there would be no market for the Portuguese wines in England;that should this be the case, the English would lose their trade withPortugal, the most advantageous of any traffic which they now carriedon; for it consumed a great quantity of their manufactures, andreturned a yearly sum of six hundred thousand pounds in gold. Mr. Nathaniel Gould, formerly governor of the bank, affirmed, that as Francehad since the revolution encouraged woollen manufactures, and preparedat home several commodities which formerly they drew from England; sothe English had learned to make silk stuffs, paper, and all manner oftoys, formerly imported from France; by which means an infinite numberof artificers were employed, and a vast sum annually saved to thenation; but these people would now be reduced to beggary, and that moneylost again to the kingdom, should French commodities of the same kindbe imported under ordinary duties, because labour was much cheaper inFrance than in England, consequently the British manufactures would beundersold and ruined. He urged, that the ruin of the silk manufacturewould be attended with another disadvantage. Great quantities of woollencloths were vended in Italy and Turkey, in consequence of the raw silkwhich the English merchants bought up in those countries; and, shouldthe silk manufacture at home be lost, those markets for Britishcommodities would fail of course. Others alleged, that if the articlesof commerce had been settled before the English troops separated fromthose of the confederates, the French king would not have presumed toinsist upon such terms, but have been glad to comply with more moderateconditions. Sir William Wyndham reflected on the late ministry, forhaving neglected to make an advantageous peace when it was in theirpower. He said that Portugal would always have occasion for the woollenmanufactures and the corn of England, and be obliged to buy them at allevents. After a violent debate, the house resolved, by a great majority, that a bill should be brought in to make good the eighth and nintharticles of the treaty of commerce with France. Against these articles, however, the Portuguese minister presented a memorial, declaring, thatshould the duties on French wines be lowered to the same level withthose that were laid on the wines of Portugal, his master would renewthe prohibition of the woollen manufactures and other products of GreatBritain. Indeed, all the trading part of the nation exclaimed againstthe treaty of commerce, which seems to have been concluded in a hurry, before the ministers fully understood the nature of the subject. Thisprecipitation was owing to the fears that their endeavours afterpeace would miscarry, from the intrigues of the whig faction, and theobstinate 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 thistax to the whole island, notwithstanding the warm remonstrances of theScottish members, who represented it as a burden which their countrycould not bear. They insisted upon an express article of the union, stipulating, that no duty should be laid on the malt in Scotland duringthe war which they affirmed was not yet finished, inasmuch as thepeace with Spain had not been proclaimed. During the adjournment ofthe parliament, on account of the Whit-sun-holidays, the Scots of bothhouses, laying aside all party distinctions, met and deliberated on thissubject. They deputed the duke of Argyle, the earl of Mar, Mr. Lockhart, and Mr. Cockburn, to lay their grievances before the queen. Theyrepresented that their countrymen bore with great impatience theviolation of some articles of the union; and that the imposition of suchan insupportable burden as the malt-tax would in all probabilityprompt them to declare the union dissolved. The queen, alarmed at thisremonstrance, answered, that she wished they might not have cause torepent of such a precipitate resolution; but she would endeavour to makeall things easy. On the first day of June, the earl of Findlater, in thehouse of peers, represented that the Scottish nation was aggrievedin many instances: that they were deprived of a privy-council, andsubjected to the English laws in cases of treason: that their nobleswere rendered incapable of being created British peers; and that nowthey were oppressed with the insupportable burden of a malt-tax, whenthey had reason to expect they should reap the benefit of peace: hetherefore moved, that leave might be given to bring in a bill fordissolving the union, and securing the protestant succession to thehouse of Hanover. Lord North and Grey affirmed, that the complaintsof the Scots were groundless; that the dissolution of the union wasimpracticable; and he made some sarcastic reflections on the poverty ofthat nation. He was answered by the earl of Eglinton, who admitted theScots were poor, and therefore unable to pay the malt-tax. The earl ofHay, among other pertinent remarks upon the union, observed, that whenthe treaty was made, the Scots took it for granted that the parliamentof Great Britain would never load them with any imposition that they hadreason to believe grievous. The earl of Peterborough compared the unionto a marriage. He said that though England, who must be supposed thehusband, might in some instances prove unkind to the lady, she ought notimmediately to sue for a divorce, the rather because she had very muchmended her fortune by the match. Hay replied, that marriage was anordinance 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 inveighedagainst the Scots, as a people that would never be satisfied; that wouldhave all the advantages resulting from the union, but would pay nothingby their good will, although they had received more money from Englandthan the amount of all their estates. To these animadversions the dukeof Argyle made a very warm reply. "I have been reflected on by somepeople, " said he, "as if I was disgusted, and had changed sides; butI despise their persons, as much as I undervalue their judgment. " Heurged, that the malt-tax in Scotland was like taxing land by the acrethroughout England, because land was worth five pounds an acre in theneighbourhood of London, and would not fetch so many shillings in theremote countries. In like manner, the English malt was valued at fourtimes the price of that which was made in Scotland; therefore, the taxin this country must be levied by a regiment of dragoons. He ownedhe had a great share in making the union, with a view to secure theprotestant succession; but he was now satisfied this end might beanswered as effectually if the union was dissolved; and, if this stepshould not be taken, he did not expect long to have either property leftin Scotland, or liberty in England. All the whig members voted for thedissolution of that treaty which they had so eagerly promoted; whilethe tories strenuously supported the measure against which they hadonce argued with such vehemence. In the course of the debate, thelord-treasurer observed, that although the malt-tax were imposed, it might be afterwards remitted by the crown. The earl of Sunderlandexpressed surprise at hearing that noble lord broach a doctrinewhich tended to establish a despotic dispensing power and arbitrarygovernment. Oxford replied, his family had never been famous, assome others had been, for promoting and advising arbitrary measures. Sunderland, considering this expression as a sarcasm levelled at thememory of his father, took occasion to vindicate his conduct, adding, that in those days the other lord's family was hardly known. Muchviolent altercation was discharged At length the motion for the bill wasrejected by a small majority, and the malt-bill afterwards passed withgreat difficulty. Another bill being brought into the house of commons for rendering thetreaty of commerce effectual, such a number of petitions were deliveredagainst it, and so many solid arguments advanced by the merchants whowere examined on the subject, that even a great number of tory memberswere convinced of the bad consequences it would produce to trade, and voted against the ministry on this occasion; so that the bill wasrejected by a majority of nine voices. At the same time, however, thehouse agreed to an address thanking her majesty for the great care shehad taken of the security and honour of her kingdoms in the treaty ofpeace; as also for having laid so good a foundation for the interest ofher people in trade. They likewise besought her to appoint commissionersto treat with those of France, for adjusting such matters as shouldbe necessary to be settled on the subject of commerce, that the treatymight be explained and perfected for the good and welfare of her people. The queen interpreted this address into a full approbation of thetreaties of peace and commerce, and thanked them accordingly in thewarmest terms of satisfaction and acknowledgment. The commons afterwardsdesired to know what equivalent should be given for the demolition ofDunkirk; and she gave them to understand that this was already in thehands of his most christian majesty: then they besought her that shewould not evacuate the towns of Flanders that were in her possession, until those who were entitled to the sovereignty of the SpanishNetherlands should agree to such articles for regulating trade as mightplace the subjects of Great Britain upon an equal footing with thoseof any other nation. The queen made a favourable answer to all theirremonstrances. Such were the steps taken by the parliament during thissession with relation to the famous treaty of Utrecht, against which thewhigs exclaimed so violently, that many well-meaning people believed itwould be attended with the immediate ruin of the kingdom; yet under theshadow of this very treaty, Great Britain enjoyed a long term of peaceand tranquillity. Bishop Burnet was heated with an enthusiastic terrorof the house of Bourbon. He declared to the queen in private, that anytreaty by which Spain and the West Indies were left in the hands ofking Philip, must in a little time deliver all Europe into the hands ofFrance: that, if any such peace was made, the queen was betrayed, andthe people ruined: that in less than three years she would be murdered, and the fires would blaze again in Smithfield. This prelate lived tosee his prognostic disappointed; therefore he might have suppressed thisanecdote of his own conduct. VIOLENCE OF PARTIES IN ENGLAND. On the twenty-fifth day of June the queen signified, in a message tothe house of commons, that her civil list was burdened with some debtsincurred by several articles of extraordinary expense; and that shehoped they would empower her to raise such a sum of money upon the fundsfor that provision as would be sufficient to discharge the incumbrances, which amounted to five hundred thousand pounds. A bill was immediatelyprepared for raising this sum on the civil list revenue, and passedthrough both houses with some difficulty. Both lords and commonsaddressed the queen concerning the chevalier de St. George, who hadrepaired to Lorraine. They desired she would press the duke of thatname, and all the princes and states in amity with her, to exclude fromtheir dominions the pretender to the imperial crown of Great Britain. A public thanksgiving for the peace was appointed and celebrated withgreat solemnity; and on the sixteenth day of July the queen closed thesession with a speech which was not at all agreeable to the violentwhigs, because it did not contain one word about the pretender and theprotestant succession. From these omissions, they concluded that thedictates of natural affection had biassed her in favour of the chevalierde St. George. Whatever sentiments of tenderness and compassion shemight feel for that unfortunate exile, the acknowledged son of herown father, it does not appear that she ever entertained a thought ofaltering the succession as by law established. The term of Sacheverel'ssuspension being expired, extraordinary rejoicings were made upon theoccasion. He was desired to preach before the house of commons, whothanked him for his sermon; and the queen promoted him to the richbenefice of St. Andrew's, Holborn. On the other hand the duke d'Aumont, ambassador from France, was insulted by the populace. Scurrilous balladswere published against him both in the English and French languages. Hereceived divers anonymous letters, containing threats of setting fire tohis house, which was accordingly burned to the ground, though whetherby accident or design he could not well determine. The magistracy ofDunkirk, having sent a deputation with an address to the queen, humblyimploring her majesty to spare the port and harbour of that town, and representing that they might be useful to her own subjects, thememorial was printed and dispersed, and the arguments it contained wereanswered and refuted by Addison, Steele, and Maynwaring. Commissionerswere sent to see the fortifications of Dunkirk demolished. They wereaccordingly razed to the ground; the harbour was filled up; and the duked'Aumont returned to Paris in the month of November. The queen, by herremonstrances to the court of Versailles, had procured the enlargementof one hundred and thirty-six protestants from the galleys:understanding afterwards that as many more were detained on the sameaccount, she made such application to the French ministry that they toowere released. Then she appointed general Ross her envoy-extraordinaryto 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 ofNovember, and found the two houses still at variance, on the oppositeprinciples of whig and tory. Allan Broderick being chosen speaker of thecommons, they ordered a bill to be brought in to attaint the pretenderand all his adherents. They prosecuted Edward Lloyd for publishing abook entitled, "Memoirs of the chevalier de St. George;" and they agreedupon an address to the queen, to remove from the chancellorship sirConstantine Phipps, who had countenanced the tories of that kingdom. The lords, however, resolved that chancellor Phipps had, in his severalstations, acquitted himself with honour and integrity. The two housesof convocation presented an address to the same purpose. They likewisecomplained of Mr. Molesworth for having insulted them, by saying, whenthey appeared in the castle of Dublin, "They that have turned theworld upside down are come hither also:" and he was removed from theprivy-council. The duke of Shrewsbury received orders to prorogue thisparliament, which was divided against itself, and portended nothing butdomestic broils. Then he obtained leave to return to England, leavingchancellor Phipps, with the archbishop of Armagh and Tuam, justices ofthe kingdom. {ANNE, 1701--1714} NEW PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND. The parliament of England had been dissolved; and the elections weremanaged in such a manner as to retain the legislative power in the handsof the tories; but the meeting of the new parliament was delayed byrepeated prorogations to the tenth day of December; a delay partlyowing to the queen's indisposition; and partly to the contests among herministers. Oxford and Bolingbroke were competitors for power, and rivalsin reputation for ability. The treasurer's parts were deemed the moresolid; the secretary's more shining; but both ministers were aspiringand ambitious. The first was bent upon maintaining the first rank inthe administration, which he had possessed since the revolution in theministry; the other disdained to act as a subaltern to the man whom hethought he excelled in genius, and equalled in importance. They beganto form separate cabals, and adopt different principles. Bolingbrokeinsinuated himself into the confidence of lady Masham, to whom Oxfordhad given some cause of disgust. By this communication he gained groundin the good opinion of his sovereign, while the treasurer lost it in thesame proportion. Thus she who had been the author of his elevation, was now used as the instrument of his disgrace. The queen was sensiblyaffected with these dissensions, which she interposed her advice andauthority, by turns, to appease; but their mutual animosity continued torankle under an exterior accommodation. The interest of Bolingbroke waspowerfully supported by sir Simon Harcourt, the chancellor, sir WilliamWyndham, and Mr. Secretary Bromley. Oxford perceived his own influencewas on the wane, and began to think of retirement. Meanwhile the earl ofPeterborough was appointed ambassador to the king of Sicily, and setout for Turin. The queen retired to Windsor, where she was seized witha very dangerous inflammatory fever. The hopes of the Jacobites visiblyrose; the public funds immediately fell; a great run was made upon thebank, the directors of which were overwhelmed with consternation, whichwas not a little increased by the reports of an armament equipped inthe ports of France. They sent one of their members to represent to thetreasurer the danger that threatened the public credit. The queen beingmade acquainted with these occurrences, signed a letter to sir SamuelStancer, lord-mayor of London, declaring, that now she was recoveredof her late indisposition, she would return to the place of her usualresidence, 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, mightdiscountenance those malicious rumours, spread by evil-minded persons, to the prejudice of credit, and the eminent hazard of the publicpeace and tranquillity. The queen's recovery, together with certainintelligence that the armament was a phantom, and the pretender stillin Lorraine, helped to assuage the ferment of the nation, which had beenindustriously raised by party-writings. Mr. Richard Steele published aperformance, intituled, "The Crisis, " in defence of the revolution andthe protestant establishment, and enlarging upon the danger of a popishsuccessor. On the other hand, the hereditary right to the crown ofEngland was asserted in a large volume, supposed to be written witha view to pave the way for the pretender's accession. One Bedford wasapprehended, tried, convicted, and severely punished, as the publisherof 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 maintainthe war at his own expense, with the assistance of the empire. His forces on the Rhine commanded by prince Eugene, were so muchout-numbered by the French under Villars, that they could not preventthe enemy from reducing the two important fortresses of Landau andFribourg. His imperial majesty hoped that the death of Queen Anne, orthat of Louis XIV. Would produce an alteration in Europe that might befavourable to his interest; and he depended on the conduct and fortuneof prince Eugene for some lucky event in war. But finding himselfdisappointed in all these expectations, and absolutely unable to supportthe expense of another campaign, he hearkened to overtures of peace thatwere made by the electors of Cologn and Palatine; and conferences wereopened at the castle of Al-Rastadt, between prince Eugene and mareschalde Villars, on the twenty-sixth day of November. In the beginning ofFebruary these ministers separated, without seeming to have come to anyconclusion; but all the articles being settled between the two courtsof 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 sentto the governors and commanders on both sides to desist from allhostilities. By this treaty, the French king yielded to the emperor oldBrisac, with all its dependencies, Fribourg, the forts in the Brisgauand Black Forest, together with Fort Khel. He engaged to demolish thefortifications opposite to Huningen, the fort of Sellingen, and allbetween that and Fort Louis. The town and fortress of Landau were cededto the king of France, who acknowledged the elector of Hanover. Theelectors of Bavaria and Cologn were restored to all their dignities anddominions. The emperor was put in immediate possession of the SpanishNetherlands; and the king of Prussia was permitted to retain the highquarters of Guelders. Finally, the contracting parties agreed that acongress should be opened on the first of May, at Baden in Switzerland, for terminating all differences; and prince Eugene and mareschal deVillars were appointed their first plenipotentiaries. The ratifications of the treaty between Great Britain and Spain beingexchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the first day of March, inLondon; and the articles were not disagreeable to the English nation. The kingdoms of France and Spain were separated for ever. Philipacknowledged the protestant succession, and renounced the pretender. Heagreed to a renewal of the treaty of navigation and commerce concludedin the year one thousand six hundred and sixty seven. He granted anexclusive privilege to the English for furnishing the Spanish WestIndies 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, oncondition that the Spanish inhabitants should enjoy their estates andreligion. He obliged himself to grant a full pardon to the Catalans, with the possession of all their estates, honours, and privileges, andto yield the kingdom of Sicily to the duke of Savoy. The new parliamentwas opened by commission in February, and sir Thomas Hanmer was chosenspeaker of the house of commons. On the second day of March, the queenbeing carried in a sedan to the house of lords, signified to both housesthat she had obtained an honourable and advantageous peace for herown people, and for the greatest part of her allies; and she hopedher interposition might prove effectual to complete the settlement ofEurope. She observed, that some persons had been so malicious as toinsinuate that the protestant succession, in the house of Hanover, was in danger under her government; but that those who endeavoured todistract the minds of men with imaginary dangers, could only mean todisturb the public tranquillity. She said, that after all she haddone to secure the religion and liberties of her people, she could notmention such proceedings without some degree of warmth; and she hopedher parliament would agree with her, that attempts to weaken herauthority, 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 theconvocation; but the ill-humour of party still subsisted, and was dailyinflamed by new pamphlets and papers. Steele, supported by Addison andHalifax, appeared in the front of those who drew their pens in defenceof 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 generousencouragement of the author of the Crisis. " It was a sarcasticperformance, imputed to lord Bolingbroke and Swift, interspersed withsevere reflections upon the union, the Scottish nation, and the Duke ofArgyle in particular. The lord-treasurer disclaimed all knowledge of theauthor, and readily concurred in an order for taking into custody JohnMor-phew the publisher, as well as John Barber, printer of the gazette, from whose house the copies were brought to Morphew. The earl of Whartonsaid it highly concerned the honour of that august assembly, to findout the villain who was author of that false and scandalous libel, thatjustice might be done to the Scottish nation. He moved, that Barber andhis servants might be examined; but next clay the earl of Mar, one ofthe secretaries of state, declared, that, in pursuance to her majesty'scommand, he had directed John Barber to be prosecuted. Notwithstandingthis interposition, which was calculated to screen the offenders, thelords presented an address, beseeching her majesty to issue out herroyal proclamation, promising a reward to any person who should discoverthe author of the libel, which they conceived to be false, malicious, and factious, highly dishonourable and scandalous to her majesty'ssubjects of Scotland, most injurious to her majesty, and tending to theruin of the constitution. In compliance with their request, a reward ofthree hundred pounds was offered; but the offender remained safe fromall detection. MR. STEELE EXPELLED THE HOUSE. The commons having granted the supplies, ordered a bill to be broughtin for securing the freedom of parliaments, by limiting the number ofofficers in the house of commons, and it passed through both houses withlittle difficulty. In March, a complaint was made of several scandalouspapers, lately published under the name of Richard Steele, esquire, amember of the house. Sir William Wyndham observed, that some of thatauthor's writings contained insolent injurious reflections on thequeen herself, and were dictated by the spirit of rebellion. Steele wasordered to attend in his place; some paragraphs of his works wereread; and he answered them with an affected air of self-confidence andunconcern. A day being appointed for his trial, he acknowledged thewritings, and entered into a more circumstantial defence. He wasassisted by Mr. Addison, general Stanhope, and Mr. Walpole; and attackedby sir William Wyndham, Mr. Foley, and the attorney-general. Whatevercould be urged in his favour was but little regarded by the majority, which voted, that two pamphlets, entitled, "The Englishman, and theCrisis, " written by Richard Steele, esquire, were scandalous andseditious 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, resolvedupon addresses to the queen, desiring they might know what steps hadbeen taken for removing the pretender from the dominions of the duke ofLorraine; that she would impart to them a detail of the negotiations forpeace, a recital of the instances which had been made in favour of theCatalans, and an account of the monies granted by parliament since theyear one thousand seven hundred and ten, to carry on the war in Spainand Portugal. They afterwards agreed to other addresses, beseechingher majesty to lay before them the debts and state of the navy, theparticular writs of Noli Prosequi granted since her accession to thethrone, and a list of such persons as, notwithstanding sentence ofoutlawry or attainder, had obtained licenses to return into GreatBritain, or other of her majesty's dominions, since the revolution. Having voted an application to the queen in behalf of the distressedCatalans, the house adjourned itself to the last day of March. As theminds of men had been artfully irritated by false reports of a designundertaken by France in behalf of the pretender, the ambassador of thatcrown at the Hague disowned it in a public paper, by command of his mostchristian majesty. The suspicions of many people, however, had been toodeeply planted, by the arts and insinuations of the whig leaders, to beeradicated by this or any other declaration; and what served to rivettheir apprehensions, was a total removal of the whigs from all theemployments, civil and military, which they had hitherto retained. Thesewere now bestowed upon professed tories, some of whom were attached atbottom to the supposed heir of blood. At a time when the queen's viewswere maliciously misrepresented; when the wheels of her government wereactually impeded, and her servants threatened with proscription bya powerful, turbulent, and implacable faction; no wonder that shedischarged the partisans of that faction from her service, and filledtheir places with those who were distinguished by a warm affectionto the house of Stuart, and by a submissive respect for the regalauthority. Those were steps which her own sagacity must have suggested;and which her ministers would naturally advise, as necessary for theirown preservation. The whigs were all in commotion, either apprehendingor affecting to apprehend that a design was formed to secure thepretender's succession to the throne of Great Britain. {1714. } Their chiefs held secret consultations with baron Schutz, the residentfrom Hanover. They communicated their observations to the elector; theyreceived his instructions; they maintained a correspondence with theduke of Marlborough; and they concerted measures for opposing allefforts that might be made against the protestant succession upon thedeath of the queen, whose health was by this time so much impaired, thatevery week was believed to be the last of her life. This conduct of thewhigs was resolute, active, and would have been laudable, had theirzeal been confined within the bounds of truth and moderation; but they, moreover, employed all their arts to excite and encourage the fears andjealousies of the people. The house of peers resounded with debates upon the Catalans, thepretender, and the danger that threatened the protestant succession. With respect to the Catalans, they represented, that Great Britain hadprevailed upon them to declare for the house of Austria, with promise ofsupport; and that these engagements ought to have been made good. LordBolingbroke declared that the queen had used all her endeavours in theirbehalf; and that the engagements with them subsisted no longer thanking Charles resided in Spain. They agreed, however, to an address, acknowledging her majesty's endeavours in favour of the Catalans, andrequesting she would continue her interposition in their behalf. Withrespect to the pretender, the whig lords expressed such a spirit ofpersecution and rancorous hate, as would have disgraced the members ofany, even the lowest assembly of christians. Not contented withhunting him from one country to another, they seemed eagerly bent uponextirpating him from the face of the earth, as if they had thought itwas a crime in him to be born. The earl of Sunderland declared, fromthe information of the minister of Lorraine, that, notwithstandingthe application of both houses to her majesty during the last session, concerning the pretender's being removed from Lorraine, no instances hadyet been made to the duke for that purpose. Lord Bolingbroke affirmedthat he himself had made those instances, in the queen's name, to thatvery minister before his departure from England. The earl of Whartonproposed a question: "Whether the protestant succession was in dangerunder the present administration?" A warm debate ensued, in which thearchbishop of York and the earl of Anglesea joined in the opposition tothe ministry. The earl pretended to be convinced and converted by thearguments used in the course of the debate. He owned he had given hisassent to the cessation of arms, for which he took shame to himself, asking pardon of God, his country, and his conscience. He affirmed, thatthe honour of his sovereign, and the good of his country, were the rulesof his actions; but that, without respect of persons, should he findhimself imposed upon, he durst pursue an evil minister from thequeen's closet to the Tower, and from the Tower to the scaffold. Thisconversion, however, was much more owing to a full persuasion that aministry divided against itself could not long subsist, and that theprotestant succession was firmly secured. He therefore resolved tomake a merit of withdrawing himself from the interests of a totteringadministration, in whose ruin he might be involved. The duke of Argylecharged the ministers with mal-administration, both within those wallsand without: he offered to prove that the lord-treasurer had yearlyremitted a sum of money to the Highland clans of Scotland, who wereknown to be entirely devoted to the pretender. He affirmed that thenew-modelling of the army, the practice of disbanding some regiments outof their turn, and removing a great number of officers, on account oftheir affection to the house of Hanover, were clear indications of theministry's designs: that it was a disgrace to the nation to see men, whohad never looked an enemy in the face, advanced to the posts of severalbrave officers, who, after they had often exposed their lives for theircountry, were now starving in prison for debt, on account of their paybeing detained. The treasurer, laying his hand upon his breast, said hehad on so many occasions given such signal proofs of affection tothe protestant succession, that he was sure no member of that augustassembly did call it in question. He owned he had remitted, for two orthree years past, between three and four thousand pounds to the Highlandclans; and he hoped the house would give him an opportunity to clear hisconduct in that particular: with respect to the reformed officers, he declared he had given orders for their being immediately paid. Theprotestant succession was voted out of danger by a small majority. Lord Halifax proposed an address to the queen, that she would renew herinstances for the speedy removing the pretender out of Lorraine; andthat she would, in conjunction with the states-general, enter into aguarantee of the protestant succession in the house of Hanover. The earlof Wharton moved, that in the address her majesty should be desiredto issue a proclamation, promising a reward to any person who shouldapprehend the pretender dead or alive. He was seconded by the duke ofBolton, and the house agreed that an address should be presented. Whenit was reported by the committee, lord North and Grey expatiated uponthe barbarity of setting a price on any one's head: he proved it wasan encouragement to murder and assassination; contrary to theprecepts of Christianity; repugnant to the law of nature and nations;inconsistent with the dignity of such an august assembly, and with thehonour of a nation famed for lenity and mercy. He was supported by lordTrevor, who moved that the reward should be promised for apprehendingand bringing the pretender to justice, in case he should land or attemptto land in Great Britain or Ireland. The cruelty of the first clause waszealously supported and vindicated by the lords Cowper and Halifax; butby this time the earl of Anglesea and some others, who had abandonedthe ministry, were brought back to their former principles by promise ofprofitable employments, and the mitigation was adopted by a majority often voices. To this address, which was delivered by the chancellor andthe whig lords only, the queen replied in these words: "My lords, itwould 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 thosegroundless fears and jealousies which have been so industriouslypromoted. I do not at this time see any occasion for such aproclamation. Whenever I judge it to be necessary, I shall give myorders for having it issued. As to the other particulars of thisaddress, I will give proper directions therein. " She was likewiseimportuned, by another address, to issue out a proclamation against allJesuits, popish priests, and bishops, as well as against all such aswere outlawed for adhering to the late king James and the pretender. Thehouse resolved that no person, not included in the articles of Limerick, and who had borne arms in France and Spain, should be capable of anyemployment, civil or military: and that no person, a natural bornsubject of her majesty, should be capable of sustaining the characterof a public minister from any foreign potentate. These resolutions wereaimed at sir Patrick Lawless, an Irish papist, who had come to Englandwith a credential letter from king Philip, but now thought proper toquit 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 Oxfordsilenced his opposers, by asserting, that in so doing he had followedthe example of king William, who, after he had reduced that people, thought fit to allow yearly pensions to the heads of clans, in order tokeep them quiet. His conduct was approved by the house; and lord Northand Grey moved that a day might be appointed for considering the stateof the nation, with regard to the treaties of peace and commerce. Themotion was seconded by the earl of Clarendon, and the thirteenth day ofApril fixed for this purpose. In the meantime, baron Schutz demanded ofthe chancellor a writ for the electoral prince of Hanover, to sit in thehouse of peers as duke of Cambridge, intimating that his design wasto reside in England. The writ was granted with reluctance; but theprince'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 theprincess Sophia. She observed, that such a method of proceeding would bedangerous to the succession itself, which was not secure any other way, than as the prince who was in actual possession of the throne maintainedher authority and prerogative: she said a great many people in Englandwere seditiously disposed; so she left her highness to judge whattumults they might be able to raise, should they have a pretext to begina commotion; she, therefore, persuaded herself that her aunt wouldnot consent to any thing which might disturb the repose of her and hersubjects. At the same time she wrote a letter to the electoral prince, complaining that he had formed such a resolution without first knowingher sentiments on the subject; and telling him plainly that nothingcould be more dangerous to the tranquillity of her dominions, to theright of succession in the Hanoverian line, or more disagreeable to her, than such conduct at this juncture. A third letter was written to theelector, his father; and the treasurer took this opportunity to assurethat prince of his inviolable attachment to the family of Hanover. The whig lords were dissatisfied with the queen's answer to theiraddress concerning the pretender, and they moved for another addresson the same subject, which was resolved upon, but never presented. Theytook into consideration the treaties of peace and commerce, to whichmany exceptions were taken; and much sarcasm was expended on both sidesof the dispute; but at length the majority carried the question infavour of an address, acknowledging her majesty's goodness in deliveringthem, by a safe, honourable, and advantageous peace with France, fromthe burden of a consuming land war, unequally carried on, and becomeat last impracticable. The house of commons concurred in this address, after having voted that the protestant succession was out of danger; butthese resolutions were not taken without violent opposition, in whichgeneral Stanhope, Mr. Lechmere, and Mr. Walpole, chiefly distinguishedthemselves. The letters which the queen had written to the electoralhouse of Hanover were printed and published in England, with a view toinform the friends of that family of the reasons which preventedthe duke of Cambridge from executing his design of residing in GreatBritain. The queen considered this step as a personal insult, as wellas an attempt to prejudice her in the opinion of her subjects: shetherefore ordered the publisher to be taken into custody. At this periodthe princess Sophia died, in the eighty-fourth year of her age; andher death was intimated to the queen by baron Bothmar, who arrived inEngland with the character of envoy-extraordinary from the electorof Hanover. This princess was the fourth and youngest daughter ofFrederick, elector Palatine, king of Bohemia, and Elizabeth daughter ofking James I. Of England. She enjoyed from nature an excellent capacity, which was finely cultivated; and was in all respects one of the mostaccomplished princesses of the age in which she lived. At her death thecourt of England appeared in mourning; and the elector of Brunswickwas prayed for by name in the liturgy of the church of England. On thetwelfth day of May, sir William Wyndham made a motion for a bill toprevent the growth of schism, and for the further security of the churchof England as by law established. The design of it was to prohibitdissenters from teaching in schools and academies. It was accordinglyprepared, and eagerly opposed in each house as a species of persecution. Nevertheless, it made its way through both, and received the royalassent; but the queen dying before it took place, this law was renderedineffectual. Her majesty's constitution was now quite broken; one fit of sicknesssucceeded another; what completed the ruin of her health was the anxietyof her mind, occasioned partly by the discontents which had beenraised and fomented by the enemies of her government; and partly by thedissensions among her ministers, which were now become intolerable. Thecouncil chamber was turned into a scene of obstinate dispute and bitteraltercation. Even in the queen's presence the treasurer and secretarydid not restrain from mutual obliquy and reproach. Oxford advisedmoderate measures, and is said to have made advances towards areconciliation with the leaders of the whig party. As he foresaw itwould soon be their turn to domineer, such precautions were necessaryfor his own safety. Bolingbroke affected to set the whigs at defiance;he professed a warm zeal for the church; he soothed the queen'sinclinations with the most assiduous attention. He and his coadjutrixinsinuated, 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 midstof these disputes and commotions the Jacobites were not idle. Theyflattered themselves that the queen in secret favoured the pretensionsof her brother; and they depended upon Bolingbroke's attachment to thesame interest. They believed the same sentiments were cherished by thenation in general. They held private assemblies both in Great Britainand in Ireland. They concerted measures for turning the dissensions ofthe kingdom to the advantage of their cause. They even proceeded sofar as to enlist men for the service of the pretender. Some of thesepractices were discovered by the earl of Wharton, who did not fail tosound the alarm. A proclamation was immediately published, promising areward of five thousand pounds for apprehending the pretender, wheneverhe should land or attempt to land in Great Britain. The commons votedan address of thanks for the proclamation; and assured her majesty, that they would cheerfully aid and assist her, by granting the sum of ahundred thousand pounds, as a further reward to any who should performso great a service to her majesty and her kingdom. The lords likewisepresented an address on the same subject. Lord Bolingbroke proposed abill, decreeing the penalties of high treason against those who shouldlist 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 inthe service of any foreign prince or state, without a license under thesign manual of her majesty, her heirs, or successors. {ANNE, 1701--1714} THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. On the second day of July, the lords took into consideration thetreaty of commerce with Spain; and a great number of merchants beingexamined at the bar of tha house, declared that unless the explanationof the third, fifth, and eighth articles, as made at Madrid afterthe treaty was signed, were rescinded, they could not carry on theircommerce without losing five and twenty per cent. After a long debate, the house resolved to address the queen for all the papers relating tothe negotiation of the treaty of commerce with Spain, with the names ofthe persons who advised her majesty to that treaty. To this address shereplied, that understanding the three explanatory articles of the treatywere not detrimental to the trade of her subjects, she had consented totheir being ratified with the treaty. The earl of Wharton represented, that if so little regard was shown to the addresses of that augustassembly to the sovereign, they had no business in that house. Hemoved for a remonstrance, to lay before her majesty the insuperabledifficulties that attended the Spanish trade on the footing of the latetreaty; and the house agreed to his motion. Another member moved, thatthe house should insist on her majesty's naming the person who advisedher to ratify the three explanatory articles. This was a blow aimed atArthur Moore, a member of the lower house, whom lord Bolingbroke hadconsulted on the subject of the treaty. He was screened by the majorityin parliament; but a general court of the South Sea company resolved, upon a complaint exhibited by captain Johnson, that Arthur Moore, whilea director, was privy to and encouraged the design of carrying on aclandestine trade, to the prejudice of the corporation, contrary tohis oath, and in breach of the trust reposed in him; that therefore, he should be declared incapable of being a director of, or having anyemployment in, this company. The queen had reserved to herself thequarter-part of the assiento contract, which she now gave up to thecompany, and received the thanks of the upper house; but she would notdiscover the names of those who advised her to ratify the explanatoryarticles. On the ninth day of July, she thought proper to put an end tothe session with a speech on the usual subjects. After having assuredthem that her chief concern was to preserve the protestant religion, theliberty of her subjects, and to secure the tranquillity of her kingdom, she concluded in these words--"But I must tell you plainly, thatthese desirable ends can never be obtained, unless you bring the samedispositions on your parts; unless all groundless jealousies, whichcreate and foment divisions among you, be laid aside; and, unless youshow the same regard for my just prerogative, and for the honour of mygovernment, as I have always expressed for the rights of my people. " After the peace had thus received the sanction of the parliament, theministers, being no longer restrained by the tie of common danger, gavea loose to their mutual animosity. Oxford wrote a letter to the queencontaining a detail of the public transactions; in the course of whichhe endeavoured to justify his own conduct, and expose the turbulent andambitious spirit of his rival. On the other hand, Bolingbroke chargedthe treasurer with having invited the duke of Marlborough to return fromhis voluntary exile, and maintained a private correspondence with thehouse of Hanover. The duke of Shrewsbury likewise complained of hishaving presumed to send orders to him in Ireland, without the privity ofher majesty and the council. In all probability his greatest crime washis having given umbrage to the favourite, lady Masham. Certain it is, on the twenty-seventh day of July, a very acrimonious dialogue passedbetween that lady, the chancellor, and Oxford, in the queen's presence. The treasurer affirmed he had been wronged and abused by lies andmisrepresentations, but he threatened vengeance, declaring that he wouldleave some people as low as he had found them when they first attractedhis notice. In the meantime he was removed from his employment; andBolingbroke seemed to triumph in the victory he had obtained. Helaid his account with being admitted as chief minister into theadministration of affairs; and is said to have formed a design of acoalition with the duke of Marlborough, who at this very time embarkedat Ostend for England. Probably, Oxford had tried to play the samegame, but met with a repulse from the duke, on account of the implacableresentment 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 treasurerwas so sudden, that no plan was established for supplying the vacancyoccasioned by his disgrace. The confusion that incessantly ensued atcourt, and the fatigue of attending a long cabinet-council on thisevent, had such an effect upon the queen's spirits and constitution, that she declared she should not outlive it, and was immediately seizedwith a lethargic disorder. Notwithstanding all the medicines which thephysicians could prescribe, the distemper gained ground so fast, thatnext day, which was the thirtieth of July, they despaired of her life. Then the committee of the council assembled at the Cockpit adjourned toKensington. The dukes of Somerset and Argyle, informed of the desperatesituation in which she lay, repaired to the palace; and, without beingsummoned, entered the council-chamber. The members were surprised attheir appearance; but the duke of Shrewsbury thanked them for theirreadiness to give their assistance at such a critical juncture, anddesired they would take their places. The physicians having declaredthat the queen was still sensible, the council unanimously agreed torecommend the duke of Shrewsbury as the fittest person to fill the placeof lord-treasurer. When this opinion was intimated to the queen, shesaid they could not have recommended a person she liked better than theduke of Shrewsbury. She delivered to him the white staff, biddinghim use it for the good of her people. He would have returned thelord-chamberlain's staff, but she desired he would keep them both; sothat he was at one time possessed of the three greatest posts in thekingdom, under the titles of lord-treasurer, lord-chamberlain, andlord-lieutenant of Ireland. No nobleman in England better deserved suchdistinguishing marks of his sovereign's favour. He was modest, liberal, disinterested, and a warm friend to his country. Bolingbroke's ambitionwas defeated by the vigour which the dukes of Somerset and Argyleexerted on this occasion. They proposed that all privy-counsellors in orabout 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, beganto provide for the security of the kingdom. Orders were immediatelydespatched to four regiments of horse and dragoons quartered in remotecounties, to march up to the neighbourhood of London and Westminster. Seven of the ten British battalions in the Netherlands were directed toembark at Ostend for England with all possible expedition; an embargowas laid upon all shipping; and directions given for equipping all theships of war that could be soonest in a condition for service. They senta letter to the elector of Brunswick, signifying that the physicians haddespaired of the queen's life; informing him of the measures they hadtaken; and desiring he would, with all convenient speed, repair toHolland, where he should be attended by a British squadron to conveyhim to England, in case of her majesty's decease. At the same timethey despatched instructions to the earl of Strafford, to desire thestates-general would be ready to perform the guarantee of the protestantsuccession. The heralds-at-arms were kept in waiting with a troop ofhorse guards, to proclaim the new king as soon as the throne shouldbecome vacant. Precautions were taken to secure the sea-ports; tooverawe the Jacobites in Scotland; and the command of the fleet wasbestowed upon the earl of Berkeley. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF ANNE. The queen continued to doze in a lethargic insensibility, with veryshort intervals, till the first day of August in the morning, when sheexpired in the fiftieth year of her age, and in the thirteenth of herreign. Anne Stuart, queen of Great Britain, was in her person of themiddle size, well proportioned. Her hair was of the dark brown colour, her complexion ruddy; her features were regular, her countenance wasrather round than oval, and her aspect more comely than majestic. Hervoice was clear and melodious, and her presence engaging. Her capacitywas naturally good, but not much cultivated by learning; nor did sheexhibit any marks of extraordinary genius or personal ambition. She wascertainly deficient in that vigour of mind by which a prince oughtto preserve his independence, and avoid the snares and fetters ofsycophants and favourites; but whatever her weakness in this particularmight 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 andmerciful princess, during whose reign no subject's blood was shedfor treason. She was zealously attached to the church of England fromconviction rather than from prepossession, unaffectedly pious, just, charitable, and compassionate. She felt a mother's fondness for herpeople, by whom she was universally beloved with a warmth of affectionwhich even the prejudice of party could not abate. In a word, if she wasnot the greatest, she was certainly one of the best and most unblemishedsovereigns that ever sat upon the throne of England, and well deservedthe expressive, though simple epithet, of "The good queen Anne. " NOTES: [Footnote 107: Note P, p. 107. In their hours of debauch, they drank tothe health of Sorrel, meaning the horse that fell with the king; and, under the appellation of the little gentleman in velvet, toasted themole that raised the hill over which the horse had stumbled. As thebeast had formerly belonged to sir John Fenwick, they insinuatedthat William's fate was a judgment upon him for his cruelty to thatgentleman; and a Latin epigram was written on the occasion. ] [Footnote 108: Note Q, p. 107. Doctor Binkes, in a sermon preachedbefore the convocation, on the thirtieth day of January, drew a parallelbetween the sufferings of Christ and those of king Charles, to whichlast he gave the preference, in point of right, character, and station. ] [Footnote 109: Note R, p. 107. During this short session, the queengave her assent to an act for laying a duty upon land; to anotherfor encouraging the Greenland trade; to a third for making good thedeficiencies and the public credit; to a fourth for continuing theimprisonment of Counter, and other conspirators against king William; toa fifth for the relief of protestant purchasers of the forfeited estatesof Ireland; to a sixth, enlarging the time for taking the oath ofabjuration; to a seventh, obliging the Jews to maintain and provide fortheir protestant children. ] [Footnote 112: Note S, p. 112. When one of his lieutenants expressedhis 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 thanhave seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation. But, do youhear? If another shot should take me off, behave like brave men, andfight it out. " When Du Casse arrived at Carthagena, he wrote a letter toBenbow to this effect: "Sir, I had little hope on Monday last but to have supped in yourcabin; 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, byGod they deserve it. --Yours, "Du Casse. "] [Footnote 114: Note T p. 114. While this bill was depending, DanielDe Foe published a pamphlet, intituled, "The Shortest Way with theDissenters; or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church. " Thepiece was a severe satire on the violence of the church party. Thecommons ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common hangman, andthe author to be prosecuted. He was accordingly committed to Newgate, tried, condemned to pay a fine of two hundred pounds, and stand in thepillory. ] [Footnote 115: Note U, p. 115. These were John Granville, created baronGranville of Potheridge, in the county of Devon; Heneage Finch, baronof Guernsey, in the county of Southampton; sir John Leveson Gower, baronGower of Sittenham, in Yorkshire; and Francis Seymour Conway, youngestson of sir Edward Seymour, made baron Conway of Bagley, in the countyof Warwick. At the same time, however, John Harvey, of the oppositefaction, was created baron of Ickworth, in the county of Suffolk;and the marquis of Normanby was honoured with the title of duke ofBuckinghamshire. ] [Footnote 117: Note X, p. 117. Though the queen refused to pass the actof security, the royal assent was granted to an act of limitation on thesuccessor, in which it was declared, that no king or queen of Scotlandshould have power to make war or peace without consent of parliament. Another law was enacted, allowing French wines and other liquors to beimported in neutral bottoms. Without this expedient, it was alleged thatthe revenue would have been insufficient to maintain the government. Anact passed in favour of the company trading to Africa and the Indies;another for a commission concerning the public accounts; a third forpunishing slanderous speeches and writings. The commission for treatingof a union with England was vacated, with a prohibition to grant anyother commission for that purpose without consent of parliament; and nosupply having been provided before the adjournment, the army and expenseof government were maintained upon credit. ] [Footnote 118: Note Y, p. 117. The marquis of Athol, and the marquis ofDouglas, though this last was a minor, were created dukes. Lord Tarbatwas invested with the title of earl of Cromarty; the viscount Stair andRoseberry were promoted to the same dignity; lord Boyle was createdearl of Glasgow; James Stuart of Bute, earl of Bute; Charles Hopeof Hopetoun, earl of Hopetoun; John Crawford of Kilbirnie, viscountGarnock; and sir James Primrose of Carrington, viscount Primrose. ] [Footnote 119: Note Z, p. 118. They had, besides the bills alreadymentioned, passed an act for an additional excise on beer, ale, andother 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 ofimprisonment beyond seas; and a fifth for naturalizing all protestantstrangers. ] [Footnote 136: Note K, p. 136 Voltaire, upon what authority we know not, tells us, that during the capitulation the German and Catalonian troopsfound means to climb over the ramparts into the city, and beganto commit the most barbarous excesses. The viceroy complained toPeterborough that his soldiers had taken an unfair advantage of thetreaty, and were actually employed in burning, plundering, murdering, and violating the inhabitants. The earl replied, "They must then bethe troops of the prince of Hesse: allow me to enter the city with myEnglish forces; I will save it from ruin, oblige the Germans to retire, and march back again to our present situation. " The viceroy trusted hishonour, and forthwith admitted the earl with his troops. He soon droveout the Germans and Catalonians, after having obliged them to quit theplunder they had taken; and by accident he rescued the duchess of Popolifrom the hands of two brutal soldiers, and delivered her to her husband. Having thus appeased the tumult, and dispelled the horrors of thecitizens, he returned to his former station, leaving the inhabitants ofBarcelona amazed at such an instance of magnanimity and moderation ina people whom they had been taught to consider as the most savagebarbarians. ] [Footnote 139: Note 2 A, p. 139. The English commissioners were, Thomaslord archbishop of Canterbury; William Cowper, lord-keeper of thegreat 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 theprivy-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 ofCarlisle, Edward earl of Orford, charles viscount Townshend, Thomas lordWharton, Ralph lord Grey, John lord Powlet, John lord Somers, Charleslord Halifax, William Cavendish marquis of Harrington, John Mannersmarquis of Grandby; sir Charles Hedges and Robert Harley, principalsecretaries of state; John Smith; Henry Boyle, chancellor of theexchequer; sir John Holt, chief justice of the Queen's Bench; sirThomas 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 ofQueensberry, lord-privy-seal; John earl of Mar, and Hugh earl of Loudon, principal secretaries of state; John earl of Sutherland, John earl ofMorton, David earl of Wemys, David earl of Leven, John earl of Stair, Archibald earl of Eoseberry, David earl of Glasgow, lord ArchibaldCampbell, 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, lordsof the session; Mr. Francis Montgomery, one of the commissioners ofthe treasury; sir David Dalrymple, one of her majesty's solicitors; sirAlexander Ogilvie, receiver-general; sir Patrick Johnston, provost ofEdinburgh; sir James Smollet of Bonhill; George Lock-hart of Carwath;William Morrison of Petgongrange; Alexander Grant; William Seton ofPitmidden, John Clerk of Pennycook, Hugh Montgomery, Daniel Stuart, andDaniel Campbell. ] [Footnote 149: Note 2 B, p. 149 This passage was effected to theastonishment of the French, who thought the works they had raised onthat river were impregnable. The honour of the enterprise was in agreat measure owing to the gallantry of sir John Norris and the Englishseamen. That brave officer, embarking in boats with six hundred sailorsand marines, entered the river, and were rowed within musket shot of theenemy's works, where they made such a vigorous and unexpected attack, that the French were immediately driven from that part of theirin-trenchments; then sir John landed with his men, clambered over theworks that were deemed inaccessible, and attacking the defendants swordin hand, compelled them to fly with the utmost precipitation. Thisdetachment was sustained by sir Cloudesly Shovel in person. The duke ofSavoy, taking advantage of the enemy's consternation, passed the riveralmost without opposition. ] [Footnote 150: Note 2C, p. 149. In the month of May, three ships of theline, namely, the Royal Oak, of seventy-six guns, commanded by commodorebaron Wyldo; the Grafton, of seventy guns, captain Edward Acton; andthe Hampton-Court, of seventy guns, captain George Clements, sailed asconvoy to the West India and Portugal fleet of merchant-ships, amountingto five-and-forty sail. They fell in with the Dunkirk squadron, consisting of ten ships of war, one frigate, and four privateers, underthe command of M. De Forbin. A furious action immediately ensued, and notwithstanding the vast disproportion in point of number, wasmaintained by the English commodore with great gallantry, until captainActon was killed, captain Clements mortally wounded, and the Grafton andHampton-Court were taken, after having sunk the Salisbury, at that timein the hands of the French; then the commodore, having eleven feet waterin his hold, disengaged himself from the enemy, by whom he had beensurrounded, and ran his ship aground near Dungenness; but she afterwardsfloated, and he brought her safe into the Downs. In the meantime, the French frigate and privateers made prize of twenty-oneEnglish merchant-ships of great value, which, with the Grafton andHampton-Court, Forbin conveyed in triumph to Dunkirk. In July, the sameactive officer took fifteen ships belonging to the Eussian company, offthe coast of Lapland; in September, he joined another squadron fittedout 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 Chesterand Ruby, of fifty guns each. Though the French squadron did not fallshort of twelve sail of the line, the English captains maintained theaction for many hours with surprising valour. At length the Devonshirewas obliged to yield to superior numbers; the Cumberland blew up; theChester and Ruby were taken; the Royal Oak fought her way through themidst of her enemies, and arrived safe in the harbour of Kinsale; andthe Lisbon fleet saved themselves, by making the best of their wayduring the engagement. Since the battle off Malaga, the French king hadnever dared to keep the sea with a large fleet, but carried on a kind ofpiratical war of this sort, in order to distress the trade ofEngland. He was the more encouraged to pursue these measures, bythe correspondence which his ministers carried on with some wretchesbelonging to the admiralty, and other officers, who basely betrayedtheir country in transmitting to France such intelligence concerning theconvoys appointed for the protection of commerce, as enabled the enemyto attack them at advantage. In the course of this year the Frenchfishery, stages, ships, and vessels in Newfoundland were taken, burned, and destroyed, by captain John Underdown, of the Falkland. ] [Footnote 153: 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 theirenthusiastic gesticulations, effusions, and convulsions; and even formeda sect of their countrymen. The French refugees, scandalized at theirbehaviour, and authorized by the bishop of London, as superior of theFrench congregations, resolved to inquire into the mission of thesepretended 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, theycontinued their assemblies in Soho, under the countenance of sir RichardBulkeley and John Lacy. They reviled the ministers of the establishedchurch; they denounced judgments against the city of London, and thewhole British nation; and published their predictions, composed ofunintelligible jargon. Then they were prosecuted at the expense of theFrench churches, as disturbers of the public peace, and false prophets. They were sentenced to pay a fine of twenty marks each, and stand twiceon a scaffold, with papers on their breasts, denoting their offence; asentence which was executed accordingly at Charing-Cross, and the RoyalExchange. In the course of this year, Mr. Stanhope, who was resident from thequeen at the court of Charles, concluded a treaty of commerce withthis monarch, which would have proved extremely advantageous to GreatBritain, had he been firmly established on the throne of Spain. It wasstipulated that the English merchants should enjoy the privilege ofimporting all kinds of merchandise from the coast of Barbary into themaritime places of Spain, without paying any higher duty than if thatmerchandise had been the produce of Great Britain; and that even theseduties should not be paid till six months after the merchandise shouldbe landed and sold, and merchants giving security for the customs. Itwas agreed that the whole commerce of the Spanish West Indies should becarried on by a joint company of Spanish and British merchants; and inthe interim, as the greater part of that country was in the hands ofPhilip, his competitor consented that the British subjects shouldtrade freely in all the ports of the West Indies with ten ships of fivehundred tons each, under such convoy as her Britannic majesty shouldthink fit to appoint. ] [Footnote 154: Note 2 E, p. 154. Before the opening of the campaign, avery daring enterprise was formed by one colonel Queintern, a partisanin the Imperial army. This man laid a scheme for carrying off thedauphin of France from the court of Versailles. He selected thirty menof approved valour for this undertaking. He procured passes forthem, and they rendezvoused in the neighbourhood of Paris. On thetwenty-fourth day of March, in the evening, he and his accomplicesstopped a coach and six, with the king's liveries, and arrested theperson who was in it, on the supposition of his being a prince of theblood. It was, however, M. De Barringhen, the king's first equerry. This officer they mounted on a spare horse, and set out for the LowCountries; but, being little acquainted with the roads, they did notreach Chantilly till next morning, when they heard the tocsin, oralarm-bell, and thence concluded that detachments were sent outin pursuit of them. Nevertheless, they proceeded boldly, and wouldcertainly have carried the point, had not Queintern halted threehours for the refreshment of his prisoner, who complained of his beingindisposed. He likewise procured a chaise, and ordered the back of it tobe lowered for his convenience. These acts of humanity retarded himso much, that he was overtaken by a detachment of horse at Ham, withinthree hours' ride of a place of safety. Finding himself surrounded, hethought proper to surrender, and M. De Berringhen treated him withgreat 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 kingordered him and his companions to be discharged, on account of thecourage and humanity they had displayed. ] [Footnote 173: Note 2 F, p. 173. Lord Compton and lord Bruce, sons ofthe earls of Northampton and Aylesbury, were called up by writ to thehouse of peers. The other ten were these: lord Duplin of the kingdom ofScotland, created baron Hay of Bed warden, in the county of Hereford;lord viscount Windsor of Ireland, made baron Mountjoy, in the Isle ofWight; Henry Paget, son of lord Paget, created baron Burton, in thecounty of Stafford; sir Thomas Mansel, baron Mansel of Margam, inthe county of Glamorgan; sir Thomas Willoughby, baron Middleton, ofMittleton, in the county of Warwick; sir Thomas Trevor, baron Trevor ofBronham, in the county of Bedford; George Granville, baron Lansdown ofBidde-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 ofBathels-den, in the county of Bedford. On the first day of their beingintroduced, when the question was put about adjourning, the earl ofWharton asked one of them, "Whether they voted by their foreman?"] [Footnote 174: Note 2 G, p. 174. The commissioners appointed for taking, stating, and examining the public accounts, having made their reporttouching the conduct of Mr. Walpole, the house, after a long debate, came to the following resolutions: 1. That Robert Walpole, esq. , amember of this house, in receiving the sum of five hundred guineas, andin taking a note for five hundred more, on account of two contracts forforage of her majesty's troops, quartered in North Britain, made by himwhen secretary at war, pursuant to a power granted to him by the latelord-treasurer, is guilty of a high breach of trust and notoriouscorruption. 2. That the said Robert Walpole, esq. , be, for the saidoffence, committed prisoner to the Tower of London, during the pleasureof this house; and that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant accordingly. 3. That the said Robert Walpole, esq. , be, for the said offence, alsoexpelled the house, and that the report of the commissioners of publicaccounts be taken into further consideration this day se'nnight. Itappeared from the depositions of witnesses, that the public had beendefrauded considerably by these contracts. Very severe speech was madein the house, and next day published, reflecting upon Mr. Walpole, asguilty of the worst kind of corruption; and sir Peter King declared inthe house, that he deserved hanging as well as he deserved imprisonmentand expulsion. ] CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, M. D. Volume IIc, GEORGE I. MAPS: [Illustration: map1. Jpg MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES] [Illustration: map2. Jpg MAP OF EUROPE] [Illustration: map3. Jpg MAP OF AUSTRALIA] [Illustration: map4. Jpg MAP OF BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA] GEORGE I. [Illustration: 189. Jpg 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. _ {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} STATE OF PARTIES. It may be necessary to remind the reader of the state of parties at thisimportant juncture. The Jacobites had been fed with hopes of seeing thesuccession altered by the earl of Oxford. These hopes he had conveyedto them in a distant, undeterminate, and mysterious manner, without anyother view than that of preventing them from taking violent measures toembarrass his administration. At least, if he actually entertained atone time any other design, he had, long before his disgrace, laid itwholly aside, probably from an apprehension of the danger with which itmust have been attended, and seemed bent upon making a merit of his zealfor the house of Hanover; but his conduct was so equivocal and unsteady, that he ruined himself in the opinion of one party without acquiringthe confidence of the other. The friends of the pretender derived freshhopes from the ministry of Bolingbroke. Though he had never explainedhimself 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 mostzealous advocates for the protestant succession. The Jacobites promisedthemselves much from his affection, but more from his resentment; andthey believed the majority of the tories would join them on thesame maxims. All Bolingbroke's schemes of power were defeated by thepromotion of the duke of Shrewsbury to the office of treasurer; and allhis hopes blasted by the death of the queen, on whose personal favourhe depended. The resolute behaviour of the dukes of Somerset and Argyle, together with the diligence and activity of a council in which thewhig interest had gained the ascendancy, completed the confusion of thetories, who found themselves without a head, divided, distracted, andirresolute. Upon recollection, they saw nothing so eligible as silenceand submission to those measures which they could not oppose with anyprospect of success. They had no other objection to the succession inthe house of Hanover but the fear of seeing the whig faction once morepredominant; yet they were not without hope that their new sovereign, who was reputed a prince of sagacity and experience, would cultivateand conciliate the affection of the tories, who were the landholders andproprietors of the kingdom, rather than declare himself the head of afaction which leaned for support on those who were enemies to the churchand monarchy, on the bank and the monied interest, raised upon usuryand maintained by corruption. In a word, the whigs were elated andoverbearing; the tories abashed and humble; the Jacobites eager, impatient, and alarmed at a juncture which, with respect to them, wastruly critical. KING GEORGE PROCLAIMED. The queen had no sooner resigned her last breath than the privy-councilmet, and the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord-chancellor, and theHanoverian resident, Kreyenburgh, produced the three instruments inwhich the elector of Brunswick had nominated the persons * to be addedas 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 carryto Hanover the intimation of his majesty's accession, and attend himin his journey to England. They sent the general officers in whom theycould confide to their respective posts; they reinforced the garrisonof Portsmouth; they appointed Mr. Addison their secretary; whileBolingbroke was obliged to stand at the door of the council-chamber withhis bag and papers, and underwent every species of mortification. Onthe whole, king George ascended the throne of Great Britain in thefifty-fifth year of his age, without the least opposition, tumult, orsign of popular discontent; and the unprejudiced part of the nation wasnow fully persuaded that no design had ever been concerted by QueenAnne and her ministry in favour of the pretender. The mayor of Oxfordreceived a letter, requiring him to proclaim the pretender. This beingcommunicated to the vice-chancellor, a copy of it was immediatelytransmitted to Mr. Secretary Bromley, member of Parliament for theuniversity; and the vice-chancellor offered a reward of one hundredpounds to any person who should discover the author. It was either theproduction of some lunatic, or a weak contrivance to fix an odium onthat venerable body. THE CIVIL LIST GRANTED TO THE KING. The parliament having assembled pursuant to the act which regulatedthe succession, the lord chancellor, on the fifth day of August, made aspeech to both houses in the name of the regency. He told them that theprivy-council appointed by the elector of Brunswick had proclaimedthat prince under the name of king George, as the lawful and rightfulsovereign of these kingdoms; and that they had taken the necessary careto maintain the public peace. He observed, that the several branches ofthe public revenue were expired by the demise of her late majesty; andrecommended to the commons the making such provision, in that respect, as might be requisite to support the honour and dignity of the crown. Helikewise expressed his hope that they would not be wanting in anythingthat might conduce to the establishing and advancing of the publiccredit. Both houses immediately agreed to addresses, containing thewarmest expressions of duty and affection to their new sovereign, who did not fail to return such answers as were very agreeable to theparliament of Great Britain. In the meantime the lower house preparedand passed a bill, granting to his majesty the same civil list which thequeen had enjoyed, with additional clauses for the payment of arrearsdue to the troops of Hanover which had been in the service of GreatBritain; and for a reward of one hundred thousand pounds, to be paidby the treasury to any person who should apprehend the pretender inlanding, 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 tothe regency, they went to the house of peers; then the chancellor, in another speech to both houses, intimated his majesty's greatsatisfaction in the loyalty and affection which his people haduniversally expressed at his accession. Other addresses were voted onthis occasion. The commons finished the bill for the civil list, andone for making some alterations in an act for a state-lottery, whichreceived the royal assent from the lords-justices. Then the parliamentwas 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 peaceconcluded at Utrecht, particularly with relation to the settlement ofthe British crown in the house of Hanover. The earl of Strafford havingsignified the same event to the states of Holland, and the resident ofHanover having presented them with a letter, in which his master claimedthe performance of their guarantee, they resolved to perform theirengagements, and congratulated his electoral highness on his successionto the throne of Great Britain. They invited him to pass through theirdominions, and assured him that his interests were as dear to them astheir own. The chevalier de St. George no sooner received the news ofthe queen's death, than he posted to Versailles, where he was givento understand that the king of France expected he should quit histerritories immediately; and he was accordingly obliged to return toLorraine. 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 theprince-royal prince of Wales; and for removing lord Bolingbroke from hispost of secretary. The seals were taken from this minister by the dukesof Shrewsbury and Somerset, and lord Cowper, who at the same time sealedup all the doors of his office. THE KING ARRIVES IN ENGLAND. King George having vested the government of his German dominions in acouncil, headed by his brother prince Ernest, set out with the electoralprince from Herenhausen on the thirty-first day of August; and in firedays arrived at the Hague, where he conferred with the states-general. On the sixteenth day of September he embarked at Orange Polder, underconvoy of an English and Dutch squadron, commanded by the earl ofBerkeley, and next day arrived at the Hope. In the afternoon the yachtsailed up the river; and his majesty, with the prince, were landed froma barge at Greenwich about six in the evening. There he was received bythe duke of Northumberland, captain of the life-guards, and the lords ofthe regency. From the landing place he walked to his house in the park, accompanied by a great number of the nobility and other persons ofdistinction, who had the honour to kiss his hand as they approached. When he retired to his bed-chamber, he sent for those of the nobilitywho had distinguished themselves by their zeal for his succession; butthe duke of Ormond, the lord-chancellor, and lord Trevor, were not ofthe number. Next morning the earl of Oxford presented himself with anair of confidence, as if he had expected to receive some particularmark of his majesty's favour; but he had the mortification to remaina considerable time undistinguished among the crowd, and then waspermitted to kiss the king's hand without being honoured with any othernotice. On the other hand, his majesty expressed uncommon regard for theduke of Marlborough, who had lately arrived in England, as well as forall the leaders of the whig party. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} THE TORIES TOTALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE ROYAL FAVOUR. It was the misfortune of this prince, as well as a very great prejudiceto the nation, that he had been misled into strong prepossessionsagainst the tories, who constituted such a considerable part of hissubjects. They were now excluded from all share of the royal favour, which was wholly engrossed by their enemies; these early marks ofaversion, which he was at no pains to conceal, alienated the minds ofmany from his person and government, who would otherwise have servedhim with fidelity and affection. An instantaneous and total change waseffected in all offices of honour and advantage. The duke of Ormondwas dismissed from his command, which the king restored to the duke ofMarlborough, whom he likewise appointed colonel of the first regimentof foot guards, and master of the ordnance. The great seal was given tolord Cowper; the privy seal to the earl of Wharton; the governmentof Ireland to the earl of Sunderland. The duke of Devonshire was madesteward of the household; lord Townshend and Mr. Stanhope were appointedsecretaries of state; the post of secretary for Scotland was bestowedupon the duke of Montrose. The duke of Somerset was constituted masterof 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 alreadyundertaken to manage the house of commons, was gratified with thedouble place of paymaster to the army and to Chelsea-hospital. Anew privy-council was appointed, and the earl of Nottingham declaredpresident; but all affairs of consequence were concerted by acabinet-council, or junto, composed of the duke of Marlborough, theearls of Nottingham and Sunderland, the lords Halifax, Townshend, and Somers, and general Stanhope. The regency had already removed sirConstantine Phipps and the archbishop of Armagh from the office oflords-justices in Ireland, and filled their places in the regency ofthat kingdom with the archbishop of Dublin and tire earl of Kildare. Allan Broderick was appointed chancellor; another privy-council wasformed, and the duke of Ormond was named as one of the members. Thetreasury and admiralty were put into commission; all the governmentswere changed; and, in a word, the whole nation was delivered into thehands of the whigs. At the same time the prince-royal was declaredprince of Wales, and took his place in council. The king wascongratulated on his accession in addresses from the two universities, and from all the cities and corporations in the kingdom. He expressedparticular satisfaction at these expressions of loyalty and affection. He declared in council his firm purpose to support and maintain thechurches of England and Scotland as they were by law established; an aimwhich he imagined might be effectually accomplished, without impairingthe toleration allowed by law to protestant dissenters, and so necessaryto the trade and riches of the kingdom; he, moreover, assured them hewould earnestly endeavour to render property secure; the good effects ofwhich were no where so clearly seen as in this happy nation. Before thecoronation he created some new peers, and others were promoted to highertitles. * On the twentieth day of October he was crowned in Westminsterwith the usual solemnity, at which the earl of Oxford and lordBolingbroke 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 sirConstantine Phipps, with particular marks of honour and esteem. As theFrench king was said to protract the demolition of Dunkirk, Mr. Priorreceived orders to present a memorial to hasten this work, and toprevent the canal of Mardyke from being finished. The answer which hereceived being deemed equivocal, this minister was recalled, and theearl of Stair appointed ambassador to the court of France, where heprosecuted this affair with uncommon vigour. About the same timegeneral Cadogan was sent as plenipotentiary to Antwerp, to assist atthe barrier-treaty, negotiated there between the emperor and thestates-general. PRETENDER'S MANIFESTO. Meanwhile the number of malcontents in England was considerablyincreased by the king's attachment to the whig faction. The clamourof the church's being in danger was revived; jealousies were excited;seditious libels dispersed; and dangerous tumults raised in differentparts of the kingdom. Birmingham, Bristol, Chippenham, Norwich, andReading, were filled with licentious riot. The party cry was, "Down withthe whigs! Sacheverel for ever!" Many gentlemen of the whig faction wereabused; magistrates in towns, and justices in the country, were reviledand insulted by the populace in the execution of their office. Thepretender took this opportunity to transmit, by the French mail, copiesof a printed manifesto to the dukes of Shrewsbury, Marlborough, Argyle, and other noblemen of the first distinction. In this declaration hementioned the good intentions of his sister towards him, which wereprevented by her deplorable death. He observed that his people, insteadof doing him and themselves justice, had proclaimed for their king aforeign prince, contrary to the fundamental and incontestable laws ofhereditary right, which their pretended acts of settlement could neverabrogate. These papers being delivered to the secretaries of state, theking refused an audience to the marquis de Lamberti, minister from theduke of Lorraine, on the supposition that this manifesto could not havebeen prepared or transmitted without the knowledge and countenance ofhis master. The marquis having communicated this circumstance tothe duke, that prince absolutely denied his having been privy to thetransaction, and declared that the chevalier de St. George came intoLorraine by the directions of the French king, whom the duke could notdisoblige without exposing his territories to invasion. Notwithstandingthis apology, the marquis was given to understand that he could not beadmitted to an audience until the pretender should be removed fromthe dominions of his master; he therefore quitted the kingdom withoutfurther hesitation. Religion was still mingled in all politicaldisputes. The high churchmen complained that impiety and heresy dailygained ground from the connivance, or at least the supine negligence, of the whig prelates. The lower house of convocation had, before thequeen's death, declared that a book published by Dr. Samuel Clarke, under the title of "The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity, " containedassertions contrary to the catholic faith. They sent up extracts fromthis performance to the bishops, and the doctor wrote an answer totheir objections. He was prevailed upon to write an apology, which hepresented to the upper house; but apprehending it might be publishedseparately, and misunderstood, he afterwards delivered an explanationto the bishop of London. This was satisfactory to the bishops; butthe lower house resolved that it was no recantation of his hereticalassertions. The disputes about the Trinity increasing, the archbishopsand bishops received directions, which were published, for preservingunity in the church, the purity of the christian faith concerning theholy Trinity, and for maintaining the peace and quiet of the state. Bythese every preacher was restricted from delivering any other doctrinethan what is contained in the holy scriptures with respect to theTrinity, 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. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} NEW PARLIAMENT. The parliament being dissolved, another was called by a veryextraordinary proclamation, in which the king complained of the evildesigns of men disaffected to his succession; and of their havingmisrepresented his conduct and principles. He mentioned the perplexityof public affairs, the interruption of commerce, and the heavy debts ofthe nation. He expressed his hope that his loving subjects would send upto parliament the fittest persons to redress the present disorders; andthat in the elections, they would have a particular regard to such ashad expressed a firm attachment to the protestant succession when it wasin danger. It does not appear that the protestant succession was everin danger. How then was this declaration to be interpreted? People ingeneral construed it into a design to maintain party distinctions, and encourage the whigs to the full exertion of their influence in theelections; into a renunciation of the tories; and as the first flash ofthat vengeance which afterwards was seen to burst upon the heads of thelate ministry. When the earl of Strafford returned from Holland, all hispapers were seized by an order from the secretary's office. Mr. Priorwas recalled from France, and promised to discover all he knew relatingto the conduct of Oxford's administration. Uncommon vigour was exertedon both sides in the elections; but, by dint of the monied interest, which prevailed in most of the corporations through the kingdom, and thecountenance of the ministry, which will always have weight with needyand venal electors, a great majority of whigs was returned both inEngland and Scotland. THE KING'S FIRST SPEECH. When this new parliament assembled on the seventeenth day of March, atWestminster, Mr. Spencer Compton was chosen speaker of the commons. Onthe twenty-first day of the month, the king appeared in the house oflords and delivered to the chancellor a written speech, which was readin presence of both houses. His majesty thanked his faithful and lovingsubjects for that zeal and firmness they had shown in defence of theprotestant succession, against all the open and secret practices whichhad been used to defeat it. He told them that some conditions of thepeace, essential to the security and trade of Great Britain, were notyet duly executed; and that the performance of the whole might belooked upon as precarious, until defensive alliances should be formed toguarantee the present treaties. He observed, that the pretenderboasted of the assistance he expected in England, to repair his formerdisappointment; that great part of the national trade was renderedimpracticable; and that the public debts were surprisingly increasedever since the fatal cessation of arms. He gave the commons tounderstand that the branches of the revenue, formerly granted for thesupport of the civil government, were so far encumbered and alienated, that the produce of the funds which remained, and had been granted tohim, would fall short of what was at first designed for maintaining thehonour and dignity of the crown; that as it was his and their happinessto see a prince of Wales who might in due time succeed him on thethrone, and to see him blessed with many children, these circumstanceswould naturally occasion an expense to which the nation had not been formany years accustomed; and, therefore, he did not doubt but they wouldthink of it with that affection which he had reason to hope from hiscommons. He desired that no unhappy divisions of parties might divertthem from pursuing the common interests of their country. He declaredthat the established constitution in church and state should be the ruleof his government; and that the happiness, ease, and prosperity ofhis people should be the chief care of his life. He concluded withexpressing his confidence, that with their assistance he shoulddisappoint the designs of those who wanted to deprive him of thatblessing which he most valued--the affection of his people. Speeches suggested by a vindictive ministry better became the leader ofan incensed party, than the father and sovereign of a divided people. This declaration portended measures which it was the interest of thecrown 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 hismajesty, assisted by the parliament, would be able to recover thereputation of the kingdom in foreign parts, the loss of which they hopedto convince the world by their actions was by no means to be imputed tothe nation in general. The tories said this was an invidious reflection, calculated to mislead and inflame the people, for the reputation of thekingdom had never been so high as at this very juncture. The commonspretended astonishment to find that any conditions of the late peaceshould not yet be duly executed; and that care was not taken to formsuch alliances as might have rendered the peace not precarious. Theydeclared their resolution to inquire into these fatal miscarriages; totrace out those measures whereon the pretender placed his hopes, andbring the authors of them to condign punishment. These addresses werenot voted without opposition. In the house of lords, the dukes ofBuckingham and Shrewsbury, the earl of Anglesea, the archbishop of York, and other peers both secular and ecclesiastical, observed, that theiraddress was injurious to the late queen's memory, and would serve onlyto increase those unhappy divisions that distracted the kingdom. In thelower house, sir William Wyndham, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Ship-pen, generalRoss, sir William Whitelock, and other members, took exceptions topassages of the same nature in the address which the commons hadprepared. They were answered by Mr. Walpole, Mr. Pulteney, and Mr. Secretary Stanhope. These gentlemen took occasion to declare, thatnotwithstanding the endeavours which had been used to prevent adiscovery of the late mismanagements, by conveying away several papersfrom the secretary's office, yet the government had sufficient evidenceleft to prove the late ministry the most corrupt that ever sat at thehelm; that those matters would soon be laid before the house, when itwould appear that a certain English general had acted in concert with, if not received orders from, mareschal de Villars. Lord Bolingbroke, whohad hitherto appeared in public, as usual, with remarkable serenity, andspoke in the house of lords with great freedom and confidence, thoughtit was now high time to consult his personal safety. He accordinglywithdrew to the continent, leaving a letter which was afterwards printedin his justification. In this paper, he declared he had received certainand repeated informations, that a resolution was taken to pursue him tothe scaffold; that if there had been the least reason to hope for a fairand open trial, after having been already prejudged, unheard, by thetwo houses of parliament, he should not have declined the strictestexamination. He challenged the most inveterate of his enemies to produceany one instance of criminal correspondence, or the least corruption inany part of the administration in which he was concerned. He said, ifhis zeal for the honour and dignity of his royal mistress, and the trueinterest of his country, had any where transported him to let slipa warm and unguarded expression, he hoped the most favourableinterpretation would be put upon it. He affirmed that he had served hermajesty faithfully and dutifully in that especially which she had mostat heart, relieving her people from a bloody and expensive war; and thathe had always been too much an Englishman to sacrifice the interest ofhis country to any foreign ally whatsoever. {1715} In the midst of all this violence against the late ministers, friendswere not wanting to espouse their cause in the face of opposition; andeven in some addresses to the king their conduct was justified. Nay, some individuals had courage enough to attack the presentadministration. When a motion was made in the house of commons toconsider the king's proclamation for calling a new parliament, sirWilliam Whitelock, member for the university of Oxford, boldly declaredit was unprecedented and unwarrantable. Being called upon to explainhimself, he made an apology. Nevertheless, sir William Wyndham rising upsaid, the proclamation was not only unprecedented and unwarrantable, but even of dangerous consequence to the very being of parliaments. Whenchallenged to justify his charge, he observed, that every member wasfree to speak his thoughts. Some exclaimed, "The Tower! the Tower!"A warm debate ensued; sir William being ordered to withdraw, wasaccompanied by one hundred and twenty-nine members; and those whoremained in the house resolved, that he should be reprimanded by thespeaker. He was accordingly rebuked, for having presumed to reflect onhis majesty's proclamation, and having made an unwarrantable use of thefreedom of speech granted by his majesty. Sir William said he was notconscious of having offered any indignity to his majesty, or ofhaving been guilty of a breach of privilege; that he acquiesced in thedetermination of the house; but had no thanks to give to those gentlemenwho, 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 ofcommons fourteen volumes, consisting of all the papers relating to thelate negotiations of peace and commerce, as well as to the cessationof arms; and moved that they might be referred to a select committeeof twenty persons, who should digest the substance of them under properheads, and report them, with their observations, to the house. One morewas added to the number of this secret committee, which was chosenby ballot, and met that same evening. Mr. Eobert Wal-pole, originalchairman, being taken ill, was succeeded in that place by Mr. Stanhope. The whole number was subdivided into three committees. To each a certainnumber of books was allotted; and they carried on the inquiry with greateagerness and expedition. Before this measure was taken, Dr. Gilbert Burnet, bishop of Sarum, died of a pleuritic fever, in theseventy-second year of his age. Immediately after the committee hadbegun to act, the whig party lost one of their warmest champions, by thedeath of the marquis of Wharton, a nobleman possessed of happy talentsfor the cabinet, the senate, and the common scenes of life; talentswhich a life of pleasure and libertinism did not prevent him fromemploying with surprising vigour and application. The committee of thelower house taking the civil list into consideration, examined severalpapers relating to that revenue. The tories observed, that from theseven hundred thousand pounds granted annually to king William, fiftythousand pounds were allotted to the late queen, when princess ofDenmark; twenty thousand pounds to the duke of Gloucester; and twicethat sum, as a dowry, to James' queen; that nearly two hundred thousandpounds had been yearly deducted from the revenues of the late queen'scivil list, and applied to other uses; notwithstanding which deduction, she had honourably maintained her family, and supported the dignity ofthe crown. In the course of the debate, some warm altercation passedbetween lord Guernsey and one of the members, who affirmed that thelate ministry had used the whigs, and indeed the whole nation, in sucha manner, that nothing they should suffer could be deemed a hardship. At length the house agreed that the sum of seven hundred thousand poundsclear should be granted for the civil list during his majesty's life. Amotion being made for an address against pensions, it was opposed by Mr. Walpole, and over-ruled by the majority. The lords passed the bill forregulating 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 strongsquadron to the Baltic, in order to protect the commerce of the nation, which had suffered from the king of Sweden, who caused all ships tradingto those parts to be seized and confiscated. That prince had rejectedthe treaty of neutrality concerted by the allies for the security ofthe empire; and considered the English and Dutch as his enemies. Theministers of England and the states-general had presented memorials tothe regency of Sweden; but finding no redress, they resolved to protecttheir trade by force of arms. After the Swedish general, Steenbock, andhis army were made prisoners, count Wellen concluded a treaty with theadministrator of Holstein-Gottorp, by which the towns of Stetin andWisma were sequestered into the hands of the king of Prussia; theadministrator engaged to secure them, and all the rest of SwedishPomerania, from the Poles and Muscovites; but as the governor ofPomerania refused to comply with this treaty, those allies marchedinto the province, subdued the island of Eugen, and obliged Stetin tosurrender. Then the governor consented to the sequestration, and paid tothe Poles and Muscovites four hundred thousand rix dollars, to indemnifythem for the expense of the siege. The king of Sweden returning fromTurkey, rejected the treaty of sequestration, and insisted upon Stetin'sbeing restored, without his repaying the money. As this monarch likewisethreatened to invade the electorate of Saxony, and chastise his falsefriend; king George, for the security of his German dominions, concludeda treaty with the king of Denmark, by which the duchies of Bremen andVerden, which had been taken from the Swedes in his absence, were madeover to his Britannic majesty, on condition that he should immediatelydeclare war against Sweden. Accordingly he took possession of theduchies in October, published a declaration of war against Charles inhis German dominions; and detached six thousand Hanoverians to join theDanes and Prussians in Pomerania. These allies reduced the islands ofRugen and Uledon, and attacked the towns of Wismar and Stralsund, fromwhich 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 Soundupon the ice, and attack Copenhagen; but was disappointed by a suddenthaw. Nevertheless he refused to return to Stockholm, which he had notseen for sixteen years; but remained at Carlscroon, in order to hastenhis fleet for the relief of Wismar. DISCONTENT OF THE NATION. The spirit of discontent and disaffection seemed to gain ground everyday in England. Notwithstanding proclamations against riots, and ordersof the justices for maintaining the peace, repeated tumults were raisedby the malcontents in the cities of London and Westminster. Those whocelebrated the anniversary of the king's birth-day with the usual marksof joy and festivity, were insulted by the populace; but next day, whichwas the anniversary of the restoration, the whole city was lighted upwith bonfires and illuminations, and echoed with the sound of mirthand tumultuous rejoicing. The people even obliged the life-guards, whopatroled through the streets, to join in the cry of "High-church andOrmond!" and in Smithfield they burned the picture of king William. Thirty persons were imprisoned for being concerned in these riots. OneBournois, a schoolmaster, who affirmed that king George had no right tothe crown, was tried and scourged through the city, with such severitythat in a few days he expired in the utmost torture. A frivolousincident served to increase the popular ferment. The shirts allowed tothe first regiment of guards, commanded by the duke of Marlborough, wereso coarse that the soldiers could hardly be persuaded to wear them. Somewere thrown into the garden of the king's palace, and into that whichbelonged to the duke of Marlborough. A detachment, in marching throughthe city, produced them to the view of the shop-keepers and passengers, exclaiming, "These are the Hanover shirts. " The court being informedof this clamour, ordered those new shirts to be burned immediately;but even this sacrifice, and an advertisement published by the dukeof Marlborough in his own vindication, did not acquit that general ofsuspicion that he was concerned in this mean species of peculation. Areward of fifty pounds was offered by the government to any personthat would discover one captain Wight, who, by an intercepted letter, appeared to be disaffected to king George; and Mr. George Jefferies wasseized at Dublin with a packet directed to Dr. Jonathan Swift, dean ofSt. Patrick's. Several treasonable papers being found in this packet, were transmitted to England; Jefferies was obliged to give bail for hisappearance; and Swift thought proper to abscond. REPORT OF THE SECRET COMMITTEE. The house of lords, to demonstrate their abhorrence of all whoshould engage in conspiracies against their sovereign, rejected withindignation a petition presented to them in behalf of Blackburne, Casils, Barnarde, Meldrum, and Chambers, who had hitherto continuedprisoners, for having conspired against the life of king William. Onthe ninth day of June, Mr. Walpole, as chairman of the secret committee, declared to the house of commons that the report was ready; and inthe meantime moved, that a warrant might be issued by Mr. Speaker, forapprehending several persons, particularly Mr. Matthew Prior and Mr. Thomas Harley, who being in the house, were immediately taken intocustody. Then he recited the report, ranged under these different heads:the clandestine negotiation with monsieur Ménager; the extraordinarymeasures pursued to form the congress at Utrecht; the trifling of theFrench plenipotentiaries, by the connivance of the British ministers;the negotiation about the renunciation of the Spanish monarchy; thefatal suspension of arms; the seizure of Ghent and Bruges, in order todistress the allies and favour the French; the duke of Ormond's actingin concert with the French general; the lord Bolingbroke's journey toFrance to negotiate a separate peace; Mr. Prior's and the duke ofShrewsbury's negotiation in France; the precipitate conclusion of thepeace at Utrecht. The report being read, sir Thomas Hanmer moved thatthe consideration of it should be adjourned to a certain day; and thatin the meantime the report should be printed for the perusal of themembers: he was seconded by the tories: a debate ensued; and the motionwas rejected by a great majority. This point being gained, Mr. Walpole impeached Henry lord viscountBolingbroke 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 generalEoss expressed the same sentiment. Then lord Coningsby standing up, "Theworthy chairman, " said he, "has impeached the hand, but I impeach thehead: he has impeached the clerk, and I the justice; he has impeachedthe scholar, and I the master. I impeach Eobert earl of Oxford and earlMortimer of high treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. "Mr. Auditor Harley, the earl's brother, spoke in vindication of thatminister. He affirmed he had done nothing but by the immediate commandof his sovereign; that the peace was a good peace, and approved as suchby two parliaments; and that the facts charged to him in the reportamounted only to misdemeanors; if the sanction of a parliament, which isthe representative and legislature of the nation, be not sufficient toprotect a minister from the vengeance of his enemies, he can have nosecurity. Mr. Atiditor Foley, the earl's brother-in-law, made a speechto the same purpose; sir Joseph Jekyll, a staunch whig, and member ofthe secret committee, expressed his doubt whether they had sufficientmatter or evidence to impeach the earl of high treason. Nevertheless thehouse resolved to impeach him without a division. When he appeared inthe house of lords next day, he found himself deserted by his brotherpeers as infectious; and retired with signs of confusion. Prior andHarley having been examined by such of the committee as were justices ofthe peace for Middlesex, Mr. Walpole informed the house that matters ofsuch importance appeared in Prior's examination, that he was directedto move them for that member's being closely confined. Prior wasaccordingly imprisoned, and cut off from all communication. On thetwenty-first day of June, Mr. Secretary Stanhope impeached James dukeof Ormond of high treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Archibald Hutchinson, one of the commissioners of trade, spoke in favourof the duke. He expatiated on his noble birth and qualifications; heenumerated the great services performed to the crown and nation by hisgrace and his ancestors; he observed, that in the whole course of hislate conduct, he had only obeyed the queen's commands; and he affirmedthat all allegations against him could not in the rigour of the law beconstrued into high treason. Mr. Hutchinson was seconded by generalLumley, who urged that the duke of Ormond had on all occasions givensignal proofs of his affection for his country, as well as of personalcourage; and that he had generously expended the best part of hisestate, by living abroad in a most noble and splendid manner, for thehonour of his sovereign. Sir Joseph Jekyll said, if there was roomfor mercy, he hoped it would be shown to that noble, generous, andcourageous peer, who had in a course of many years exerted those greataccomplishments for the good and honour of his country; that, as thestatute of Edward III. , on which the charge of high treason against himwas to be grounded, had been mitigated by subsequent acts, the houseought not, in his opinion, to take advantage of that act against theduke, but only impeach him of high crimes and misdemeanors. GeneralRoss, sir William Wyndham, and the speakers of that party, did notabandon the duke in this emergency; but all their arguments andeloquence were lost upon the other faction, by which they were greatlyout-numbered The question being put, was carried for the impeachment ofthe duke of Ormond, who perceiving every thing conducted by a furiousspirit of revenge, and that he could not expect the benefit of animpartial trial, consulted his own safety by withdrawing himself fromthe kingdom. On the twenty-second day of June, the earl of Straffordwas likewise impeached by Mr. Aislaby, for having advised the fatalsuspension of arms, and the seizing of Ghent and Bruges; as well asfor having treated the most serene house of Hanover with insolence andcontempt. He was also defended by his friends, but overpowered by hisenemies. EARL OF OXFORD SENT TO THE TOWER. When the articles against the earl of Oxford were read in the house, awarm debate arose upon the eleventh, by which he was charged with havingadvised the French king in what manner Tournay might be gained from thestates-general. The question being put, whether this article amounted tohigh-treason; sir Robert Raymond, formerly solicitor-general, maintainedthe negative, and was supported not only by sir William Wyndham and thetories, but also by sir Joseph Jekyll. This honest patriot said it wasever his principle to do justice to every body, from the highest tothe lowest; and that it was the duty of an honest man never to act by aspirit of party; that he hoped he might pretend to have some knowledgeof the laws of the kingdom; and would not scruple to declare, that inhis judgment the charge in question did not amount to high-treason. Mr. Walpole answered with great warmth, that there were several personsboth in and out of the committee, who did not in the least yield tothat member in point of honesty, and who were superior to him in theknowledge of the laws, yet were satisfied that the charge specified inthe eleventh article amounted to high-treason. This point being decidedagainst the earl, and the other articles approved by the house, lordConningsby, attended by the whig members, impeached the earl of Oxfordat the bar of the house of lords, demanding at the same time that hemight be sequestered from parliament, and committed to safe custody. A motion was made, that the consideration of the articles might beadjourned. After a short debate the articles were read; then thetory lords moved that the judges might be consulted. The motion beingrejected, another was made, that the earl should be committed to safecustody. This occasioned another debate, in which he himself spoke tothe following purpose: that the whole charge might be reduced to thenegotiations and conclusions of the peace; that the nation wanted apeace, he said, nobody would deny; that the conditions of the peacewere as good as could be expected, considering the backwardness andreluctancy which some of the allies showed to come into the queen'smeasures; that the peace was approved by two successive parliaments;that he had no share in the affair of Tournay, which was whollytransacted by that unfortunate nobleman who has thought fit tostep aside; that for his own part, he always acted by the immediatedirections and commands of the late queen, without offending against anyknown law; and, being justified by his own conscience, was unconcernedfor the life of an insignificant old man; that, if ministers of state, acting by the immediate commands of their sovereign, are afterwards tobe made accountable for their proceedings, it might one day or other bethe case with all the members of that august assembly; that he did notdoubt their lordships, out of regard to themselves, would give him anequitable hearing; and that in the prosecution of the inquiry it wouldappear he had merited not only the indulgence, but even the favour ofhis government. "My lords, " said he, "I am now to take my leave of yourlordships, and of this honourable house, perhaps for ever; I shall laydown my life with pleasure in a cause favoured by my late dear royalmistress. When I consider that I am to be judged by the justice, honour, and virtue of my peers, I shall acquiesce, and retire with greatcontent; and, my lords, God's will be done. " The duke of Shrewsburyhaving acquainted the house that the earl was very much indisposed withthe gravel, he was suffered to remain at his own house in custody of theblack-rod; in his way thither he was attended by a great multitude ofpeople crying, "High-church, Ormond and Oxford for ever!" Next day hewas brought to the bar; where he received a copy of the articles, andwas allowed a month to prepare his answer. Though Dr. Mead declared thatif the earl should be sent to the Tower his life would be in danger, itwas carried, on a division, that he should be conveyed thither on thesixteenth day of July. During the debate, the earl of Anglesea observed, that these impeachments were disagreeable to the nation, and that it wasto be feared such violent measures would make the sceptre shake in theking's hands. This expression kindled the whole house into a flame. Somemembers cried, "To the Tower!" some, "To order!" The earl of Sunderlanddeclared, that if these words had been spoken in another place, hewould have called the person that had spoken them to an account; in themeantime 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 aprodigious concourse of people, who did not scruple to exclaim againsthis persecutors. Tumults were raised in Staffordshire, and other partsof the kingdom, against the whig party, which had depressed the friendsof the church and embroiled the nation. The house of commons presentedan address to the king, desiring that the laws might be vigorouslyexecuted against the rioters. They prepared the proclamation-act, decreeing, that if any persons to the number of twelve, unlawfullyassembled, should continue together one hour after having been requiredto disperse by a justice of peace or other officer, and heard theproclamation against riots read in public, they should be deemed guiltyof felony without benefit of clergy. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} 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 bothhouses that a rebellion was actually begun at home; and that the nationwas threatened with an invasion from abroad. He therefore expected thatthe commons would not leave the kingdom in a defenceless condition, butenable him to take such measures as should be necessary for the publicsafety. Addresses in the usual style were immediately presented bythe parliament, the convocation, the common-council and lieutenancy ofLondon, and the two universities; but that of Oxford was received in themost contemptuous manner; and the deputies were charged with disloyalty, on account of a fray which had happened between some recruiting officersand the scholars of the university. The addresses from the kirk ofScotland, and the dissenting ministers of London and Westminster, metwith a much more gracious reception. The parliament forthwith passed abill, empowering the king to secure suspected persons, and to suspendthe _habeas-corpus_ act in that time of danger. A clause was added to amoney-bill, offering the reward of one hundred thousand pounds to suchas should seize the pretender dead or alive. Sir George Byng was sent totake the command of the fleet. General Earle repaired to his governmentof Portsmouth; the guards were encamped in Hyde-park; lord Irwin wasappointed governor of Hull, in the room of brigadier Sutton, who, together with lord Windsor, the generals Ross, Webb, and Stuart, weredismissed from the service. Orders were given for raising thirteenregiments of dragoons, and eight of infantry; and the trained bandswere kept in readiness to suppress tumults. In the midst of thesetransactions, the commons added six articles to those exhibited againstthe earl of Oxford. Lord Bolingbroke was impeached at the bar of thehouse of lords by Mr. Walpole. Bills being brought in to summon him andthe duke of Ormond to surrender themselves by the tenth of September, or, in default thereof, to attaint them of high treason, they passedboth houses and received the royal assent. On the last day of August, the commons agreed to the articles against the earl of Strafford, whichbeing presented to the house of lords, the earl made a speech in hisown vindication. He complained that his papers had been seized in anunprecedented manner. He said, if he had in his letters or discoursedropped any unguarded expressions against some foreign ministers, whilehe had the honour to represent the crown of Great Britain, he hoped theywould not be accounted criminal by a British house of peers; he desiredhe might be allowed a competent time to answer the articles broughtagainst him, and have duplicates of all the papers which had eitherbeen laid before the committee of secrecy, or remained in the hands ofgovernment, to be used occasionally in his justification. This requestwas vehemently opposed by the leaders of the other party, until theearl of Hay represented that, in all civilized nations, all courts ofjudicature, except the inquisition, allowed the persons arraigned allthat was necessary for their justification; and that the house of peersof Great Britain ought not, in this case, to do any thing contrary tothat honour and equity for which they were so justly renowned throughoutall Europe. This observation made an impression on the house, whichresolved that the earl should be indulged with copies of such papers ashe 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 thehouse of lords, who transmitted it to the commons. Mr. Walpole, havingheard it read, said it contained little more than a repetition of whathad been suggested in some pamphlets and papers which had been publishedin vindication of the late ministry; that it was a false and maliciouslibel, laying upon his royal mistress the blame of all the perniciousmeasures he had led her into, against her own honour, and the good ofhis country; that it was likewise a libel on the proceedings of thecommons, since he endeavoured to clear those persons who had alreadyconfessed their guilt by flight. After some debate, the house resolved, that the answer of Robert earl of Oxford should be referred to thecommittee appointed to draw up articles of impeachment, and prepareevidence against the impeached lords; and that the committee shouldprepare a replication to the answer. This was accordingly prepared andsent up to the lords. Then the committee reported, that Mr. Prior hadgrossly prevaricated on his examination, and behaved with great contemptof their authority. The duke of Ormond and lord viscount Bolingbrokehaving omitted to surrender themselves within the limited time, thehouse of lords ordered the earl-marshal to raze out of the list ofpeers their names and armorial bearings. Inventories were taken of theirpersonal estates; and the duke's achievements, as knight of the garter, were taken down from St. George's chapel at Windsor. A man of candourcannot, without an emotion of grief and indignation, reflect upon theruin 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 havingobeyed the commands of his sovereign. About this period the royal assentwas given to an act for encouraging loyalty in Scotland. By this law thetenant who continued peaceable while his lord took arms in favour of thepretender, was invested with the property of the lands he rented; on theother hand, it was decreed that the lands possessed by any person guiltyof high treason should revert to the superior of whom they were held, and be consolidated with the superiority; and that all entails andsettlements of estates, since the first day of August, in favour ofchildren, with a fraudulent intent to avoid the punishment of the lawdue to the offence of high treason, should be null and void. It likewisecontained a clause for summoning suspected persons to find bail fortheir good behaviour, on pain of being denounced rebels. By virtue ofthis clause all the heads of the jacobite clans, and other suspectedpersons, were summoned to Edinburgh; and those who did not appear weredeclared rebels. INTRIGUES OF THE JACOBITES. By this time the rebellion was actually begun in Scotland. Thedissensions occasioned in that country by the union had never beenwholly appeased. Ever since the queen's death, addresses were preparedin different parts of Scotland against the union, which was deemed anational grievance; and the Jacobites did not fail to encourage thisaversion. Though the hopes of dissolving that treaty were baffled by theindustry and other arts of the revolutioners, who secured a majority ofwhigs in parliament, they did not lay aside their designs of attemptingsomething of consequence in favour of the pretender; but maintained acorrespondence with the malcontents of England, a great number of whomwere driven by apprehension, hard usage, and resentment, into a systemof politics which otherwise they would not have espoused. The toriesfinding themselves totally excluded from any share in the government andlegislature, and exposed to the insolence and fury of a faction whichthey despised, began to wish in earnest for a revolution. Some of themheld private consultations, and communicated with the Jacobites, whoconveyed their sentiments to the chevalier de St. George, with suchexaggerations as were dictated by their own eagerness and extravagance. They assured the pretender that the nation was wholly disaffected to thenew government; and indeed the clamours, tumults, and conversation ofthe people in general countenanced this assertion. They promised to takearms, without further delay, in his favour; and engaged that the toriesshould join them at his first landing in Great Britain. They thereforebesought him to come over with all possible expedition, declaring thathis appearance would produce an immediate revolution. The chevalierresolved to take the advantage of this favourable disposition. He hadrecourse to the French king, who had always been the refuge of hisfamily. Louis favoured him in secret; and, notwithstanding his lateengagements with England, cherished the ambition of raising him to thethrone of Great Britain. He supplied him privately with sums of money toprepare a small armament in the port of Havre, which was equipped inthe name of Depine d'Anicaut; and, without all doubt, his design was toassist him more effectually in proportion as the English should manifesttheir attachment to the house of Stuart. The duke of Ormond and lordBolingbroke, who had retired to France, finding themselves condemnedunheard, and attainted, engaged in the service of the chevalier, andcorresponded with the tories of England. DEATH OF LOUIS XIV. All these intrigues and machinations were discovered and communicatedto the court of London by the earl of Stair, who then resided as Englishambassador at Paris. He was a nobleman of unquestioned honour andintegrity, generous, humane, discerning, and resolute. He had signalizedhimself by his valour, intrepidity, and other military talents, duringthe war in the Netherlands; and he now acted in another sphere withuncommon vigour, vigilance, and address. He detected the chevalier'sscheme while it was yet in embryo, and gave such early notice of itas enabled the king of Great Britain to take effectual measures fordefeating the design. All the pretender's interest in France expiredwith Louis XIV. , that ostentatious tyrant, who had for above half acentury sacrificed the repose of Christendom to his insatiate vanity andambition. At his death, which happened on the first day of September, the regency of the kingdom devolved to the duke of Orleans, who adopteda new system of politics, and had already entered into engagements withthe king of Great Britain. Instead of assisting the pretender, he amusedhis agents with mysterious and equivocal expressions, calculated tofrustrate the design of the expedition. Nevertheless, the more violentpart of the Jacobites in Great Britain believed he was at bottom afriend to their cause, and depended upon him for succour. They evenextorted from him a sum of money by dint of importunities, and somearms; but the vessel was shipwrecked, and the cargo lost upon the coastof Scotland. THE EARL OF MAR SETS UP THE PRETENDER'S STANDARD. The partisans of the pretender had proceeded too far to retreat withsafety, and therefore resolved to try their fortune in the field. Theearl of Mar repaired to the Highlands, where he held consultations withthe marquasses of Huntley and Tullibardine, the earls Marischal andSouthesk, the generals Hamilton and Gordon, with the chiefs of theJacobite clans. Then he assembled three hundred of his own vassals, proclaimed the pretender at Castletown, and set up his standard atBrae-Mar, on the sixth day of September. By this time the earls of Home, Winton, and Kinnoul, lord Deskford, and Lockhart of Carnwath, withother persons suspected of disaffection to the present government, were committed prisoners to the castle of Edinburgh; and major-generalWhetham marched with the regular troops which were in that kingdom tosecure the bridge at Stirling. Before these precautions were taken, twovessels had arrived at Arbroath from Havre, with arms, ammunition, and agreat number of officers, who assured the earl of Mar that the pretenderwould soon be with them in person. The death of Louis the XIV. Struck ageneral damp upon their spirits; but they laid their account with beingjoined by a powerful body in England. The earl of Mar, by letters andmessages, pressed the chevalier to come over without further delay. He, in the meantime, assumed the title of lieutenant-general of thepretender's forces, and published a declaration, exhorting the peopleto take arms for their lawful sovereign. This was followed by a shrewdmanifesto, explaining the national grievances, and assuring the peopleof redress. Some of his partisans attempted to surprise the castle ofEdinburgh; but were prevented by the vigilance and activity of colonelStuart, lieutenant-governor of that fortress. The duke of Argyle set outfor Scotland, as commander-in-chief of the forces in North Britain: theearl of Sutherland set sail in the Queen-borough ship-of-war forthe North, where he proposed to raise his vassals for the service ofgovernment; and many other Scottish peers returned to their own countryin order to signalize their loyalty to king George. In England the practices of the Jacobites did not escape the notice ofthe ministry. Lieutenant-colonel Paul was imprisoned in the gate-housefor enlisting men in the service of the pretender. The titular duke ofPowis was committed to the Tower; lords Lansdown-e and Duplin were takeninto custody; and a warrant was issued for apprehending the earl ofJersey. The king desired the consent of the lower house to seize anddetain sir William Wyndham, sir John Packington, Mr. Edward Harvey ofCombe, Mr. Thos. Forster, Mr. John Anstis, and Mr. Corbet Kynaston, whowere members of the house, and suspected of favouring the invasion. Thecommons unanimously agreed to the proposal, and presented an addresssignifying their approbation. Harvey and Anstis were immediatelysecured. Forster, with the assistance of some popish lords, assembled abody of men in Northumberland' sir John Packington being examined beforethe council, was dismissed for want of evidence: Mr. Kynaston absconded;sir William Wyndham was seized at his own house in Somersetshire, bycolonel 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 forhis appearance; and being rejected as bail, expressed his resentmentso warmly that the king thought proper to remove him from the office ofmaster of the horse. On the twenty-first day of September, the king wentto the house of lords and passed the bills that were ready for the royalassent. Then the chancellor read his majesty's speech, expressing hisacknowledgment and satisfaction, in consequence of the uncommon marksof their affection he had received; and the parliament adjourned to thesixth day of October. The friends of the house of Stuart were very numerous in the westerncounties, and began to make preparations for an insurrection. Theyhad concealed some arms and artillery at Bath, and formed a designto surprise Bristol; but they were betrayed and discovered by theemissaries of the government, which baffled all their schemes, andapprehended every person of consequence suspected of attachment to thatcause. The university of Oxford felt the rod of power on that occasion. Major-general Pepper, with a strong detachment of dragoons, tookpossession of the city at day-break, declaring he would use militaryexecution on all students who should presume to appear without thelimits of their respective colleges. He seized tenor eleven persons, among whom was one Lloyd, a coffee-man; and made prize of some horsesand furniture belonging to colonel Owen and other gentlemen. With thisbooty he retreated to Abingdon; and Handasyde's regiment of foot wasafterwards quartered in Oxford to overawe the university. The ministryfound it more difficult to suppress the insurgents in the northerncounties. In the month of October the earl of Derwentwater and Mr. Forster took the field with a body of horse, and being joined by somegentlemen from the borders of Scotland, proclaimed the pretender inWarkworth, Morpeth, and Alnwick. The first design was to seize the townof Newcastle, in which they had many friends; but they found the gatesshut upon them, and retired to Hexham; while general Carpenter havingassembled a body of dragoons, resolved to march from Newcastle andattack them before they should be reinforced. The rebels retiringnorthward to Woller, were joined by two hundred Scottish horse under thelord viscount Kenmuir, and the earls of Carnwath and Winton, who had setup the pretender's standard at Moffat, and proclaimed him in differentparts of Scotland. The rebels thus reinforced advanced to Kelso, havingreceived advice that they would be joined by Mackintosh, who had crossedthe 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 menwell armed. He had secured the pass of the Tay at Perth, where hishead-quarters were established, and made himself master of the wholefruitful province of Fife, and all the sea-coast on that side of theFrith of Edinburgh. He selected two thousand five hundred men, commandedby brigadier Mackintosh, to make a descent upon the Lothian side, andjoin the Jacobites in that county, or such as should take arms onthe borders of England. Boats were assembled for this purpose; andnotwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken by the king'sships in the Frith to prevent the design, about fifteen hundred chosenmen made good their passage in the night, and landed on the coast ofLothian, having crossed an arm of the sea about sixteen miles broad, inopen boats that passed through the midst of the king's cruisers. Nothingcould be better concerted, or executed with more conduct and courage, than was this hazardous enterprise. They amused the king's ships withmarches and counter-marches along the coast, in such a manner that theycould not possibly know where they intended to embark. The earl of Mar, in the meantime, marched from Perth to Dumblane as if he had intendedto cross the Forth at Stirling bridge; but his real design was to divertthe duke of Argyle from attacking his detachment which had landed inLothian. So far the scheme succeeded. The duke, who had assembled sometroops in Lothian, returned to Stirling with the utmost expedition, after having secured Edinburgh and obliged Mackintosh to abandon hisdesign on that city. This partisan had actually taken possession ofLeith, from whence he retired to Seaton-house, near Prestonpans, whichhe fortified in such a manner that he could not be forced withoutartillery. Here he remained until he received an order across the Frithfrom the earl of Mar to join lord Kenmuir and the English at Kelso, for which place he immediately began his march, and reached it onthe twenty-second day of October, though a good number of his men haddeserted 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 westernparts of Scotland and join general Gordon, who commanded a strong bodyof Highlanders in Argyleshire. The English insisted upon crossing theTweed and attacking general Carpenter, whose troops did not exceed ninehundred dragoons. Neither scheme was executed. They took the routeto Jedburgh, where they resolved to leave Carpenter on one side andpenetrate into England by the western border. The Highlanders declaredthey would not quit their own country, but were ready to execute thescheme proposed by the earl of Winton. Means however were found toprevail upon one half of them to advance, while the rest returned to theHighlands. At Brampton, Forster opened his commission of general, whichhad been sent to him by the earl of Mar, and proclaimed the pretender. They continued their march to Penrith, where the sheriff, assistedby lord Lonsdale and the bishop of Carlisle, had assembled the wholeposse-comitatus of Cumberland, amounting to twelve thousand men, whodispersed with the utmost precipitation at the approach of the rebels. From Penrith, Forster proceeded by way of Kendal and Lancaster toPreston, from whence Stanhope's regiment of dragoons and another ofmilitia immediately retired, so that he took possession of the placewithout resistance. General Willis marched against the enemy with sixregiments of horse and dragoons, and one battalion of foot commandedby colonel Preston. They had advanced to the bridge of Ribble beforeForster received intelligence of their approach. He forthwith began toraise barricadoes, and put the place in a posture of defence. On thetwelfth day of November the town was briskly attacked in two differentplaces; but the king's troops met with a very warm reception, and wererepulsed with considerable loss. Next day general Carpenter arrivedwith a reinforcement of three regiments of dragoons, and the rebels wereinvested on all sides. The Highlanders declared they would make a sallysword in hand, and either cut their way through the king's troops orperish in the attempt, but they were over-ruled. Forster sent colonelOxburgh with a trumpet to general Willis, to propose a capitulation. Hewas given to understand that the general would not treat with rebels;but in case of their surrendering at discretion, he would prevent hissoldiers from putting them to the sword until he should receive furtherorders. He granted them time to consider till next morning, upontheir delivering the earl of Derwentwater and Mackintosh as hostages. When Forster submitted, this Highlander declared he could not promisethe Scots would surrender in that manner. The general desired him toreturn to his people, and he would forthwith attack the town, in whichcase every man of them should be cut to pieces. The Scottish noblemendid not choose to run the risk, and persuaded the Highlanders to acceptthe terms that were offered. They accordingly laid down their arms, and were put under a strong guard. All the noblemen and leaders weresecured. Major Nairn, captain Lockhart, captain Shaftoe, and ensignErskine, were tried by a court-martial as deserters, and executed. LordCharles Murray, son of the duke of Athol, was likewise condemned for thesame crime, but reprieved. The common men were imprisoned at Chester andLiverpool, the noblemen and considerable officers were sent to London, conveyed through the streets pinioned like malefactors, and committedto the Tower and to Newgate. BATTLE AT DUMBLANE. The day on which the rebels surrendered at Preston was remarkable forthe battle of Dumblane, fought between the duke of Argyle and theearl of Mar, who commanded the pretender's forces. This nobleman hadretreated to his camp at Perth, when he understood the duke was returnedfrom Lothian to Stirling. But being now joined by the northern clansunder the earl of Sea-forth, and those of the west commanded by generalGordon, who had signalized himself in the service of the czar ofMuscovy, he resolved to pass the Forth in order to join his southernfriends, that they might march together into England. With this view headvanced to Auchterarder, where he reviewed his army, and rested on theeleventh day of November. The duke of Argyle, apprised of his intention, and being joined by some regiments of dragoons from Ireland, determinedto give him battle in the neighbourhood of Dumblane. On the twelfth dayof the month, Argyle passed the Forth at Stirling, and encamped with hisleft at the village of Dumblane, and his right towards Sheriffmuir. Theearl of Mar advanced within two miles of his camp, and remained tillday-break in order of battle; his army consisted of nine thousandeffective men, cavalry as well as infantry. In the morning the duke, understanding they were in motion, drew up his forces, which did notexceed three thousand five hundred men, on the heights to the north-eastof Dumblane; but he was outflanked both on the right and left. Theclans that formed part of the centre and right wing of the enemy, withGlengary and Clanronald at their head, charged the left of the king'sarmy sword in hand, with such impetuosity that in seven minutes bothhorse and foot were totally routed with great slaughter; and generalWhetham, who commanded them, fled at full gallop to Stirling, where hedeclared that the royal army was totally defeated. In the meantime theduke of Argyle, who commanded in person on the right, attacked the leftof the enemy, at the head of Stair's and Evan's dragoons, and drove themtwo miles before him, as far as the water of Allan; yet in that spacethey wheeled about and attempted to rally ten times; so that he wasobliged to press them hard that they might not recover from theirconfusion. Brigadier Wightman followed in order to sustain him withthree battalions of infantry; while the victorious right wing of therebels having pursued Whetham a considerable way, returned to the fieldand formed in the rear of Wightman to the amount of five thousand men. The duke of Argyle returning from the pursuit, joined Wightman, who hadfaced about and taken possession of some enclosures and mud wails inexpectation of being attacked. In this posture both armies fronted eachother till the evening, when the duke drew off towards Dumblane, and therebels retired to Ardoch, without mutual molestation. Next day the dukemarching back to the field of battle, carried off the wounded, withfour pieces of cannon left by the army, and retreated to Stirling. Fewprisoners were taken on either side: the number of the slain might beabout five hundred of each army, and both generals claimed thevictory. This battle was not so fatal to the Highlanders as the lossof 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 freecommunication was opened with the north of Scotland, where the earl ofSutherland had raised a considerable body of vassals. The marquis ofHuntley and the earl of Seaforth were obliged to quit the rebel army, inorder to defend their own territories; and in a little time submittedto king George: a good number of the Frasers declared with their chiefagainst the pretender: the marquis of Tullibardine withdrew from thearmy to cover his own country; and the clans, seeing no likelihood ofanother action, began to disperse according to custom. THE PRETENDER ARRIVES IN SCOTLAND. The government was now in a condition to send strong reinforcements toScotland. Six thousand men that were claimed of the states-general, by virtue of the treaty, landed in England, and began their march forEdinburgh: general Cadogan set out for the same place, together withbrigadier Petit, and six other engineers; and a train of artillery wasshipped at the Tower for that country, the duke of Argyle resolving todrive the earl of Mar out of Perth, to which town he retired with theremains of his forces. The pretender having been amused with the hopeof 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 westerncoast, to try the disposition of the people, he was now convinced ofthe vanity of his expectation in that quarter; and, as he knew not whatother course to take, he resolved to hazard his person among his friendsin Scotland, at a time when his affairs in that kingdom were absolutelydesperate. 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 sixgentlemen in his retinue, one of whom was the marquis of Tynemouth, son to the duke of Berwick. He passed through Aberdeen incognito, toFetterosse, where he was met by the earls of Mar and Marischal, andabout thirty noblemen and gentlemen of the first quality. Here he wassolemnly proclaimed: his declaration, dated at Com-mercy, was printedand circulated through all the parts in that neighbourhood; and hereceived addresses from the episcopal clergy, and the laity of thatcommunion in the diocese of Aberdeen. On the fifth day of January hemade his public entry into Dundee; and on the seventh arrived at Scone, where he seemed determined to stay until the ceremony of his coronationshould be performed. From thence he made an excursion to Perth, where hereviewed his forces. Then he formed a regular council; and publishedsix proclamations: one for a general thanksgiving on account of hissafe arrival; another enjoining the ministers to pray for him in thechurches; a third establishing the currency of foreign coins; a fourthsummoning the meeting of the convention of estates; a fifth orderingall sensible men to repair to his standard; and a sixth, fixing thetwenty-third day of January for his coronation. He made a patheticspeech in a grand council, at which all the chiefs of his partyassisted. They determined, however, to abandon the enterprise, as theking's army was reinforced by the Dutch auxiliaries, and they themselveswere not only reduced to a small number, but likewise destitute ofmoney, arms, ammunition, forage, and provision; for the duke of Argylehad taken possession of Burntisland, and transported a detachment toFife, so as to cut off Mar's communication with that fertile country. Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, and a prodigious fallof snow which rendered the roads almost impassable, the duke, on thetwenty-ninth of January began his march for Dumblane, and next dayreached Tullibardine, where he received intelligence that the pretenderand his forces had, on the preceding day, retired towards Dundee. He forthwith took possession of Perth; and then began his march toAberbrothick, in pursuit of the enemy. The chevalier de St. George beingthus hotly pursued, was prevailed upon to embark on board a small Frenchship that lay in the harbour of Montrose. He was accompanied by theearls of Mar and Melfort, the lord Drummond, lieutenant-general Bulkley, and other persons of distinction, to the number of seventeen. In orderto avoid the English cruisers, they stretched over to Norway, andcoasting along the German and Dutch shores, arrived in five daysat Grave-line. General Gordon, whom the pretender had leftcommander-in-chief of the forces, assisted by the earl Marischal, proceeded with them to Aberdeen, where he secured three vessels to sailnorthward, and take on board the persons who intended to make theirescape to the continent. Then they continued their march throughStrathspey and Strathdown, to the hills of Badenoch, where thecommon people were quietly dismissed. This retreat was made with suchexpedition, that the duke of Argyle, with all his activity, could neverovertake their rear-guard, which consisted of a thousand horse commandedby the earl Marischal. Such was the issue of a rebellion that provedfatal to many noble families; a rebellion which in all probability wouldnever have happened, had not the violent measures of a whig ministrykindled such a flame of discontent in the nation, as encouraged thepartisans of the pretender to hazard a revolt. PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. The parliament of Ireland, which met at Dublin on the twelfth day ofNovember, seemed even more zealous, if possible, than that of England, for the present administration. They passed bills for recognizing theking's title; for the security of his person and government; for settinga price on the pretender's head; and for attainting the duke ofOrmond. They granted the supplies without opposition. All those who hadaddressed the late queen in favour of sir Constantine Phipps, then lordchancellor of Ireland, were now brought upon their knees, and censuredas guilty of a breach of privilege. They desired the lords-justiceswould issue a proclamation against the popish inhabitants of Limerickand Gal-way, who, presuming upon the capitulation signed by kingWilliam, claimed an exemption from the penalties imposed upon otherpapists. They engaged in an association against the pretender, and allhis abettors. They voted the earl of Anglesea an enemy to the king andkingdom, because he advised the queen to break the army, and proroguethe late parliament; and they addressed the king to remove him from hiscouncil and service. The lords-justices granted orders for apprehendingthe earls of Antrim and Westmeath, the lords Natterville, Cahir, andDillon, as persons suspected of disaffection to the government. Thenthey adjourned the two houses. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} THE REBEL LORDS ARE IMPEACHED. The king in his speech to the English parliament, which met on the ninthof January, told them he had reason to believe the pretender waslanded in Scotland; he congratulated them on the success of his armsin suppressing the rebellion; on the conclusion of the barrier-treatybetween the emperor and the states-general, under his guarantee; on aconvention with Spain that would deliver the trade of England tothat kingdom, from the new impositions and hardships to which it wassubjected in consequence of the late treaties. He likewise gave them tounderstand, that a treaty for renewing all former alliances between thecrown of Great Britain and the states-general was almost concluded;and he assured the commons he would freely give up all the estates thatshould become forfeited to the crown by this rebellion, to be appliedtowards defraying the extraordinary expense incurred on this occasion. The commons, in their address of thanks, declared that they wouldprosecute, in the most vigorous and impartial manner, the authors ofthose destructive councils which had drawn down such miseries upon thenation. Their resolutions were speedy, and exactly conformable to thisdeclaration. They expelled Mr. Forster from the house. They forthwithimpeached the earls of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, Carnwath, and Winton;lords Widdrington, Kenmuir, and Nairn. These noblemen being brought tothe bar of the house of lords, heard the articles of impeachment readon the tenth day of January, and were ordered to put in their answers onthe sixteenth. The impeachments being lodged, the lower house ordereda bill to be brought in for continuing the suspension of the_habeas-corpus_ act; then they prepared another to attaint the marquisof Tullibardine, the earls of Mar and Linlithgow, and lord JohnDrummond. On the twenty-first day of January, the king gave the royalassent to the bill for continuing the suspension of the _habeas-corpus_act. He told the parliament that the pretender was actually in Scotlandheading the rebellion, and assuming the style and title of king of theserealms; he demanded of the commons such supply as might discourage anyforeign power from assisting the rebels. On Thursday the nineteenthday of January, all the impeached lords pleaded guilty to the articlesexhibited against them, except the earl of Winton, who petitioned for alonger time on various pretences. The rest received sentence of deathon the ninth day of February, in the court erected in Westminster-hall, where the lord-chancellor Cowper presided as lord high-steward on thatoccasion. The countess of Nithsdale and lady Nairn threw themselves atthe king's feet, as he passed through the apartments of the palace, and implored his mercy in behalf of their husbands; but their tears andentreaties produced no effect. The council resolved that the sentenceshould be executed, and orders were given for that purpose to thelieutenant 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 theduchesses of Cleveland and Bolton, and several other ladies of the firstdistinction, was introduced by the dukes of Richmond and St. Alban'sinto the king's bed-chamber, where she invoked his majesty's clemencyfor her unfortunate consort. She afterwards repaired to the lobby of thehouse of peers, attended by the ladies of the other condemned lords, andabove twenty others of the same quality, and begged the intercessionof the house; but no regard was paid to their petition. Next day theypetitioned both houses of parliament. The commons rejected their suit. In the upper house, the duke of Richmond delivered a petition from theearl of Derwentwater, to whom he was nearly related, at the same timedeclaring that he himself should oppose his solicitation. The earl ofDerby expressed some compassion for the numerous family of lord Nairn. Petitions from the rest were presented by other lords, moved with pityand humanity. Lord Town-shend and others vehemently opposed their beingread. The earl of Nottingham thought this indulgence might be granted;the house assented to his opinion, and agreed to an address, prayinghis majesty would reprieve such of the condemned lords as should seem todeserve his mercy. To this petition the king answered, that on this andall other occasions, he would do what he thought most consistent withthe dignity of his crown and the safety of his people. The earl ofNottingham, president of the council, his brother the earl of Aylesbury, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, his son lord Finch, one ofthe lords of the treasury, his kinsman lord Guernsey, master of thejewel-office, were altogether dismissed from his majesty's service. Orders were despatched for executing the earls of Derwentwater andNithsdale, and the viscount of Kennruir, immediately; the others wererespited to the seventh day of March. Nithsdale made his escape inwoman's apparel, furnished and conveyed to him by his own mother. On thetwenty-fourth day of February, Derwentwater and Kenmuir were beheadedon Tower-hill. The former was an amiable youth, brave, open, generous, hospitable, and humane. His fate drew tears from the spectators, and wasa great misfortune to the country in which he lived. He gave breadto multitudes of people whom he employed on his estate; the poor, thewidow, and the orphan rejoiced in his bounty. Kenmuir was a virtuousnobleman, calm, sensible, resolute, and resigned. He was a devout memberof the English church; but the other died in the faith of Rome: bothadhered to their political principles. On the fifteenth day of March, Winton was brought to trial, and being convicted, received sentence ofdeath. {1716} TRIALS OF REBELS. When the king passed the land-tax bill, which was ushered in with avery extraordinary preamble, he informed both houses of the pretender'sflight from Scotland. In the beginning of April a commission for tryingthe rebels met in the court of common-pleas, when bills of hightreason were found against Mr. Forster, Mackintosh, and twenty of theirconfederates. Forster escaped from Newgate, and reached the continentin safety; the rest pleaded not guilty, and were indulged with timeto prepare for their trials. The judges appointed to try the rebelsat Liverpool, found a considerable number guilty of high treason. Two-and-twenty were executed at Preston and Manchester; about athousand prisoners submitted to the king's mercy, and petitioned fortransportation. Pitts, the keeper of Newgate, being suspected of havingconnived at Forster's escape, was tried for his life at the Old-Bailey, and acquitted. Notwithstanding this prosecution, which ought to haveredoubled the vigilance of the jailors, brigadier Mackintosh, andseveral other prisoners, broke from Newgate, after having mastered thekeeper and turnkey, and disarmed the sentinel. The court proceeded withthe trials of those that remained, and a great number were found guilty;four or five were hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn; and amongthese 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 hadabandoned the king, and shamefully given up their ecclesiastical rights, by submitting to the unlawful, invalid, lay-deprivations authorized bythe prince of Orange. ACT FOR SEPTENNIAL PARLIAMENTS. Though the rebellion was extinguished, the flame of nationaldissatisfaction still continued to rage: the severities exercisedagainst the rebels increased the general discontent; for now the dangerwas blown over, their humane passions began to prevail. The courageand fortitude with which the condemned persons encountered the pains ofdeath in its most dreadful force, prepossessed many spectators in favourof the cause by which those unhappy victims were animated. In a word, persecution, as usual, extended the heresy. The ministry, perceivingthis universal dissatisfaction, and dreading the revolution of a newparliament, which might wrest the power from their faction, and retortupon them the violence of their own measures, formed a resolutionequally odious and effectual to establish their administration. This wasno other than a scheme to repeal the triennial act, and by a new lawto extend the term of parliaments to seven years. On the tenth day ofApril, the duke of Devonshire represented, in the house of lords, thattriennial elections served to keep up party divisions; to raise andfoment feuds in private families; to produce ruinous expenses, and giveoccasion to the cabals and intrigues of foreign princes; that it becamethe wisdom of such an august assembly to apply proper remedies toan evil that might be attended with the most dangerous consequences, especially in the present temper of the nation, as the spirit ofrebellion still remained unconquered. He therefore proposed a bill forenlarging the continuance of parliaments. He was seconded by the earlsof Dorset and Rockingham, the duke of Argyle, Lord Townshend, and theother chiefs of that party. The motion was opposed by the earlsof Nottingham, Abingdon, and Paulet. They observed, that frequentparliaments were required by the fundamental constitution of thekingdom, ascertained in the practice of many ages; that the members ofthe lower house were chosen by the body of the nation, for a certainterm of years, at the expiration of which they could be no longerrepresentatives of the people, who, by the parliament's protractingits own authority, would be deprived of the only remedy which they haveagainst those who, through ignorance or corruption, betrayed the trustreposed in them; that the reasons in favour of such a bill were weak andfrivolous; that, with respect to foreign alliances, no prince or statecould reasonably depend upon a people to defend their liberties andinterests, who should be thought to have given up so great a part oftheir own; nor would it be prudent in them to wish for a change inthat constitution under which Europe had of late been so powerfullysupported; on the contrary, they might be deterred from entering intoany engagements with Great Britain, when informed by the preamble ofthe bill, that the popish faction was so dangerous as to threatendestruction to the government; they would apprehend that theadministration was so weak as to want so extraordinary a provision forits safety; that the gentlemen of Britain were not to be trusted; andthat the good affections of the people were restrained within thelimits of the house of commons. They affirmed that this bill, far frompreventing the expense of elections, would rather increase it, andencourage every species of corruption; for the value of a seat wouldalways be in proportion to the duration of a parliament, and thepurchase would rise accordingly; that a long parliament would yielda greater temptation, as well as a better opportunity to a viciousministry, to corrupt the members, than they could possibly have whenthe parliaments were short and frequent; that the same reasons urged forpassing the bill to continue this parliament for seven years, would beat least as strong, and, by the conduct of the ministry, might be mademuch stronger before the end of that term, for continuing and evenperpetuating their legislative power, to the absolute subversion of thethird estate of the realm. These arguments served only to form a decentdebate, after which the bill for septennial parliaments passed by agreat majority, though twenty peers entered a protest. It met with thesame fate in the lower house, where many strong objections were statedto no purpose. They were represented as the effects of party spleen;and, indeed, this was the great spring of action on both sides. Thequestion for the bill was carried in the affirmative; and in a littletime it received the royal sanction. DUKE OF ARGYLE DISGRACED. The rebellion being utterly quelled, and all the suspected persons ofconsequence detained in safe custody, the king resolved to visit hisGerman dominions, where he foresaw a storm gathering from the quarterof Sweden. Charles XII. Was extremely exasperated against the electorof Hanover, for having entered into the confederacy against him in hisabsence, particularly for his having purchased the duchies of Bremen andVerden, which constituted part of his dominions; and he breathed nothingbut revenge against the king of Great Britain. It was with a view toavert this danger, or prepare against it, that the king now determinedupon a voyage to the continent. But as he was restricted from leavinghis British dominions by the act for the further limitation of thecrown, this clause was repealed in a new bill that passed through bothhouses without the least difficulty. On the twenty-sixth day of June, the king closed the session with a speech upon the usual tonics, inwhich, however, he observed, that the numerous instances of mercy hehad shown served only to encourage the faction of the pretender, whosepartisans acted with such insolence and folly, as if they intended toconvince the world that they were not to be reclaimed by gentle methods. He intimated his purpose of visiting his dominions in Germany; and gavethem to understand, that he had constituted his beloved son, the princeof Wales, guardian of the kingdom in his absence. About this periodgeneral Macartney, who had returned to England at the accession ofking George, presented himself to trial for the murder of the duke ofHamilton. The deposition of colonel Hamilton was contradicted by twopark-keepers; the general was acquitted of the charge, restored to hisrank in the army, and gratified with the command of a regiment. Theking's brother, prince Ernest, bishop of Osnabruck, was created duke ofYork and Albany, and earl of Ulster. The duke of Argyle, and his brotherthe earl of Hay, to whom his majesty owed, in a great measure, hispeaceable accession to the throne, as well as the extinction of therebellion in Scotland, were now dismissed from all their employments. General Carpenter succeeded the duke in the chief command of the forcesin North Britain, and in the government of Port Mahon; and the duke ofMontrose was appointed lord-register of Scotland in the room of the earlof Hay. THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE. On the seventh day of July, the king embarked at Gravesend, landed onthe ninth in Holland, through which he passed incognito to Hanover, and from thence set out for Pyrmont. His aim was to secure his Germandominions from the Swede, and Great Britain from the pretender. Thesetwo princes had already begun to form a design, in conjunction, ofinvading his kingdom. He knew the duke of Orleans was resolved to ascendthe throne of France, in case the young king, who was a sickly child, should die without male issue. The regent was not ignorant that Philipof Spain would powerfully contest that succession, notwithstandinghis renunciation; and he was glad of an opportunity to strengthen hisinterest by an alliance with the maritime powers of England and Holland. The king of England sounded him on this subject, and found him eager toengage in such an association. The negotiation was carried on by generalCadogan for England, the abbé du Bois for France, and the pensionaryHeinsius for the states-general. The regent readily complied with alltheir demands. He engaged that the pretender should immediately departfrom Wignon to the other side of the Alps, and never return to Lorraineor France on any pretence whatsoever; that no rebellious subjects ofGreat Britain should be allowed to reside in that kingdom; and that thetreaty of Utrecht, with respect to the demolition of Dunkirk, should befully executed to the satisfaction of his Britannic majesty. Thetreaty contained a mutual guarantee of all the places possessed bythe contracting powers; of the protestant succession on the throneof England, as well as of that of the duke of Orleans to the crown ofFrance, and a defensive alliance, stipulating the proportion of shipsand forces to be furnished to that power which should be disturbed athome or invaded from abroad. The English people murmured at this treaty. They said an unnecessary umbrage was given to Spain, with which thenation had great commercial connexions; and that on pretence of aninvasion, a body of foreign troops might be introduced to enslave thekingdom. COUNT GYLLENBURGH ARRESTED. His majesty was not so successful in his endeavours to appease theking of Sweden, who refused to listen to any overtures until Bremen andVerden should be restored. These the elector of Hanover resolved to keepas a fair purchase; and he engaged in a confederacy with the enemies ofCharles, for the maintenance of this acquisition. Meanwhile his rupturewith Sweden was extremely prejudicial to the commerce of England, andhad well nigh entailed upon the kingdom another invasion, much moreformidable than that which had so lately miscarried. The ministersof Sweden resident at London, Paris, and the Hague, maintained acorrespondence with the disaffected subjects of Great Britain. Ascheme was formed for the Swedish king's landing on this island witha considerable body of forces, where he should be joined by themalcontents of the united kingdom. Charles relished the enterprise, which flattered his ambition and revenge; nor was it disagreeable to theczar of Muscovy, who resented the elector's offer of joining the Swedeagainst the Russians, provided he would ratify the cession of Bremenand Verden. King George having received intimation of these intrigues, returned to England towards the end of January, and ordered a detachmentof foot-guards to secure count Gyllenburgh, the Swedish minister, withall his papers. At the same time, sir Jacob Bancks and Mr. CharlesCaesar were apprehended. The other foreign ministers took the alarm, andremonstrated to the ministry upon this outrage committed against the lawof nations. The two secretaries, Stanhope and Methuen, wrote circularletters to them, assuring them that in a clay or two they should beacquainted with the reasons that induced the king to take such anextraordinary step. They were generally satisfied with this intimation;but the marquis de Monteleone, ambassador from Spain, expressed hisconcern that no other way could be found to preserve the peace of thekingdom, without arresting the person of a public minister, and seizingall his papers, which were the sacred repositories of his masters'ssecrets; he observed, that in whatever manner these two facts might seemto be understood, they very sensibly wounded the law of nations. Aboutthe same time baron Gortz, the Swedish residentiary in Holland, wasseized 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 wasjustified by the conduct of king George, who had joined the princesin confederacy against the king of Sweden, without having received theleast provocation; who had assisted the king of Denmark in subduing theduchies of Bremen and Verden, and then purchased them of the usurper;and who had, in the course of this very summer, sent a strong squadronof ships to the Baltic, where it joined the Danes and Russians againstthe Swedish fleet. ACCOUNT OF THE OXFORD RIOT. When the parliament of Great Britain met on the twentieth day ofFebruary, the king informed them of the triple alliance he had concludedwith France and Holland. He mentioned the projected invasion; told themhe had given orders for laying before them copies of the letters whichhad passed between the Scottish ministers on that subject; and hedemanded of the commons such supplies as should be found necessary forthe defence of the kingdom. By those papers it appeared that thescheme projected by baron Gortz was very plausible, and even ripefor execution; which, however, was postponed until the army should bereduced, and the Dutch auxiliaries sent back to their own country. Theletters being read in parliament, both houses presented addresses, inwhich they extolled the king's prudence in establishing such conventionswith foreign potentates as might repair the gross defects, and preventthe pernicious consequences, of the treaty of Utrecht, which they termeda treacherous and dishonourable peace; and they expressed theirhorror and indignation at the malice and ingratitude of those who hadencouraged an invasion of their country. He likewise received an addressof the same kind from the convention; another from the dissentingministers; a third from the university of Cambridge; but Oxford was notso lavish of her compliments. At a meeting of the vice-chancellor andheads of that university, a motion was made for an address to the king, on the suppression of the late unnatural rebellion, his majesty's safereturn, and the favour lately shown to the university, in omitting, attheir request, the ceremony of burning in effigy the devil, thepope, the pretender, the duke of Ormond, and the earl of Mar, on theanniversary of his majesty's accession. Dr. Smallridge, bishop ofBristol, observed, that the rebellion had been long suppressed; thatthere would be no end of addresses should one be presented every timethat his majesty returned from his German dominions; that the latefavour they had received was overbalanced by a whole regiment nowquartered upon them; and that there was no precedent for addressing aking upon his return from his German dominions. The universitythought they had reason to complain of the little regard paid to theirremonstrances, touching a riot raised in that city by the soldiers therequartered, on pretence that the anniversary of the prince's birthday hadnot been celebrated with the usual rejoicings. Affidavits had been sentup to the council, which seemed to favour the officers of the regiment. When the house of lords deliberated upon the mutiny-bill, by which thesoldiers were exempted from arrests for debts, complaint was made oftheir licentious behaviour at Oxford; and a motion was made that theyshould inquire into the riot. The lords presented an address to theking, desiring that the papers relating to that affair might be laidbefore the house. These being perused, were found to be recriminationsbetween the Oxonians and the officers of the regiment. A warm debateensued, during which the earl of Abingdon offered a petition from thevice-chancellor of the university, the mayor and magistrates of Oxford, praying to be heard. One of the court members observing that it wouldbe irregular to receive a petition while the house was in a grandcommittee, a motion was made that the chairman should leave the chair;but this being carried in the negative, the debate was resumed, and themajority agreed to the following resolutions:--That the heads of theuniversity, and mayor of the city, neglected to make public rejoicingson the prince's birth-day; that the officers having met to celebratethat day, the house in which they had assembled was assaulted, and thewindows were broken by the rabble; that this assault was the beginningand occasion of the riots that ensued. That the conduct of the mayorseemed well justified by the affidavits produced on his part; thatthe printing and publishing the depositions upon which the complaintsrelating to the riots at Oxford were founded, while that matter wasunder the examination of the lords of the committee of the council, before they had time to come to any resolution touching the same, wasirregular, disrespectful to his royal highness, and tending to sedition. An inquiry of this nature, so managed, did not much redound to thehonour of such an august assembly. {1717} The commons passed a bill prohibiting all commerce with Sweden, a branchof trade which was of the utmost consequence to the English merchants. They voted ten thousand seamen for the ensuing year; granted about amillion for the maintenance of guards, garrisons, and land-forces; andpassed the bill relating to mutiny and desertion. The house likewisevoted four-and-twenty thousand pounds for the payment of four battalionsof Munster, and two of Saxe-Gotha, which the king had taken into hisservice, to supply the place of such as might be, during the rebellion, drawn from the garrisons of the states-general to the assistance ofEngland. This vote, however, was not carried without a violent debate. The demand was inveighed against as an imposition, seeing no troopshad ever served. A motion was made for an address, desiring that theinstructions of those who concluded the treaties might be laid beforethe house; but this was over-ruled by the majority. The supplies wereraised 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 expenseof the year; therefore Mr. Secretary Stanhope brought a message from hismajesty, demanding an extraordinary supply, that he might be the betterenabled to secure his kingdoms against the danger with which they werethreatened from Sweden; and he moved that a supply should be grantedto his majesty for this purpose. Mr. Shippen observed it was a greatmisfortune that the king was as little acquainted with the parliamentaryproceedings as with the language of the country: that the message wasunparliamentary and unprecedented; and, in his opinion, penned by someforeign minister: he said he had been often told that his majestyhad retrieved the honour and reputation of the nation; a truth whichappeared in the flourishing condition of trade; but that the supplydemanded seemed to be inconsistent with the glorious advantageswhich his majesty had obtained for the people. He was seconded by Mr. Hungerford, who declared that for his part he could not understand whatoccasion there was for new alliances; much less that they should bepurchased with money. He expressed his surprise that a nation so latelythe terror of France and Spain should now seem to fear so inconsiderablean enemy as the king of Sweden. The motion was supported by Mr. Boscawen, sir Gilbert Heathcote, and others; but some of the whigs spokeagainst it; and Mr. Robert Walpole was silent. The speaker, and Mr. Smith, one of the tellers of the exchequer, opposed this unparliamentaryway of demanding the supply: the former proposed that part of the armyshould be disbanded, and the money applied towards the making goodsuch new engagements as were deemed necessary. After several successivedebates, the resolution for a supply was carried by a majority of fourvoices. * 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. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} DIVISION IN THE MINISTRY. The ministry was now divided within itself. Lord Townshend had beenremoved from the office of secretary of state, by the intrigues of theearl of Sunderland; and he was now likewise dismissed from the placeof lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Mr. Robert Walpole resigned his posts offirst commissioner of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer: hisexample was followed by Mr. Pulteney, secretary at war, and Mr. Methuen, secretary of state. When the affair of the supply was resumed in thehouse of commons, Mr. Stanhope made a motion for granting two hundredand fifty thousand pounds for that purpose. Mr. Pulteney observed, thathaving resigned his place, he might no w act with the freedom becomingan Englishman: he declared against the manner of granting the supply, asunparliamentary and unprecedented. He said he could not persuade himselfthat any Englishman advised his majesty to send such a message; but hedoubted not the resolution of a British parliament would make a Germanministry tremble. Mr. Stanhope having harangued the house in vindicationof the ministry, Mr. Smith answered every article of his speech: heaffirmed, that if an estimate of the conduct of the ministry in relationto affairs abroad was to be made from a comparison of their conductat home, they would not appear altogether so faultless as they wererepresented. "Was it not a mistake, " said he, "not to preserve thepeace at home, after the king had ascended the throne with the universalapplause and joyful acclamations of all his subjects? Was it nota mistake, upon the breaking out of the rebellion, not to issue aproclamation, to offer pardon to such as should return home peaceably, according to the custom on former occasions of the same nature? Was itnot a mistake, after the suppression of the rebellion and the trial andexecution of the principal authors of it, to keep up animosities, anddrive people to despair, by not passing an act of indemnity, by keepingso many persons under hard and tedious confinement; and by grantingpardons to some, without leaving them any means to subsist? Is it nota mistake, not to trust a vote of parliament for making good suchengagements as his majesty should think proper to enter into; andinstead of that, to insist on the granting this supply in such anextraordinary manner? Is it not a mistake, to take this opportunity tocreate divisions, and render some of the king's best friends suspectedand obnoxious? Is it not a mistake, in short, to form parties and cabalsin 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, thoughat this period it was not brought into the house of commons. Aftera long debate the sum was granted. These were the first-fruits ofBritain's being wedded to the interests of the continent. The electorof Hanover quarrelled with the king of Sweden; and England was not onlydeprived of a necessary branch of commerce, but even obliged to supporthim in the prosecution of the war. The ministry now underwent a newrevolution. The earl of Sunderland and Mr. Addison were appointedsecretaries of state; Mr. Stanhope became first commission of thetreasury 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 theparliament to understand that the fleet under sir George Byng, which hadsailed to the Baltic to observe the motions of the Swedes, was safelyarrived in the Sound. He said he had given orders for the immediatereduction of ten thousand soldiers, as well as directions to preparean act of indemnity. He desired they would take proper measures forreducing the public debts with a just regard to parliamentary credit;and that they would go through the public business with all possibledespatch and unanimity. Some progress had already been made indeliberations upon the debt of the nation, which was comprehended underthe two heads of redeemable and irredeemable incumbrances. The first hadbeen contracted with a redeemable interest; and these the public hada right to discharge: the others consisted of long and short annuitiesgranted for a greater or less number of years, which could not bealtered without the consent of the proprietors. Mr. Robert Walpole hadprojected a scheme for lessening the interest and paying the capital ofthose 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 wasapproved; but, when he resigned his places, the ministers made somesmall alterations in it, which furnished him with a pretence foropposing the execution of the scheme. In the course of the debate, some warm altercation passed between him and Mr. Stanhope, by which itappeared they had made a practice of selling places and reversions. Mr. Hungerford, standing up, said he was sorry to see two such great menrunning foul of one another; that, however, they ought to be lookedupon as patriots and fathers of their country; and since they had bymischance discovered their nakedness, the other members ought, accordingto the custom of the East, to turn their backs upon them, that theymight not be seen in such a shameful condition. Mr. Boscawen moved thatthe house would lay their commands upon them, that no further noticeshould be taken of what had passed. He was seconded by Mr. Methuen: thahouse approved of the motion; and the speaker took their word and honourthat they should not prosecute their resentment. The money corporationshaving agreed to provide cash for such creditors as should be willing toreceive their principal, the house came to certain resolutions, on whichwere founded the three bills that passed into laws, under the namesof "The South-Sea act, the Bank act, and the General Fund act. " Theoriginal stock of the South-Sea company did not exceed nine millionsfour hundred and seventy-one thousand three hundred and twenty-fivepounds; but the funds granted being sufficient to answer the interestof ten millions at six per cent. , the company made up that sum to thegovernment, for which they received six hundred thousand pounds yearly, and eight thousand pounds a-year for management. By this act theydeclared themselves willing to receive five hundred thousand pounds, and the eight thousand for management. It was enacted, that the companyshould continue a corporation until the redemption of their annuity, towards which not less than a million should be paid at a time. Theywere likewise required to advance a sum not exceeding two millions, towards discharging the principal and interest due on the four lotteryfunds of the ninth and tenth years of queen Anne. By the Bank act thegovernors and company declared themselves willing to accept an annuityof eighty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty-one pounds, sevenshillings and tenpence halfpenny, or the principal of one million sevenhundred and seventy-five thousand and twenty-seven pounds, seventeenshillings 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 willingto discharge, and deliver up to be cancelled, as many exchequer-billsas amounted to two millions, and to accept of an annuity of one hundredthousand pounds, being after the rate of five per cent, redeemable afterone year's notice; to circulate the remaining exchequer-bills atthree per cent, and one penny per day. It was enacted, that the formerallowances should be continued to Christmas, and then the bank shouldhave for circulating the two millions five hundred and sixty-onethousand and twenty-five pounds remaining exchequer-bills, an annuity ofseventy-six thousand eight hundred and thirty pounds, fifteen shillings, at the rate of three pounds per cent, till redeemed, over and above theone penny a-day for interest. By the same acts the bank was required toadvance a sum not exceeding two millions five hundred thousand pounds, towards discharging the national debt, if wanted, on condition that theyshould have five pounds per cent, for as much as they might advance, redeemable by parliament. The General Fund act recited several acts ofparliament, for establishing the four lotteries in the ninth and tenthyears of the late queen, and stated the annual produce of the severalfunds, amounting in all to seven hundred and twenty-four thousand eighthundred and forty-nine pounds, six shillings and tenpence one-fifth. This was the General Fund; the deficiency of which was to be made goodannually out of the first aids granted by parliament. For the regularpayment of all such annuities as should be made payable by this act, itwas enacted, that all the duties and revenues mentioned therein shouldcontinue for ever, with the proviso, however, that the revenuesrendered by this act perpetual should be subject to redemption. Thisact contained a clause by which the sinking fund was established. Thereduction of interest to five per cent, producing a surplus or excessupon the appropriated funds, it was enacted, that all the monies arisingfrom time to time, as well for the surplus, by virtue of the acts forredeeming the funds of the hank and of the South-Sea Company, as alsofor the surplus of the duties and revenues by this act appropriated tomake good the general fund, should be appropriated and employed forthe discharging the principal and interest of such national debt as wasincurred before the twenty-fifth of December of the preceding year, insuch a manner as should be directed and appointed by any future actof 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 inthe Tower, presented a petition to the house of lords, praying that hisimprisonment might not be indefinite. Some of the tory lords affirmedthat the impeachment was destroyed and determined by the prorogation ofparliament, which superseded the whole proceedings; but the contrary wasvoted by a considerable majority. The thirteenth day of June was fixedfor the trial; and the house of commons made acquainted with thisdetermination. The commons appointed a committee to inquire into thestate 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 thecommons appointed the committee, with four other members, to be managersfor making good the articles of impeachment. At the appointed timethe peers repaired to the court in Westminster-hall, where lord Cowperpresided as lord steward. The commons were assembled as a committee ofthe whole house; the king, the rest of the royal family, and the foreignministers, assisted at the solemnity; the earl of Oxford was broughtfrom the Tower; the articles of impeachment were read, with his answers, and the replication of the commons. Sir Joseph Jekyll standing up tomake good the first article, lord Har-court signified to their lordshipsthat he had a motion to make, and they adjourned to their own house. There he represented that a great deal of time would be unnecessarilyconsumed in going through all the articles of the impeachment; that ifthe commons would make good the two articles for high treason, the earlof Oxford would forfeit both life and estate, and there would be an endof the matter; whereas to proceed on the method proposed by the commons, would draw the trial on to a prodigious length. He therefore moved thatthe commons might not be permitted to proceed until judgment should befirst given upon the articles of high treason. He was supported by theearls of Anglesea and Nottingham, the lord Trevor, and a considerablenumber of both parties; and though opposed by the earl of Sunderland, the lords Coningsby and Parker, the motion was carried in theaffirmative. It produced a dispute between the two houses. The commons, at a conference, delivered a paper containing their reasons forasserting it as their undoubted right to impeach a peer either fortreason, or for high crimes and misdemeanors; or, should they seeoccasion, to mix both in the same accusation. The house of lordsinsisted on their former resolution; and, in another conference, delivered a paper wherein they asserted it to be a right inherent inevery court of justice, to order and direct such methods of proceedingas it should think fit to be observed in all causes that fell under itscognizance. The commons demanded a free conference, which was refused. The dispute grew more and more warm. The lords sent a message to thelower house, importing that they intended presently to proceed onthe trial of the earl of Oxford. The commons paid no regard to thisintimation; but adjourned to the third day of July. The lords, repairingto Westminster-hall, took their places, ordered the earl to be broughtto the bar, and made proclamation for his accusers to appear. Havingwaited a quarter of an hour, they adjourned to their own house, where, after some debate, the earl was acquitted upon a division; thenreturning to the hall, they voted that he should be set at liberty. Oxford owed his safety to the dissensions among the ministers, and tothe late change in the administration. In consequence of this, hewas delivered from the persecution of Walpole; and numbered among hisfriends the dukes of Devonshire and Argyle, the earls of Nottingham andHay, and lord Townshend. The commons, in order to express their senseof his demerit, presented an address to the king, desiring he might beexcepted out of the intended act of grace. The king promised to complywith their request; and in the meantime forbade the earl to appear atcourt. On the fifteenth day of July, the earl of Sunderland deliveredin the house of peers the act of grace, which passed through both houseswith great expedition. From this indulgence were excepted the earl ofOxford, Mr. Prior, Mr. Thomas Harley, Mr. Arthur Moore; Crisp, Nodes, O'Bryan, Redmarne the printer, and Thompson; as also the assassinatorsin Newgate, and the clan of Macgregor in Scotland. By virtue of thisact, the earl of Carnwath, the lords Widrington and Nairn, wereimmediately discharged; together with all the gentlemen under sentenceof death in Newgate, and those that were confined on account of therebellion in the Fleet, the Marshalsea, and other prisons of thekingdom. The act of grace being prepared for the royal assent, the kingwent to the house of peers on the fifteenth day of July, and havinggiven his sanction to all the bills that were ready, closed the sessionwith a speech on the usual topics. PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVOCATION WITH REGARD TO DR. HOADLEY. The proceedings in the convocation turned chiefly upon two performancesof Dr. Hoadley, bishop of Bangor. One was intituled, "A Preservativeagainst the Principles and Practices of the Nonjurors;" the other was asermon preached before the king, under the title of "The Nature of theKingdom of Christ. " An answer to this discourse was published byDr. Snape, master of Eton college, and this convocation appointed acommittee to examine the bishop's two performances. They drew up arepresentation in which the Preservative and the Sermon were censured, as tending to subvert all government and discipline in the church ofChrist; to reduce his kingdom to a state of anarchy and confusion; toimpugn and impeach the royal supremacy in causes ecclesiastical, and theauthority of the legislature to enforce obedience in matters of religionby civil sanctions. The government thought proper to put a stop to theseproceedings by a prorogation; which, however, inflamed the controversy. A great number of pens were drawn against the bishop, but his chiefantagonists were Dr. Snape and Dr. Sherlock, whom the king removed fromthe office of his chaplains; and the convocation has not been permittedto 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. _ {1717} DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE KING AND THE CZAR OF MUSCOVY. During these transactions, the negotiations of the north were continuedagainst the king of Sweden, who had penetrated into Norway, and advancedtowards Christianstadt, the capital of that kingdom. The czar had sentfive-and-twenty thousand Russians to assist the allies in the reductionof Wismar, which he intended to bestow upon his niece, lately marriedto the duke of Mecklenburgh-Schwerin: but before his troops arrivedthe place had surrendered, and the Russians were not admitted into thegarrison; a circumstance which increased the misunderstanding betweenhim and the king of Great Britain. Nevertheless, he consented to aproject for making a descent upon Schonen, and actually took upon himthe command of the allied fleet; though he was not at all pleased tosee sir John Norris in the Baltic, because he had formed designs againstDenmark, which he knew the English squadron would protect. He suddenlydesisted from the expedition against Schonen, on pretence that theseason was too far advanced; and the king of Denmark published amanifesto, remonstrating against his conduct on this occasion. By thistime baron Gortz had planned a pacification between his master and theczar, who was discontented with all his German allies, because theyopposed his having any footing in the empire. This monarch arrived atAmsterdam in December, whether he was followed by the czarina; and heactually resided at the Hague when king George passed through it, inreturning to his British dominions, but he declined an interview withthe king of England. When Gyllenburgh's letters were published inLondon, some passages seemed to favour the supposition of the czar'sbeing privy to the conspiracy. His minister at the English courtpresented a long memorial, complaining that the king had caused to beprinted the malicious insinuations of his enemies. He denied his havingthe least concern in the design of the Swedish king. He charged thecourt of England with having privately treated of a separate peace withCharles, and even with having promised to assist him against the czar, on condition that he would relinquish his pretensions to Bremen andVerden. Nevertheless, he expressed an inclination to re-establish theancient good understanding, and to engage in vigorous measures forprosecuting the war against the common enemy. The memorial was answeredby the king of Great Britain, who assured the czar he should have reasonto be fully satisfied, if he would remove the only obstacle to theirmutual good understanding; in other words, withdraw the Russian troopsfrom the empire. Notwithstanding these professions, the two monarchswere never perfectly reconciled. THE KING OF SWEDEN IS KILLED. The czar made an excursion to the court of France, where he concludeda treaty of friendship with the regent, at whose earnest desire hepromised to recall his troops from Mecklenburgh. At his return toAmsterdam, he had a private interview with Gortz, who, as well asGyllenburgh, had been set at liberty. Gortz undertook to adjust alldifference between the czar and the king of Sweden within three months;and Peter engaged to suspend all operations against Sweden until thatterm should be expired. A congress was opened at Abo, between theSwedish and Russian ministers, but the conferences were afterwardsremoved to Aland. By this convention, the czar obliged himself to assistCharles in the conquest of Norway; and they promised to unite all theirforces against the king of Great Britain should he presume to interpose. Both were incensed against that prince; and one part of their designwas to raise the pretender to the throne of England. Baron Gortz set outfrom Aland for Frederickstadt in Norway, with the plan of peace: but, before he arrived, Charles was killed by a cannon ball from the town, ashe visited the trenches, on the thirtieth of November. Baron Gortzwas immediately arrested, and brought to the scaffold by the nobles ofSweden, whose hatred he had incurred by his insolence of behaviour. Thedeath of Charles was fortunate for king George. Sweden was now obligedto submit; while the czar, the king of Denmark, and the elector ofHanover, kept possession of what they had acquired in the course of thewar. NEGOTIATION FOR A QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. Thus Bremen and Verden were secured in the house of Hanover; anacquisition towards which the English nation contributed by her money, as well as by her arms; an acquisition made in contradiction tothe engagements into which England entered when king William becameguarantee for the treaty of Travendahl; an acquisition that may beconsidered as the first link of a political chain by which the Englishnation were dragged back into expensive connexions with the continent. The king had not yet received the investiture of the duchies; and, untilthat should be procured, it was necessary to espouse with warmth theinterests of the emperor. This was another source of misunderstandingbetween Great Britain and Spain. Prince Eugene gained another completevictory over a prodigious army of the Turks at Belgrade, which wassurrendered to him after the battle. The emperor had engaged in this waras an ally of the Venetians, whom the Turks had attacked and drivenfrom the Morea. The pope considered it as a religious war against theinfidels, and obtained repeated assurances from the king of Spainthat he would not undertake any thing against the emperor while he wasengaged in such a laudable quarrel. Philip had even sent a squadron ofships and galleys to the assistance of the Venetians. In the course ofthis year, however, he equipped a strong armament, the command of whichwas 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 Spainendeavoured to justify these proceedings by a manifesto, in which healleged that the archduke, contrary to the faith of treaties, encouragedand supported the rebellion of his subjects in Catalonia, by frequentsuccours from Naples and other places; and that the great inquisitorof Spain had been seized, though furnished with a passport from hisholiness. He promised however to proceed no further, and suspend alloperations, that the powers of Europe might have time and opportunityto contrive expedients for reconciling all differences, and securingthe peace and balance of power in Italy; nay, he consented that thisimportant affair should be left to the arbitration of king George andthe states-general. These powers undertook the office. Conferenceswere begun between the ministers of the emperor, France, England, andHolland; and these produced, in the course of the following year, thefamous quadruple alliance. In this treaty it was stipulated, that theemperor should renounce all pretensions to the crown of Spain, andexchange Sardinia for Sicily with the duke of Savoy; that the successionto the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, which the queen ofSpain claimed by inheritance as princess of the house of Farnese, shouldbe settled on her eldest son, in case the present possessors should diewithout male issue. Philip, dissatisfied with this partition, continuedto make formidable preparations by sea and land. The king of Englandand the regent of France interposed their admonitions to no purpose. Atlength his Britannic majesty had recourse to more substantial arguments, and ordered a strong squadron to be equipped with all possibleexpedition. [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 ofa prince, the ceremony of whose baptism was productive of a differencebetween the grandfather and the father. The prince of Wales intendedthat his uncle, the duke of York, should stand godfather. The kingordered the duke of Newcastle to stand for himself. After the ceremony, the prince expressed his resentment against this nobleman in very warmterms. The king ordered the prince to confine himself within his ownapartment; and afterwards signified his pleasure that he should quit thepalace of St. James'. He retired with the princess to a house belongingto the earl of Grantham; but the children were detained at the palace. All peers and peeresses, and all privy-counsellors and their wives, weregiven to understand, that in case they visited the prince and princessthey should have no access to his majesty's presence; and all whoenjoyed posts and places under both king and prince, were obliged toquit the service of one or other at their option. When the parliamentmet on the twenty-first day of November, the king, in his speech, toldboth houses that he had reduced the army to very near one half, sincethe beginning of the last session: he expressed his desire that allthose who were friends to the present happy establishment, mightunanimously concur in some proper method for the greater strengtheningthe protestant interest, of which, as the church of England wasunquestionably the main support and bulwark, so would she reap theprincipal benefit of every advantage accruing from the union and mutualcharity of all protestants. After the addresses of thanks, whichwere couched in the usual style, the commons proceeded to take intoconsideration the estimates and accounts, in order to settle theestablishment of the army, navy, and ordnance. Ten thousand men werevoted for the sea service. When the supply for the army fell underdeliberation, a very warm debate ensued upon the number of troopsnecessary to be maintained. Sir William Wyndham, Mr. Shippen, and Mr. Walpole, in a long elaborate harangue, insisted upon its being reducedto twelve thousand. They were answered by Mr. Craggs, secretary at war, and sir David Dalrymple. Mr. Shippen, in the course of the debate, saidthe second paragraph of the king's speech seemed rather to be calculatedfor the meridian of Germany than for Great Britain; and it was agreat misfortune that the king was a stranger to our language andconstitution. Mr. Lechmere affirmed this was a scandalous invectiveagainst the king's person and government; and moved that he who utteredit should be sent to the Tower. Mr. Shippen, refusing to retract orexcuse what he had said, was voted to the Tower by a great majority;and the number of standing forces was fixed at sixteen thousand threehundred and forty-seven effective men. On account of the great scarcity of silver coin, occasioned by theexportation of silver and the importation of gold, a motion was made toput a stop to this growing evil, by lowering the value of gold specie. The commons examined a representation which had been made to thetreasury by sir Isaac Newton, master of the mint, on this subject. Mr. Caswel explained the nature of a clandestine trade carried on by theDutch and Ham-burghers, in concert with the Jews of England and othertraders, for exporting the silver coin and importing gold, which beingcoined at the mint yielded a profit of fifteen pence upon every guinea. The house, in an address to the king, desired that a proclamation mightbe issued, forbidding all persons to utter or receive guineas at ahigher rate than one-and-twenty shillings each. His majesty compliedwith that request: but people hoarding up their silver in hopes that theprice of it would be raised, or in apprehension that the gold would belowered still farther, the two houses resolved that the standard of thegold and silver coins of the kingdom should not be altered in fineness, weight, or denomination, and they ordered a bill to be brought in toprevent the melting down of the silver coin. At this period, one JamesShepherd, a youth of eighteen, apprentice to a coachmaker, and anenthusiast in jacobitism, sent a letter to a nonjuring clergyman, proposing a scheme for assassinating king George. He was immediatelyapprehended, owned the design, was tried, condemned, and executed atTyburn. This was likewise the fate of the marquis de Palleotti, anItalian nobleman, brother to the duchess of Shrewsbury. He had, in atransport of passion, killed his own servant; and seemed indeed to bedisordered in his brain. After he had received sentence of death, theking's pardon was earnestly solicited by his sister the duchess, andmany other persons of the first distinction; but the common peoplebecame so clamorous, that it was thought dangerous to rescue him fromthe penalties of the law, which he accordingly underwent in the mostignominious manner. No subject produced so much heat and altercationin parliament during this session, as did the bill for regulating theland-forces, and punishing mutiny and desertion: a bill which was lookedupon as an encroachment upon the liberties and constitution of England, inasmuch as it established martial law, which wrested from the civilmagistrate the cognizance of crimes and misdemeanors committed by thesoldiers and officers of the army; a jurisdiction inconsistent with thegenius and disposition of the people. The dangers that might accrue fromsuch a power were explained in the lower house by Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Harley, and Mr. Robert Walpole, which last, however, voted afterwardsfor the bill. In the house of lords, it was strenuously opposed by theearls of Oxford, Strafford, and lord Harcourt. Their objections wereanswered by lord Carteret. The bill passed by a great majority; butdivers lords entered a protest. This affair being discussed, a bill wasbrought in for vesting in trustees the forfeited estates in Britainand Ireland, to be sold for the use of the public; for giving relief tolawful creditors by determining the claims, and for the more effectualbringing into the respective exchequers the rents and profits of theestates till sold. The time of claiming was prolonged; the sum of twentythousand pounds was reserved out of the sale of the estates in Scotland, for erecting schools; and eight thousand pounds for building barracksin that kingdom. The king having signified, by a message to the houseof commons, that he had lately received such information from abroad, as gave reason to believe that a naval force employed where it should benecessary, would give weight to his endeavours; he therefore thought fitto acquaint the house with this circumstance, not doubting but thatin case he should be obliged, at this critical juncture, to exceed thenumber of men granted this year for the sea-service, the house wouldprovide for such exceeding. The commons immediately drew up andpresented an address, assuring his majesty that they would make goodsuch exceedings of seamen as he should find necessary to preserve thetranquillity of Europe. On the twenty-first day of March, the king wentto the house of peers, and having passed the bills that were ready forthe 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. {1718} NATURE OF THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE. The king of Spain, by the care and indefatigable diligence of his primeminister, cardinal Alberoni, equipped a very formidable armament, which, in the beginning of June, set sail from Barcelona towards Italy; but thedestination of it was not known. A strong squadron having been fittedout in England, the marquis de Monteleone, ambassador from Spain, presented a memorial to the British ministry, importing that so powerfulan armament in time of peace could not but give umbrage to the king hismaster, and alter the good intelligence that subsisted between the twocrowns. In answer to this representation, the ministers declared thatthe king intended to send admiral Byng with a powerful squadron intothe Mediterranean, to maintain the neutrality in Italy. Meanwhile, the negotiations between the English and French ministers produced thequadruple alliance, by which king George and the regent prescribed apeace between the emperor, the king of Spain, and the king of Sicily, and undertook to compel Philip and the Savoyard to submit to suchconditions as they had concerted with his Imperial majesty. These powerswere allowed only three months to consider the articles, and declarewhether they would reject them, or acquiesce in the partition. Nothingcould be more contradictory to the true interests of Great Britain thanthis treaty, which destroyed the balance in Italy, by throwing suchan accession of power into the hands of the house of Austria. Itinterrupted the commerce with Spain; involved the kingdom in animmediate war with that monarchy; and gave rise to all the quarrels anddisputes which have arisen between England and Spain in the sequel. Thestates-general did not approve of such violent measures, and for sometime kept aloof; but at length they acceded to the quadruple alliance, which indeed was no other than a very expensive compliment to theemperor, who was desirous of adding Sicily to his other Italiandominions. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} ADMIRAL BYNG SAILS. The king of England had used some endeavours to compromise thedifference between his Imperial majesty and the Spanish branch of thehouse of Bourbon. Lord Stanhope had been sent to Madrid with a plan ofpacification, which being rejected by Philip as partial and iniquitous, the king determined to support his mediation by force of arms. SirGeorge Byng sailed from Spithead on the fourth day of June, withtwenty ships of the line, two fire-ships, two bomb-vessels, and ampleinstructions how to act on all emergencies. He arrived off Cape St. Vincent on the thirtieth day of the month, and despatched his secretaryto Cadiz, with a letter to colonel Stanhope, the British ministerat Madrid, desiring him to inform his most catholic majesty of theadmiral's arrival in those parts, and lay before him this article of hisinstructions: "You are to make instances with both parties to cease fromusing any further acts of hostility: but in case the Spaniards do stillinsist, with their ships of war and forces, to attack the kingdom ofNaples, or other the territories of the emperor in Italy, or to landin any part of Italy, which can only be with a design to invade theemperor's dominions, against whom only they have declared war byinvading Sardinia; or, if they should endeavour to make themselvesmasters of the kingdom of Sicily, which must be with a design to invadethe 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 yourarrival with our fleet under your command, in the Mediterranean, theSpaniards should already have landed any troops in Italy in orderto invade the emperor's territories, you shall endeavour amicably todissuade them from persevering in such an attempt, and offer them yourassistance to help them to withdraw their troops, and put an end to allfurther acts of hostility. But in case these your friendly endeavoursshould prove ineffectual, you shall, by keeping company with, orintercepting their ships or convoy; or if it be necessary, by openlyopposing them, defend the emperor's territories from any furtherattempt. " When cardinal Alberoni perused these instructions, he toldcolonel Stanhope, with some warmth, that his master would run allhazards, and even suffer himself to be driven out of Spain, ratherthan recall his troops, or consent to a suspension of arms. He said theSpaniards were not to be frightened; and he was so well convinced thatthe fleet would do their duty, that in case of their being attackedby Admiral Byng, he should be in no pain for the success. Mr. Stanhopepresenting him with a list of the British squadron, he threw it upon theground with great emotion. He promised, however, to lay the admiral'sletter before the king, and to let the envoy know his majesty'sresolution. Such an interposition could not but be very provoking to theSpanish minister, who had laid his account with the conquest ofSicily, and for that purpose prepared an armament which was altogethersurprising, considering the late shattered condition of the Spanishaffairs. But he seems to have put too much confidence in the strengthof the Spanish fleet. In a few days he sent back the admiral's letterto Mr. Stanhope, with a note under it, importing that the chevalier Byngmight 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-admiralCornwall with two ships. He proceeded to Minorca, where he relieved thegarrison of Port-Mahon. Then he sailed for Naples, where he arrivedon the first day of August, and was received as a deliverer; for theNeapolitans had been under the utmost terror of an invasion from theSpaniards. Sir George Byng received intelligence from the viceroy, countDaun, who treated him with the most distinguishing marks of respect, that the Spanish army, amounting to thirty thousand men, commanded bythe marquis de Lede, had landed in Sicily, reduced Palermo and Messina, and were then employed in the siege of the citadel belonging to thislast city; that the Piedmontese garrison would be obliged to surrenderif not speedily relieved; that an alliance was upon the carpetbetween the emperor and the king of Sicily, which last had desired theassistance of the Imperial troops, and agreed to receive them into thecitadel of Messina. The admiral immediately resolved to sail thither, and took under his convoy a reinforcement of two thousand Germans forthe citadel, under the command of general Wetzel. He forthwith sailedfrom Naples, and on the ninth day of August was in sight of the Faroof Messina. He despatched his own captain with a polite message to themarquis de Lede, proposing a cessation of arms in Sicily for two months, that the powers of Europe might have time to concert measures forrestoring a lasting peace; and declaring, that should this proposal berejected, he would, in pursuance of his instructions, use all his forceto prevent further attempts to disturb the dominions his master hadengaged to defend. The Spanish general answered, that he had no powersto treat, and consequently could not agree to an armistice, but shouldobey his orders, which directed him to reduce Sicily for his master theking of Spain. The Spanish fleet had sailed from the harbour of Messinaon the day before the English squadron appeared. Admiral Byng supposedthey had retired to Malta, and directed his course towards Messina, in order to encourage and support the garrison in the citadel. But indoubling the point of Faro, he descried two Spanish scouts, and learnedfrom the people of a felucca from the Calabrian shore, that they hadseen from the hills the Spanish fleet lying to in order of battle. Theadmiral immediately detached the German troops to Reggio, under theconvoy of two ships of war. Then he stood through the Faro after theSpanish scouts that led him to their main fleet, which before noon hedescried in line of battle, amounting to seven-and-twenty sail largeand small, besides two fire-ships, four bomb-vessels, and seven galleys. They were commanded in chief by don Antonio de Castanita, under whomwere the four rear-admirals Chacon, Mari, Guevara, and Cammock. Atsight of the English squadron they stood away large, and Byng gavechase all the rest of the day. In the morning, which was the eleventhof August, rear-admiral de Mari, with six ships of war, the galleys, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, separated from the main fleet, and stoodin for the Sicilian shore. The English admiral detached captain Waltonwith five ships in pursuit of them; and they were soon engaged. Hehimself continued to chase their main fleet; and about ten o'clock thebattle began. The Spaniards seemed to be distracted in their councils, and acted in confusion. They made a running fight; yet the admiralsbehaved with courage and activity, in spite of which they were alltaken, except Cammock, who made his escape with three ships of war andthree frigates. In this engagement, which happened off CapePassaro, captain Haddock of the Grafton signalized his courage in anextraordinary manner. On the eighteenth the admiral received a letter*from captain Walton, dated off Syracuse, intimating that he had takenfour Spanish ships of war, together with a bomb-ketch, and a vesselladen with arms: and that he had burned four ships of the line, afire-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 anative of Ireland, sir George Byng would not have obtained such an easyvictory. That officer proposed that they should remain at anchor in theroad of Paradise, with their broadsides to the sea; in which case theEnglish admiral would have found it a very difficult task to attackthem; for the coast is so bold, that the largest ships could ride with acable ashore; whereas farther out the currents are so various and rapid, that the English squadron could not have come to anchor, or lienear them in order of battle; besides the Spaniards might have beenreinforced from the army on shore, which would have raised batteries toannoy the assailants. Before king George had received an account of thisengagement from the admiral, he wrote him a letter with his own hand, approving his conduct. When sir George's eldest son arrived in Englandwith a circumstantial account of the action, he was graciously received, and sent back with plenipotentiary powers to his father, that he mightnegotiate with the several princes and states of Italy, as he shouldsee occasion. The son likewise carried the king's royal grant tothe officers and seamen, of all the prizes they had taken from theSpaniards. Notwithstanding this victory, the Spanish army carried onthe siege of the citadel of Messina with such vigour, that the governorsurrendered the place by capitulation on the twenty-ninth day ofSeptember. A treaty was now concluded at Vienna between the emperorand the duke of Savoy. They agreed to form an army for the conquest ofSardinia in behalf of the duke; and in the meantime this prince engagedto evacuate Sicily; but until his troops could be conveyed from thatisland, he consented that they should co-operate with the Germansagainst the common enemy. Admiral Byng continued to assist theImperialists in Sicily during the best part of the winter, by scouringthe seas of the Spaniards, and keeping the communication open betweenthe German forces and the Calabrian shore, from whence they weresupplied with provisions. He acted in this service with equal conduct, courage, resolution, and activity. He conferred with the viceroy ofNaples and the other Imperial generals, about the operations of theensuing campaign, and count Hamilton was despatched to Vienna to laybefore the emperor the result of their deliberations; then the admiralset sail for Mahon, where the ships might be refitted and put in acondition to take the sea in the spring. REMONSTRANCES OF THE SPANISH MINISTRY. The destruction of the Spanish fleet was a subject that employed thedeliberations and conjectures of all the politicians in Europe. Spainexclaimed against the conduct of England, as inconsistent with therules of good faith, for the observation of which she had always beenso famous. The marquis de Monteleone wrote a letter to Mr. SecretaryCraggs, in which he expostulated with him upon such an unprecedentedoutrage. Cardinal Alberoni, in a letter to that minister, inveighedagainst it as a base unworthy action. He said the neutrality of Italywas a weak pretence, since every body knew that neutrality had long beenat an end; and that the prince's guarantees of the treaty of Utrechtwere entirely discharged from their engagements, not only by thescandalous infringements committed by the Austrians in the evacuationof Catalonia and Majorca; but also because the guarantee was no longerbinding than till a peace was concluded with France. He taxed theBritish ministry with having revived and supported this neutrality, notby an amicable mediation, but by open violence, and artfully abusingthe confidence and security of the Spaniards. This was the language ofdisappointed ambition. Nevertheless it must be owned that the conduct ofEngland, on this occasion, was irregular, partial, and precipitate. The parliament meeting on the eleventh day of November, the king in hisspeech declared that the court of Spain had rejected all his amicableproposals, and broke through their most solemn engagements for thesecurity of the British commerce. To vindicate, therefore, the faith ofhis 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 everybranch been violently and unjustly oppressed, it became necessary forhis naval forces to check their progress; that notwithstanding thesuccess of his arms, that court had lately given orders at all theports of Spain and of the West Indies to fit out privateers against theEnglish. He said he was persuaded that a British parliament would enablehim 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 vigorousmeasures. A strong opposition was made in both houses to the motionfor an address of thanks and congratulation proposed by lord Carteret. Several peers observed that such an address was, in effect, to approvea sea-fight, which might be attended with dangerous consequences, andto give the sanction of that august assembly to measures which, uponexamination, might appear either to clash with the law of nations orformer treaties, or to be prejudicial to the trade of Great Britain;that they ought to proceed with the utmost caution and maturestdeliberation, in an affair wherein the honour as well as the interestof the nation were so highly concerned. Lord Strafford moved for anaddress, that sir George Byng's instructions might be laid before thehouse. Earl Stanhope replied, that there was no occasion for such anaddress, since by his majesty's command he had already laid beforethe house the treaties of which the late sea-fight was a consequence;particularly the treaty for a defensive alliance between the emperor andhis majesty, concluded at Westminster on the twenty-fifth day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen; and the treaty ofalliance for restoring and settling the public peace, signed at Londonon the twenty-second day of July. He affirmed that the court of Spainhad violated the treaty of Utrecht, and acted against the public faithin attacking the emperor's dominions, while he was engaged in a waragainst the enemies of Christendom; that they had rejected his majesty'sfriendly offices and offers for mediating an accommodation. He explainedthe 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 ofSpain, in order to protect and secure the trade of the British subjectswhich had been violently oppressed by the Spaniards. After a longdebate, the motion was carried by a considerable majority. The samesubject excited disputes of the same nature in the house of commons, where lord Hinchinbroke moved that, in their address of thanks, theyshould declare their entire satisfaction in those measures which theking had already taken for strengthening the protestant succession, and establishing a lasting tranquillity in Europe. The members in theopposition urged that it was unparliamentary and unprecedented, on thefirst day of the session, to enter upon particulars; that the businessin question was of the highest importance, and deserved the most maturedeliberation; that, before they approved the measures which had beentaken, they ought to examine the reasons on which those measures werefounded. Mr. Robert Walpole affirmed that the giving sanction, in themanner proposed, to the late measures, could have no other view thanthat of screening ministers, who were conscious of having begun awar against Spain, and now wanted to make it the parliament's war. Heobserved, that instead of an entire satisfaction, they ought to expresstheir entire dissatisfaction with such conduct as was contrary to thelaw of nations, and a breach of the most solemn treaties. Mr. SecretaryCraggs, in a long speech, explained the nature of the quadruplealliance, and justified all the measures which had been taken. Theaddress, as moved by lord Hinchinbroke, was at length carried, andpresented to his majesty. Then the commons proceeded to consider thesupply. They voted thirteen thousand five hundred sailors; and twelvethousand four hundred and thirty-five men for the land service. Thewhole estimate amounted to two millions two hundred and fifty-seventhousand five hundred eighty-one pounds, nineteen shillings. The moneywas 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 houseof lords, that in order to unite the hearts of the well affected to thepresent establishment, he had a bill to offer under the title of "Anact for strengthening the protestant interest in these kingdoms. " It wasaccordingly read, and appeared to be a bill repealing the acts againstoccasional conformity, the growth of schism, and some clauses in thecorporation and test acts. This had been concerted by the ministry inprivate meetings with the most eminent dissenters. The tory lords wereastonished at this motion, for which they were altogether unprepared. Nevertheless they were strenuous in their opposition. They alleged thatthe bill, instead of strengthening, would certainly weaken the church ofEngland, by plucking off her best feathers, investing her enemies withpower, and sharing with churchmen the civil and military employmentsof which they were then wholly possessed. Earl Cowper declared himselfagainst that part of the bill by which some clauses of the test andcorporation acts were repealed; because he looked upon those acts as themain bulwark of our excellent constitution in church and state, whichought to be inviolably preserved. The earl of Hay opposed the bill, because, in his opinion, it infringed the _pacta conventa_ of the treatyof union, by which the bonds both of the church of England and of thechurch of Scotland were fixed and settled; and he was apprehensive, if the articles of the union were broke with respect to one church, itmight afterwards be a precedent to break them with respect to the other. The archbishop of Canterbury said the acts which by this bill would berepealed, were the main bulwark and supporters of the English church;he expressed all imaginable tenderness for well-meaning conscientiousdissenters; but he could not forbear saying, some among that sect made awrong use of the favour and indulgence shown to them at the revolution, though they had the least share in that happy event; it was thereforethought necessary for the legislature to interpose, and put a stop tothe scandalous practice of occasional conformity. He added, that itwould be needless to repeal the act against schism, since no advantagehad been taken of it to the prejudice of the dissenters. Dr. Hoadley, bishop of Bangor, endeavoured to prove that the occasional and schismacts were in effect persecuting laws; and that by admitting theprinciple of self-defence and self-preservation in matters of religion, all the persecutions maintained by the heathens against the professorsof Christianity, and even the popish inquisition, might be justified. With respect to the power of which many clergymen appeared so fond andso zealous, he owned the desire of power and riches was natural to allmen; but that he had learned both from reason and from the gospel, thatthis desire must be kept within due bounds, and not intrench upon therights and liberties of their fellow-creatures and countrymen. After along debate, the house agreed to leave out some clauses concerning thetest and corporation acts: then the bill was committed, and afterwardspassed. In the lower house it met with violent opposition, in spite ofwhich it was carried by the majority. WAR DECLARED AGAINST SPAIN. The king on the seventeenth day of December, sent a message to thecommons, importing that all his endeavours to procure redress forthe injuries done to his subjects by the king of Spain having provedineffectual, he had found it necessary to declare war against thatmonarch. When a motion was made for an address, to assure the king theywould cheerfully support him in the prosecution of the war, Mr. Shippenand some other members said, they did not see the necessity of involvingthe nation in a war on account of some grievances of which the merchantscomplained, as these might be amicably redressed. Mr. Stanhope assuredthe house that he had presented five-and-twenty memorials to theministry of Spain on that subject without success. Mr. Methuen accountedfor the dilatory proceeds of the Spanish court in commercial affairs, byexplaining the great variety of regulations in the several provincesand ports of that kingdom. It was suggested that the ministry paid verylittle regard to the trade and interest of the nation, inasmuch as itappeared by the answer from the secretary of state to the letter of themarquis de Monteleone, that they would have overlooked the violationof the treaties of commerce, provided Spain had accepted the conditionsstipulated in the quadruple alliance; for it was there expressly said, that his majesty the king of Great Britain did not seek to aggrandizehimself by any new acquisitions, but was rather inclined to sacrificesomething of his own to procure the general quiet and tranquillity ofEurope. A member observed, that nobody could tell how far that sacrificewould have extended, but certainly it was a very uncommon stretch ofcondescension. This sacrifice was said to be the cession of Gibraltarand Port Mahon, which the regent of France had offered to the kingof Spain, provided he would accede to the quadruple alliance. HoratioWalpole observed, that the disposition of Sicily in favour of theemperor was an infraction of the treaty of Utrecht; and his brotherexclaimed against the injustice of attacking the Spanish fleet before adeclaration of war. Notwithstanding all these arguments and objections, the majority agreed to the address; and such another was carried in theupper house without a division. The declaration of war against Spain waspublished with the usual solemnities; but this war was not a favouriteof the people, and therefore did not produce those acclamations thatwere usual on such occasions. CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE REGENT OF FRANCE. Meanwhile cardinal Alberoni employed all his intrigues, power, andindustry, for the gratification of his revenge. He caused new ships tobe built, the sea ports to be put in a posture of defence, succours tobe sent to Sicily, and the proper measures to be taken for the securityof Sardinia. He, by means of the prince de Cellamare, the Spanishambassador at Paris, caballed with the malcontents of that kingdom, whowere numerous and powerful. A scheme was actually formed for seizing theregent, and securing the person of the king. The duke of Orleans owedthe first intimation of this plot to king George, who gave himto understand that a conspiracy was formed against his person andgovernment. The regent immediately took measures for watching theconduct of all suspected persons; but the whole intrigue was discoveredby accident. The prince de Cellamare intrusted his despatches to theabbé Portocarrero, and to a son of the marquis de Monteleone. Theseemissaries set out from Paris in a post-chaise, and were overturned. The postillion overheard Portocarrero say, he would not have lost hisportmanteau for a hundred thousand pistoles. The man, at his returnto Paris, gave notice to the government of what he had observed. TheSpaniards, being pursued, were overtaken and seized at Poictiers, withthe portmanteau, in which the regent found two letters that madehim acquainted with the particulars of the conspiracy. The prince deCellamare was immediately conducted to the frontiers: the duke of Maine, the marquis de Pompadore, the cardinal de Polignac, and many otherpersons of distinction, were committed to different prisons. The regentdeclared war against Spain on the twenty-ninth day of December; and anarmy of six-and-thirty thousand men began its march towards that kingdomin January, under the command of the duke of Berwick. INTENDED INVASION BY ORMOND. Cardinal Alberoni had likewise formed a scheme in favour of thepretender. The duke of Ormond repairing to Madrid, held conferenceswith his eminence; and measures were concerted for exciting anotherinsurrection in Great Britain. The chevalier de St. George quittedUrbino by stealth; and embarking at Netteno, landed at Cagliari inMarch. From thence he took his passage to Roses in Catalonia, andproceeded to Madrid, where he was received with great cordiality, andtreated as king of Great Britain. An armament had been equipped often ships of war and transports, having on board six thousand regulartroops, with arms for twelve thousand men. The command of this fleet wasbestowed on the duke of Ormond, with the title of captain-general of hismost catholic majesty. He was provided with declarations in the name ofthat king, importing, that for many good reasons he had sent part of hisland and sea forces into England and Scotland, to act as auxiliaries toking James. His Britannic majesty, having received from the regentof France timely notice of this intended invasion, offered, byproclamations, rewards to those that should apprehend the duke ofOrmond, or any gentleman embarked in that expedition. Troops wereordered to assemble in the north, and in the west of England: twothousand men were demanded of the states-general: a strong squadron wasequipped to oppose the Spanish armament; and the duke of Orleans made aproffer 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 therepeated advices he had received touching this projected descent, theypromised to support him against all his enemies. They desired he wouldaugment his forces by sea and land, and assured him they would make goodthe 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 CapeFinisterre, where his fleet was dispersed and disabled by a violentstorm, which entirely defeated the purposed expedition. Two frigates, however, arrived in Scotland, with the earls Marischal and Seaforth, themarquis of Tullibardine, some field-officers, three hundred Spaniards, and arms for two thousand men. They were joined by a small body ofHighlanders, and possessed themselves of Donan castle. Against theseadventurers general Wightman marched with a body of regular troops fromInverness. They had taken possession of the pass at Glenshiel; but, atthe approach of the king's forces, retired to the pass at Strachell, which they resolved to defend. They were attacked and driven from oneeminence to another till night, when the Highlanders dispersed; and nextday the Spaniards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Marischal, Seaforth, and Tullibardine, with some officers, retired to one of thewestern isles, in order to wait an opportunity of being conveyed to thecontinent. ACCOUNT OF THE PEERAGE BILL. On the last day of February the duke of Somerset represented, in thehouse of lords, that the number of peers being very much increased, especially since the union of the two kingdoms, it seemed absolutelynecessary to take effectual measures for preventing the inconveniencesthat might attend the creation of a great number of peers to serve apresent purpose; an expedient which had been actually taken in the latereign. He therefore moved that a bill should be brought in to settleand limit the peerage, in such a manner that the number of English peersshould not be enlarged beyond six above the present number, which, uponfailure of male issue, might be supplied by new creations: that insteadof the sixteen elective peers from Scotland, twenty-five should bemade hereditary on the part of that kingdom; and that this number, uponfailure of heirs-male, should be supplied from the other members of theScottish peerage. This bill was intended as a restraint upon the princeof Wales, who happened to be at variance with the present ministry. The motion was supported by the duke of Argyle, now lord-steward of thehousehold, the earls of Sunderland and Carlisle. It was opposed by theearl of Oxford, who said, that although he expected nothing from thecrown, he would never give his vote for lopping off so valuable a branchof the prerogative, which enabled the king to reward merit and virtuousactions. The debate was adjourned to the second day of March, when earlStanhope delivered a message from the king, intimating, that as they hadunder consideration the state of the British peerage, he had so much atheart the settling it upon such a foundation as might secure the freedomand constitution of parliaments in till future ages, that he was willinghis prerogative should not stand in the way of so great and necessarya work. Another violent debate ensued between the two factions. Thequestion here, as in almost every other dispute, was not whether themeasure proposed was advantageous to the nation? but, whether the toryor the whig interest should predominate in parliament? Earl Cowperaffirmed, that the part of the bill relating to the Scottish peerage, was a manifest violation of the treaty of union, as well as a flagrantpiece of injustice, as it would deprive persons of their right, withoutbeing heard, and without any pretence or forfeiture on their part. He observed, that the Scottish peers excluded from the number of thetwenty-five, would be in a worse condition than any other subjects inthe kingdom; for they would be neither electing nor elected, neitherrepresenting nor represented. These objections were overruled; severalresolutions were taken agreeably to the motion, and the judges wereordered to prepare and bring in the bill. This measure alarmed thegenerality of Scottish peers, as well as many English commoners, who sawin the bill the avenues of dignity and title shut up against them; andthey did not fail to exclaim against it as an encroachment upon thefundamental maxims of the constitution. Treaties were written andpublished on both sides of the question; and a national clamour began toarise, when earl Stanhope observed, in the house, that as the bill hadraised strange apprehensions, he thought it advisable to postpone thefurther consideration of it till a more proper opportunity. It wasaccordingly dropped, and the parliament prorogued on the eighteenthday of April, on which occasion his majesty told both houses that theSpanish king had acknowledged the pretender. {1719} COUNT MERCI ASSUMES THE COMMAND OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY The king having appointed lords-justices to rule the kingdom in hisabsence, embarked in May for Holland, from whence he proceeded toHanover, where he concluded a peace with Ulrica, the new queen ofSweden. By this treaty Sweden yielded for ever to the royal andelectoral house of Brunswick the duchies of Bremen and Verden, withall their dependencies; king George obliged himself to pay a millionof rix-dollars to the queen of Sweden; and to renew, as king of GreatBritain and elector of Hanover, the alliances formerly subsistingbetween his predecessors and that kingdom. He likewise mediated a peacebetween Sweden and his former allies, the Danes, the Prussians, and thePoles. The czar, however, refused to give up his schemes of conquest. Hesent his fleet to the Scheuron, or Bates of Sweden, where his troopslanding 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 hostilitiesthat might be committed, the czar, dreading the fate of the Spanishnavy, thought proper to recall his fleet. In the Mediterranean, admiralByng acted with unwearied vigour in assisting the Imperialists to finishthe conquest of Sicily. The court of Vienna had agreed to send a strongbody of forces to finish the reduction of that island; and the commandin this expedition was bestowed upon the count de Merci, with whom sirGeorge Byng conferred at Naples. This admiral supplied them withammunition and artillery from the Spanish prizes. He took the wholereinforcement under his convoy, and saw them safely landed in the bay ofPatti, to the number of three thousand five hundred horse, and tenthousand infantry. Count Merci thinking himself more than a match forthe Spanish forces commanded by the marquis de Lede, attacked him in astrong camp at Franca-Villa, and was repulsed with the loss of fivethousand men, himself being dangerously wounded in the action. Here hisarmy must have perished for want of provisions, had they not beensupplied by the English navy. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} ACTIVITY OF ADMIRAL BYNG. Admiral Byng no sooner learned the bad success of the attack atFranca-Villa, than he embarked two battalions from the garrison ofMelazzo, and about a thousand recruits, whom he sent under a convoythrough 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 newviceroy, that the troops destined for the conquest of Sardinia shouldbe first landed in Sicily, and co-operate towards the conquest of thatisland. The proposal was immediately despatched to the court of Vienna. In the meantime, the admiral returned to Sicily, and assisted at thesiege of Messina. The town surrendered; the garrison retired into thecitadel; and the remains of the Spanish navy, which had escaped atPassaro, were now destroyed in the Mole. The emperor approved of thescheme proposed by the English admiral, to whom he wrote a very graciousletter, intimating that he had despatched orders to the governor ofMilan to detach the troops designed for Sardinia to Vado, in order to betransported into Italy. The admiral charged himself with the performanceof this service. Having furnished the Imperial army before Messina withanother supply of cannon, powder, and shot, upon his own credit, he setsail for Vado, where he surmounted numberless difficulties started bythe jealousy of count Bonneval, who was unwilling to see his troops, destined for Sardinia, now diverted to another expedition, in which hecould not enjoy the chief command. At length admiral Byng saw the forcesembarked, and convoyed them to Messina, the citadel of which surrenderedin a few days after their arrival. By this time the marquis de Lede hadfortified a strong post at Castro-Giovanne, in the centre of theisland; 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 thescarcity of provisions. They would, therefore, have been obliged toquit the island during the winter, had not the admiral undertaken totransport them by sea to Trapani, where they could extend themselvesin a plentiful country. He not only executed this enterprise, but evensupplied them with corn from Tunis, as the harvests of Sicily had beengathered into the Spanish magazines. It was the second day of Marchbefore the last embarkation of the Imperial troops were landed atTrapani. THE SPANISH TROOPS EVACUATE SICILY. The marquis de Lede immediately retired with his army to Alcamo, fromwhence he sent his mareschal de camp to count Merci and the Englishadmiral, with overtures for evacuating Sicily. The proposals were notdisagreeable to the Germans: but sir George Byng declared that theSpaniards should not quit the island while the war continued, as heforesaw that these troops would be employed against France or England. He agreed however with count Merci, in proposing that if the marquiswould surrender Palermo and retire into the middle part of the island, they would consent to an armistice for six weeks, until the sentimentsof their different courts should be known. The marquis offered tosurrender Palermo, in consideration of a suspension of arms for threemonths; but, while this negotiation was depending, he received advicefrom Madrid that a general peace was concluded. Nevertheless, he brokeoff the treaty in obedience to a secret order for that purpose. The kingof Spain hoped to obtain the restitution of St. Sebastian's, Fontarabia, and other places taken in the course of the war, in exchange for theevacuation of Sicily, Hostilities were continued until the admiralreceived advice from the earl of Stair, at Paris, that the Spanishambassador at the Hague had signed the quadruple alliance. By the samecourier packets were delivered to the count de Merci and the marquisde Lede, which last gave the admiral and Imperial general to understandthat he looked upon the peace as a thing concluded, and was ready totreat for a cessation of hostilities. They insisted on his deliveringup Palermo; on the other hand he urged, that, as their masters were intreaty for settling the terms of evacuating Sicily and Sardinia, hedid not think himself authorised to agree to a cessation, except oncondition that each party should remain on the ground they occupied, andexpect further orders from their principals. After a fruitless interviewbetween the three chiefs at the Cassine de Rossignola, the Imperialgeneral resolved to undertake the siege of Palermo; with this view hedecamped from Alcamo on the eighteenth day of April, and followed themarquis de Lede, who retreated before him and took possession of theadvantageous posts that commanded the passes into the plain of Palermo;but count Merci, with indefatigable diligence, marched over themountains, while the admiral coasted along shore, attending the motionsof the army. The Spanish general perceiving the Germans advancing intothe plain, retired under the cannon of Palermo, and fortified his campwith strong entrenchments. On the second day of May the Germans took oneof the enemy's redoubts by surprise, and the marquis de Lede orderedall his forces to be drawn out to retake this fortification: both armieswere on the point of engaging, when a courier arrived in a felucca witha packet for the marquis, containing full powers to treat and agreeabout the evacuation of the island, and the transportation of the armyto Spain. He forthwith drew off his army; and sent a trumpet to thegeneral and admiral, with letters, informing them of the orders he hadreceived: commissioners were appointed on each side, the negotiationsbegun, and the convention signed in a very few days. The Germanswere put in possession of Palermo, and the Spanish army marched toTauromini, 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 islandsof Sicily and Sardinia evacuated by the Spaniards, and the mutualcessions executed between the emperor and the duke of Savoy, inconsequence of which four battalions of Piedmontese troops weretransported from Palermo to Sardinia, and took possession of Cagliariin the name of their master. In a word, admiral Byng bore such aconsiderable share in this war of Sicily, that the fate of the islanddepended wholly on his courage, vigilance, and conduct. When he waitedon his majesty at Hanover, he met with a very gracious reception. Theking told him he had found out the secret of obliging his enemies aswell as his friends; for the court of Spain had mentioned him inthe most honourable terms, with respect to his candid and friendlydeportment in providing transports and other necessaries for theembarkation of their troops, and in protecting them from oppression. Hewas appointed treasurer of the navy, and rear-admiral of Great Britain:in a little time the king ennobled him, by the title of viscountTorrington: he was declared a privy-counsellor, and afterwardsmade knight of the bath at the revival of that order. During theseoccurrences in the Mediterranean, the duke of Berwick advanced with theFrench army to the frontiers of Spain, where he took Port-Passage anddestroyed six ships of war that were on the stocks; then he reducedFontarabia and St. Sebastian's, together with Port Antonio in the bottomof the bay of Biscay. In this last exploit the French were assisted by adetachment of English seamen, who burned two large ships unfinished, anda great quantity of naval stores. The king of England, with a view toindemnify himself for the expense of the war, projected the conquestof Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. Four thousand men, commanded by lord Cobham, were embarked at the Isle of Wight, and sailedon the twenty-first day of September, under convoy of five ships of warconducted by admiral Mighels. Instead of making an attempt upon Corunna, they reduced Vigo with very little difficulty; and Point-a-Vedrasubmitted without resistance: here they found some brass artillery, small arms, and military stores, with which they returned to England. Inthe meantime captain Johnson, with two English ships of war, destroyedthe same number of Spanish ships in the port of Ribadeo, to the eastwardof Cape Ortegas, so that the naval power of Spain was totally ruined. The expedition to the West Indies was prevented by the peace. Spainbeing oppressed on all sides, and utterly exhausted, Philip saw thenecessity of a speedy pacification. He now perceived the madness ofAlberoni's ambitious projects. That minister was personally disagreeableto the emperor, the king of England, and the regent of France, who haddeclared they would hearken to no proposals while he should continue inoffice: the Spanish monarch, therefore, divested him of his employment, and ordered him to quit the kingdom in three weeks. The marquis deBeretti Landi, minister from the court of Madrid at the Hague, delivereda 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, andon the twenty-third opened the session of parliament with a speech, inwhich he told them that all Europe, as well as Great Britain, was on thepoint of being delivered from the calamities of war by the influenceof British arms and councils. He exhorted the commons to concert propermeans for lessening the debts of the nation, and concluded with apanegyric upon his own government. It must be owned he had acted withequal vigour and deliberation in all the troubles he had encounteredsince his accession to the throne. The addresses of both houses wereas warm as he could desire. They in particular extolled him for havinginterposed in behalf of the protestants of Hungary, Poland, and Germany, who had been oppressed by the practices of the popish clergy, andpresented to him memorials containing a detail of their grievances. Heand all the other protestant powers warmly interceded in their favour, but the grievances were not redressed. The peerage bill was now revivedby the duke of Buckingham; and, in spite of all opposition, passedthrough 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 extraordinaryvehemence. Here too it was opposed by a considerable number of whigmembers; and, after warm debates, rejected by a large majority. The nextobject that engrossed the attention of the parliament was a bill forbetter securing the dependency of Ireland upon the crown of GreatBritain. Maurice Annesley had appealed to the house of peers in England, from a decree of the house of peers in Ireland, which was reversed. TheBritish 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 thatkingdom. The barons obeyed this order; and the Irish house of peerspassed a vote against them, as having acted in derogation to the king'sprerogative in his high court of parliament in Ireland, as also of therights and privileges of that kingdom, and of the parliament thereof;they likewise ordered them to be taken into custody of the usher ofthe black rod: they transmitted a long representation to the king, demonstrating their right to the final judicature of causes: and theduke of Leeds, in the upper house, urged fifteen reasons to support theclaim of the Irish peers. Notwithstanding these arguments, the house oflords in England resolved that the barons of the exchequer in Irelandhad acted with courage, according to law, in support of his majesty'sprerogative, and with fidelity to the crown of Great Britain. Theyaddressed the king to confer on them some marks of his royal favour, as a recompence for the ill usage they had undergone. Finally, theyprepared the bill, by which the Irish house of lords was deprived of allright to pass sentence, affirm, or reverse any judgment or decree, givenor made in any court within that kingdom. In the house of commons it wasopposed 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 propermeans for lessening the national debt, was a prelude to the famousSouth-Sea act, which became productive of so much mischief andinfatuation The scheme was projected by sir John Blunt, who had beenbred a scrivener, and was possessed of all the cunning, plausibility, and boldness requisite for such an undertaking. He communicated his planto Mr. Aislaby, the chancellor of the exchequer, as well as to one ofthe secretaries of state. He answered all their objections; and theproject was adopted. They foresaw their own private advantage inthe execution of their design, which was imparted in the name of theSouth-Sea company, of which Blunt was a director, who influenced alltheir proceedings. The pretence for the scheme was to dischargethe national debt, by reducing all the funds into one. The bank andSouth-Sea company outbid each other. The South-Sea company alteredtheir original plan, and offered such high terms to government, thatthe proposals of the bank were rejected; and a bill was ordered to bebrought into the house of commons, formed on the plan presented by theSouth-Sea company. While this affair was in agitation, the stock ofthat company rose from one hundred and thirty to near four hundred, inconsequence of the conduct of the commons, who had rejected a motionfor a clause in the bill, to fix what share in the capital stock of thecompany should be vested in those proprietors of the annuities who mightvoluntarily subscribe; or how many year's purchase in money they shouldreceive in subscribing, at the choice of the proprietors. {1720} In the house of lords, the bill was opposed by lord North and Grey, earlCowper, the dukes of Wharton, Buckingham, and other peers; they affirmedit was calculated for enriching a few and impoverishing a greatnumber: that it countenanced the fraudulent and pernicious practice ofstock-jobbing, which diverted the genius of the people from trade andindustry: that it would give foreigners the opportunity to double andtreble the vast sums they had in the public funds; and they would betempted to realize and withdraw their capital and immense gains to othercountries; so that Great Britain would be drained of all its gold andsilver; that the artificial and prodigious rise of the South-Sea stockwas a dangerous bait, which might decoy many unwary people to theirruin, alluring them by a false prospect of gain to part with the fruitsof their industry, to purchase imaginary riches; that the addition ofabove thirty millions capital would give such power to the South-Seacompany, as might endanger the liberties of the nation; for by theirextensive interest they would be able to influence most, if not all theelections of the members; and, consequently, over-rule the resolutionsof the house of commons. Earl Cowper urged, that in all public bargainsthe individuals of the administration ought to take care, that thayshall be more advantageous to the state than to private persons; butthat a contrary method had been followed in the contract made with theSouth-Sea company; for, should the stocks be kept at the advanced priceto which they had been raised by the oblique arts of stock-jobbing, either that company or its principal members would gain above thirtymillions, of which no more than one-fourth part would be given towardsthe discharge of the national debts. He apprehended that the re-purchaseof annuities would meet with insuperable difficulties; and, in suchcase, none but a few persons who were in the secret, who had boughtstocks at a low rate, and afterwards sold them at a high price, would inthe end be gainers by the project. The earl of Sunderland answered theirobjections. He declared that those who countenanced the scheme of theSouth-Sea company, had nothing in view but the advantage of the nation. He owned that the managers for that company had undoubtedly a prospectof private gain, either to themselves or to their corporation; but, hesaid, when the scheme was accepted, neither the one nor the other couldforesee that the stocks would have risen to such a height; that if theyhad continued as they were, the public would have had the far greatershare of the advantage accruing from the scheme; and should they be keptup to the present high price, it was but reasonable that the South-Seacompany should enjoy the profits procured to it by the wise managementand industry of the directors, which would enable it to make largedividends, and thereby accomplish the purpose of the scheme. The billpassed without amendment or division; and on the seventh day of Aprilreceived the royal assent. By this act the South-Sea company wasauthorised to take in, by purchase or subscription, the irredeemabledebts of the nation, stated at sixteen millions five hundred forty-sixthousand four hundred and eighty-two pounds, seven shillings and onepenny farthing, at such times as they should find convenient before thefirst day of March of the ensuing year, and without any compulsion onany of the proprietors, at such rates and prices as should be agreedupon between the company and the respective proprietors. They werelikewise authorised to take in all the redeemable debts, amounting tothe same sum as that of the irredeemables, either by purchase, by takingsubscriptions, or by paying off the creditors. For the liberty of takingin 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 onethousand seven hundred and twenty-seven; from thence to be reduced tofour per cent, and be redeemable by parliament. In consideration ofthis, and other advantages expressed in the act, the company declaredthemselves willing to make such payments into the receipt of theexchequer as were specified for the use of the public, to be applied tothe discharge of the public debts incurred before Christmas, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and sixteen. The sums they were obliged topay for the liberty of taking in the redeemable debts, four years anda half's purchase for all long and short annuities that should besubscribed, and one year's purchase for such long annuities as shouldnot be subscribed, amounted on the execution of the act to aboutseven millions. For enabling the company to raise this sum, they wereempowered to make calls for money from their members; to open books ofsubscription; to grant annuities redeemable by the company; to borrowmoney upon any contract or bill under their common seal, or on thecredit of their capital stock; to convert the money demanded of theirmembers into additional stock, without, however, making any additionto the company's annuities, payable out of the public duties. It wasenacted, that out of the first monies arising from the sums paid by thecompany into the exchequer, such public debts, carrying interest at fiveper cent, incurred before the twenty-fifth day of December, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and sixteen, founded upon any former actof parliament, as were now redeemable, or might be redeemed by thetwenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred andtwenty-two, should be discharged in the first place: that then all theremainder should be applied towards paying off so much of the capitalstock of the company as should then carry an interest of five per cent. It was likewise provided, that, after Midsummer in the year one thousandseven hundred and twenty-seven, the company should not be paid off inany 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, offeredto the ministry six hundred thousand pounds towards the discharge ofthat debt, on condition of their obtaining the king's charter, witha parliamentary sanction, for the establishment of their respectivecompanies. The proposal was embraced; and the king communicated it in amessage to the house of commons, desiring their concurrence. A billwas immediately passed, enabling his majesty to grant letters ofincorporation to the two companies. It soon obtained the royal assent;and, on the eleventh day of June, an end was put to the session. Thiswas the age of interested projects, inspired by a venal spiritof adventure, the natural consequence of that warice, fraud, andprofligacy, which the monied corporations had introduced. This ofall others is the most unfavourable era for an historian. A reader ofsentiment and imagination cannot be entertained or interested by a drydetail of such transactions as admit of no warmth, no colouring, noembellishment, a detail which serves only to exhibit an inanimatepicture of tasteless vice and mean degeneracy. TREATY OF ALLIANCE WITH SWEDEN. By this time an alliance offensive and defensive was concluded atStockholm between king George and the queen of Sweden, by which hismajesty engaged to send a fleet into the Baltic to act against the czarof Muscovy, in case that monarch should reject reasonable proposals ofpeace. Peter loudly complained of the insolent interposition of kingGeorge, alleging that he had failed in his engagements, both as electorof Hanover and king of Great Britain. His resident at London presenteda long memorial on this subject, which was answered by the British andHanoverian ministry. These recriminations served only to inflame thedifference. The czar continued to prosecute the war, and at lengthconcluded a peace without a mediator. At the instances, however of kingGeorge and the regent of France, a treaty of peace was signed betweenthe queen of Sweden and the king of Prussia, to whom that princess cededthe city of Stetin, the district between the rivers Oder and Pehnne, with the isles of Wollin and Usedom. On the other hand, he engagedto join the king of Great Britain in his endeavours to effect a peacebetween Sweden and Denmark, on condition that the Danish king shouldrestore to queen Ulrica that part of Pomerania which he had seized; helikewise promised to pay to that queen two millions of rix-dollars inconsideration of the cessions she had made. The treaty between Swedenand Denmark was signed at Frederickstadt in the month of June, throughthe mediation of the king of Great Britain, who became guarantee for theDane's keeping possession of Sleswick. He consented, however, to restorethe Upper Pomerania, the isle of Rugen, the city of Wismar, and whateverhe had taken from Sweden during the war, in consideration of Sweden'srenouncing the exemption from toll in the Sound and the two Belts, andpaying 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 squadronto give weight to the king's mediation. When he arrived at Copenhagen hewrote a letter to prince Dolgorouki, the czar's ambassador at the courtof Denmark, signifying that he and the king's envoy at Stockholm werevested with full powers to act jointly or separately in quality ofplenipotentiaries, in order to effect a peace between Sweden andMuscovy, in the way of mediation. The prince answered that the czarhad nothing more at heart than peace and tranquillity; and in case hisBritannic majesty had any proposals to make to that prince, he hoped theadmiral would excuse him from receiving them, as they might be deliveredin a much more compendious way. The English fleet immediately joinedthat of Sweden as auxiliaries; but they had no opportunity of actingagainst the Russian squadron, which secured itself in Revel. Ulrica, queen of Sweden, and sister to Charles XII. , had married the prince ofHesse, and was extremely desirous that he should be joined with her inthe administration of the regal power. She wrote a separate letterto each of the four States, desiring they would confer on him thesovereignty; and after some opposition from the nobles, he was actuallyelected king of Sweden. He sent one of his general officers to notifyhis elevation to the czar, who congratulated him upon his accessionto the throne: this was the beginning of a negotiation which ended inpeace, and established the tranquillity of the North. In the midst ofthese transactions, king George set out from England for his Hanoveriandominions; but before he departed from Great Britain, he was reconciledto the prince of Wales, through the endeavours of the duke of Devonshireand Mr. Walpole, who, with earl Cowper, lord Townshend, Mr. Methuen, and Mr. Pulteney, were received into favour, and re-united with theministry. The earls of Dorset and Bridgewater were promoted to the titleof dukes; lord viscount Castleton was made an earl; Hugh Boscawen wascreated a baron, and viscount Falmouth; and John Wallop baron, andviscount Lymington. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} 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 Englishdominions. Blunt, the projector, had taken the hint of his plan from thefamous Mississippi scheme formed by Law, which in the preceding year hadraised such a ferment in France, and entailed rain upon many thousandfamilies of that kingdom. In the scheme of Law there was somethingsubstantial. 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 burdenof fifteen hundred millions of the king's debts to the shoulders of thesubjects, while the projector was sacrificed as the scape-goat ofthe political iniquity. The South-Sea scheme promised no commercialadvantage of any consequence. It was buoyed up by nothing but the follyand rapaciousness of individuals, which became so blind and extravagant, that Blunt, with moderate talents, was able to impose upon the wholenation, and make tools of the other directors, to serve his own purposesand those of a few associates. When this projector found that theSouth-Sea stock did not rise according to his expectation uponthe bill's being passed, he circulated a report that Gibraltar andPort-Mahon would be exchanged for some places in Teru; by which meansthe English trade to the South-Sea would be protected and enlarged. Thisrumour, diffused by his emissaries, acted like a contagion. In five daysthe 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 thefirst subscription exceeded two millions of original stock. In a fewdays this stock advanced to three hundred and forty pounds; and thesubscriptions were sold for double the price of the first payment. Without entering into a detail of the proceedings, or explaining thescandalous arts that were practised to enhance the value of the stock, and decoy the unwary, we shall only observe, that by the promise ofprodigious dividends and other infamous arts, the stock was raisedto one thousand; and the whole nation infected with the spirit ofstock-jobbing to an astonishing degree. All distinction of party, religion, sex, character, and circumstances, were swallowed up in thisuniversal concern, or in some such pecuniary project. Exchange-Alley wasfilled with a strange concourse of statesmen and clergymen, churchmenand dissenters, whigs and tories, physicians, lawyers, tradesmen, andeven with multitudes of females. All other professions and employmentswere utterly neglected; and the people's attention wholly engrossed bythis and other chimerical schemes, which were known by the denominationof bubbles. New companies started up every day under the countenance ofthe prime nobility. The prince of Wales was constituted governor of theWelsh copper company; the duke of Chandos appeared at the head of theYork-buildings company; the duke of Bridgewater formed a third, forbuilding houses in London and Westminster. About an hundred such schemeswere projected and put in execution, to the ruin of many thousands. Thesums proposed to be raised by these expedients amounted to three hundredmillions sterling, which exceeded the value of all the lands in England. The nation was so intoxicated with the spirit of adventure, that peoplebecame a prey to the grossest delusion. An obscure projector, pretendingto have formed a very advantageous scheme, which, however, he did notexplain, published proposals for a subscription, in which he promisedthat in one month the particulars of his project should be disclosed. Inthe meantime he declared that every person paying two guineas should beentitled to a subscription for one hundred pounds, which would producethat sum yearly. In one forenoon this adventurer received a thousand ofthese subscriptions; and in the evening set out for another kingdom. The king, before his departure, had issued a proclamation against theseunlawful projects; the lords-justices afterwards dismissed all thepetitions that had been presented for charters and patents; and theprince of Wales renounced the company of which he had been electedgovernor. The South-Sea scheme raised such a flood of eager avidity andextravagant hope, that the majority of the directors were swept alongwith it, even contrary to their own sense and inclination; but Blunt andhis accomplices still directed the stream. The infatuation prevailed till the eighth day of September, when thestock began to fall. Then did some of the adventurers awake from theirdelirium. The number of the sellers daily increased. On the twenty-ninthday of the month the stock had sunk to one hundred and fifty; severaleminent goldsmiths and bankers, who had lent great sums upon it, wereobliged to stop payment and abscond. The ebb of this portentous tidewas so violent, that it bore down everything in its way; and an infinitenumber of families were overwhelmed with ruin. Public credit sustaineda terrible shock; the nation was thrown into a dangerous ferment; andnothing was heard but the ravings of grief, disappointment, and despair. Some principal members of the ministry were deeply concerned in thesefradulent transactions; when they saw the price of stock sinking daily, they employed all their influence with the bank to support the credit ofthe South-Sea company. That corporation agreed, though with reluctance, to subscribe into the stock of the South-Sea company, valued at fourhundred per cent. , three millions five hundred thousand pounds, whichthe company was to repay to the bank on Lady-day and Michaelmas of theensuing year. This transaction was managed by Mr. Robert Walpole, who, with his own hand, wrote the minute of agreement, afterwards known bythe name of the bank contract. Books were opened at the bank to take ina subscription for the support of public credit; and considerable sumsof money were brought in. By this expedient the stock was raised atfirst, and those who contrived it seized the opportunity to realize. Butthe bankruptcy of goldsmiths and the sword-blade company, from the fallof South-Sea stock, occasioned such a run upon the bank, that the moneywas 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 toperform, for it was drawn up in such a manner as to be no more than therough draft of a subsequent agreement, without due form, penalty, orclause of obligation. All expedients having failed, and the clamoursof 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 inEngland 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, hismajesty expressed his concern for the unhappy turn of affairs, which hadso deeply affected the public credit at home: he earnestly desired thecommons to consider of the most effectual and speedy methods to restorethe national credit, and fix it upon a lasting establishment. Thelower house was too much interested in the calamity to postpone theconsideration of that subject. The members seemed to lay aside all partydistinctions, and vie with each other in promoting an inquiry, by whichjustice might be done to the injured nation. They ordered the directorsto produce an account of all their proceedings. Sir Joseph Jekyll movedthat a select committee might be appointed to examine the particularsof this transaction. Mr. Walpole, now paymaster of the forces, observed, that such a method would protract the inquiry, while the public creditlay in a bleeding condition. He told the house he had formed a schemefor restoring public credit; but, before he would communicate thisplan, desired to know whether the subscriptions of public debts andincumbrances, money-subscriptions and other contracts made with theSouth-Sea company, should remain in the present state. After a warmdebate, the question was carried in the affirmative, with this addition, "Unless altered for the ease and relief of the proprietors, by a generalcourt of the South-Sea company, or set aside in due course of law. " Nextday Walpole produced his scheme, --to ingraft nine millions of South-Seastock into the bank of England, and the like sum into the East Indiacompany, on certain conditions. The house voted, that proposals shouldbe received from the bank, and those two companies on this subject. These being delivered the commons resolved, that an engrossment of ninemillions of the capital stock of the South-Sea company into thecapital stock of the bank and East-India company, as proposed by thesecompanies, 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, forrestraining the sub-governor, deputy-governor, directors, treasurer, under-treasurer, cashier, secretary, and accountants, of the South-Seacompany, from quitting the kingdom till the end of the next sessionof parliament; and for discovering their estates and effects, so as toprevent them from being transported or alienated. A committee of secrecywas chosen by ballot, to examine all the books, papers, and proceedingsrelating to the execution of the South-Sea act. The lords were not less eager than the commons to prosecute thisinquiry, though divers members in both houses were deeply involved inthe guilt and infamy of the transaction. Earl Stanhope said the estatesof the criminals, whether directors or not directors, ought to beconfiscated, to repair the public losses. He was seconded by lordCarteret, and even by the earl of Sunderland. The duke of Whartondeclared he would give up the best friend he had should he be foundguilty. He observed, that the nation had been plundered in a mostflagrant and notorious manner; therefore, they ought to find out andpunish the offenders severely, without respect to persons. The sub anddeputy-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-Indiacompany, or in the bank of England. Three brokers were likewiseexamined, and made great discoveries. Knight, the treasurer of theSouth-Sea company, who had been entrusted with the secrets of thewhole affair, thought proper to withdraw himself from the kingdom. Aproclamation was issued to apprehend him; and another for preventing anyof the directors from escaping out of the kingdom. At this period, thesecret committee informed the house of commons that they had alreadydiscovered a train of the deepest villany and fraud that hell evercontrived to ruin a nation, which in due time they would lay before thehouse; in the meanwhile, they thought it highly necessary to secure thepersons of some of the directors and principal officers of the South-Seacompany, as well as to seize their papers. An order was made to securethe books and papers of Knight, Surman, and Turner. The persons of sirGeorge 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 houseand apprehended. Mr. Aislaby resigned his employments of chancellor ofthe exchequer and lord of the treasury; and orders were given to removeall directors of the South-Sea company from the places they possessedunder the government. The lords, in the course of their examination, discovered that largeportions of South-Sea stock had been given to several persons in theadministration and house of commons, for promoting the passing of theSouth-Sea act. The house immediately resolved, that this practice was anotorious and most dangerous species of corruption: that the directorsof the South-Sea company having ordered great quantities of their stockto be bought for the service of the company, when it was at a very highprice, and on pretence of keeping up the price of stock; and at thesame time several of the directors, and other officers belonging to thecompany, having, in a clandestine manner, sold their own stock to thecompany, such directors and officers were guilty of a notorious fraudand breach of trust, and their so doing was one great cause of theunhappy turn of affairs that had so much affected public credit. Manyother resolutions were taken against that infamous confederacy, inwhich, however, the innocent were confounded with the guilty. Sir JohnBlunt refusing to answer certain interrogations, a violent debate aroseabout the manner in which he should be treated. The duke of Whartonobserved, that the government of the best princes was sometimes renderedintolerable to their subjects by bad ministers: he mentioned the exampleof Sejanus, who had made a division in the imperial family, and renderedthe reign of Cladius hateful to the Romans. Earl Stanhope conceivingthis reflection was aimed at him, was seized with a transport of anger. He undertook to vindicate the ministry; and spoke with such vehemence asproduced a violent headache, which obliged him to retire. He underwentproper evacuations, and seemed to recover; but next day, in the evening, became lethargic, and being seized with a suffocation, instantlyexpired. The king deeply regretted the death of this favourite minister, which was the more unfortunate as it happened at such a criticalconjuncture; and he appointed lord Town-shend to fill his place ofsecretary. Earl Stanhope was survived but a few days by the othersecretary Mr. Craggs, who died of the small-pox on the sixteenth day ofFebruary. Knight, the cashier of the South-Sea company, being seized atTirlemont by the vigilance of Mr. Gandot, secretary to Mr. Loathes theBritish resident at Brussels, was confined in the citadel of Antwerp. Application was made to the court of Vienna, that he should be deliveredto such persons as might be appointed to receive him; but he had foundmeans to interest the states of Brabant in his behalf. They insistedupon their privilege granted by charter, that no person apprehended forany crime in Brabant should be tried in any other country. The houseof commons expressed their indignation at this frivolous pretence;instances were renewed to the emperor; and in the meantime Knightescaped from the citadel of Antwerp. SEVERE RESOLUTIONS AGAINST THE SOUTH-SEA COMPANY. The committee of secrecy found, that, before any subscription couldbe made, a fictitious stock of five hundred and seventy-four thousandpounds had been disposed of by the directors, to facilitate thepassing the bill. Great part of this was distributed among the earl ofSunderland, Mr. Craggs, senior, the duchess of Kendal, the countessof Platen and her two nieces, Mr. Secretary Craggs, and Mr. Aislabychancellor of the exchequer. In consequence of the committee's report, the house came to several severe, though just, resolutions against thedirectors and officers of the South-Sea company; and a bill was preparedfor the relief of the unhappy sufferers. Mr. Stanhope, one of thesecretaries of the treasury, charged in the report with having largequantities of stock and subscriptions, desired that he might have anopportunity to clear himself. His request was granted; and the affairbeing discussed, he was cleared by a majority of three voices. Fiftythousand pounds in stock had been taken by Knight for the use of theearl of Sunderland. Great part of the house entered eagerly intothis inquiry; and a violent dispute ensued. The whole strength ofthe ministry was mustered in his defence. The majority declared himinnocent: the nation in general was of another opinion. He resigned hisplace of first commissioner in the treasury, which was bestowed upon Mr. Robert Walpole; but he still retained the confidence of his master. Withrespect to Mr. Aislaby, the evidence appeared so strong against him, that the commons resolved, he had promoted the distinctive executionof the South-Sea scheme, with a view to his own exorbitant profit, andcombined with the directors in their pernicious practices to the ruinof public credit. He was expelled the house, and committed to the Tower. Mr. Craggs, senior, died of a lethargy, before he underwent the censureof the house. Nevertheless they resolved that he was a notoriousaccomplice with Robert Knight, and some of the directors, in carrying ontheir scandalous practices; and therefore, that all the estate of whichhe was possessed, from the first day of December in the preceding year, should be applied towards the relief of the unhappy sufferers in theSouth-Sea company. The directors, in obedience to the orders of thehouse, delivered in inventories of their estates, which were confiscatedby act of parliament, towards making good the damages sustained by thecompany, after a certain allowance was deducted for each according tohis conduct and circumstances. {1721} The delinquents being thus punished by the forfeiture of their fortunes, the house converted their attention to means for repairing themischiefs which the scheme had produced. This was a very difficult task, on account of the contending interests of those engaged in the South-Seacompany, which rendered it impossible to relieve some but at the expenseof others. Several wholesome resolutions were taken, and presented withan address to the king, explaining the motives of their proceedings. Onthe twenty-ninth day of July, the parliament was prorogued for two daysonly. Then his majesty going to the house of peers, declared that hehad called them together again so suddenly, that they might resume theconsideration of the state of public credit. The commons immediatelyprepared a bill upon the resolutions they had taken. The whole capitalstock, 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-fourmillions five hundred thousand pounds; the remaining capital stockbelonged to the company in their corporate capacity. It was the profitarising from the execution of the South-Sea scheme; and out of thisthe bill enacted, that seven millions should be paid to the public. Thepresent act likewise directed several additions to be made to the stockof the proprietors, out of that possessed by the company in their ownright; it made a particular distribution of stock, amounting to twomillions two hun dred thousand pounds; and upon remitting five millionsof the seven to be paid to the public, annihilated two millions of theircapital. It was enacted, that, after these distributions, the remainingcapital stock should be divided among all the proprietors. This dividendamounted 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 theparliament discharged all the debtors, upon their paying ten per cent. Upon this article the company's loss exceeded six millions nine hundredthousand pounds, for many debtors refused to make any payment. Theproprietors of the stock loudly complained of their being deprived oftwo millions; and the parliament in the sequel revived that sum whichhad been annihilated. While this affair was in agitation, petitionsfrom counties, cities, and boroughs, in all parts of the kingdom, werepresented to the house, crying for justice against the villany ofthe directors. Pamphlets and papers were daily published on the samesubject; so that the whole nation was exasperated to the highest pitchof resentment. Nevertheless, by the wise and vigorous resolutions ofthe parliament, the South-Sea company was soon in a condition to fulfiltheir 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. _ {GEORGE I. , 1714-1727} BILL AGAINST ATHEISM. During the infatuation produced by this infamous scheme, luxury, vice, and profligacy, increased to a shocking degree of extravagance. Theadventurers, intoxicated by their imaginary wealth, pampered themselveswith the rarest dainties, and the most expensive wines that could beimported; they purchased the most sumptuous furniture, equipage, andapparel, though without taste or discernment; they indulged theircriminal passions to the most scandalous excess; their discourse was thelanguage of pride, insolence, and the most ridiculous ostentation; theyaffected to scoff at religion and morality, and even to set heaven atdefiance. The earl of Nottingham complained in the house of lords of thegrowth of atheism, profaneness, and immorality; and a bill was broughtin for suppressing blasphemy and profaneness. It contained severalarticles seemingly calculated to restrain the liberty granted tononconformists by the laws of the last session: for that reason itmet with violent opposition. It was supported by the archbishop ofCanterbury, the earl of Nottingham, lords Bathurst and Trevor, thebishops of London, Winchester, and Litchfield and Coventry. One ofthese said, he verily believed the present calamity occasioned bythe South-Sea project, was a judgment of God on the blasphemy andprofaneness of the nation. Lord Onslow replied, "That noble peer mustthen be a great sinner, for he has lost considerably by the South-Seascheme. " The duke of Wharton, who had rendered himself famous by his witand profligacy, said he was not insensible of the common opinion ofthe town concerning himself, and gladly seized this opportunity ofvindicating his character, by declaring he was far from being a patronof blasphemy, or an enemy to religion. On the other hand, he could notbut oppose the bill, because he conceived it to be repugnant to the holyscripture. Then pulling an old family bible from his pocket, he quotedseveral passages from the epistles of St. Peter and St. Paul;concluding with a desire that the bill might be thrown out. The earl ofPeterborough declared, that though he was for a parliamentary king, yet he did not desire to have a parliamentary God, or a parliamentaryreligion; and, should the house declare for one of this kind, he wouldgo to Rome and endeavour to be chosen a cardinal; for he had rathersit in a conclave than with their lordships upon those terms. After avehement debate, the bill was postponed to a long day, by a considerablemajority. The season was far advanced before the supplies were granted;and at length they were not voted with that cheerfulness and good humourwhich the majority had hitherto manifested on such occasions. On thesixteenth 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. Theleaders of the opposition took fire at this intimation. They desired toknow whether this subsidy, amounting to seventy-two thousand pounds, wasto be paid to Sweden over and above the expense of maintaining a strongsquadron in the Baltic? Lord Molesworth observed, that, by our lateconduct, we were become the allies of the whole world, and the bubblesof all our allies: for we were obliged to pay them well for theirassistance. He affirmed that the treaties which had been made withSweden at different times, were inconsistent and contradictory; thatour late engagements with that crown were contrary to the treatiessubsisting with Denmark, and directly opposite to the measures formerlyconcerted with the czar of Muscovy. He said, that in order to engage theczar to yield what he had gained in the course of the war, the kingof Prussia ought to give up Stetin, and the elector of Hanoverrestore Bremen and Verden; that, after all, England had no business tointermeddle with the affairs of the empire; that we reaped little orno advantage by our trade to the Baltic, but that of procuring navalstores; he owned that hemp was a very necessary commodity, particularlyat this juncture; but he insisted that if due encouragement were givento some of our plantations in America, we might be supplied from thenceat a much cheaper rate than from Sweden and Norway. Notwithstandingthese arguments, the Swedish supply was granted; and, in about threeweeks, their complaisance was put to another proof. They were givento understand, by a second message, that the debts of the civil listamounted to five hundred and fifty thousand pounds; and his majestyhoped they would empower him to raise that sum upon the revenue, as heproposed it should be replaced in the civil list, and reimbursed by adeduction from the salaries and wages of all officers, as well as fromthe pensions and other payments from the crown. A bill was prepared forthis 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 kingclosed the session with a speech, in which he expressed his concernfor the sufferings of the innocent, and a just indignation against theguilty, with respect to the South-Sea scheme. These professions werejudged necessary to clear his own character, which had incurred thesuspicion of some people, who whispered that he was not altogether freefrom connexions with the projectors of that design; that the emperorhad, at his desire, refused to deliver up Knight; and that he favouredthe 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 ofScotland. In June the treaty of peace between Great Britain and Spainwas signed at Madrid. The contracting parties engaged to restoremutually all the effects seized and confiscated on both sides. Inparticular, the king of England promised to restore all the ships of theSpanish fleet which had been taken in the Mediterranean, or the value ofthem, if they were sold. He likewise promised, in a secret article, thathe would no longer interfere in the affairs of Italy: and the king ofSpain made an absolute cession of Gibraltar and Port Mahon. At the sametime a defensive alliance was concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain. All remaining difficulties were referred to a congress atCambray, where they hoped to consolidate a general peace, by determiningall differences between the emperor and his catholic majesty. In themeantime the powers of Great Britain, France, and Spain, engaged, byvirtue of the present treaty, to grant to the duke of Parma a particularprotection for the preservation of his territories and rights, andfor the support of his dignity. It was also stipulated that thestates-general should be invited to accede to this alliance. Thecongress at Cambray was opened; but the demands on both sides were sohigh, that it proved ineffectual. In the meantime, the peace betweenRussia and Sweden was concluded, on condition that the czar shouldretain Livonia, Ingria, Estonia, part of Carelia, and of the territoryof Wyburg, Riga, Revel, and Nerva, in consideration of his restoringpart of Finland, and paying two millions of rix-dollars to the king ofSweden. The personal animosity subsisting between king George and theczar 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 adeclaration at Petersburgh, complaining of this outrage, which, hesaid, ought naturally to have engaged him to use reprisals; but as heperceived it was done without any regard to the concerns of England, and only in favour of the Hanoverian interest, he was unwilling that theEnglish nation should suffer for a piece of injustice in which they hadno share. He, therefore, granted to them all manner of security, andfree liberty to trade in all his dominions. To finish this strangetissue of negotiations, king George concluded a treaty with the Moors ofAfrica, against which the Spaniards loudly exclaimed. PLAGUE AT MARSEILLES. In the course of this year pope Clement XI. Died; and the princessof Wales was delivered of a prince, baptized by the name ofWilliam-Augustus, the late duke of Cumberland. A dreadful plague ragingat Marseilles, a proclamation was published, forbidding any person tocome into England, from any part of France between the Bay of Biscay andDunkirk, without certificates of health. Other precautions were takento guard against contagion. An act of parliament had passed in thepreceding session, for the prevention of infection, by buildingpest-houses, to which all infected persons, and all persons of aninfected family, should be conveyed; and by drawing trenches and linesround any city, town, or place infected. The king, in his speech atopening the session of parliament on the nineteenth day of October, intimated the pacification of the north, by the conclusion of the treatybetween Muscovy and Sweden. He desired the house of commons to considerof means for easing the duties upon the imported commodities used inthe manufactures of the kingdom. He observed, that the nation might besupplied with naval stores from our own colonies in North America; andthat their being employed in this useful and advantageous branch ofcommerce, would divert them from setting up manufactures which directlyinterfered with those of Great Britain. He expressed a desire that, withrespect to the supplies, his people might reap some immediate benefitfrom the present circumstances of affairs abroad; and he earnestlyrecommended 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 housewas the case of John Law, the famous projector. The resentment of thepeople on account of his Mississippi scheme had obliged him to leaveFrance. He retired to Italy; and was said to have visited the pretenderat Rome. From thence he repaired to Hanover; and returned to Englandfrom the Baltic, in the fleet commanded by sir John Norris. The kingfavoured him with a private audience; he kept open house, and wasvisited by great numbers of persons of the first quality. Earl Coningsbyrepresented in the house of lords that he could not but entertain somejealousy of a person who had done so much mischief in a neighbouringkingdom; who, being immensely rich, might do a great deal more hurthere, by tampering with those who were grown desperate, in consequenceof being involved in the calamity occasioned by the fatal imitationof his pernicious projects. He observed, that this person was the moredangerous, as he had renounced his natural affection to his country, hisallegiance to his lawful sovereign, and his religion, by turning Romancatholic. Lord Carteret replied, that Mr. Law had, many years ago, themisfortune to kill a gentleman in a duel; but, having at last receivedthe benefit of the king's clemency, and the appeal lodged by therelations of the deceased being taken off, he was come over to plead hismajesty's pardon. He said there was no law to keep an Englishman out ofhis country; and, as Mr. Law was a subject of Great Britain, it wasnot even in the king's power to hinder him from coming over. After somedispute, the subject was dropped, and this great projector pleaded hispardon 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. Somechiefs of the opposition they had brought over to their measures, andamong the rest lord Harcourt, who was created a viscount, and gratifiedwith a pension of four thousand pounds. Nevertheless they could notshut the mouths of the minority, who still preserved the privilege ofcomplaining. Great debates were occasioned by the navy debt, which wasincreased to one million seven hundred thousand pounds. Some members inboth houses affirmed, that such extraordinary expense could not be forthe immediate service of Great Britain; but, in all probability, for thepreservation of foreign acquisitions. The ministers answered, that neartwo-thirds of the navy debts were contracted in the late reign; and theparliament acquiesced in this declaration; but in reality the navy debthad been unnecessarily increased, by keeping seamen in pay during thewinter, and sending fleets to the Mediterranean and Baltic in order tosupport the interests of Germany. The duke of Wharton moved that thetreaty with Spain might be laid before the house. The earl of Sunderlandsaid it contained a secret article which the king of Spain desiredmight not be made public until after the treaty of Cambray should bediscussed. The question was put, and the duke's motion rejected. The earl of Strafford asserted, that as the war with Spain had beenundertaken without necessity or just provocation, so the peace wasconcluded without any benefit or advantage; that, contrary to the law ofnations, the Spanish fleet had been attacked without any declarationof war; even while a British minister and a secretary of state weretreating amicably at Madrid; that the war was neither just nor politic, since it interrupted one of the most valuable branches of the Englishcommerce, at a time when the nation groaned under the pressure of heavydebts, incurred by the former long expensive war. He therefore moved foran address to his majesty, desiring that the instructions given to sirGeorge Byng, now lord Torrington, should be laid before the house. This motion being likewise, upon the question, rejected, a protest wasentered. They voted an address, however, to know in what manner the kinghad disposed of the ships taken from the Spaniards. Disputes arose fromthe bill to prevent infection. Earl Cowper represented, that the removalof persons to a lazaret, or pest-house, by order of the government, and the drawing lines and trenches round places infected, were powersunknown to the British constitution; inconsistent with the lenity ofa free government, such as could never be wisely or usefully put inpractice; the more odious, because copied from the arbitrary governmentof France; and impracticable, except by military compulsion. Thoseobnoxious clauses were accordingly repealed, though not without greatopposition. Indeed, nothing can be more absurd than a constitution thatwill not admit of just and necessary laws and regulations to preventthe dire consequences of the worst of all calamities. Such restrictions, instead of favouring the lenity of a free government, would be the mostcruel imposition that could be laid on a free people, as it would act indiametrical opposition to the great principles of society, which is thepreservation of the individual. PETITION OF THE QUAKERS.. The quakers having presented a petition to the house of commons, prayingthat a bill might be brought in for omitting in their solemn affirmationthe words "In the presence of Almighty God, " the house complied withtheir 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 adistinguishing mark of indulgence should be allowed to a set of peoplewho were hardly christians. He was supported by the archbishop of York, the earl of Strafford, and lord North and Grey. A petition was presentedagainst the bill by the London clergy, who expressed a serious concernlest the minds of good men should be grieved and wounded, and theenemies of Christianity triumph, when they should see such condescensionmade by a christian legislature to a set of men who renounce the divineinstitutions of Christ; particularly that by which the faithful areinitiated into his religion, and denominated christians. The petition, though presented by the archbishop of York, was branded by the ministryas a seditious libel, and rejected by the majority. Then, upon a motionby the earl of Sunderland, the house resolved that such lords as mightenter protestations with reasons, should do it before two o'clock onthe next sitting day, and sign them before the house rises. The suppliesbeing granted, and the business of the session despatched as the courtwas pleased to dictate, on the seventh day of March the parliamentwas prorogued. In a few days it was dissolved, and another convoked byproclamation. In the election of members for the new parliament, theministry exerted itself with such success as returned a great majorityin the house of commons, extremely well adapted for all the purposes ofan 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. {1722} In the beginning of May, the king is said to have received from the dukeof Orleans full and certain information of a fresh conspiracy formedagainst his person and government. A camp was immediately formedin Hyde-Park. All military officers were ordered to repair to theirrespective commands. Lieutenant-general Macartney was despatched toIreland, to bring over some troops from that kingdom. Some suspectedpersons were apprehended in Scotland: the states of Holland were desiredto have their auxiliary or guarantee troops in readiness to be embarked;and colonel Churchill was sent to the court of France with a privatecommission. The apprehension raised by this supposed plot affectedthe public credit. South-Sea stock began to fall, and crowds of peoplecalled in their money from the bank. Lord Townshend wrote a letter tothe mayor of London, by the king's command, signifying his majesty'shaving received unquestionable advices that several of his subjects hadentered into a wicked conspiracy, in concert with traitors abroad, forraising a rebellion in favour of a popish pretender; but that he wasfirmly assured the authors of it neither were nor would be supportedby any foreign power. This letter was immediately answered by anaffectionate address from the court of aldermen; and the example ofLondon was followed by many other cities and boroughs. The king haddetermined to visit Hanover, and actually settled a regency, in whichthe prince of Wales was not included: but now this intended journey waslaid aside; the court was removed to Kensington, and the prince retiredto Richmond. The bishop of Rochester having been seized with hispapers, was examined before a committee of the council, who committedhim to the Tower for high-treason. The earl of Orrery, lord North andGrey, and Mr. Cockran and Mr. Smith from Scotland, and Mr. ChristopherLayer, a young gentleman of the Temple, were confined in the sameplace. Mr. George Kelly, an Irish clergyman, Mr. Robert Cotton ofHuntingdonshire, Mr. Bingly, Mr. Fleetwood, Neynoe, an Irish priest, andseveral persons, were taken into custody; and Mr. Shippen's house wassearched. After bishop Atterbury had remained a fortnight in the Tower, sir Constantine Phipps presented a petition to the court at the OldBailey, in the name of Mrs. Morris, that prelate's daughter, prayingthat, in consideration of the bishop's ill state of health, he might beeither brought to a speedy trial, bailed, or discharged: but this wasover-ruled. The churchmen through the whole kingdom were filled withindignation at the confinement of a bishop, which they said was anoutrage upon the church of England, and the episcopal order. Far fromconcealing their sentiments on this subject, the clergy ventured tooffer up public prayers for his health, in almost all the churches andchapels of London and Westminster. In the meantime, the king, attendedby the prince of Wales, made a summer progress through the westerncounties. NEW PARLIAMENT. The new parliament being assembled on the ninth day of October, hismajesty made them acquainted with the nature of the conspiracy. He saidthe conspirators had, by their emissaries, made the strongest instancesfor succours from foreign powers, but were disappointed in theirexpectations. That nevertheless, confiding in their numbers, they hadresolved once more, upon their own strength, to attempt the subversionof his government. He said they had provided considerable sums of money, engaged great numbers of officers from abroad, secured large quantitiesof arms and ammunition; and, had not the plot been timely discovered, the whole nation, and particularly the city of London, would have beeninvolved in blood and confusion. He expatiated upon the mildness andintegrity of his own government; and inveighed against the ingratitude, the implacability, and madness of the disaffected, concluding with anassurance that he would steadily adhere to the constitution in churchand state, and continue to make the laws of the realm the rule andmeasure of all his actions. Such addresses were presented by bothhouses, as the fears and attachment of the majority may be supposed tohave dictated on such an occasion. A bill was brought into the house oflords for suspending the _habeas-corpus_ act for a whole year, but theywere far from being unanimous in agreeing to such an unusual length oftime. By this suspension they, in effect, vested the ministry with adictatorial power over the liberties of the people. DECLARATION OF THE PRETENDER. The opposition in the house of commons was so violent, that Mr. RobertWalpole found it necessary to alarm their apprehensions by a dreadfulstory of a design to seize the bank and exchequer, and to proclaim thepretender on the Royal Exchange. Their passions being inflamed by thisridiculous artifice, they passed the bill, which immediately receivedthe royal assent. The duke of Norfolk being brought from Bath, wasexamined before the council, and committed to the Tower on suspicionof high-treason. On the sixteenth day of November, the king sent to thehouse of peers the original and printed copy of a declaration signed bythe pretender. It was dated at Lucca, on the twentieth day of September, in the present year, and appeared to be a proposal addressed to thesubjects of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as to all foreign princesand states. In this paper, the chevalier de St. George having mentionedthe late violation of the freedom of elections, conspiracies invented togive a colour to new oppressions, infamous informers, and the state ofproscription in which he supposed every honest man to be, very gravelyproposed, that if king George would relinquish to him the throne ofGreat Britain, he would, in return, bestow upon him the title of kingin his native dominions, and invite all Other states to confirm it; helikewise promised to leave to king George his succession to the Britishdominions secure, whenever, in due course, his natural right should takeplace. The lords unanimously resolved that this declaration was a false, insolent, and traitorous libel; and ordered it to be burned at the RoyalExchange. The commons concurred in these resolutions. Both houses joinedin an address, expressing their utmost astonishment and indignation atthe surprising insolence of the pretender; and assuring his majesty theywere determined to support his title to the crown with their lives andfortunes. The commons prepared a bill for raising one hundred thousandpounds upon the real and personal estates of all papists, or personseducated in the popish religion, towards defraying the expensesoccasioned by the late rebellion and disorders. This bill, thoughstrenuously opposed by some moderate members as a species ofpersecution, was sent up to the house of lords; together with anotherobliging all persons being papists in Scotland, and all persons in GreatBritain, refusing or neglecting to take the oaths appointed for thesecurity of the king's person and government, to register their namesand real estates. Both these bills passed through the upper housewithout amendment, and received the royal sanction. REPORT OF THE SECRET COMMITTEE. Mr. Layer being brought to his trial at the king's bench, on thetwenty-first day of November, was convicted for having enlisted men forthe pretender's service, in order to stir up a rebellion, and receivedsentence of death. He was reprieved for some time, and examined by acommittee of the house of commons: but he either could not, or wouldnot, discover the particulars of the conspiracy, so that he suffereddeath at Tyburn, and his head was fixed up at Temple-bar. Mr. Pulteney, chairman of the committee, reported to the house, that, from theexamination of Layer and others, a design had been formed by persons offigure and distinction at home, in conjunction with traitors abroad, forplacing the pretender on the throne of these realms: that their firstintention was to procure a body of foreign troops to invade the kingdomat the time of the late elections; but that the conspirators beingdisappointed in this expectation, resolved to make an attempt at thetime that it was generally believed the king intended to go to Hanover, by the help of such officers and soldiers as could pass into Englandunobserved, from abroad, under the command of the late duke of Ormond, who was to have landed in the river with a great quantity of armsprovided in Spain for that purpose; at which time the Tower was to havebeen seized. That this scheme being also defeated by the vigilance ofthe government, they deferred their enterprise till the breaking up ofthe camp; and, in the meantime, employed their agents to corrupt andseduce the officers and soldiers of the army: that it appeared fromseveral letters and circumstances, that the late duke of Ormond, theduke of Norfolk, the earl of Orrery, lord North and Grey, and the bishopof Rochester, were concerned in this conspiracy; that their actingagents were Christopher Layer and John Plunket, who travelled togetherto Rome; Dennis Kelly, George Kelly, and Thomas Carte, nonjuringclergymen; Neynoe the Irish priest, who by this time was drowned inthe river Thames in attempting to make his escape from the messenger'shouse; 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 thanthe first rudiments of a design that was never digested into any regularform; otherwise the persons said to be concerned in it must have beeninfatuated to a degree of frenzy: for they were charged with having madeapplication to the regent of France, who was well known to be intimatelyconnected with the king of Great Britain. The house of commons, however, resolved, that it was a detestable and horrid conspiracy for raisinga rebellion, seizing the Tower and the city of London, laying violenthands upon the persons of his most sacred majesty and the prince ofWales, in order to subvert our present happy establishment in church andstate, by placing a popish pretender upon the throne: that it was formedand carried on by persons of figure and distinction, and their agentsand instruments, in conjunction with traitors abroad. Bills were broughtin and passed, for inflicting pains and penalties against John Plunketand George Kelly, who were by these acts to be kept in close custodyduring his majesty's pleasure, in any prison in Great Britain; and thatthey should not attempt to escape on pain of death, to be inflicted uponthem and their assistants. Mr. Yonge made a motion for a bill of thesame nature against the bishop of Rochester. This was immediatelybrought into the house, though sir William Wyndham affirmed that therewas no evidence against him but conjectures and hearsay. The bishopwrote a letter to the speaker, importing, that, though conscious of hisown innocence, he should decline giving the house any trouble that day, contenting himself with the opportunity of making his defence beforeanother, of which he had the honour to be a member. Counsel being heardfor the bill, it was committed to a grand committee on the sixth day ofApril, when the majority of the tory members quitted the house. Itwas then moved, that the bishop should be deprived of his officeand benefice, and banished the kingdom for ever. Mr. Lawson and Mr. Oglethorpe spoke in his favour. {1723} The bill being passed, and sent up to the lords, the bishop was broughtto his trial before them on the ninth of May. Himself and his counselhaving been heard, the lords proceeded to consider the articles of thebill. When they read it a third time, a motion was made to pass it, andthen a long and warm debate ensued. Earl Paulet demonstrated the dangerand injustice of swerving in such an extraordinary manner from the fixedrules of evidence. The duke of Wharton having summed up the depositions, and proved the insufficiency of them, concluded with saying, that, letthe consequences be what they would, he hoped such a hellish stainwould never sully the lustre and glory of that illustrious house, as tocondemn a man without the least evidence. Lord Bathurst spokeagainst the bill with equal strength and eloquence. He said, if suchextraordinary proceedings were countenanced, he saw nothing remainingfor him and others to do, but to retire to their country houses, and there, if possible, quietly enjoy their estates within their ownfamilies, since the least correspondence, the least intercepted letter, might be made criminal. He observed, that cardinal Mazarin boasted, thatif he had but two lines of any man's writing, he could, by means of afew circumstances, attested by witnesses, deprive him of his life athis pleasure. Turning to the bench of bishops, who had been generallyunfavourable to Dr. Atterbury, he said he could hardly account for theinveterate hatred and malice some persons bore the learned and ingenuousbishop of Rochester, unless they were intoxicated with the infatuationof some savage Indians, who believe they inherited not only the spoils, but even the abilities of any great enemy whom they had killed inbattle. The bill was supported by the duke of Argyle, the earl ofSeafield, and Lord Lechmere, which last was answered by earl Cowper. This nobleman observed, that the strongest argument urged in behalf ofthe bill was necessity; but that, for his part, he saw no necessity thatcould justify such unprecedented and such dangerous proceedings, as theconspiracy had above twelve months before been happily discovered, andthe effects of it prevented: that, besides the intrinsic weight andstrength of the government, the hands of those at the helm had beenstill further fortified by the suspension of the _habeas-corpus_ act, and the additional troops which had been raised. He said the known rulesof evidence, as laid down at first and established by the law of theland, were the birth-right of every subject in the nation, and ought tobe 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 theclerks of the post-office, was a very dangerous precedent. In formertimes, said he, it was thought very grievous that in capital cases aman should be affected by similitude of hands; but here the case is muchworse, since it is allowed that the clerks of the post-office shouldcarry the similitude of hands four months in their minds. He applaudedthe bishop's noble deportment in declining to answer before the house ofcommons, whose proceedings in this unprecedented manner, against alord of parliament, was such an encroachment on the prerogative of thepeerage, that if they submitted to it, by passing the bill, theymight be termed the last of British peers, for giving up their ancientprivileges. The other party were not so solicitous about answeringreasons, as eager to put the question, when the bill passed, and aprotest was entered. By this act the bishop was deprived of all offices, benefices, and dignities, and rendered incapable of enjoying any for thefuture: he was banished the realm, and subjected to the pains of deathin case he should return, as were all persons who should correspond withhim during his exile. Dr. Friend, the celebrated physician, who was amember of the house of commons, and had exerted himself strenuouslyin behalf of the bishop, was now taken into custody on suspicion oftreasonable practices. PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THOSE CONCERNED IN THE LOTTERY AT HAMBURGH. The next object that excited the resentment of the commons was thescheme of a lottery to be drawn at Hamburgh in the king's Germandominions. The house appointed a committee to inquire into thisand other lotteries at that time on foot in London. The scheme waspublished, on pretence of raising a subscription for maintaining a tradebetween Great Britain and the king's territories on the Elbe; but itwas a mysterious scene of iniquity, which the committee, with all theirpenetration, could not fully discover. They reported, however, that itwas an infamous fraudulent undertaking, whereby many unwary persons hadbeen drawn in, to their great loss: that the manner of carrying iton had been a manifest violation of the laws of the kingdom: that themanagers and agents of this lottery had, without any authority for sodoing, made use of his majesty's royal name, thereby to give countenanceto the infamous project, and induce his majesty's subjects to engage orbe concerned therein. A bill was brought in to suppress this lottery;and to oblige the managers of it to make restitution of the money theyhad received from the contributors. At the same time the house resolved, That John lord viscount Barrington had been notoriously guilty ofpromoting, abetting, and carrying on their fraudulent undertaking;for which offence he should be expelled the house. The court of Viennahaving erected an East-India company at Os-tend, upon a scheme formed byone Colebrooke an English merchant, sir Nathaniel Gould represented tothe house of commons the great detriment which the English East-Indiacompany had already received, and were likely further to sustain, by this Ostend company. The house immediately resolved, That for thesubjects of this kingdom to subscribe, or be concerned in encouragingany subscription, to promote an East-India company now erecting in theAustrian Netherlands, was a high crime and misdemeanor; and a lawwas enacted for preventing British subjects from engaging in thatenterprise. By another act, relating to the South-Sea company, the twomillions of stock which had been annihilated were revived, added to thecapital, and divided among the proprietors. A third law passed, for themore effectual execution of justice in a part of Southwark calledthe Mint, where a great number of debtors had taken sanctuary, on thesupposition that it was a privileged place. On the twenty-seventh clayof May the session was closed, with a speech that breathed nothingbut panegyric, acknowledgment, and affection to a parliament which hadcomplied with all his majesty's wishes. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT. His majesty having ennobled the son of Mr. Robert Walpole, inconsideration of the father's services, made a good number of churchpromotions. He admitted the imprisoned lords and gentlemen to bail;granted a pardon to lord Bolingbroke; and ordered the bishop ofRochester to be conveyed to the continent. Then he himself set out forHanover, leaving the administration of his kingdoms in the hands of aregency, lord Har-court being one of the justices. The king was attendedby the two secretaries, lords Townshend and Carteret, who were countedable negotiators. The affairs of the continent had begun to take a newturn. The interests and connexions of the different princes were becomeperplexed and embarrassed; and king George resolved to unravel themby dint of negotiation. Understanding that a treaty was on the carpetbetween the czar and the king of Sweden, favourable to the duke ofHolstein's pretensions to Sleswick, the possession of which the electorof Hanover had guaranteed to Denmark, his majesty began to be in painfor Bremen and Verden. The regent of France and the king of Spain hadnow compromised all differences; and their reconciliation was cementedby a double marriage between Philip's sons and the regent's daughters. The former proposed new treaties to England; but insisted upon therestitution of Gibraltar and Port-Mahon, as well as upon the king'sopenly declaring against the Ostend company. His Britannic majesty wasapprehensive, that, should the emperor be hard pressed on that subject, he might join the czar and the king of Sweden, and promote their designsin favour of the duke of Holstein. On the other hand, all the Italianpowers exclaimed against the treaty of London. The pope had protestedagainst any thing that might have been decided at Cambray to theprejudice of his right. Memorials to the same effect had been presentedby the king of Sardinia, the dukes of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena. Franceand Spain were inclined to support these potentates against the houseof Austria. Europe seemed to be on the eve of a new war. King George wasentangled in such a variety of treaties and interests, that he knew notwell how to extricate himself from the troublesome engagements he hadcontracted. By declaring for the emperor, he must have countenanced thenew establishment at Ostend, which was so prejudicial to his Britishsubjects, and incurred the resentment of France, Spain, and their alliesof Italy. In renouncing the interest of the emperor, he would haveexposed his German dominions. In vain he exhorted the emperor to relaxin his disputes with Spain, and give up the Ostend company, which was sodetrimental and disagreeable to his faithful allies; the court of Viennapromised in general to observe the treaties which it had concluded, but declined entering into any particular discussion; so that all hismajesty's endeavours ended in contracting closer connexions with Prussiaand Denmark. All those negotiations carried on, all those treatiesconcluded by king George, with almost every prince and state inChristendom, which succeeded one another so fast, and appear at firstview so intricate and unaccountable, were founded upon two simple andnatural principles, namely, the desire of ascertaining his acquisitionsas elector of Hanover, and his resolution to secure himself againstthe disaffection of his British subjects, as well as the efforts of thepretender. CLAMOUR IN IRELAND ON ACCOUNT OF WOOD'S COINAGE. Great Britain at this period enjoyed profound tranquillity. Ireland wasa little ruffled by an incident which seemed to have been misrepresentedto the people of that kingdom. William Wood had obtained a patent forfurnishing Ireland with copper currency, in which it was deficient. A great clamour was raised against this coin. The parliament of thatkingdom, which met in September, resolved, that it would be prejudicialto the revenue, destructive of trade, and of dangerous consequenceto the rights of the subject; that the patent had been obtained bymisrepresentation; that the halfpence wanted weight; that, even if theterms of the patent had been complied with, there would have beena great loss to the nation; that granting the power of coinage to aprivate person had ever been highly prejudicial to the kingdom, andwould at all times be of dangerous consequence. Addresses from bothhouses were presented to the king on this subject. The affair wasreferred to the lords of the privy-council of England. They justifiedthe conduct of the patentee, upon the report of Sir Isaac Newton andother officers of the Mint, who had made an assay and trial of Wood'shalfpence, and found he had complied with the terms of the patent. Theydeclared that this currency exceeded in goodness, fineness, and valueof metal, all the copper money which had been coined for Ireland, in thereigns of king Charles II. , king James II. , king William and queen Mary. The privy-council likewise demonstrated, that his majesty's predecessorshad always exercised the undoubted prerogative of granting patents forcopper coinage in Ireland to private persons: that none of these patentshad been so beneficial to the kingdom as this granted to WilliamWood, who had not obtained it in an unprecedented manner, but after areference to the attorney and solicitor-general, and after Sir IsaacNewton had been consulted in every particular: finally, they proved, bya great number of witnesses, that there was a real want of such money inIreland. Notwithstanding this decision, the ferment of the Irish nationwas industriously kept up by clamour, pamphlets, papers, and lampoons, written by dean Swift and other authors; so that Wood voluntarilyreduced his coinage from the value of one hundred thousand to fortythousand pounds. Thus the noise was silenced. The commons of Irelandpassed an act for accepting the affirmation of the quakers instead ofan oath; and voted three hundred and forty thousand pounds towardsdischarging the debt of the nation, which amounted to about double thatsum. DEATH OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS. In the month of October, England lost a worthy nobleman in the deathof earl Cowper, who had twice discharged the office of lord-chancellor, with equal discernment and integrity. He was profoundly skilled in thelaws of his country; in his apprehension quick and penetrating; in hisjudgment clear and determinate. He possessed a manly eloquence; hismanner was agreeable, and his deportment graceful. This year waslikewise remarkable for the death of the duke of Orleans, regent ofFrance, who, since the decease of Louis XIV. , had ruled that nationwith the most absolute authority. He was a prince of taste and spirit, endowed with shining talents for empire, which he did not fail todisplay, even in the midst of effeminate pursuits and idle debauchery. From the infirm constitution of the infant king, he had conceived hopesof ascending the throne, and taken his measures accordingly; but theyoung monarch's health began to be established, and all the duke'sschemes were defeated by an apoplexy, of which he died, in thefiftieth year of his age, after having nominated the duke of Bourbon asprime-minister. King George immediately received assurances of the gooddisposition of the French court, to cultivate and even improve the goodunderstanding so happily established between France and Great Britain. The king arrived in England on the eighteenth day of December; and onthe ninth day of January the parliament was assembled. His majesty, inhis speech, recommended to the commons the care of the public debts; andhe expressed his satisfaction at seeing the sinking fund improved andaugmented, so as to put the debt of the nation into a method of beingspeedily and gradually discharged. AN ACT FOR LESSENING THE PUBLIC DEBTS. This was the repeated theory of patriotism, which unhappily for thesubjects, was never reduced to practice; not but that a beginningof such a laudable work was made in this very session, by an act forlessening the public debts. This law provided that the annuities at fiveper cent, charged on the general fund by a former act, except such ashad been subscribed into the South-Sea, together with the unsubscribedblanks of the lottery in the year one thousand seven hundred andfourteen, should be paid off at Lady-day of the year next ensuing, withthe money arising from the sinking fund. The ministry, however, did notpersevere in this path of prudent economy. The commons granted all thesupplies that were demanded. They voted ten thousand seamen; and themajority, though not without violent opposition, agreed to maintain fourthousand additional troops, which had been raised in the precedingyear; so that the establishment of the land-forces amounted to eighteenthousand two hundred and sixty-four. The expense of the year wasdefrayed by a land-tax and malt-tax. The commons having despatched thesupply, took into consideration a grievance arising from protectionsgranted by foreign ministers, peers and members of parliament, underwhich profligate persons used to screen themselves from the prosecutionof their just creditors. The commons resolved, That all protectionsgranted by members of that house should be declared void, andimmediately withdrawn. The lords made a declaration to the same purpose, with an exception to menial servants, and those necessarily employedabout 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. {1724} On the twenty-fourth day of April, his majesty closed the session inthe usual manner, made some alterations in the disposition of thegreat officers of state, and sent Mr. Horatio Walpole asambassador-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 hisqueen 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 inwhich he exhorted him to cultivate the Blessed Virgin with the warmestdevotion, and put himself and his kingdoms under her protection. Therenunciation was published through the whole monarchy of Spain; andthe council of Castile resolved, That Louis might assume the reins ofgovernment without assembling the Cortez. The English minister at Pariswas instructed to interpose in behalf of the French protestants, againstwhom a severe edict had been lately published; but his remonstrancesproduced no effect. England, in the meantime, was quite barren of suchevents as deserve a place in history. The government was now firmlyestablished on the neck of opposition; and commerce flourished evenunder the load of grievous impositions. ABUSES IN CHANCERY. The next parliament, which met on the twelfth day of November, seemedto be assembled for no other purpose than that of establishing funds forthe expense of the ensuing year; yet the session was distinguished bya remarkable incident--namely, the trial of the earl of Macclesfield, lord-chancellor of England. This nobleman had connived at certainvenal practices touching the sale of places, and the money of suitorsdeposited with the masters of chancery, so as to incur the generalreproach of the nation. He found it necessary to resign the great sealin the beginning of January, 1725. On the ninth day of the ensuingmonth, the king sent a message to the commons, importing, That hismajesty having reason to apprehend that the suitors in the court ofchancery were in danger of losing a considerable sum of money, fromthe insufficiency of some of the masters, thought himself obliged, injustice and compassion to the said sufferers, to take the most speedyand proper method the law would allow for inquiring into the state ofthe master's accounts, and securing their effects for the benefit of thesuitors; and his majesty having had several reports laid before him, inpursuance of the directions he had given, had ordered the reports to becommunicated to the house, that they might have as full and as perfecta view of this important affair as the shortness of the time, and thecircumstances and nature of the proceedings, would admit. TRIAL OF THE EARL OF MACCLESFIELD. These papers being taken into consideration, sir George Oxendenobserved, that enormous abuses had crept into the high court ofchancery; that the crimes and misdemeanors of the late lord-chancellorwere 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 chanceryto an exorbitant price; trusting in their hands large sums of moneybelonging to suitors, that they might be enabled to comply with hisexorbitant demands, and that in several cases he had made diversirregular orders. He therefore moved, That Thomas earl of Macclesfieldshould be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Pulteneymoved, That this affair might be left to the consideration of a selectcommittee. Sir William Wyndham asserted, That in proceeding by wayof impeachment upon reports from above, they would make a dangerousprecedent; and seem to give up the most valuable of their privileges, the inquest after state criminals. The question being put, it wascarried for the impeachment. The earl was accordingly impeached at thebar of the upper house; a committee was appointed to prepare articles;and a bill was brought in, to indemnify the masters in chancery from thepenalties of the law, upon discovering what consideration they had paidfor their admission to their respective offices. The trial lasted twentydays; the earl was convicted of fradulent practices; and condemned in afine of thirty thousand pounds, with imprisonment until that sum shouldbe paid. He was immediately committed to the Tower, where he continuedabout six weeks; but upon producing the money he was discharged; and sirPeter King, now created baron of Oakham, succeeded him in the office ofchancellor. DEBATES ABOUT THE DEBTS OF THE CIVIL LIST. His majesty, on the eighth day of April, gave the house of commons tounderstand, that having been engaged in some extraordinary expenses, hehoped he should be enabled to raise a sum of money, by making use of thefunds 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 anaccount should be laid before the house of all monies paid for secretservice, pensions, and bounties, from the twenty-fifth day of March, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and one, to the twenty-fifth of thesame month in the present year. This address being voted, a motionwas made to consider the king's message. Mr. Pulteney urged, that thisconsideration should be postponed until the house should have examinedthe papers that were the subject of the address. He expressed hissurprise that a debt amounting to above five hundred thousand poundsshould be contracted in three years; he said, he did not wonder thatsome persons should be so eager to make good the deficiencies of thecivil-list, since they and their friends enjoyed such a share of thatrevenue; and he desired to know whether this was all that was due, orwhether they should expect another reckoning? This gentleman began tobe dissatisfied with the measures of the ministry; and his sarcasmswere aimed at Mr. Walpole, who undertook to answer his objections. Thecommons took the message into consideration, and passed a bill, enablinghis majesty to raise a sum, not exceeding one million, by exchequerbills, loans, or otherwise, on the credit of the deductions of sixpenceper pound, directed by an act of parliament of the seventh year of hismajesty, and of the civil-list revenues, at an interest not exceedingthree 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 houseby lord Finch in behalf of Henry St. John, late viscount Bolingbroke, praying that the execution of the law with respect to his forfeituresmight be suspended, as a pardon had suspended it with respect to hislife. Mr. Walpole signified to the house, by his majesty's command, that, seven years before, the petitioner had made humble applicationand submission to the king, with assurances of duty, allegiance, andfidelity; that, from his behaviour since that time, his majesty wasconvinced of his being a fit object of his mercy, and consented to hispetitioning the house. The petition being read, Mr. Walpole declaredhimself fully satisfied that the petitioner had sufficiently atoned forhis past offences; and therefore deserved the favour of that house, sofar as to enable him to enjoy the family inheritance that was settledupon 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 bebrought in for this purpose, and was warmly opposed by Mr. Methuen, comptroller of the household, who represented Bolingbroke as a monsterof iniquity. His remonstrance was supported by lord William Paulet andMr. Onslow; nevertheless, the bill was prepared, passed through bothhouses, and received the royal assent. An act being passed for disarmingthe highlanders of Scotland, another for regulating elections withinthe city of London, a third for reducing the interest of several bankannuities, together with some bills of a private nature, the parliamentwas prorogued in May, after the king had, in the warmest terms ofacknowledgment, expressed his approbation of their conduct. Then heappointed lords-justices to govern the nation in his absence; and setout 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 anew channel, so as to render ineffectual the mounds which his Britannicmajesty had raised by his multiplicity of negotiations. Louis, theSpanish monarch, dying soon after his elevation to the throne, hisfather Philip resumed the crown which he had resigned, and gave himselfup implicitly to the conduct of his queen, who was a princess ofindefatigable intrigue and insatiate ambition. The infanta, who had beenmarried to Louis XV. Of France, was so disagreeable to her husband, that the whole French nation began to be apprehensive of a civil war inconsequence of his dying without male issue; he therefore determined, with the advice of his council, to send back the infanta, as thenuptials had not been consummated; and she was attended to Madrid by themarquis de. Monteleone. The queen of Spain resented this insult offeredto her daughter; and, in revenge, dismissed mademoiselle de Beaujolois, one of the regent's daughters, who had been betrothed to her son donCarlos. As the congress at Cambray had proved ineffectual, she offeredto adjust her differences with the emperor, under the sole mediationof Great Britain. This was an honour which king George declined. He wasaverse to any undertaking that might interrupt the harmony subsistingbetween him and the court of Versailles; and he had taken umbrage at theemperor's refusing to grant the investiture of Bremen and Verden exceptupon terms which he did not choose to embrace. The peace between thecourts of Vienna and Madrid, which he refused to mediate, was effectedby a private negotiation, under the management of the duke de Ripperda, a native of the states-general, who had renounced the protestantreligion, and entered into the service of his catholic majesty. Bytwo treaties, signed at Vienna in the month of April, the emperoracknowledged Philip as king of Spain and the Indies, promised that hewould not molest him in the possession of those dominions thatwere secured to him by the treaty of Utrecht. Philip renounced allpretensions to the dominions in Italy and the Netherlands, adjudged tothe emperor by the treaty of London; Charles granted the investiture ofthe dukedoms of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, to the eldest son ofthe queen of Spain, in default of heirs in the present possessors, asmasculine fiefs of the empire. Spain became guarantee of the Austriansuccession, according to the pragmatic sanction, by which the dominionsof that house were settled on the emperors's heirs general, and declaredto be a perpetual, indivisible, and inseparable feoffment of theprimogeniture. By the commercial treaty of Vienna, the Austrian subjectswere entitled to advantages in trade with Spain, which no other nationenjoyed. His catholic majesty guaranteed the Ostend East India company;and agreed to pay an annual subsidy of four millions of piastres to theemperor. Great sums were remitted to Vienna; the Imperial forces wereaugmented to a formidable number; and other powers were solicited toengage in this alliance, to which the court of Petersburgh actuallyacceded. TREATY OF HANOVER. The kind of Great Britain took the alarm. The emperor and he had forsome time treated each other with manifest coolness. He had reason tofear some attempts upon his German dominions, and projected a defensivetreaty with France and Prussia. This alliance, limited to the term offifteen years, was negotiated and concluded at Hanover in the month ofSeptember. It implied a mutual guarantee of the dominions possessed bythe contracting parties, their rights and privileges, those of commercein particular, and an engagement to procure satisfaction to theprotestants of Thorn, who had lately been oppressed by the catholics, contrary to the treaty of Oliva. The king having taken these precautionsat Hanover, set out on his return for England; embarked at Helvoetsluysin the middle of December; and after having been exposed to the fury ofa dreadful storm, was landed with great difficulty at Rye, from whencehe proceeded by land to London. The parliament meeting on the twentiethday of the next month, he gave them to understand that the distressedcondition of some of their protestant brethren abroad, and thenegotiations and engagements contracted by some foreign powers, whichseemed to have laid the foundation of new troubles and disturbances inEurope, and to threaten his subjects with the loss of several of themost advantageous branches of their trade, had obliged him to concertwith other powers such measures as might give a check to the ambitiousviews of those who were endeavouring to render themselves formidable, and put a stop to the further progress of such dangerous designs. Hetold them that the enemies of his government were already very busy, bytheir instruments and emissaries in those courts whose measures seemedmost to favour their purposes, in soliciting and promoting the cause ofthe pretender. One sees, at first sight, that the interests of Germanydictated the treaty of Hanover; but, in order to secure the approbationof Great Britain, upon which the support of this alliance chieflydepended, it was judged necessary to insert the articles relating tocommerce and the protestant religion, as if the engagement had beencontracted purely for the advantage and glory of England. In a word, theministry began now to ring the changes upon a few words that have beenrepeated ever since, like cabalistical sounds, by which the nation hasbeen enchanted into a very dangerous connexion with the concerns of thecontinent. They harangued, they insisted upon the machinations of thedisaffected, the designs of a popish pretender, the protestant interest, and the balance of power, until these expressions became absolutelyterms of ridicule with every person of common sense and reflection. Thepeople were told that the emperor and the king of Spain, exclusiveof the public treaties concluded at Vienna, had entered into privateengagements, importing that the Imperialists should join the Spaniardsin recovering Gibraltar and Port-Mahon by force of arms, in case theking of England should refuse to restore them amicably, according toa solemn promise he had made: that a double marriage should take placebetween the two infants of Spain, and the two archduchesses of Austria;and that means should be taken to place the pretender on the throne ofGreat Britain. When the treaties of Vienna and Hanover fell under consideration of thehouse 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. Heenumerated the barrier-treaty, the convention for executing thattreaty, the defensive alliance with the emperor, the other with the mostchristian king and the states-general, another convention, the quadruplealliance, the congress at Cambray, the treaty of Hanover, and that ofVienna. He explained the nature of each engagement. He said the maindesign of the treaty of commerce concluded between the emperor and theking of Spain, was to countenance and support the East-India companyestablished at Ostend, which interfered so essentially with theEast-India companies of England and Holland, and was directly contraryto several solemn treaties still in force. He enlarged upon the dangerto which the balance of power would be exposed, should the issue maleof this projected marriage between the houses of Austria and Spain everpossess the imperial dignity and the kingdom of Spain together. The reader will take notice that this very man was one of those whoexclaimed against that article of the treaty of Utrecht, which preventedthe power of those two houses from being immediately united in theperson of the emperor. He did not forget to expatiate upon the pretendedsecret engagement concerning Gibraltar and Minorca, and the king's piousconcern for the distressed protestants of Thorn in Poland. In vain didMr. Shippen urge that the treaty of Hanover would engage the Britishnation in a war for the defence of the king's German dominions, contraryto an express provision made in the act of limitation. These argumentshad lost all weight. The opposition was so inconsiderable, that theministry had no reason to be in pain about any measure they shouldpropose. An address was voted and delivered to his majesty, approvingthe alliance he had concluded at Hanover, in order to obviate anddisappoint the dangerous views and consequences of the treaty of peacebetwixt the emperor and the king of Spain: and promising to support hismajesty against all insults and attacks that should be made upon any ofhis territories, though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain. Anaddress of the same kind was presented by the house of lords in a body. A bill was brought in, empowering the commissioners of the treasuryto compound with Mr. Richard Hampden, late treasurer of the navy, for adebt 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 hisrequest, in consideration of his great-grandfather, the famous JohnHampden, who made such a noble stand against the arbitrary measures ofthe first Charles. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} RIOTS IN SCOTLAND. The malt-tax was found so grievous to Scotland, that the people refusedto pay it, and riots were excited in different parts of the kingdom. AtGlasgow, the populace, armed with clubs and staves, rifled the house ofDaniel Campbell, their representative in parliament, who had voted forthe bill, and maltreated some excisemen who attempted to take an accountof the malt. General Wade, who commanded the forces in Scotland, hadsent two companies of soldiers, under the command of captain Bushel, to prevent or appease a disturbance of this nature. That officer drewup his men in the street, where they were pelted with stones by themultitude, which he endeavoured to disperse by firing among them withoutshot. This expedient failing, he ordered his men to load their pieceswith ball, and at a time when the magistrates were advancing towards himin a body, to assist him with their advice and influence, he commandedthe soldiers to fire four different ways, without the sanction of thecivil authority. About twenty persons were killed or wounded on thisoccasion. The people seeing so many victims fall, were exasperatedbeyond all sense of danger. They began to procure arms, and breathednothing but defiance and revenge. Bushel thought proper to retreat tothe castle of Dumbarton, and was pursued above five miles hy the enragedmultitude. General Wade being informed of this transaction, assembled abody of forces; and being accompanied by Duncan Forbes, lord-advocate, took possession of Glasgow. The magistrates were apprehended andconveyed prisoners to Edinburgh, where the lords justiciary having takencognizance of the affair, declared them innocent; so that they wereimmediately discharged. Bushel was tried for murder, convicted, andcondemned; but instead of undergoing the penalties of the law, he wasindulged with a pardon, and promoted in the service. Daniel Campbellhaving petitioned the house of commons, that he might be indemnifiedfor the damage he had sustained from the rioters, a bill passed in hisfavour, granting him a certain sum to be raised from an imposition laidupon all the beer and ale brewed in the city of Glasgow. The malt-taxwas so sensibly felt in Scotland, that the convention of the royalburghs presented a remonstrance against it, as a grievous burden, which their country could not bear: petitions to the same purpose weredelivered to the commons from from different shires in that kingdom. {1726} On the twenty-fourth day of March, the king sent a message to the houseby sir Paul Methuen, desiring an extraordinary supply, that he might beable to augment his maritime force, and concert such other measures asshould be necessary in the present conjuncture. A debate ensued, butthe majority complied with the demand. Some members in the upper housecomplained that the message was not sent to both houses of parliament, and this suggestion gave rise to another debate, in which lordBathurst and others made some melancholy reflections upon the state ofinsignificance to which the peers of England were reduced. Such remarks, however, were very little minded by the ministry, who had obtaineda complete victory over all opposition. The supplies, ordinary andextraordinary, being granted, with every thing else which the courtthought proper to ask, and several bills passed for the regulation ofcivil economy, the king dismissed the parliament on the twenty-fourthday of May. A SQUADRON SENT TO THE BALTIC. By this time Peter the czar of Muscovy was dead, and his empressCatharine had succeeded him on the Russian throne. This princess hadbegun to assemble forces in the neighbourhood of Petersburgh, and toprepare a formidable armament for a naval expedition. King George, concluding that her design was against Sweden, sent a strong squadroninto the Baltic, under the command of sir Charles Wager, in order toanticipate her views upon his allies. The English fleet being joinedat Copenhagen by a Danish squadron, alarmed the court of Russia, whichimmediately issued orders for reinforcing the garrisons of Wilbourg, Cronstadt, Revel, and Riga. The English admiral, having had an audiencewith his Swedish majesty, steered towards Revel, and sent thither alieutenant, with a letter from the king of Great Britain to the czarina. This was an expostulation, in which his majesty observed, that he andhis allies could not fail of being alarmed at her great preparations bysea and land. He complained that measures had been taken at her court infavour of the pretender; that his repeated instances for establishinga lasting friendship with the crown of Russia had been treated withneglect; and he gave her to understand, that he had ordered his admiralto prevent her ships from coming out of her harbours, should she persistin her resolution to execute the designs she had projected. The czarina, in her answer to the king, expressed her surprise that she had notreceived his majesty's letter until his fleet was at anchor beforeRevel, since it would have been more agreeable to the custom establishedamong sovereigns, and to the amity which had so long subsisted betweenher kingdoms and the crown of Great Britain, to expostulate with her onher armament, and expected her answer before he had proceeded to suchan offensive measure. She assured him that nothing was farther from herthoughts than any design to disturb the peace of the North; and withregard to the pretender, it was a frivolous and stale accusation, whichhad been frequently used as a pretext to cover all the unkind stepslately undertaken against the Russian empire. Sir Charles Wagercontinued in his station until he received certain intelligence that theRussian galleys were laid up in their winter harbour; then he set sailfor the coast of Denmark, from whence he returned to England in themonth of November. ADMIRAL HOSIER'S EXPEDITION. King George, that he might not seem to convert all his attention to theaffairs of the North, had equipped two other squadrons, one of which wasdestined for the West Indies, under the command of admiral Hosier:the other, conducted by sir John Jennings, having on board a body ofland-forces, sailed from St. Helen's on the twentieth day of July, entered the bay of St. Antonio, then visited Lisbon, from whence hedirected his course to the bay of Bulls near Cadiz, and cruised offCape St. Mary's, so as to alarm the coast of Spain and fill Madrid withconsternation. Yet he committed no act of hostility: but was treatedwith great civility by the Spanish governor of Cadiz, who supplied himwith refreshments. Rear-admiral Hosier, with seven ships of war, hadsailed in April for the Spanish West-Indies, with instructions to blockup the galleons in the port of that country; or should they presume tocome out, to seize and bring them to England. Before his arrival at theBastimentos, near Porto-Bello, the treasure, consisting of above sixmillions sterling, had been unloaded and carried back to Panama, inpursuance of an order sent by an advice-boat which had the start ofHosier. This admiral lay inactive on that station, until he became thejest of the Spaniards. He returned to Jamaica, where he found means toreinforce his crews; then he stood over to Carthagena. The Spaniardshad 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 wayof reprisal, and continued cruising in those seas until the greaterpart of his men perished deplorably by the diseases of that unhealthyclimate, and his ships were totally rained by the worms. This braveofficer, being restricted by his orders from obeying the dictates ofhis courage, seeing his best officers and men daily swept off by anoutrageous distemper, and his ships exposed to inevitable destruction, is said to have died of a broken heart; while the people of Englandloudly clamoured against this unfortunate expedition, in which so manylives were thrown away, and so much money expended, without the leastadvantage to the nation. It seems to have been a mean piratical schemeto rob the court of Spain of its expected treasure, even while a peacesubsisted between the two nations. The ministry of Great Britain indeedalleged, that the Spanish king had entered into engagements in favour ofthe pretender. DISGRACE OF THE DUKE DE RIPPERDA. The dukes of Ormond and Wharton, * and the earl Marischal, were certainlyat Madrid; and the duke de Ripperda, now prime-minister of Spain, dropped some expressions to the English envoy that implied some suchdesign, 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 theSpanish ministers. He was suddenly dismissed from his employments, witha pension of three thousand pistoles. He forthwith took refuge inthe house of Vandermeer the Dutch ambassador, who was unwilling to betroubled with such a guest. He therefore conveyed the duke in his coachto the house of colonel Stanhope, the British minister, whose protectionhe craved and obtained. Nevertheless, he was dragged from thence byforce, and committed prisoner to the castle of Segovia. He afterwardsmade his escape, and sheltered himself in England from the resentment ofhis catholic majesty. Colonel Stanhope complained of this violation ofthe law of nations, which the Spanish ministers endeavoured to excuse. Memorials and letters passed between the two courts, and every thingtended to a rupture. The king of Spain purchased ships of war; began tomake preparations for some important undertaking; and assembled an armyof twenty thousand men at St. Roch, on pretence of rebuilding the oldcastle of Gibraltar. Meanwhile the states-general and the king of Swedenacceded to the treaty of Hanover: but the king of Prussia, though hismajesty'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 openedwith a long elaborate speech, importing that the proceedings andtransactions of the emperor and king of Spain, and the secret offensivealliance concluded between them, had laid the foundation of a mostexorbitant and formidable power; that they were directly levelledagainst the most valuable and darling interests and privileges ofthe British nation, which must either give up Gibraltar to Spain, andacquiesce in the emperor's usurped exercise of commerce, or resolvevigorously to defend their undoubted rights against those reciprocalengagements, contracted in defiance and violation of all national faith, and the most solemn treaties. He assured them, that one of those secretarticles was the placing the pretender on the throne of Great Britain;and another the conquest of Gibraltar and Port Mahon. He affirmed thatthose combinations extended themselves into Russia; and that the Englishfleet seasonably prevented such designs as would have opened a way tothe invasion of these kingdoms. He exhorted the commons to grant suchsupplies as should be necessary for the defence of then-country, and formaking good his engagements with the allies of Great Britain. He toldthem that the king of Spain had ordered his minister residing in Englandto quit the kingdom; and that he had left a memorial little short of adeclaration, in which he insisted upon the restitution of Gibraltar. He did not fail to touch the energetic strings which always moved theirpassions: the balance of power in Europe, the security of the Britishcommerce, the designs of a popish pretender, the present happyestablishment, the religion, liberties, and properties of a protestantpeople. Such addresses of thanks were penned in both houses as theministers were pleased to dictate; yet not without opposition from aminority, which was far from being formidable, though headed by chiefsof uncommon talents and resolution. The commons voted twenty thousandseamen, besides six-and-twenty thousand three hundred and eighty-threemen for the land service; and, to defray the extraordinary expense, aland-tax of four shillings in the pound was granted. {GEORGE I, 1714--1727} DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. The house of lords having taken into consideration the letters andmemorials between the ministers of Great Britain, France, and Spain, andthe papers relating to the accession of the states-general to the treatyof Hanover, a warm debate ensued. Lord Bathurst took notice that theaccession of the states-general to the treaty was upon condition thatthis their act should be approved and ratified by the king of GreatBritain, the most christian king, and the king of Prussia; but thatthe minister of his Prussian majesty had refused to sign the act ofaccession, which was therefore of no effect: that if the court of Franceshould, for the same reason, think itself disengaged from the Hanoveralliance, Britain alone would be obliged to bear the burden of anexpensive war against two of the greatest potentates of Europe. He saidhe could not see any just reason for a rupture with Spain; that indeedthe duke de Ripperda might have dropped some indiscreet expressions;he was known to be a man of violent temper; and he had been solemnlydisavowed by his catholic majesty; that, in the memorial left by theSpanish ambassador, he imputed the violent state of affairs between thetwo crowns to the ministers of England; and mentioned a positive promisemade by the king of Great Britain for the restitution of Gibraltar; thatmethods of accommodation might be tried before the kingdom engaged in awar which must be attended with dangerous consequences; that the nationwas loaded with a debt of fifty millions; and, in order to maintain sucha war, would be obliged to raise seven millions yearly; an annual sumby which the people would soon be exhausted. He observed, that in somepapers laid before the house, mention was made of great sums distributedin divers places, to bring certain measures to bear. He declared, thatfor his own part, he had touched neither Spanish nor English gold; hewas neither a Spaniard nor a Frenchman, but a true Englishman, and solong as he had the honour to sit in that house, he would speak andact for the good of his country. He therefore desired their lordshipsseriously to consider the matter before them, which was of the lastconsequence and importance to the whole nation. He said nothing could begained by the war, should it prove successful: and every thing would belost should it be unprosperous. He was answered by lord Town-shend, Whoaffirmed that his majesty had received positive and certain informationwith respect to the secret article of alliance between the courts ofVienna and Madrid, in favour of the pretender, though the safety of thestate did not permit him to lay these advices before the parliament. After much altercation, the majority resolved, that the measures hismajesty had thought fit to take were honourable, just, and necessaryfor preventing the execution of the dangerous engagement entered into infavour of the pretender; for preserving the dominions belonging to thecrown of Great Britain by solemn treaties, and particularly those ofGibraltar and the island of Minorca; and for maintaining to his peopletheir most valuable rights and privileges of commerce, and the peace andtranquillity of Europe. Seventeen lords entered a protest against thisresolution. Disputes of the same nature arose from the same subject inthe lower house. Lord Townshend had affirmed in the house of peers, that no promise of restoring Gibraltar bad been made: sir Kobert Walpoleowned such a promise in the house of commons: a motion was made foran address, desiring these engagements might be laid before the house;another member moved for a copy of the memorial presented by Mr. Pointzto the king of Sweden, and for the secret offensive article between thecourts of Vienna and Madrid; a third motion was made to address the kingfor such memorials and representations from the courts of Sweden andDenmark, as induced him, in the course of the preceding year, to senda squadron to the Baltic. In the account of the money granted forthe service of the last year, there was an article of one hundred andtwenty-five thousand pounds charged in general terms as issued out forother engagements and expenses, over and above such as were specified. Mr. Pulteney moved for an address on this subject; but each of thesemotions was rejected on a division: and the majority concurred in anaddress of thanks to his majesty, for the great wisdom of his conduct. They expressed the most implicit confidence in his goodness anddiscretion: they promised to support him in all such further measures ashe should find necessary and expedient for preventing a rupture, as wellas 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 warmmemorial to the king, and afterwards to publish it to the whole nation. In this bold remonstrance, the king was charged with having declaredfrom the throne, as certain and undoubted facts, several things thatwere either wrested, misrepresented, or void of all foundation. Thememorialist affirmed, that the treaty of Vienna was built on thequadruple alliance; that the treaty of commerce was calculated topromote the mutual and lawful advantages of the subjects of bothparties, agreeably to the law of nations; and in no respect prejudicialto the British nation. He declared that there was no offensive allianceconcluded between the two crowns; that the supposed article relatingto the pretender was an absolute falsehood; that the insinuation withrespect to the siege of Gibraltar was equally untrue, his master havingmade no engagements with the king of Spain, but such as were specifiedin 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 justifythat prince's undertaking the siege of Gibraltar. Finally, he demanded, in the name of his Imperial majesty, suitable reparation for the injuryhis honour had sustained from such calumnious imputations. Both housesof parliament expressed their indignation at the insolence of thismemorial, in an address to his majesty; and Mr. Palms was orderedto depart the kingdom. Virulent declarations were presented by theministers of the emperor and the king of Great Britain to the diet ofthe empire at Ratisbon; and such personal reflections retorted betweenthese 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 agreedto pay fifty thousand pounds for three years to the king of Sweden, in consideration of that prince's holding in readiness a body of tenthousand troops for the occasions of the alliance. He concluded a freshtreaty with the king of Denmark, who promised to furnish a certainnumber of auxiliaries, on account of a large subsidy granted by the kingof France. The proportions of troops to be sent into the field incase of a rupture were ascertained. His Britannic majesty engaged forfour-and-twenty thousand men, and a strong squadron to be sent intothe Baltic. He made a convention with the prince of Hesse-Cassel, whoundertook to provide eight thousand infantry, and four thousand horse, in consideration of seventy-four thousand pounds, to be paid by GreatBritain immediately, and fifty thousand pounds more in case the troopsshould bo required, besides their pay and subsistence. Such was thefruit of all the alliances so industriously planned since the accessionof king George to the throne of Great Britain. In the day of histrouble the king of Prussia, who had espoused his daughter, deserted hisinterest; and the states-general stood aloof. For the security of hisGerman dominions, he had recourse to the king of France, who wasa precarious ally; to the kings of Sweden and Denmark, and theprincipality of Hesse-Cassel: but none of these powers would contributetheir 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 Britainpaid them for the defence of their own dominions: she, moreover, undertook to maintain a powerful fleet for their safety. Is there anyBritain so weak as to think, or so fool-hardy as to affirm, that thiswas a British quarrel? {1727} VOTE OF CREDIT. For the support of those expensive treaties, Mr. Scroope, secretary ofthe treasury, moved in the house of commons, that in the malt-tax billthey should insert a clause of appropriation, empowering the king toapply such sums as should be necessary for defraying the expenses andengagements which had been, or should be made before the twenty-fifthday of September, in concerting such measures as he should think mostconducive to the security of trade, and restoring the peace of Europe. To little purpose did the members in the opposition urge that thismethod of asking and granting supplies was unparliamentary; that such aclause would render ineffectual that appropriation of the public money, which the wisdom of all parliaments had thought a necessary securityagainst misapplication, which was the more to be feared as no provisionwas made to call any person to account for the money that should bedisposed of by virtue of this clause; that great sums had already beengranted; that such an unlimited power ought never to be given in afree government; that such confidence in the crown might, throughthe influence of evil ministers, be attended with the most dangerousconsequences; that the constitution could not be preserved, but by astrict adherence to those essential parliamentary forms of grantingsupplies upon estimates, and of appropriating these supplies to servicesand occasions publicly avowed and judged necessary; that such clauses, if not seasonably checked, would become so frequent as in time to lodgein the crown and in the ministers an absolute and uncontrollable powerof raising money upon the people, which by the constitution is, andwith safety can only be, lodged in the whole legislature. The motion wascarried, the clause added, and the bill passed through the other housewithout amendment, though not without opposition. Notwithstanding thisvote of credit, sir William Yonge moved, that towards the supply grantedto the king, the sum of three hundred and seventy thousand pounds shouldbe raised by loans on exchequer bills, to be charged on the surplus ofthe duties on coal and culm, which was reserved for the parliament'sdisposal. Though this motion was vigorously opposed by sir Joseph Jekylland Mr. Pulteney, as a dangerous deviation from several votes andacts of parliament, by which the exceed-ings of the public funds wereappropriated to the discharge of the national debt, or to the increaseof the sinking fund, it was carried by the majority. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR On the fifteenth day of May the parliament was prorogued, after the kinghad acknowledged their zeal, liberality, and despatch; and given them tounderstand that the siege of Gibraltar was actually begun. The trencheswere opened before this fortress on the eleventh day of February, by theConde de las Torres, at the head of twenty thousand men. The placewas well provided for a defence; and the old earl of Portmore, who wasgovernor, embarked with a reinforcement from England, under convoy ofa fleet commanded by sir Charles Wager. He arrived at Gibraltar in thebeginning of April, where he landed the troops, with a great quantity ofammunition, warlike stores, and four-and-twenty pieces of cannon. At thesame time, five hundred men arrived from Minorca; so that the garrisonamounted to six thousand, plentifully supplied with fresh provisionsfrom the coast of Barbary, and treated the efforts of the besiegers withgreat contempt. The states-general, being apprehensive of an attemptupon their barrier in the Netherlands, desired the king would hold inreadiness the ten thousand auxiliaries stipulated in the treaty. Thesewere immediately prepared for embarkation, and the forces of Englandwere augmented with thirty new raised companies. Sir John Norris setsail with a powerful fleet for the Baltic, and was joined by a Danishsquadron; but the czarina dying on the seventeenth day of May, he had nooccasion to commit hostilities, as the Russian armament was laid aside. PRELIMINARIES OF PEACE. Meanwhile the powers at variance, though extremely irritated againsteach other, were all equally averse to a war that might again embroilall Europe. The king of France interposed his mediation, which wasconducted by the duke de Richlieu, his ambassador at Vienna. Plans andcounterplans of pacification were proposed between the two crowns andthe allies. At length all parties agreed to twelve preliminary articleswhich were signed in May at Paris, by the ministers of the Hanoverianalliance, and afterwards at Vienna, by the Imperial and Spanishambassadors. These imported, that hostilities should immediately cease;that the charter of the Ostend company should be suspended forseven years; and that a congress should in four months be opened atAix-la-Chapelle, for adjusting all differences, and consolidating thepeace of Europe. This congress was afterwards transferred to Soissons, for the conveniency of the French minister, whose presence wasnecessary at court. The siege of Gibraltar was raised, after it hadlasted four months, during which the Spaniards lost a great number ofmen by sickness, while the garrison sustained very little damage. Thecourt of Madrid, however, started some new difficulties, and for sometime would not consent to the restitution of the South-Sea ship, whichhad been detained at La Vera-Cruz, in the West Indies; so that sirCharles Wager continued to cruise on the coast of Spain: but theseobjections were removed in the sequel. DEATH AND CHARACTER OF GEORGE I. King George, having appointed a regency, embarked at Greenwich on thethird day of June, and landing in Holland on the seventh, set out on hisjourney to Hanover. He was suddenly seized with a paralytic disorder onthe road: he forthwith lost the faculty of speech, became lethargic, andwas conveyed in a state of insensibility to Osnabruck. There he expiredon 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 inhis person and address, grave and composed in his deportment, thougheasy, familiar, and facetious in his hours of relaxation. Before heascended the throne of Great Britain, he had acquired the character of acircumspect general, a just and merciful prince, a wise politician, whoperfectly understood, and steadily pursued, his own interest. With thesequalities, it cannot be doubted but that he came to England extremelywell disposed to govern his new subjects according to the maxims ofthe British constitution, and the genius of the people; and if ever heseemed to deviate from these principles, we may take it for granted thathe was misled by the venal suggestions of a ministry whose power andinfluence were founded on corruption. [229] _[See note 2 I, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ NOTES: [Footnote 206: Note 2 H, p. 206. The pretender, who resided at Urbino, having received intelligence from Paris, that there was a design formedagainst his life, pope Clement XL gave directions that all foreigners inthat neighbourhood, especially English, should be arrested. The earl ofPeterborough arriving at Bologna, with a few armed followers, was seizedwith all his papers. Being interrogated, he said he came to pass sometime in Italy for the benefit of the air. He was close confined fora whole month in fort Urbino, and his attendants were sent to prison. Nothing appearing to justify the suspicion, he was dismissed withuncommon civility. The king demanding reparation for this insult, thepope wrote with his own hand a letter to an ally of Great Britain, declaring that the legate of Bologna had violently and unjustly, withoutthe knowledge of his holiness, caused the earl of Peterborough to beseized upon suspicions which proved to be ill-grounded. The cardinallegate sent a declaration to the English admiral in the Mediterranean, that he had asked forgiveness of his holiness, and now begged pardon ofhis Britannic majesty, for having unadvisedly arrested a peer of GreatBritain on his travels. ] [Footnote 229: Note 2 I, p. 229. George I. Married the princess SophiaDorothy, daughter and heiress of the duke of Zell, by whom he had kingGeorge II. And the late queen of Prussia. The king's body was conveyedto Hanover, and interred among his ancestors. From the death of CharlesII. To this period, England had made a considerable figure in everybranch of literature. Dr. Atterbury and Dr. Clarke distinguishedthemselves in divinity--Mr. Whiston wrote in defence of Arianism--JohnLocke shone forth the great restorer of human reason--the earlof Shaftesbury raised an elegant, though feeble, system of moralphilosophy--Berkeley, afterwards bishop of Cloyne in Ireland, surpassedall his contemporaries in subtle and variety of metaphysical arguments, as well as in the art of deduction--lord Bolingbroke's talents asa metaphysician have been questioned since his posthumous worksappeared--great progress was made in mathematics and astronomy, byWallis, Halley, and Flamstead--the art of medicine owed some valuableimprovements to the classical Dr. Friend, and the elegant Dr. Mead. Among the poets of this era, we number John Philips, author of adidactic poem, called Cyder, a performance of real merit; he lived anddied in obscurity--William Congreve, celebrated for his comedies, whichare not so famous for strength of character and power of humour, as forwit, elegance, and regularity--Vanburgh, who wrote with more nature andfire, though with less art and precision--Steele, who in his comediessuccessfully engrafted modern characters on the ancient drama--Farquhar, who drew his pictures from fancy rather than from nature, and whosechief merit consists in the agreeable pertness and vivacity of hisdialogue--Addison, whose fame as a poet greatly exceeded his genius, which was cold and enervate; though he yielded to none in the characterof an essayist, either for style or matter--Swift, whose muse seems tohave been mere misanthropy; he was a cynic rather than a poet, and hisnatural dryness and sarcastic severity would have been unpleasing, hadnot he qualified them, by adopting the extravagant humour of Lueian andRabelais--Prior, lively, familiar, and amusing--Rowe, solemn, florid, and declamatory--Pope, the prince of lyric poetry; unrivalled insatire, ethics, and polished versification--the agreeable Parnel--thewild, the witty, and the whimsical Garth--Gay, whose fables may vie withthose of La Fontaine, in native humour, ease, and simplicity, and whosegenius for pastoral was truly original. Dr. Bentley stood foremost inthe list of critics and commentators. Sir Christopher Wren raised somenoble monuments of architecture. The most remarkable politicalwriters were Davenant, Hare, Swift, Steele, Addison, Bolingbroke, andTrenchard. ] CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT, M. D. [Illustration: 229. Jpg GEORGE II. ] GEORGE II. {1727} 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. 1727-1760} GEORGE II. ASCENDS THE THRONE. At the accession of George II. The nation had great reason to wish foran alteration of measures. The public debt, notwithstanding the boastedeconomy and management of the ministers; notwithstanding the sinkingfund, which had been extolled as a growing treasure sacred to thedischarge of national incumbrances, was now increased to fifty millionstwo hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and six pounds, nineteenshillings and eightpence three farthings. The kingdom was bewildered ina labyrinth of treaties and conventions, by which it stood engaged inpecuniary subsidies to many powers upon the continent, with whom itsreal interests could never be connected. The wealth of the nation hadbeen lavished upon those foreign connexions, upon unnecessary wars, andfruitless expeditions. Dangerous encroachments had been made upon theconstitution, by the repeal of the act for triennial parliaments;by frequent suspensions of the _habeas-corpus_ act upon frivolousoccasions; by repealing clauses in the act of settlement; by votes ofcredit; by habituating the people to a standing army; and, above all, byestablishing a system of corruption, which at all times would securea majority in parliament. The nature of prerogative, by which theliberties of the nation had formerly been often endangered, was now sowell understood, and so securely restrained, that it could no longer beused for the same oppressive purposes; besides, an avowed extension ofthe prerogative required more ability, courage, and resolution, than thepresent ministry could exert. They understood their own strength, andhad 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 slaveryand corruption. The means were in the hands of the ministry; the publictreasure was at their devotion; they multiplied places and pensions, toincrease the number of their dependants; they squandered away the moneyof the nation without taste, discernment, decency, or remorse; theyenlisted an army of the most abandoned emissaries, whom they employedto vindicate the worst measures, in the face of truth, common sense, andcommon honesty; and they did not fail to stigmatize as Jacobites, andenemies to the government, all those who presumed to question the meritof their administration. CHARACTERS OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSONS CONCERNED IN THE MINISTRY. The supreme direction of affairs was not yet engrossed by a singleminister. Lord Townshend had the reputation of conducting the externaltransactions relating to treaties and negotiations. He is said to haveunderstood that province, though he did not always follow the dictatesof his own understanding. He possessed an extensive fund of knowledge;and was well acquainted with the functions of his office. The dukeof Newcastle, his colleague, was not remarkable for any of thesequalifications; he owed his promotion to his uncommon zeal for theillustrious house of Hanover, and to the strength of his interestin parliament, rather than to his judgment, precision, or any otherintellectual merit. Lord Carteret, who may be counted an auxiliary, though not immediately concerned in the administration, haddistinguished himself in the character of envoy at several courts inEurope. He had attained an intimate knowledge of all the differentinterests 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. Hespoke with ease and propriety, his conceptions were just and lively; hisinferences bold; his counsels vigorous and warm. Yet he depreciated histalents, by acting in a subordinate character to those whom he despised;and seemed to look upon the pernicious measures of a bad ministry withsilent contempt, rather than with avowed detestation. The interiorgovernment of Great Britain was chiefly managed by sir Robert Walpole, aman of extraordinary talents, who had from low beginnings raised himselfto the head of the treasury. Having obtained a seat in the lower house, he declared himself one of the most forward partisans of the whigfaction. He was endued with a species of eloquence, which, thoughneither nervous nor elegant, flowed with great facility, and was soplausible on all subjects, that even when he misrepresented the truth, whether from ignorance or design, he seldom failed to persuade that partof his audience for whose hearing his harangue was chiefly intended. Hewas well acquainted with the nature of the public funds, and understoodthe whole mystery of stock-jobbing. This knowledge produced a connexionbetween him and the money-corporations, which served to enhance hisimportance. He perceived the bulk of mankind were actuated by a sordidthirst of lucre; he had sagacity enough to convert the degeneracy of thetimes to his own advantage; and on this, and this alone, he founded thewhole superstructure of his subsequent administration. In the latereign he had by dint of speaking decisively to every question, byboldly impeaching the conduct of the tory ministers, by his activityin elections, and engaging as a projector in the schemes of the moniedinterest, become a leading member in the house of commons. By hissufferings under the tory parliament, he attained the rank of a martyrto his party. His interest, his reputation, and his presumption dailyincreased; he opposed Sunderland as his rival in power, and headed adangerous defection from the ministry, which evinced the greatnessof his influence and authority. He had the glory of being principallyconcerned in effecting a reconciliation between the late king and theprince of Wales; then he was re-associated in the administration withadditional credit; and, from the death of the earls of Sunderland andStanhope, he had been making long strides towards the office of primeminister. He knew the maxims he had adopted would subject him to thehatred, the ridicule, and reproach of some individuals, who had not yetresigned all sentiments of patriotism, nor all views of opposition;but the number of these was inconsiderable, when compared to that whichconstituted the body of the community; and he would not suffer theconsideration of such antagonists to come in competition with his schemesof power, affluence, and authority. Nevertheless, low as he had humbledanti-ministerial association, it required all his artifice to elude, all his patience and natural phlegm to bear, the powerful arguments thatwere urged, and the keen satire that was exercised against his measuresand management, by a few members in the opposition. Sir William Wyndhampossessed all the energy of elocution; Mr. Shippen was calm, intrepid, shrewd and sarcastic; Mr. Pulteney inherited from nature a goodunderstanding, which he had studiously cultivated. He was one of themost learned members in the house of commons, extremely well qualifiedto 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, anduncommon warmth of declamation, which was said to be the effect ofpersonal animosity to sir Robert Walpole, with whom he had been formerlyconnected. DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT CONCERNING THE CIVIL LIST. An express arriving on the fourteenth day of June, with an accountof the king's death, his late majesty king George II. Repaired fromRichmond, where he received this intelligence, to Leicester-house; andthe members of the privy-council being assembled, were sworn a-new. Theking declared his firm purpose to preserve the constitution in churchand state, and to cultivate those alliances which his father had madewith foreign princes. At the same time, he took and subscribed the oathfor the security of the church of Scotland, as required by the act ofunion. Next day he was proclaimed king of Great Britain. The parliamentassembled in pursuance of the act made for that purpose; but wasimmediately prorogued by commission to the twenty-seventh day of themonth. All the great officers of state continued in their places;sir Robert Walpole kept possession of the treasury; and the systemof politics which the late king had established underwent no sort ofalteration. The king, in his speech to both houses at the opening of thesession, professed a fixed resolution to merit the love and affection ofhis people, by maintaining them in the full enjoyment of their religiousand civil rights. He promised to lessen the public expense as soon asthe circumstances of affairs would permit: he observed to the commons, that the grant of the greatest part of the civil list revenues wasnow determined; and that it would be necessary for them to make a newprovision for the support of him and his family: lastly, he recommendedit to both houses to dispatch the business that should be necessarilybrought before them, as the season of the year and the circumstances oftime required their presence in the country. Addresses of condolence andcongratulation being drawn up and presented, the commons, in a committeeof the whole house, took into consideration a motion for a supply tohis majesty. Sir Robert Walpole having observed, that the annual sum ofseven hundred thousand pounds granted to, and settled on, the late king, had fallen short every year; and that his present majesty's expenseswere likely to increase, by reason of the largeness of his family, moved, that the entire revenues of the civil list, which produced abouteight hundred thousand pounds per annum, should be settled on the kingduring his life. Mr. Shippen opposed this motion, as inconsistent withthe trust reposed in them as representatives of the people, who ought tobe very frugal in exercising the right of giving away the public money. He said, the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds was not obtained forhis late majesty without a long and solemn debate; and every member whocontended for it at that time, allowed it to be an ample royal revenue:that, although his majesty's family should be enlarged, a circumstancewhich had been urged as one reason for the motion, he presumed theappointments of prince Frederick would not be much inferior to thosesettled on his present majesty when he was prince of Wales: besides, itwas to be hoped that many personal, many particular expenses in thelate reign, especially those for frequent journeys to Hanover, wouldbe discontinued, and entirely cease. He observed, that the civil listbranches in the queen's reign did not often exceed the sum of fivehundred and fifty thousand pounds; nevertheless, she called upon herparliament but once, in a reign of thirteen years, to pay the debtscontracted in her civil government; and these were occasioned bythe unparalleled instances of her piety and generosity. She gave thefirst-fruits and tenths, arising to nineteen thousand pounds a-year, asan augmentation of the maintenance of the poor clergy. She bestowedfive thousand pounds per annum, out of the post-office, on the duke ofMarlborough: she suffered seven hundred pounds to be charged weekly onthe same office, for the service of the public: she expended severalhundred thousand pounds in building the castle of Blenheim: sheallowed four thousand pounds annually to prince Charles of Denmark:she sustained great loses by the tin contract: she supported thepoor Palatines: she exhibited many other proofs of royal bounty: andimmediately before her death she had formed a plan of retrenchment, which would have reduced her yearly expenses to four hundred andfifty-nine thousand nine hundred and forty-one pounds. He affirmed, that a million a-year would not be sufficient to carry on the exorbitantexpenses, so often and so justly complained of in the house of commons:that over and above the yearly allowance of seven hundred thousandpounds, many occasional taxes, many excessive sums were raised, and allsunk in the bottomless gulf of secret service. Two hundred and fiftythousand pounds were raised in defiance of the ancient parliamentarymethods, to secure the kingdom from a Swedish invasion; then the twoinsurance offices were erected, and paid near three hundred thousandpounds for their charters: our enmity with Sweden being changed intoan alliance, a subsidy of seventy-two thousand pounds was implicitlygranted, to fulfil some secret engagements with that crown: four andtwenty thousand pounds were given for burning merchant ships arrivedfrom infected places, though the goods which ought to have beendestroyed for the public safety were afterwards privately sold: a sum offive hundred thousand pounds was demanded, and granted, for paying thedebts of the civil list; and his majesty declared by message, he wasresolved to retrench his expenses for the future. Notwithstanding thisresolution, in less than four years, a new demand of the like sum wasmade and granted to discharge new incumbrances: the Spanish ships ofwar which admiral Byng took in the Mediterranean, were sold for aconsiderable sum of money: one hundred and twenty-five thousand poundswere granted in the last session, to be secretly disposed of for thepublic 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 personspretending to surpass all their predecessors in the knowledge and careof the public revenue: that as none of these sums had been accountedfor, they were, in all probability, employed in services not fit to beowned. He said, he heartily wished that Time, the great discoverer ofhidden truths and concealed iniquities, might produce a list of all suchas had been perverted from their public duty by private pensions: whohad been the hired slaves and the corrupt instruments of a profuse andvain-glorious administration. He proposed, that instead of grantingan addition to the civil list, they should restrict that revenue toa certain sum, by concluding the question with these words, "in likemanner as they were granted and continued to his late majesty, so as tomake up the clear yearly sum of seven hundred thousand pounds. " To theseparticulars, which were indeed unanswerable, no reply was made. Eventhis mark of decency was laid aside, as idle and superfluous. The houseagreed to the motion; and a bill was brought in for the better supportof his majesty's household. The commons having received a message fromthe king, desiring they would make further provision for the queen hisconsort, resolved, That in case she should survive his majesty, thesum of one hundred thousand pounds should be settled upon her for life, charged upon the revenues of the civil list, together with his majesty'spalace of Somerset-house, and Richmond Old-park. A bill was formed onthis resolution, which, as well as the other, passed both bouses, andreceived the royal assent on the seventeenth day of July, when theking, in a speech to both houses, expressed his satisfaction with theirconduct, 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-ninthday of August; but on the seventh day of that month a proclamation wasissued for dissolving this, and convoking another. In the interim some changes were made in different departments ofcivil economy. Lord viscount Torrington was placed at the head ofthe admiralty; the earl of Westmoreland was appointed first lordcommissioner of trade and plantations. Philip Dormer Stanhope, earl ofChesterfield, a nobleman remarkable for his wit, eloquence, and polishedmanners, was nominated ambassador to the Hague. The privy-council beingdissolved, another was appointed of the members then present. The dukeof Devonshire was dignified with the place of president; and the dukeof St. Alban's was appointed master of the horse. On the eleventh dayof October, the coronation of the king and queen was performed atWestminster-Abbey, with the usual solemnity. * By this time the courtsof France and Spain were perfectly reconciled; all Europe was freedfrom the calamities of war; and the peace of Great Britain suffered nointerruption, except from some transient tumults among the tinners ofCornwall, who, being provoked by a scarcity of corn, rose in arms andplundered 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 havingsucceeded on the new system, according to the wishes of the ministry, the two houses met on the twenty-third day of January, when the commonsunanimously chose for their speaker Arthur Onslow, esquire, knight ofthe shire for Surrey, a gentleman of extensive knowledge, worth, andprobity; grave, eloquent, venerable, and every way qualified for thedischarge of that honourable and important office. The king, in hisspeech to this new parliament, declared, that by the last advicesfrom abroad, he had reason to hope the difficulties which had hithertoretarded the execution of the preliminaries, and the opening ofthe congress, would soon be entirely removed; in the meantime, herepresented the absolute necessity of continuing the preparation whichhad hitherto secured the nation, and prevented an open rupture inEurope. He promised, that his first care should be to reduce, fromtime to time, the expense of the public, as often, and as soon asthe interest and safety of his people would permit such reduction. He expressed an earnest desire of seeing the foundation laid of aneffectual scheme for the increase and encouragement of seamen ingeneral, that they might be invited rather than compelled into theservice of their country. Finally, he recommended unanimity, zeal, anddespatch of the public business. Those speeches, penned by the minister, were composed with a view to soothe the minds of the people into animmediate concurrence with the measures of the government; but withoutany intention of performing those promises of economy, reformation, and national advantage. The two houses seemed to vie with each otherin expressions of applause and affection to his majesty. The lords, intheir address, hailed him as the best of kings, and the true father ofhis country. The commons expressed the warmest sense of gratitude forthe blessings they enjoyed in his reign, though it was not yet eightmonths old. They approved of all his transactions; they promised tosupport him in all his undertakings; and declared they would cheerfullygrant whatever supplies should be wanted for the public service. Havingconsidered the estimates which were laid before them by order of hismajesty, they voted two-and-twenty thousand nine hundred and fifty-fivemen for guards and garrisons; and fifteen thousand seamen for theservice of the ensuing year. They granted two hundred and thirtythousand nine hundred and twenty-three pounds, for the maintenance oftwelve thousand Hessian troops; a subsidy of fifty thousand poundsto the king of Sweden; and half that sum to the duke of BrunswickWolfenbuttle. * The expense of the year amounted to four millions, raised by a land-tax of three shillings in the pound, a malt-tax, andby borrowing of the bank one million seven hundred and fifty thousandpounds, for which annuities to the amount of seventy thousand pounds, to be raised by duties on coals imported into the city of London, weregranted 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. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} VIOLENT DISPUTE CONCERNING THE NATIONAL DEBT. All these sums, however, were not granted without question. The numberof land-forces occasioned a debate; and the Hessian auxiliaries werenot allowed without dispute and opposition. When they deliberated on theloan of the bank, Mr. Pulteney observed, that the shifting of fundswas but perpetuating taxes, and putting off the evil day; thatnotwithstanding the great merit which some persons had built on thesinking fund, it appeared that the national debt had been increasedsince the setting up of that pompous project. Some warm altercationpassed between him and sir Robert Walpole on this subject. Thelord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, presented apetition, setting forth, that the duties already laid upon coals andculm imported into London, affected the trade of that city only;that the inequality of the burden was a great discouragement to theirmanufactures, and a hardship upon all the trading inhabitants. Thepetition was rejected, and the tax imposed. The house having addressedthe king for a particular and distinct account of the distribution oftwo hundred and fifty thousand pounds, charged to have been issued forsecuring the trade and navigation of the kingdom, and preserving andrestoring the peace of Europe, he declined granting their request, but signified in general that part of the money had been issued anddisbursed by his late majesty, and the remainder by himself, forcarrying on the same necessary services, which required the greatestsecrecy. Such a message in the reign of King William would have raised adangerous flame in the house of commons. {1728} Mr. W. Pulteney inveighed against such a vague and general way ofaccounting for the public money, as tending to render parliamentsaltogether insignificant, to cover embezzlements, and to screen corruptand rapacious ministers. The commons having taken into consideration thestate of the national debt, examined the accounts, and interrogated theproper officers. A motion was made by a court member, that it appearedthe monies already issued and applied towards discharging the nationaldebts, together with a sum to be issued at Lady-day, amounted to sixmillions six hundred and forty-eight thousand seven hundred and sixtytwo pounds, five shillings and one penny one farthing. In vain did theleaders of the opposition expose the fallacious tendency of this motion. In vain did they demonstrate the fraudulent artifice used in drawing upthe accounts; the motion was carried; and several resolutions were takenon the state of the national debts. In the particular account of thesedebts, upon which the house resolved to form a representation to hismajesty, an article of three hundred thousand pounds relating to theduty upon wrought plate was totally omitted. This extraordinary omissionbeing discovered, gave rise to a very warm debate, and to very severereflection against those who superintended the public accounts. Thiserror being rectified, a committee appointed for the purpose drew upthe representation, containing a particular detail of the national debtsdischarged and incurred since the twenty-fifth day of December, in theyear one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, with a state of the sinkingfund and of the public credit. The draft being approved by the house, was presented to the king-, who received it graciously. He took thisopportunity of saying, that the provision made for gradually dischargingthe national debts was now become so certain and considerable, thatnothing but some unforeseen event could alter or diminish it; acircumstance that afforded the fairest prospect of seeing the old debtsdischarged without any necessity of incurring new incumbrances. This answer, fraught with many other expressions of fatherly tendernessfor his people, paved the way for a message to the house, demandinga vote of credit to fulfil certain engagements entered into, andconcerted, with the advice and concurrence of the last parliament, forsecuring the trade and navigation of the kingdom, and for restoringand preserving the peace of Europe. Though a debate ensued upon thismessage, the majority resolved that an address should be presentedto his majesty, declaring the duty and fidelity of the commons, theirentire confidence in his royal care and goodness, and their readinessto enable his majesty to fulfil his engagements, A vote of credit passedaccordingly. During this session, the peers were chiefly employedin examining copies of several treaties and alliances which the kingsubmitted to their perusal; they likewise prepared a bill for amendingthe statute of limitation, which, however, did not pass into a law;they considered the state of the national debt, a subject fruitful ofdebates; they passed the mutiny bill, and those that were sent up fromthe commons touching the supplies; together with an act obliging shipsarriving from infected places, to perform quarantine; and some others ofa more private nature. These bills having received the royal assent, theking closed the session on the twenty-eighth day of May, when hethanked the commons for the effectual supplies they had raised, and, in particular, for having empowered him to borrow five hundred thousandpounds for the discharge of wages due to the seamen employed in thenavy. A DOUBLE MARRIAGE BETWEEN THE HOUSES OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. England was at this period quite barren of remarkable events. The king'suncle, Ernest Augustus, prince of Brunswick, duke of York, and bishopof Osnabruck, died on the third day of August, and was succeeded inthe bishopric by the elector Cologn, according to the pactum by whichOsnabruck is alternately possessed by the house of Brunswick and thatelector. In the beginning of December, his majesty's eldest son princeFrederick arrived in England from Hanover, where he had hithertoresided, was introduced into the privy-council, and created prince ofWales. Signior Como, resident from the duke of Parma, was ordered toquit the kingdom, because his master paid to the pretender the honoursdue to the king of Great Britain. The congress opened at Soissons, fordetermining all disputes among the powers of Europe, proved ineffectual. Such difficulties occurred in settling and reconciling so many differentpretensions and interests, that the contracting parties in the allianceof Hanover proposed a provisional treaty, concerning which no definitiveanswer was given as yet by the courts of Vienna and Madrid. The fate ofEurope, therefore, continued in suspense; the English fleet lay inactiveand rotting in the West-Indies; the sailors perished miserably, withoutdaring to avenge their country's wrongs; while the Spanish cruiserscommitted depredations with impunity on the commerce of Great Britain. The court of Spain, at this juncture, seemed cold and indifferentwith regard to a pacification with England. It had renewed a goodunderstanding with France, and now strengthened its interests by adouble alliance of marriage with the royal family of Portugal. Theinfanta of this house was betrothed to the prince of Asturias; while theSpanish infanta, formerly affianced to the French king, was now matchedwith the prince of Brazil, eldest son of his Portuguese majesty. In themonth of January, the two courts met in a wooden house built overthe little river Coya, that separates the two kingdoms, and there theprincesses were exchanged. LIBERALITY OF THE COMMONS. The parliament of Great Britain meeting according to their lastprorogation on the twenty-first day of January, the king in his speechcommunicated the nature of the negotiation at the congress. Pie demandedsuch supplies as might enable him to act vigorously in concert withhis allies, provided his endeavours to establish an advantageous peaceshould miscarry; and he hinted that the dilatory conduct of the courtsof Vienna and Madrid proceeded in a great measure from the hopes thatwere given of creating discontents and divisions among the subjects ofGreat Britain. This suggestion was a ministerial artifice to inflamethe zeal and resentment of the nation, and intimidate the members in theopposition. Accordingly the hint was pursued, and in the addresses fromboth houses, that could not fail of being agreeable, considering themanner in which they were dictated, particular notice was taken ofthis article; both peers and commons expressed their detestationand abhorrence of those, who, by such base and unnatural artifices, suggested the means of distressing their country, and clamoured atthe inconveniencies which they themselves had occasioned. In theseaddresses, likewise, the parliament congratulated his majesty on thearrival of the prince of Wales in his British dominions; and the commonssent a particular compliment to his royal highness on that occasion, The estimates having been examined in the usual form, the house votedfifteen thousand seamen for the ensuing year; but the motion forcontinuing the same number of land-forces which had been allowed inthe preceding year, was not carried without dispute. All the argumentsagainst a standing army in time of peace, as inconsistent with theBritish constitution, and dangerous to the liberties of the people, wererepeated with great vivacity by Mr. Shippen and Mr. W. Pulteney. These, however, were answered, and represented as absurd, by Mr. HoratioWalpole and Mr. D. , two staunch adherents of the minister. The firsthad, in despite of nature, been employed in different negotiations;he was blunt, awkward, and slovenly, an orator without eloquence, anambassador without dignity, and a plenipotentiary without address. Theother 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 ofHesse-Cassel, and the duke of Brunswick-Wolfen-buttle, usuallymaintained a certain number of troops in their pay, it was butreasonable that Great Britain should defray no more than the expense ofthe additional forces which those powers had raised, in consequenceof their conventions with the king of England. Sir Robert Walpoleperceiving that this remark made an impression on the house, thought itnecessary to vindicate his measure. He expatiated upon the wisdom ofthe late king, in concluding the Hanover alliance. He affirmed, thatthe convention with Hesse-Cassel had prevented a war in the empire, forwhich the court of Vienna had made great preparations; that the emperorhad not only augmented his own forces by the help of Spanish subsidies, but also retained the troops of three electors; and if he had notbeen overawed by the Hessians, would certainly have rejected thepreliminaries, and all other advances towards a pacification; that, therefore, they ought not to grudge an expense which had already provedso beneficial to the tranquillity of Europe. Sir Joseph Jekyll replied, that whatever gloss might be put upon such measures, they were repugnantto the maxims by which England in former times had steered and squaredits conduct with relation to its interest abroad; that the navy was thenatural strength of Great Britain--its best defence and security; butif, in order to avoid a war, they should be so free-hearted as to buyand maintain the forces of foreign princes, they were never like to seean end of such extravagant expenses. This gentleman, who exercised theoffice of master of the rolls, had approved himself a zealous defenderof whig principles, was an able lawyer, a sensible speaker, and aconscientious patriot. The supplies were raised by a continuation ofthe land-tax, the duties upon malt, cyder, and perry, an additionalimposition on unmalted corn used in distilling, and by sale of annuitiesto 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 ofLondon, Liverpool, and Bristol, complaining of the interruptions theyhad suffered in their trade for several years, by the depredations ofthe Spaniards in the West Indies. These being considered, the houseordered the lords of the admiralty to produce the other memorials of thesame kind which they had received, that they might be laid before thecongress at Soissons: then they addressed his majesty for copies of allthe letters and instructions which had been sent to admiral Hosier, andthose who succeeded him in the command of the West-India squadron. Mr. Oglethorpe, having been informed of shocking cruelties and oppressionsexercised by gaolers upon their prisoners, moved for an examination intothese practices, and was chosen chairman of a committee appointed toinquire into the state of the gaols in the kingdom. They began with theFleet-prison, which they visited in a body; there they found sir WilliamRich, baronet, loaded with irons, by order of Bambridge the warden, towhom he had given some slight cause of offence. They made a discovery ofmany inhuman barbarities which had been committed by that ruffian, anddetected the most iniquitous scenes of fraud, villany, and extortion. When the report was made by the committee, the house unanimouslyresolved, That Thomas Bambridge, acting warden of the Fleet, hadwilfully permitted several debtors to escape; had been guilty of themost notorious breaches of trust, great extortions, and the highestcrimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his office; that he hadarbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, anddestroyed prisoners for debt, under his charge, treating them in themost barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt of thelaws of the kingdom. John Huggins, esquire, who had been warden of theFleet-prison, was subjected to a resolution of the same nature. Thehouse presented an address to the king, desiring he would directhis attorney-general forthwith to prosecute these persons and theiraccomplices, who were committed prisoners to Newgate. A bill was broughtin, disabling Bambridge to execute the office of warden; another forthe better regulating the prison of the Fleet, and for more effectuallypreventing and punishing arbitrary and illegal practices of the wardenof 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 sustainedby the Spaniards. The house, in a grand committee, deliberated on thissubject, inquired into the particulars, examined evidence, and drew upan address to the king, desiring his majesty would be graciously pleasedto use his utmost endeavours for preventing such depredations; forprocuring just and reasonable satisfaction; and for securing to hissubjects the free exercise of commerce and navigation to and from theBritish colonies in America. The king assured them he would use his bestendeavours to answer the desires and expectations of his people, in anaffair of so much importance; and they, in another address, thankedhim for his gracious answer. They did not, however, receive such asatisfactory reply to a former address, touching the sum of sixtythousand pounds that had been stated in the public account, withoutspecification of the particular uses to which it was applied. Hismajesty gave them to understand that the money had been issued anddisbursed for secret services; and that a distinct and particularaccount of the distribution of it could not be given without a manifestprejudice to the public. A bill was prepared for the more effectualpreventing bribery and corruption in elections for members ofparliament; and it passed through the house without opposition; buttheir attention was chiefly employed upon the Spanish depredations, which had raised a great clamour through the whole kingdom, and excitedvery warm disputes in parliament; for they were generally reputed thefruits of negligence, incapacity, or want of vigour in the ministers.. The commons having made further progress in the inquiry, and receivedfresh petitions from the merchants, passed some resolutions, in whichthe Spaniards were accused of having violated the treaties subsistingbetween the two crowns; and with having treated inhumanly the mastersand crews of ships belonging to Great Britain. They justified theinstructions given to admiral Hosier, to seize and detain the flota andgalleons of Spain, until justice and satisfaction should be rendered tohis majesty and his allies; nay, even declared that such seizure wouldhave been just, prudent, and necessary, tending to prevent an openrupture, and to preserve the peace and tranquillity of Europe. Theyagain 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 hismajesty to order an account of the produce of the civil list revenuesfor one year to be laid before the house. The address was presented, theaccount produced, and the house, in a grand committee, took this affairinto consideration. The courtiers affirmed that they fell short of theeight hundred thousand pounds settled upon his majesty; and Mr. Scroopeproposed that the sum of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds shouldbe 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 thesession, when no further demand of money could be reasonably expected;and they said it was the more extraordinary, because it appeared in theformer session, from the examination of the accounts then before thehouse, that the revenues of the civil list produced yearly a muchgreater sum than that for which they were given. Mr. Pulteney moved, that the accounts and papers should be referred to the examination ofa select committee, properly empowered to investigate the truth. Theministers opposed this motion; and the question being put, it passedin the negative. The majority voted the sum demanded; and in a bill forsettling the price of imported corn, they inserted the resolution forgranting to his majesty the sum of one hundred and fifteen thousandpounds, 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 effectualpunishment of forgery, which was passed into a law, and ordered thejudges to bring in another on the report of a committee appointed toconsider the case of imprisoned debtors, at length deliberated upon thestate of the nation, particularly the positive demand made by the courtof Spain for the restitution of Gibraltar, grounded in a letter writtenby the late king to his catholic majesty. From a copy of the letter laidbefore the house, it plainly appeared that king George I. Had consentedto this restitution. A motion being made for a resolution, importing, that for the honour of his majesty, and the preservation and security ofthe trade and commerce of the kingdom, effectual care should be taken inthe present treaty that the king of Spain should renounce all claim andpretension to Gibraltar and Minorca, in plain and strong terms; a debateensued, and the question being put, passed in the negative, thoughnot without a protest. Then the majority resolved, that the house didentirely rely upon his majesty, that he would, for maintaining thehonour and securing the trade of this kingdom, take effectual care inthe present treaty to preserve his undoubted right to Gibraltar andMinorca. When the house examined the papers relating to the Spanishdepreciations, many severe reflections were uttered against the conductof the ministry; and a motion was made, to resolve that Hosier'sexpedition was an unreasonable burden on the nation; but this too wasrejected, and occasioned another protest. Nor did the clause in thecorn-bill, for granting one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds to hismajesty, pass through the house of peers without warm opposition. Diverslords alleged, that, instead of a deficiency in the civil list revenues, there was a considerable surplus; that this was a new grant, and a newburden on the people; that the nation was loaded, not to complete butto augment the surplus designed for the civil list; and this at a timewhen the public debts were increased; when the taxes were heavily feltin all parts of the country; when the foreign trade of Britain wasencumbered and diminished; when her manufactures were decayed, her poormultiplied, and she was surrounded by many other national calamities. They observed, that if the produce of the civil list revenue should notamount to the yearly sum of eight hundred thousand pounds, thedeficiency must be made good to his majesty by the public; whereas noprovision was made, by which, if the produce of these revenues shouldexceed that sum, the surplus could accrue to the benefit of the public;that, by this precedent, not only real deficiencies were to be madegood, but also supplies were to be given for arrears standing out at theend of the year, which should come on before the supplies could begranted, though the supply given to make good arrears in one year wouldcertainly increase the surplusages in another; that the revenues of thecivil list were variable in their own nature, and even when there is adeficiency in the produce, there might be arrears in the receipt; thesemight be easily increased by the management of designing ministers, byprivate directions to receivers, and by artful methods of statingaccounts. All these arguments, and other objections equally strong andplausible, against this unconsionable and unparliamentary motion, servedonly to evince the triumph of the ministry over shame and sentiment, their contempt of public spirit, and their defiance of the nationalreproach. * * 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. {1729} WISE CONDUCT OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. The king had, on the twenty-fourth day of March, given the royal assentto five bills; and on the fourteenth day of May the same sanction wasgiven to thirty other bills, including an act enabling the queen to beregent in the kingdom during his majesty's absence without taking theoaths, and another for the relief of insolvent debtors. At the same timetwo-and-thirty private bills were passed: then the king expressed hisapprobation of the parliament, signified his intention to visit hisGerman dominions, and ordered the chancellor to prorogue both houses. His majesty having appointed the queen regent of the realm, set outfor Hanover on the seventeenth day of May, in order to remove a pettymisunderstanding which had happened between that electorate and thecourt of Berlin. Some Hanoverian subjects had been pressed or decoyedinto the service of Prussia; and the regents of Hanover had seizedcertain Prussian officers by way of reprisal. The whole united kingdomof Great Britain at this juncture enjoyed uninterrupted repose;and commerce continued to increase, in spite of all restriction anddiscouragement. The people of Ireland found themselves happy under thegovernment of lord Carteret; and their parliament, assembling in themonth of September, approved themselves the fathers of their country. They established funds for the discharge of their national debt, and formaintaining the expense of government: they enacted wholesome laws forthe encouragement of manufactures, trade, and agriculture; and theyformed wise regulations in different branches of civil economy. Sometime after this session, which was conducted with so much harmony andpatriotism, lord Carteret returned to England; and was succeeded by theduke of Dorset in the government of that kingdom. In the month of May, Charles lord Townshend resigned the seals, which were given to colonelStanhope, now created earl of Harrington; so that sir Robert Walpolenow reigned without a rival. James earl of Waldegrave was appointedambassador to the court of France, which about that time was filled withjoy by the birth of a dauphin. ABDICATION OF THE KING OF SARDINIA. In the month of September, Victor Amadeus king of Sardinia, resignedhis crown to his son Charles Emanuel, prince of Piedmont. The fatherreserved to himself a revenue of one hundred thousand pistoles perannum, retired to the castle of Chamberry, and espoused the countessdowager of St. Sebastian, who declined the title of queen, but assumedthat of marchioness of Somerive. Though the congress at Soissonsproved abortive, conferences were begun at Seville between theplenipotentiaries of England, France, and Spain; and a treaty wasconcluded on the ninth day of November, not only without the concurrenceof the emperor, but even contrary to his right, as established bythe quadruple alliance. On this subject he communicated an imperialcommissorial decree to the states of the empire assembled in the dietat Eatisbon, which was answered by the French minister de Chavigny. InOctober, Peter II. , czar of Muscovy and grandson of Peter I. , diedin the fifteenth year of his age, at Muscow, and was succeeded on theRussian throne by the princess Anne Ivanowna, second daughter of JohnAlexowitz, elder brother of the first Peter, and widow of FredericWilliam duke of Courland. The following month was rendered remarkableby the death of pope Benedict XIII. , in whose room cardinal LaurenceCorsini was raised to the pontificate, and assumed the name of ClementXII. 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 nowestablished by the treaty of Seville, built upon the foundationof former treaties, and tending to render more effectual what thecontracting powers in the quadruple alliance were before engaged to seeperformed. He assured them that all former conventions made withSpain in favour of the British trade and navigation were renewed andconfirmed: that the free uninterrupted exercise of their commerce wasrestored: that the court of Spain had agreed to an ample restitutionand reparation for unlawful seizures and depredations: that all rights, privileges, and possessions, belonging to him and his allies, weresolemnly re-established, confirmed, and guaranteed; and that not oneconcession was made to the prejudice of his subjects. He told them hehad given orders for reducing a great number of his land-forces, and forlaying up great part of the fleet; and observed 'that there would bea considerable saving in the expense of the current year. After bothhouses had presented their addresses of thanks and congratulation tothe king on the peace of Seville, the lords took that treaty intoconsideration, 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 themerchants of Great Britain were obliged to make proof of their lossesat the court of Spain. They said this stipulation was a hardship uponBritish subjects, and dishonourable to the nation: that few would careto undertake such a troublesome and expensive journey, especially asthey had reason to apprehend their claims would be counterbalanced bythe Spaniards; and after all they would have no more than the slendercomfort of hoping to obtain that redress by commissaries which theyhad not been able to procure by plenipotentiaries. They thought it veryextraordinary that Great Britain should be bound to ratify and guaranteewhatever agreement should be made between the king of Spain and the dukeof Parma and Tuscany, concerning the garrisons once established in theircountries; that the English should be obliged to assist in effectuatingthe introduction of six thousand Spanish troops into the towns ofTuscany and Parma, without any specification of the methods to be taken, or the charge to be incurred, in giving that assistance: that theyshould guarantee for ever, not only to Don Carlos, but even to allhis successors, the possession of the estates of Tuscany and Parma;a stipulation which in all probability would involve Great Britain inendless quarrels and disputes about a country with which they had noconcern. They affirmed that the treaty of Seville, instead ofconfirming other treaties, was contradictory to the quadruple alliance, particularly in the article of introducing Spanish troops into Tuscanyand Parma in the room of neutral forces stipulated by the formeralliance; and agreeing that they should there remain until Don Carlosand his successors should be secure and exempt from all events. Theycomplained that these alterations from the tenor of the quadruplealliance, were made without the concurrence of the emperor, and evenwithout inviting him to accede; an affront which might alienate hisfriendship from England, and hazard the loss of such an ancient, powerful, and faithful ally; they declared that throughout the wholetreaty there seemed to be an artful omission of any express stipulationto secure Great Britain in her right to Gibraltar and Minorca. Such wasthe substance of the objections made to the peace: then lord Bathurstmoved for a resolution that the agreement on the treaty of Seville, tosecure the succession of Don Carlos to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, with Spanish troops, was a manifest violation of thefifth article of the quadruple alliance, tending to involve the nationin a dangerous and expensive war, and to destroy the balance of power inEurope. The question was put, and the motion rejected. Such too wasthe fate of two other motions, to resolve that Great Britain's right ofsovereignty, dominion, possession, and claim to Gibraltar and Minorca, were not ascertained by the treaty of Seville: and that the stipulationsin that treaty for repairing the losses of the British merchants wereinsufficient and precarious. The majority, far from stigmatizingthis transaction, resolved, that the treaty did contain all necessarystipulations for maintaining and securing the honour, dignity, rights, and possessions of the crown: that all due care was taken therein forthe support of the trade of the king dom, and for repairing the lossessustained by the British merchants. On these resolutions an address ofapprobation was founded: but when a motion was made for an address tohis majesty, that he would order to be laid before the house a list ofall pensions payable to the crown, it was immediately resolved in thenegative. 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 wereclogged with vigorous protests, which did not fail to make impressionupon the body of the people. OPPOSITION TO A STANDING ARMY. Nor was the success of the court interest in the house of commonsaltogether pure, and free from exception and dispute. When the chargeof the land forces fell under the consideration of the commons, and Mr. Henry Pelham, secretary at war, moved that the number of effective menfor the land service of the ensuing year should be fixed at seventeenthousand seven hundred and nine, Mr. Pulteney insisted upon its beingreduced to twelve thousand. Mr. Shippen affirmed that Mr. Pelham'smotion was a flat negative to the address for which he voted on thefirst day of the session, as it plainly implied a distrust of thevalidity of the late treaty, which he then assured the house wouldimmediately produce all the blessings of an absolute peace, and deliverthe kingdom from the apprehensions and inconveniences of a war. He saidthe motion tended directly towards the establishment of an army in GreatBritain, which he hoped would never be so far germanized as tamely tosubmit to a military government. He observed, that the nation couldhave no occasion for all the troops that were demanded, considering theglorious scene of affairs which was now opened to all Europe. "They arenot necessary, " said he, "to awe Spain into a firm adherence to its owntreaty; they are not necessary to force the emperor into an immediateaccession, nor are they in any sort necessary for the safety of hismajesty's person and government. Force and violence are the resortof usurpers and tyrants only; because they are, with good reason, distrustful of the people whom they oppress; and because they haveno other security for the continuance of their unlawful and unnaturaldominion, 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 broughtin, to prevent any subjects of Great Britain from advancing sums ofmoney to foreign princes or states, without having obtained license fromhis majesty, under his privy-seal or some great authority. The ministerpretended that this law was proposed to disable the emperor, whowanted to borrow a great sum of the English merchants, from raisingand maintaining troops to disturb the tranquillity of Europe. The billcontained a clause empowering the king to prohibit by proclamationall such loans of money, jewels, or bullion: the attorney-general wasempowered to compel, by English bill, in the court of exchequer, theeffectual 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 alimited sum against the person refusing to answer. Mr. Daniel Pulteney, a gentleman of uncommon talents and ability, and particularly acquaintedwith every branch of commerce, argued strenuously against this bill, asa restraint upon trade that would render Holland the market of Europe, and the mart of money to the nations of the continent. He said thatby this general prohibition, extending to all princes, states, orpotentates, the English were totally disabled from assisting their bestallies: that, among others, the king of Portugal frequently borrowedmoney of the English merchants residing within his dominions; that whilethe licensing power remained in the crown, the licenses would be issuedthrough the hands of the minister, who by this new trade might gaintwenty, thirty, or forty thousand a-year: that the bill would renderthe exchequer a court of inquisition: and that whilst it restrained ourmerchants from assisting the princes and powers of Europe, it permittedour stockjobbers to trade in their funds without interruption. Otherarguments of equal weight were enforced by Mr. Barnard, a merchant ofLondon, who perfectly understood trade in all its branches, spoke withjudgment and precision, and upon all occasions steadily adhered tothe interest and liberties of his country. After having explained hisreasons, he declared he should never consent to a bill which he deemeda violation of our fundamental laws, a breach of our dearestliberties, and a very terrible hardship on mankind. Sir William Wyndhamdistinguished himself on the same side of the question: the bill wasvindicated by sir Robert Walpole, Mr. Pelham, and sir Philip Yorke, attorney-general; and being supported by the whole weight of ministerialinfluence, not only passed through the house, but was afterwards enactedinto a law. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} CHARTER OF THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY. The subsidies were continued to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and theduke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttle, in spite of all that could be urgedagainst these extraneous incumbrances; and the supply for the ensuingyear was granted according to the estimates which the ministry thoughtproper to produce, amounting to about two millions two hundred andeighty thousand pounds. It must be owned, however, for the credit of thesession, that the house appropriated one million of the surplussesarising from the sinking fund towards the discharge of the nationaldebt; and by another act extinguished the duties upon salt, by whichexpedient the subject was eased of a heavy burden, not only in beingfreed from the duty, but also from a considerable charge of salariesgiven to a great number of officers employed to collect this imposition. They likewise encouraged the colony of Carolina with an act, allowingthe planters and traders of that province to export rice directly to anypart of Europe southward of Cape Finisterre; and they permitted saltfrom Europe to be imported into the colony of New York. The term of theexclusive trade granted by act of parliament to the East India companydrawing towards a period, many considerable merchants and others madeapplication forbeing incorporated and vested with the privilege oftrading to those countries, proposing to lay that branch of trade opento all the subjects of Great Britain on certain conditions. Inconsideration of an act of parliament for this purpose, they offered toadvance three millions two hundred thousand pounds, for redeeming thefund and trade of the present East India company. This proposal wasrejected; and the exclusive privilege vested in the company was, by actof parliament, protracted to the year one thousand seven hundred andsixty-six, upon the following conditions: That they should pay into theexchequer the sum of two hundred thousand pounds towards the supplies ofthe year, without interest or addition to their capital stock: that theannuity or yearly fund of one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, payableto them from the public, should be reduced to one hundred andtwenty-eight thousand: that after the year one thousand seven hundredand sixty-six, their right to the exclusive trade should be liable to betaken away by parliament, on three years' notice, and repayment of theircapital. {1730} THE EMPEROR RESENTS THE TREATY OF SEVILLE. On the fifteenth day of May, the king went to the house of peersand closed the session. In his speech he expressed his joy, that, notwithstanding all the clamours which were raised, the parliament hadapproved of those matters which, he said, could not fail to inspireall mankind with a just detestation of those incendiaries, who, byscandalous 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 ofboth 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 treatyof Seville, with respect to the garrisons of Tuscany and Parma, that heprohibited the subjects of Great Britain from trading in his dominions:he began to make preparations for war, and actually detached bodies oftroops to Italy with such despatch as had been very seldom exerted bythe house of Austria. Yet the article of which he complained was not somuch a real injury as an affront put upon the head of the empire; foreventual succession to those Italian duchies had been secured to theinfant, Don Carlos, by the quadruple alliance; and all that the emperorrequired was, that this prince should receive the investiture of them asfiefs of the empire. ARRIVAL OF SEVEN INDIAN CHIEFS. In Great Britain, this year was not distinguished by any transaction ofgreat moment. Seven chiefs of the Cherokee nations of Indians in Americawere brought to England by sir Alexander Cumin. Being introduced to theking, they laid their crown and regalia at his feet; and by an authenticdeed acknowledged themselves subjects to his dominion, in the name ofall their compatriots, who had vested them with full powers for thispurpose. They were amazed and confounded at the riches and magnificenceof the British court: they compared the king and queen to the sun andmoon, the princes to the stars of heaven, and themselves to nothing. They gave their assent in the most solemn manner to articles offriendship and commerce, proposed by the lords commissioners of tradeand plantations; and being loaded with presents of necessaries, arms, and ammunition, were re-conveyed to their own country, which borders onthe province of South Carolina. In the month of September, a surprisingrevolution was effected at Constantinople, without bloodshed orconfusion. A few mean Janissaries displayed a flag in the streets, exclaiming that all true Mussulmen ought to follow them, and assistin reforming the government. They soon increased to the number ofone hundred thousand, marched to the seraglio, and demanded the grandvizier, the kiaja, and captain pacha. These unhappy ministers wereimmediately strangled. Their bodies being delivered to the insurgents, were dragged through the streets, and afterwards thrown to the dogs tobe devoured. Not content with this sacrifice, the revolters deposed thegrand seignor Achmet, who was confined to the same prison from whencethey 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, andincendiaries, the natural consequences of degeneracy, corruption, andthe want of police in the interior government of the kingdom. Thisdefect, in a great measure, arose from an absurd notion, that lawsnecessary to prevent those acts of cruelty, violence, and rapine, wouldbe incompatible with the liberty of British subjects; a notion thatconfounds all distinctions between liberty and brutal licentiousness, asif that freedom was desirable, in the enjoyment of which people find nosecurity for their lives or effects. The peculiar depravity of thetimes was visible even in the conduct of those who preyed upon thecommonwealth. Thieves and robbers were now become more desperate andsavage than ever they had appeared since mankind was civilized. In theexercise of their rapine, they wounded, maimed, and even murdered theunhappy sufferers, through a wantonness of barbarity. They circulatedletters demanding sums of money from certain individuals, on pain ofreducing their houses to ashes, and their families to ruin; and evenset fire to the house of a rich merchant in Bristol, who had refused tocomply with their demand. The same species of villany was practised indifferent parts of the kingdom; so that the government was obliged tointerpose, and offer a considerable reward for discovering the ruffiansconcerned 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 onthe twenty-first day of January, he told them that the present criticalconjuncture seemed in a very particular manner to deserve theirattention; that as the transactions then depending in the several courtsof Europe were upon the point of being determined, the great event ofpeace 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 hithertosupported him and his engagements, must at this time be of the greatestweight and importance, both with regard to his allies, and to thosewho might be disposed before the season of action to prevent, by anaccommodation, the fatal consequences of a general rupture. The formerscene was repeated. Both houses, in their addresses, promised to supporthis majesty in all his engagements; yet the members of the oppositiondemonstrated the absurdity of promising to fulfil engagements beforethey could possibly know whether or not they were for the service ofGreat Britain. Another bill was brought into the house of commons, toprevent pensioners from sitting as members of parliament; and, after athird reading, carried up to the lords for their concurrence. Whenthe supply fell under consideration, the debates were renewed upon thesubsidies to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and the duke of Wolfenbuttle, which, however, were continued; and every article was granted accordingto the estimates given in for the expense of the ensuing year. Twopetitions being presented to the commons, representing the delays ofjustice occasioned by the use of the Latin tongue in proceedings at law, a bill was brought in for changing this practice, and enacting, that allthose processes and pleadings should be entered in the English language. Though one would imagine that very little could be advanced againstsuch a regulation the bill met with warm opposition, on pretence thatit would render useless the ancient records which were written in thatlanguage, and introduce confusion and delay of justice, by altering theestablished form and method of pleading: in spite of these objectionsit passed through both houses, and obtained the royal assent. A greatnumber of merchants from different parts of the kingdom having repeatedtheir complaints of depredations and cruelties committed by theSpaniards in the West Indies, their petitions were referred to theconsideration of a grand committee. Their complaints upon examinationappeared to be well founded. The house presented an address to theking, desiring his majesty would bo graciously pleased to continue hisendeavours to prevent such depredations for the future; to procure fullsatisfaction for the damages already sustained; and to secure to theBritish subjects the full and uninterrupted exercise of their trade andnavigation to and from the British colonies in America. The hill againstpensions produced a warm debate in the house of lords, where it wasviolently opposed by the dukes of Newcastle and Argyle; the earl ofHay, and Dr. Sherlock, bishop of Bangor. This prelate, in a remarkablespeech, represented it as a scheme to enlarge the power of the house ofcommons, and to break the balance between the powers essential to theconstitution, 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 notdirectly, nor indirectly, any pension during pleasure, or for any numberof years, or any office in part, or in the whole, held for them, or fortheir benefit, by any persons whatsoever; and that they would not acceptany such pensions or offices, without signifying the same to the housewithin fourteen days after they should be received or accepted. Thebill was vindicated as just and necessary by the earls of Winchelsea andStrafford, lord Bathurst, and lord Carteret, who had by this time joinedas an auxiliary in the opposition. [237] _[See note 2 K, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ {1731} 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 intoEngland, which was fiercely opposed, and laid aside, contrary to all therules of sound policy. They passed the bill for carrying on proceedingsat law in the English language; and a fruitless motion was made by lordBathurst for an address, to desire his majesty would give directions fordischarging the Hessian troops that were in the pay of Great Britain. Onthe seventh day of May the parliament was prorogued, after the king hadgiven them to understand that all apprehensions of war were now happilyremoved, by a treaty signed at Vienna between him and the emperor. Hesaid it was communicated to the courts of France and Spain, as partiesto the treaty of Seville, the execution of which it principallyregarded; and that it likewise was submitted to the consideration of thestates-general. He observed, that the conditions and engagements intowhich he had entered on this occasion were agreeable to that necessaryconcern which the British nation must always have for the security andpreservation of the balance of power in Europe; and that this happyturn, duly improved with a just regard to former alliances, yielded afavourable 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 awill, in which he declared his duchess was three months advanced in herpregnancy; entreating the allied powers of Europe to have compassionupon his people, and defer the execution of their projects until hisconsort should be delivered. In case the child should be still-born, ordie after the birth, he bequeathed his dominions and allodial estates tothe infant Don Carlos of Spain; and appointed five regents to governthe duchy. Notwithstanding this disposition, a body of Imperial troopsimmediately took possession of Parma and Placentia, under the commandof general Stampa, who declared they should conduct themselves withall possible regularity and moderation, and leave the administrationentirely to the regents whom the duke had appointed. They publiclyproclaimed in the market-place, that they took possession of theseduchies for the infant Don Carlos; and that if the duchess dowagershould not be delivered of a prince, the said infant might receive theinvestiture from the emperor whenever he would, provided he should comewithout an army. Though these steps seemed to threaten an immediatewar, the king of Great Britain and the states-general interposed theirmediation so effectually with the court of Vienna, that the emperordesisted from the prosecution of his design; and on the sixteenth day ofMarch concluded at Vienna a treaty with his Britannic majesty, by whichhe consented to withdraw his troops from Parma and Placentia. He agreed, that the king of Spain might take possession of these places in favourof his son Don Carlos, according to the treaty of Seville. He likewiseagreed that the Ostend company, which had given such umbrage to themaritime powers, should be totally dissolved, on condition that thecontracting powers concerned in the treaty of Seville should guaranteethe pragmatic sanction, or succession of the Austrian hereditarydominion to the heirs female of the emperor, in case he should diewithout male issue. The Dutch minister residing at the Imperial courtdid not subscribe this treaty, because, by the maxims received in thatrepublic, and the nature of her government, he could not be vested withfull powers so soon as it would have been necessary: neverthelessthe states-general were, by a separate article, expressly named as aprincipal contracting party. DON CARLOS TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS TERRITORIES. On the twenty-second day of July, a new treaty was signed at Viennabetween the emperor and the kings of Great Britain and Spain, tending toconfirm the former. In August, a treaty of union and defensive alliancebetween the electorates of Saxony and Hanover was executed at Dresden. The court of Spain expressing some doubts with regard to the pregnancyof the duchess of Parma, she underwent a formal examination by fivemidwives of different nations, in presence of the elder duchess dowager, several ladies of quality, three physicians and a surgeon; and wasdeclared with child: nevertheless, after having kept all Europe insuspense for six months, she owned she had been deceived; and generalStampa, with the Imperial forces, took formal possession of the duchiesof Parma and Placenta. Spain and the great duke of Tuscany havingacceded to the last treaty of Vienna, the crown of Great Britain engagedto equip an armament that should convoy Don Carlos to his new dominions. Accordingly, sir Charles Wager sailed with a strong squadron fromPortsmouth on the twenty-sixth day of August; and in September arrivedat Barcelona, where-, being joined by the Spanish fleet and transports, they sailed together to Leghorn; from whence the admiral returned toEngland. Don Carlos passed through part of France, and embarkingat Anti-bes on board of the Spanish galleys, arrived at Leghorn inDecember. Then the Imperial general withdrew his forces into theMilanese; 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 ofJansenius; a bull which had produced a schism in the Gallican church, and well nigh involved that country in civil war and confusion. It wasopposed by the parliaments and lay tribunals of the kingdom; but manybishops, and the Jesuits in general, were its most strenuous assertors. All the artifices of priestcraft were practised on both sides to inflamethe enthusiasm, and manage the superstition of the people. Pretendedmiracles were wrought at the tomb of abbé Paris, who had died withoutaccepting the bull, consequently was declared damned by the abettorsof that constitution. On the other hand, the Jesuites exerted alltheir abilities and industry in preaching against the Jansenists; inestablishing an opinion of their superior sanctity; and inspiring aspirit of quietism among their votaries, who were transported into thedelirium of possession, illumination, and supernatural converse. Thesearts were often used for the most infamous purposes. Female enthusiastswere wrought up to such a violence of agitation, that nature faintedunder the struggle, and the pseudo saint seized this opportunity ofviolating the chastity of his penitent. Such was said to be the case ofmademoiselle la Cadiere, a young gentlewoman of Toulon, abused in thismanner by the lust and villany of Père Girard, a noted Jesuit, whounderwent a trial before the parliament of Aix, and very narrowlyescaped the stake. THE MINISTRY VIOLENTLY OPPOSED. The parliament of Great Britain meeting on the thirteenth day ofJanuary, the king in his speech declared, that the general tranquillityof Europe was restored and established by the last treaty of Vienna;and Don Carlos was actually possessed of Parma and Placentia; that sixthousand Spaniards were quietly admitted and quartered in the duchy ofTuscany, to secure, by the express consent and agreement of the greatduke, the reversion of his dominions; and that a family convention wasmade between the courts of Spain and Tuscany for preserving mutualpeace and friendship in the two houses. He told the commons, that theestimates for the service of the current year would be considerably lessthan those of former years. He recommended unanimity; he observed thathis government had no security but what was equally conducive to theirhappiness, and to the protection of his people: that their prosperityhad no foundation but in the defence and support of his government. "Oursafety, " said he, "is mutual, and our interests are inseparable. "The opposition to the court measures appears to have been uncommonlyspirited during the course of this session. The minister's motions wereattacked with all the artillery of elocution. His principal emissarieswere obliged to task their faculties to their full exertion, topuzzle and perplex where they could not demonstrate and convince, tomisrepresent what they could not vindicate, and to elude the argumentswhich they could not refute. In the house of commons, lord Hervey, lately appointed vice-chamberlain of his majesty's household, made amotion for an address of thanks, in which they should declare theirentire approbation of the king's conduct, acknowledge the blessings theyenjoyed tinder his government, express their confidence in the wisdomof his councils, and declare their readiness to grant the necessarysupplies. This member, son to the earl of Bristol, was a noblemanof some parts, which, however, were more specious than solid. Hecondescended to act as a subaltern to the minister, and approved himselfextremely active in forwarding all his designs, whether as a secretemissary or public orator; in which last capacity he appears to havebeen 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 argueagainst a general address of thanks; but exposed the absurdity and badtendency of expressions which implied a blind approbation of allthe measures of the ministry. Sir Wilfred Lawson observed, thatnotwithstanding the great things we had done for the crown of Spain, andthe favours we had procured for the royal family of that kingdom, little or no satisfaction had as yet been received for the injuries ourmerchants had sustained from that nation. Mr. Pulteney took notice, thatthe nation, by becoming guarantee to the pragmatic sanction, laid itselfunder an obligation to assist the Austrian family when attacked byany potentate whatever, except the grand seignor; that they might beattacked when it would be much against the interest of the kingdom toengage itself in a war upon any foreign account; that it might one daybe for the interest of the nation to join against them, in order topreserve the balance of Europe, the establishing of which had alreadycost England such immense sums of money. He insisted upon the absurdityof concluding such a number of inconsistent treaties; and concludedwith saying, that if affairs abroad were now happily established, theministry which conducted them might be compared to a pilot, who, thoughthere was a clear, safe, and straight channel into port, yet took it inhis head to carry the ship a great way about, through sands, rocks, andshallows; who, after having lost a great number of seamen, destroyeda great deal of tackle and rigging, and subjected the owners to anenormous expense, at last by chance hits the port, and triumphs inhis 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 tothe honour and interest of the nation, than did the guarantee of thepragmatic sanction. He said he wished to have heard that the new worksat Dunkirk had been entirely razed and destroyed; that the nation hadreceived full and complete satisfaction for the depredations committedby the natives of Spain; that more care was taken in disciplining themilitia, on whose valour the nation must chiefly depend in caseof invasion; and that some regard had been shown to the oppressedprotestants in Germany. He expressed his satisfaction to find that theEnglish were not so closely united to France as formerly; for he hadgenerally observed that when two dogs were in a leash together, thestronger generally ran away with the weaker; and this he was afraidhad been the case between France and Great Britain. The motion wasvigorously defended by Mr. Pelham, paymaster of the forces, and brotherto the duke of Newcastle, a man whose greatest fault was his beingconcerned in supporting the measures of a corrupt ministry. In otherrespects he was liberal, candid, benevolent, and even attached to theinterest of his country, though egregiously mistaken in his notionsof government. On this occasion, he insisted that it was no wayinconsistent with the honour or dignity of that house to thank hismajesty in the most particular terms, for every thing he had beenpleased to communicate in his speech from the throne; that noexpressions of approbation in the address could be any way made use ofto prevent an inquiry into the measures which had been pursued, when thetreaties should be laid before the house. He said, at the opening of asession the eyes of all Europe were turned towards Great Britain, andfrom the parliament's first resolves all the neighbouring powersjudged of the unanimity that would ensue between his majesty and therepresentatives of his people; that their appearing jealous or diffidentof his majesty's conduct, would weaken his influence upon the councilsof foreign states and potentates, and perhaps put it out of his power torectify any false step that might have been made by his ministers. Hisarguments were reinforced by a long speech from Mr. H. Walpole. Thequestion 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 thesupply fell under consideration, sir W. Strickland, secretary at war, moved that the same number which had been maintained in the precedingyear should be continued in pay. On the other hand, lord Morpeth havingdemonstrated the danger to which the liberties of the nation might beexposed, by maintaining a numerous standing army in time of peace, madea motion that the number should be reduced to twelve thousand. A warmdebate ensuing, was managed in favour of the first motion by lordHervey, sir Robert Walpole and his brother, Mr. Pelham, and sir PhilipYorke, attorney-general. This gentleman was counted a better lawyer thana politician, and shone more as an advocate at the bar than as an oratorin the house of commons. The last partisan of the ministry was sirWilliam Yonge, one of the lords commissioners in the treasury; a manwho rendered himself serviceable and necessary by stooping to allcompliances, running upon every scent, and haranguing on every subject, with an even uninterrupted tedious flow of full declamation, composedof assertions without veracity, conclusions from false premises, wordswithout meaning, and language without propriety. Lord Morpeth's motionwas espoused by Mr. Watkin Williams Wynne, a gentleman of an ancientfamily and opulent fortune in Wales, brave, open, hospitable, and warmlyattached to the ancient constitution and hierarchy; he was supported byMr. Walter Plummer, who spoke with weight, precision, and severity;by sir W, Wyndham, Mr. Shippen, Mr. W. Pulteney, and Mr. Barnard. Thecourtiers argued that it was necessary to maintain such a number ofland-forces as might defeat the designs of malcontents, secure theinterior tranquillity of the kingdom, defend it from external assaults, overawe its neighbours, and enable it to take vigorous measures in casethe peace of Europe should be re-embroiled. They affirmed, the scienceof war was so much altered, and acquired so much attention, that nodependance was to be placed upon a militia; that all nations wereobliged to maintain standing armies, for their security against theencroachments of neighbouring powers; that the number of troops in GreatBritain was too inconsiderable to excite the jealousy of the people, even under an ambitious monarch; that his majesty never entertained theleast thought of infringing the liberties of his subjects; that it couldnot be supposed that the officers, among whom were many gentlemen offamily and fortune, would ever concur in a design to enslave theircountry; and that the forces now in pay could not be properly deemed astanding army, inasmuch as they were voted and maintained from year toyear by the parliament, which was the representative of the people. Tothese arguments the members in the opposition replied, that a standingforce in time of peace was unconstitutional, and had been always thoughtdangerous; that a militia was as capable of discipline as a standingarmy, and would have more incentives to courage and perseverance; thatthe civil magistrate was able to preserve the peace of the country; thatthe number of the malcontents was altogether contemptible, though itmight be considerably augmented by maintaining a standing army, andother such arbitrary measures; that other nations had been enslaved bystanding armies; and howsoever they might find themselves necessitatedto depend upon a military force for security against encroachingneighbours, the case was very different with regard to Great Britain, for the defence of which nature had provided in a peculiar manner; thatthis provision was strengthened and improved by a numerous navy, whichsecured her dominion of the sea; and, if properly disposed, would renderall invasion impracticable, or at least ineffectual; that the land-armyof Great Britain, though sufficient to endanger the liberties of anunarmed people, could not possibly secure such an extent of coast, andtherefore could be of very little service in preventing an invasion;that though they had all imaginable confidence in his majesty's regardto the liberty of the subjects, they could not help apprehending, thatshould a standing army become part of the constitution, another princeof more dangerous talents, and more fatal designs, might arise, andemploy it for the worst purposes of ambition; that though many officerswere gentlemen of honour and probity, these might be easily discarded, and the army gradually moulded into quite a different temper. By thesemeans, practised in former times, an army had been new modelled to sucha degree, that they turned their swords against the parliament for whosedefence they had been raised, and destroyed the constitution both inchurch and state; that with respect to its being wholly dependent on theparliament, the people of England would have reason to complain ofthe same hardship, whether a standing army should be declared at onceindispensable, or regularly voted from year to year, according to thedirection of the ministry; that the sanction of the legislature grantedto measures which in themselves are unconstitutional, burdensome, odious, and repugnant to the genius of the nation, instead of yieldingconsolation, would serve only to demonstrate that the most effectualmethod of forging the chains of national slavery, would be that ofministerial influence operating upon a venal parliament. Such were thereasons urged against a standing army, of what number soever it might becomposed; but the expediency of reducing the number from abouteighteen thousand to twelve thousand, was insisted upon as the naturalconsequence of his majesty's declaration, by which they were given tounderstand that the peace of Europe was established; and that he hadnothing so much at heart as the ease and prosperity of his people. Itwas suggested, that if eighteen thousand men were sufficient on thesupposed eve of a general war in Europe, it was surely reasonableto think that a less number would suffice when peace was perfectlyre-established. Whatever effect these reasons had upon the body of thenation, they made no converts in the house, where the majority resolvedthat the standing army should be maintained without reduction. Mr. Plummer complained that the country was oppressed by an arbitrary methodof quartering soldiers, in an undue proportion, upon those publicans whorefused to vote in elections according to the direction of the ministry. Mr. Pulteney asserted, that the money raised for the subsistence ofeighteen thousand men in England, would maintain sixty thousand Frenchor Germans, or the same number of almost any other people on thecontinent. Sir William Wyndham declared, that eighteen thousand of theEnglish troops in the late war were maintained on less than two-thirdsof the sum demanded for the like number; but no regard was paid to theseallegations. 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 firsterected in the year one thousand seven hundred and seven. Theirprofessed intention was to lend money at legal interest to the poorupon small pledges; and to persons of better rank upon an indubitablesecurity of goods impawned. Their capital was at first limited to thirtythousand pounds, but, by licenses from the crown, they increased it tosix hundred thousand pounds, though their charter was never confirmedby act of parliament. In the month of October, George Robinson, esquire, member for Mar-low, the cashier, and John Thompson, warehouse-keeperof the corporation, disappeared in one day. The proprietors, alarmed atthis incident, held several general courts, and appointed a committee toinspect the state of their affairs. They reported, that for a capital ofabove five hundred thousand pounds no equivalent was found; inasmuchas their effects did not amount to the value of thirty thousand, theremainder having been embezzled by means which they could not discover. The proprietors, in a petition to the house of commons, represented thatby the most notorious breach of trust in several persons to whom thecare and management of their affairs were committed, the corporation hadbeen defrauded of the greatest part of their capital; and that manyof the petitioners were reduced to the utmost degree of misery anddistress; they therefore prayed, that as they were unable to detect thecombinations of those who had ruined them, or to bring the delinquentsto 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 thepetitioners as to the house should seem meet. The petition wasgraciously received, and a secret committee appointed to proceed on theinquiry. They soon discovered a most iniquitous scene of fraud, whichhad been acted by Robinson and Thompson, in concert with some of thedirectors, for embezzling the capital, and cheating the proprietors. Many persons of rank and quality were concerned in this infamousconspiracy; some of the first characters in the nation did not escapesuspicion and censure. Sir Robert Sutton and sir Archibald Grant wereexpelled the house of commons, as having had a considerable share inthose fraudulent practices; a bill was brought in to restrain them andother delinquents from leaving the kingdom, or alienating their effects. In the meantime, the committee received a letter from signior JohnAngelo Belloni, an eminent banker at Rome, giving them to understand, that Thompson was secured in that city, with all his papers, andconfined to the castle of St. Angelo; and that the papers weretransmitted to his correspondent at Paris, who would deliver them up, oncertain conditions stipulated in favour of the prisoner. This letterwas considered as an artifice to insinuate a favourable opinion of thepretender, as if he had taken measures for securing Thompson, fromhis zeal for justice and affection for the English people. On thissupposition, the proposals were rejected with disdain; and both housesconcurred in an order that the letter should be burned at the RoyalExchange, 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 todelude the unhappy, and to disguise and conceal the wicked practices ofthe 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 thatof sir Robert Walpole, when, after a long preamble, he proposed that theduties on salt, which about two years before had been abolished, shouldnow be revived and given to his majesty, his heirs and successors, forthe term of three years. In order to sweeten this proposal, he declaredthat the land-tax for the ensuing year should be reduced to one shillingin the pound. All the members of the country party were immediatelyin commotion. They expressed their surprise at the grossness of theimposition. They observed, that two years had scarcely elapsed since theking, in a speech from the throne, had exhorted them to abolish some ofthe taxes that were the most burdensome to the poor: the house was thenof opinion, that the tax upon salt was the most burdensome and the mostpernicious to the trade of the kingdom, of all the impositions to whichthe poor was subjected, and therefore it was taken off; but that no goodreason could be produced for altering their opinion so suddenly, andresolving to grind the faces of the poor, in order to ease a few richmen of the landed interest. They affirmed, that the most general taxesare not always the least burdensome: that after a nation is obliged toextend their taxes farther than the luxuries of their country, thosetaxes that can be raised with the least charge to the public are themost convenient and easiest to the people: but they ought carefully toavoid taxing those things which are necessary for the subsistence of thepoor. The price of all necessaries being thus enhanced, the wages of thetradesman and manufacturer must be increased; and where these are highthe manufacturers will be undersold by those of cheaper countries. Thetrade must of consequence be ruined; and it is not to be supposed thatthe landed gentlemen would choose to save a shilling in the pound fromthe land-tax, by means of an expedient that would ruin the manufacturesof his country, and decrease the value of his own fortune. They allegedthat the salt-tax particularly affected the poor, who could not affordto eat fresh provisions; and that, as it formerly occasioned murmurs anddiscontents among the lower class of people, the revival of it would, inall probability, exasperate them into open sedition. They observed, thatwhile it was exacted in England, a great number of merchants sent theirships to Ireland, to be victualled for their respective voyages; thatsince it had been abolished, many experiments had been successfullytried with salt for the improvement of agriculture, which would beentirely defeated by the revival of this imposition. They suggestedthat the land-tax was raised at a very small expense, and subject to nofraud, whereas that upon salt would employ a great number of additionalofficers in the revenue, wholly depending upon the ministry, whoseinfluence in elections they would proportionably increase. They evenhinted, that this consideration was one powerful motive for proposingthe revival of an odious tax, which was in effect an excise, and wouldbe deemed a step towards a general excise upon all sorts of provisions. Finally, they demonstrated that the salt-tax introduced numberlessfrauds and perjuries in different articles of traffic. Sir RobertWalpole 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 motionwas carried in the affirmative, and the duty revived; yet, before thebill passed, divers motions were made, and additional clauses proposedby the members in the opposition. New debates were raised on every newobjection, and the courtiers were obliged to dispute their ground byinches. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MR. PULTENEY'S NAME STRUCK OUT OF THE LIST OF PRIVY-COUNSELLORS. The pension-bill was revived, and for the third time rejected in thehouse of lords. A bill for the encouragement of the sugar coloniespassed through the lower house with great difficulty, but was lost amongthe peers: another, for the better securing the freedom of parliaments, by further qualifying members to sit in the house of commons, was readthe third time, and thrown out upon the question. A committee had beenappointed to inquire into a sale of the estate which had belonged to thelate earl of Denventwater. It appeared by the report, that the salehad been fraudulent; a bill was prepared to make it void; Dennis Bond, esquire, and Serjeant Birch, commissioners for the sale of the forfeitedestates, were declared guilty of notorious breach of trust, and expelledthe house, of which they were members: George Robinson, esquire, underwent the same sentence on account of the part he acted in thecharitable corporation, as he and Thompson had neglected to surrenderthemselves, according to the terms of a bill which had passed for thatpurpose. During this session, five members of parliament were expelledfor the most sordid acts of knavery; a sure sign of national degeneracyand 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 thesubsidies payable to the crown of Denmark, in pursuance of the treatysubsisting between the late king and that monarch; but this wasnot obtained without a violent dispute. Mr. Pulteney, who bore aconsiderable share in all these debates, became in a little time soremarkable as to be thought worthy of a very particular mark of hismajesty's displeasure. The king, on the first day of July, called forthe council-book, and with his own hand struck the name of WilliamPulteney, esquire, out of the list of privy-counsellors; his majestyfurther 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 secretariesof 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 measuresof the ministry. The pension-bill being read, was again rejected, and aprotest entered. A debate arose about the number of standing forces; andthe earl of Chesterfield argued for the court motion. The earl of Oxfordmoved that they might be reduced to twelve thousand effective men. Theearl of Winchelsea observed, that a standing army rendered ministersof state more daring than otherwise they would be, in contriving andexecuting projects that were grievous to the people; schemes that couldnever enter into the heads of any but those who were drunk with excessof power. The marquis of Tweedale, in reasoning against such a number asthe ministry proposed, took occasion to observe, that not one shillingof the forfeited estates was ever applied to the use of the public;he likewise took notice, that the eighteen thousand men demanded asa standing force, were modelled in such a manner, that they might bespeedily augmented to forty thousand men on any emergency. The duke ofArgyle endeavoured to demonstrate the danger of depending for the safetyof the kingdom upon an undisciplined militia, a fleet, or an army ofauxiliaries. Then he represented the necessity of having recourse to aregular army in case of invasion; and, after all, acknowledged thatthe number proposed was no way sufficient for that purpose. All hisarguments were answered and refuted in an excellent speech by lordCarteret; nevertheless, victory declared for the minister. Theparliament having granted every branch of the supply, towards thepayment of which they borrowed a sum from the sinking fund, and passeddivers other acts for the encouragement of commerce and agriculture, theking, on the first day of June, gave the royal assent to the bills thatwere prepared, and closed the session, after having informed both housesthat the states-general had acceded to the treaty of Vienna; that he haddetermined to visit his German dominions, and to leave the queen regentin his absence. He accordingly set out for Hanover in the beginning ofJune. By this time the pragmatic sanction was confirmed by the dietof the empire, though not without a formal protest by the electorsPalatine, Bavaria, and Saxony. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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. _ {1732} REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF SUICIDE. The most remarkable incident that distinguished this year in England wasa very uncommon instance of suicide; an act of despair so frequentamong the English, that in other countries it is objected to them asa national reproach. Though it may be generally termed the effect oflunacy proceeding from natural causes operating on the human body, in some few instances it seems to have been the result of cooldeliberation. Richard Smith, a bookbinder, and prisoner for debt withinthe liberties of the king's bench, persuaded his wife to follow hisexample in making away with herself, after they had murdered theirlittle infant. This wretched pair were, in the month of April, foundhanging in their bed-chamber, at about a yard's distance from eachother; and in a separate apartment the child lay dead in a cradle. Theyleft two papers enclosed in a short letter to their landlord, whosekindness they implored in favour of their dog and cat. They even leftmoney to pay the porter who should carry the enclosed papers to theperson for whom they were addressed. In one of these the husband thankedthat person for the marks of friendship he had received at his hands;and complained of the ill offices he had undergone from a differentquarter. The other paper, subscribed by the husband and wife, containedthe reasons which induced them to act such a tragedy on themselves andtheir offspring. This letter was altogether surprising for the calmresolution, the good humour, and the propriety with which it waswritten. They declared, that they withdrew themselves from poverty andrags--evils that, through a train of unlucky accidents, were becomeinevitable. They appealed to their neighbours for the industry withwhich they had endeavoured to earn a livelihood. They justified themurder of their child, by saying, it was less cruelty to take her withthem, than to leave her friendless in the world, exposed to ignoranceand misery. They professed their belief and confidence in Almighty God, the fountain of goodness and beneficence, who could not possibly takedelight in the misery of his creatures; they therefore resigned up theirlives to him without any terrible apprehensions; submitting themselvesto 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 newsettlement in Georgia, situated to the southward of Carolina in America, Mr. Oglethorpe, as general and governor of the province, embarked atGravesend, with a number of poor families, to plant that colony. Theking of Spain having equipped a very powerful armament, the fleet sailedon the fourth of June from the road of Alicant, under the command ofthe count de Montemar, and arrived on the coast of Barbary in theneighbourhood of Oran, where a considerable body of troops was landedwithout much opposition. Next day, however, they were attacked by anumerous army of Moors, over whom they obtained a complete victory. Thebey or governor of Oran immediately retired with his garrison, and theSpaniards took possession of the place, from which they had been drivenin the year one thousand seven hundred and eight. The strong fortof Mazalaquivir was likewise surrendered to the victors at the firstsummons; so that this expedition answered all the views with which ithad been projected. Victor Amadasus, the abdicated king of Sardinia, having, at the instigation of his wife, engaged in some intrigues inorder to reascend the throne, his son, the reigning king, ordered hisperson to be seized at Montcalier, and conveyed to Rivoli, under astrong escort. His wife, the marchioness de Spigno, was conducted toSeva. The old king's confessor, his physician, and eight-and-fortypersons of distinction, were imprisoned. The citadel of Turin wassecured with a strong garrison; and new instructions were given to thegovernor and senate of Chamberri. The dispute which had long subsistedbetween the king of Prussia and the young prince of Orange, touching thesuccession to the estates possessed by king William III. As head of thehouse of Orange, was at last accommodated by a formal treaty signed atBerlin and Dieren. The Dutch were greatly alarmed about this time withan apprehension of being overwhelmed by an inundation, occasioned byworms, which were said to have consumed the piles and timber-work thatsupported their dykes. They prayed and fasted with uncommon zeal, interror of this calamity, which they did not know how to avert in anyother manner. At length they were delivered from their fears by a hardfrost, which effectually destroyed those dangerous animals. About thistime, Mr. Dieden, plenipotentiary from the elector of Hanover, received, in the name of his master, the investiture of Bremen and Verden from thehands of the emperor. MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT. The history of England at this period cannot be very interesting, asit chiefly consists in an annual revolution of debates inparliament, --debates, in which the same arguments perpetually recur onthe same subjects. When the session was opened on the sixteenth day ofJanuary, the king declared that the situation of affairs, both at homeand abroad, rendered it unnecessary for him to lay before the two housesany other reasons for calling them together, but the ordinary dispatchof the public business, and his desire of receiving their advice in suchaffairs as should require the care and consideration of parliament. Themotion made in the house of commons for an address of thanks, implied, that they should express their satisfaction at the present situation ofaffairs both at home and abroad. The motion was carried, notwithstandingthe opposition of those who observed, that the nation had very littlereason to be pleased with the present posture of affairs; that theFrench were employed in fortifying and restoring the harbour of Dunkirk, contrary to the faith of the most solemn treaties; that the Britishmerchants had received no redress for the depredations committed by theSpaniards; that the commerce of England daily decreased; that no sort oftrade throve but the traffic of Change-alley, where the most abominablefrauds were practised; and that every session of parliament opened a newscene of villany and imposition. ADDRESS TO THE KING. The pension-bill was once more revived, and lost again in the house ofpeers. All the reasons formerly advanced against a standing army werenow repeated; and a reduction of the number insisted upon with suchwarmth, that the ministerial party were obliged to have recourse to theold phantom of the pretender. Sir Archer Croft said, a continuationof the same number of forces was the more necessary, because, to hisknowledge, popery was increasing very fast in the country; for in oneparish which he knew, there were seven popish priests; and that thedanger from the pretender was the more to be feared, because they didnot know but he was then breeding his son a protestant. Sir RobertWalpole observed, that a reduction of the army was the chief thingwished for and desired by all the Jacobites in the kingdom; that noreduction had ever been made but what gave fresh hopes to that party, and encouraged them to raise tumults against the government; and he didnot doubt but that, if they should resolve to reduce any part of thearmy, there would be post-horses employed that very night to carry thegood news beyond sea to the pretender. His brother Horatio added, thatthe number of troops then proposed was absolutely necessary to supporthis majesty's government, and would be necessary as long as the nationenjoyed the happiness of having the present illustrious family onthe throne. The futility, the self-contradiction, and the ridiculousabsurdity of these suggestions, were properly exposed; nevertheless, thearmy was voted without any reduction. Sir Wilfred Lawson having made amotion for an address to the king, to know what satisfaction had beenmade by Spain for the depredations committed on the British merchants, it was, after a violent debate, approved and the address presented. Theking in answer to this remonstrance gave them to understand, that thecommissaries of the two crowns had been so long delayed by unforeseenaccidents, that the conferences were not opened till the latter end ofthe preceding February; and that as the courts of London and Madridhad agreed that the term of three years stipulated for finishing thecommission should be computed from their first meeting, a perfectaccount of their proceedings could not as yet be laid before the houseof commons. A bill had been long depending for granting encouragementto the sugar colonies in the West Indies; but, as it was founded upona prohibition that would have put a stop to all commerce between theFrench islands and the British settlements in North America, it metwith a very warm opposition from those who had the prosperity of thosenorthern colonies at heart. But the bill being patronised and supportedby the court interest, surmounted all objections, and afterwards passedinto a law. While the commons deliberated upon the supply, sir RobertWalpole moved, that five hundred thousand pounds should be issued outof the sinking fund for the service of the ensuing year. Sir WilliamWyndham, Mr. Pulteney, and sir John Barnard, expatiated upon theiniquity of pillaging a sacred deposit, solemnly appropriated tothe discharge of the national debt. They might have demonstratedthe egregious folly of a measure, by which the public, for a littletemporary ease, lost the advantage of the accumulating interest whichwould have arisen from the sinking fund, if properly managed andreserved. All objections vanished before the powers of ministerialinfluence, which nothing now could check but the immediate danger ofpopular commotion. Such hazardous interposition actually defeated ascheme which had been adopted by the minister, and even before itsappearance alarmed all the trading part of the nation. THE EXCISE SCHEME PROPOSED. The house having resolved itself into a committee, to deliberate uponthe most proper methods for the better security and improvement ofthe duties and revenues charged upon tobacco and wines, all the papersrelating to these duties were submitted to the perusal of the members;the commissioners of the customs and excise were ordered to attend thehouse, the avenues of which were crowded with multitudes of people;and the members in the opposition waited impatiently for a proposal, inwhich 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. Thesession was frequent and full; and both sides appeared ready and eagerfor the contest when sir Robert Walpole broached his design. He tooknotice of the arts which had been used to prejudice the people againsthis plan before it was known. He affirmed that the clamours occasionedby these prejudices had originally risen from smugglers and fradulentdealers, who had enriched themselves by cheating the public; and thatthese had been strenuously assisted and supported by another set ofmen, fond of every opportunity to stir up the people of Great Britain tomutiny and sedition. He expatiated on the frauds that were committed inthat branch of the revenue arising from the duties on tobacco; upon thehardships to which the American planters were subjected by the heavyduties payable on importation, as well as by the ill usage they had metwith from their factors and correspondents in England, who, from beingtheir servants, were now become their masters; upon the injury done tothe fair trader; and the loss sustained by the public with respect tothe revenue. He asserted that the scheme he was about to propose wouldremove all these inconveniencies, prevent numberless frauds, perjuries, and false entries, and add two or three hundred thousand pounds perannum to the public revenue. He entered into a long detail of fraudspractised by the knavish dealers in those commodities; he recitedthe several acts of parliament that related to the duties on wine andtobacco; he declared he had no intention to promote a general excise; heendeavoured to obviate some objections that might be made to his plan, the nature of which he at length explained. He proposed to join the lawsof excise to those of the customs; that the further subsidy of threefarthings per pound charged upon imported tobacco, should be stilllevied at the custom-house, and payable to his majesty's civil list asheretofore; that then the tobacco should be lodged in warehouses, to beappointed for that purpose by the commissioners of the excise; thatthe 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 shouldfind vent for it, either by exportation or home consumption; that thepart designed for exportation should be weighed at the customhouse, discharged of the three farthings per pound which had been paid at itsfirst importation, and then exported without further trouble; thatthe portion destined for home consumption should, in presence of thewarehouse-keeper, be delivered to the purchaser, upon his payingthe inland duty of fourpence per pound weight, to the proper officerappointed to receive it; by which means the merchant would be eased ofthe inconvenience of paying the duty upon importation, or of grantingbonds and finding sureties for the payment, before he had found a marketfor the commodity; that all penalties and forfeitures, so far as theyformerly belonged to the crown, should for the future be applied to theuse of the public; that appeals in this, as well as in all other casesrelating to the excise, should be heard and determined by two or threeof the judges, to be named by his majesty; and in the country, by thejudge of assize upon the next circuit, who should hear and determinesuch appeals in the most summary manner, without the formality ofproceedings in courts of law or equity. Such was the substance of the famous excise scheme, in favour of whichsir Robert Walpole moved that tha duties and subsidies on tobaccoshould, from and after the twenty-fourth day of June, cease anddetermine. The debate which ensued was managed and maintained by allthe able speakers on both sides of the question. Sir Robert Walpole wasanswered by Mr. Perry, member for the city of London. Sir Paul Methuenjoined in the opposition. Sir John Barnard, another representative ofLondon, distinguished himself in the same cause. He was supported by Mr. Pulteney, sir William Wyndham, and otherpatriots. The scheme was espoused by sir Philip Yorke, appointedlord-chief-justice of the king's-bench, and ennobled in the course ofthe ensuing year. Sir Joseph Jekyll approved of the project, which waslikewise strenuously defended by lord Hervey, sir Thomas Robinson, sirWilliam Yonge, Mr. Pelham, and Mr. Wilmington, which last excelled allhis contemporaries of the ministry in talents and address. Those whoargued against the scheme, accused the minister of having misrepresentedthe frauds and made false calculations. With respect to the supposedhardships under which the planters were said to labour, they affirmedthat no planter had ever dreamed of complaining, until instigatedby letters and applications from London: that this scheme, far fromrelieving the planters, would expose the factors to such grievousoppression, that they would not be able to continue the trade, consequently the planters would be entirely ruined; and, after all, itwould not prevent those frauds against which it was said to be provided:that from the examination of the commissioners of the customs, itappeared that those frauds did not exceed forty thousand pounds perannum, and might in a great measure be abolished, by a due execution ofthe laws in being; consequently this scheme was unnecessary, wouldbe ineffectual in augmenting the revenue, destructive to trade, anddangerous to the liberties of the subject, as it tended to promote ageneral excise, which was in all countries considered as a grievousoppression. They suggested that it would produce an additional swarmof excise officers and warehouse-keepers, appointed and paid by thetreasury, so as to multiply the dependents on the crown, and enable itstill further to influence the freedom of elections: that the traderswould become slaves to excisemen and warehouse-keepers, as they would bedebarred all access to their commodities, except at certain hours, whenattended by those officers: that the merchant, for every quantity oftobacco he could sell, would be obliged to make a journey, or senda messenger to the office for a permit, which could not be obtainedwithout trouble, expense, and delay: and that should a law be enacted inconsequence of this motion, it would in all probability be some time orother used as a precedent for introducing excise laws into every branchof the revenue; in which case the liberty of Great Britain would be nomore. In the course of this debate, sir Robert Walpole took notice ofthe multitudes which had beset all the approaches to the house. He saidit would be an easy task for a designing seditious person to raise atumult and disorder among them: that gentlemen might give them what namethey should think fit, and affirm they were come as humble suppliants;but he knew whom the law called sturdy beggars: and those who broughtthem to that place could not be certain but that they might behave inthe same manner. This insinuation was resented by sir John Barnard, whoobserved that merchants of character had a right to come down to thecourt of requests, and lobby of the house of commons, in order tosolicit their friends and acquaintance against any scheme or projectwhich they might think prejudicial to their commerce: that when he cameinto the house, he saw none but such as deserved the appellation ofsturdy beggars as little as the honourable gentleman himself, or anygentleman whatever. {1733} After a warm dispute, the motion was carried by a majority of sixty-onevoices. Several resolutions were founded on the proposal: and to thesethe house agreed, though not without another violent contest. Theresolutions produced a bill, against which petitions were preferredby the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, the city ofCoventry and Nottingham. A motion was made that counsel should be heardfor the city of London; but it was rejected by the majority, andthe petitions were ordered to lie upon the table. Had the ministerencountered no opposition but that which appeared within doors, hisproject would have certainly been carried into execution; but the wholenation was alarmed, and clamoured loudly against the excise-bill. Thepopulace still crowded around Westminster-hall, blocking up all theavenues to the house of commons. They even insulted the persons of thosemembers who had voted for the ministry on this occasion; and sir RobertWalpole began to be in fear of his life. He therefore thought proper todrop the design, by moving that the second reading of the bill might bepostponed till the twelfth day of June. Then complaint being made of theinsolence of the populace, who had maltreated several members, diversresolutions were taken against those tumultuous crowds and theirabettors; these resolves were communicated to the lord-mayor of London, the sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster. Someindividuals were apprehended in the court of requests, as havingfomented the disturbances; but they were soon released. The miscarriageof the bill was celebrated with public rejoicings in London andWestminster, and the minister was burned in effigy by the populace. After the miscarriage of the excise scheme, the house unanimouslyresolved to inquire into the frauds and abuses in the customs; and acommittee of twenty-one persons was chosen by ballot for this purpose. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BILL FOR A DOWER TO THE PRINCESS ROYAL. The subsequent debates of this session were occasioned by a billto prevent the infamous practice of stock-jobbing, which with greatdifficulty made its way to the house of lords, who proposed someamendments, in consequence of which it was laid aside; and succeededby another bill establishing a lottery, to raise five hundred thousandpounds for the relief of those who had suffered by the charitablecorporation. After having undergone some alteration, it passed throughboth houses and obtained the royal assent. The king, by message toparliament, had signified his intention to give the princess royal inmarriage to the prince of Orange, promising himself their concurrenceand assistance, that he might be enabled to bestow such a portion withhis eldest daughter as should be suitable to the occasion. The commonsimmediately resolved, that but of the monies arising from the saleof lands in the island of St. Christopher's, his majesty should beempowered to apply fourscore thousand pounds as a marriage dower for hisdaughter; and a clause for this purpose was inserted in the bill, forenabling his majesty to apply five hundred thousand pounds out of thesinking fund for the service of the current year. The opposition in the house of lords was still more animated, thoughineffectual. The debates chiefly turned upon the pension bill, thenumber of land forces, and a motion made by lord Bathurst for an accountof the produce of the forfeited estates which had belonged to thedirectors of the South-Sea company. The trustees for these estateshad charged themselves with a great sum of money, and the lords in theopposition thought they had a right to know how it had been disposed. The ministry had reasons to stifle this inquiry, and therefore opposedit with all their vigour. Nevertheless, the motion was carried after awarm dispute, and the directors of the South-Sea company were orderedto lay the accounts before the house. From this it appeared thatthe large sums of money arising from the forfeited estates had beendistributed among the proprietors, by way of dividend, even beforerecourse was had to parliament for directions in what manner thatproduce should be applied: lord Bathurst, therefore, moved for aresolution of the house that the disposal of this money, by way ofdividend, without any order or direction of a general court for thatpurpose, was a violation of the act of parliament made for the disposalthereof, and a manifest injustice done to the proprietors of that stock. The duke of Newcastle, in order to gain time, moved, that as the accountwas confused, and almost unintelligible, the present directors of thecompany might be ordered to lay before the house a further and moredistinct account of the manner in which the money had been disposed. Aviolent contest ensued, in the course of which the house divided, andof fifty-seven peers who voted for the delay, forty-six were such asenjoyed preferment in the church, commissions in the army, or civilemployments under the government. At length lord Bathurst waived hismotion for that time; then the house ordered that the present and formerdirectors of the South-Sea company, together with the late inspectorsof their accounts, should attend and be examined. They were accordinglyinterrogated, and gave so little satisfaction, that lord Bathurst movedfor a committee of inquiry; but the question being put, was carried inthe negative: yet a very strong protest was entered by the lords in theopposition. The next subject of altercation was the bill for misapplyingpart of the produce of the sinking fund. It was attacked with all theforce of argument, wit, and declamation, by the earl of Strafford, lordsBathurst and Carteret, and particularly by the earl of Chesterfield, whohad by this time resigned his staff of lord-steward of the household, and renounced all connexion with the ministry. Lord Bathurst moved fora resolution, importing that, in the opinion of the house, the sinkingfund ought for the future to be applied, in time of peace and publictranquillity, to the redemption of those taxes which were mostprejudicial to the trade, most burdensome on the manufactures, and mostoppressive on the poor of the nation. This motion was overruled, and thebill adopted by the majority. On the eleventh of June, the king gavethe royal assent to the bills that were prepared, and closed the sessionwith a speech, in which he took notice of the wicked endeavours that hadbeen lately used to inflame the minds of the people by the most unjustmisrepresentations. DOUBLE ELECTION OF A KING OF POLAND. Europe was now reinvolved in fresh troubles by a vacancy on the throneof Poland. Augustus died at Warsaw in the end of January, and theneighbouring powers were immediately in commotion. The elector ofSaxony, son to the late king, and Stanislaus, whose daughter was marriedto the French monarch, declared themselves candidates for the Polishthrone. The emperor, the czarina, and the king of Prussia, espoused theinterests of the Saxon: the king of France supported the pretensions ofhis father-in-law. The foreign ministers at Warsaw forthwith began toform intrigues among the electors: the marquis de Monti, ambassador fromFrance, exerted himself so successfully, that he soon gained over theprimate, and a majority of the catholic dietines, to the interestsof Stanislaus; while the Imperial and Russian troops hovered on thefrontiers of Poland. The French king no sooner understood that a body ofthe emperor's forces was encamped at Silesia, than he ordered the dukeof Berwick to assemble an army on the Rhine, and take measures forentering Germany in case the Imperialists should march into Poland. AFrench fleet set sail for Dantzic, while Stanislaus travelled throughGermany in disguise to Poland, and concealed himself in the house ofthe French ambassador at Warsaw. As the day of election approached, theImperial, Russian, and Prussian ministers delivered in their severaldeclarations, by way of protest, against the contingent election ofStanislaus, as a person proscribed, disqualified, depending upon aforeign power, and connected with the Turks and other infidels. TheRussian general Lasci entered Poland at the head of fifty thousandmen: the diet of the election was opened with the usual ceremony onthe twenty-fifth day of August. Prince Viesazowski, chief of the Saxoninterest, retired to the other side of the Vistula, with threethousand men, including some of the nobility who adhered to that party. Nevertheless, the primate proceeded to the election: Stanislaus wasunanimously chosen king; and appeared in the electoral field, where hewas received with loud acclamations. The opposite party soon increasedto ten thousand men; protested against the election, and joined theRussian army, which advanced by speedy marches. King Stanislaus findinghimself unable to cope with such adversaries, retired with the primateand French ambassador to Dantzic, leaving the palatine of Kiow atWarsaw. This general attacked the Saxon palace, which was surrenderedupon terms: then the soldiers and inhabitants plundered the housesbelonging to the grandees who had declared for Augustus, as well asthe hotel of the Russian minister. In the meantime, the Poles, who hadjoined the Muscovites, finding it impracticable to pass the Vistulabefore the expiration of the time fixed for the session of the diet, erected a kelo at Cracow, where the elector of Saxony was chosen andproclaimed by the bishop of Cracow, king of Poland, under the name ofAugustus III. , on the sixth day of October. They afterwards passedthe river, and the palatine of Kiow retiring towards Cracow, they tookpossession of Warsaw, where in their turn they plundered the palaces andhouses belonging to the opposite party. CONFEDERACY AGAINST THE EMPEROR. During these transactions, the French king concluded a treaty with Spainand Sardinia, by which those powers agreed to declare war against theemperor. Manifestoes were published reciprocally by all the contractingpowers. The duke of Berwick passed the Rhine in October, and undertookthe seige of fort Kehl, which in a few days was surrendered oncapitulation: then he repassed the river and returned to Versailles. Theking of Sardinia having declared war against the emperor, joined abody of French forces commanded by mareschal de Villars, and drove theImperialists out of the Milanese. His Imperial majesty, dreadingthe effects of such a powerful confederacy against him, offered tocompromise all differences with the crown of Spain, under the mediationof the king of Great Britain; and Mr. Keene, the British minister atMadrid, proposed an accommodation. Philip expressed his acknowledgmentsto the king of England, declaring, however, that the emperor's advanceswere too late, and that his own resolutions were already taken. Nevertheless, he sent orders to the count de Montijo, his ambassador atLondon, to communicate to his Britannic majesty the motives which hadinduced him to take these resolutions. In the meantime he detached apowerful armament to Italy, where they invested the Imperial fortressof Aula, the garrison of which was obliged to surrender themselvesprisoners of war. The republic of Venice declared she would take noshare in the disputes of Italy; the states-general signed a neutralitywith the French king for the Austrian Netherlands, without consultingthe emperor or the king of Great Britain; and the English councilsseemed to be altogether pacific. ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE. In November the prince of Orange arrived at Greenwich, in order toespouse the princess royal; but the marriage was postponed on account ofhis being taken ill: and he repaired to Bath, in Somersetshire, to drinkthe water for the recovery of his strength. Henrietta, the youngduchess of Marlborough, dying about this time, the title devolved to hersister's son, the earl of Sunderland. Lord King resigning his officeof chancellor, it was conferred upon Mr. Talbot, solicitor-general, together with the title of baron; a promotion that reflected honourupon those by whom it was advised. He possessed the spirit of a Romansenator, the elegance of an Atticus, and the integrity of a Cato. At themeeting 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 inEurope, except by the good offices he had employed among the contendingpowers, he could not sit regardless of the present events, or beunconcerned for the consequences of a war undertaken and supported bysuch a powerful alliance. He said, he had thought proper to take time toexamine the facts alleged on both sides, and to wait the result of thecouncils of those powers that were more immediately interested in theconsequences of the rupture. He declared he would concert with hisallies, more particularly with the states-general of the UnitedProvinces, such measures as should be thought most advisable for theircommon safety, and for restoring the peace of Europe. In the meantime, he expressed his hope that they would make such provision as shouldsecure his kingdom, rights, and possessions from all dangers andinsults, and maintain the respect due to the British nation. He said, that whatever part it might in the end be most reasonable for him toact, it would in all views be necessary, when all Europe was preparingfor arms, to put his kingdom in a posture of defence. The motion for anaddress of thanks produced as usual a debate in both houses, which, itmust 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 thetreaty of Vienna. Sir John Rushout moved for another, desiring thatthe letters and instructions relating to the execution of the treatyof Seville, should be submitted to the inspection of the commons; but, after a hard struggle, it was over-ruled. The next motion was made byMr. Sandys, a gentleman who had for some time appeared strenuous inthe opposition, and wrangled with great perseverance. He proposed thatthe house should examine the instructions which had been given tothe British minister in Poland, some years before the death of kingAugustus, that they might be the better able to judge of the causeswhich produced this new rupture among the powers of Europe. The motionbeing opposed by all the court members, a contest ensued, in the courseof which Mr. Pulteney compared the ministry to an empyric, and theconstitution of England to his patient. This pretender in physic, saidhe, being consulted, tells the distempered person there were but two orthree ways of treating his disease; and he was afraid that none ofthem would succeed. A vomit might throw him into convulsions that wouldoccasion immediate death; a purge might bring on a diarrhoea that wouldcarry 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 pretendedto be a regular doctor; but now I find you are an arrant quack. I had anexcellent constitution when I first fell into your hands, but you havequite destroyed it; and now I find I have no other chance for savingmy life, but by calling for the help of some regular physician. " In thedebate, the members on both sides seemed to wander from the question, and indulge themselves in ludicrous personalities. Mr. H. Walpole tookoccasion to say, that the opposition treated the ministry as he himselfwas treated by some of his acquaintances with respect to his dress. "IfI am in plain clothes, " said he, "then they call me a slovenly dirtyfellow; and if by chance I wear a laced suit, they cry, What, shall suchan awkward fellow wear fine clothes?" He continued to sport in this kindof idle buffoonery. He compared the present administration to a shipat sea. As long as the wind was fair, and proper for carrying us to ourdesigned port, the word was, "Steady! steady!" but when the wind beganto shift and change, the word was necessarily altered to "Thus, thus, and no nearer. " The motion was overpowered by the majority; and thiswas the fate of several other proposals made by the members in theopposition. Sir John Barnard presented a petition from the druggists, and other dealers in tea, complaining of the insults and oppression towhich they were subjected by the excise laws, and imploring relief. SirJohn and Mr. Perry, another of the city members, explained the grievoushardships which those traders sustained, and moved that the petitionmight be referred to the consideration of the whole house. They wereopposed by Mr. Winnington, sir W. Yonge, and other partisans of theministry; and these skirmishes brought on a general engagement of thetwo parties, in which every weapon of satire, argument, reason, andtruth, was wielded against that odious, arbitrary, and oppressive methodof collecting the public revenue. Nevertheless, the motion in favourof the sufferers was rejected. When the commons deliberated upon thesupply, Mr. Andrews, deputy-paymaster of the army, moved for an additionof eighteen hundred men to the number of land forces which had beencontinued since the preceding year. The members in the oppositiondisputed this small augmentation with too much heat and eagerness. It must be acknowledged, they were by this time irritated into suchpersonal animosity against the minister, that they resolved to opposeall his measures, whether they might or might not be necessary for thesafety and advantage of the kingdom. Nor indeed were they altogetherblameable for acting on this maxim, if their sole aim was to remove fromthe confidence and councils of their sovereign, a man whose conduct theythought prejudicial to the interests and liberties of their country. They could not, however, prevent the augmentation proposed; but theyresolved, if they could not wholly stop the career of the ministry, tothrow 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 regimentsthey commanded, because they refused to concur in every project of theadministration. It was in consequence of their dismission, that lordMorpeth moved for a bill to prevent any commissioned officer, not abovethe rank of a colonel, from being removed, unless by a court-martial, or by address of either house of parliament. Such an attack on theprerogative might have succeeded in the latter part of the reign of thefirst Charles; but at this juncture could not fail to miscarry; yet itwas sustained with great vigour and address. When the proposal was setaside by the majority, Mr. Sandys moved for an address to the king, desiring to know who advised his majesty to remove the duke of Boltonand lord Cob-ham from their respective regiments. He was seconded by Mr. Pulteney and sir William Wyndham; but the ministry foreseeing anothertedious dispute, called for the question, and the motion was carried inthe negative. The next source of contention was a bill for securing thefreedom of parliament, by limiting the number of officers in the houseof commons. It was read a first and second time; but when a motion wasmade for its being committed, it met with a powerful opposition, andproduced a warm debate that issued in a question which, like the former, passed in the negative. A clergyman having insinuated in conversationthat sir William Milner, baronet, member for York, received a pensionfrom the ministry, the house took cognizance of this report; theclergyman acknowledged at the bar that he might have dropped such a hintfrom hearsay. The accused member protested, upon his honour, that henever did nor ever would receive place, pension, gratuity, or rewardfrom the court, either directly or indirectly, for voting in parliament, or upon any other account whatever. The accusation was voted false andscandalous, and the accuser taken into custody; but in a few days hewas discharged upon his humble petition, and his begging pardon of themember whom he had calumniated. The duty upon salt was prolonged foreight 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 abilitieson both sides to the most vigorous exertion, was a motion made by Mr. Bromley, who proposed that a bill should be brought in for repealingthe septenntal act, and for the more frequent meeting and calling ofparliaments. The arguments for and against septennial parliaments havealready been stated. The ministry now insisted upon the increase ofpapists and Jacobites, which rendered it dangerous to weaken thehands of the government; they challenged the opposition to produce oneinstance in which the least encroachment had been made on the libertiesof the people since the septennial act took place; and they defiedthe most ingenious malice to prove that his present majesty had everendeavoured to extend any branch of the prerogative beyond its legalbounds. Sir John Hinde Cotton affirmed, that in many parts of Englandthe papists had already begun to use all their influence in favour ofthose candidates who were recommended by the ministers as members in theensuing parliament. With respect to his majesty's conduct, he said hewould not answer one word; but as to the grievances introduced since thelaw was enacted for septennial parliaments, he thought himself more atliberty to declare his sentiments. He asserted, that the septennial lawitself was an encroachment on the rights of the people; a law passed bya parliament that made itself septennial. He observed, that the laws oftreason with regard to trials were altered since that period; that informer times a man was tried by a jury of his neighbours, within thecounty where the crimes alleged against him were said to be committed;but by an act of a septennial parliament he might be removed and triedin any place where the crown, or rather the ministry, could find ajury proper for their purpose; where the prisoner could not bring anywitnesses in his justification, without an expense which perhaps hiscircumstances would not bear. He asked, if the riot act was not anencroachment on the rights of the people? An act by which a little dirtyjustice of the peace, the meanest and vilest tool a minister canuse, who, perhaps subsists by his being in the commission, and may bedeprived of that subsistence at the pleasure of his patron, had it inhis power to put twenty or thirty of the best subjects in Englandto immediate death, without any trial or form but that of readinga 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 gloriouscatalogue I might have added the late excise bill, if it had passed intoa law; but, thank heaven, the septennial parliament was near expiringbefore that famous measure was introduced. " CONCLUSION OF A REMARKABLE SPEECH BY SIR W. WYNDHAM. Sir William Wyndham concluded an excellent speech, that spoke him theunrivalled orator, the uncorrupted Briton, and the unshaken patriot, inwords to this effect:--"Let us suppose a man abandoned to all notions ofvirtue and honour, of no great family, and but a mean fortune, raised tobe chief minister of state, by the concurrence of many whimsical events;afraid or unwilling to trust any but creatures of his own making; lostto all sense of shame and reputation; ignorant of his country's trueinterest; pursuing no aim but that of aggrandizing himself and hisfavourites; in foreign affairs trusting none but those who, from thenature of their education, cannot possibly be qualified for the serviceof their country, or give weight and credit to their negotiations. Letus suppose the true interest of the nation by such means neglected, or misunderstood, her honour tarnished, her importance lost, her tradeinsulted, her merchants plundered, and her sailors murdered; andall these circumstances overlooked, lest his administration should beendangered. Suppose him next possessed of immense wealth, the plunderof the nation, with a parliament chiefly composed of members whose seatsare purchased, and whose votes are bought at the expense of the publictreasure. In such a parliament suppose all attempts made to inquire intohis conduct, or to relieve the nation from the distress which hasbeen entailed upon it by his administration. Suppose him screened bya corrupt majority of his creatures, whom he retains in daily pay, orengages in his particular interest, by distributing among them thoseposts and places which ought never to be bestowed upon any but for thegood of the public. Let him plume himself upon his scandalous victory, because he has obtained a parliament like a packed jury ready to acquithim at all adventures. Let us suppose him domineering with insolenceover 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 itin others, and endeavouring to destroy and corrupt it in all. With sucha minister, and such a parliament, let us suppose a case which I hopewill never happen: a prince upon the throne, uninformed, ignorant, andunacquainted with the inclinations and true interest of his people, weak, capricious, transported with unbounded ambition, and possessedwith insatiable warice. I hope such a case will never occur; but, asit possibly may, could any greater curse happen to a nation than sucha prince on the throne, advised, and solely advised by such a minister, and that minister supported by such a parliament? The nature of mankindcannot be altered by human laws; the existence of such a prince or sucha minister we cannot prevent by act of parliament; but the existence ofsuch a parliament I think we may prevent; as it is much more likely toexist, and may do more mischief, while the septennial law remains inforce than if it were repealed; therefore, I am heartily for its beingrepealed. " Notwithstanding the most warm, the most nervous, the mostpathetic remonstrances in favour of the motion, the question was put, and it was suppressed by mere dint of number. {1734} The triumph of the ministry was still more complete in the success of amessage delivered from the crown in the latter end of the session, whena great many members of the other party had retired to their respectivehabitations in the country. Sir Robert Wal-pole delivered thiscommission to the house, importing that his majesty might be enabledto 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 ofour liberties, was not tamely yielded; but, on the contrary, contested with uncommon ardour. The motion for taking the message intoconsideration was carried in the affirmative; and an address presentedto the king, signifying their compliance with his desire. In consequenceof a subsequent message, they prepared and passed a bill, enabling hismajesty to settle an annuity of five thousand pounds for life on theprincess 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 ofcommons, and was supported with equal abilities, under the auspices ofthe 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 itmet with the same fate after a warm dispute. Then lord Carteret movedfor an address to the king, that he would be graciously pleased toacquaint the house who advised his majesty to remove the duke of Boltonand lord viscount Cobham from their respective regiments, and whatcrimes were laid to their charge. This proposal was likewise rejected, at the end of a debate in which the duke of Argyle observed, that twolords had been removed, but only one soldier lost his commission. Such agreat majority of the Scottish representatives had always voted forthe ministry since the accession of the late king, and so many of theseenjoyed places and preferments in the gift of the crown, that severalattempts were made by the lords in the opposition to prevent for thefuture the ministerial influence from extending itself to the electionsof North Britain. Accordingly, two motions for this purpose were madeby the carl of Marchmont and the duke of Bedford; and sustained by theearls of Chesterfield, Winchelsea, and Stair, lords Willoughby de Broke, Bathurst, and Carteret. They were opposed by the dukes of Newcastle andArgyle, the earl of Cholmondeley, earl Paulet, lord Hervey, now calledup by a writ to the house of peers, and lord Talbot. The question beingput on both, they were of course defeated; and the earl of Stair wasdeprived of his regiment of dragoons, after having performed the mostsignal services to the royal family, and exhausted his fortune insupporting the interest and dignity of the crown. Strenuous protestswere entered against the decision of the majority concerning the king'smessage, demanding a power to augment his forces during the recess ofparliament; as also against a bill for enabling his majesty to apply thesum of one million two hundred thousand pounds out of the sinking fundfor the service of the current year. The business of the session beingdespatched, the king repaired to the house of lords on the sixteenth dayof April, and having passed all the bills that were ready for the royalassent, took leave of this parliament, with the warmest acknowledgmentof their zeal, duty, and affection. It was at first prorogued, thendissolved, and another convoked by the same proclamation. On thefourteenth day of March, the nuptials of the prince of Orange and theprincess royal were solemnized with great magnificence; and this matchwas attended with addresses of congratulation to his majesty fromdifferent parts of the kingdom. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 hopesof securing the person of king Stanislaus. The town was strong, thegarrison numerous, and animated by the examples of the French and Poles, made a very obstinate defence. For some time they were supplied bysea with recruits, arms, and ammunition. On the eleventh day of May areinforcement of fifteen hundred men was landed from two French ships ofwar and some transports, under fort Wechselmunde, which was so muchin want of provisions, that they were not admitted; they thereforere-embarked, and sailed back to Copenhagen. But afterwards a largernumber was landed in the same place, and attacked the Russianintrenchments, in order to force their way into the city. They wererepulsed in this attempt, but retired in good order. At length theRussian fleet arrived, under the command of Admiral Gordon, and now thesiege 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 thedisguise of a peasant to Marienwarder in the Prussian territories. Thecity of Dantzic submitted to the dominion of Augustus III. , king ofPoland, and was obliged to defray the expense of the war to the Russiangeneral count de Munich, who had assumed the command after the siege wasbegun. The Polish lords at Dantzic signed an act of submission to kingAugustus, who, on the tenth day of July, arrived at the convent ofOliva. There a council was held in his presence. The recusant noblementook 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 deBelleisle besieged and took Traerbach. The duke of Berwick, at the headof sixty thousand men, invested Philipsburgh, while prince Eugene wasobliged to remain on the defensive, in the strong camp at Heilbron, waiting for the troops of the empire. On the twelfth day of June, theduke of Berwick, in visiting the trenches, was killed by a cannon-ball, and the command devolved upon the marquis d'Asfeldt who carried on theoperations of the siege with equal vigour and capacity. Prince Eugenebeing joined by the different reinforcements he expected, marchedtowards the French lines; but found them so strong that he would nothazard an attack; and such precautions taken, that with all his militarytalents he could not relieve the besieged. At length general Watgenau, the governor, capitulated, after having made a noble defence, andobtained the most honourable conditions. Prince Eugene retired toHeidelberg; and the campaign ended about the beginning of October. TheImperial arms were not more successful in Italy. The infant Don Carloshad received so many invitations from the Neapolitan nobility, thathe resolved to take possession of that kingdom. He began his march inFebruary, at the head of the Spanish forces; published a manifesto, declaring he was sent by his father to relieve the kingdom of Naplesfrom the oppression under which it groaned; and entered the capitalamidst 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 andCapua. When he arrived at Nocera, he began to assemble the militia, withintent to form a camp at Barletta. The count de Montemar marched witha body of forces against this general, and obtained over him a completevictory at Bitonto in Apuglia, on the twenty-fifth of May, when theImperialists were entirely routed, and a great number of principalofficers taken prisoners. Don Carlos being proclaimed, and acknowledgedking of Naples, created the count de Montemar duke of Bitonto; reducedGaeta, and all other parts of the kingdom which were garrisoned withImperial troops; and resolved to subdue the island of Sicily. Abouttwenty thousand troops being destined for this expedition, were landedin the road of Solanto in August, under the command of the new duke ofBitonto, who being favoured by the natives, proceeded in his conquestswith great rapidity. The people acknowledged Don Carlos as theirsovereign, and took arms in support of his government; so that theImperial troops were driven before them, and the Spaniards possessed thewhole kingdom, except Messina, Syracuse, and Trepani, when the infantdetermined 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 forcesof France and Piedmont, commanded by the king of Sardinia and the oldmareschal duke de Villars. In the month of January they undertook thesiege of Tortona, which they reduced; while the troops of the emperorbegan to pour in great numbers into the Mantuan. In the beginning ofMay, count Merci, who commanded them, passed the Po in the face of theallies, notwithstanding all the skill of Villars, obliged him to retreatfrom the banks of that river, and took the castle of Colorno. The oldFrench 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 thesame place, the command of the allied forces devolved upon themareschal de Coigny. The confederates were posted at Sanguina, and theImperialists at Sorbola, when the count de Merci made a motion toSan Prospero, as if he intended either to attack the enemy, ortake possession of Parma. The mareschal de Coigny forthwith made adisposition for an engagement; and, on the twenty-ninth day of June, theImperial general having passed the Parma, began the attack with greatimpetuosity. He charged in person at the head of his troops, andwas killed soon after the battle began. Nevertheless, the princeof Wirtem-berg assuming the command, both armies fought with greatobstinacy from eleven in the forenoon till four in the afternoon, whenthe Imperialists retired towards Monte Cirugalo, leaving five thousandmen dead on the field of battle, and among these many officers ofdistinction. The loss of the allies was very considerable, and theyreaped no solid fruits from their victory. THE IMPERIALISTS ARE AGAIN WORSTED. The Imperial forces retreated to Reggio, and from thence moved to theplains of Carpi, on the right of the Secchia, where they received somereinforcements; then general count Konigsegg arriving in the camp, tookupon himself the command of the army. His first step was to take post atQuingentolo, by which motion he secured Mirandola, that was threatenedwith a siege. On the fifteenth of February he forded the river Secchia, and surprised the quarters of mareschal de Broglio, who escaped in hisshirt with great difficulty. The French retired with such precipitation, that they left all their baggage behind, and above two thousand weretaken prisoners. They posted themselves under Gustalla, where, onthe nineteenth day of the month, they were vigorously attacked by theImperialists, and a general engagement ensued. Konigsegg made severaldesperate efforts to break the French cavalry, upon which, however, he could make no impression. The infantry on both sides fought withuncommon ardour for six hours, and the field was covered with carnage. At length the Imperial general retreated to Lazara, after having lostabove five thousand men, including the prince of Wirtemberg, the generals Valpareze and Colminero, with many other officers ofdistinction; nor was the damage sustained by the French greatly inferiorto that of the Germans, who repassed the Po, and took post on the banksof the Oglio. The allies crossed the same river, and the marquis deMaillibois was sent with a detachment to attack Mirandola; but theImperialists marching to the relief of the place, compelled him toabandon the enterprise; then he rejoined his army, which retired underthe walls of Cremona, to wait for succours from Don Carlos. So littlerespect 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 inemployment, from the age of eighteen to fifty, to quit the kingdom infifteen days, or enlist in some of the Irish regiments, on pain of beingtreated as vagabonds, and sent to the galleys. This edict was executedwith the utmost rigour. The prisons of Paris were crowded with thesubjects of Great Britain, who were surprised and cut off from allcommunication with their friends, and must have perished by coldand hunger, had not they been relieved by the active charity of theJansenists. The earl of Waldegrave, who then resided at Paris, as ambassador from the king of Great Britain, made such vigorousremonstrances to the French ministry upon this unheard of outrageagainst a nation with which they had been so long in alliance, thatthey thought proper to set the prisoners at liberty, and publish anotheredict, 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 GreatBritain augmented his land-forces; and warm contests were maintainedthrough the whole united kingdom in electing representatives for thenew parliament. But in all these struggles the ministerial powerpredominated; and the new members appeared with the old complexion. Thetwo houses assembled on the fourteenth day of January, and Mr. Onslowwas re-elected speaker. The leaders of both parties in all debates, werethe self-same persons who had conducted those of the former parliament;and the same measure were pursued in the same manner. The king in hisspeech at the opening of the session, gave them to understand, thathe had concerted with the states-general of the United Provinces suchmeasures as were thought most advisable for their common safety, and forrestoring the peace of Europe; that they had considered on one side thepressing applications made by the Imperial court both in England andHolland, for obtaining succours against the powers at war with the houseof Austria; and, on the other side, the repeated professions made bythe allies of their sincere disposition to put an end to thepresent troubles upon honourable and solid terms; that he and thestates-general had concurred in a resolution to employ their joint andearnest instances to bring matters to a speedy and happy accommodation;that their good offices were at length accepted; and in a short time aplan would be offered to the consideration of all parties engaged in thewar, as a basis for a general negotiation of peace. He told them hehad used the power vested in him by the last parliament with greatmoderation; and concluded a treaty with the crown of Denmark of greatimportance in the present conjuncture. He observed, that whilst manyof the principal powers of Europe were actually engaged in a war, GreatBritain must be more or less affected with the consequences; and as thebest concerted measures are liable to uncertainty, the nation ought tobe prepared against all events. He therefore expressed his hope, thathis good subjects would not repine at the necessary means of procuringthe blessings of peace and universal tranquillity, or of putting him ina condition to act that part which it might be necessary and incumbentupon him to take. The address of thanks produced a dispute as usual, which ended with an acquiescence in the motion The house, in a grandcommittee on the supply, resolved, That thirty thousand seamen should beemployed for the service of the ensuing year; and that the land-forcesshould be augmented to the number of twenty-five thousand seven hundredand forty-four effective men. But these resolutions were not takenwithout dispute and division. The minister's opponents not onlyreproduced all the reasons which had been formerly advanced against astanding army, but they opposed this augmentation with extraordinaryardour, as a huge stride towards the establishment of arbitrary power. They refuted those fears of eternal broils on which the ministrypretended to ground the necessity of such an augmentation; and theyexposed the weak conduct of the administration, in having contributed todestroy the balance of power, by assisting Spain against the emperor inItaly, 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 ensuingyear might be referred to a select committee. He expressed his surprise, that notwithstanding the vast sums which had been yearly raised, and thelong continuance of the peace, the people had not been quite deliveredof any one tax incurred in the preceding war. He said, he could notcomprehend how it was possible to find pretences for exposing the nationto such exorbitant charges; and he took notice of some unconsionablearticles 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 grandcommittee, Mr. H. Walpole moved, that the sum of fifty-six thousand twohundred and fifty pounds, should be granted to his majesty as a subsidyto the Dane, pursuant to the said treaty, for the service of the ensuingyear. The demand did not meet with immediate compliance. All the leadersin the opposition exclaimed against the subsidy as unnecessary andunreasonable. They observed, that as the English had no particularinterest 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 bythat 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 inits defence, without receiving any valuable consideration from GreatBritain; but should the English be always the first to take the alarmupon any rupture, and offer bribes and pensions to all the princes inEurope, the whole charge of preserving that balance would fall uponGreat Britain; every state would expect a gratification from her, for doing that which it would otherwise be obliged to do for its ownpreservation; even the Dutch might at last refuse to assist in trimmingthis balance, unless Britain should submit to make the grand pensionaryof Holland a pensionary of England, and take a number of their forcesinto English pay. The debate having had its free course, the questionwas put, and the motion approved by the majority. The ministry alloweda bill to be brought in for limiting the number of officers in the houseof commons; but at the second reading it was rejected upon a division, after a learned debate, in which it appeared that the opposition hadgained a valuable auxiliary in the person of lord Pol-worth, son to theearl of Marchmont, a nobleman of elegant parts, keen penetration, and uncommon vivacity, who spoke with all the fluency and fervour ofelocution. PETITION OF SOME SCOTTISH NOBLEMEN. The minority in the house of lords were not less vigilant and resolutein detecting and opposing every measure which they thought would redoundto the prejudice of their country. But the most remarkable object thatemployed their attention during this session, was a very extraordinarypetition subscribed by the dukes of Hamilton, Queensberry, and Montrose, the earls of Dundonald, Marchmont, and Stair, representing that undueinfluence had been used for carrying on the election of the sixteenpeers of Scotland. The duke of Bedford, who delivered their petition tothe house, proposed a day for taking it into consideration; and tothis they agreed. It was afterwards moved, that the consideration of itshould be adjourned to a short day, before which the petitioners shouldbe ordered to declare whether they intended to controvert the lastelection of all the sixteen peers, or the election of any, and which ofthem. This affair was of such an unprecedented nature, that the houseseemed to be divided in opinion about the manner in which they ought toproceed. The partisans of the ministry would have willingly stifledthe inquiry in the beginning; but the petitioners were so strenuouslysupported in their claim to some notice, by the earls of Chesterfield, Abingdon, and Strafford, the lords Bathurst and Carteret, that theycould not dismiss it at once with any regard to decorum. The order ofthe house, according to the motion explained above, being communicatedby the lord-chancellor to the petitioners, they waited on him witha declaration, importing, that they did not intend to controvert theelection or return of the sixteen peers for Scotland; but they thoughtit their duty to lay before their lordships the evidence of suchfacts and undue methods as appeared to them to be dangerous to theconstitution; and might in future elections equally affect the right ofthe present sixteen peers, as that of the other peers of Scotland, ifnot prevented by a proper remedy. This declaration being repeated to thehouse, the duke of Devonshire made a motion, that the petitioners mightbe ordered to lay before the house in writing, instances of those unduemethods and illegal practices upon which they intended to proceed, andthe names of the persons they suspected to be guilty. He was warmlyopposed by the country party; and a long debate ensued, after which thequestion was carried in favour of the motion, and the order signifiedto the petitioners. Next day their answer was read to the house to thiseffect: That as they had no intention to state themselves accusers, theycould not take upon them to name particular persons who might havebeen concerned in those illegal practices; but who they were wouldundoubtedly appear to their lordships upon their taking the properexaminations: nevertheless, they did humbly acquaint their lordships, that the petition was laid before them upon information that the list ofthe sixteen peers for Scotland had been framed previous to the election, by persons in high trust under the crown; that this list was shown topeers, 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 ortwo particular peers, on condition they should conform to measures;that peers were solicited to vote for this list, without the liberty ofmaking any alteration; that endeavours were used to engage peers to votefor this list by promise of pensions, and offices civil and military tothemselves and relations, as well as by offers of money: that sums weregiven for this purpose; that pensions, offices, and releases of debtsowing to the crown, were actually granted to peers who concurredin voting for this list, and to their relations; that on the day ofelection a battalion of his majesty's troops were drawn up in theAbbey-court of Edinburgh, contrary to custom, and without any apparentcause but that of over-awing the electors. This answer gave rise toanother violent dispute; but the majority voted it unsatisfactory, andthe petition was rejected, though the resolution was clogged with avigorous protest. {1735} Notwithstanding this discouragement, the earl of Abingdon moved, thatalthough the petition was dismissed, an inquiry might be set on foottouching an affair of such consequence to the liberties of the kingdom. The earl of Hay declaring his belief that no such illegal methods hadbeen practised, the other produced a pamphlet, intituled, The Protestsof a great Number of Noble Lords, entered by them at the last Electionof Peers for Scotland. Exceptions being taken to a pamphlet, as anobject unworthy of their notice, lord Bathurst exhibited an authenticcopy of those protests, extracted from the journal of that election, signed by the two principal clerks, and witnessed by two gentlementhen attending in the lobby. These were accordingly read, and plainlydemonstrated 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 ofunderstrappers to the ministry on this occasion. But all thisdemonstration, adorned and enforced by the charms and energy ofeloquence, was like preaching in a desert. A motion was made foradjourning, and carried in the affirmative: a protest was entered, andthe whole affair consigned to oblivion. Divers other motions weremade successively by the lords in the opposition, and rejected bythe invincible power of a majority. The uninterrupted success of theministry did not, however, prevent them from renewing the struggle asoften as an opportunity offered. They disputed the continuation of thesalt-tax, and the bill for enabling the king to apply the sum of onemillion out of the sinking fund for the service of the current year, though success did not attend their endeavours. They supported with alltheir might a bill sent up from the commons, explaining and amending anact of the Scottish parliament, for preventing wrongous imprisonment, and against undue delays in trials. This was all the natives of Scotlandhad in lieu of the _habeas-corpus_ act; though it did not screen themfrom oppression. Yet the earl of Hay undertook to prove they were on afooting with their neighbours of England in this respect; and the billwas thrown out on a division. The session was closed on the fifteenthof May, when the king in his speech to both houses declared that theplan of pacification, concerted between him and the states-general, hadnot produced the desired effect. He thanked the commons for the suppliesthey had granted with such cheerfulness and despatch. He signifiedhis intention to visit his German dominions; and told them he shouldconstitute the queen regent of the realm in his absence. Immediatelyafter the prorogation his majesty embarked for Holland, in his way toHanover. MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE COURTS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. By this time the good understanding between the courts of Madrid andLisbon was destroyed by a remarkable incident. The Portuguese ambassadorat Madrid having allowed his servants to rescue a criminal from theofficers of justice, all the servants concerned in that rescue weredragged from his house to prison, by the Spanish king's order, withcircumstances of rigour and disgrace. His Portuguese majesty beinginformed of this outrage, ordered reprisals to be made upon the servantsof the Spanish ambassador in Lisbon. The two ministers withdrew abruptlyto their respective courts. The two monarchs expressed their mutualresentment. The king of Spain assembled a body of troops on thefrontiers of Portugal; and his Portuguese majesty had recourse to theassistance of king George. Don Marcos Antonio d'Alzeveda was despatchedto London with the character of envoy-extraordinary; and succeeded inhis commission according to his wish. In a little time after the king'sdeparture from England, sir John Norris sailed from Spithead witha powerful squadron, in order to protect the Portuguese against theSpaniards; and on the ninth day of June arrived at Lisbon, where he waswelcomed as a deliverer. Mr. Keene, the British envoy at the court ofSpain, had communicated to his catholic majesty the resolution of hismaster to send a powerful squadron to Lisbon, with orders to guard thatcoast from insults, and secure the Brazil fleet, in which the merchantsof Great Britain were deeply interested. Don Joseph Patinho, ministerof his catholic majesty, delivered a memorial to Mr. Keene, representingthat such an expedition would affect the commerce of Spain, byintimidating foreign merchants from embarking their merchandise in theflota. But, in all probability, it prevented a rupture between thetwo crowns, and disposed the king of Spain to listen to terms ofaccommodation. PRELIMINARIES SIGNED BY THE EMPEROR AND THE KING OF FRANCE. The powers in alliance against the house of Austria having rejectedthe plan of pacification concerted by the king of Great Britain andthe states-general, Mr. Wal-pole, ambassador at the Hague, presented amemorial to their high mightinesses, desiring they would, without lossof time, put themselves in a posture of defence by an augmentation oftheir forces by sea and land; that they might take such vigorous stepsin concert with Great Britain, as the future conjuncture of affairsmight require. But before they would subject themselves to such expense, they resolved to make further trial of their influence with the powersin alliance against the emperor; and conferences were renewed with theministers of those allies. The affairs of Poland became more and moreunfavourable to the interest of Stanislaus; for though a great number ofthe Polish nobility engaged in a confederacy to support his claim, andmade repeated efforts in his behalf, the palatine of Kiow submitted toAugustus; and even his brother the primate, after having sustained along imprisonment, and many extraordinary hardships, was obliged toacknowledge that prince his sovereign. In Italy, the arms of the alliesstill continued to prosper. Don Carlos landed in Sicily, and reducedthe whole island almost without opposition; while the Imperialists wereforced to abandon all the territories they possessed in Italy, exceptthe Mantuan. The emperor being equally unable to cope with the Frencharmies on the Rhine, implored succours of the czarina, who sent thirtythousand men to his assistance. This vigorous interposition, and thesuccess of Augustus in Poland, disposed the court of Versailles to apacification. A secret negotiation was begun between France andthe house of Austria; and the preliminaries were signed without theconcurrence or knowledge of Spain, Sardinia, and the maritime powers. In these articles it was stipulated that France should restore all theconquests she had made in Germany; that the reversion of the dukedom ofTuscany should be vested in the duke of Lorraine; that Lorraine shouldbe allotted to king Stanislaus, and after his death be united to thecrown of France; that the emperor should possess the Milanese, theMantuan, and Parma; that the king of Sardinia should enjoy Vigevanoand Novara; that Don Carlos should be acknowledged king of Naples andSicily, and retain the island of Elba, with all the Spanish territorieson the coast of Tuscany; and that France should guarantee the pragmaticsanction. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. The king of Great Britain returned from Hanover to England in the monthof November; and on the fifteenth day of January opened the session ofparliament. On this occasion he congratulated them on the near prospectof a general peace in Europe in consequence of the preliminary articleswhich the emperor and the king of France had agreed; and of which he hadexpressed his approbation, as they did not differ in any essentialpoint from the plan of pacification which he and the states-generalhad offered to the belligerent powers. He told them that he had alreadyordered a considerable reduction to be made in his forces both bysea and land; but at the same time observed it would be necessary tocontinue some extraordinary expense, until a more perfect reconciliationshould be established among the several powers of Europe. An address ofthanks was unanimously voted, presented, and graciously received. Afterthe house had received several petitions from different counties andgentlemen, complaining of undue influence in elections for members ofparliament, it proceeded to consider of the supply, and sir CharlesWager moving that fifteen thousand seaman should be employed forthe service of the ensuing year, the proposal was approved withoutopposition. But this was not the case with a motion made by Mr. Pulteney, "That the ordinary estimates of the navy should be referred toa 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 s motion for raising the supplies within the year, made by Mr. Sandys, and supported by sir John Barnard, Mr. Willimot, andother patriots, who demonstrated that this was a speedy and practicableexpedient for discharging the national debt, lowering the interestof money, reducing the price of labour, and encouraging a spirit ofcommerce. BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF QUAKERS IN THE ARTICLE OF TITHES. The bill for limiting the number of officers in the house of commonswas again revived. The king was empowered to borrow six hundred thousandpounds, chargeable on the sinking fund, for the service of the ensuingyear, though this power was not easily granted; and the house resolvedto lay a duty of twenty shillings per gallon on all spirituous liquors, after it had appeared to the committee appointed for that purpose, thatthose spirits were pernicious to the health and morals of the people. To this resolution was added another, which amounted to a totalprohibition, namely, that fifty pounds should be yearly paid to hismajesty for a license to be annually taken out by every person whoshould vend, barter, or utter any such spirituous liquors. Mr. WalterPlummer, in a well concerted speech, moved for the repeal of someclauses in the Test act: these he represented as a species ofpersecution, in which protestant dissenters were confounded with theRoman catholics and enemies to the establishment. He was sustained bylord Polworth and Mr. Heathcote; but sir Robert Walpole was joined byMr. Shippen against the motion, as dangerous to the established church;and the question being put, it was carried in the negative. {1736} When sir Joseph Jekyll presented to the house, according to order, a bill founded on the resolutions they had taken against spirituousliquors, sir Robert Walpole acquainted them, by his majesty's command, that as the alterations proposed to be made by that bill in the dutiescharged upon all spirituous liquors might, in a great degree, affectsome part of the civil list revenues, his majesty, for the sake ofremedying 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 settledand appropriated in lieu of his interest in the said duties. The billwas 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 wasthrown out at the second reading. Petitions against the bill touchingthe retail of spirituous liquors, were presented by the traders tothe British sugar colonies, by the merchants of Bristol and Liverpool, representing the hardships to which they would be exposed by a law whichamounted to a prohibition of rum and spirits distilled from molasses. Inconsequence of these remonstrances, a mitigating clause was inserted, in favour of the composition known by the name of punch, and distillerswere permitted to exercise any other employment. The sum of seventythousand pounds was voted for making good the deficiencies that mighthappen in the civil list by this bill, which at length passed throughthe house, though not without reiterated disputes and warm altercation. Violent opposition was likewise made to a bill for the relief the peoplecalled quakers, who offered a petition, representing, that though frommotives of conscience they refused the payment of tithes, church-rates, oblations, and ecclesiastical dues, they were exposed to grievoussufferings by prosecution in the exchequer, ecclesiastical, and othercourts, to the imprisonment of their persons, and the ruin of them andtheir families. A bill being prepared for their relief, was read andprinted; then petitions were preferred against it by the clergy ofMiddlesex, and of many other parts of the kingdom. Counsel was heardin behalf of those petitioners, and several alterations proposed in thebill, which after long and repeated debates surmounted all opposition, and was sent up to the lords. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MORTMAIN ACT. In the month of February the king had sent two members of theprivy-council to the prince of Wales, with a message, proposing amarriage between his royal highness and the princess of Saxe-gotha. Theproposal being agreeable to the prince, the marriage was celebrated onthe twenty-seventh day of April. Upon this occasion Mr. Pulteney movedfor an address of congratulation to his majesty, and was supported byMr. George Lyttleton and Mr. William Pitt, who seized this opportunityof pronouncing elegant panegyrics on the prince of Wales and' hisamiable consort. These two young members soon distinguished themselvesin the house by their eloquence and superior talents. The attentionof the house was afterwards converted to a bill for the preventing ofsmuggling; and another for explaining the act for the more effectualpreventing bribery and corruption in the election of members to serve inparliament. Both made their way through the lower house, and were sentup to the lords for their concurrence. The number of land forces votedfor the service of the current year was reduced to seventeen thousandseven hundred and four effective men. The supplies were raised by themalt-tax and land-tax at two shillings in the pound, additional dutieson mum, cider, and perry, stamped vellum, parchment, and paper; and byan act empowering his majesty to borrow six hundred thousand poundsof the sinking fund. In this session the parliament repealed the oldstatutes of England and Scotland against conjuration, witchcraft, anddealing with evil spirit's. The commons likewise prepared a bill torestrain the disposition of lands in mortmain, whereby they becameunalienable. Against this measure petitions were presented by the twouniversities, the colleges of Eton, Winchester, and Westminster, anddivers hospitals that subsisted by charitable donations. In favourof the universities and colleges a particular exempting clause wasinserted. Several other amendments were made in the bill, which passedthrough both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Among the actspassed in this session, was one for naturalizing her royal highness theprincess of Wales; and another for building a bridge across the Thamesfrom New Palace-yard, in the city of Westminster, to the opposite shorein the county of Surrey. The points chiefly debated in the house oflords were the address of thanks for his majesty's speech, the mortmainbill, the Quakers' bill, which was thrown out, and that for theprevention of smuggling, which did not pass without division andprotest. On the twentieth day of May the king closed the session with aspeech, in which he told both houses that a farther convention, touchingthe execution of the preliminaries, had been made and communicated tohim by the emperor and most christian king, and that negotiations werecarrying on by the several powers engaged in the late war, in order tosettle a general pacification. He expressed great concern at seeing suchseeds of dissatisfaction sown among his people; he protested it was hisdesire, and should be his care, to preserve the present constitutionin church and state, as by law established; he recommended harmonyand mutual affection among all protestants of the nation, as the greatsecurity of that happy establishment; and signified his intention tovisit his German dominions. Accordingly, the parliament was no soonerprorogued than he set out for Hanover, after having appointed the queenregent in his absence. REMARKABLE RIOT AT EDINBURGH. Such a degree of licentiousness prevailed over the whole nation, thatthe kingdom was filled with tumult and riots, which might have beenprevented by proper regulations of the civil government in a dueexecution of the laws. The most remarkable of these disturbanceshappened at Edinburgh, on the seventh day of September. John Porteous, who commanded the guard paid by that city, a man of brutal dispositionand abandoned morals, had, at the execution of a smuggler, been provokedby some insults from the populace to order his men, without using theprevious 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 ofdeath; but the queen, as guardian of the realm, thought proper toindulge him with a reprieve. The common people of Edinburgh resentedthis lenity shown to a criminal, who was the object of theirdetestation. They remembered that pardons had been granted to diversmilitary delinquents in that country, who had been condemned by legaltrial. They seemed to think those were encouragements to oppression;they were fired by a national jealousy; they were stimulated by therelations and friends of those who had been murdered; and they resolvedto wreak their vengeance on the author of that tragedy, by depriving himof life on the very day which the judges had fixed for his execution. Thus determined, they assembled in different bodies about ten o'clock atnight. They blocked up the gates of the city, to prevent the admissionof the troops that were quartered in the suburbs. They surprised anddisarmed the town guards; they broke open the prison doors; draggedPorteous from thence to the place of execution; and, leaving himhanging by the neck on a dyer's pole, quietly dispersed to theirseveral habitations. This exploit was performed with such conduct anddeliberation as seemed to be the result of a plan formed by some personsof consequence; it, therefore, became the object of a very severeinquiry. RUPTURE BETWEEN THE CZARINA AND THE OTTOMAN PORTE. During this summer a rupture happened between the Turks and theRussians, which last reduced the city of Azoph on the Black Sea, andoverrun the greatest part of Crim Tartary. The czarina declared waragainst the Ottoman Porte, because the Tartars of the Crimea hadmade incursions upon her frontiers; and, when she complained of thesedisorders to the vizier, she received no satisfaction; besides, a largebody of Tartars had, by order of that minister, marched through theRussian provinces in despite of the empress, and committed terriblehavoc in their route. The emperor was obliged to engage as a party inthis war, by a treaty offensive and defensive, which he had many yearsbefore concluded with the czarina. Yet, before he declared himself, hejoined the maritime powers in offering his mediation to the sultan, who was very well disposed to peace; but the czarina insisted upon herretaining Azoph, which her forces had reduced; and this preliminaryarticle being rejected, as dishonourable to the Ottoman empire, thecourt of Vienna began to make preparations for war. By this time allthe belligerent powers in Italy had agreed to the preliminaries ofpeace concluded between the emperor and France. The duke of Lorraine hadespoused the emperor's eldest daughter, the archduchess Maria Theresa, and ceded Lorraine to France, even before he succeeded to Tuscany. DonCarlos was crowned king of Sicily; Stanislaus abdicated the crown ofPoland; and Augustus was universally acknowledged sovereign of thatkingdom. The preliminaries were approved and accepted by the diet ofthe empire; the king of Spain sent orders for his troops to evacuateTuscany; and the provinces in Italy yielded to the house of Austria. Prince Eugene, who had managed the interest of the emperor on thisoccasion, did not live to see the happy fruits of this negotiation. Hedied at Vienna, in April, at the age of seventy-three, leaving behindhim the character of an invincible hero and consummate politician. Hewas not long survived by count Staremberg, another Imperial general whoranked next to the prince in military reputation. About the same timeGreat Britain sustained a national loss in the death of lord chancellorTalbot, who, by his worth, probity, and acquired accomplishments, had dignified the great office to which he had been raised. He dieduniversally 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 avery tempestuous passage from Holland, the parliament was prorogued fromthe twenty-first day of January to the first of February, and then thesession was opened by commission. The lord chancellor, as one of thepeers authorised by this commission, made a speech in his majesty's nameto both houses. With respect to foreign affairs, he told them that therespective acts of cession being exchanged, and orders given for theevacuation and possession of the several countries and places by thepowers concerned, according to the allotment and disposition of thepreliminary articles, the great work of re-establishing the generaltranquillity was far advanced; that, however, common prudence calledupon them to be very attentive to the final conclusion of the newsettlement. He said his majesty could not without surprise and concernobserve the many contrivances and attempts carried on, in variousshapes, and in different parts of the nation, tumultuously to resistand obstruct the execution of the laws, and to violate the peace ofthe kingdom. He observed, that the consideration of the height to whichthose audacious practices might rise, if not timely suppressed, affordeda melancholy prospect, and required particular attention, lest theyshould affect private persons in the quiet enjoyment of their property, as well as the general peace and good order of the whole. After thecommons had agreed to an address, and heard counsel on some controvertedelections, they proceeded to take the supply into consideration. Theyvoted ten thousand men for the sea-service. They continued for theland-service the same number they had maintained in times oftranquillity, amounting to seventeen thousand seven hundred and four;but this measure was not adopted without opposition; the money wasraised by the land and malt-taxes, reinforced with one million grantedout 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 ofthis session, was a motion which Mr. Pulteney made for an address to hismajesty, that he would be pleased to settle one hundred thousand poundsa year upon the prince of Wales. He represented that such provision wasconformable to the practice of ancient times; that what he proposed hadbeen enjoyed by his present majesty in the life-time of his father;and that a settlement of this nature was reasonable and necessary toascertain the independency of the apparent heir to the crown. The motionwas vigorously opposed by sir Robert Walpole, as an encroachment on theprerogative; as an officious intermeddling in the king's family affairs;and as an effort to set his majesty and the prince at variance. But amisunderstanding, it seems, had already happened in the royal family. The minister, in the midst of his harangue, told the house by hismajesty's command, that on the preceding day the king had sent a messageto the prince by several noblemen of the first quality, importing, thathis majesty had given orders for settling a jointure upon the princessof Wales, suitable to her high rank and dignity, which he would in aproper time lay before parliament, in order to be rendered more certainand effectual; that, although his royal highness had not thought fit, by any application to his majesty, to desire that his allowance of fiftythousand pounds might be rendered less precarious, the king, toprevent the bad consequences which he apprehended might follow from theundutiful measures which his majesty was informed the prince had beenadvised to pursue, would grant to his royal highness, for his majesty'slife, the said fifty thousand pounds per annum, to be issued out of thecivil list revenues, over and above the prince's revenues arisingfrom the duchy of Cornwall, which his majesty thought a very competentallowance, considering his own numerous issue, and the great expensewhich did and must necessarily attend an honourable provision for thewhole royal family; that the prince, by a verbal answer, desired theirlordships to lay him with all humility at his majesty's feet; to assurehim that he did, and ever should, retain the utmost duty for his royalperson; that he was very thankful for any instance of his majesty'sgoodness to him or to the princess, and particularly for his majesty'sgracious 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 highnessafterwards 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 todemonstrate, that the annual sum of fifty thousand pounds was as muchas the king could afford to allow for the prince's maintenance; and heexpatiated upon the bad consequences that might ensue, if the son shouldbe rendered altogether independent of the father. These suggestions did not pass unanswered. Sir Robert Walpole hadasserted, that the parliament had no right to interfere in the creationor maintenance of a prince of Wales; and that in the case of RichardII. , who, upon the death of his father, the Black Prince, was createdprince of Wales, in consequence of an address or petition fromparliament, that measure was in all probability directed by the kinghimself. In answer to this assertion, it was observed, that probably theking would not have been so forward in creating his grandson prince ofWales, if he had not been forced into this step by his parliament; forEdward in his old age fell into a sort of love dotage, and gave himselfentirely up to the management of his mistress, Alice Pierce, and hissecond son, the duke of Lancaster; a circumstance that raised a mostreasonable 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 doatinggrandfather and an ambitious aspiring uncle. The supporters of themotion observed, that the allowance of fifty thousand pounds was notsufficient to defray the prince's yearly expense, without allotingone shilling for acts of charity and munificence; and that the severaldeductions for land taxes and fees reduced it to forty-three thousandpounds. They affirmed, that his whole income, including the revenues ofthe duchy of Cornwall, did not exceed fifty-two thousand pounds a-year, though, by his majesty's own regulation, the expense of the prince'shousehold amounted to sixty-three thousand. They proved that the produceof the civil list exceeded nine hundred thousand pounds, a sum aboveone hundred thousand pounds a-year more than was enjoyed by his latemajesty; and that, in the first year of the late king, the whole expenseof his household and civil government did not much exceed four hundredand fifty thousand pounds a-year. They observed, that the parliamentadded one hundred and forty thousand pounds annually for acts of charityand bounty, together with the article of secret-service money; andallowed one hundred thousand pounds for the maintenance of the princeof Wales; that the article of secret-service money had prodigiouslyincreased in the late reign; by an account which happened to be laidbefore the parliament, it appeared that vast sums of money had beengiven for purposes which nobody understood, and to persons whom nobodyknew. In the beginning of the following session several members proposedthat this extraordinary account should be taken into consideration; butthe inquiry was warded off by the other party, who declared that theparliament could not examine any account which had been presented to aformer 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 madeby lord Carteret in the house of peers, and gave rise to a very keendispute, maintained by the same arguments, and issuing in the sametermination. SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT. The next remarkable contest was occasioned by a motion of sir RobertWalpole, who proposed the sum of one million should be granted to hismajesty, towards redeeming the like sum of the increased capital ofthe South-Sea company, commonly called the South-Sea annuities. Severalmembers argued for the expediency of applying this sum to the payment ofthe debt due to the Bank, as part of that incumbrance was saddled withan interest of six per cent. , whereas the interest paid for the othersums that constituted the public debt did not exceed four per cent. Manyplausible arguments were offered on both sides of the question; andat length the motion was carried in the affirmative. The house havingresolved itself into a committee to consider of the national debt, sirJohn Barnard made a motion, for enabling his majesty to raise moneyeither by the sale of annuities, or by borrowing at an interest notexceeding three per cent. , to be applied towards redeeming the South-Seaannuities; and that such of the said annuitants as should be inclined tosubscribe their respective annuities, should be preferred to all others. He said, that even those public securities which bore an interest ofthree per cent, only, were sold at a premium in 'Change-alley: he wastherefore persuaded, that all those who were willing to give a premiumfor a three per cent, security, would gladly lend their money to thegovernment at the same interest, should books of subscription be openedfor that purpose, with an assurance that no part of the principal shouldbe paid off for fourteen years. He expatiated on the national advantagesthat would accrue from a reduction of interest. From easy and obviouscalculations he inferred, that in a very little time the interest uponall the South-Sea annuities would be reduced from four to three percent. , without any danger to public credit, or breach of public faith;that then the produce of the sinking fund would amount to fourteenhundred thousand pounds per annum, to be applied only towards redeemingthe capital of the several trading companies; he proved that thismeasure would bring every one of them so much within the power ofparliament, that they would be glad to accept of three per cent, interest on any reasonable terms; in which case the sinking-fund wouldrise to one million six hundred thousand pounds per annum. Then theparliament might venture to annihilate one half of it, by freeing thepeople from the taxes upon coals, candles, soap, leather, and other suchimpositions as lay heavy upon the poor labourers and manufacturers;the remaining part of the sinking-fund might be applied towards thedischarge of those annuities and public debts which bore an interest ofthree per cent, only, and afterwards towards diminishing the capitals ofthe several trading companies till the term of fourteen years shouldbe expired; then the sinking-fund would again amount to above a millionyearly, which would be sufficient for paying them off, and freeing thenation entirely from all its incumbrances. This salutary scheme wasviolently opposed by alderman Heathcote, and other partisans of theministry; yet all their objections were refuted; and, in order todefeat the project, they were obliged to have recourse to artifice. Mr. Winnington moved, that all the public creditors, as well asthe South-Sea annuitants, should be comprehended. Sir John Barnarddemonstrated that it might be easy for the government to borrow moneyat three per cent, sufficient for paying off such of the proprietors offour-and-twenty millions as were not willing to accept of that interest;but it would be extremely difficult to borrow enough to satisfy theproprietors of four-and-forty millions, who might choose to have theirprincipal rather than such an interest. Nevertheless, resolutions werefounded on this and other alterations of the original scheme; and a billwas immediately prepared. It produced many other debates, and was atlast postponed by dint of ministerial influence. The same venerablepatriot, who projected this scheme, moved that, as soon as the interestof all the national redeemable debt should be reduced to three percent. , the house would take off some of the heavy taxes which oppressedthe poor and the manufacturers: but this motion was rejected by themajority. {1737} BILL AGAINST THE CITY OF EDINBURGH. The last disputes of this session were excited by a bill sent downfrom the lords for punishing the magistrates and city of Edinburgh, onaccount of the murder of John Porteous. In the beginning of the session, lord Carteret recapitulated the several tumults and riots which hadlately happened in different parts of the kingdom. He particularlyinsisted upon the atrocious murder of captain Porteous, as a flagrantinsult upon the government, and a violation of the public peace, so muchthe more dangerous, as it seemed to have been concerted and executedwith deliberation and decency. He suspected that some citizensof Edinburgh had been concerned in the murder; not only from thiscircumstance, but likewise because, notwithstanding the reward of twohundred pounds which had been offered by proclamation for the discoveryof any person who acted in that tragedy, not one individual had as yetbeen detected. He seemed to think that the magistrates had encouragedthe riot, and that the city had forfeited its charter; and he proposeda minute inquiry into the particulars of the affair. He was secondedby the duke of Newcastle and the earl of Hay; though the last noblemandiffered in opinion with him in respect to the charter of the city, which, he said, could not be justly forfeited by the fault of themagistracy. The lords resolved, That the magistrates and other personsfrom whom they might obtain the necessary information concerningthis riot, should be ordered to attend; and that an address shouldbe presented to his majesty, desiring that the different accounts andpapers relating to the murder of captain Porteous, might be submittedto the perusal of the house. These documents being accordingly examined, and all the witnesses arrived, including three Scottish judges, a debatearose about the manner in which these last should be interrogated, whether at the bar, at the table, or on the woolsacks. Some Scottishlords asserted, that they had a right to be seated next to the judges ofEngland; but after a long debate this claim was rejected, and the judgesof Scotland appeared at the bar in their robes. A bill was brought into disable Alexander Wilson, esquire, lord-provost of Edinburgh, fromenjoying any office or place of magistracy in the city of Edinburgh, orelsewhere in Great Britain; for imprisoning the said Alexander Wilson;for abolishing the guard of that city; and for taking away the gates ofthe Netherbow-port, so as to open a communication between the cityand the suburbs, in which the king's troops are quartered. The dukeof Argyle, in arguing against this bill, said he could not think of aproceeding more harsh or unprecedented than the present, as he believedthere was no instance of the whole weight of parliamentary indignation, for such he called a proceeding by a bill _ex post facto_, falling uponany single person, far less upon any community, for crimes that werewithin the reach of the inferior courts of justice; for this reasonhe observed, that if the lord-provost and citizens of Edinburgh shouldsuffer in the terms of the present bill, they would suffer by a cruel, unjust, and fantastical proceeding; a proceeding of which the worst usemight be made, if ever the nation should have the misfortune to fallunder a partial self-interested administration. He told them he satin the parliament of Scotland when that part of the treaty of Unionrelating to the privileges of the royal burghs, was settled on thesame footing as religion; that is, they were made unalterable by anysubsequent parliament of Great Britain. Notwithstanding the eloquenceand warmth of his remonstrance, the bill was sent down to the house ofcommons, where it produced a violent contest. The commons set on foota severe scrutiny into the particular circumstances that preceded andattended the murder of Porteous; from the examination of the witnesses, it appeared that no freeman or citizen of Edinburgh was concerned inthe riot, which was chiefly composed of country people, excited bythe relations of some unhappy persons whom Porteous and his men hadslain at the execution of the smuggler; and these were assisted by'prentice-boys and the lowest class of vagabonds that happened to beat Edinburgh; that the lord-provost had taken all the precautions toprevent mischief that his reflection suggested; that he even exposed hisperson 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 ratherthan from want of inclination to protect the unhappy Porteous. Itlikewise appeared that Mr. Lindsay, member for the city of Edinburgh, had gone in person to general Moyle, commander of the forces in NorthBritain, informed him of the riot, implored his immediate assistance, and promised to conduct his troops into the city; and that his suitwas rejected, because he could not produce a written order from themagistracy, which he neither could have obtained in such confusion, nor ventured to carry about his person through the midst of an enragedpopulace. The Scottish members exerted themselves with uncommon vivacityin defence of their capital. They were joined by sir John Barnard, lordCornbury, Mr. Shippen, and Mr. Oglethorpe. Lord Polworth declared, thatif any gentleman would show where one argument in the charge against thelord-provost and the city of Edinburgh had been proved, he would thatinstant give his vote for the commitment of the bill. He said, ifgentlemen would lay their hands upon their hearts, and ask themselves, whether they would have voted in this manner had the case of Edinburghbeen that of the cities of Bristol, York, or Norwich, he was persuadedthey would have required that every tittle of the charge against themshould have been fully and undeniably proved. Some amendments andmitigations being inserted in the bill, it passed the house, was sentback to the lords, who agreed to the alterations, and then received theroyal assent. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} PLAY-HOUSE BILL. The next effort of the minister was obliquely levelled at the liberty ofthe press, which it was much for his interest to abridge. The errors ofhis conduct, the mystery of that corruption which he had so successfullyreduced to a system, and all the blemishes of his administration, hadbeen exposed and ridiculed, not only in political periodical writingsproduced by the most eminent hands, but likewise in a succession oftheatrical pieces, which met with uncommon success among the people. Heeither wanted judgment to distinguish men of genius, or could findnone that would engage in his service; he therefore employed a set ofwretched authors, void of understanding and ingenuity. They undertookthe defence of his ministry, and answered the animadversions of hisantagonists. The match was so extremely unequal, that, instead ofjustifying his conduct, they exposed it to additional ridicule andcontempt; and he saw himself in danger of being despised by the wholenation. He resolved to seize the first opportunity to choke those canalsthrough 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 abuseupon the government, and had been presented to the stage for exhibition. This performance was produced in the house of commons. The ministerdescanted upon the insolence, the malice, the immorality, and theseditious calumny which had been of late propagated in theatricalpieces. A bill was brought in to limit the number of playhouses; tosubject all dramatic writings to the inspection of the lord chamberlain;and to compel them to take out a license for every production before itcould appear on the stage. Notwithstanding a vigorous opposition, this bill passed through both houses with extraordinary despatch, andobtained the royal sanction. In this debate the earl of Chesterfielddistinguished himself by an excellent speech, that will ever endear hischaracter to all the friends of genius and literature, to all those whoare warmed with zeal for the liberties of their country. "Our stage, "said he, "ought certainly to be kept in due bounds; but for thispurpose, our laws as they stand at present are sufficient. If ourstage-players at any time exceed those bounds, they ought to beprosecuted; they may be punished. We have precedents, we have examplesof persons punished for things less criminal than some pieces which havebeen lately represented; a new law must, therefore unnecessary; and inthe present case it cannot be unnecessary without being dangerous. Everyunnecessary restraint is a fetter upon the legs, is a shackle upon thehands, of liberty. One of the greatest blessings we enjoy, one of thegreatest blessings a people can enjoy, is liberty. But every good inthis 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 ofthe political body, which I can never touch but with a gentle, with atrembling hand; lest I destroy the body, lest I injure the eye, uponwhich 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 anyparticular man, the king's courts are open; the law is sufficient topunish the offender. If poets and players are to be restrained, let thembe 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, byGod and their country. Do not let us subject them to the arbitrary willand pleasure of any one man. A power lodged in the hands of a single manto judge and determine without limitation, control, or appeal, is a sortof power unknown to our laws, inconsistent with our constitution. It isa 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 hismajesty's lord-chamberlain. " His arguments had no effect, though thehouse 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 bothhouses, 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 thedifferences between the czarina and the grand seignor; but this provingineffectual, the emperor declared war against the Turks, and demandedassistance from the diet of the empire. He concerted the operationsof the campaign with the empress of Muscovy. It was agreed that theImperialists, under count Seckendorf, should attack Widdin in Servia;while the Russians, commanded by count de Munich, should penetrate tothe Ukraine, and besiege Oczakow, on the Roristhenes. They accordinglyadvanced against this place, which was garrisoned by twenty thousandmen, and on the side of the Roristhenes defended by eighteen galleys. The Muscovites carried on their approaches with such impetuosity andperseverance, that the Turks were terrified at their valour, and in afew days capitulated. Among those who signalized themselves by uncommonmarks of prowess in these attacks, was general Keith, now field-marshalin the Prussian service, who was dangerously wounded on this occasion. Meanwhile count Seckendorf, finding it impossible to reduce Widdinwithout a squadron of ships on the Danube, turned his arms againstNissa, which was surrendered to him on the eight-and-twentieth day ofJuly; but this was the farthest verge of his good fortune. The Turksattacked the post which the Imperialists occupied along the Danube. They took the fort of Padudil, burned the town of Has in Wallachia, andplundered the neighbouring villages. The prince of Saxe-Hilburghausen, who had invested Bagnalack in Bosnia, was defeated, and obliged torepass the Saave. Count Seckendorf was recalled to Vienna; and thecommand of the army devolved upon count Philippe. Count Kevenhuller wasobliged to retreat from Servia; and Nissa was retaken by theMussulmen. The conferences at Niemerow were broken off; and the Turkishplenipotentiaries returned to Constantinople. The kingdom of Poland now enjoyed the most perfect repose under thedominion of Augustus. Ferdinand, the old duke of Courland, dying withoutissue, the succession was disputed by the Teutonic order and thekingdom of Poland, while the states of Courland claimed a right ofelection, and sent deputies to Petersburgh, imploring the protection ofthe czarina. A body of Russian troops immediately entered that country;and the states elected the count de Biron, high chamberlain to theempress of Muscovy. The elector of Cologn, as grand-master of theTeutonic order, protested against this election; but the king ofPoland agreed to it, on certain conditions settled at Dantzic with thecommissiaries of the new duke and those of the czarina. In the month ofJuly, John Gaston de Medicis, great duke of Tuscany, died at Florence;and the prince de Craon took possession of his territories in the nameof the duke of Lorraine, to whom the emperor had already granted theeventual investiture of that duchy. DEATH OF CAROLINE, QUEEN CONSORT. In England the attention of the public was attracted by an open breachin the royal family. The princess of Wales had advanced to the very lastmonth of her pregnancy before the king and queen were informed of herbeing with child. She was twice conveyed from Hampton-Court to thepalace of St. James', when her labour-pains were supposed to beapproaching; and at length was delivered of a princess in about twohours after her arrival. The king being apprised of this event, sent amessage by the earl of Essex to the prince, expressing his displeasureat the conduct of his royal highness, as an indignity offered to himselfand the queen. The prince deprecated his majesty's anger in severalsubmissive letters, and implored the queen's mediation. The princessjoined her entreaties to those of his royal highness; but all theirhumility and supplication proved ineffectual. The king, in anothermessage sent by the duke of Grafton, observed, that the prince hadremoved the princess twice in the week immediately preceding the day ofher delivery, from the place of his majesty's residence, in expectationof her labour; and both times, on his return, industriously concealedfrom the knowledge of the king and queen every circumstance relating tothis important affair; that at last, without giving any notice to theirmajesties, he had precipitately hurried the princess from Hampton-Courtin a condition not to be named; that the whole tenor of his conduct, fora considerable time, had been so entirely void of all real duty to theking, that his majesty had reason to be highly offended with him. Hegave him to understand, that until he should withdraw his regard andconfidence from those by whose instigation and advice he was directedand encouraged in his unwarrantable behaviour to his majesty and thequeen, and return to his duty, he should not reside in the palace; hetherefore signified his pleasure that he should leave St. James', withall his family, when it could be done without prejudice or inconvenienceto 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 hisdesign in concealing so long from the king and queen the pregnancy ofthe princess, and afterwards hurrying her from place to place in such acondition, to the manifest hazard of her life, his majesty had certainlycause to be offended at this part of his conduct; though the punishmentseems to have been severe, if not rigorous; for he was not even admittedinto the presence of the queen his mother, to express his duty to herin her last moments, to implore her forgiveness, and receive her lastblessing. She died of a mortification in her bowels, on the twentiethday of November, in the fifty-fifth year of her age, regretted as aprincess 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 ofJanuary, with a short speech recommending the despatch of the publicbusiness with prudence and unanimity. Each house presented a warmaddress of condolence on the queen's death, with which he seemed to beextremely affected. Though the house of commons unanimously sympathisedwith the king in his affliction, the minister still met withcontradiction in some of his favourite measures. One would imagine thatall the arguments for and against a standing army in time of peace hadbeen already exhausted; but, when it was moved that the same numberof land forces which they had voted in the preceding year should becontinued in pay for the ensuing year, the dispute was renewed withsurprising vivacity, and produced some reasons which had not beensuggested before. The adherents of the minister fairly owned, thatif the army should be disbanded, or even considerably reduced, theybelieved the tory interest would prevail; that the present number offorces was absolutely necessary to maintain the peace of the kingdom, which was filled with clamour and discontent, as well as to support thewhig interest; and that they would vote for keeping up four times thenumber, should it be found expedient for that purpose. The members inthe opposition replied, that this declaration was a severe satire on theministry, whose conduct had given birth to such a spirit of discontent. They said it was in effect a tacit acknowledgment, that what they calledthe whig interest was no more than an inconsiderable party, which hadengrossed the administration by indirect methods; which acted contraryto the sense of the nation; and depended for support upon a militarypower, by which the people in general were overawed, and consequentlyenslaved. They affirmed, that the discontent of which the ministrycomplained, was in a great measure owing to that very standing army, which perpetuated their taxes, and hung over their heads as theinstruments of arbitrary power and oppression. Lord Polworth explainedthe nature of whig principles, and demonstrated that the party whichdistinguished itself by this appellation, no longer retained the maximsby which the whigs were originally characterised. Sir John HindeCotton, 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 whigprinciples, vote for a standing army in time of peace. "I have heardof whigs, " said he, "who opposed all unlimited votes of credit; I haveheard of whigs who looked upon corruption as the greatest curse thatcould befall any nation; I have heard of whigs who esteemed the libertyof the press to be the most valuable privilege of a free people, andtriennial parliaments as the greatest bulwark of their liberties; and Ihave heard of a whig administration which has resented injuries doneto the trade of the nation, and revenged insults offered to the Britishflag. " The ministry triumphed as usual, and the same number of forceswas continued. SPANISH DEPREDATIONS. Ever since the treaty of Seville, the Spaniards in America had almostincessantly insulted and distressed the commerce of Great Britain. They disputed the right of English traders to cut logwood in the bay ofCampeachy, and gather salt in the island of Tortugas; though that rightwas acknowledged by implication in all the treaties which had beenlately concluded between the two nations. The captains of their armedvessels, known by the name of guarda-costas, had made a practice ofboarding and plundering British ships, on pretence of searching forcontraband commodities, on which occasions they had behaved with theutmost insolence, cruelty, and rapine. Some of their ships of war hadactually attacked a fleet of English merchant ships at the island ofTortugas, as if they had been at open enmity with England. They hadseized and detained a great number of British vessels, imprisoned theircrews, and confiscated their cargoes, in violation of treaties, indefiance of common justice and humanity. Repeated memorials werepresented to the court of Spain, by the British ambassador at Madrid. Hewas amused with evasive answers, vague promises of inquiry, and cedulasof instructions sent to the Spanish governors in America, to whichthey paid no sort of regard. Not but that the Spaniards had reasonto complain in their turn, of the illicit commerce which the Englishtraders from Jamaica and other islands, carried on with their subjectson the continent of South America; though this could not justify thedepredations and cruelties which the commanders of the guarda-costas hadcommitted, without provocation or pretence. MOTIVES FOR AVOIDING A WAR. The merchants of England loudly complained of these outrages; the nationwas fired with resentment, and cried for vengeance; but the ministerappeared cold, phlegmatic, and timorous. He knew that a war wouldinvolve him in such difficulties as must of necessity endanger hisadministration. The treasure which he now employed for domesticpurposes, must in that case be expended in military armaments; thewheels of that machine on which he had raised his influence would nolonger move; the opposition would of consequence gain ground, and theimposition of fresh taxes, necessary for the maintenance of the war, would fill up the measure of popular resentment against his person andministry. Moved by these considerations, he industriously endeavouredto avoid a rupture, and to obtain some sort of satisfaction by dint ofmemorials and negotiations, in which he betrayed his own fears to such adegree, as animated the Spaniards to persist in their depredations, andencouraged the court of Madrid to disregard the remonstrances of theBritish ambassador. But this apprehension of war did not proceed fromSpain only; the two branches of the house of Bourbon were now united bypolitics, as well as by consanguinity; and he did not doubt that incase of a rupture with Spain, they would join their forces againstGreat Britain. Petitions were delivered to the house by merchants fromdifferent parts of the kingdom, explaining the repeated violences towhich they had been exposed, and imploring relief of the parliament. These were referred to a committee of the whole house; and an order wasmade to admit the petitioners, if they should think fit, to be heard bythemselves or by counsel. Sir John Barnard moved for an address tothe king, that all the memorials and papers relating to the Spanishdepredations should be laid before the house; and this, with somealteration proposed by sir Robert Walpole, was actually presented. In compliance with the request, an enormous multitude of letters andmemorials was produced. The house, in a grand committee, proceeded to hear counsel for themerchants, and examine evidence; by which it appeared that amazing actsof wanton cruelty and injustice had been perpetrated by Spaniards onthe subjects of Great Britain. Mr. Pulteney expatiated upon thesecircumstances of barbarity. He demonstrated, from treaties, the rightof the British traders to the logwood of Campeachy, and to the salt ofTortugas; he exposed the pusillanimity of the minister, and the futilityof his negotiations; he moved for such resolutions as would evince theresentment of an injured nation, and the vigour of a British parliament. These were warmly combated by sir Robert Walpole, who affirmed, thatthey would cramp the ministers in their endeavours to compromise thesedifferences; that they would frustrate their negotiations, intrench uponthe king's prerogative, and precipitate the nation into an unnecessaryand expensive war. Answers produced replies, and a general debateensued. A resolution was reported; but the question being put forrecommitting it, was carried in the negative. The house, however, agreedto an address, beseeching his majesty to use his endeavours to obtaineffectual relief for his injured subjects, to convince the court ofSpain that his majesty could no longer suffer such constant and repeatedinsults 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 casehis royal and friendly instances with the catholic king should miscarry, the house would effectually support his majesty in taking such measuresas honour and justice should make it necessary for him to pursue. Tothis address the king made a favourable answer. {1738} 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 moreeffectual securing the trade of his majesty's subjects in America. Thiswas no other than the revival of part of two acts passed in the reign ofqueen Anne, by which the property of all prizes taken from the enemywas vested in the captors; while the sovereign was empowered to grantcommissions or charters to any persons or societies, for taking anyships, goods, harbours, lands, or fortifications of the nation's enemiesin America, and for holding and enjoying the same as their own propertyand estate for ever. The ministry endeavoured to evade the discussion ofthis bill, by amusing the house with other business, until an end shouldbe 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 longand warm contest, in which the greatest orators of both sides foundopportunities to display their eloquence and satire. Mr. Pulteneydefended 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 debatearose upon the number of troops voted for the ensuing year. LordCarteret explained the situation of affairs, in almost every nationof Europe, with great conciseness and precision. He demonstrated theimprobability of a rupture between Great Britain and any power againstwhich a land army could be of any service. He examined the domesticcircumstances of the nation; and proved that whatever discontents theremight be in the kingdom, there was little or no disaffection, and noseeming design to overturn or disturb the government. In answer toan argument, that such a number of regular forces were necessary forpreventing or quelling tumults, and for enabling the civil magistrateto execute the laws of his country, he expressed his hope that he shouldnever see the nation reduced to such unfortunate circumstances: he said, a law which the civil power was unable to execute, must either be initself oppressive, or such a one as afforded a handle for oppression. In arguing for a reduction of the forces, he took notice of thegreat increase of the national expense. He observed, that before therevolution, the people of England did not raise above two millions forthe whole of the public charges; but now what was called the currentexpense, 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 ofsix millions yearly. The earl of Chesterfield, on the same subject, affirmed, that slavery and arbitrary power were the certain consequencesof keeping up a standing army for any number of years. It is the machineby which the chains of slavery are rivetted upon a free people. Theymay be secretly prepared by corruption; but, unless a standing armyprotected those that forged them, the people would break them asunder, and chop off the polluted hands by which they were prepared. By degreesa free people must be accustomed to be governed by an army; by degreesthat army must be made strong enough to hold them in subjection. England had for many years been accustomed to a standing army, underthe pretence of its being necessary to assist the civil power; andby degrees the number and strength of it have been increasing. At theaccession of the late king it did not exceed six thousand; it soonamounted to double that number, which has been since augmented undervarious pretences. He therefore concluded, that slavery, under thedisguise of an army for protecting the liberties of the people, wascreeping in upon them by degrees; if no reduction should be made, hedeclared he should expect in a few years to hear some minister, orfavourite of a minister, terrifying the house with imaginary plots andinvasions, and making the tour of Europe in search of possible dangers, to show the necessity of keeping up a mercenary standing army, threetimes as numerous as the present. In spite of those suggestions, thestanding army maintained its ground. The same noblemen, assisted bylord Bathurst, distinguished themselves in a debate upon the Spanishdepredations, which comprehended the same arguments that were usedin the house of commons. They met with the same success in both. Resolutions equivalent to those of the lower house were taken; anaddress was presented; and his majesty assured them he would repeat, inthe most pressing manner, his instances at the court of Spain, in orderto obtain satisfaction and security for his subjects trading to America. This assurance was renewed in his speech at the close of the session, onthe 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 wasbaptised by the name of George, now king of Great Britain. His birth wascelebrated with uncommon rejoicings: addresses of congratulation werepresented to the king by the two universities, and by almost all thecities and communities of the kingdom. But the prince of Wales stilllaboured under the displeasure of his majesty, who had ordered thelord-chamberlain to signify in the gazette, that no person who visitedthe prince should be admitted to the court of St. James'. His royalhighness was divested of all the external marks of royalty, and livedlike a private gentleman, cultivating the virtues of a social life, andenjoying the best fruits of conjugal felicity. In the latter end ofthis month, rear-admiral Haddock set sail with a strong squadron for theMediterranean, which it was hoped would give weight to the negotiationof the British minister at the court of Madrid. The act to discouragethe retail of spirituous liquors had incensed the populace to such adegree, as occasioned numberless tumults in the cities of Londonand Westminster. They were so addicted to the use of that perniciouscompound, known by the appellation of gin or geneva, that they ran allrisks rather than forego it entirely; and so little regard was paid tothe law by which it was prohibited, that in less than two years twelvethousand persons within the bills of mortality were convicted of havingsold it illegally. Nearly one half of that number were cast in thepenalty of one hundred pounds; and three thousand persons paid tenpounds each, for an exemption from the disgrace of being committed tothe house of correction. PROGRESS of the WAR AGAINST the TURKS. The war maintained by the emperor and the czarina against the OttomanPorte, had not yet produced any decisive event. Count Seckendorfwas disgraced and confined on account of his ill success in the lastcampaign. General Doxat was tried by a council of war at Belgrade, andcondemned to death, for having surrendered to the enemy the town ofNissa, in which he commanded. The diet of the empire granted a subsidyof fifty Roman months to the emperor, who began to make vigorouspreparations for the ensuing campaign; but, in the meantime, Ragotski, vaivode of Transylvania, revolted against the house of Austria, andbrought a considerable army into the field, under the protection of thegrand seignor. He was immediately proclaimed a rebel, and a price setupon his head by the court of Vienna. The Turks taking the field early, reduced the forts of Usitza and Meadia, and undertook the siege ofOrsova; which however they abandoned at the approach of the Imperialarmy, commanded by the grand duke of Tuscany, assisted by countKonigsegg. The Turks, being reinforced, marched back and attacked theImperialists, by whom they were repulsed after an obstinate engagement. The Germans, notwithstanding this advantage, repassed the Danube; andthen the infidels made themselves masters of Orsova, where they founda fine train of artillery, designed for the siege of Widdin. By theconquest of this place, the Turks laid the Danube open to their galleysand vessels; and the Germans retired under the cannon of Belgrade. Inthe Ukraine, the Russians, under general count Munich, obtained theadvantage over the Turks in two engagements; and general Lasci routedthe Tartars of the Crimea; but they returned in greater numbers, and harassed the Muscovites in such a manner, by intercepting theirprovisions, and destroying the country, that they were obliged toabandon the lines of Precops. DISPUTE BETWEEN HANOVER AND DENMARK. In the month of October, an affair of very small importance produceda rupture between the king of Denmark and the elector of Hanover. Adetachment of Hanoverians took by assault the castle of Steinhurst, belonging to the privy-counsellor Wederkop, and defended by thirtyDanish dragoons, who had received orders to repel force by force. Several men were killed on both sides before the Hanoverians couldenter the place, when the garrison was disarmed, and conducted to thefrontiers. This petty dispute about a small territory, which did notyield the value of one thousand pounds a-year, had well nigh involvedHanover in a war, which, in all probability, Great Britain must havemaintained; but this dispute was compromised by a convention between theking of England and Denmark. The session of parliament was opened on the first day of February, whenthe king in his speech to both houses, gave them to understand that aconvention was concluded and ratified between him and the king of Spain, who had obliged himself to make reparation to the British subjects fortheir losses, by certain stipulated payments; the plenipotentiaries werenamed and appointed for regulating, within a limited time, all thosegrievances and abuses which had hitherto interrupted the commerce ofGreat Britain in the American seas; and for settling all matters indispute, in such a manner as might for the future prevent and removeall new causes and pretences of complaint. The motion for an addressof approbation was disputed as usual. Though the convention was not vetlaid before the house, the nature of it was well known to the leaders ofthe opposition. I Sir William Wyndham observed, that if the ministryhad made the resolutions taken by the parliament in the last sessionthe foundation of their demands; if they had discovered a resolution tobreak off all treating, rather than depart from the sense of parliament, either a defensive treaty might have been obtained, or by this time theworst would have been known; but, by what appeared from his majesty'sspeech, the convention was no other than a preliminary; and, in allprobability, a very bad preliminary. He supposed the minister hadventured to clothe some of his creatures with full powers to give upthe rights of the nation; for they might do it if they durst. Sir RobertWalpole, in answer to these suggestions, affirmed, that the ministry hadon this occasion obtained more than ever on like occasions was known tobe obtained; that they had reconciled the peace of their country withher true interest; that this peace was attended with all the advantagesthat the most successful arms could have procured; that future ageswould consider this as the most glorious period of our history, anddo justice to the councils that produced the happy event, which everygentleman 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 extravagantencomiums. The house resolved to address the king, that copies of all thememorials, representations, letters, and papers, presented to hismajesty, or his secretary of state, relating to depredations, shouldbe submitted to the peru sal of the house; but some members in theopposition were not contented with this resolution. Then Mr. Sandys, whomay be termed the "motion-maker, " moved for an address, desiring thatthe house might inspect all letters written, and instructions given bythe secretaries of state, or commissioners of the admiralty, to any ofthe British governors in America, or any commander-in-chief, or captainsof his majesty's ships of war, or his majesty's minister at the courtof Spain, or any of his majesty's consuls in Europe, since the treaty ofSeville, relating to losses which the British subjects had sustained bymeans of depredations committed by the subjects of Spain in Europe andAmerica. This was an unreasonable proposal, suggested by the spirit ofanimosity and faction. Mr. H. Walpole justly observed, that a compliancewith such an address might lay open the most private transactions of thecabinet, 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 bedeprived of many advantages which it might reap, were no such discoverymade. He said, that as soon as the differences betwixt the two courtsshould arrive at such a crisis, and not before, the consuls wereinstructed to give notice to the merchants that they might retirein time with their effects; but should such instruction come to theknowledge of the Spaniards, it would be a kind of watch-word to put themon their guard, and unavoidably occasion the ruin of many thousandsof British subjects. Certain it is, no government could act eitherin external or domestic affairs with proper influence, dignity, anddespatch, if every letter and instruction relating to an unfinishednegotiation should be exposed to the view of such a numerous assembly, composed of individuals actuated by motives in themselves diametricallyopposite. The motion being rejected by the majority, the same gentlemanmoved again for an address, that his majesty would give directions forlaying before the house copies of such memorials or representations ashad been made, either to the king of Spain or to his ministers, sincethe treaty of Seville, relating to the depredations committed in Europeor America. A debate ensued; and, upon a division, the question passedin the negative. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} PETITIONS AGAINST THE CONVENTION. The house, in a committee of supply, voted twelve thousand seamen forthe service of the ensuing year, and the standing army was continuedwithout reduction, though powerfully attacked by the whole strength ofthe 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 treatieswhich had not been laid before them. These were accordingly submitted tothe inspection of the house. By this time the convention itself was notonly presented to the commons, but also published for the information ofthe people. Divers merchants, planters, and others trading to America, the cities of London and Bristol, the merchants of Liverpool, andowners of sundry ships which had been seized by the Spaniards, offeredpetitions against the convention, by which the subjects of Spain wereso far from giving up their groundless and unjustifiable practice ofvisiting and searching British ships sailing to and from the Britishplantations, that they appeared to have claimed the power of doing itas a right; for they insisted that the differences which had arisenconcerning it should be referred to plenipotentiaries, to be discussedby them without even agreeing to abstain from such visitation and searchduring the time that the discussion of this affair might last. Theytherefore prayed that they might have an opportunity of being heard, andallowed to represent the great importance of the British trade to andfrom the plantations in America; the clear and un disputable right whichthey had to enjoy it, without being stopped, visited, or searched bythe Spaniards, on any pretence whatsoever; and the certain inevitabledestruction of all the riches and strength derived to Great Britain fromthat trade, if a search of British ships sailing to and from theirown plantations should be tolerated upon any pretext, or under anyrestrictions, or even if the freedom of this navigation should continuemuch longer in a state of uncertainty. These petitions were referredto the committee appointed to consider of the convention. Anotherremonstrance was likewise presented by the trustees for establishingthe colony of Georgia, setting forth that the king of Spain claimedthat colony as part of his territories; and that by the convention, theregulation of the limits of Carolina and Florida was referred to thedetermination of plenipotentiaries; so that the colony of Georgia, whichundoubtedly belonged to the crown of Great Britain, was left in dispute, while the settlers remained in the most precarious and dangeroussituation. It was moved that the merchants should be heard by theircounsel; but the proposal was strenuously opposed by the ministry, andrejected upon a division. This famous convention, concluded at the Pardo on the fourteenth day ofJanuary, imported, that within six weeks to be reckoned from the day onwhich the ratifications were exchanged, two ministers plenipotentiariesshould meet at Madrid, to confer, and finally regulate the respectivepretentions of the two crowns, with relation to the trade and navigationin America and Europe, and to the limits of Florida and Carolina, aswell 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 thespace of eight months: that in the meantime no progress should be madein the fortifications of Florida and Carolina: that his catholic majestyshould pay to the king of Great Britain, the sum of ninety-five thousandpounds, 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, andpayment of the demands of the British subjects upon the crown of Spain:that this reciprocal discharge, however, should not extend or relateto the accounts and differences which subsisted and were to bo settledbetween the crown of Spain and the assiento company, nor to anyparticular or private contracts that might subsist between either ofthe two crowns, or their ministers, with the subjects of the other;or between the subjects of each nation respectively: that his catholicmajesty should cause the sum of ninety-five thousand pounds to be paidat London within four mouths, to be reckoned from the day on which theratifications 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 thehonour of their country, and raised a general cry against the ministerwho stood at the helm of administration. DEBATE ON THE CONTENTION. The eyes of the whole kingdom were now turned upon the house ofcommons. The two contending parties summoned their whole force forthe approaching dispute; on the day appointed for considering theconvention, four hundred members had taken their seats by eight in themorning. In a committee of the whole house, certain West India merchantsand planters were heard against the convention; so that this andthe following day were employed in reading papers, and obtaininginformation. On the eighth clay of March, Mr. H. Walpole having launchedout in the praise of that agreement, moved for an address of approbationto his majesty. He was seconded by Mr. Campbell of Pembrokeshire; andthe debate began with extraordinary ardour. He who first distinguishedhimself in the lists was sir Thomas Sanderson, at that time treasurerto the prince of Wales, afterwards earl of Scarborough. All the officersand adherents of his royal highness had joined the opposition; and hehimself on this occasion sat in the gallery, to hear the debate onsuch an important transaction. Sir Thomas Sanderson observed, thatthe Spaniards by the convention, instead of giving us reparation, hadobliged us to give them a general release. They had not allowed the wordsatisfaction to be so much as once mentioned in the treaty. Even theSpanish 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 insultingexpression towards the person of the king--an expression which noBritish subject could decently repeat--an expression which no man thathad a regard for his sovereign could ever forgive--even this fellowlived to enjoy the fruits of his rapine, and remained a living testimonyof the cowardly tameness and mean submission of Great Britain; of thetriumphant haughtiness and stubborn pride of Spain. Lord Gage, one ofthe most keen spirited and sarcastic orators in the house, stated inthis manner the account of the satisfaction obtained from the courtof Spain by the convention; the losses sustained by the Spanishdepredations amounted to three hundred and forty thousand pounds; thecommissary by a stroke of his pen reduced his demand to two hundredthousand pounds; then forty-five thousand were struck off for promptpayment; he next allotted sixty thousand pounds as the remaining part ofa debt pretended to be due to Spain, for the destruction of her fleetby sir George Byng, though it appeared by the instructions on thetable, that Spain had been already amply satisfied on that head; thesedeductions reduced the balance to ninety-five thousand pounds; but theking of Spain insisted upon the South-Sea company's paying immediatelythe sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds, as a debt due to him on one headof accounts, though in other articles his catholic majesty was indebtedto the company a million over and above the demand; the remainder tobe paid by Spain did not exceed seven-and-twenty thousand pounds, fromwhich she insisted upon deducting whatever she might have already givenin satisfaction for any of the British ships that had been taken; andon being allowed the value of the St. Theresa, a Spanish ship whichhad been seized in the port of Dublin. Mr. W. Pitt, with an energyof argument and diction peculiar to himself, declaimed against theconvention, as insecure, unsatisfactory, and dishonourable to GreatBritain. He said the great national objection, the searching of Britishships, was not admitted, indeed, in the preamble; but stood there as thereproach of the whole, as the strongest evidence of the fatal submissionthat followed; on the part of Spain, an usurpation, an inhuman tyrannyclaimed and exercised over the American seas: on the part of England, an undoubted right by treaties, and from God and nature, declared andasserted in the resolutions of parliament, were now referred to thediscussion of plenipotentiaries, upon one and the same equal footing. This undoubted right was to be discussed and regulated; and if toregulate be to prescribe rules, as in all construction it is, thatright was, by the express words of the convention, to be given up andsacrificed; for it must cease to be any thing from the moment it issubmitted to limitation. Mr. Lyttelton, with equal force and fluency, answered the speech of Mr. H. Walpole. "After he had used many argumentsto persuade us to peace, " said he, "to any peace, good or bad, bypointing out the dangers of a war, dangers I by no means allow to besuch as he represents them, he crowned all those terrors with the nameof the pretender. It would be the cause of the pretender. The pretenderwould come. Is the honourable gentleman sensible what this languageimports? The people of England complain of the greatest wrongs andindignities; they complain of the interruption, the destruction of theirtrade; they think the peace has left them in a worse condition thanbefore; 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 tokeep the king and his family on the throne of these realms. If thiswere true, it ought not to be owned; but it is far from truth; thevery reverse is true. Nothing can weaken the family; nothing shake theestablishment, but such measures as these, and such language as this. "He affirmed, that if the ministers had proceeded conformably to theintentions of parliament, they would either have acted with vigour, orhave obtained a real security in an express acknowledgment of our rightnot to be searched as a preliminary, _sine qua non_, to our treating atall. Instead of this, they had referred it to plenipotentiaries. "Wouldyou, sir, " said he, "submit to a reference, whether you may travelunmolested from your house in town to your house in the country? Yourright is clear and undeniable, why would you have it discussed? but muchless would you refer it, if two of your judges belonged to a gangwhich has often stopped and robbed you in your way thither before. "The ministers, in vindication of the convention, asserted, that thesatisfaction granted by Spain was adequate to the injury received; thatit was only the preliminary of a treaty which would remove all causesof complaint; that war was always expensive and detrimental to a tradingnation, as well as uncertain in its events; that France and Spain wouldcertainly join their forces in case of a rupture with Great Britain;that there was not one power in Europe upon which the English coulddepend for effectual assistance; and that war would favour the cause anddesigns of a popish pretender. The house, upon a division, agreed to theaddress; but when a motion was made for its being recommitted, the twoparties renewed the engagement with redoubled eagerness and impetuosity. Sir William Wyndham and Mr. Pulteney poured all the thunder of theireloquence against the insolence of Spain, and the concessions of theBritish ministry. Sir Robert Walpole exerted all his fortitude anddexterity in defence of himself and his measures, and the question beingput, 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 remonstranceupon this determination. "This address, " said he, "is intendedto convince mankind, that the treaty under our consideration is areasonable and an honourable treaty. But if a majority of twenty-eightin such a full house should fail of that success; if the people shouldnot implicitly resign their reason to a vote of this house, what will bethe consequence? Will not the parliament lose its authority? Will it notbe 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 toconsider, who are now to give their vote for this address: for my ownpart, I will trouble you no more, but, with these my last words, Isincerely pray to Almighty God, who has so often wonderfully protectedthese kingdoms, that he will graciously continue his protection overthem, by preserving us from that impending danger which threatens thenation from without, and likewise from that impending danger whichthreatens our constitution from within. " The minister was on thisoccasion deserted by his usual temper, and even provoked into personalabuse. He declared, that the gentleman who was now the mouth of hisopponents, had been looked upon as the head of those traitors, who, twenty-five years before, conspired the destruction of their country andof 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 pardonedby its clemency; but all the use he had ungratefully made of thatclemency, was to qualify himself according to law, that he and his partymight sometime or other have an opportunity to overthrow all law. He branded them all as traitors, and expressed his hope, that theirbehaviour would unite all the true friends of the present happyestablishment. To such a degree of mutual animosity were both sidesinflamed, that the most eminent members of the minority actually retiredfrom parliament; and were by the nation in general revered as martyrs tothe 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, wasmaintained with equal warmth, and perhaps with more abilities. Afterthis famous treaty had been considered, lord Carteret suggested, thatpossibly one of the contracting powers had presented a protest ordeclaration, importing that she acceded to such or such a measure, onlyupon condition that the terms of that protest or declaration should bemade good. He said, that until his mind should be free from the mostdistant suspicion that such a paper might exist in the present case, he could not form a just opinion of the transaction himself, norcommunicate to their lordships any light which might be necessary forthat purpose. The adherents to the ministry endeavoured to evade hiscuriosity in this particular, by general assertions; but he insistedon his suspicion with such perseverance, that at length the ministryproduced the copy of a declaration made by the king of Spain before heratified the convention, signifying that his catholic majesty reservedto himself, in its full force, the right of being able to suspend theassiento of negroes, in case the company should not pay within a shorttime the sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds sterling, owing to Spain onthe duty of negroes, or on the profit of the ship Caroline; thatunder the validity and force of this protest, the signing of the saidconvention might be proceeded on, and in no other manner. In the debatethat ensued, lord Carteret displayed a surprising extent of politicalknowledge, recommended by all the graces of elocution, chaste, pure, dignified, and delicate. Lord Bathurst argued against the articlesof convention with his usual spirit, integrity, and good sense, particularly animated by an honest indignation which the wrongs of hiscountry had inspired. The earl of Chesterfield attacked this ingloriousmeasure with all the weight of argument, and all the poignancy ofsatire. The duke of Argyle, no longer a partisan of the ministry, inveighed against it as infamous, treacherous, and destructive, with allthe fire, impetuosity, and enthusiasm of declamation. It was defendedwith unequal arms by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley, lord Hervey, the lord chancellor, the bishop of Salisbury, and inparticular by the earl of Hay, a nobleman of extensive capacity anduncommon 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, andinvariably true to his own interest. The dispute was learned, long, and obstinate; but ended as usual in the discomfiture of those who hadstigmatized the treaty. The house agreed to an address, in which theythanked his majesty for his gracious condescension in laying before themthe convention. They acknowledged his great prudence in bringing thedemands of his subjects for their past losses, which had been so longdepending, to a final adjustment; in procuring an express stipulationfor a speedy payment; and in laying a foundation for accomplishing thegreat and desirable ends of obtaining future security, and preservingthe peace between the two nations. They declared their confidence inhis royal wisdom, that in the treaty to be concluded in pursuance ofthe convention, proper provisions would be made for the redress of thegrievances of which the nation had so justly complained; they assuredhis majesty, that in case his just expectations should not be answered, the house would heartily and zealously concur in all such measures asshould be necessary to vindicate his majesty's honour, and to preserveto his subjects the full enjoyment of all those rights to which theywere entitled by treaty and the law of nations. This was a hard wonvictory. At the head of those who voted against the address we find theprince of Wales. His example was followed by six dukes, two-and-twentyearls, four viscounts, eighteen barons, four bishops, and their partywas reinforced by sixteen proxies. A spirited protest was entered andsubscribed by nine-and-thirty peers, comprehending all the noblemenof the kingdom who were most eminent for their talents, integrity, andvirtue. {1739} A message having been delivered to the house from his majesty, importing, that he had settled nine-and-thirty thousand pounds perannum on the younger children of the royal family; and desiring theirlordships would bring in a bill to enable his majesty to make thatprovision good out of the hereditary revenues of the crown, some lordsin the opposition observed that the next heir to the crown might lookupon this settlement as a mortgage of his revenue, which a parliamenthad no power to make; that formerly no daughter of the royal family wasever provided for by parliament, except the eldest, and that never wasby way of annuity, but an express provision of a determinate sum ofmoney paid by way of dowry. These objections were overruled; and thehouse complied with his majesty's request. Then the duke of Newcastleproduced a subsidy-treaty, by which his majesty obliged himself to payto the king of Denmark seventy thousand pounds per annum, on conditionof the Dane's furnishing to his Britannic majesty a body of six thousandmen, when demanded. At the same time his grace delivered a message fromthe king, desiring the house would enable him to fulfil this engagement;and also to raise what money and troops the exigency of affairs, duringthe approaching recess, might require. Another vehement dispute arosefrom this proposal. With respect to the treaty, lord Carteret observed, that no use could be made of the Danish troops in any expeditionundertaken against Spain, because it was stipulated in the treaty thatthey should not be used either in Italy, or on board of the fleet, orbe transported in whole or in part beyond sea, after they should havemarched out of the territories of Denmark, except for the defence of thekingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland; nay, should France join againstthe English, the Danes could not act against that power or Spain, exceptas part of an army formed in Germany or Flanders. This body of Danesmay be said, therefore, to have been retained for the defence andprotection of Hanover; or, if the interest of Britain was at allconsulted in the treaty, it must have been in preventing the Danes fromjoining their fleets to those of France or Spain. Then he argued againstthe second part of the message with great vivacity. He said nothingcould be more dangerous to the constitution than a general and unlimitedvote of credit. Such a demand our ancestors would have heard withamazement, and rejected with scorn. He affirmed that the practice wasof modern date in England; that it was never heard of before therevolution; and never became frequent until the nation was blessed withthe present wise administration. He said, if ever a general vote ofcredit and confidence should become a customary compliment from theparliament to the crown at the end of every session, or as often as theminister might think fit to desire it, parliaments would grow despicablein the eyes of the people; then a proclamation might be easilysubstituted in its stead, and happy would it be for the nation if thatshould be sufficient; for when a parliament ceases to bo a check uponministers, it becomes a useless and unnecessary burden on the people. The representatives must always be paid some way or other; if theirwages are not paid openly and surely by their respective constituents, as they were formerly, a majority of them may in future times be alwaysready to accept of wages from the administration, and these must comeout of the pockets of the people. The duke of Argyle and the earl ofChesterfield enlarged upon the same topics. Nevertheless, the housecomplied with the message; and presented an address, in which theynot only approved of the treaty with Denmark, but likewise assuredhis majesty they would concur with his measures, and support himin fulfilling his engagements, as well as in making such furtheraugmentation of his forces by sea and land, as he should think necessaryfor the honour, interest, and safety of these kingdoms. PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. The same message being communicated to the commons, they voted seventythousand five hundred and eighty-three pounds for the subsidy toDenmark, and five hundred thousand pounds for augmenting the forces onany emergency. As Great Britain stood engaged by the convention to payto the crown of Spain the sum of sixty thousand pounds in considerationof the ships taken and destroyed by sir George Byng, which sum was to beapplied to the relief of the British merchants who had suffered by theSpanish depredations, the commons inserted in a bill a clause providingfor this sum to be paid by the parliament. When the bill was read in thehouse of lords, a motion was made by lord Bathurst for an address, toknow, whether Spain had paid the money stipulated by the convention, as the time limited for the payment of it was now expired. The duke ofNewcastle, by his majesty's permission, acquainted the house that it wasnot 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, whenlord Carteret moved for a resolution, that the failure of Spain inthis particular was a breach of the convention, a high indignity to hismajesty, and an injustice to the nation; but, after a warm debate, thismotion was overruled by the majority. The minister, in order to atonein some measure for the unpopular step he had taken in the convention, allowed a salutary law to pass for the encouragement of the woollenmanufacture, and two bills in behalf of the sugar colonies; onepermitting them, for a limited time, to export their produce directlyto foreign parts, under proper restrictions; and the other making moreeffectual provisions for securing the duties laid upon the importationof foreign sugars, rum, and molasses, into Great Britain, and hismajesty's plantations in America. The supplies being voted, the fundsestablished, and the crown gratified in every particular, the kingclosed the session with a speech on the fourteenth day of June, when thechancellor in his majesty's name prorogued the parliament. [262] _[Seenote 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; apromotion was made of general officers; the troops were augmented;a great fleet was assembled at Spithead; a reinforcement sent outto admiral Haddock; and an embargo laid on all merchant shipsoutward-bound. Notwithstanding these preparations of war, Mr. Keen, theBritish minister at Madrid, declared to the court of Spain, that hismaster, although he had permitted his subjects to make reprisals, wouldnot be understood to have broken the peace; and that this permissionwould be recalled as soon as his catholic majesty should be disposed tomake the satisfaction which had been so justly demanded. He was given tounderstand, that the king of Spain looked upon those reprisals as actsof hostility; and that he hoped, with the assistance of heaven andhis allies, he should be able to support a good cause against hisadversaries. He published a manifesto in justification of his ownconduct, complaining that admiral Haddock had received orders to cruisewith his squadron between the capes St. Vincent and St. Mary, inorder to surprise the Assogue ships; that letters of reprisal hadbeen published at London in an indecent style, and even carried intoexecution in different parts of the world. He excused his non-paymentof the ninety-five thousand pounds stipulated in the convention, byaffirming that the British court had first contravened the articles ofthat treaty, by the orders sent to Haddock; by continuing to fortifyGeorgia; by reinforcing the squadron at Jamaica; and by eluding thepayment of the sixty-eight thousand pounds due to Spain from theSouth-Sea company, on the assiento for negroes. The French ambassador atthe Hague declared that the king his master was obliged by treatiesto assist his catholic majesty by sea and land, in case he should beattacked; he dissuaded the states-general from espousing the quarrelof Great Britain; and they assured him they would observe a strictneutrality, though they could not avoid furnishing his Britannicmajesty with such succours as he could demand, by virtue of the treatiessubsisting between the two powers. The people of England were inspiredwith uncommon alacrity at the near prospect of war, for which they hadso long clamoured; and the ministry seeing it unavoidable, began to beearnest and effectual in their preparations. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE EMPEROR AND CZARINA CONCLUDE A PEACE WITH THE TURKS. The events of war were still unfavourable to the emperor. He hadbestowed the command of his army upon velt-mareschal count Wallis, whoassembled his forces in the neighbourhood of Belgrade; and advancedtowards Crotska, where he was attacked by the Turks with suchimpetuosity and perseverance, that he was obliged to give ground, aftera long and obstinate engagement, in which he lost above six thousandmen. The earl of Crawford, who served as a volunteer in the Imperialarmy, signalised his courage in an extraordinary manner on thisoccasion, and received a dangerous wound of which he never perfectlyrecovered. The Turks were afterwards worsted at Jabouka; nevertheless, their grand army invested Belgrade on the side of Servia, and carriedon the operations of the siege with extraordinary vigour. The emperor, dreading the loss of this place, seeing his finances exhausted, andhis army considerably diminished, consented to a negotiation for peace, which was transacted under the mediation of the French ambassador at theOttoman Porte. The count de Neuperg, as Imperial plenipotentiary, signedthe preliminaries on the first day of September. They were ratified bythe emperor, though he pretended to be dissatisfied with the articles;and declared that his minister had exceeded his powers. By this treatythe house of Austria ceded to the grand seignor, Belgrade, Sabatz, Servia, Austrian Wallachia, the isle and fortress of Orsova, with thefort of St. Elizabeth; and the contracting powers agreed that the Danubeand the Saave should serve as boundaries to the two empires. The emperorpublished a circular letter, addressed to his ministers at all thecourts of Europe, blaming count Wallis for the bad success of the lastcampaign, and disowning the negotiations of count Neuperg; nay, thesetwo officers were actually disgraced, and confined in different castles. This, however, was no other than a sacrifice to the resentment of theczarina, who loudly complained that the emperor had concluded a separatepeace, contrary to his engagements with the Russian empire. Her general, count Munich, had obtained a victory over the Turks at Choczim inMoldavia, and made himself master of that place, in which he found twohundred pieces of artillery; but the country was so ruined by theincursions of the Tartars, that the Muscovites could not subsist in itduring the winter. The czarina finding herself abandoned by the emperor, and unable to cope with the whole power of the Ottoman empire, took thefirst opportunity of putting an end to the war upon honourable terms. After a short negotiation, the conferences ended in a treaty, by whichshe was left in possession of Azoph, on condition that itsfortifications should be demolished; and the ancient limits werere-established between the two empires. PREPARATIONS FOR WAR IN ENGLAND. A rupture between Great Britain and Spain was now become inevitable. TheEnglish squadron in the Mediterranean had already made prize of tworich Caracca ships. The king had issued orders for augmenting his landforces, and raising a body of marines; and a great number of ships ofwar were put in commission. Admiral Vernon had been sent to the WestIndies, to assume the command of the squadron in those seas, and toannoy the trade and settlements of the Spaniards. This gentlemanhad rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, by loudlycondemning all the measures of the ministry, and bluntly speakinghis sentiments, whatever they were, without respect of persons, andsometimes without any regard to decorum. He was counted a good officer, and this boisterous manner seemed to enhance his character. As he hadonce commanded a squadron in Jamaica, he was perfectly well acquaintedwith those seas; and in a debate upon the Spanish depredations, hechanced to affirm, that Porto Bello on the Spanish main might be easilytaken; nay, he even undertook to reduce it with six ships only. Thisofficer 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 ofa party, and his praise resounded from all corners of the kingdom. The minister, in order to appease the clamours of the people on thissubject, sent him as commander-in-chief to the West Indies. He waspleased with an opportunity to remove such a troublesome censor fromthe house of commons; and, perhaps, he was not without hope, that Vernonwould disgrace himself and his party, by failing in the exploit he hadundertaken. His catholic majesty having ordered all the British ships inhis harbours to be seized and detained, the king of England wouldkeep measures with him no longer, but denounced war against him onthe twenty-third day of October. Many English merchants began to equipprivateers, and arm their trading vessels to protect their own commerce, as well as to distress that of the enemy. The session of parliamentwas opened in November, when the king, in his speech to both houses, declared, that he had augmented his forces by sea and land, pursuant tothe power vested in him by parliament for the security of his dominions, the protection of trade, and the annoyance of the enemy; and heexpressed his apprehension, that the heats and animosities which hadbeen industriously fomented throughout the kingdom, encouraged Spain toact in such a manner as rendered it necessary for him to have recourseto arms. In answer to this speech, affectionate addresses were presentedby both houses, without any considerable opposition. The seceding members had again resumed their seats in the house ofcommons; and Mr. Pulteney thought proper to vindicate the extraordinarystep which they had taken. He said, they thought that step wasnecessary, as affairs then stood, for clearing their characters toposterity from the imputation of sitting in an assembly, where adetermined majority gave a sanction to measures evidently to thedisgrace of his majesty and the nation. He observed, that their conductwas so fully justified by the declaration of war against Spain, that anyfurther vindication would be superfluous; for every assertion containedin it had been almost in the same words insisted upon by those whoopposed the convention: "every sentence in it, " added he, "is an echoof what was said in our reasonings against that treaty; every positivetruth which the declaration lays down, was denied with the utmostconfidence by those who spoke for the convention; and, since thattime, there has not one event happened which was not then foreseenand foretold. " He proposed, that in maintaining the war, the Spanishsettlements in the West Indies should be attacked; and that the ministryshould 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, thatno 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 thatclause in their address. He was answered by sir Robert Walpole, whotook occasion to say, he was in no great concern lest the service of hismajesty or the nation should suffer by the absence of those members whohad quitted the house; he affirmed, the nation was generally sensible, that the many useful and popular acts which passed towards the endof the last session, were greatly forwarded and facilitated by thesecession of those gentlemen; and, if they were returned only to opposeand 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 theencouragement of seamen. After a long dispute, and eager opposition bythe ministry, it passed both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Mr. Sandys having observed, that there could be no immediate use for a greatnumber of forces in the kingdom; and explained how little service couldbe expected from raw and undisciplined men; proposed an address to theking, desiring that the body of marines should be composed of draftsfrom the old regiments; that as few officers should be appointed as thenature of the case would permit; and he expressed his hope, that thehouse would recommend this method to his majesty, in tender compassionto his people, already burdened with many heavy and grievous taxes. Thisscheme was repugnant to the intention of the ministry, whose aim was toincrease the number of their dependents, and extend their parliamentaryinterest, by granting a great number of commissions. The proposal was, therefore, after a long debate, rejected by the majority. Motionswore made for an inquiry into the conduct of those who concluded theconvention; but they were overruled. The pension-bill was revived, andso powerfully supported by the eloquence of sir William Wyndham, Mr. Pulteney, and Mr. Lyttelton, that it made its way through the commons tothe upper house, where it was again lost, upon a division, after a verylong debate. As the seamen of the kingdom expressed uncommon aversion tothe service of the government, and the fleet could not be manned withoutgreat difficulty, the ministry prepared a bill, which was brought in bysir Charles Wager, for registering all seamen, watermen, fishermen, andlightermen, throughout his majesty's dominions. Had this bill passedinto a law, a British sailor would have been reduced to the most abjectdegree of slavery; had he removed from a certain district allotted forthe place of his residence, he would have been deemed a deserter, and punished accordingly; he must have appeared when summoned, at allhazards, whatever might have been the circumstances of his family, orthe state of his private affairs; had he been encumbered with debt, he must have either incurred the penalties of this law, or lain at themercy of his creditors; had he acquired by industry, or received byinheritance, an ample fortune, he would have been liable to be torn fromhis possessions, and subjected to hardships which no man would endurebut from the sense of fear or indigence. The bill was so vigorouslyopposed by sir John Barnard and others, as a flagrant encroachment uponthe liberties of the people, that the house rejected it on the secondreading. PORTO BELLO TAKEN by ADMIRAL VERNON. The king having by message communicated to the house his intention ofdisposing of the princess Mary in marriage to prince Frederick of Hesse;and expressing his hope that the commons would enable him to give asuitable portion to his daughter, they unanimously resolved to grantforty thousand pounds for that purpose; and presented an address ofthanks to his majesty for having communicated to the house this intendedmarriage. On the thirteenth day of March a ship arrived from the WestIndies, despatched by admiral Vernon, with an account of his havingtaken Porto Bello, on the isthmus of Darien, with six ships only, anddemolished all the fortifications of the place. The Spaniards acted withsuch pusillanimity on this occasion, that their forts were taken almostwithout bloodshed. The two houses of parliament joined in an address ofcongratulation upon the success of his majesty's arms; and the nationin general was wonderfully elated by an exploit which was magnifiedmuch above its merit. The commons granted every thing the crownthought proper to demand. They provided for eight-and-twenty thousandland-forces, besides six thousand marines. They enabled his majestyto equip a very powerful navy; they voted the subsidy to the kingof Denmark; and they empowered their sovereign to defray certainextraordinary expenses not specified in the estimates. To answer theseuncommon grants, they imposed a land-tax of four shillings in the pound;and enabled his majesty to deduct twelve hundred thousand pounds fromthe sinking fund; in a word, the expense of the war, during the courseof the ensuing year, amounted to about four millions. The session wasclosed on the twenty-ninth day of April, when the king thanked thecommons for the supplies they had so liberally granted, and recommendedunion and moderation to both houses. {1740} During the greatest part of this winter, the poor had been grievouslyafflicted in consequence of a severe frost, which began at Christmas, and continued till the latter end of February. The river Thames wascovered with such a crust of ice, that a multitude of people dweltupon it in tents, and a great number of booths were erected for theentertainment of the populace. The navigation was entirely stopped;the watermen and fishermen were disabled from earning a livelihood; thefruits of the earth were destroyed by the cold, which was so extreme, that many persons were chilled to death; and this calamity was the moredeeply felt, as the poor could not afford to supply themselves withcoals and fuel, which were advanced in proportion to the severity andcontinuance of the frost. The lower class of labourers, who worked inthe open air, were now deprived of all means of subsistence; many kindsof manufacture were laid aside, because it was found impracticable tocarry them on. The price of all sorts of provisions rose almost to adearth; even water was sold in the streets of London. In this season ofdistress, many wretched families must have perished by cold and hunger, had not those of opulent fortunes been inspired with a remarkable spiritof compassion and humanity. Nothing can more redound to the honourof the English nation, than did those instances of benevolence andwell-conducted charity which were then exhibited. The liberal hand wasnot only opened to the professed beggar, and the poor that owned theirdistress, but uncommon pains were taken to find out and relieve thosemore unhappy objects, who, from motives of false pride or ingenuousshame, endeavoured to conceal their misery. These were assisted almost in their own despite. The solitaryhabitations of the widow, the fatherless, and the unfortunate, were visited by the beneficent, who felt for the woes of theirfellow-creatures; and to such as refused to receive a portion of thepublic charity, the necessaries of life were privately conveyed, in sucha 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 fordistressing the enemy. In a few days after his departure, the spousalsof the princess Mary were celebrated by proxy, the duke of Cumberlandrepresenting the prince of Hesse, and in June the princess embarkedfor the continent. About the same time, a sloop arrived in England withdespatches from admiral Vernon, who, since his adventure at Porto Bello, had bombarded Carthagena, and taken the fort of San Lorenzo, on theriver of Chagre, in the neighbourhood of his former conquest. This monthwas likewise marked by the death of his Prussian majesty, a prince by nomeans remarkable for great or amiable qualities. He was succeeded on thethrone by Frederick his eldest son, the late king of that realm, whohas so eminently distinguished himself as a warrior and legislator. InAugust, the king of Great Britain concluded a treaty with the landgraveof Hesse, who engaged to furnish him with a body of six thousand menfor four years, in consideration of an annual subsidy of two hundred andfifty thousand crowns. STRONG ARMAMENT SENT TO THE WEST INDIES. Meanwhile, preparations of war were vigorously carried on by theministry in England. They had wisely resolved to annoy the Spaniards intheir American possessions. Three ships of war, cruising in the bay ofBiscay, fell in with a large Spanish ship of the line, strongly manned, and took her after a very obstinate engagement; but the Assogue shipsarrived with the treasure in Spain, notwithstanding the vigilance ofthe English commanders, who were stationed in a certain latitude tointercept that flota. One camp was formed on Hounslow-heath; and sixthousand marines lately levied were encamped on the Isle of Wight, inorder to be embarked for the West Indies. Intelligence being receivedthat a strong squadron of Spanish ships of war waited at Ferrol fororders to sail to their American settlements, sir John Norris sailedwith a powerful fleet from Spithead to dispute their voyage; and theduke of Cumberland served in person as a volunteer in this expedition;but, after divers fruitless efforts, he was, by contrary winds, obligedto lie inactive for the greatest part of the summer in Torbay; and, upon advice that the French and Spanish squadrons had sailed to the WestIndies 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 thecoast of Chili and Peru, and co-operate occasionally with admiral Vernonacross the isthmus of Darien. The scheme was well laid, but ruined byunnecessary delays and unforeseen accidents. But the hopes of the nationcentered chiefly in a formidable armament designed for the northerncoast of now Spain, and his catholic majesty's other settlements on thatside of the Atlantic. Commissions had been issued for raising a regimentof four battalions in the English colonies of North America, that theymight be transported to Jamaica, and join the forces from England. These, consisting of the marines and detachments from some oldregiments, were embarked in October at the Isle of Wight, under thecommand of lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved honour, and greatexperience in the art of war; and they sailed under convoy of sirChaloner Ogle, with a fleet of seven-and-twenty ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships, bomb-ketches, and tenders. They werelikewise furnished with hospital ships and store ships, laden withprovisions, ammunition, all sorts of warlike implements, and every kindof convenience. Never was an armament more completely equipped, andnever 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, thelast prince of the house of Austria, died at Vienna, and was succeededin his hereditary dominions by his eldest daughter', the archduchessMaria Theresa, married to the grand duke of Tuscany. Though thisprincess succeeded as queen of Hungary, by virtue of the pragmaticsanction guaranteed by all the powers in Europe, her succession producedsuch contests as kindled a cruel war in the empire. The young king ofPrussia was no sooner informed of the emperor's death, than he enteredSilesia at the head of twenty thousand men; seized certain fiefs towhich his family laid claim; and published a manifesto, declaring thathe had no intention to contravene the pragmatic sanction. The elector ofBavaria refused to acknowledge the archduchess as queen of Hungary andBohemia; alleging, that he himself had pretensions to those countries, as the descendant of the emperor Ferdinand I. , who was head of theGerman branch of the house of Austria. Charles VI. Was survived buta few days by his ally, the czarina Anne Iwanowna, who died in theforty-fifth year of her age, after having bequeathed her crown to Iwan, or John, the infant son of her niece, the princess Anne ofMecklenburgh, who had been married to Anthony Ulrick, duke of BrunswickLunenberg-Bevern. She appointed the duke of Courland regent of theempire, and even guardian of the young czar, though his own parents werealive; but this disposition was not long maintained. PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT. The king of Great Britain having returned to England from his Germandominions, the session of parliament was opened in November. His majestyassured them, on this occasion, that he was determined to prosecute thewar vigorously, even though France should espouse the cause of Spain, as her late conduct seemed to favour this supposition. He took notice ofthe emperor's death, as an event which in all likelihood would opena new scene of affairs in Europe; he therefore recommended to theirconsideration the necessary supplies for putting the nation in such aposture that it should have nothing to fear from any emergency. Finally, he desired them to consider of some proper regulations for preventingthe exportation of corn, and for more effectual methods to man thefleet at this conjuncture. The commons, after having voted an addressof thanks, brought in a bill for prohibiting the exportation of corn andprovisions, for a limited time, out of Great Britain, Ireland, and theAmerican plantations. This was a measure calculated to distress theenemy, who were supposed to be in want of these necessaries. The Frenchhad 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 hadbeen laid upon the ships of that kingdom. The bill met with a vigorousopposition; yet the house unanimously resolved that his majesty shouldbe addressed to lay an immediate embargo upon all ships laden with corn, grain, starch, rice, beef, pork, and other provisions, to be exportedto foreign parts. They likewise resolved that the thanks of the houseshould be given to vice-admiral Vernon, for the services he had, done tohis king and country in the West Indies. One William Cooley was examinedat the bar of the house, and committed to prison, after having ownedhimself author of a paper, intituled, "Considerations upon the Embargoon Provision of Victual. " The performance contained many shrewd andsevere animadversions upon the government, for having taken a stepwhich, without answering the purpose of distressing the enemy, wouldprove a grievous discouragement to trade, and ruin all the graziers ofIreland. Notwithstanding the arguments used in this remonstrance, andseveral petitions that were presented against the corn-hill, it passedby mere dint of ministerial influence. The other party endeavoured, byvarious motions, to set on foot an inquiry into the orders, letters, andinstructions, 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 increaseof seamen, and for the better and speedier manning his majesty's fleet. This was a revival of the oppressive scheme which had been rejected inthe former session; a scheme by which the justices of the peace wereempowered to issue warrants to constables and head-boroughs, to searchby day or night for such seafaring men as should conceal themselveswithin their respective jurisdictions. These searchers were vested withauthority to force open doors in case of resistance; and encouraged tothis violence by a reward for every seaman they should discover; whilethe unhappy wretches so discovered were dragged into the service, and their names entered in a register to be kept at the navy or theadmiralty-office. Such a plan of tyranny did not pass uncensured. Everyexceptionable 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 theirfellow-subjects. Mr. Pitt having expressed a laudable indignation atsuch a large stride towards despotic power, in justification of whichnothing could be urged but the plea of necessity, Mr. Horatio Walpolethought proper to attack him with some personal sarcasms. He reflectedupon his youth: and observed that the discovery of truth was very littlepromoted by pompous diction and theatrical emotion. These insinuationsexposed him to a severe reply. Mr. Pitt standing up again, said, "Hewould not undertake to determine whether youth could be justly imputedto any man as a reproach; but he affirmed that the wretch, who, afterhaving seen the consequences of repeated errors, continues still toblunder, and whose age has only added obstinacy to stupidity, is surelythe object of either abhorrence or contempt, and deserves not thathis grey head should secure him from insults; much more is he to beabhorred, who, as he has advanced in age, has receded from virtue, andbecomes more wicked with less temptation; who prostitutes himself formoney which he cannot enjoy; and spends the remains of his life in theruin of his country. "--Petitions were presented from the city of Londonand county of Gloucester against the bill, as detrimental to the tradeand navigation of the kingdom, by discouraging rather than encouragingsailors, and destructive to the liberties of the subject; but theywere both rejected as insults upon the house of commons. After very longdebates, 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 andpersonal attack upon the minister, who was become extremely unpopularall over the kingdom. The people were now, more than ever, sensible ofthe grievous taxes under which they groaned; and saw their burdens dailyincreasing. No effectual attempts had as yet been made to annoy theenemy. Expensive squadrons had been equipped; had made excursions, andreturned without striking a blow. The Spanish fleet had sailed firstfrom Cadiz, and then from Ferrol, without any interruption from admiralHaddock, who commanded the British squadron in the Mediterranean, andwho was supposed to be restricted by the instructions he had receivedfrom the ministry, though in fact his want of success was owing toaccident. Admiral Vernon had written from the West Indies to his privatefriends, that he was neglected, and in danger of being sacrificed. Notwithstanding the numerous navy which the nation maintained, theSpanish privateers made prize of the British merchant ships withimpunity. In violation of treaties, and in contempt of that intimateconnexion which had been so long cultivated between the French andEnglish ministry, the king of France had ordered the harbour andfortifications of Dunkirk to be repaired; his fleet had sailed to theWest Indies in conjunction with that of Spain; and the merchants ofEngland began to tremble for Jamaica; finally, commerce was in a mannersuspended, by the practice of pressing sailors into the service, andby the embargo which had been laid upon ships in all the ports of GreatBritain and Ireland. These causes of popular discontent, added toother complaints which had been so long repeated against the minister, exaggerated and inculcated by his enemies with unwearied industry, atlength rendered him so universally odious, that his name was seldom ornever 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, andsaid 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 theminister's misconduct. He insisted upon the discontents of the nation, in consequence of the measures which had been for many years pursued athome and abroad. He professed his belief that there was not agentleman in the house who did not know that one single person in theadministration was the chief, if not the sole adviser and promoter ofall those measures. "This, " added he, "is known without doors, as wellas within; therefore, the discontents, the reproaches, and even thecurses of the people, are all directed against that single person. Theycomplain of present measures; they have suffered by past measures; theyexpect no redress; they expect no alteration or amendment, whilst he hasa share in directing or advising our future administration. These, sir, are the sentiments of the people in regard to that minister; thesesentiments we are in honour and duty bound to represent to hismajesty; and the proper method for doing this, as established byour constitution, is to address his majesty to remove him fromhis councils. " He then proceeded to explain the particulars of theminister's misconduct in the whole series of his negotiations abroad. Hecharged him with having endeavoured to support his own interest, and toerect a kind of despotic government, by the practice of corruption; withhaving betrayed the interest and honour of Great Britain in the lateconvention; with having neglected to prosecute the war against Spain;and he concluded with a motion for an address to the king, that he wouldbe pleased to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councilsfor ever. He was answered by Mr. Pelham, who undertook to defend orexcuse all the measures which the other had condemned; and acquittedhimself as a warm friend and unshaken adherent. Against this championsir John Barnard entered the lists, and was sustained by Mr. Pulteney, who, with equal spirit and precision, pointed out and exposed all thematerial errors and malpractices of the administration. Sir RobertWalpole spoke with great temper and deliberation in behalf of himself. With respect to the article of bribery and corruption, he said if anyone instance had been mentioned; if it had been shown that he everoffered a reward to any member of either house, or ever threatened todeprive any member of his office or employment, in order to influencehis voting in parliament, there might have been some ground for thischarge; but when it was so generally laid, he did not know what he couldsay to it, unless to deny it as generally and as positively as it hadbeen asserted. --Such a declaration as this, in the hearing of so manypersons, 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 courtmembers till three o'clock in the morning, when about sixty of theopposite party having retired, the motion was rejected by a considerablemajority. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DEBATE ON THE MUTINY BILL. A bill was brought in for prohibiting the practice of insuring shipsbelonging to the enemies of the nation; but it was vigorously opposedby sir John Barnard and Mr. Willimot, who demonstrated that this kindof traffic was advantageous to the kingdom; and the scheme was dropped. Another warm contest arose upon a clause of the mutiny bill, relating tothe quartering of soldiers upon innkeepers and publicans, who complainedof their being distressed in furnishing those guests with provisionsand necessaries at the rates prescribed by law or custom. There were notwanting advocates to expatiate upon the nature of this grievance, which, however, was not redressed. A new trade was at this time opened withPersia, through the dominions of the czar, and vested with an exclusiveprivilege in the Russian company, by an act of parliament. The commonsvoted forty thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year, andabout thirty thousand men for the establishment of land-forces. Theyprovided for the subsidies granted to the king of Denmark and thelandgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and took every step which was suggested forthe 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 motiveswhich actuated the commons. The duke of Argyle, who had by this timeresigned all his places, declared open war against the ministry. In thebeginning of the session, the king's speech was no sooner reported bythe chancellor, than this nobleman stood up and moved that a generaladdress of thanks should be presented to his majesty, instead of arecapitulation of every paragraph of the king's speech, re-echoed fromthe 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 thewhole adjacent country. The motion was supported by lord Bathurst, lordCarteret, the earl of Chesterfield, and lord Gower, who, though theydisplayed all the talents of oratory, were outvoted by the oppositeparty, headed by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley, lord Hervey, and the lord-chancellor. The motion was rejected, and theaddress composed in the usual strain. The same motions for an inquiryinto orders and instructions which had miscarried in the lower house, were here repeated with the same bad success; in the debates whichensued, the young earls of Halifax and Sandwich acquired a considerableshare of reputation, for the strength of argument and elocution withwhich they contended against the adherents of the ministry. When thehouse took into consideration the state of the army, the duke of Argylehaving harangued with equal skill and energy on military affairs, proposed that the forces should be augmented by adding new levies tothe old companies, without increasing the number of officers; as suchan augmentation served only to debase the dignity of the service, byraising the lowest of mankind to the rank of gentlemen; and to extendthe influence of the minister, by multiplying his dependents. Hetherefore moved for a resolution, that the augmenting the army byraising regiments, as it is the most unnecessary and most expensivemethod of augmentation, was also the most dangerous to the liberties ofthe nation. This proposal was likewise overruled, after a short thoughwarm contention. This was the fate of all the other motions made by thelords in the opposition, though the victory of the courtiers was alwaysclogged with a nervous and spirited protest. Two days were expended inthe debate produced by lord Carteret's motion for an address, beseechinghis majesty to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councilsfor ever. The speech that ushered in this memorable motion would nothave disgraced a Cicero. It contained a retrospect of all the publicmeasures which had been pursued since the revolution. It explained thenature of every treaty, whether right or wrong, which had been concludedunder the present administration. It described the political connexionssubsisting between the different powers in Europe. It exposed theweakness, the misconduct, and the iniquity of the minister, both inhis foreign and domestic transactions. It was embellished with allthe ornaments of rhetoric, and warmed with a noble spirit of patrioticindignation. The duke of Argyle, lord Bathurst, and his othercolleagues, seemed to be animated with uncommon fervour, and eveninspired by the subject. {1741} A man of imagination, in reading their speeches, will think himselftransported into the Roman senate, before the ruin of that republic. Nevertheless, the minister still triumphed by dint of numbers; thoughhis victory was dearly purchased. Thirty peers entered a vigorousprotest, and Walpole's character sustained such a rude shock from thisopposition, that his authority seemed to be drawing near a period. Immediately after this contest was decided, the duke of Marlboroughmoved for a resolution, that any attempt to inflict any kind ofpunishment on any person, without allowing him an opportunity to makehis defence, or without any proof of any crime or misdemeanor committedby him, is contrary to natural justice, the fundamental laws of therealm, and the ancient established usage of parliament; and is a highinfringement of the liberties of the subject. It was seconded by theduke of Devonshire and lord Lovel; and opposed by lord Gower, as anintended censure on the proceedings of the day. This sentiment was sowarmly espoused by lord Talbot, who had distinguished himself in theformer debate, that he seemed to be transported beyond the bounds ofmoderation. He was interrupted by the earl of Cholmondeley, who chargedhim with having violated the order and decorum which ought to bepreserved in such an assembly. His passion was inflamed by this rebuke;he declared himself an independent lord; a character which he would notforfeit for the smiles of a court, the profit of an employment, or thereward 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 suppresshis 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 hisspeech to both houses, he gave them to understand, that the queen ofHungary had made a requisition of the twelve thousand men stipulatedby treaty; and that he had ordered the subsidy troops of Denmark andHesse-Cassel to be in readiness to march to her assistance. He observed, that in this complicated and uncertain state of affairs, many incidentsmight arise, and render it necessary for him to incur extraordinaryexpenses for maintaining the pragmatic sanction, at a time when hecould not possibly have recourse to the advice and assistance of hisparliament. He therefore demanded of the commons such a supply as mightbe requisite for these ends; and promised to manage it with all possiblefrugality. The lower house, in their address, approved of all hismeasures; declared they would effectually support him against allinsults and attacks that might be made upon any of his territories, though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain; and that they wouldenable him to contribute, in the most effectual manner, to the supportof the queen of Hungary. Sir Robert Walpole moved, that an aid of twohundred thousand pounds should be granted to that princess. Mr. Shippenprotested against any interposition in the affairs of Germany. Heexpressed his dislike of the promise which had been made to defend hismajesty's foreign dominions; a promise, in his opinion, inconsistentwith that important and inviolable law, the act of settlement; apromise which, could it have been foreknown, would perhaps have forever precluded from the succession that illustrious family to whichthe nation owed such numberless blessings, such continued felicity. Themotion however passed, though not without further opposition; and thehouse resolved, that three hundred thousand pounds should be granted tohis majesty, to enable him effectually to support the queen of Hungary. Towards the expense of this year, a million was deducted from thesinking fund; and the land-tax continued at four shillings in thepound. The preparations for this war had already cost five millions. Thesession was closed on the twenty-fifth day of April, when the king tookhis leave of this parliament with warm expressions of tenderness andsatisfaction. Henry Bromley, Stephen Fox, and John Howe, three membersof the lower house who had signalized themselves in defence of theminister, were now ennobled, and created barons of Montford, Ilchester, and Chedworth. A camp was formed near Colchester; and the king havingappointed 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 WestIndies. Sir Chaloner Ogle, who sailed from Spithead, had been overtakenby a tempest in the Bay of Biscay, by which the fleet, consistingof about one hundred and seventy sail, were scattered and dispersed. Nevertheless he prosecuted his voyage, and anchored with a view toprovide wood and water, in the neutral island of Dominica, where theintended expedition sustained a terrible shock in the death of thegallant lord Cathcart, who was carried off by a dysentery. The lossof this nobleman was the more severely felt, as the command of theland-forces devolved upon general Wentworth, an officer withoutexperience, authority, and resolution. As the fleet sailed along theisland of Hispaniola, in its way to Jamaica, four large ships of warwere discovered; and sir Chaloner detached an equal number of hissquadron 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 abroadside, and a smart engagement ensued. After they had fought duringthe best part of the night, the enemy hoisted their colours in themorning, and appeared to be part of the French squadron, which hadsailed from Europe tinder the command of the marquis d'Antin, withorders to assist the Spanish admiral De Torres, in attacking anddistressing the English ships and colonies. War was not yet declaredbetween France and England; therefore hostilities ceased; the Englishand French commanders complimented each other; excused themselvesmutually for the mistake which had happened; and parted friends, with aconsiderable 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 joinedvice-admiral Vernon, who now found himself at the head of the mostformidable fleet and army that ever visited those seas, with fullpower to act at discretion. The conjoined squadrons consisted ofnine-and-twenty ships of the line, with almost an equal number offrigates, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, well manned, and plentifullysupplied with all kinds of provisions, stores, and necessaries. Thenumber of seamen amounted to fifteen thousand; that of the land-forces, including the American regiment of four battalions, and a body ofnegroes enlisted at Jamaica, did not fall short of twelve thousand. Hadthis 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, theHavannah, and the whole island of Cuba, might have been easilyreduced; the whole treasure of the Spanish West Indies would have beenintercepted; and Spain must have been humbled into the most abjectsubmission. But several unfavourable circumstances concurred tofrustrate the hopes of the public. The ministry had detained sirChaloner Ogle at Spithead without any visible cause, until the seasonfor action was almost exhausted; for, on the continent of new Spain, theperiodical rains begin about the end of April; and this change in theatmosphere is always attended with epidemical distempers which renderthe climate extremely unhealthy; besides, the rain is so excessive, thatfor 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; andadmiral Vernon did not sail on his intended expedition till towards theend of the month. Instead of directing his course towards the Havannah, which lay to leeward, and might have been reached in less than threedays, he resolved to beat up against the wind to Hispaniola, in orderto observe the motion of the French squadron, commanded by the marquisd'Antin. The fifteenth day of February had elapsed before he receivedcertain information that the French admiral had sailed for Europe, in great distress for want of men and provisions, which he could notprocure in the West Indies. Admiral Vernon thus disappointed, called acouncil of war, in which it was determined to proceed for Carthagena. The fleet being supplied with wood and water at Hispaniola, set sailfor the continent of New Spain, and on the fourth of March, anchoredin Playa Grande, to the windward of Carthagena. Admiral de Torres hadalready sailed to the Havannah; but Carthagena was strongly fortified, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a small squadron of largeships, commanded by don Bias de Lesco, an officer of experience andreputation. Here the English admiral lay inactive till the ninth, whenthe troops were landed on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth ofthe harbour, known by the name of Boca-chica, or Little-mouth, which wassurprisingly fortified with castles, batteries, booms, chains, cables, and ships of war. The British forces erected a battery on shore, withwhich they made a breach in the principal fort, while the admiral sentin a number of ships to divide the fire of the enemy, and co-operatewith the endeavours of the army. Lord Aubrey Beauclerc, a gallantofficer 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 layathwart the harbour's mouth were destroyed or taken, the passage wasopened, and the fleet entered without further opposition. Then theforces were re-embarked with the artillery, and landed within a mile ofCarthagena, where they were opposed by about seven hundred Spaniards, whom they obliged to retire. The admiral and general had contracted ahearty contempt for each other, and took all opportunities of expressingtheir mutual dislike; far from acting vigorously in concert for theadvantage of the community, they maintained a mutual reserve, andseparate cabals; and each proved more eager for the disgrace of hisrival, than zealous for the honour of the nation. The general complained that the fleet lay idle while his troopswere harassed and diminished by hard duty and distemper. The admiralaffirmed, that his ships could not lie near enough to batter the townof Carthagena; he upbraided the general with inactivity and want ofresolution to attack the fort of Saint Lazar which commanded thetown, and might be taken by scalade. Wentworth, stimulated by thesereproaches, resolved to try the experiment. His forces marched up tothe attack; but the guides being slain, they mistook their route, andadvanced to the strongest part of the fortification, where they weremoreover exposed to the fire of the town. Colonel Grant, who commandedthe grenadiers, was mortally wounded; the scaling-ladders were found tooshort; the officers were perplexed for want of orders and directions;yet the soldiers sustained a severe fire for several hours withsurprising intrepidity, and at length retreated, leaving about sixhundred killed or wounded on the spot. Their number was now so muchreduced, that they could no longer maintain their footing on shore;besides, the rainy season had begun with such violence, as rendered itimpossible 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 theplace by sea, sent in the Gallicia, one of the Spanish ships whichhad been taken at Boca-chica, to cannonade the town, with sixteen gunsmounted on one side, like a floating battery. This vessel, manned bydetachments of volunteers from different ships, and commanded by captainHore, was warped into the inner harbour, and moored before day, at aconsiderable distance from the walls, in very shallow water. In thisposition she stood the fire of several batteries for some hours, withoutdoing or sustaining much damage; then the admiral ordered the men to bebrought off in boats, and the cables to be cut; so that she drove withthe sea-breeze upon a shoal, where she was soon filled with water. Thisexploit was absurd, and the inference which the admiral drew from italtogether fallacious. He said it plainly proved that there was notdepth of water in the inner harbour sufficient to admit large ships nearenough to batter the town with any prospect of success. This indeedwas the case in that part of the harbour to which the Gallicia wasconducted; but a little farther to the left he might have stationed fouror 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 theattack of Saint Lazar, in all probability the town would have beensurrendered. EXPEDITION TO CUBA. After the re-embarkation of the troops, the distempers peculiar to theclimate and season began to rage with redoubled fury; and great numbersof those who escaped the vengeance of the enemy perished by a morepainful and inglorious fate. Nothing was heard but complaints andexecrations; the groans of the dying, and the service for the dead;nothing was seen but objects of woe, and images of dejection. Theconductors of this unfortunate expedition agreed in nothing but theexpediency of a speedy retreat from this scene of misery and disgrace. The fortifications of the harbour were demolished, and the fleetreturned to Jamaica. --The miscarriage of this expedition, which had costthe nation an immense sum of money, was no sooner known in England, thanthe kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent, and the people weredepressed in proportion to that sanguine hope by which they had beenelevated. Admiral Vernon, instead of undertaking any enterprise whichmight have retrieved the honour of the British arms, set sail fromJamaica with the forces in July, and anchored at the south-east partof Cuba, in a bay, on which he bestowed the appellation of Cumberlandharbour. The troops were landed, and encamped at the distance of twentymiles farther up the river, where they remained totally inactive, andsubsisted chiefly on salt and damaged provisions, till the month ofNovember, when, being considerably diminished by sickness, they were puton board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica. He was afterwards reinforcedfrom England by four ships of war, and about three thousand soldiers;but he performed nothing worthy of the reputation he had acquired; andthe 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 everembroiled. The king of Prussia had demanded of the court of Viennapart of Silesia, by virtue of old treaties of co-fraternity, which wereeither obsolete or annulled; and promised to assist the queen with allhis forces in case she should comply with his demand; but this beingrejected with disdain, he entered Silesia at the head of an army, andprosecuted his conquests with great rapidity. In the meantime the queenof Hungary was crowned at Presburgh, after having signed a capitulation, by which the liberties of that kingdom were confirmed; and the grandduke her consort was, at her request, associated with her for ten yearsin the government. At the same time the states of Hungary refused toreceive a memorial from the elector of Bavaria. During these transactions, his Prussian majesty made his public entranceinto Breslau, and confirmed all the privileges of the inhabitants. Oneof his generals surprised the town and fortress of Jablunka, on theconfines of Hungary; prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, who commandedanother army which formed the blockade of Great Glogau, on theOder, took the place by scalade, made the generals Wallis and Reyskiprisoners, with a thousand men that were in garrison; here likewise thevictor found the military chest, fifty pieces of brass cannon, and agreat quantity of ammunition. The queen of Hungary had solicited the maritime powers for assistance, but found them fearful and backward. Being obliged, therefore, to exertherself with the more vigour, she ordered count Neuperg to assemble abody of forces, and endeavour to stop the progress of the Prussians inSilesia. The two armies encountered each other in the neighbourhood ofNeiss, at a village called Molwitz; and, after an obstinate dispute, the Austrians were obliged to retire with the loss of four thousand menkilled, wounded, or taken. The advantage was dearly purchased by theking of Prussia. His kinsman Frederick, margrave of Brandenburgh, andlieutenant-general Schuylemberg, were killed in the engagement, together with a great number of general officers, and about two thousandsoldiers. After this action, Brieg was surrendered to the Prussian, andhe forced the important pass of Fryewalde, which was defended byfour thousand Austrian hussars. The English and Dutch ministers, who accompanied him in his progress, spared no pains to effect anaccommodation; but the two sovereigns were too much irritated againsteach other to acquiesce in any terms that could be proposed. The queenof Hungary was incensed to find herself attacked, in the day of herdistress, by a prince to whom she had given no sort of provocation; andhis Prussian majesty charged the court of Vienna with a design either toassassinate or carry him off by treachery; a design which was disownedwith expressions of indignation and disdain. Count Neuperg being obligedto abandon Silesia, in order to oppose the Bavarian arms in Bohemia, theking of Prussia sent thither a detachment to join the elector, underthe command of count Deslau, who, in his route, reduced Glatz and Neiss, almost without opposition; then his master received the homage of theSilesian states at Breslau, and returned to Berlin. In December, thePrussian army was distributed in winter-quarters in Moravia, afterhaving taken Olmutz, the capital of that province; and in March hisPrussian majesty formed a camp of observation in the neighbourhood ofMagdeburgh. A TREATY OF NEUTRALITY CONCLUDED WITH FRANCE FOR HANOVER. The elector of Hanover was alarmed at the success of the king ofPrussia, in apprehension that he would become too formidable aneighbour. A scheme was said to have been proposed to the court ofVienna, for attacking that prince's electoral dominions, and dividingthe conquest; but it was never put in execution. Nevertheless, thetroops of Hanover were augmented; the auxiliary Danes and Hessians inthe pay of Great Britain were ordered to be in readiness to march; and agood number of British forces encamped and prepared for embarkation. The subsidy of three hundred thousand pounds, granted by parliament, wasremitted to the queen of Hungary; and every thing seemed to presage thevigorous interposition of his Britannic majesty. But in a little timeafter his arrival at Hanover, that spirit of action seemed to flag, even while her Hungarian majesty tottered on the verge of ruin. Franceresolved to seize this opportunity of crushing the house of Austria. In order to intimidate the elector of Hanover, mare-schal Mallebois wassent with a numerous army into Westphalia; and this expedient provedeffectual. A treaty of neutrality was concluded; and the king of GreatBritain engaged to vote for the elector of Bavaria at the ensuingelection of an emperor. The design of the French court was to raise thisprince to the Imperial dignity, and furnish him with such succours asshould enable him to deprive the queen of Hungary of her hereditarydominions. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} A BODY OF FRENCH FORCES JOIN THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA. While the French minister at Vienna endeavoured to amuse the queenwith the strongest assurances of his master's friendship, a body offive-and-thirty thousand men began their march for Germany, in order tojoin the elector of Bavaria; another French army was assembled uponthe Rhine; and the count de Belleisle being provided with large sumsof money, was sent to negotiate with different electors. Having thussecured a majority of voices, he proceeded to Munich, where he presentedthe elector of Bavaria with a commission, appointing him generalissimoof the French troops marching to his assistance; and now the treatyof Nymphen-burgh was concluded. The French king engaged to assistthe elector with his whole power, towards raising him to the Imperialthrone: the elector promised, that after his elevation he would neverattempt to recover any of the towns or provinces of the empire whichFrance had conquered; that he would, in his Imperial capacity, renouncethe barrier-treaty; and agree that France should irrevocably retainwhatever places she should subdue in the Austrian Netherlands. The nextstep of Belleisle was to negotiate another treaty between France andPrussia, importing, that the elector of Bavaria should possess Bohemia, Upper Austria, and the Tyrolese; that the king of Poland should begratified with Moravia and Upper Silesia; and that his Prussian majestyshould retain Lower Silesia, with the town of Neiss and the county ofGlatz. These precautions being taken, the count do Belleisle repaired toFranck-fort, in quality of ambassador and plenipotentiary from France, at the Imperial diet of election. It was in this city that the Frenchking published a declaration, signifying, that as the king of GreatBritain had assembled an army to influence the approaching election ofan emperor, his most christain majesty, as guarantee of the treaty ofWestphalia, had ordered some troops to advance towards the Rhine, witha view to maintain the tranquillity of the Germanie body, and secure thefreedom of the Imperial election. In July, the elector of Bavaria being joined by the French forces tindermareschal Broglio, surprised the Imperial city of Passau, upon theDanube; and entering Upper Austria at the head of seventy thousand men, took possession of Lintz, where he received the homage of the statesof that country. Understanding that the garrison of Vienna was verynumerous, and that count Palfi had assembled thirty thousand Hungariansin the neighbourhood of this capital, he made no farther progressin Austria, but marched into Bohemia, where he was reinforced by aconsiderable body of Saxons, under the command of count Rutowski, natural son to the late king of Poland. By this time his Polish majestyhad acceded to the treaty of Nymphenburgh, and declared war againstthe queen of Hungary, on the most frivolous pretences. The elector ofBavaria advanced to Prague, which was taken in the night by scalade; anachievement in which Maurice count of Saxe, another natural son of theking of Poland, distinguished himself at the head of the French forces. In December the elector of Bavaria made his public entry into hiscapital, where he was proclaimed king of Bohemia, and inaugurated withthe usual solemnities; then he set out for Franckfort, to be present atthe diet of election. At this period the queen of Hungary saw herself abandoned by all herallies, and seemingly voted to destruction. She was not, however, forsaken by her courage; nor destitute of good officers, and an ableministry. She retired to Presburgh, and in a pathetic Latin speech tothe states, expressed her confidence in the loyalty and valour of herHungarian subjects. The nobility of that kingdom, touched with herpresence and distress, assured her unanimously that they would sacrificetheir lives and fortunes in her defence. The ban being raised, thatbrave people crowded to her standard; and the diet expressed theirsentiments against her enemy by a public edict, excluding for ever theelectoral house of Bavaria from the succession to the crown of Hungary;yet, without the subsidy she received from Great Britain, their courageand attachment would have proved ineffectual. By this supply shewas enabled to pay her army, erect magazines, complete her warlikepreparations, and put her strong places in a posture of defence. InDecember, her generals Berenclau and Mentzel, defeated count Thoring, who commanded eight thousand men, at the pass of Scardingen, and openingtheir way to Bavaria, laid the whole country under contribution; whilecount Khevenhuller retook the city of Lintz, and drove the French troopsout of Austria. The grand seignor assured the queen of Hungary, that far from taking advantage of her troubles, he should seize allopportunities to convince her of his friendship; the pope permitted herto levy a tenth on the revenues of the clergy within her dominions; andeven 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 unfortunateprincess, the French court resolved to find her employment inanother quarter. They had already gained over to their interest countGyllenburgh, prime minister and president of the chancery in Sweden. Adispute happening between him and Mr. Burnaby, the British residentat Stockholm, some warm altercation passed: Mr. Burnaby was forbid thecourt, and published a memorial in his own vindication; on the otherhand, the king of Sweden justified his conduct in a rescript sent toall the foreign ministers. The king of Great Britain had proposed asubsidy-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 uponthe most trifling pretences; and the fleet putting to sea, commencedhostilities by blocking up the Russian ports in Livonia. A body ofeleven thousand Swedes, commanded by general Wrangle, having advanced toWillmenstrand, were in August attacked and defeated by general Lasci, atthe head of thirty thousand Russians. Count Lewenhaup, who commanded themain army of the Swedes, resolved to take vengeance for this disgrace, after the Russian troops had retired into winter quarters. In Decemberhe marched towards Wybourg; but receiving letters from the prince ofHesse-Hombourg, and the marquis de la Chetardie, the French ambassadorat Petersburgh, informing him of the surprising revolution which hadjust happened in Russia, and proposing a suspension of hostilities, heretreated with his army in order to wait for further instructions; andthe 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 employeda great number of foreigners in her service. These causes of discontentproduced factions and conspiracies; and when they were discovered, theempress treated the authors of them with such severity as increased thegeneral disaffection. Besides, they were displeased at the manner inwhich she had settled the succession. The prince of Brunswick LunenbergBovern, father to the young czar, was not at all agreeable to theRussian nobility; and his consort, the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, having assumed the reins of government during her son's minority, seemedto follow the maxims of her aunt the late czarina. The Russian grandeesand generals, therefore, turned their eyes upon the princess Elizabeth, who was daughter of Peter the Great, and the darling of the empire. TheFrench ambassador gladly concurred in a project for deposing a princesswho was well affected to the house of Austria. General Lasci approved ofthe design, which was chiefly conducted by the prince of Hesse-Hombourg, who, in the reigns of the empress Catharine and Peter II. , had beengeneralissimo of the Russian army. The good will and concurrence of thetroops being secured, two regiments of guards took possession of all theavenues of the imperial palace at Petersburgh. The princess Elizabeth, putting herself at the head of one thousand men, on the fifth day ofDecember entered the winter palace, where the princess of Mecklenburghand the infant czar resided. She advanced into the chamber where theprincess and her consort lay, and desired them to rise and quit thepalace, adding that their persons were safe; and that they could notjustly blame her for asserting her right. At the same time, the countsOsterman, Golofhairkin, Mingden, and Munich, were arrested; their papersand 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 beusurpation; and that the imperial dignity belonged of right to theprincess Elizabeth: she was immediately proclaimed empress of all theRussias, and recognized by the army of Finland. She forthwith publisheda general act of indemnity; she created the prince of Hesse-Hombourggeneralissimo of her armies; she restored the Dolgorucky family to theirhonours and estates; she recalled and rewarded all those who had beenbanished for favouring her pretensions; she mitigated the exile of theduke of Courland, by indulging him with a maintenance more suitable tohis rank; she released general Wrangle, count Wasaburgh, and the otherSwedish officers who had been taken at the battle of Willmenstrand; andthe princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, with her consort and children, weresent under a strong guard to Riga, the capital of Livonia. Amidst these tempests of war and revolution, the states-general wiselydetermined to preserve their own tranquillity. It was doubtless theirinterest to avoid the dangers and expense of a war, and to profit bythat stagnation of commerce which would necessarily happen among theirneighbours that were at open enmity with each other; besides, they wereover-awed by the declarations of the French monarch on one side; by thepower, activity, and pretensions of his Prussian majesty on the other;and they dreaded the prospect of a stadtholder at the head of theirarmy. These at least were the sentiments of many Dutch patriots, reinforced by others that acted under French influence. But the princeof Orange numbered among his partisans and adherents many persons ofdignity and credit in the commonwealth; he was adored by the populace, who loudly exclaimed against their governors, and clamoured for a warwithout ceasing. This national spirit, joined to the remonstrances andrequisitions made by the courts of Vienna and London, obliged the statesto issue orders for an augmentation of their forces; but these wereexecuted so slowly, that neither France nor Prussia had much causeto take umbrage at their preparations. In Italy, the king of Sardiniadeclared for the house of Austria; the republic of Genoa was deeplyengaged in the French interest; the pope, the Venetians, and the dukedomof Tuscany were neutral; the king of Naples resolved to support theclaim of his family to the Austrian dominions in Italy, and began tomake preparations accordingly. His mother, the queen of Spain, hadformed a plan for erecting these dominions into a monarchy for hersecond son Don Philip; and a body of fifteen thousand men being embarkedat Barcelona, were transported to Orbitello, under the convoy of theunited squadrons of France and Spain. While admiral Haddock, with twelveships of the line, lay at anchor in the bay of Gibraltar, the Spanishfleet passed the straits in the night, and was joined by the Frenchsquadron from Toulon. The British admiral sailing from Gibraltar, fellin with them in a few days, and found both squadrons drawn up in line ofbattle. As he bore down upon the Spanish fleet, the French admiral senta flag of truce, to inform him that as the French and Spaniards wereengaged in a joint expedition, he should be obliged to act in concertwith his master's allies. This interposition prevented an engagement. The combined fleets amounting to double the number of the Englishsquadron, admiral Haddock was obliged to desist; and proceeded toPort-Mahon, leaving the enemy to prosecute their voyage withoutmolestation. The people of England were incensed at this transaction, and did not scruple to affirm that the hands of the British admiral weretied 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 NewYork, in North America. One Hewson, a low publican, had engaged severalnegroes in a design to destroy the town, and massacre the people. Fire was set to several parts of the city; nine or ten negroes wereapprehended, convicted, and burned alive. Hewson, with his wife, anda servant maid privy to the plot, were found guilty and hanged, thoughthey died protesting their innocence. INACTIVITY OF THE NAVAL POWER OF GREAT BRITAIN. The court of Madrid seemed to have shaken off that indolence and phlegmwhich had formerly disgraced the councils of Spain. They no soonerlearned the destination of commodore Anson, who had sailed from Spitheadin the course of the preceding year, than they sent Don Pizzaro with amore powerful squadron upon the same voyage, to defeat his design. Heaccordingly steered the same course, and actually fell in with one ortwo ships of the British armament, near the straits of Magellan; but hecould not weather a long and furious tempest, through which Mr. Ansonproceeded into the South-Sea. One of the Spanish ships perished at sea;another was wrecked on the coast of Brazil; and Pizzaro bore away forthe Rio de la Plata, where he arrived with the three remaining ships, ina shattered condition, after having lost twelve hundred men by sicknessand famine. The Spaniards exerted the same vigilance and activity inEurope. Their privateers were so industrious and successful, that inthe beginning of this year they had taken, since the commencement ofthe war, four hundred and seven ships belonging to the subjects ofGreat Britain, valued at near four millions of piastres. The traders hadtherefore too much cause to complain, considering the formidable fleetswhich were maintained for the protection of commerce. In the course ofthe summer, sir John Norris had twice sailed towards the coast of Spain, at the head of a powerful squadron, without taking any effectual stepfor annoying the enemy, as if the sole intention of the ministry hadbeen to expose the nation to the ridicule and contempt of its enemies. The inactivity of the British arms appears the more inexcusable, when weconsider the great armaments which had been prepared. The land forces ofGreat Britain, exclusive of the Danish and Hessian auxiliaries, amountedto sixty thousand men; and the fleet consisted of above one hundredships of war, manned by fifty-four thousand sailors. The general discontent of the people had a manifest influence upon theelection of members for the new parliament, which produced one of themost violent contests between the two parties which had happened sincethe revolution. All the adherents of the prince of Wales concurred withthe country party, in opposition to the minister; and the duke ofArgyle exerted himself so successfully among the shires and boroughsof Scotland, that the partisans of the ministry could not secure sixmembers out of the whole number returned from North Britain. They were, however, much more fortunate in the election of the sixteen peers, whowere chosen literally according to the list transmitted from court. Instructions were delivered by the constituents to a great number ofmembers returned for cities and counties, exhorting and requiring themto oppose a standing army in time of peace; to vote for the mitigationof excise laws; for the repeal of septennial parliaments; and for thelimitation of placemen in the house of commons. They likewise insistedupon their examining into the particulars of the public expense, and endeavouring to redress the grievances of the nation. Obstinatestruggles were maintained in all parts of the united kingdoms withuncommon ardour and perseverance; and such a national spirit ofopposition prevailed, that, notwithstanding the whole weight ofministerial influence, the contrary interest seemed to preponderate inthe 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 firstday of December the session was opened. Mr. Onslow being re-chosenspeaker, was approved of by his majesty, who spoke in the usual styleto both houses. He observed, that the former parliament had formedthe strongest resolutions in favour of the queen of Hungary, for themaintenance of the pragmatic sanction; for the preservation of thebalance of power, and the peace and liberties of Europe; and that if theother powers which were under the like engagements with him had answeredthe just expectations so solemnly given, the support of the commoncause would have been attended with less difficulty. He said, he hadendeavoured, by the most proper and early applications, to induce otherpowers that were united with him by the ties of common interest, to concert such measures as so important and critical a conjuncturerequired; that where an accommodation seemed necessary, he had labouredto reconcile princes whose union would have been the most effectualmeans to prevent the mischiefs which had happened, and the best securityfor the in terest and safety of the whole. He owned his endeavours hadnot hitherto produced the desired effect; though he was not without hopethat a just sense of approaching danger would give a more favourableturn to the councils of other nations. He represented the necessity ofputting the kingdom in such a posture of defence as would enable him toimprove all opportunities of maintaining the liberties of Europe, anddefeat any attempts that should be made against him and his dominions;and he recommended unanimity, vigour, and despatch. The house of commonshaving appointed their several committees, the speaker reported theking's speech; and Mr. Herbert moved for an address of thanks, includingan approbation of the means by which the war had been prosecuted. Themotion being seconded by Mr. Trevor, lord Noel Somerset stood up andmoved, that the house would in their address desire his majesty notto engage these kingdoms in a war for the preservation of his foreigndominions. He was supported by that incorruptible patriot Mr. Shippen, who declared he was neither ashamed nor afraid to affirm that thirtyyears had made no change in any of his political opinions. He saidhe was grown old in the house of commons; that time had verifiedthe predictions he had formerly uttered; and that he had seen hisconjectures ripened into knowledge. "If my country, " added he, "has beenso unfortunate as once more to commit her interest to men who propose tothemselves no advantage from their trust but that of selling it, I may, perhaps, fall once more under censure for declaring my opinion, and beonce more treated as a criminal for asserting what they who punish mecannot deny; for maintaining that Hanoverian maxims are inconsistentwith the happiness of this nation; and for preserving the caution sostrongly 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 indiametrical opposition to that necessary constitution; and he insistedon the necessity of taking some step to remove the apprehensions of thepeople, who began to think themselves in danger of being sacrificed tothe security of foreign dominions. Mr. Gibbon, who spoke on the sameside of the question, expatiated upon the absurdity of returning thanksfor 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 ofour sailors, idle shows of armaments, and useless expenses?" Sir RobertWalpole having made a short speech in defence of the first motion for anaddress, was answered by Mr. Pulteney, who seemed to be animated witha double proportion of patriot indignation. He asserted, that from areview of that minister's conduct since the beginning of the disputewith Spain, it would appear that he had been guilty not only of singleerrors, but of deliberate treachery; that he had always co-operated withthe enemies of his country, and sacrificed to his private interest thehappiness and honour of the British nation. He then entered into adetail of that conduct against which he had so often declaimed; andbeing transported by an overheated imagination, accused him of personalattachment and affection to the enemies of the kingdom. A charge thatwas doubtless the result of exaggerated animosity, and served onlyto invalidate the other articles of imputation that were much betterfounded. His objections were overruled; and the address, as at firstproposed, 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 proofof his having ascertained an undoubted majority in the house of commons. There was a great number of disputed elections; and the discussion ofthese was the point on which the people had turned their eyes, as thecriterion of the minister's power and credit. In the first which washeard at the bar of the house, he cai-ried his point by a majority ofsix only; and this he looked upon as a defeat rather than a victory. Hisenemies exulted in their strength; as they knew they should be joined, in matters of importance, by several members who voted against them onthis occasion. The inconsiderable majority that appeared on the side ofthe administration, plainly proved that the influence of the ministerwas greatly diminished, and seemed to prognosticate his further decline. This consideration induced some individuals to declare against him as asetting sun, from whose beams they could expect no further warmth. Hisadherents began to tremble; and he himself had occasion for all his artand equanimity. The court interest was not sufficient to support theelection of their own members for Westminster. The high-bailiff had beenguilty of some illegal practices at the poll; and three justices of thepeace had, on pretence of preventing riots, sent for a military forceto overawe the election. A petition presented by the electors ofWestminster was taken into consideration by the house; and the electionwas declared void by a majority of four voices. The high-bailiff wastaken into custody; the officer who ordered the soldiers to march, andthe three justices who signed the letter, in consequence of which heacted, 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 decidingupon several other controverted elections; and sir Robert Walpoletottered on the brink of ruin. He knew that the majority of a singlevote would at any time commit him prisoner to the Tower, should everthe motion be made; and he saw that his safety could be effected byno other expedient but that of dividing the opposition. Towards theaccomplishment of this purpose he employed all his credit and dexterity. His emissaries did not fail to tamper with those members of the oppositeparty 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 ofcondescension to the king, he and all his counsellors should be takeninto favour; that fifty thousand pounds should be added to his revenue;four times that sum be disbursed immediately for the payment of hisdebts; and suitable provision be made in due time for all his followers. The prince declined this proposal. He declared that he would accept nosuch conditions while sir Robert Walpole continued to direct the publicaffairs; that he looked upon him as a bar between his majesty and theaffections of his people; as the author of the national grievances bothat home and abroad; and as the sole cause of that contempt which GreatBritain had incurred in all the courts of Europe. His royal highness wasnow chief of this formidable party, revered by the whole nation--a partywhich had gained the ascendancy in the house of commons; which professedto act upon the principles of public virtue; which demanded the fallof an odious minister, as a sacrifice due to an injured people; anddeclared that no temptation could shake their virtue; that no art coulddissolve the cement by which they were united. Sir Robert Walpole, though repulsed in his attempt upon the prince of Wales, was moresuccessful in his other endeavours. He resolved to try his strength oncemore in the house of commons, in another disputed election; and hadthe mortification to see the majority augmented to sixteen voices. Hedeclared he would never more sit in that house; and next day, which wasthe third of February, the king adjourned both houses of parliament tothe eighteenth day of the same month. In this interim sir Robert Walpolewas 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 policyas he now displayed. He found means to separate the parts that composedthe opposition, and to transfer the popular odium from himself to thosewho had professed themselves his keenest adversaries. The country-partyconsisted of the tories, reinforced by discontented whigs, who hadeither been disappointed in their own ambitious views, or felt forthe distresses of their country, occasioned by a weak and worthlessadministration. The old patriots, and the whigs whom they had joined, acted upon very different, and, indeed, upon opposite principlesof government; and there-fore they were united only by the ties ofconvenience. A coalition was projected between the discontented whigs, and those of the same denomination who acted in the ministry. Some weregratified with titles and offices; and all were assured, that in themanagement of affairs a new system would be adopted, according to theplan they themselves should propose. The court required nothing of them, but that the earl of Orford should escape with impunity. His placeof chancellor of the exchequer was bestowed upon Mr. Sandys, who waslikewise appointed a lord of the treasury; and the earl of Wilmingtonsucceeded him as first commissioner of that board. Lord Harrington, being dignified with the title of carl, was declared president of thecouncil; and in his room lord Carteret became secretary of state. Theduke of Argyle was made master-general of the ordnance, colonel ofhis majesty's royal regiment of horse guards, field-marshal andcommander-in-chief of all the forces in South-Britain; but, findinghimself disappointed in his expectations of the coalition, he, in lessthan a month, renounced all these employments. The marquis of Tweedalewas appointed secretary of state for Scotland, a post which had beenlong suppressed; Mr. Pulteney was sworn of the privy-council, andafterwards created earl of Bath. The earl of Winchelsea and Nottinghamwas preferred to the head of the admiralty, in the room of sir CharlesWager; and, after the resignation of the duke of Argyle, the earl ofStair was appointed field-marshal of all his majesty's forces, as wellas ambassador-extraordinary to the states-general. On the seventeenthday of February the prince of Wales, attended by a numerous retinue ofhis adherents, waited on his majesty, who received him graciously, andordered his guards to be restored. Lord Carteret and Mr. Sandys werethe first who embraced the offers of the court, without the consentor privity of any other leaders in the opposition, except that of Mr. Pulteney; but they declared to their friends, they would still proceedupon patriot principles; that they would concur in promoting an inquiryinto past measures; and in enacting necessary laws to secure theconstitution from the practices of corruption. These professions werebelieved, not only by their old coadjutors in the house of commons, butalso by the nation in general. The reconciliation between the king andthe prince of Wales, together with the change in the ministry, werecelebrated with public rejoicings all over the kingdom; and immediatelyafter the adjournment nothing but concord appeared in the house ofcommons. INQUIRY INTO THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE. But this harmony was of short duration. It soon appeared, that those whohad declaimed the loudest for the liberties of their country, had beenactuated solely by the most sordid and even the most ridiculous motivesof self-interest. Jealousy and mutual distrust ensued between them andtheir former confederates. The nation complained, that, instead of atotal change of men and measures, they saw the old ministry strengthenedby this coalition; and the same interest in parliament predominatingwith redoubled influence. They branded the new converts as apostates andbetrayers of their country; and in the transports of their indignation, they entirely overlooked the old object of their resentment. That anobleman of pliant principles, narrow fortune, and unbounded ambition, should forsake his party for the blandishments of affluence, power, andauthority, will not appear strange to any person acquainted with thehuman heart; but the sensible part of mankind will always reflect withamazement upon the conduct of a man, who seeing himself idolized by hisfellow-citizens, as the first and firmest patriot in the kingdom, asone of the most shining ornaments of his country, could give up all hispopularity, and incur the contempt or detestation of mankind, for thewretched consideration of an empty title, without office, influence, or the least substantial appendage. One cannot, without an emotionof grief, contemplate such an instance of infatuation--one cannot butlament that such glory should have been so weakly forfeited; thatsuch talents should have been lost to the cause of liberty and virtue. Doubtless he flattered himself with the hope of one day directing thecouncils of his sovereign; but this was never accomplished, and heremained a solitary monument of blasted ambition. Before the change inthe ministry, Mr. Pulteney moved, that the several papers relating tothe conduct of the war, which had been laid before the house, shouldbe referred to a select committee, who should examine strictly intothe particulars, and make a report to the house of their remarks andobjections. The motion introduced a debate; but, upon a division, wasrejected by a majority of three voices. Petitions having been presentedby the merchants of London, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, and almost allthe trading towns in the kingdom, complaining of the losses they hadsustained by the bad conduct of the war, the house resolved itself intoa committee to deliberate on these remonstrances. The articles of theLondon petition were explained by Mr. Glover, an eminent merchantof that city. Six days were spent in perusing papers and examiningwitnesses; then the same gentleman summed up the evidence, and in apathetic speech endeavoured to demonstrate, that the commerce of GreatBritain 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 instructionsto admirals and captains of cruising ships were laid before the house:the commons passed several resolutions, upon which a bill was preparedfor the better protecting and securing the trade and navigation of thekingdom. It made its way through the lower house; but was thrown out bythe lords. The pension-bill was revived and sent up to the peers, whereit was again rejected, lord Carteret voting against that very measurewhich he had so lately endeavoured to promote. On the ninth day ofMarch, lord Limerick made a motion for appointing a committee to inquireinto the conduct of affairs for the last twenty years; he was secondedby sir John St. Aubyn, and supported by Mr. Velters Cornwall, Mr. Phillips, Mr. W. Pitt, and lord Percival, the new member forWestminster, who had already signalized himself by his eloquence andcapacity. The motion was opposed by sir Charles Wager, Mr. Pelham, andMr. Henry Pox, surveyor-general to his majesty's works, and brotherto lord Ilchester. Though the opposition was faint and frivolous, theproposal was rejected by a majority of two voices. {1742} Lord Limerick, not yet discouraged, made a motion on the twenty-thirdday 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 secretcommittee by ballot; and in the meantime presented an address to theking, assuring him of their fidelity, zeal, and affection. Sir Robert Godschall having moved for leave to bring in a bill to repealthe act for septennial parliaments, he was seconded by sir John Barnard;but warmly opposed by Mr. Pulteney and Mr. Sandys; and the questionpassed in the negative. The committee of secrecy being chosen, began toexamine evidence, and Mr. Paxton, solicitor to the treasury, refusing toanswer such questions as were put to him, lord Limerick, chairman of thecommittee, complained to the house of his obstinacy. He was first takeninto custody; and still persisting in his refusal, committed to Newgate. Then his lordship moved, that leave should be given to bring in abill for indemnifying evidence against the earl of Orford; and it wasactually prepared by a decision of the majority. In the house of lordsit was vigorously opposed by lord Carteret, and as strenuously supportedby the duke of Argyle; but fell upon a division, by the weight ofsuperior numbers. Those members in the house of commons who heartilywished the inquiry might be prosecuted, were extremely incensed at thefate of this bill. A committee was appointed to search the journals ofthe lords for precedents; their report being read, lord Strange, son tothe earl of Derby, moved for a resolution, "That the lords refusingto concur with the commons of Great Britain, in an indemnificationnecessary to the effectual carrying on the inquiry now depending inparliament, is an obstruction to justice, and may prove fatal to theliberties of this nation. "--This motion, which was seconded by lordQuarendon, 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 animmediate dissolution of the present form of government. It is reallyamazing to see with what effrontery some men can shift their maxims, andopenly contradict the whole tenor of their former conduct. Mr. Sandysdid not pass uncensured: he sustained some severe sarcasms on hisapostacy from sir John Hinde Cotton, who refuted all his objections;nevertheless, the motion passed in the negative. Notwithstanding thisgreat obstruction, purposely thrown in the way of the inquiry, thesecret committee discovered many flagrant instances of fraud andcorruption in which the earl of Orford had been concerned. It appeared, that he had granted fraudulent contracts for paying the troops inthe West Indies; that he had employed iniquitous arts to influenceelections; that for secret service, during the last ten years, he hadtouched one million four hundred fifty-three thousand four hundredpounds of public money; that above fifty thousand pounds of this sum hadbeen paid to authors and printers of newspapers and political tracts, written in defence of the ministry; that on the very day which precededhis resignation, he had signed orders on the civil list revenues forabove thirty thousand pounds; but as the cash remaining in the exchequerdid not much exceed fourteen thousand pounds, he had raised theremaining part of the thirty thousand, by pawning the orders to abanker. The committee proceeded to make further progress in theirscrutiny, and had almost prepared a third report, when they wereinterrupted by the prorogation of parliament. The ministry finding it was necessary to take some step for conciliatingthe affection of the people, gave way to a bill for excluding certainofficers from scats in the house of commons. They passed another forencouraging the linen manufacture; a third for regulating the trade ofthe plantations; and a fourth to prevent the marriage of lunatics. They voted forty thousand seamen, and sixty-two thousand five hundredlandmen, for the service of the current year. They provided for thesubsidies to Denmark and Hesse-Cassel, and voted five hundred thousandpounds to the queen of Hungary. The expense of the year amounted to nearsix millions, raised by the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, bythe malt-tax, by one million from the sinking-fund, by annuities grantedupon it for eight hundred thousand pounds, and a loan of one million sixhundred thousand pounds from the bank. In the month of July, John lordGower was appointed keeper of his majesty's privy-seal; Allen lordBathurst was made captain of the band of pensioners; and on thefifteenth day of the month, Mr. Pulteney took his seat in the houseof peers as earl of Bath. The king closed the session in the usualway, after having given them to understand, that a treaty of peace wasconcluded between the queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia, underhis mediation; and that the late successes of the Austrian arms were ina great measure owing to the generous assistance afforded by the Britishnation. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 onthe Maine, and crowned by the name of Charles VII. On the twelfth dayof February. Thither the imperial diet was removed from Batisbon; theyconfirmed his election, and indulged him with a subsidy of fifty Romanmonths, amounting to about two hundred thousand pounds sterling. In themeantime the Austrian general, Khevenhuller, ravaged his electorate, andmade himself master of Munich the capital of Bavaria; he likewiselaid part of the palatinate under contribution, in resentment for thatelector's having sent a body of his troops to reinforce the Imperialarmy. In March, count Saxe, with a detachment of French and Bavarians, reduced Egra; and the Austrians were obliged to evacuate Bavaria, thoughthey afterwards returned. Khevenhuller took post in the neighbourhoodof Passau, and detached general Beraclau to Dinglesing on the Iser, to observe the motions of the enemy, who were now become extremelyformidable. In May, a detachment of French and Bavarians advanced to thecastle of Hilk-Ersberg on the Danube, with a view to take possession of abridge over the river; the Austrian garrison immediately marched out togive them battle, and a severe action ensued, in which the Imperialistswere defeated. THE KING OF PRUSSIA GAINS THE BATTLE AT CZASLAW. In the beginning of the year the queen of Hungary had assembled twoconsiderable armies in Moravia and Bohemia. Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the head of fifty thousand men, advanced against the Saxons andPrussians, who thought proper to retire with precipitation from Moravia, which they had invaded. Then the prince took the route to Bohemia; andmarshal Broglio, who commanded the French forces in that country, musthave fallen a sacrifice, had not the king of Prussia received a strongreinforcement, and entered that kingdom before his allies could beattacked. The two armies advanced towards each other; and on theseventeenth of May joined battle at Czaslaw, where the Austrians atfirst gained a manifest advantage, and penetrated as far as the Prussianbaggage; then the irregulars began to plunder so eagerly, that theyneglected every other consideration. The Prussian infantry took thisopportunity to rally; the battle was renewed, and after a very obstinatecontest, the victory was snatched out of the hands of the Austrians, whowere obliged to retire with the loss of five thousand men killed, andtwelve hundred taken by the enemy. The Prussians paid dear for thehonour of remaining on the field of battle; and from the circumstancesof this action, the king is said to have conceived a disgust to thewar. When the Austrians made such progress in the beginning of theengagement, he rode off with great expedition, until he was recalled bya message from his general, the count de Schwerin, assuring his majestythat there was no danger of a defeat. Immediately after this battle, hediscovered an inclination to accommodate all differences with the queenof Hungary. The earl of Hyndford, ambassador from the court of GreatBritain, who accompanied him in this campaign, and was vested withfull powers by her Hungarian majesty, did not fail to cultivate thisfavourable disposition; and on the first day of June, a treaty of peacebetween the two powers was concluded at Breslau. The queen ceded to hisPrussian majesty the Upper and Lower Selesia, with the county of Glatzin Bohemia; and he charged himself with the payment of the sum lent bythe 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 theratification of the treaty, in which were comprehended the king ofGreat Britain elector of Hanover, the czarina, the king of Denmark, the states-general, the house of Wolfenbuttle, and the king of Polandelector 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 countde Belleisle, abandoned their magazines and baggage, and retiredwith precipitation under the cannon of Prague. There they intrenchedthemselves in an advantageous situation; and prince Charles being joinedby the other body of Austrians, under prince Lobkowitz, encamped insight of them on the hills of Girinsnitz. The grand duke of Tuscanyarrived in the Austrian army, of which he took the command; and theFrench generals offered to surrender Prague, Egra, and all the otherplaces they possessed in Bohemia, provided they might be allowed tomarch off with their arms, artillery, and baggage. The proposal wasrejected, and Prague invested on all sides about the end of July. Thoughthe operations of the siege were carried on in an awkward and slovenlymanner, the place was so effectually blocked up, that famine musthave compelled the French to surrender at discretion, had not veryextraordinary efforts been made for their relief. The emperor had madeadvances to the queen of Hungary. He promised that the French forcesshould quit Bohemia, and evacuate the empire; and he offered to renounceall pretensions to the kingdom of Bohemia, on condition that theAustrians would restore Bavaria; but these conditions were declined bythe court of Vienna. The king of France was no sooner apprized of thecondition to which the generals Broglio and Belleisle were reduced, thanhe sent orders to mareshal Maillebois, who commanded his army on theBhine, to march to their relief. His troops were immediately put inmotion; and when they reached Amberg in the Upper Palatinate, werejoined by the French and Imperialists from Bavaria. Prince Charles ofLorraine having received intelligence of their junction and design, left eighteen thousand men to maintain the blockade of Prague, underthe command of general Festititz, while he himself, with the rest ofhis army, advanced to Hay-don on the frontiers of Bohemia. There he wasjoined by count Khevenhuller, who from Bavaria had followed the enemy, now commanded by count Seckendorf, and the count de Saxe. Seckendorfhowever was sent back to Bavaria, while mareschal Maillebois enteredBohemia on the twenty-fifth day of September. But he marched with suchprecaution, that prince Charles could not bring him to an engagement. Meanwhile Festititz, for want of sufficient force, was obliged toabandon the blockade of Prague; and the French generals being now atliberty, 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 hisretreat by prince Charles, who had left a strong body with princeLobkowitz to watch the motions of Belleisle and Broglio. EXTRAORDINARY RETREAT OF M. DE BELLEISLE. These generals seeing themselves surrounded on all hands, returned toPrague, 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 timedisgraced. Prince Lobkowitz, who now directed the blockade of Prague, had so effectually cut off all communication between that place and theadjacent country, that in a little time the French troops were reducedto great extremity, both from the severity of the season, and the wantof provisions. They were already reduced to the necessity of eatinghorse flesh, and unclean animals; and they had no other prospect butthat of perishing by famine or war, when their commander formed thescheme of a retreat, which was actually put in execution. Having takensome artful precautions to deceive the enemy, he, in the middle ofDecember, departed from Prague at midnight, with about fourteen thousandmen, thirty pieces of artillery, and some of the principal citizens ashostages for the safety of nine hundred soldiers whom he had left ingarrison. Notwithstanding the difficulties he must have encountered atthat season of the year, in a broken and unfrequented road, which hepurposely chose, he marched with such expedition, that he had gained thepasses of the mountains before he was overtaken by the horse and hussarsof prince Lobkowitz. The fatigue and hardships which the miserablesoldiers underwent are inexpressible. A great number perished in thesnow, and many hundreds, fainting with weariness, cold, and hunger, wereleft to the mercy of the Austrian irregulars, consisting of the mostbarbarous people on the face of the earth. The count de Belleisle, though tortured with the hip-gout, behaved with surprising resolutionand activity. He caused himself to be carried on a litter to everyplace where he thought his presence was necessary, and made suchdispositions, that the pursuers never could make an impression upon thebody of his troops; but all his artillery, baggage, and even his ownequipage, fell into the hands of the enemy. On the twenty-ninth day ofDecember, he arrived at Egra, from whence he proceeded to Alsace withoutfurther molestation; but when he returned to Versailles, he met with avery cold reception, notwithstanding the gallant exploit which he hadperformed. After his escape, prince Lobkowitz returned to Prague, andthe small garrison which Belleisle had left in that place surrenderedupon honourable terms; so that this capital reverted to the house ofAustria. THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN FORMS AN ARMY IN FLANDERS. The king of Great Britain resolved to make a powerful diversion inthe Netherlands, and in the month of April, ordered sixteen thousandeffective men to be embarked for that country; but as this step wastaken without any previous concert with the states-general, the earlof Stair, destined to the command of the forces in Flanders, was in themeantime appointed ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to theirhigh mightinesses, in order to persuade them to co-operate vigorously inthe plan which his Britannic majesty had formed; a plan by which GreatBritain was engaged as a principal in a foreign dispute, and entailedupon herself the whole burden of an expensive war, big with ruin anddisgrace. England, from being the umpire, was now become a party in allcontinental quarrels; and, instead of trimming the balance of Europe, lavished away her blood and treasure in supporting the interest andallies of a puny electorate in the north of Germany. The king ofPrussia had been at variance with the elector of Hanover. The duchy ofMecklenburgh was the avowed subject of dispute; but his Prussian majestyis said to have had other more provoking causes of complaint, whichhowever he did not think proper to divulge. The king of Great Britainfound it convenient to accommodate these differences. In the course ofthis summer the two powers concluded a convention, in consequence ofwhich the troops of Hanover evacuated Mecklenburgh, and three regimentsof Brandenburgh took possession of those bailiwicks that were mortgagedto the king of Prussia. The elector of Hanover being now secured fromdanger, sixteen thousand troops of that country, together with the sixthousand auxiliary Hessians, began their march for the Netherlands; andabout the middle of October arrived in the neighbourhood of Brussels, where they encamped. The earl of Stair repaired to Ghent, where theBritish forces were quartered: a body of Austrians was assembled; andthough the season was far advanced, he seemed determined uponsome expedition; but all of a sudden the troops were sent intowinter-quarters. The Austrians retired to Luxembourg; the English andHessians remained in Flanders; and the Hanoverians marched into thecounty 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 forcesby sea and land; but, notwithstanding the repeated instances of the earlof Stair, they resolved to adhere to their neutrality; they dreaded theneighbourhood of the French; and they were far from being pleased to seethe English get footing in the Netherlands. The friends of the houseof Orange began to exert themselves; the states of Groningen and WestFriesland protested, in favour of the prince, against the promotionof foreign generals which had lately been made; but his interest waspowerfully opposed by the provinces of Zealand and Holland, which hadthe greatest weight in the republic. The revolution in Russia did notput an end to the war with Sweden. These two powers had agreed to anarmistice of three months, during which the czarina augmented her forcesin Finland. She likewise ordered the counts Osterman and Munich, with theiradherents, to be tried; they were condemned to death, but pardoned onthe scaffold, and sent in exile to Siberia. The Swedes, stillencouraged by the intrigues of France, refused to listen to any termsof accommodation, unless Carelia, and the other conquests of the czarPeter, should be restored. The French court had expected to bring overthe new empress to their measures; but they found her as well disposedas her predecessor to assist the house of Austria. She remitted aconsiderable sum of money to the queen of Hungary; and at the same timecongratulated the elector of Bavaria on his elevation to the Imperialthrone. The ceremony of her coronation was performed in May, with greatsolemnity, at Moscow; and in November she declared her nephew, the dukeof Holstein-Gottorp, her successor, by the title of grand prince of allthe Russias. The cessation of arms being expired, general Lasci reducedFredericksheim, and obliged the Swedish army, commanded by countLewenhaupt, to retire before him, from one place to another, until atlength they were quite surrounded near Helsingsors. In this emergencythe Swedish general submitted to a capitulation, by which his infantrywere 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 orderto settle the succession; and the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, as grandsonto the eldest sister of Charles XII. , was declared next heir to thecrown. A courier was immediately despatched to Moscow, to notify to theduke this determination of the diet; and this message was followed by adeputation; but when they understood that he had embraced the religionof the Greek church, and been acknowledged successor to the throne ofRussia, they annulled his election for Sweden, and resolved thatthe succession should not be re-established until a peace should beconcluded with the czarina. Conferences were opened at Abo for thispurpose. In the meantime, the events of war had been so long unfortunatefor Sweden, that it was absolutely necessary to appease the indignationof the people with some sacrifice. The generals Lewenhaupt andBodenbrock were tried by a court-martial for misconduct; being foundguilty and condemned to death, they applied to the diet, by which thesentence was confirmed. The term of the subsidy-treaty between GreatBritain and Denmark expiring, his Danish majesty refused to renew it;nor would he accede to the peace of Breslau. On the other hand, hebecame subsidiary to France, with which also he concluded a new treatyof commerce. THE KING OF SARDINIA DECLARES FOR THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA. The court of Versailles were now heartily tired of maintaining the warin Germany, and had actually made equitable proposals of peace tothe queen of Hungary, by whom they were rejected. Thus repulsed, theyredoubled their preparations; and endeavoured, by advantageous offers, to detach the king of Sardinia from the interest of the house ofAustria. This prince had espoused a sister to the grand duke, whopressed him to declare for her brother, and the queen of Hungarypromised 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 andSpain, before he could be properly supported. He therefore temporized, and protracted the negotiation, until he was alarmed at the progressof the Spanish arms in Italy, and fixed in his determination by thesubsidies of Great Britain. The Spanish army assembled at Riminiunder the duke de Montemar; and being joined by the Neapolitan forces, amounted to sixty thousand men, furnished with a large train ofartillery. About the beginning of May, they entered the Bolognese; thenthe king of Sardinia declaring against them, joined the Austrianarmy commanded by count Traun; marched into the duchy of Parma; andunderstanding that the duke of Modena had engaged in a treaty withthe Spaniards, dispossessed that prince of his dominions. The dukede Montemar, seeing his army diminished by sickness and desertion, retreated to the kingdom of Naples, and was followed by the king ofSardinia as far-as Rimini. Here he received intelligence that Don Philip, third son of hiscatholic majesty, had made an irruption into Savoy with another army ofSpaniards, and already taken possession of Chamberri, the capital. Heforthwith began his march for Piedmont. Don Philip abandoned Savoy athis approach, and retreating into Dauphiné, took post under the cannonof fort Barreaux. The king pursued him thither, and both armies remainedin sight of each other till the month of December, when the marquis deMinas, an active and enterprising general, arrived from Madrid, andtook upon him the command of the forces under Don Philip. This general'sfirst exploit was against the castle of Aspremont, in the neighbourhoodof the Sardinian camp. He attacked it so vigorously, that the garrisonwas obliged to capitulate in four-and-forty hours. The loss of thisimportant post compelled the king to retire into Piedmont, and theSpaniards marched back into Savoy, where they established their winterquarters. In the meantime the duke de Montemar, who directed the otherSpanish army, though the duke of Modena was nominal generalissimo, resigned his command to count Gages, who attempted to penetrate intoTuscany; but was prevented by the vigilance of count Traun, the Austriangeneral. In December he quartered his troops in the Bolognese andRomagna; while the Austrian s and Piedmontese were distributed in theModenese and Parmesan. The pope was passive during the whole campaign;the Venetians maintained their neutrality, and the king of the twoSicilies was overawed by the British fleet in the Mediterranean. The new ministry in England had sent out admiral Matthews to assumethe command of this squadron, which had been for some time conducted byLestock, an inferior officer, as Haddock had been obliged to resign hiscommission on account of his ill state of health. Matthews was likewiseinvested with the character of minister-plenipotentiary to the kingof Sardinia and the states of Italy. Immediately after he had takenpossession of his command, he ordered captain Norris to destroy fiveSpanish galleys which had put into the bay of St. Tropez; and thisservice was effectually performed. In May he detached commodore Rowley, with eight sail, to cruise off the harbour of Toulon; and a great numberof merchant ships belonging to the enemy fell into his hands. In Augusthe sent commodore Martin with another squadron into the bay of Naples, to bombard that city, unless his Sicilian majesty would immediatelyrecall his troops, which had joined the Spanish army, and promise toremain neutral during the continuance of the war. Naples was immediatelyfilled with consternation; the king subscribed to these conditions; andthe English squadron rejoined the admiral on the road of Hieres, whichhe had chosen for his winter station. Before this period he had landedsome men at St. Remo, in the territories of Genoa, and destroyed themagazines that were erected for the use of the Spanish army. He hadlikewise ordered two of his cruisers to attack a Spanish ship of theline which lay at anchor in the port of Ajaccio, in the island ofCorsica; but the Spanish captain set his men on shore, and blew up hisship, 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 madeanother effort in the West Indies. They had in January received areinforcement from England, and planned a new expedition, in concertwith the governor of Jamaica, who accompanied them in their voyage. Their design was to disembark the troops at Porto-Bello, and marchacross the isthmus of Darien to attack the rich town of Panama. Theysailed from Jamaica on the ninth day of March, and on the twenty-eightharrived at Porto-Bello. There they held a council of war, in which itwas resolved, that as the troops were sickly, the rainy season begun, and several transports not yet arrived, the intended expedition wasbecome impracticable. In pursuance of this determination, the armamentimmediately returned to Jamaica, exhibiting a ridiculous spectacle offolly 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 hundredsoldiers, to the small island of Rattan in the bay of Honduras, of whichthey took possession. In September, Vernon and Wentworth received ordersto return to England with such troops as remained alive; these did notamount to a tenth part of the number which had been sent abroad in thatinglorious service. The inferior officers fell ignobly by sickness anddespair, without an opportunity of signalizing their courage, and thecommanders lived to feel the scorn and reproach of their country. In themonth of June the new colony of Georgia was invaded by an armament fromSt. Augustine, commanded by Don Marinel de Monteano, governor of thatfortress. It consisted of six-and-thirty ships, from which four thousandmen were landed at St. Simon's; and began their march for Frederica. General Oglethorpe, with a handful of men, took such wise precautionsfor opposing their progress, and harassed them in their march with suchactivity and resolution, that after two of their detachments hadbeen defeated, they retired to their ships and totally abandoned theenterprise. In England the merchants still complained that their commerce was notproperly protected, and the people clamoured against the conduct of thewar. They said, their burdens were increased to maintain quarrels withwhich they had no concern; to defray the enormous expense of inactivefleets and pacific armies. Lord Carteret had by this time insinuatedhimself into the confidence of his sovereign, and engrossed the wholedirection of public affairs. The war with Spain was now become asecondary consideration, and neglected accordingly; while the chiefattention of the new minister was turned upon the affairs of thecontinent. The dispute with Spain concerned Britain only. The interestsof Hanover were connected with the troubles of the empire. By pursuingthis object he soothed the wishes of his master, and opened a more amplefield for his own ambition. He had studied the policy of the continentwith peculiar eagerness. This was the favourite subject of hisreflection, upon which he thought and spoke with a degree of enthusiasm. The intolerable taxes, the poverty, the ruined commerce of hiscountry, the iniquity of standing armies, votes of credit, and foreignconnexions, upon which he had so often expatiated, were now forgotten oroverlooked. He saw nothing but glory, conquest, or acquired dominion. Heset the power of France at defiance; and as if Great Britain had felt nodistress, but teemed with treasure which she could not otherwiseemploy, he poured forth her millions with a rash and desperate hand, inpurchasing beggarly allies, and maintaining mercenary armies. The earlof Stair had arrived in England towards the end of August, and conferredwith his majesty. A privy-council was summoned; and in a few days thatnobleman returned to Holland. Lord Carteret was sent with a commissionto the Hague in September; and when he returned, the baggage of the kingand the duke of Cumberland, which had been shipped for Flanders, wasordered to be brought on shore. The parliament met on the sixteenthday of November, when his majesty told them, that he had augmented theBritish forces in the low countries with sixteen thousand Hanoveriansand the Hessian auxiliaries, in order to form such a force, inconjunction with the Austrian troops, as might be of service to thecommon cause at all events. He extolled the magnanimity and fortitudeof the queen of Hungary, as well as the resolute conduct of the king ofSardinia, and that prince's strict adherence to his engagements, thoughattacked in his own dominions. He mentioned the requisition made bySweden, of his good offices for procuring a peace between that nationand Eussia; the defensive alliances which he had concluded with theczarina, and with the king of Prussia; as events which could not havebeen expected, if Great Britain had not manifested a seasonable spiritand vigour in defence and assistance of her ancient allies, and inmaintaining the liberties of Europe. He said the honour and interestof his crown and kingdoms, the success of the war with Spain, there-establishment of the balance and tranquillity of Europe, wouldgreatly depend on the prudence and vigour of their resolution. Themarquis of Tweedale moved for an address of thanks, which was opposedby the earl of Chesterfield, for the reasons so often urged on the sameoccasion; but supported by lord Carteret on his new-adopted maxims, withthose specious arguments which he could at all times produce, deliveredwith amazing serenity and assurance. The motion was agreed to, and theaddress presented to his majesty. About this period a treaty of mutualdefence and guarantee between his majesty and the king of Prussia, wassigned at Westminster. In the house of commons Mr. Lyttelton made amotion for reviving the place-bill; but it was opposed by a great numberof members who had formerly been strenuous advocates for this measure, and rejected upon a division. This was also the fate of a motion madeto renew the inquiry into the conduct of Robert earl of Orford. As manystrong presumptions of guilt had appeared against him in the reports ofthe secret committee, the nation had reason to expect that this proposalwould have been embraced by a great majority; but several members, whoin the preceding session had been loud in their demands of justice, now shamefully contributed their talents and interest in stifling theinquiry. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} EXTRAORDINARY MOTION IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. When the house of lords took into consideration the several estimates ofthe expense occasioned by the forces in the pay of Great Britain, earlStanhope, at the close of an elegant speech, moved for an address, tobeseech and advise his majesty, that in compassion to his people, loadedalready with such numerous and heavy taxes, such large and growingdebts, and greater annual expenses than the nation at any time beforehad ever sustained, he would exonerate his subjects of the charge andburden of those mercenaries who were taken into the service last year, without the advice or consent of parliament. The motion was supported bythe earl of Sandwich, who took occasion to speak with great contemptof Hanover; and, in mentioning the royal family, seemed to forget thatdecorum which the subject required. He had, indeed, reason to talk withasperity on the contract by which the Hanoverians had been taken intothe pay of Great Britain. Levy-money was charged to the account, thoughthey were engaged for one year only, and though not a single regimenthad been raised on this occasion; they had been levied for the securityof the electorate; and would have been maintained if England had neverengaged in the affairs of the continent. The duke of Bedford enlargedupon the same subject. He said it had been suspected, nor was thesuspicion without foundation, that the measures of the English ministryhad long been regulated by the interest of his majesty's electoralterritories; that these had been long considered as a gulf into whichthe treasures of Great Britain had been thrown; that the state ofHanover had been changed, without any visible cause, since the accessionof its princes to the throne of England; affluence had begun to wantonin their towns, and gold to glitter in their cottages, without thediscovery of mines, or the increase of their commerce; and new dominionshad been purchased, of which the value was never paid from the revenuesof Hanover. The motion was hunted down by the new ministry, the patriotlord Bathurst, and the earl of Bath, which last nobleman declared, thathe considered it as an act of cowardice and meanness, to fall passivelydown the stream of popularity, to suffer his reason and integrity to beoverborne by the noise of vulgar clamours, which had been raised againstthe measures of government by the low arts of exaggeration, fallaciousreasonings, and partial representations. This is the very languagewhich sir Robert Walpole had often used against Mr. Pulteney andhis confederates in the house of commons. The associates of the newsecretary pleaded the cause of Hanover, and insisted upon the necessityof a land-war against France, with all the vehemence of declamation. Their suggestions were answered; their conduct was severely stigmatizedby the earl of Chesterfield, who observed, that the assembling an armyin Flanders, without the concurrence of the states-general, or any otherpower engaged by treaty, or bound by interest, to support the queen ofHungary, was a rash and ridiculous measure; the taking sixteen thousandHanoverians into British pay, without consulting the parliament, seemedhighly derogatory to the rights and dignity of the great council ofthe nation, and a very dangerous precedent to future times; that thesetroops could not be employed against the emperor, whom they had alreadyrecognised; that the arms and wealth of Britain alone were altogetherinsufficient to raise the house of Austria to its former strength, dominion, and influence; that the assembling an army in Flanders wouldengage the nation as principals in an expensive and ruinous war, with apower which it ought not to provoke, and could not pretend to withstandin that manner; that while Great Britain exhausted herself almost toruin, in pursuance of schemes founded on engagements to the queen ofHungary, the electorate of Hanover, though under the same engagements, and governed by the same prince, did not appear to contribute any thingas an ally to her assistance, but was paid by Great Britain for allthe forces it had sent into the field, at a very exorbitant price;that nothing could be more absurd and iniquitous than to hire thesemercenaries, while a numerous army lay inactive at home, and the nationgroaned under such intolerable burdens. "It may be proper, " added he, "to repeat what may be forgotten in the multitude of other objects, thatthis nation, after having exalted the elector of Hanover from a stateof obscurity to the crown, is condemned to hire the troops of thatelectorate to fight their own cause; to hire them at a rate which wasnever demanded before; and to pay levy-money for them, though it isknown to all Europe that they were not raised for this occasion. " Allthe partisans of the old ministry joined in the opposition to earlStanhope's motion, which was rejected by the majority. Then the earl ofScarborough moved for an address, to approve of the measures which hadbeen taken on the continent; and this was likewise carried by dint ofnumbers. It was not, however, a very eligible victory; what they gainedin parliament they lost with the people. The new ministers became moreodious than their predecessors; and people began to think that publicvirtue was an empty name. But the most severe opposition they underwent was in their endeavoursto support a bill which they had concerted, and which had passed throughthe house of commons with great precipitation; it repealed certainduties 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 Londonwere sunk into the most brutal degeneracy, by drinking to excess thepernicious spirit called gin, which was sold so cheap that the lowestclass of the people could afford to indulge themselves in one continuedstate of intoxication, to the destruction of all morals, industry, and order. Such a shameful degree of profligacy prevailed, that theretailers of this poisonous compound set up painted boards in public, inviting people to be drunk at the small expense of one penny; assuringthem 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 withintoxication. In these dismal caverns they lay until they recoveredsome use of their faculties, and then they had recourse to the samemischievous potion; thus consuming their health, and ruining theirfamilies, in hideous receptacles of the most filthy vice, resoundingwith riot, execration, and blasphemy. Such beastly practices too plainlydenoted a total want of all policy and civil regulations, and wouldhave reflected disgrace upon the most barbarous community. In orderto restrain this evil, which was become intolerable, the legislatureenacted that law which we have already mentioned. But the populace soonbroke through all restraint. Though no license was obtained, and no dutypaid, the liquor continued to be sold in all corners of the streets, informers were intimidated by the threats of the people, and thejustices of the peace, either from indolence or corruption, neglected toput the law in execution. The new ministers foresaw that a great revenuewould accrue to the crown from a repeal of this act; and this measurethey thought they might the more decently take, as the law hadproved ineffectual; for it appeared that the consumption of gin hadconsiderably increased every year since those heavy duties were imposed. They therefore pretended, that should the price of the liquor bemoderately raised, and licenses granted at twenty shillings each to theretailers, the lowest class of people would be debarred the use of it toexcess; their morals would of consequence be mended; and a considerablesum of money might be raised for the support of the war, by mortgagingthe revenue arising from the duty and the licenses. Upon these maximsthe new bill was founded, and passed through the lower house withoutopposition; but among the peers it produced the most obstinate disputewhich had happened since the beginning of this parliament. The firstassault it sustained was from lord Hervey, who had been divested ofhis post of privy-seal, which was bestowed on lord Gower, and these twonoblemen exchanged principles from that instant. The first was hardenedinto a sturdy patriot, the other suppled into an obsequious courtier. Lord Hervey, on this occasion, made a florid harangue upon thepernicious effects of that destructive spirit they were about to letloose upon their fellow-creatures. Several prelates expatiated on thesame topics; but the earl of Chesterfield attacked the bill withthe united powers of reason, wit, and ridicule. Lord Carteret, lordBathurst, and the earl of Bath, were numbered among its advocates; andshrewd arguments were advanced on both sides of the question. After verylong, warm, and repeated debates, the bill passed without amendments, though the whole bench of bishops voted against it; and we cannot helpowning, that it has not been attended with those dismal consequenceswhich the lords in the opposition foretold. When the question was putfor committing this bill, and the earl of Chesterfield saw the bishopsjoin in his division, "I am in doubt, " said he, "whether I have notgot on the other side of the question; for I have not had the honour todivide with so many lawn sleeves for several years. " BILL FOR QUIETING CORPORATIONS. By the report of the secret committee, it appeared that the then minsterhad commenced prosecutions against the mayors of boroughs whoopposed his influence in the election of members of parliament. Theseprosecutions were founded on ambiguities in charters, or trivialinformalities in the choice of magistrates. An appeal on such a processwas brought into the house of lords; and this evil falling underconsideration, a bill was prepared for securing the independencyof corporations; but as it tended to diminish the influence of theministry, they argued against it with their usual eagerness and success;and it was rejected on a division. The mutiny bill and several otherspassed through both houses. The commons granted supplies to the amountof six millions, raised by the land-tax, the malt-tax, duties onspirituous liquors and licenses, and a loan from the sinking fund. Intwo years the national debt had suffered an increase of two millionsfour hundred thousand pounds. {1743} On the twenty-first day of April the session was closed in the usualmanner. The king, in his speech to both houses, told them, that, atthe requisition of the queen of Hungary, he had ordered his army, inconjunction with the Austrians, to pass the Rhine for her supportand assistance; that he continued one squadron of ships in theMediterranean, and another in the West Indies. He thanked the commonsfor the ample supplies they had granted; and declared it was the fixedpurpose of his heart to promote the true interest and happiness of hiskingdoms. Immediately after the prorogation of parliament he embarkedfor Germany, accompanied by the duke of Cumberland, lord Carteret, andother persons of distinction. CONVENTION BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE QUEEN OF HUNGARY. At this period the queen of Hungary seemed to triumph over all herenemies. The French were driven out of Bohemia and part of the UpperPalatinate; and their forces under mareschal Broglio were posted on theDanube. Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the head of the Austrianarmy, entered Bavaria; and in April obtained a victory over a bodyof Bavarians at Braunau; at the same time, three bodies of Croatianspenetrating through the passes of the Tyrolese, ravaged the wholecountry to the very gates of Munich. The emperor pressed the Frenchgeneral to hazard a battle; but he refused to run the risk, though hehad received a strong reinforcement from France. His Imperial majestythinking himself unsafe in Munich, retired to Augsburgh; mareschalSeckendorf retreated with the Bavarian troops to Ingoldstadt, where hewas afterwards joined by mareschal Broglio, whose troops had in thisretreat been pursued and terribly harassed by the Austrian cavalry andhussars. Prince Charles had opened a free communication with Munich, which now for the third time fell into the hands of the queen ofHungary. Her arms likewise reduced Friedberg and Landsperg, while princeCharles continued to pursue the French to Dona-wert, where they werejoined by twelve thousand men from the Bhine. Broglio still avoidedan engagement, and retreated before the enemy to Hailbron. The emperorbeing thus abandoned by his allies, and stripped of all his dominions, repaired to Franckfort, where he lived in indigence and obscurity. Henow made advances towards an accommodation with the queen of Hungary. His general, Seckendorf, had an interview with count Khevenhuller at theconvent of Lowerscon-field, where a convention was signed. This treatyimported, that the emperor should remain neuter during the continuanceof the present war, and that his troops should be quartered inFranconia; that the queen of Hungary should keep possession of Bavariatill the peace; that Braunau and Scarding should be delivered up to theAustrians; that the French garrison of Ingoldstadt should be permittedto withdraw, and be replaced by Bavarians; but that the Austriangenerals should be put in possession of all the artillery, magazines, and warlike stores belonging to the French, which should be found in theplace. The governors of Egra and Ingoldstadt refusing to acquiesce inthe capitulation, the Austrians had recourse to the operations ofwar; and both places were reduced. In Ingoldstadt they found all theemperor's domestic treasure, jewels, plate, pictures, cabinets, andcuriosities, with the archives of the house of Bavaria, the mostvaluable effects belonging to the nobility of that electorate, aprodigious 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 thesupport of the emperor, ordered his minister at Franckfort to delivera declaration to the diet, professing himself extremely well pleased tohear they intended to interpose their mediation for terminating the war. He said, he was no less satisfied with the treaty of neutrality whichthe emperor had concluded with the queen of Hungary; an event of whichhe was no sooner informed, than he had ordered his troops to returnto the frontiers of his dominions, that the Germanic body might beconvinced of his equity and moderation. To this declaration the queenof Hungary answered in a rescript, that the design of France was toembarrass her affairs, and deprive her of the assistance of her allies;that the elector of Bavaria could not be considered as a neutral partyin his own cause; that the mediation of the empire could only producea peace either with or without the concurrence of France; that in theformer case no solid peace could be expected; in the latter, it waseasy to foresee, that France would pay no regard to a peace in which sheshould have no concern. She affirmed, that the aim of the French kingwas solely to gain time to repair his losses, that he might afterwardsrevive the troubles of the empire. The elector of Mentz, who hadfavoured the emperor, was now dead, and his successor inclined to theAustrian interest. He allowed this rescript to be entered in the journalof the diet, together with the protests which had been made whenthe vote of Bohemia was suppressed in the late election. The emperorcomplained in a circular letter of this transaction, as a strokelevelled at his imperial dignity; and it gave rise to a warm disputeamong the members of the Germanic body. Several princes resented thehaughty conduct, and began to be alarmed at the success of the house ofAustria; while others pitied the deplorable situation of the emperor. The kings of Great Britain and Prussia, as electors of Hanover andBrandenburgh, espoused opposite sides in this contest. His Prussianmajesty protested against the investiture of the duchy of SaxeLawenburgh, claimed by the king of Great Britain; he had an interviewwith general Seckendorf at Anspach; and was said to have privatelyvisited the emperor at Franckfort. THE ENGLISH OBTAIN A VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH. The troops which the king of Great Britain had assembled in theNetherlands, began their march for the Rhine in the latter end ofFebruary, and in May they encamped near Hoech on the river Maine, underthe command of the earl of Stair. This nobleman sent major-general Blandto Franckfort, with a compliment to the emperor, assuring him, in thename of his Britannic majesty, that the respect owing to his dignityshould not be violated, nor the place of his residence disturbed. Notwithstanding this assurance, the emperor retired to Munich, though hewas afterwards compelled to return, by the success of the Austriansin Bavaria. The French king, in order to prevent the junction of theBritish forces with prince Charles of Lorraine, ordered the mareschal deNoailles to assemble sixty thousand men upon the Maine; while Coignywas sent into Alsace with a numerous army to defend that province, andoppose prince Charles should he attempt to pass the Rhine. The mareschalde Noailles, having secured the towns of Spire, Worms, and Oppenheim, passed the Rhine in the beginning of June, and posted himself on theeast side of that river, above Franckfort. The earl of Stair advancedtowards him, and encamped at Killen-bach, between the river Maine andthe forest of d'Armstadt; from this situation he made a motion toAschaffenburgh, with a view to secure the navigation of the UpperMaine; but he was anticipated by the enemy, who lay on the other sideof the river, and had taken possession of the posts above so as tointercept all supplies. They were posted on the other side of the river, opposite to the allies, whose camp they overlooked; and they foundmeans, by their parties and other precautions, to cut off thecommunication by water between Franckfort and the confederates. Theduke of Cumberland had already come to make his first campaign, and hismajesty arrived in the camp on the ninth day of June. He found hisarmy, amounting to about forty thousand men, in danger of starving;he received intelligence that a reinforcement of twelve thousandHanoverians and Hessians had reached Hanau; and he resolved to marchthither, both with a view to effect the junction, and to procureprovisions for his forces. With this view he decamped on thetwenty-sixth day of June. He had no sooner quitted Aschaffenburgh, thanit was seized by the French general; he had not marched above threeleagues when he perceived the enemy, to the number of thirty thousand, had passed the river farther down, at Selingenstadt, and were drawn upin order of battle at the village of Dettingen, to dispute his passage. Thus he found himself cooped up in a very dangerous situation. The enemyhad possessed themselves of Aschaffenburgh behind, so as to prevent hisretreat; his troops were confined in a narrow plain, bounded by hillsand woods on the right, flanked on the left by the river Maine, on theopposite side of which the French had erected batteries that annoyed theallies on their march; in the front a considerable part of the Frencharmy was drawn up, with a narrow pass before them, the village ofDettingen on their right, a wood on their left, and a morass in thecentre. Thus environed, the confederates must either have fought at avery great disadvantage, or surrendered themselves prisoners of war, hadnot the duke de Gramont, who commanded the enemy, been instigated by thespirit of madness to forego these advantages. He passed the defile, andadvancing towards the allies, a battle ensued. The French horse chargedwith great impetuosity, and some regiments of British cavalry wereput in disorder; but the infantry of the allies behaved with suchintrepidity and deliberation, tinder the eye of their sovereign, as soondetermined the fate of the day; the French were obliged to give way, and repass the Maine with great precipitation, having lost about fivethousand men, killed, wounded, or taken. Had they been properly pursued, before they recollected themselves from their first confusion, in allprobability they would have sustained a total overthrow. The earlof Stair proposed that a body of cavalry should be detached on thisservice; but his advice was overruled. The loss of the allies in thisaction amounted to two thousand men. The generals Clayton and Monroywere killed; the duke of Cumberland, who exhibited uncommon proofs ofcourage, 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 asmusquetry; he rode between the first and second lines with his sworddrawn, and encouraged the troops to fight for the honour of England. Immediately after the action he continued his inarch to Hanau, wherehe was joined by the reinforcement. The earl of Stair sent a trumpetto mareschal de Noailles, recommending to his protection the sick andwounded that were left on the field of battle; and these the Frenchgeneral treated with great care and tenderness. Such generosity softensthe rigours of war, and does honour to humanity. TREATY OF WORMS. The two armies continued on different sides of the river till thetwelfth day of July, when the French general receiving intelligencethat prince Charles of Lorraine had approached the Neckar, he suddenlyretired, and repassed the Rhine between Worms and Oppenheim. The kingof Great Britain was visited by prince Charles and count Khevenhullerat Hanau, where the future operations of the campaign were regulated. On the twenty-seventh day of August, the allied army passed the Rhine atMentz, and the king fixed his head-quarters in the episcopal palace ofWorms. Here the forces lay encamped till the latter end of September, when they advanced to Spire, where they were joined by twenty thousandDutch auxiliaries from the Netherlands. Mareschal Noailles havingretreated into Upper Alsace, the allies took possession of Germersheim, and demolished the intrenchments which the enemy had raised on theQueich; then they returned to Mentz, and in October were distributedinto winter-quarters, after an inactive campaign that redounded verylittle to the honour of those by whom the motions of the army wereconducted. In September a treaty had been concluded at Worms between hisBritannic majesty, the king of Sardinia, and the queen of Hungary. Sheengaged to maintain thirty thousand men in Italy; the king of Sardiniaobliged himself to employ forty thousand infantry and five thousandhorse, in consideration of his commanding the combined army, andreceiving an annual subsidy of two hundred thousand pounds from GreatBritain. As a further gratification, the queen yielded to him the cityof Placentia, with several districts in the duchy of Pavia, and inthe Nwarese; and all her right and pretensions to Final, at presentpossessed by the re public of Genoa, which, they hoped, would giveit up, on being repaid the purchase money, amounting to three hundredthousand pounds. This sum the king of England promised to disburse;and moreover to maintain a strong squadron in the Mediterranean, thecommander of which should act in concert with his Sardinian majesty. Finally, the contracting powers agreed, that Final should be constituteda free port, like that of Leghorn. Nothing could be more unjust thanthis treaty, by which the Genoese were negotiated out of their property. They had purchased the marquisate of Final of the late emperor for avaluable consideration, and the purchase had been guaranteed by GreatBritain. It could not, therefore, be expected that they would partwith this acquisition to a prince whose power they thought already tooformidable; especially on condition of its being made a free port, to the prejudice of their own commerce. They presented remonstrancesagainst this article, by their ministers at the courts of London, Vienna, and Turin; and, as very little regard was paid to theirrepresentations, they threw themselves into the arms of France and Spainfor protection. After the battle of Dettingen, colonel Mentzel, at the head of a largebody of irregulars belonging to the queen of Hungary, made an irruptioninto Lorraine, part of which they ravaged without mercy. In Septemberprince Charles, with the Austrian army, entered the Brisgaw, andattempted to pass the Rhine; but mareschal Coigny had taken suchprecautions for guarding it on the other side, that he was obligedto abandon his design, and marching back into the Upper Palatinate, quartered his troops in that country, and in Bavaria. By this time theearl of Stair had solicited and obtained leave to resign his command. He had for some time thought himself neglected; and was unwilling thathis reputation should suffer on account of measures in which he had noconcern. In October the king of Great Britain returned to Hanover, and the army separated. The troops in British pay marched back tothe Netherlands, and the rest took their route to their respectivecountries. The states-general still wwered between their own immediateinterest and their desire to support the house of Austria. At length, however, they supplied her with a subsidy, and ordered twenty thousandmen to march to her assistance, notwithstanding the intrigues ofthe marquis de Fenelon, the French ambassador at the Hague, and thedeclaration of the king of Prussia, who disapproved of this measure, andrefused them a passage through his territories to the Rhine. AFFAIRS IN THE NORTH. Sweden was filled with discontents, and divided into factions. Thegenerals Bodenbrock and Lewenhaupt were beheaded, having been sacrificedas scape-goats for the ministry. Some unsuccessful efforts by seaand land were made against the Russians. At last the peace of Abo wasconcluded; and the duke of Holstein-Utin, uncle to the successor of theRussian throne, was chosen as next heir to the crown of Sweden. A partyhad been formed in favour of the prince of Denmark; and the order of thepeasants actually elected him as successor. The debates in the collegeof nobles rose to a very dangerous degree of animosity, and wereappeased by an harangue in Swedish verse, which one of the senatorspronounced. The peasants yielded the point, and the succession wassettled on the duke of Holstein. Denmark, instigated by French councils, began to make preparations of war against Sweden; but a body of Russianauxiliaries arriving in that kingdom, under the command of generalKeith, and the czarina declaring she would assist the Swedes with herwhole force, the king of Denmark thought proper to disarm. It had beenan old maxim of French policy to embroil the courts of the North, thatthey might be too much employed at home to intermeddle in the affairsof Germany, while France was at war with the house of Austria. The goodunderstanding between the czarina and the queen of Hungary was at thisperiod destroyed, in consequence of a conspiracy which had been formedby some persons of distinction at the court of Petersburgh, forremoving the empress Elizabeth, and recalling the princess Anne to theadministration. This design being discovered, the principal conspiratorswere corporally punished, and sent in exile to Siberia. The marquisde Botta, the Austrian minister who had resided at the court of theczarina, was suspected of having been concerned in the plot; though thegrounds of this suspicion did not appear until after he was recalled, and sent as ambassador to the court of Berlin. The empress demandedsatisfaction of the queen of Hungary, who appointed commissioners toinquire into his conduct, and he was acquitted; but the czarina was notat all satisfied of his innocence. In February a defensive treatyof alliance was concluded between the princess and the king of GreatBritain. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BATTLE OF CAMPO-SANTO. By this time France was deprived of her ablest minister, in the deathof the cardinal de Fleury, who had for many years managed the affairsof that kingdom. He is said to have possessed a lively genius, andan insinuating address; to have been regular in his deportment, andmoderate in his disposition; but at the same time he has been brandedas deceitful, dissembling, and vindictive. His scheme of politics wasaltogether pacific; he endeavoured to accomplish his purposes by raisingand fomenting intrigues at foreign courts; he did not seem to pay muchregard to the military glory of France; and he too much neglected thenaval power of that kingdom. Since Broglio was driven out of Germany, the French court affected uncommon moderation. They pretended that theirtroops 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 thatlight, but as subjects acting in the service of France. The campaign inItaly proved unfavourable to the Spaniards. In the beginning of Februarycount Gages, who commanded the Spanish army in the Bolognese, amountingto four-and-twenty thousand men, passed the Penaro, and advanced toCam-po-Santo, where he encountered the Imperial and Pied-montese forces, commanded by the counts Traun and Aspremont. The strength of the twoarmies was nearly equal. The action was obstinate and bloody, thoughindecisive. The Spaniards lost about four thousand men, killed, wounded, or taken. The damage sustained by the confederates was not quite sogreat. Some cannon and colours were taken on both sides; and eachclaimed the victory. Count Gages repassed the Penaro; retreated suddenlyfrom Bologna; and marched to Rimini in the ecclesiastical state, where he fortified his camp in an advantageous situation, after havingsuffered severely by desertion. Count Traun remained inactive inthe Modenese till September, when he resigned his command to princeLobkowitz. This general entered the Bolognese in October, and thenadvanced towards count Gages, who, with his forces, now induced to seventhousand, retreated to Fano; but afterwards took possession of Pesaro, and fortified all the passes of the river Froglia. The season was faradvanced before the Spanish troops, commanded by don Philip in Savoy, entered upon action. In all probability, the courts of Versailles andMadrid carried on some private negotiation with the king of Sardinia. This expedient failing, don Philip decamped from Chamberri in the latterend of August, and defiling through Dauphiné towards Briancon, wasjoined by the prince of Conti, at the head of twenty thousand Frenchauxiliaries. Thus reinforced, he attacked the Piedmontese lines atChateau Dauphine; but was repulsed in several attempts, and obligedto retreat with considerable loss. The French established their winterquarters in Dauphiné and Provence; and the Spaniards maintained theirfooting in Savoy. TRANSACTIONS OF THE BRITISH FLEET. The British fleet, commanded by admiral Matthews, overawed all thestates that bordered on the Mediterranean. This officer, about the endof June, tinder-standing that fourteen xebecks, laden with artillery andammunition for the Spanish army, had arrived at Genoa, sailed thitherfrom the road of Hieres, and demanded of the republic that they wouldeither oblige these vessels with the stores to quit their harbour, orsequester their lading until a general peace should bo established. After some dispute, it was agreed that the cannon and stores should bedeposited in the castle of Bonifacio, situated on a rock at the southend of Corsica; and that the xebecks should have leave to retire withoutmolestation. The Corsicans had some years before revolted, and shakenoff the dominion of the Genoese, under which their island had remainedfor many centuries. They found themselves oppressed, and resolved toassert their freedom. They conferred the sovereign authority on a Germanadventurer, who was solemnly proclaimed by the name of king Theodore. He had supplied them with some arms and ammunition, which he had broughtfrom Tunis; and amused them with promises of being assisted by foreignpowers in retrieving their independency; but as these promises were notperformed, they treated him so roughly, that he had thought proper toquit the island, and they submitted again to their old masters. Thetroubles of Corsica were now revived. Theodore revisited his kingdom, and was recognised by the principal chiefs of the island. He publisheda manifesto; he granted a general pardon to all his subjects who shouldreturn to their obedience; he pretended to be countenanced and supportedby the king of Great Britain and the queen of Hungary. He was certainlythought a proper instrument to perplex and harass the Genoese, andsupplied at this juncture with a sum of money to purchase arms for theCorsicans; but a change soon happened in the British ministry, andthen he was suffered to relapse into his original obscurity. AdmiralMatthews, though he did not undertake any expedition of importanceagainst the maritime towns of Spain, continued to assert the Britishempire at sea through the whole extent of the Mediterranean. The Spanisharmy under don Philip was no sooner in motion, than the English admiralordered some troops and cannon to be disembarked for the security ofVilla-Franca. Some stores having been landed at Civita-Vecchia, for theuse of the Spanish forces under count Gages, Matthews interpretedthis transaction into a violation of the neutrality which the pope hadprofessed, and sent thither a squadron to bombard the place. The cityof Eome was filled with consternation; and the pope had recourse tothe good offices of his Sardinian majesty, in consequence of whichthe English squadron was ordered to withdraw. The captains of singlecruising ships, by their activity and vigilance, wholly interrupted thecommerce of Spain; cannonaded and burned some towns on the seaside, andkept the whole coast in continual alarm. [283] _[See note 2 N, at theend of this Vol. ]_ FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS UPON THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS. In the West Indies some unsuccessful efforts were made by an Englishsquadron, commanded by commodore Knowles. He attacked La Gueir on thecoast of Carraccas, in the month of February; but met with such a warmreception, that he was obliged to desist, and make the best of hisway for the Dutch island Curacoa, where he repaired the damage he hadsustained. His ships being refitted, he made another attempt upon PorteCavallo in April, which like the former miscarried. Twelve hundredmarines being landed in the neighbourhood of the place, were seizedwith such a panic, that it was found necessary to re-embark them withoutdelay. Then the commodore abandoned the enterprise and sailed back tohis station at the Leeward Islands, without having added much to hisreputation, either as to conduct or resolution. On the continent ofAmerica the operations of the war were very inconsiderable. GeneralOglethorpe having received intelligence that the Spaniards prepared foranother invasion from St. Augustine, assembled a body of Indians, asa reinforcement to part of his own regiment, with the highlanders andrangers, and in the spring began his march, in order to anticipate theenemy. He encamped for some time in the neighbourhood of St. Augustine, by way of a defiance; but they did not think proper to hazard anengagement; and as he was in no condition to undertake a siege, hereturned to Georgia. In October the princess Louisa, youngest daughterof his Britannic majesty, was married by proxy, at Hanover, to theprince-royal of Denmark, who met her at Altona, and conducted her toCopenhagen. 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-ministerialwriters, who not only exaggerated the burdens of the people, and drewfrightful pictures of the distress and misery which, they said, impended over the nation, but also employed the arts of calumny andmisrepresentation, to excite a jealousy and national quarrel betweenthe English and Hanoverians. They affirmed that in the last campaign theBritish general had been neglected and despised; while the councilsof foreign officers, greatly inferior to him in capacity, quality, andreputation, had been followed, to the prejudice of the common cause;that the British troops sustained daily insults from their ownmercenaries, who were indulged with particular marks of royal favour;that the sovereign himself appeared at Dettingen in a Hanoverianscarf; and that his electoral troops were of very little service in thatengagement. Though the most material of these assertions were certainlyfalse, they made a strong impression on the minds of the people, alreadyirritated by the enormous expense of a continental war maintained forthe interest of Germany. When the parliament met in the beginningof December, a motion was made in the house of peers by the earl ofSandwich, for an address, beseeching his majesty to discontinue theHanoverian troops in British pay, in order to remove the populardiscontent, and stop the murmurs of the English troops abroad. He wassupported by the duke of Bedford, the earl of Chesterfield, and all theleaders in the opposition, who did not fail to enumerate and insist uponall the circumstances we have mentioned. They moreover observed, thatbetter troops might be hired at a smaller expense; that it would be avain and endless task to exhaust the national treasure in enriching ahungry and barren electorate; that the popular dissatisfaction againstthese mercenaries was so general, and raised to such violence, asnothing but their dismission could appease; that if such hirelingsshould be thus continued from year to year, they might at last becomea burden entailed upon the nation, and be made subservient, under someambitious prince, to purposes destructive of British liberty. These werethe suggestions of spleen and animosity: for, granting the necessity ofa land war, the Hanoverians were the most natural allies and auxiliarieswhich Great Britain could engage and employ. How insolent soever somefew individual generals of that electorate might have been in theirprivate deportment, certain it is their troops behaved with greatsobriety, discipline, and decorum; and in the day of battle did theirduty with as much courage and alacrity as any body of men ever displayedon the like occasion. The motion was rejected by the majority; but, whenthe term for keeping them in the British pay was nearly expired, and theestimates for their being continued the ensuing year were laid beforethe house, the earl of Sandwich renewed his motion. The lord-chancellor, as speaker of the house, interposing, declared that by their rules aquestion once rejected could not be revived during the same session. A debate ensued, and the second motion was over-ruled. The Hanoveriantroops were voted in the house of commons; nevertheless, the samenobleman moved in the tipper house, that the continuing sixteen thousandHanoverians in British pay was prejudicial to his majesty's trueinterest, useless to the common cause, and dangerous to the welfare andtranquillity of the nation. He was seconded by the duke of Marlborough, who had resigned his commission in disgust; and the proposal gavebirth to another warm dispute: but victory declared, as usual, for theministry. In the house of commons they sustained divers attacks. A motion wasmade for laying a duty of eight shillings in the pound on all placesand pensions. Mr. Grenville moved for an address, to beseech his majestythat he would not engage the British nation any further in the war onthe continent, without the concurrence of the states-general on certainstipulated proportions of force and expense, as in the late war. Theseproposals begat vigorous debates, in which the country party were alwaysfoiled by dint of superior number. Such was the credit and influenceof the ministry in parliament, that although the national debt wasincreased by above six millions since the commencement of the war, the commons indulged them with an enormous sum for the expense of theensuing year. The grants specified in the votes amounted to six millionsand a half; to this sum were added three millions and a half paid to thesinking fund in perpetual taxes; so that this year's expense rose to tenmillions. The funds established for the annual charge were the land andmalt taxes; one million paid by the East India company for the renewalof their charter, twelve hundred thousand pounds by annuities, onemillion from the sinking fund, six-and-thirty thousand pounds from thecoinage, and six hundred thousand pounds by a lottery--an expedientwhich for some time had been annually repeated; and which, in a greatmeasure, contributed to debauch the morals of the public, by introducinga spirit of gaming, destructive of all industry and virtue. PROJECTED INVASION OF GREAT BRITAIN. The dissensions of the British parliament were suddenly suspended by anevent that seemed to unite both parties in the prosecution of the samemeasures. This was the intelligence of an intended invasion. Bythe parliamentary disputes, the loud clamours, and the generaldissatisfaction of the people in Great Britain, the French ministrywere persuaded that the nation was ripe for a revolt. This belief wascorroborated by the assertions of their emissaries in different partsof Great Britain and Ireland. These were papists and Jacobites of strongprejudices and warm imaginations, who saw things through the mediumof passion and party, and spoke rather from extravagant zeal than fromsober conviction. They gave the court of Versailles to understand, thatif the chevalier de St. George, or his eldest son Charles Edward, shouldappear at the head of a French army in Great Britain, a revolutionwould instantly follow in his favour. This intimation was agreeable tocardinal de Tencin, who, since the death of Fleury, had borne a share inthe 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 wasflattered with the prospect of giving a king to Great Britain; ofperforming such eminent service to his benefactor, and of restoring tothe throne of their ancestors a family connected by the ties of bloodwith all the greatest princes of Europe. The ministry of France foresaw, that even if this aim should miscarry, a descent upon Great Britainwould make a considerable diversion from the continent in favour ofFrance, and embroil and embarrass his Britannic majesty, who was thechief support of the house of Austria, and all its allies. Actuated bythese motives, he concerted measures with the chevalier de St. George atRome, who being too much advanced in years to engage personally in suchan expedition, agreed to delegate his pretensions and authority to hisson Charles, a youth of promising talents, sage, secret, brave, andenterprising, amiable in his person, grave, and even reserved in hisdeportment. He approved himself in the sequel composed and moderate insuccess, wonderfully firm in adversity; and though tenderly nursed inall the delights of an effeminate country, and gentle climate, patientalmost beyond belief of cold, hunger, and fatigue. Such was theadventurer now destined to fill the hope which the French ministry hadconceived, 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 troopsdesigned for this expedition, which amounted to fifteen thousand men. They began their march to Picardy, and a great number of vessels wasassembled for their embarkation at Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. It wasdetermined that they should be landed in Kent, under convoy of a strongsquadron equipped at Brest, and commanded by monsieur de Roquefeuille, an officer of experience and capacity. The chevalier de St. George issaid to have required the personal service of the duke of Ormond, whoexcused himself on account of his advanced age; be that as it will, prince Charles departed from Rome about the end of December, in thedisguise of a Spanish courier, attended by one servant only, andfurnished with passports by cardinal Aquaviva. He travelled throughTuscany to Genoa, from whence he proceeded to Savona, where he embarkedfor Antibes, and prosecuting his journey to Paris, was indulged with aprivate audience of the French king; then he set out incognito for thecoast of Picardy. The British ministry being apprized of his arrival inFrance, at once comprehended the destination of the armaments preparedat Brest and Boulogne. Mr. Thompson, the English resident at Paris, received orders to make a remonstrance to the French ministry, on theviolation of those treaties by which the pretender to the crown of GreatBritain was excluded from the territories of France. But he was given tounderstand, that his most christian, majesty would not explainhimself on that subject, until the king of England should have givensatisfaction on the repeated complaints which had been made to him, touching the infractions of those very treaties which had been so oftenviolated by his orders. In the month of January, M. De Roquefeuillesailed from Brest, directing his course up the English channel, withtwenty ships of war. They were immediately discovered by an Englishcruiser, which ran into Plymouth; and the intelligence was conveyed byland to the board of admiralty. Sir John Norris was forthwith ordered totake the command of the squadron at Spithead, with which he sailedround to the Downs, where he was joined by some ships of the linefrom Chatham, and then he found himself at the head of a squadronconsiderably stronger than that of the enemy. The KINGDOM PUT IN A STATE OF DEFENCE. Several regiments marched to the southern coast of England; allgovernors and commanders were ordered to repair immediately to theirrespective posts; the forts at the mouths of the Thames and Medway wereput in a posture of defence; and directions were issued to assemblethe Kentish militia, to defend the coast in case of an invasion. On thefifteenth day of February, the king sent a message to both houses ofparliament, intimating the arrival of the pretender's son in France, the preparations at Dunkirk, and the appearance of a French fleet in theEnglish channel. They joined in an address, declaring their indignationand abhorrence of the design formed in favour of a popish pretender;and assuring his majesty, that they would, with the warmest zeal andunanimity, take such measures as would enable him to frustrate anddefeat so desperate and insolent an attempt. Addresses of the same kindwere presented by the city of London, both universities, the principaltowns of Great Britain, the clergy, the dissenting ministers, thequakers, and almost all the corporations and communities of the kingdom. A requisition was made of the six thousand auxiliaries, which thestates-general were by treaty obliged to furnish on such occasions;and these were granted with great alacrity and expedition. The earlof Stair, forgetting his wrongs, took this opportunity of offering hisservices to government, and was re-invested with the chief commandof the forces in Great Britain. His example was followed by severalnoblemen of the first rank. The duke of Montague was permitted to raisea regiment of horse; and orders were sent to bring over six thousand ofthe British troops from Flanders, in case the invasion should actuallytake place. His majesty was, in another address from parliament, exhorted to augment his forces by sea and land; the _habeas corpus_ actwas suspended for six months, and several persons of distinction wereapprehended on suspicion of treasonable practices; a proclamation wasissued for putting the laws in execution against papists and nonjurors, who were commanded to retire ten miles from London; and every precautionwas taken which seemed necessary for the preservation of the publictranquillity. THE DESIGN OF THE FRENCH DEFEATED. Meanwhile the French court proceeded with their preparations at Boulogneand Dunkirk, under the eye of the young pretender; and seven thousandmen were actually embarked. M. De Roquefeuille sailed up the channelas far as Dungeness, a promontory on the coast of Kent, after havingdetached M. De Barreil, with five ships to hasten the embarkation atDunkirk. While the French admiral anchored off Dungeness, he perceived, on the twenty-fourth day of February, the British fleet, under sir JohnNorris, doubling the South-Foreland from the Downs; and though thewind was against him, taking the opportunity of the tide to come up andengage the French squadron. Roquefeuille, who little expected sucha visit, could not be altogether composed, considering the greatsuperiority of his enemies; but the tide failing, the English admiralwas obliged to anchor two leagues short of the enemy. In this interval, M. De Roquefeuille called a council of war, in which it was determinedto avoid an engagement, weigh anchor at sun-set, and make the best oftheir way to the place from whence they had sot sail. This resolutionwas favoured by a very hard gale of wind, which began to blow fromthe north-east, and carried them down the channel with incredibleexpedition. But the same storm which, in all probability, saved theirfleet from destruction, utterly disconcerted the design of invadingEngland. A great number of their transports was driven ashore anddestroyed, and the rest were so damaged that they could not be speedilyrepaired. The English were now masters at sea, and their coast wasso well guarded, that the enterprise could not be prosecuted with anyprobability of success. The French generals nominated to serve in thisexpedition returned to Paris, and the young pretender resolved to waita more favourable opportunity. In the meantime he remained in Paris, orthat neighbourhood, incognito, and almost totally neglected by the courtof France. Finding himself in this disagreeable situation, and beingvisited by John Murray of Broughton, who magnified the power of hisfriends in Great Britain, he resolved to make some bold effort, evenwithout the assistance of Louis, in whose sincerity he had no faith, andforthwith took proper measures to obtain exact information touching thenumber, inclinations, and influence of his father's adherents in Englandand Scotland. The French king no longer preserved any measures with thecourt of London; the British resident at Paris was given to understand, that a declaration of war must ensue; and this was actually publishedon the twentieth day of March. The king of Great Britain was taxed withhaving dissuaded the court of Vienna from entertaining any thoughts ofan accommodation; with having infringed the convention of Hanover; withhaving exercised piracy upon the subjects of France, and with havingblocked up the harbour of Toulon. On the thirty-first day of March, alike denunciation of war against France was published at London amidstthe acclamations of the people. {1744} BILL AGAINST THOSE WHO SHOULD CORRESPOND WITH THE PRETENDER'S SONS. The commons of England, in order to evince their loyalty, brought in abill, denouncing the penalties of high treason against those who shouldmaintain correspondence with the sons of the pretender. In the upperhouse, lord Hardwicke, the chancellor, moved, that a clause shouldbe inserted, extending the crime of treason to the posterity of theoffenders, during the lives of the pretender's sons. The motion, whichwas supported by the whole strength of the ministry, produced a warmdebate, in which the duke of Bedford, the earl of Chesterfield, thelords Talbot and Horvey, argued against it in the most pathetic manner, as an illiberal expedient, contrary to the dictates of humanity, the lawof nature, the rules of common justice, and the precepts of religion; anexpedient that would involve the innocent with the guilty, and tendto the augmentation of ministerial power, for which purpose it wasundoubtedly calculated. Notwithstanding these suggestions, the clausewas carried in the affirmative, and the bill sent back to the commons, where the amendment was vigorously opposed by lord Strange, lordGuernsey, Mr. W. Pitt, and other members, by whom the original bill hadbeen countenanced; * the majority, however, declared for the amendment, and the bill obtained the royal assent. The session of parliament wasclosed in May, when the king told them that the French had made vastpreparations on the side of the Netherlands; and that the states-generalhad 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 theBritish fleet commanded by admiral Matthews, and the combined squadronsof France and Spain, which had been for some time blocked up in theharbour of Toulon. On the ninth day of February they were perceivedstanding out of the road, to the number of four-and-thirty sail;the English admiral immediately weighed from Hieres bay; and on theeleventh, part of the fleets engaged. Matthews attacked the Spanishadmiral, Don Navarro, whose ship, the Real, was a first rate, mountedwith above an hundred guns. Rear-admiral Rowley singled out M. De Court, who commanded the French squadron; and a very few captains followed theexample of their commanders; but vice-admiral Lestock, with his wholedivision, remained at a great distance astern; and several captains, whowere immediately under the eye of Matthews, behaved in such a manneras reflected disgrace upon their country. The whole transaction wasconducted without order or deliberation. The French and Spaniardswould have willingly avoided an engagement, as the British squadron wassuperior to them in strength and number. M. De Court, therefore, madethe best of his way towards the Straits' mouth, probably with intentionto join the Brest squadron; but he had orders to protect the Spanishfleet; and as they sailed heavily, he was obliged to wait for them, atthe hazard of maintaining a battle with the English. Thus circumstanced, he made sail and lay-to by turns; so that the British admiral could notengage them in proper order; and as they outsailed his ships, he beganto fear they would escape him altogether should he wait for vice-admiralLestock, who was so far astern. Under this apprehension he made thesignal for engaging, while that for the line of battle was stilldisplayed; and this inconsistency naturally introduced confusion. Thefight was maintained with great vivacity by the few who engaged. TheReal 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 takeeffect. 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 fireof the enemy. Nevertheless he continued to advance until he found thevessel sinking; and being within a few yards of the Real, he set fire tothe fusees. The ship was immediately in flames, in the midst of whichhe and his lieutenant, with twelve men, perished. This was likewise thefate of the Spanish launch, which had been manned with fifty sailors toprevent the fire-ship from running on board the Real. One ship of theline belonging to the Spanish squadron, struck to captain Hawke, whosent a lieutenant to take possession of her; she was afterwards retakenby the French squadron; but was found so disabled that they left herdeserted, and she was next day burned by order of admiral Matthews. At night the action ceased; and the admiral found his own ship so muchdamaged, that he moved his flag into another. Captain Cornwall fell inthe engagement, after having exhibited a remarkable proof of courage andintrepidity; but the loss of men was very inconsiderable. Next day theenemy appeared to leeward, and the admiral gave chase till night, whenhe brought to, that he might be joined by the ships astern. They wereperceived again on the thirteenth at a considerable distance, andpursued till the evening. In the morning of the fourteenth, twenty sailof them were seen distinctly, and Lestock with his division had gainedground of them considerably by noon; but admiral Matthews displayed thesignal for leaving off chase, and bore away for Port Mahon, to repairthe damage he had sustained. Meanwhile the combined squadrons continuedtheir course towards the coast of Spain. M. De Court, with his division, anchored in the road of Alicant; and Don Navarro sailed into the harbourof Carthagena. Admiral Matthews, on his arrival at Minorca, accusedLestock of having misbehaved on the day of action; suspended him fromhis office, and sent him prisoner to England, where, in his turn, heaccused his accuser. Long before the engagement, these two officers hadexpressed the most virulent resentment against each other. Matthews wasbrave, open, and undisguised; but proud, imperious, and precipitate. Lestock had signalized his courage on many occasions, and perfectlyunderstood the whole discipline of the navy; but he was cool, cunning, and vindictive. He had been treated superciliously by Matthews, and inrevenge took advantage of his errors and precipitation. To gratify thispassion, he betrayed the interest and glory of his country; for it isnot 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 alllikelihood, have been destroyed; but he intrenched himself within thepunctilios of discipline, and saw with pleasure his antagonist exposehimself to the hazard of death, ruin, and disgrace. Matthews himself, in the sequel, sacrificed his duty to his resentment, in restrainingLestock from pursuing and attacking the combined squadrons on the thirdday after the engagement, when they appeared disabled and in manifestdisorder, and would have fallen an easy prey had they been vigorouslyattacked. One can hardly, without indignation, reflect upon theseinstances in which a community has so severely suffered from thepersonal animosity of individuals. The miscarriage off Toulon becamethe subject of a parliamentary inquiry in England. The commons, in anaddress to the throne, desired that a court-martial might be appointedto try the delinquents. By this time Lestock had accused Matthews, andall the captains of his division who misbehaved on the day of battle. The court-martial was constituted, and proceeded to trial. Severalcommanders of ships were cashiered; vice-admiral Lestock was honourablyacquitted, and admiral Matthews rendered incapable of serving for thefuture in his majesty's navy. All the world knew that Lestock keptaloof, and that Matthews rushed into the hottest part of the engagement. Yet the former triumphed on his trial, and the latter narrowly escapedthe sentence of death for cowardice and misconduct. Such decisions arenot to be accounted for, except from prejudice and faction. The war inGermany, which had been almost extinguished in the last campaign, beganto revive, and raged with redoubled violence. The emperor had solicitedthe mediation of his Britannic majesty, for compromising the differencesbetween him and the court of Vienna. Prince William of Hesse-Cassel hadconferred with the king of England on this subject; and a negotiationwas begun at Hanau. The emperor offered to dismiss the Frenchauxiliaries, provided the Austrians would evacuate his hereditarydominions. Nay, prince William and lord Carteret, as plenipotentiaries, actually agreed to preliminaries, by which his Imperial majesty engagedto renounce the alliance of France, and throw himself into the arms ofthe maritime powers; to resign all pretensions to the succession of thehouse of Austria; and to revive the vote of Bohemia in the electoralcollege, on condition of his being re-established in the possessionof his dominions, recognised as emperor by the queen of Hungary, andaccommodated with a monthly subsidy for his maintenance, as his ownterritories were exhausted and impoverished by the war. By a separatearticle, the king of Great Britain promised to furnish him with threehundred thousand crowns, and to interpose his good offices with thequeen of Hungary, that his electoral dominions should be favourablytreated. These preliminaries, though settled, were not signed. The courtof Vienna was unwilling to part with their conquests in Bavaria andthe Upper Palatinate. The queen trusted too much to the valour ofher troops, and the wealth of her allies, to listen to such terms ofaccommodation; and whatever arguments were used with the king of GreatBritain, certain it is the negotiation wras dropped, on pretence thatthe articles were disapproved by the ministry of England. The emperor, environed with distress, renewed his application to the king of GreatBritain; and even declared that he would refer his cause to thedetermination of the maritime powers; but all his advances werediscountenanced; and the treaty of Worms dispelled all hope ofaccommodation. In this manner did the British ministry reject thefairest opportunity that could possibly occur of terminating the warin Germany with honour and advantage, and of freeing their country fromthat insufferable burden of expense under which she groaned. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} TREATY OF FRANCKFORT. The inflexibility of the house of Austria, and its chief ally, provedserviceable to the emperor. The forlorn situation of this unfortunateprince excited the compassion of divers princes; they resented theinsolence with which the head of the empire had been treated by thecourt of Vienna; and they were alarmed at the increasing power of afamily noted for pride, tyranny, and ambition. These considerations gaverise 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 ofthe empire, according to the treaty of Westphalia, and to supportthe emperor in his rank and dignity. They agreed to employ theirgood offices with the queen of Hungary, that she might be induced toacknowledge the emperor, to restore his hereditary dominions, andgive up the archives of the empire that were in her possession. Theyguaranteed to each other their respective territories; the disputesabout the succession of the late emperor they referred to the decisionof the states of the empire; they promised to assist one another in caseof being attacked; and they invited the king of Poland, the elector ofCologn, and the bishop of Liege, to accede to this treaty. Such was theconfederacy that broke all the measures which had been concerted betweenthe king of Great Britain and her Hungarian majesty, for the operationsof the campaign. In the meantime, the French king declared war againstthis princess, on pretence that she was obstinately deaf to all terms ofaccommodation, and determined to carry the war into the territoriesof France. In her counter-declaration, she taxed Louis with havinginfringed the most solemn engagement, with respect to the pragmaticsanction; with having spirited up different pretenders to lay claim tothe succession of the late emperor; with having endeavoured to instigatethe common enemy of Christendom against her; and with having acted theincendiary in the north of Europe, that the czarina might be preventedfrom assisting the house of Austria, while his numerous armiesoverspread the empire and desolated her hereditary countries. Theserecriminations were literally true. The houses of Bourbon and Austriahave, for many centuries, been the common disturbers and plagues ofEurope. 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 theNetherlands, where he had assembled an army of one hundred and twentythousand men, provided with a very formidable train of artillery. Thechief command was vested in the mareschal count de Saxe, who possessedgreat military talents, and proved to be one of the most fortunategenerals of the age in which he lived. The allied forces, consistingof English, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Austrians, to the number of seventythousand effective men, were in the month of May assembled in theneighbourhood of Brussels, from whence they marched towards Oudenarde, and posted themselves behind the Schelde, being unable to retard theprogress of the enemy. The French monarch, attended by his favouriteladies, with all the pomp of eastern luxury, arrived at Lisle on thetwelfth day of the same month; and in the adjacent plain reviewedhis army. The states-general, alarmed at his preparations, had, ina conference with his ambassador at the Hague, expressed theirapprehensions, and entreated his most christian majesty would desistfrom his design of attacking their barrier. Their remonstrances havingproved 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 wasdetermined to prosecute the war with vigour, as his moderation hithertohad served to no other purpose but that of rendering his enemies moreintractable. Accordingly, his troops invested Menin, which was in sevendays surrendered upon capitulation. Ypres, Fort Knocke, and Furnes, underwent the same fate; and on the twenty-ninth day of June the king ofFrance entered Dunkirk in triumph. PRINCE CHARLES OF LORRAINE PASSES THE RHINE. He had taken such precautions for the defence of Alsace, whichwas guarded by considerable armies under the command of Coigny andSeckendorf, that he thought he had nothing to fear from the Austrians inthat quarter; besides, he had received secret assurances that the kingof Prussia would declare for the emperor; so that he resolved to pursuehis conquests in the Netherlands. But all his measures were defeated bythe activity of prince Charles of Lorraine, and his officers, who foundmeans to pass the Rhine, and oblige the French and Bavarian generals toretire to Lampertheim, that they might cover Strasburgh. The Austriansmade themselves masters of Haguenau and Saverne; they secured thepasses of Lorraine; and laid all the country of Lower Alsace undercontribution. The king of France was no sooner apprized of the prince'shaving passed the Rhine and penetrated into this province, than he sentoff a detachment of thirty thousand men from his army in Flanders, toreinforce that under the mareschal de Coigny; and he himself began hisjourney from the Rhine, that he might in person check the progress ofthe enemy; but this design was anticipated by a severe distemper thatovertook him at Mentz in Lorraine. The physicians despaired of his life. The queen, with her children, and all the princes of the blood, hastenedfrom Versailles to pay the last duties to their dying sovereign, who, asa true penitent, dismissed his concubines, and began to prepare himselffor death; yet the strength of his constitution triumphed over thefever, and his recovery was celebrated all over his dominions withuncommon marks of joy and affection. In the meantime the schemes of the Austrian general were frustrated bythe king of Prussia, who, in the month of August, entered the electorateof Saxony at the head of a numerous army. There he declared, in a publicmanifesto, that his aims were only to re-establish the peace ofthe empire, and to support the dignity of its head. He assured theinhabitants that they might depend upon his protection, in case theyshould remain quiet; but threatened them with fire and sword should theypresume to oppose his arms. In a rescript, addressed to his ministersat foreign courts, he accused the queen of Hungary of obstinacy, in refusing to acknowledge the emperor, and restore his hereditarydominions; he said, he had engaged in the league of Franckfort, tohinder the head of the empire from being oppressed; that he had nointention to violate the peace of Breslau, or enter as a principal intothis war; he affirmed, that his design was to act as auxiliary to theemperor, and establish the quiet of Germany. He penetrated into Bohemia, and undertook the siege of Prague, the governor of which surrenderedhimself and his garrison prisoners of war on the sixteenth day ofSeptember. He afterwards reduced Tabor, Bodweis, and Teyn, and in a wordsubdued the greatest part of the kingdom; the Austrian forces in thatcountry being in no condition to stop his progress. Nevertheless, he wassoon obliged to relinquish his conquests. Prince Charles of Lorraine wasrecalled from Alsace, and repassed the Rhine in the face of the Frencharmy, commanded by the mareschals de Coigny, Noailles, and Belleisle. Then he marched to the Danube, laid the Upper Palatine undercontribution, and entering Bohemia, joined the troops under Bathiani atMerotiz. The king of Poland elector of Saxony, at this juncturedeclared in favour of her Hungarian majesty. A convention for the mutualguarantee of their dominions, had been signed between those two powersin December; and now prince Charles of Lorraine was reinforced by twentythousand 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 havingevacuated all the places he had garrisoned in Bohemia, retreatedwith precipitation into Silesia. There his troops were put intowinter-quarters; and he himself returned to Berlin, extremely mortifiedat the issue of the campaign. CAMPAIGN IN BAVARIA AND FLANDERS. During these transactions, count Seckendorf marched into Bavaria at thehead of a strong army, drove the Austrians out of that electorate, and the emperor regained possession of Munich, his capital, on thetwenty-second day of October. In August the French army passed the Rhineat Fort-Louis, and invested the strong and important city of Fribourg, defended by general Demnitz, at the head of nine thousand veterans. Theking of France arrived in the camp on the eleventh day of October; andthe siege was carried on with uncommon vigour. The Austrian governormade incredible efforts in the defence of the place, which he maintaineduntil it was reduced to a heap of ruins, and one-half of the garrisondestroyed. At length, however, they were obliged to surrender themselvesprisoners 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 armywas cantoned along the Rhine, under the inspection of the count deMaillebois. 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 remainedon the defensive, until he was reinforced by count d'Clermont, whocommanded a separate body on the side of Newport. The allies, to thenumber of seventy thousand, passed the Schelde, and advanced towardsHelchin; but the enemy being so advantageously posted, that they couldnot attack him with any prospect of advantage, they filed on in sightof Tournay; and on the eighth day of August encamped in the plains ofLisle, in hope of drawing count Saxe from the situation in which he wasso strongly fortified. Here they foraged for several days, and laid theopen country under contribution; however, they made no attempt on theplace itself, which in all probability would have fallen into theirhands had they invested it at their first approach; for then there wasno other garrison but two or three battalions of militia; but count Saxesoon threw in a considerable reinforcement. The allies were unprovidedwith a train of battering cannon; and their commanders would notdeviate from the usual form of war. Besides, they were divided in theiropinions, and despised one another. General Wade, who commanded theEnglish and Hanoverians, was a vain weak man, without confidence, weight, or authority; and the Austrian general, the duke d'Aremberg, wasa proud rapacious glutton, devoid of talents and sentiment. After havingremained for some time in sight of Lisle, and made a general foragewithout molestation, they retired to their former camp on the Schelde, from whence they soon marched into winter-quarters. Count Saxe at lengthquitted his lines; and by way of retaliation, sent out detachments toravage 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 theirpublic theatres, where it became the subject of farces and pantomimes. The campaign in Italy produced divers vicissitudes of fortune. The kingof Naples having assembled an army, joined count Gages, and published amanifesto in vindication of his conduct, which was a direct violationof the neutrality he had promised to observe. He maintained, that hismoderation had been undervalued by the courts of London and Vienna; thathis frontiers were threatened with the calamities of war; and thatthe queen of Hungary made no secret of her intention to invade hisdominions. This charge was not without foundation. The emissaries ofthe house of Austria endeavoured to excite a rebellion in Naples, whichprince Lobkowitz had orders to favour by an invasion. This general wasencamped at Monte Rotundo, in the neighbourhood of Rome, when, in themonth of June, the confederates advanced to Velletri. While the twoarmies remained in sight of each other, prince Lobkowitz detached astrong body of forces, under count Soro and general Gorani, who made anirruption into the province of Abruzzo, and took the city of Aquilla, where they distributed a manifesto, in which the queen of Hungaryexhorted the Neapolitans to shake off the Spanish yoke, and submitagain to the house of Austria. This step, however, produced little or noeffect; and the Austrian detachment retired at the approach of the dukeof 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 inthe utmost danger of being taken. They escaped by a postern with greatdifficulty, and repaired to the quarters of count Gages, who performedthe part of a great general on this occasion. He rallied the fugitives, dispelled the panic and confusion which had begun to prevail inhis camp, and made a disposition for cutting off the retreat of theAustrians. Count Brown, finding himself in danger of being surrounded, thought proper to secure his retreat, which he effected with great artand gallantry, carrying off a prodigious booty. Three thousand Spaniardsare said to have fallen in this action; and eight hundred men weretaken, with some standards and colours. Count Mariani, a Neapolitangeneral, was among the prisoners. The Austrians lost about six hundredmen; and general Novati fell into the hands of the enemy; but theexploit produced no consequence of importance. The heats of Autumnproved so fatal to the Austrians, who were not accustomed to theclimate, that prince Lobkowitz saw his army mouldering away, without anypossibility of its being recruited; besides, the country was sodrained that he could no longer procure subsistence. Impelled by theseconsiderations, he meditated a retreat. On the eleventh day of November, he decamped from Faiola, marched under the walls of Rome, passed theTiber at Ponte Mole, formerly known by the name of Pons Milvius, whichhe had just time to break down behind him, when the vanguard of theSpaniards and Neapolitans appeared. Part of his rear-guard, however, was taken, with count Soro who commanded it, at Nocero; and his armysuffered greatly by desertion. Nevertheless, he continued his retreatwith equal skill and expedition, passed the mountains of Gubio, andby the way of Viterbo reached the Bolognese. The pope was altogetherpassive. In the beginning of the campaign he had caressed Lobkowitz; andnow he received the king of the Two Sicilies with marks of the warmestaffection. That prince having visited the chief curiosities of Rome, returned to Naples, leaving part of his troops under the command ofcount 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 underthe conduct of the prince of Conti. In the latter end of March, thecombined forces passed the Var, reduced the castle of Aspremont, andentered the city of Nice without opposition. In April, they attacked theking of Sardinia, who, with twenty thousand men, was strongly intrenchedamong the mountains of Villa-Franca. The action was obstinate andbloody; but their numbers and perseverance prevailed. He was obliged toabandon his posts, and embark on board of the British squadron, whichtransported him and his troops to Vado. The intention of Don Philip wasto penetrate through the territories of Genoa into the Milanese; butadmiral Matthews, who hovered with a strong squadron on that coast, senta message to the republic, declaring, that should the combined army besuffered to pass through her dominions, the king of Great Britainwould consider such a step as a breach of their neutrality. The senate, intimidated by this intimation, entreated the princes to desist fromtheir design, and they resolved to choose another route. They defiledtowards Piedmont, and assaulted the strong post of Chateau-Dauphiné, defended by the king of Sardinia in person. After a desperate attack, inwhich they lost four thousand men, the place was taken; the garrison ofDemont surrendered at discretion, and the whole country of Piedmont waslaid under contribution. His Sardinian majesty was not in a condition tohazard a battle; and, therefore, posted himself at Saluzzes, in orderto cover his capital. The combined army advanced to the strongand important town of Coni, which was invested in the beginning ofSeptember, Baron Leutrum, the governor, made an obstinate defence, andthe situation of the place was such as rendered the siege difficult, tedious, and bloody. The king of Sardinia being reinforced by tenthousand Austrians, under general Pallavicini, advanced to its relief, and a battle ensued. The action was maintained with great vigour on bothsides till night, when his majesty finding it impracticable to force theenemy's intrenchments, retired in good order to his camp at Murasso, Heafterwards found means to throw a reinforcement and supply of provisionsinto Coni; and the heavy rains that fell at this period, not onlyretarded but even dispirited the besiegers. Nevertheless, the princespersisted in their design, notwithstanding a dearth of provisions, and the approach of winter, till the latter end of November, when thechevalier de Soto entered the place with six hundred fresh men. This incident was no sooner known than the princes abandoned theirenterprise; and leaving their sick and wounded to the mercy ofthe Piedmontese, marched back to Demont. Having dismantled thefortifications of this place, they retreated with great precipitation toDauphiné, and were dreadfully harassed by the Vaudois and light troopsin the service of his Sardinian majesty, who now again saw himself inpossession of Piedmont. The French troops were quartered in Dauphiné;but Don Philip still maintained his footing in Savoy, the inhabitants ofwhich he fleeced without mercy. RETURN OF COMMODORE ANSON. After the action at Toulon, nothing of consequence was achieved by theBritish squadron in the Mediterranean; and indeed the naval power ofGreat Britain was, during the summer, quite inactive. In the month ofJune, commodore Anson returned from his voyage of three years andnine months, in which he had surrounded the terraqueous globe. Wehave formerly observed, that he sailed with a small squadron to theSouth-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 beforehe weathered Cape Horn, had put in at Rio de Janeiro, on the coast ofBrazil, from whence they returned to Europe. A frigate commanded bycaptain Cheap, was shipwrecked on a desolate island in the South-Sea. Mr. Anson having undergone a dreadful tempest, which dispersed hisfleet, arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez, where he was joinedby the Gloucester, a ship of the line, a sloop, and a pink loaded withprovisions. These were the remains of his squadron. He made prize ofseveral vessels; took and burned the little town of Payta; set sail fromthe coast of Mexico for the Philippine Isles; and in this passage theGloucester was abandoned and sunk: the other vessels had been destroyedfor want of men to navigate them, so that nothing now remained but thecommodore's own ship, the Centurion, and that but very indifferentlymanned; for the crews had been horribly thinned by sickness. Incrediblewere the hardships and misery they sustained from the shatteredcondition of the ships, and the scorbutic disorder, when they reachedthe plentiful island of Tinian, where they were supplied with thenecessary refreshments. Thence they prosecuted their voyage to the riverof Canton in China, where the commodore ordered the ship to be sheathed, and found means to procure a reinforcement of sailors. The chief objectof his attention was the rich annual ship that sails between Acapulco, in Mexico, and Manilla, one of the Philippine islands. In hopes ofintercepting her, he set sail from Canton, and steered his course backto the straits of Manilla, where she actually fell into his hands, aftera short but vigorous engagement. The prize was called Neustra Signora deCabodonga, mounted with forty guns, manned with six hundred sailors, and loaded with treasure and effects to the value of three hundred andthirteen thousand pounds sterling; with this windfall he returnedto Canton; from whence he proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, andprosecuted his voyage to England, where he arrived in safety. Thoughthis fortunate commander enriched himself by an occurrence that may betermed almost accidental, the British nation was not indemnified forthe expense of the expedition; and the original design was entirelydefeated. Had the Manilla ship escaped the vigilance of the Englishcommodore, he might have been, on his return to England, laid aside asa superannuated captain, and died in obscurity, but his great wealthinvested him with considerable influence, and added lustre to histalents. He soon became the oracle which was consulted in all navaldeliberations; and the king raised him to the dignity of a peerage. In July, sir John Balchen, an admiral of approved valour and greatexperience, sailed from Spithead with a strong squadron, in quest of anopportunity to attack the French fleet at Brest, under the command ofM. De Rochambault. In the bay of Biscay he was overtaken by a violentstorm, 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 themost beautiful first-rate in the world, foundered at sea; and thisbrave 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 hisbrother, happened in their way to Berlin to halt at a village in theforest of Hartz, dependent on the electorate of Hanover. There they wereapprehended by the bailiff of the place, and conducted as prisoners toOsterode; from whence they were removed to Stade on the Elbe, where theyembarked for England. They resided at Windsor till the followingyear, when they were allowed the benefit of the cartel which had beenestablished between Great Britain and France at Franckfort, and releasedaccordingly, after they had been treated by the British nobility withthat 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 anotherrevolution in the ministry. Lord Carteret, who was by this time earlGranville, in consequence of his mother's death, had engrossed the royalfavour so much, that the duke of Newcastle and his brother are said tohave taken umbrage at his influence and greatness. He had incurredthe resentment of those who were distinguished by the appellation ofpatriots, and entirely forfeited his popularity. The two brothers werevery powerful by their parliamentary interest; they knew their ownstrength, and engaged in a political alliance with the leading menin the opposition, against the prime minister and his measures. Thiscoalition was dignified with the epithet of "The Broad Bottom, " as if ithad been established on a true constitutional foundation, comprehendingindividuals of every class, without distinction of party. Theappellation, however, which they assumed was afterwards converted intoa term of derision. The earl of Granville perceiving the gathering stormand foreseeing the impossibility of withstanding such an oppositionin parliament, wisely avoided the impending danger and disgrace, bya voluntary resignation of his employments. The earl of Harringtonsucceeded him as secretary of state. The duke of Bedford was appointedfirst lord of the admiralty, and the earl of Chesterfield declaredlord-lieutenant of Ireland. The lords Gower and Cobham werere-established in the offices they had resigned; Mr. Lyttelton wasadmitted as a commissioner of the treasury; even sir John Hinde Cottonaccepted of a place at court; and sir John Phillips sat at the board oftrade and plantations, though he soon renounced this employment. Thiswas rather a change of men than of measures, and turned out to the easeand advantage of the sovereign; for his views were no longer thwartedby an obstinate opposition in parliament. The session was opened onthe twenty-eighth day of November, in the usual manner. The commonsunanimously granted about six millions and an half for the serviceof the ensuing year, to be raised by the land, the malt, and the salttaxes, the sinking fund, and an additional duty on wines. In January, the earl of Chesterfield set out for the Hague, with the character ofambassador-extraordinary, to persuade, if possible, the states-generalto engage heartily in the war. About the same time a treaty of quadruplealliance was signed at Warsaw, by the queen of Hungary, the king ofPoland, and the maritime powers. This was a mutual guarantee of thedominions belonging to the contracting parties; but his Polish majestywas paid for his concurrence, with an annual subsidy of one hundred andfifty thousand pounds, two-thirds of which were defrayed by England, andthe 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. {1745} The business of the British parliament being discussed, the session wasclosed 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 ofaffairs in the empire, and all the princes of Germany were in commotion. The grand-duke of Tuscany, consort to her Hungarian majesty, wasimmediately declared a candidate for the Imperial crown; while hispretensions were warmly opposed by the French king and his allies. Thecourt of Vienna, taking advantage of the late emperor's death, sentan army to invade Bavaria in the month of March, under the conductof general Bathiani, who routed the French and Palatine troops atPsiffenhoven, took possession of Rain, surrounded and disarmed sixthousand Hessians in the neighbouhood of Ingoldstadt, and drove theBavarian forces out of the electorate. The young elector was obliged toabandon his capital, and retire to Augsburgh, where he found himself indanger of losing all his dominions. In this emergency, he yielded to theearnest solicitations of the empress his mother, enforced by theadvice of his uncle the elector of Cologn, and of his general countSecken-dorf, who exhorted him to be reconciled to the court of Vienna. A negotiation was immediately begun at Fuessen; where, in April, thetreaty was concluded. The queen consented to recognise the Imperialdignity, as having been vested in the person of his father; toacknowledge his mother as empress dowager; to restore his dominions, with all the fortresses, artillery, stores, and ammunition which she hadtaken: on the other hand, he renounced all claim to the successionof her father, and became guarantee of the pragmatic sanction; heacknowledged the validity of the electoral vote of Bohemia in theperson of the queen; engaged to give his voice for the grand duke atthe ensuing election of a king of the Romans. Until that should bedetermined, both parties agreed that Ingoldstadt should be garrisoned byneutral troops; and that Braumau and Schardingen, with all the countrylying between the Inn and the Saltza, should remain in the queen'spossession, though without prejudice to the civil government or theelector's revenue. In the meantime he dismissed the auxiliaries thatwere 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, Franceassembled a powerful army in the neighbourhood of Franckfort, in orderto influence the election. But the Austrian army, commanded by thegrand-duke in person, marched thither from the Danube; and the prince ofConti was obliged to repass the Rhine at Nordlingen. Then the grand-dukerepaired to Franckfort, where on the second day of September he was, by a majority of voices, declared king of the Romans and emperor ofGermany. Meanwhile the king of Prussia had made great progress in theconquest of Silesia. The campaign began in January, when the Hungarianinsurgents were obliged to retire into Moravia. In the followingmonth the Prussian general Lehrwald defeated a body of twelve thousandAustrians, commanded by general Helsrich; the town of Eatisbon was takenby assault; and the king entered Silesia, in May, at the head of seventythousand men. Prince Charles of Lorraine, being joined by the duke ofSaxe-Wessenfels and twenty thousand Saxons, penetrated into Silesia bythe defiles of Landshut; and were attacked by his Prussian majesty inthe plains of Striegau, near Friedberg. The battle was maintainedfrom morning till noon, when the Saxons giving way, prince Charles wasobliged to retire with the loss of twelve thousand men, and a greatnumber of colours, standards, and artillery. This victory, obtained onthe 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 tosurprise him in his camp at Sohr, which they attacked on the thirtiethof September, at day-break; but they met with such a warm reception, that notwithstanding their repeated efforts during the space of fourhours, they were repulsed with considerable damage, and retreatedto Jaromire, leaving five thousand killed upon the spot, besides twothousand that were taken, with many standards, and twenty pieces ofcannon. The loss of this battle was in a great measure owing to thewarice of the irregulars, who having penetrated into the Prussian camp, began to pillage with great eagerness, giving the king an opportunity torally his disordered troops, and restore the battle; nevertheless, theyretired with the plunder of his baggage, including his military chest, the officers of his chancery, his own secretary, and all the papers ofhis cabinet. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} TREATY OF DRESDEN. --THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY ELECTED EMPEROR. After this action, his Prussian majesty returned to Berlin and breathednothing but peace and moderation. In August he had signed a conventionwith the king of Great Britain, who became guarantee of his possessionsin Silesia, as yielded by the treaty of Breslau; and he promised to votefor the grand duke of Tuscany at the election of an emperor. Thiswas intended as the basis of a more general accommodation. But he nowpretended to have received undoubted intelligence that the king ofPoland and the queen of Hungary had agreed to invade Brandenburgh withthree different armies; and that, for this purpose, his Polish majestyhad demanded of the czarina the succours stipulated by treaty betweenthe two crowns. Alarmed, or seemingly alarmed, at this information, hesolicited the maritime powers to fulfil their engagements, and interposetheir good offices with the court of Petersburgh. Yet, far from waitingfor the result of these remonstrances, he made a sudden irruption intoLusatia, took possession of Gorlitz, and obliged prince Charles ofLorraine to retire before him into Bohemia. Then he entered Leipsic, andlaid Saxony under contribution. The king of Poland, unable to resistthe torrent, quitted his capital and took refuge in Prague. His troops, reinforced by a body of Austrians, were defeated at Pirna on thefifteenth day of December; and his Prussian majesty became master ofDresden without further opposition. The king of Poland, thus deprivedof his hereditary dominions, was fain to acquiesce in such terms asthe conqueror thought proper to impose; and the treaty of Dresdenwas concluded under the mediation of his Britannic majesty. By thisconvention the king of Prussia retained all the contributions he hadlevied in Saxony; and was entitled to a million of German crowns, tobe paid by his Polish majesty at the next fair of Leipsic. He and theelector palatine consented to acknowledge the grand duke as emperorof Germany; and this last confirmed to his Prussian majesty certainprivileges _de non evocando_, which had been granted by the lateemperor, with regard to some territories possessed by the king ofPrussia, though not belonging to the electorate of Brandenburgh. Immediately after the ratification of this treaty, the Prussian troopsevacuated Saxony, and the peace of Germany was restored. THE ALLIES ARE DEFEATED. Though the French king could not prevent the elevation of the grand duketo the Imperial throne, he resolved to humble the house of Austria, by making a conquest of the Netherlands. A prodigious army was thereassembled, under the auspices of mareschal count de Saxe; and his mostchristian majesty, with the dauphin, arriving in the camp, they investedthe strong town of Tournay on the thirtieth day of April. The Dutchgarrison consisted of eight thousand men, commanded by the old baronDorth, who made a vigorous defence. The duke of Cumberland assumed thechief command of the allied army, assembled at Soignes; he was assistedwith the advice of the count Konigsegg, an Austrian general, andthe prince of Waldeck, commander of the Dutch forces. Their army wasgreatly inferior in number to that of the enemy; nevertheless, theyresolved to march to the relief of Tournay. They accordingly advancedto 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 thevillage of Antonie, to a large wood beyond Vezon, having Fontenoy intheir front. Next day was employed by the allies in driving the enemyfrom some outposts, and clearing the defiles through which they wereobliged to advance to the attack; while the French completed theirbatteries, and made the most formidable preparations for theirreception. On the thirtieth day of April, the duke of Cumberland, having made the proper dispositions, began his march to the enemy at twoo'clock in the morning; a brisk cannonade ensued; and about nine botharmies were engaged. The British infantry drove the French beyondtheir lines; but the left wing failing in the attack on the villageof Fontenoy, and the cavalry forbearing to advance on the flanks, theymeasured back their ground with some disorder, from the prodigious fireof the French batteries. They rallied, however, and returning to thecharge with redoubled ardour, repulsed the enemy to their camp withgreat slaughter; but, being wholly unsupported by the other wing, andexposed both in front and flank to a dreadful fire, which did greatexecution, the duke was obliged to make the necessary dispositions fora retreat about three o'clock in the afternoon, and this was effectedin tolerable order. The battle was fought with great obstinacy, andthe carnage on both sides was very considerable. The allies lost abouttwelve thousand men, including a good number of officers; among thesewere lieutenant-general Campbell, and major-general Ponsonby. Thevictory cost the French almost an equal number of lives; and no honourwas lost by the vanquished. Had the allies given battle on the precedingday, before the enemy had taken their measures and received all theirreinforcements, they might have succeeded in their endeavour to relieveTournay. Although the attack was generally judged rash and precipitate, the British and Hanoverian troops fought with such intrepidity andperseverance, that if they had been properly sustained by the Dutchforces, and their flanks covered by the cavalry, the French in alllikelihood would have been obliged to abandon their enterprise. The dukeof 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 governorobtained an honourable capitulation. After the conquest of thisfrontier, which was dismantled, the duke of Cumberland, apprehending theenemy had a design upon Ghent, sent a detachment of four thousand men toreinforce the garrison of that city; but they fell into an ambuscadeat Pas-du-mêle, and were killed or taken, except a few dragoons thatescaped to Ostend; on that very night, which was the twelfth of June, Ghent was surprised by a detachment of the French army. Then theyinvested Ostend, which, though defended by an English garrison, and opento the sea, was, after a short siege, surrendered by capitulation on thefourteenth day of August Dendermonde, Oudenarde, Newport, and Aeth, underwent the same fate; while the allied army lay entranced beyond thecanal of Antwerp. The French king having subdued the greatest partof the Austrian Netherlands, returned to Paris, which he entered intriumph. THE KING OF SARDINIA IS ALMOST STRIPPED OF HIS DOMINIONS. The campaign in Italy was unpropitious to the queen of Hungary and theking of Sardinia. Count Gages passed the Appenines, and entered thestate of Lucca; from thence he proceeded by the eastern coast ofGenoa to Lestride-Levante. The junction of the two armies was thusaccomplished, and reinforced with ten thousand Genoese; meanwhile princeLobkowitz decamped from Modena and took post at Parma; but he was soonsucceeded by count Schuylemberg, and sent to command the Austrians inBohemia. 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 retireunder the cannon of Tortona; but when don Philip, at the head of fortythousand troops, made himself master of Acqui, the king of Sardinia andthe Austrian general, unable to stem the torrent, retreated behind theTanaro. The strong citadel of Tortona was taken by the Spaniards, wholikewise reduced Parma and Placentia; and forcing the passage of theTanaro, compelled his Sardinian majesty to take shelter on the otherside of the Po. Then Pavia was won by scalade; and the city of Milansubmitted to the infant, though the Austrian garrison still maintainedthe citadel; all Piedmont, on both sides of the Po, as far as Turin, wasreduced, and even that capital threatened with a siege; so that by themonth of October the territories belonging to the house of Austria, inItaly, were wholly subdued; and the king of Sardinia stripped of all hisdominions; yet he continued firm and true to his engagements, and deafto all proposals of a separate accommodation. THE ENGLISH TAKE CAPE BRETON The naval transactions of Great Britain were in the course of thisyear remarkably spirited. In the Mediterranean, admiral Rowley hadsucceeded Matthews in the command; Savona, Genoa, Final, St. Remo, withBastia, the capital of Corsica, were bombarded; several Spanish shipswere taken; but he could not prevent the safe arrival of their richHavannah squadron at Corunna. Commodore Barnet, in the East Indies, madeprize of several French ships richly laden; and commodore Townshend, inthe latitude of Martinico, took about thirty merchant ships belongingto the enemy, under convoy of four ships of war, two of which weredestroyed. The English privateers likewise met with uncommon success. But the most important achievement was the conquest of Louisbourg onthe isle of Cape Breton, in North America; a place of great consequence, which the French had fortified at a prodigious expense. The schemeof reducing this fortress was planned in Boston, recommended by theirgeneral assembly, and approved by his majesty, who sent instructionsto commodore Warren, stationed off the Leeward Islands, to sail for thenorthern parts of America, and co-operate with the forces of New Englandin this expedition. A body of six thousand men was formed under theconduct of Mr. Pepperel, a trader of Piscataquay, whose influencewas extensive in that country; though he was a man of little or noeducation, and utterly unacquainted with military operations. In AprilMr. Warren arrived at Canso with ten ships of war; and the troops of NewEngland being embarked m transports, sailed immediately for the isle ofCape Breton, where they landed without opposition. The enemy abandonedtheir grand battery, which was detached from the town; and the immediateseizure of it contributed in a good measure to the success of theenterprise. While the American troops, reinforced by eight hundredmarines, carried on their approaches by land, the squadron blocked upthe place by sea in such a manner that no succours could be introduced. A French ship of the line, with some smaller vessels destined forthe relief of the garrison, were intercepted and taken by the Britishcruisers; and, indeed, the reduction of Louisbourg was chiefly owing tothe vigilance and activity of Mr. Warren, one of the bravest and bestofficers in the service of England. The operations of the siege werewholly conducted by the engineers and officers who commanded the Britishmarines; and the Americans, being ignorant of war, were contented to actunder their directions. The town being considerably damaged by the bombsand bullets of the besiegers, and the garrison despairing of relief, thegovernor capitulated on the seventeenth day of June, when the cityof Louisbourg, and the isle of Cape Breton, were surrendered to hisBritannic majesty. The garrison and inhabitants engaged that they wouldnot bear arms for twelve months against Great Britain or her allies; andbeing-embarked in fourteen cartel ships, were transported to Rochefort. In a few days after the surrender of Louisbourg, two French East Indiaships, and another from Peru, laden with treasure, sailed into theharbour on the supposition that it still belonged to France, and weretaken by the English squadron. The news of this conquest being transmitted to England, Mr. Pepperelwas preferred to the dignity of a baronet of Great Britain, andcongratulatory addresses were presented to the king on the success ofhis majesty's arms. The possession of Cape Breton was, doubtless, avaluable acquisition to Great Britain. It not only distressed the Frenchin their fishery and navigation, but removed all fears of encroachmentand rivalship from the English fishers on the banks of Newfoundland. Itfreed New England from the terrors of a dangerous neighbour; overawedthe Indians of that country; and secured the possession of Acadia to thecrown of Great Britain. The plan of this conquest was originally laid byMr. Auchmuty, judge-advocate of the court of admiralty in New England. He demonstrated, that the reduction of Cape Breton would put the Englishin sole possession of the fishery of North America, which would annuallyreturn to Groat Britain two millions sterling, for the manufacturesyearly shipped to the plantations; employ many thousand families thatwere otherwise unserviceable to the public; increase the shipping andmariners; extend navigation; cut off all communication between Franceand Canada by the river St. Lawrence; so that Quebec would fall of. Course into the hands of the English, who might expel the Frenchentirely from America, open a correspondence with the remote Indians, and render themselves masters of the profitable fur-trade, which was nowengrossed by the enemy. The natives of New England acquired greatglory from the success of this enterprise. Britain, which had in someinstances behaved like a step-mother to her own colonies, was nowconvinced of their importance; and treated those as brethren whom shehad too long considered as aliens and rivals. Circumstanced as thenation is, the legislature cannot too tenderly cherish the interestsof 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 ofGreat Britain, clogged with heavy taxes and impositions, has for sometime languished in many valuable branches. The French have undersoldour cloths, and spoiled our markets in the Levant. Spain is no longersupplied as usual with the commodities of England; the exports toGermany must be considerably diminished by the misunderstanding betweenGreat Britain and the house of Austria; consequently, her greatestresource must be in her communication with her own colonies, whichconsume her manufactures, and make immense returns in sugar, rum, tobacco, fish, timber, naval stores, iron, furs, drugs, rice, andindigo. The southern plantations likewise produce silk; and with dueencouragement, might furnish every thing that could be expected fromthe most fertile soil and the happiest climate. The continent of NorthAmerica, if properly cultivated, will prove an inexhaustible fund ofwealth and strength to Great Britain; and perhaps it may become thelast asylum of British liberty. When the nation is enslaved by domesticdespotism or foreign dominion; when her substance is wasted, her spiritbroke, and the laws and constitution of England are no more; then thosecolonies, sent off by our fathers, may receive and entertain their sonsas hapless exiles and ruined refugees. PROJECT OF AN INSURRECTION IN GREAT BRITAIN. While the continent of Europe and the isles of America were thus exposedto the ravages of war, and subjected to such vicissitudes of fortune, Great Britain underwent a dangerous convulsion in her own bowels. Theson of the chevalier de St. George, fired with ambition, and animatedwith the hope of ascending the throne of his ancestors, resolved to makean effort for that purpose, which, though it might not be crowned withsuccess, should at least astonish all Christendom. The Jacobites inEngland and Scotland had promised, that if he would land in Britainat the head of a regular army, they would supply him with provisions, carriages, and horses, and a great number of them declared they wouldtake up arms and join his standard; but they disapproved of his comingover without forces, as a dangerous enterprise, that would in allprobability end in the ruin of himself and all his adherents. Thisadvice, including an exact detail of his father's interest, with thedispositions of his particular friends in every town and county, wastransmitted to London in January, in order to be forwarded to princeCharles; but the person with whom it was intrusted could find no safemethod of conveyance; so that he sent it back to Scotland, from whenceit was despatched to France; but before it reached Paris, Charles hadleft that kingdom. Had the paper come to his hands in due time, perhapshe would not have embarked in the undertaking, though he was stimulatedto the attempt by many concurring motives. Certain it is, he was cajoledby the sanguine misrepresentations of a few adventurers, who hoped toprofit by the expedition. They assured him that the whole nation wasdisaffected to the reigning family; that the people could no longer bearthe immense load of taxes, which was daily increasing; and that themost considerable persons of the kingdom would gladly seize the firstopportunity of crowding to his standard. On the other hand, he knewthe British government had taken some effectual steps to alienate thefriends of his house from the principles they had hitherto professed. Some of them had accepted posts and pensions; others were preferred inthe army; and the parliament were so attached to the reigning family, that he had nothing to hope from their deliberations. He expected nomaterial succour from the court of France; he foresaw that delay woulddiminish the number of his adherents in Great Britain; and, therefore, resolved to seize the present occasion, which in many respects waspropitious to his design. Without doubt, had he been properly supported, he could not have found a more favourable opportunity of exciting anintestine commotion in Great Britain; for Scotland was quite unfurnishedwith troops; king George was in Germany; the duke of Cumberland, at thehead of the British army, was employed in Flanders, and great part ofthe highlanders were keen for insurrection. Their natural principleswere on this occasion stimulated by the suggestions of revenge. At thebeginning of the war a regiment of those people had been formed, andtransported with the rest of the British troops to Flanders. Before theywere embarked, a number of them deserted with their arms, on pretencethat they had been decoyed into the service by promises and assurancesthat they should never be sent abroad; and this was really the case. They were overtaken by a body of horse, persuaded to submit, broughtback to London pinioned like malefactors, and tried for desertion. Theywere shot to death _in terrorem_; and the rest were sent in exile tothe plantations. Those who suffered were persons of some consequence intheir own country; and their fate was deeply resented by the clans towhich they belonged. It was considered as a national outrage; and thehighlanders, who are naturally vindictive, waited impatiently for anopportunity 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 ofarms, on his private credit, with-out the knowledge of the French court, wrote letters to his friends in Scotland, explaining his design andsituation, intimating the place where he intended to land, communicatinga private signal, and assuring them he should be with them by the middleof June. These precautions being taken, he embarked on board of a smallfrigate at Port St. Nazaire, accompanied by the marquis of Tullibardine, sir Thomas Sheridan, sir John Macdonald, with a few other Irish andScottish adventurers; and setting sail on the fourteenth of July, wasjoined off Belleisle by the Elizabeth, a French ship of war, mountedwith 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 ofScotland; but falling in with the Lion, an English ship of the line, avery obstinate and bloody action ensued. The Elizabeth was so disabledthat she could not prosecute the voyage, and with difficulty reached theharbour of Brest; but the Lion was shattered to such a degree, that shefloated like a wreck upon the water. The disaster of the Elizabeth wasa great misfortune to the adventurer, as by her being disabled he losta great quantity of arms, and about one hundred able officers, who wereembarked on board of her for the benefit of his expedition. Had thisship arrived in Scotland, she could easily have reduced Fort William, situated in the midst of the clans attached to the Stuart family. Such aconquest, by giving lustre to the prince's arms, would have alluredmany to his standard, who were indifferent in point of principle;and encouraged a great number of highlanders to join him, who wererestricted by the apprehension, that their wives and families would besubject to insults from the English garrison of this fortress. PrinceCharles, in the frigate, continued his course to the western isles ofScotland. After a voyage of eighteen days he landed on a little islandbetween 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 ofLochnannach, where he was in a little time joined by a considerablenumber of hardy mountaineers, under their respective chiefs and leaders. On the nineteenth day of August, the marquis of Tullibardine erectedthe pretender's standard at Glensinnan. Some of those, however, on whomCharles principally depended, now stood aloof, either fluctuating intheir principles, astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, orstartled at the remonstrances of their friends, who did not fail torepresent, in aggravated colours, all the danger of embarking in such adesperate enterprise. Had the government acted with proper vigour whenthey received intelligence of his arrival, the adventurer must have beencrushed in embryo, before any considerable number of his adherentscould have been brought together; but the lords of the regency seemedto slight the information, and even to suspect the integrity of those bywhom it was conveyed. They were soon convinced of their mistake. PrinceCharles having assembled about twelve hundred men, encamped in theneighbourhood of Fort William; and immediately hostilities werecommenced. A handful of Keppoch's clan, commanded by major DonaldMacdonald, even before they joined the pretender, attacked two companiesof new raised soldiers, who, with their officer, were disarmed after anobstinate dispute; another captain of the king's forces, falling intotheir hands, was courteously dismissed with one of the pretender'smanifestoes, and a passport for his personal safety. The administrationwas now effectually alarmed. The lords of the regency issued aproclamation offering a reward of thirty thousand pounds to any personwho should apprehend the prince-adventurer. The same price was set uponthe head of the elector of Hanover, in a proclamation published by thepretender. A courier was despatched to Holland to hasten the return ofhis majesty, who arrived in England about the latter end of August. Arequisition was made of the six thousand Dutch auxiliaries; and severalBritish regiments were recalled from the Netherlands. A loyal addresswas presented to the king by the city of London; and the merchants ofthis metropolis resolved to raise two regiments at their own expense. Orders were issued to keep the trained bands in readiness; to array themilitia of Westminster; and instructions to the same effect were sentto all the lords-lieutenants of the counties throughout the kingdom. The principal noblemen of the nation made a tender of their services totheir sovereign; and some of them received commissions to levy regimentstowards the suppression of the rebellion. Bodies of volunteers wereincorporated in London and many other places; associations wereformed, large contributions raised in different towns, counties, andcommunities; and a great number of eminent merchants in London agreed tosupport the public credit, by receiving, as usual, bank-notes in paymentfor the purposes of traffic. The protestant clergy of all denominationsexerted themselves with extraordinary ardour, in preaching against thereligion of Rome and the pretender; and the friends of the governmentwere encouraged, animated, and confirmed in their principles, by severalspiritual productions published for the occasion. In a word, the bulk of the nation seemed unanimously bent upon opposingthe enterprise of the pretender, who, nevertheless, had already madesurprising progress. His arrival in Scotland was no sooner confirmed, than sir John Cope, who commanded the troops in that kingdom, assembledwhat 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 whollyexposed to the incursions of the enemy. The highlanders forthwithmarched to Perth, where the chevalier de St. George was proclaimed kingof Great Britain, and the public money seized for his use; the samesteps were taken at Dundee and other places. Prince Charles was joinedby the nobleman who assumed the title of the duke of Perth, the viscountStrathallan, lord Nairn, lord George Murray, and many persons ofdistinction, with their followers. The marquis of Tullibardine, who hadaccompanied him from France, took possession of Athol, as heir ofblood to the titles and estates which his younger brother enjoyed inconsequence of his attainder; and met with some success in arming thetenants for the support of that cause which he avowed. The rebel armybeing considerably augmented, though very ill-provided with arms, crossed the Forth in the neighbourhood of Stirling, and advanced towardsEdinburgh, where they were joined by lord Eleho, son of the earl ofWemyss, and other persons of some distinction. On the sixteenth day ofSeptember Charles summoned the town to surrender. The inhabitants weredivided by faction, and distracted by fear; the place was not in aposture of defence, and the magistrates would not expose the people tothe uncertain issue of an assault. Several deputations were sent fromthe town to the pretender, in order to negotiate terms of capitulation. In the meantime, one of the gates being opened for the admission ofa coach, Cameron of Lochiel, one of the most powerful of the highlandchiefs, rushed into the place with a party of his men, and secured itwithout opposition. Next morning the whole rebel army entered, and theirprince took possession of the royal palace of Holyrood-house in thesuburbs. Then he caused his father to be proclaimed at the market-cross;there also the manifesto was read, in which the chevalier de St. Georgedeclared his son Charles regent of his dominions, promised to dissolvethe union, and redress the grievances of Scotland. His being inpossession of the capital encouraged his followers, and added reputationto his arms; but the treasure belonging to the two banks of that kingdomhad been previously conveyed into the castle, a strong fortress, witha good garrison, under the command of general Guest, an old officer ofexperience and capacity. During these transactions, sir John Cope marched back from Inverness toAberdeen, where he embarked with his troops, and on the seventeenth dayof September landed at Dunbar, about twenty miles to the eastward ofEdinburgh. Here he was joined by two regiments of dragoons which hadretired with precipitation from the capital at the approach of thehighland army. With this reinforcement, his troops amounted to nearthree thousand men; and he began his march to Edinburgh, in order togive battle to the enemy. On the twentieth day of the month, he encampedin the neighbourhood of Prestonpans, having the village of Tranent inhis front, and the sea in his rear. Early next morning he was attackedby the young pretender, at the head of about two thousand four hundredhighlanders, half-armed, who-charged them sword in hand with suchimpetuosity, that in less than ten minutes after the battle began, theking's troops were broken and totally routed. The dragoons fled in theutmost confusion at the first onset; the general officers having madesome unsuccessful efforts to rally them, thought proper to consult theirown safety by an expeditious retreat towards Coldstream on theTweed. All the infantry were either killed or taken; and the colours, artillery, tents, baggage, and military chest, fell into the hands ofthe victor, who returned in triumph to Edinburgh. Never was victory morecomplete, or obtained at a smaller expense; for not above fifty of therebels lost their lives in the engagement. Five hundred of the king'stroops were killed on the field of battle; and among these colonelGardiner, a gallant officer, who disdained to save his life at theexpense 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 allrejoicings for the victory he had obtained; the wounded soldiers weretreated with humanity; and the officers were sent into Fife and Angus, where they were left at liberty on their parole, which the greater partof them shamefully broke in the sequel. From this victory the pretenderreaped manifold and important advantages. His followers were armed, hisparty encouraged, and his enemies intimidated. He was supplied witha train of field artillery, and a considerable sum of money, and sawhimself possessed of all Scotland, except the fortresses, the reductionof which he could not pretend to undertake without proper implements andengineers. After the battle he was joined by a small detachment from thehighlands; and some chiefs, who had hitherto been on the reserve, began to exert their influence in his favour. But he was not yet in acondition to take advantage of that consternation which his late successhad diffused through the kingdom of England. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} EFFORTS OF THE FRIENDS OF GOVERNMENT IN SCOTLAND. Charles continued to reside in the palace of Holyrood-house; * and tookmeasures for cutting off the communication between the castle and thecity. * 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 theblockade should be raised, so that provisions might be carried into thecastle. After having waited the return of an express which he had foundmeans to despatch to court, he began to put his threats in execution byfiring upon the town. Some houses were beaten down, and several personskilled 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 Edinburghand the neighbourhood. He imposed taxes; seized the merchandize thatwas deposited in the king's warehouses at Leith and other places; andcompelled the city of Glasgow to accommodate him with a large sum, tobe repaid when the peace of the kingdom should be re-established. Thenumber of his followers daily increased, and he received considerablesupplies of money, artillery, and ammunition, by single ships thatarrived from France, where his interest seemed to rise in proportionto the success of his arms. The greater and richer part of Scotland wasaverse to his family and pretensions; but the people were unarmed andundisciplined, consequently passive under his dominion. By this time, however, the prince-pretender was joined by the earl of Kilmarnock, thelords Eleho, Balmerino, Ogilvie, Pitsligo; and the eldest son of lordLovat had begun to assemble his father's clan, in order to reinforce thevictor, whose army lay encamped at Duddingston, in the neighbourhoodof Edinburgh. Kilmarnock and Balmarinowere men of broken and desperatefortune; Elcho and Ogilvie were sons to the earls of Wemyss and Airly;so that their influence was far from being extensive. Pitsligo wasa nobleman of very amiable character, as well as of great personalinterest; and great dependence was placed upon the power and attachmentof lord Lovat, who had entered into private engagements with thechevalier de St. George, though he still wore the mask of loyalty to thegovernment, and disavowed the conduct of his son when he declared forthe pretender. This old nobleman is the same Simon Fraser whom we havehad 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 hadrenounced his connexions with that family; and, in the rebellionimmediately after the accession of king George I. , approved himself awarm friend to the protestant succession. Since that period he had beeninduced, by disgust and ambition, to change his principles again, andwas in secret an enthusiast in jacobitism. He had greatly augmented hisestate, 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 characterwas 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 atMontrose, as envoy from the French king, with several officers, somecannon, and a considerable quantity of small arms for the use of thatadventurer. PRECAUTIONS TAKEN IN ENGLAND. While the young pretender endeavoured to improve the advantages he hadgamed, the ministry of Great Britain took every possible measure toretard his progress. Several powerful chiefs in the highlands wereattached to the government, and exerted themselves in its defence. Theduke of Argyle began to arm his vassals; but not before he had obtainedthe sanction of the legislature. Twelve hundred men were raised by theearl of Sutherland; the lord Rae brought a considerable number to thefield; the Grants and Monroes appeared under their respective leadersfor the service of his majesty; sir Alexander Macdonald declared forking George, and the laird of Macleod sent two thousand hardy islandersfrom Skye to strengthen the same interest. These gentlemen, thoughsupposed to be otherwise affected, were governed and directed bythe advice of Duncan Forbes, president of the college of justiceat Edinburgh, a man of extensive knowledge, agreeable manners, andunblemished integrity. He procured commissions for raising twentyindependent companies, and some of these he bestowed upon individualswho were either attached by principle, or engaged by promise, to thepretender. He acted with indefatigable zeal for the interest of thereigning family; and he greatly injured an opulent fortune in theirservice. He confirmed several chiefs who began to waiver in theirprinciples; some he actually converted by the energy of his arguments, and brought over to the assistance of the government, which they haddetermined to oppose; others he persuaded to remain quiet, withouttaking any share in the present troubles. Certain it is, this gentleman, by his industry and address, prevented the insurrection of ten thousandhighlanders, who would otherwise have joined the pretender; and, therefore, he may be said to have been one great cause of thatadventurer's miscarriage. The earl of Loudon repaired to Inverness, where he completed his regiment of highlanders; directed the conductof the clans who had taken arms in behalf of his majesty; and, by hisvigilance, overawed the disaffected chieftains of that country, who hadnot yet openly engaged in the rebellion. Immediately after the defeatof Cope, six thousand Dutch troops* arrived in England, and threebattalions of guards, with seven regiments of infantry, were recalledfrom 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 ofgeneral Wade, who received orders to assemble an army, which proceededto Newcastle. The parliament meeting on the sixteenth day of October, his majesty gave them to understand, that an unnatural rebellion hadbroke out in Scotland, towards the suppression of which he craved theiradvice and assistance. He found both houses cordial in their addresses, and zealous in their attachment to his person and government. Thecommons forthwith suspended the _habeas-corpus_ act; and several personswere apprehended on suspicion of treasonable practices. Immediatelyafter the session was opened, the duke of Cumberland arrived from theNetherlands, and was followed by another detachment of dragoons andinfantry. The train-bands of London were reviewed by his majesty; thecounty regiments were completed; the volunteers, in different parts ofthe kingdom, employed themselves industriously in the exercise of arms;and the whole English nation seemed to rise up as one man against thisformidable invader. The government being apprehensive of a descent fromFrance, appointed admiral Vernon to command a squadron in the Downs, toobserve the motions of the enemy by sea, especially in the harbours ofDunkirk and Boulogne; and his cruisers took several ships laden withsoldiers, officers, and ammunition, destined for the service of thepretender in Scotland. This enterprising youth, having collected about five thousand men, resolved to make an irruption into England, which he accordingly enteredby the west border on the sixth day of November. Carlisle was invested, and in less than three days surrendered; the keys were delivered to himat Brampton, by the mayor and aldermen on their knees. Here he found aconsiderable quantity of arms; his father was proclaimed king of GreatBritain, 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 werecovered with snow, and the roads almost impassable. There he receivedintelligence that Carlisle was reduced, and forthwith returned to hisformer station, In the meantime, orders were issued for assemblinganother army in Staffordshire, under the command of sir John Ligonier. Prince Charles, notwithstanding this formidable opposition, determinedto proceed. He had received assurances from France, that a considerablebody of troops would be landed on the southern coast of Britain, to makea diversion in his favour; and he never doubted but that he should bejoined by all the English malcontents, as soon as he could penetrateinto the heart of the kingdom. Leaving a small garrison in the castle ofCarlisle, he advanced to Penrith, marching on foot in the highland garb, at the head of his forces; and continued his route through Lancaster andPreston to Manchester, where on the twenty-ninth day of the month, heestablished his head quarters. There he was joined by about two hundredEnglishmen, who were formed into a regiment under the command of colonelTownley. The inhabitants seemed to receive him with marks of affection;and his arrival was celebrated by illuminations and other publicrejoicings. His supposed intention was to prosecute his march by theway of Chester into Wales, where he hoped to find a great number ofadherents; but all the bridges over the river Mersey being broken down, he chose the route to Stockport, and forded the river at the head ofhis division, though the water rose to his middle. He passed throughMacclesfield and Congleton; and on the fourth day of December enteredthe town of Derby, in which his army was quartered and his fatherproclaimed with great formality. He had now advanced within one hundredmiles of the capital, which was filled with terror and confusion. Wadelingered in Yorkshire; the duke of Cumberland had assumed the commandof the other army assembled in the neighbourhood of Lichfield. He hadmarched from Stafford to Stone; so that the rebels, in turning offfrom Ashbourne to Derby, had gained a march between him and London. Had Charles proceeded in his career with that expedition which he hadhitherto used, he might have made himself master of the metropolis, where he would have been certainly joined by a considerable number ofhis well wishers, who waited impatiently for his approach; yet thisexploit could not have been achieved without hazarding an engagement, and running the risk of being enclosed within three armies, each greatlysuperior to his own in number and artillery. Orders were given forforming a camp on Finchley-common, where the king resolved to take thefield in person, accompanied by the earl of Stair, field-marshal andcommander-in-chief of the forces in South-Britain. Some Romish priestswere apprehended; the militia of London and Middlesex were kept inreadiness to march; double watches were posted at the city-gates, andsignals of alarm appointed. The volunteers of the city were incorporatedinto 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 theirdependents for the service of the government. Notwithstanding theseprecautions and appearances of unanimity, the trading part of the city, and those concerned in the money corporations, were overwhelmed withfear and dejection. They reposed very little confidence in the courageor discipline of their militia and volunteers; they had receivedintelligence that the French were employed in making preparationsat Dunkirk and Calais for a descent upon England; they dreaded aninsurrection of the Roman-catholics, and other friends of the house ofStuart; and they reflected that the highlanders, of whom by this timethey had conceived a most terrible idea, were within four days' march ofthe capital. Alarmed by these considerations, they prognosticated theirown ruin in the approaching revolution; and their countenances exhibitedthe plainest marks of horror and despair. On the other hand, theJacobites were elevated to an insolence of hope, which they were atno pains to conceal; while many people, who had no private property tolose, and thought no change would be for the worse, waited the issue ofthis crisis with the most calm indifference. THE REBELS RETREAT INTO SCOTLAND. This state of suspense was of short duration. The young pretender foundhimself miserably disappointed in his expectations. He had now advancedinto the middle of the kingdom, and except a few that joined him atManchester, not a soul appeared in his behalf; one would have imaginedthat all the Jacobites of England had been annihilated. The Welch tookno step to excite an insurrection in his favour; the French made noattempt towards an invasion; his court was divided into factions; thehighland chiefs began to murmur, and their clans to be unruly; he sawhimself with a handful of men hemmed in between two considerable armies, in the middle of winter, and in a country disaffected to his cause. Heknew he could not proceed to the metropolis without hazarding a battle, and that a defeat would be attended with the inevitable destruction ofhimself and all his adherents; and he had received information thathis 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 councilat Derby; and proposed to advance towards London: the proposal wassupported by lord Nairn with great vehemence; but, after violentdisputes, the majority determined that they should retreat to Scotlandwith all possible expedition. Accordingly, they abandoned Derby on thesixth day of December, early in the morning, and measured back theroute by which they had advanced. On the ninth their vanguard arrivedat Manchester; on the twelfth they entered Preston, and continued theirmarch northwards. The duke of Cumberland, who was encamped at Meriden, when first apprized of their retreat, detached the horse and dragoons inpursuit of them; while general Wade began his march from Ferry-bridgein Lancashire, with a view of intercepting them in their route; butat Wakefield he understood that they had already reached Wigan; hetherefore repaired to his old post at Newcastle, after having detachedgeneral Oglethorpe, with his horse and dragoons, to join those who hadbeen sent off from the duke's army. They pursued with such alacrity, that they overtook the rear of the rebels, with which they skirmished inLancashire. The militia of Cumberland and Westmoreland were raised andarmed by the duke's order, to harass them in their march. The bridgeswere broken down, the roads damaged, and the beacons lighted to alarmthe country. Nevertheless, they retreated regularly with their smalltrain of artillery. They were overtaken at the village of Clifton, in the neighbourhood of Penrith, by two regiments of dragoons. Thesealighted, and lined the hedges, in order to harass part of the enemy'srear-guard, commanded by lord John Murray; who, at the head of theMacphersons, attacked the dragoons sword in hand, and repulsed them withsome loss. On the nineteenth day of the month, the highland army reachedCarlisle, where the majority of the English in the service of thepretender were left, at their own desire. Charles, having reinforced thegarrison of the place, crossed the rivers Eden and Solway into Scotland, having thus accomplished one of the most surprising retreats that everwas performed. But the most remarkable circumstance of this expedition, was the moderation and regularity with which those ferocious peopleconducted themselves in a country abounding with plunder. No violencewas offered; no outrage committed; and they were effectually restrainedfrom the exercise of rapine. Notwithstanding the excessive cold, thehunger, and fatigue to which they must have been exposed, they leftbehind no sick, and lost a very few stragglers; but retired withdeliberation, and carried off their cannon in the face of their enemy. The duke of Cumberland invested Carlisle with his whole army onthe twenty-first day of December, and on the thirtieth the garrisonsurrendered on a sort of capitulation made with the duke of Richmond. The prisoners, amounting to about four hundred, were imprisoned indifferent gaols in England, and the duke returned to London. The pretender proceeded by the way of Dumfries to Glasgow, from whichlast city he exacted severe contributions, on account of its attachmentto the government, for whose service it had raised a regiment of ninehundred men under the command of the earl of Home. Having continuedseveral days at Glasgow, he advanced towards Stirling, and was joinedby some forces which had been assembled in his absence by lords LewisGordon and John Drummond, brothers to the dukes of Gordon and Perth. This last nobleman had arrived from France in November, with a smallreinforcement of French and Irish, and a commission as general ofthese auxiliaries, he fixed his head quarters at Perth, where he wasreinforced by the earl of Cromartie and other clans, to the number oftwo thousand, and he was accommodated with a small train of artillery. They had found means to surprise a sloop of war at Montrose, withthe guns of which they fortified that harbour. They had received aconsiderable sum of money from Spain. They took possession of Dundee, Dumblane, Downcastle, and laid Fife under contribution. The earl ofLoudon remained at Inverness, with about two thousand highlanders inthe service of his majesty. He convoyed provisions to Fort-Augustus andFort-William; he secured the person of lord Lovat, who still temporized, and at length this cunning veteran accomplished his escape. The lairdof Macleod, and Mr. Monro of Culcairn, being detached from Invernesstowards Aberdeenshire, were surprised and routed by lord Lewis Gordonat Inverary; and that interest seemed to preponderate in the north ofScotland. Prince Charles being joined by lord John Drummond, investedthe castle of Stirling, in which general Blakeney commanded; but hispeople were so little used to enterprises of this kind, that they madevery little progress in their operations. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 relieveStirling-castle, and advanced to Linlithgow on the thirteenth day ofJanuary; next day his whole army rendezvoused at Falkirk, while therebels were cantoned about Bannockburn. On the seventeenth day of themonth, 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'scamp, before he discovered their intention. Such was his obstinacy, self-conceit, or contempt of the enemy, that he slighted the repeatedintelligence he had received of their motions and design, firmlybelieving they durst not hazard an engagement. At length perceivingthat they had occupied the rising ground to the southward of Falkirk, heordered 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, thatthe assailants were broke by the first volley; they retreated withprecipitation, and fell in amongst the infantry, which were likewisediscomposed by the wind and rain beating with great violence in theirfaces, wetting their powder, and disturbing their eyesight. Some of thedragoons rallied, and advanced again to the charge, with part of theinfantry which had not been engaged; then the pretender marched up atthe head of his corps de reserve, consisting of the regiment of lordJohn Drummond, and the Irish piquets. These reinforcing the Camerons andthe Stuarts in the front line, immediately obliged the dragoons to giveway a second time, and they again disordered the foot in their retreat. They set fire to their camp, and abandoned Falkirk with their baggageand train, which last had never reached the field of battle. The rebelsfollowed their first blow, and great part of the royal army, afterone irregular discharge, turned their backs and fled in the utmostconsternation. In all probability few or none of them would haveescaped, had not general Huske, and brigadier Cholmondeley, rallied partof some regiments, and made a gallant stand, which favoured the retreatof the rest to Falkirk, from whence they retired in confusion toEdinburgh, leaving the field of battle, with part of their tents andartillery, to the rebels; but their loss of men did not exceed threehundred, including sir Robert Monro, colonel Whitney, and some otherofficers of distinction. It was at this period, that the officers whohad been taken at the battle of Prestonpans, and conveyed to Angus andFife, finding themselves unguarded, broke their parole, and returnedto Edinburgh, on pretence of their having been forcibly released by theinhabitants 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. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 wellas for his conduct before and after the action; but he found means tovindicate himself to the satisfaction of his sovereign. Nevertheless, itwas judged necessary that the army in Scotland should be commanded by ageneral in whom the soldiers might have some confidence; and the duke ofCumberland was chosen for this purpose. Over and above his being belovedby the army, it was suggested, that the appearance of a prince of theblood in Scotland might have a favourable effect upon the minds of thepeople in that kingdom; he therefore began to prepare for his northernexpedition. Meanwhile, the French minister at the Hague havingrepresented to the states-general, that the auxiliaries which theyhad sent into Great Britain were part of the garrisons of Tournayand Dendermonde, and restricted by the capitulation from bearing armsagainst France for a certain term, the states thought proper to recallthem, rather than come to an open rupture with his most christianmajesty. In the room of those troops six thousand Hessians weretransported from Flanders to Leith, where they arrived in the beginningof February, under the command of their prince, Frederick of Hesse, son-in-law to his Britannic majesty. By this time the duke of Cumberlandhad put himself at the head of the troops in Edinburgh, consisting offourteen battalions of infantry, two regiments of dragoons, and twelvehundred highlanders from Argyle-shire, under the command of colonelCampbell. {1746} On the last day of January, his royal highness began his march toLinlithgow; and the enemy, who had renewed the siege of Stirling-castle, not only abandoned that enterprise, but crossed the river Forth withprecipitation. Their prince found great difficulty in maintaining hisforces, that part of the country being quite exhausted. He hoped to bereinforced in the Highlands, and to receive supplies of all kinds fromFrance and Spain; he therefore retired by Badenoch towards Inverness, which the earl of Loudon abandoned at his approach. The fort wassurrendered to him almost without opposition, and here he fixed hishead-quarters. His next exploit was the siege of Fort-Augustus, whichhe in a little time reduced. The duke of Cumberland having securedthe important posts of Stirling and Perth with the Hessian battalions, advanced with the army to Aberdeen, where he was joined by the duke ofGordon, the earls of Aberdeen and Findlater, the laird of Grant, andother persons of distinction. THE REBELS UNDERTAKE THE SIEGE OF FORT-WILLIAM. While he remained in this place, refreshing his troops, and preparingmagazines, a party of the rebels surprised a detachment of Kingston'shorse, and about seventy Argyleshire highlanders, at Keith, who wereeither killed or taken. Several advanced parties of that militia metwith the same fate in different places. Lord George Murray invested thecastle of Blair, which was defended by sir Andrew Agnew, until a bodyof Hessians marched to its relief, and obliged the rebels to retire. Theprince-pretender ordered all his forces to assemble, in order to begintheir march for Aberdeen to attack the duke of Cumberland; but, inconsequence of a remonstrance from the clans, who declined leavingtheir families at the mercy of the king's garrison in Fort-William, he resolved previously to reduce that fortress, the siege of which wasundertaken by brigadier Stapleton, an engineer in the French service;but the place was so vigorously maintained by captain Scot, that in thebeginning of April they thought proper to relinquish the enterprise. Theearl 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. Theselittle checks were counterbalanced by some advantages which hismajesty's arms obtained. The sloop of war which the rebels had surprisedat Montrose was retaken in Sutherland, with a considerable sum of money, and a great quantity of arms on board, which she had brought from Francefor the use of the pretender. In the same county, the earl of Cromartiefell into an ambuscade, and was taken by the militia of Sutherland, wholikewise defeated a body of the rebels at Goldspie. This action happenedon the very day which has been rendered famous by the victory obtainedat 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_ THE REBELS ARE TOTALLY DEFEATED. In the beginning of April, the duke of Cumberland began his march fromAberdeen, and on the twelfth passed the deep and rapid river Spey, without opposition from the rebels, though a detachment of them appearedon the opposite side. Why they did not dispute the passage is not easyto be conceived; But, indeed, from this instance of neglect, and theirsubsequent conduct, we may conclude they were under a total infatuation. His royal highness proceeded to Nairn, where he received intelligencethat the enemy had advanced from Inverness to Culloden, about thedistance of nine miles from the royal army, with intention to give himbattle. 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 Englishcamp had been reconnoitred; and on the night of the fifteenth thehighland army began to march in two columns. Their design was tosurround the enemy, and attack them at once on all quarters; but thelength of the columns embarrassed the march, so that the army wasobliged to make many halts: the men had been under arms during the wholepreceding night, were faint with hunger and fatigue, and many of themoverpowered with sleep. Some were unable to proceed; others dropped offunperceived in the dark; and the march was retarded in such a manner, that it would have been impossible to reach the duke's camp beforesun-rise. The design being thus frustrated, the prince-pretender waswith great reluctance prevailed upon by his general officers to measureback his way to Culloden; at which place he had no sooner arrived, thangreat numbers of his followers dispersed in quest of provisions; andmany, overcome with weariness and sleep, threw themselves down onthe heath and along the park walls. Their repose, however, was sooninterrupted in a very disagreeable manner. Their prince receivingintelligence that his enemies were in full march to attack him, resolvedto hazard an engagement, and ordered his troops to be formed for thatpurpose. On the sixteenth day of April, the duke of Cumberland, havingmade the proper dispositions, decamped from Nairn early in the morning, and after a march of nine miles perceived the highlanders drawn upin order of battle, to the number of four thou-sand men, in thirteendivisions, supplied with some pieces of artillery. The royal army, whichwas much more numerous, the duke immediately formed into three lines, disposed in excellent order: and about one o'clock in the afternoon thecannonading began. The artillery of the rebels was ill served, anddid very little execution; but that of the king's troops made dreadfulhavock among the enemy. Impatient of this fire, their front lineadvanced to the attack, and about five hundred of the clans chargedthe duke's left wing with their usual impetuosity. One regiment wasdisordered by the weight of this column; but two battalions advancingfrom the second line, sustained the first, and soon put a stop to theircareer, by a severe fire, that killed a great number. At the same timethe dragoons under Hawley, and the Argyleshire militia, pulled down apark wall that covered their flank, and the cavalry falling in amongthe rebels sword in hand, completed their confusion. The French picquetson their left, covered the retreat of the highlanders by a close andregular fire; and then retired to Inverness, where they surrenderedthemselves prison-ers of war. An entire body of the rebels marchedoff the field in order, with their pipes playing, and the pre-tender'sstandard displayed; the rest were routed with great slaughter; and theirprince was with reluctance prevailed upon to retire. In less than thirtyminutes they were totally defeated, and the field covered with theslain. The road, as far as Inverness, was strewed with dead bodies; anda great number of people, who from motives of curiosity had come tosee the battle, were sacrificed to the undistinguished vengeance of thevictors. Twelve hundred rebels were slain or wounded on the field, andin the pursuit. The earl of Kilmarnock was taken; and in a few dayslord Balmerino surrendered to a country gentleman, at whose house hepresented himself for this purpose. The glory of the victory was sulliedby the barbarity of the soldiers. They had been provoked by their formerdisgraces to the most savage thirst of revenge. Not contented with theblood which was so profusely shed in the heat of action, they traversedthe field after the battle, and massacred those miserable wretches wholay maimed and expiring: nay, some officers acted a part in this cruelscene of assassination, the triumph of low illiberal minds, uninspiredby sentiment, untinctured by humanity. The vanquished adventurer rodeoff the field, accompanied by the duke of Perth, lord Elcho, and a fewhorsemen; he crossed the water at Nairn, and retired to the house of agentleman in Strutharrick, where he conferred with old lord Lovat; thenhe dismissed his followers, and wandered about a wretched and solitaryfugitive among the isles and mountains for the space of five months, during which he underwent such a series of dangers, hardships, andmisery, as no other person ever outlived. Thus, in one short hour, allhis hope vanished, and the rebellion was entirely extinguished. Onewould almost imagine, the conductors of this desperate enterprise hadconspired their own destruction, as they certainly neglected every stepthat might have contributed to their safety or success. They might haveopposed the duke of Cumberland at the passage of the Spey; they might, by proper conduct, have afterwards attacked his camp in the night, witha good prospect of success. As they were greatly inferior to him innumber, and weakened with hunger and fatigue, they might have retiredto the hills and fastnesses, where they would have found plenty of livecattle for provision, recruited their regiments, and been joined bya strong reinforcement, which was actually in full march to theirassistance. But they were distracted by dissensions and jealousies; theyobeyed the dictates of despair, and wilfully devoted themselves to ruinand death. When the news of the battle arrived in England, the nationwas transported with joy, and extolled the duke of Cumberland as a heroand deliverer, Both houses of parliament congratulated his majesty onthe auspicious event. They decreed, in the most solemn manner, theirpublic thanks to his royal highness, which were transmitted to him bythe speakers; and the commons, by bill, added five-and-twenty thousandpounds per annum to his former revenue. [Illustration: 298. Jpg CULLODEN MOOR] THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TAKES POSSESSION OF INVERNESS. Immediately after the decisive action at Culloden, the duke tookpossession of Inverness, where six-and-thirty deserters, convicted bya court-martial, were ordered to be executed: then he detached severalparties to ravage the country. One of these apprehended the ladyMackintosh, who was sent prisoner to Inverness. They did not plunder herhouse, but drove away her cattle, though her husband was actually inthe 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 bysea to London; and those of an inferior rank were confined in differentprisons. The marquis of Tullibardine, together with a brother of theearl of Dunmore, were seized and transported to the Tower of London, towhich the earl of Traquaire had been committed on suspicion: in a fewmonths after the battle of Culloden, Murray, the pretender's secretary, was apprehended; and the eldest son of lord Lovat, having surrenderedhimself, was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh. In a word, all thegaols of Great Britain, from the capital northwards, were filled withthose unfortunate captives; and great numbers of them were crowdedtogether in the holds of ships, where they perished in the mostdeplorable manner, for the want of necessaries, air, and exercise. Somerebel chiefs escaped in two French frigates, which had arrived on thecoast of Lochaber about the end of April, and engaged three vesselsbelonging to his Britannic majesty, which they obliged to retire. Othersembarked on board of a ship on the coast of Buchan, and were conveyed toNorway; from thence they travelled to Sweden. In the month of May, theduke of Cumberland advanced with the army into the highlands as far asFort-Augustus, where he encamped, and sent off detachments on all handsto hunt down the fugitives, and lay waste the country with fire andsword. The castles of Glengary and Lochiel were plundered and burned;every house, hut, or habitation, met with the same fate withoutdistinction; all the cattle and provision were carried off; the men wereeither shot upon the mountains like wild beasts, or put to death incold blood, without form of trial; the women, after having seen theirhusbands and fathers murdered, were subjected to brutal violation, andthen turned out naked, with their children, to starve on the barrenheaths. One whole family was enclosed in a barn, and consumed to ashes. Those ministers of vengeance were so alert in the execution of theiroffice, that in a few days there was neither house, cottage, man, norbeast, 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 andhorror; what then must have been the sensation of the fugitive prince, when he beheld these spectacles of woe, the dismal fruit of hisambition? He was now surrounded by armed troops, that chased him fromhill to dale, from rock to cavern, and from shore to shore. Sometimes helurked in caves and cottages, without attendants, or any other supportbut that which the poorest peasant could supply. Sometimes he was rowedin fisher-boats from isle to isle among the Hebrides, and often in sightof his pursuers. For some days he appeared in woman's attire, and evenpassed through the midst of his enemies unknown. But understandinghis disguise was discovered, he assumed the habit of a travellingmountaineer, and wandered about among the woods and heaths, witha matted beard, and squalid looks, exposed to hunger, thirst, andweariness, and in continual danger of being apprehended. He was obligedto trust his life to the fidelity of above fifty individuals, and manyof these were in the lowest paths of fortune. They knew that a priceof thirty thousand pounds was set upon his head; and that, by betrayinghim, they should enjoy wealth and affluence: but they detested thethought of obtaining riches on such infamous terms, and ministered tohis necessities with the utmost zeal and fidelity, even at the hazardof their own destruction. In the course of these peregrinations, he wasmore than once hemmed in by his pursuers in such a manner as seemed topreclude all possibility of escaping; yet he was never abandoned by hishope and recollection; he still found some expedient that saved himfrom captivity and death; and through the whole course of his distressesmaintained the most amazing equanimity and good humour. At length aprivateer of Saint Malo, hired by the young Sheridan and some otherIrish adherents, arrived in Lochnannach; and on the twentieth day ofSeptember, this unfortunate prince embarked in the habit which he worefor disguise. His eye was hollow, his visage wan, and his constitutiongreatly impaired by famine and fatigue. He was accompanied by Cameronof Lochiel and his brother, with a few other exiles. They set sail forFrance, and after having passed unseen, by means of a thick fog, througha British squadron commanded by admiral Lestock, and been chased bytwo English ships of war, arrived in safety at Roscau, near Morlaix, inBretagne. Perhaps he would have found it still more difficult to escape, had not the vigilance and eagerness of the government been relaxed, inconsequence of a report that he had already fallen among some personsthat 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 therebellion, it will be necessary to take a retrospective view of theproceedings in parliament. The necessary steps being taken for quietingthe intestine commotions of the kingdom, the two houses began to converttheir attention to the affairs of the continent. On the fourteenth dayof January, the king repaired to the house of peers, and, in aspeech from the throne, gave his parliament to understand that thestates-general had made pressing instances for his assistance in thepresent conjuncture, when they were in such danger of being oppressedby the power of France in the Netherlands; that he had promised toco-operate with them towards opposing the further progress of theirenemies; and even concerted measures for that purpose. He declaredit was with regret that he asked any further aids of his people; heexhorted them to watch over the public credit; and expressed his entiredependence on their zeal and unanimity. He was favoured with loyaladdresses, couched in the warmest terms of duty and affection; but thesupplies were retarded by new convulsions in the ministry. The earl ofGranville had made an effort to retrieve his influence in the cabinet, and his sovereign favoured his pretensions. The two brothers, who knewhis aspiring genius, and dreaded his superior talents, refused toadmit such a colleague into the administration; they even resolved tostrengthen their party, by introducing fresh auxiliaries into the officeof state. Some of these were personally disagreeable to his majesty, whoaccordingly rejected the suit by which they were recommended. The dukeof Newcastle and his brother, with all their adherents, immediatelyresigned their employments. The earl of Granville was appointedsecretary of state, and resumed the reins of administration; but, finding himself unequal to the accumulated opposition that preponderatedagainst him; foreseeing that he should not be able to secure thesupplies in parliament; and dreading the consequence of that confusionwhich his restoration had already produced, he, in three days, voluntarily quitted the helm; and his majesty acquiesced in the measuresproposed by the opposite party. The seals were re-delivered to the dukeof Newcastle and the earl of Harrington; Mr. Pel-ham, and all the restwho had resigned, were reinstated in their respective employments; andoffices were conferred on several individuals who had never before beenin the service of the government. William Pitt, esq. , was appointedvice-treasurer of Ireland, and soon promoted to the place ofpaymaster-general of the forces; at the same time the king declared hima privy-counsellor. This gentleman had been originally designed for thearmy, in which he actually bore a commission; but fate reserved him amore important station. In point of fortune he was barely qualified tobe elected member of parliament, when he obtained a seat in the houseof commons, where he soon outshone all his compatriots. He displayed asurprising extent and precision of political knowledge, an irresistibleenergy of argument, and such power of elocution as struck his hearerswith astonishment and admiration. It flashed like the lightning ofheaven against the ministers and sons of corruption, blasting where itsmote, and withering the nerves of opposition; but his more substantialpraise was founded upon his disinterested integrity his incorruptibleheart, his unconquerable spirit of independence, and his invariableattachment to the interest and liberty of his country. The quiet of the ministry being re-established, the house of commonsprovided for forty thousand seamen, nearly the same number of landforces, besides fifteen regiments raised by the nobility on account ofthe rebellion, and about twelve thousand marines. They settled funds forthe maintenance of the Dutch and Hessian troops that were in England, as well as for the subsidy to the landgrave. They granted three hundredthousand pounds to the king of Sardinia; four hundred thousand poundsto the queen of Hungary; three hundred and ten thousand pounds to defraythe expense of eighteen thousand Hanoverians; about three-and-thirtythousand pounds in subsidies to the electors of Mentz and Cologn; andfive hundred thousand pounds in a vote of credit and confidence to hismajesty. The whole charge of the current year amounted to seven millionstwo hundred and fifty thousand pounds, which was raised by the landand malt taxes, annuities on the additional duties imposed on glass andspirituous liquors, a lottery, a deduction from the sinking fund, andexchequer bills, chargeable on the first aids that should be granted inthe next session of parliament. TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THE REBELS. The rebellion being quelled, the legislature resolved to make examplesof those who had been concerned in disturbing the peace of theircountry. In June, an act of attainder was passed against the principalpersons who had embarked in that desperate undertaking; and courts wereopened in different parts of England for the trial of the prisoners. Seventeen persons who had borne arms in the rebel army were executedat Kennington Common, in the neighbourhood of London, and sufferedwith great constancy under the dreadful tortures which their sentenceprescribed; nine were put to death in the same manner at Carlisle; sixat Brampton, seven at Penrith, eleven at York: of these a considerablenumber were gentlemen, and had acted as officers; about fifty hadbeen executed as deserters in different parts of Scotland; eighty-onesuffered the pains of the law as traitors. A few obtained pardons, anda considerable number were transported to the plantations. Bills ofindictment for high treason were found by the county of Surrey againstthe earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and lord Balmerino. Thesenoblemen were tried by their peers in Westminster-hall, the lordchancellor presiding as lord high-steward for the occasion. The twoearls confessed their crimes, and in pathetic speeches recommendedthemselves to his majesty's mercy. Lord Balmerino pleaded not guilty;he denied his having been at Carlisle at the time specified in theindictment, but this exception was over-ruled; then he moved a point oflaw 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 postfacto law; and claimed the privilege of trial in the county where theact of treason was said to have been committed. The same hardship wasimposed upon all the imprisoned rebels: they were dragged in captivityto a strange country, far from their friends and connexions, destituteof means to produce evidence in their favour, even if they had beeninnocent of the charge. Balmerino waived this plea, and submitted tothe court, which pronounced sentence of death upon him and his twoassociates. Cromartie's life was spared; but the other two werebeheaded, in the month of August, on Tower-hill. Kilmarnock was anobleman of fine personal accomplishments; he had been educated inrevolution principles, and engaged in the rebellion partly from thedesperate situation of his fortune, and partly from resentment to thegovernment, on his being deprived of a pension which he had for sometime enjoyed. He was convinced of his having acted criminally, and diedwith marks of penitence and contrition. Balmerino had been bred upto arms, and acted upon principle: he was gallant, brave, rough, and resolute; he eyed the implements of death with the most carelessfamiliarity, and seemed to triumph in his sufferings. In November, Mr. Ratcliffe, the titular earl of Derwentwater, who had been taken ina ship bound for Scotland, was arraigned on a former sentence passedagainst him in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen: herefused to acknowledge the authority of the court, and pleaded that hewas a subject of France, honoured with a commission in the service ofhis most christian majesty. The identity of his person being proved, arule was made for his execution; and on the eighth day of December hesuffered decapitation, with the most perfect composure and serenity. Lord Lovat, now turned of four-score, was impeached by the commons, andtried 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 hisconscience, which was supposed to be not altogether void of offence, he died like an old Roman, exclaiming, "Dulce et decorum est pro patriamori. " He surveyed the crowd with attention, examined the axe, jestedwith the executioner, and laid his head upon the block with the utmostindifference. From this last scene of his life, one would have concludedthat he had approved himself a patriot from his youth, and neverdeviated from the paths of virtue. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE STATES-GENERAL ALARMED AT THE PROGRESS OF THE FRENCH. The flame of war on the continent did not expire at the election ofan emperor, and the re-establishment of peace among the princes of theempire. On the contrary, it raged with double violence in consequence ofthese events; for the force that was before divided being now unitedin one body, exerted itself with great vigour and rapidity. Thestates-general were overwhelmed with consternation. Notwithstanding thepains they had taken to avoid a war, and the condescension withwhich they had soothed and supplicated the French monarch in repeatedembassies 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 theenemy were in possession of all the Austrian Netherlands, except a fewfortresses. Great part of the forces belonging to the republic wererestricted from action by capitulations, to which they had subscribed. The states were divided in their councils between the two factions whichhad long subsisted. They trembled at the prospect of seeing Zealandinvaded in the spring. The Orange party loudly called for anaugmentation of their forces by sea and land, that they might prosecutethe war with vigour. The common people, fond of novelty, dazzled by thesplendour of greatness, and fully persuaded that nothing but a chiefwas wanting to their security, demanded the prince of Orange as astadtholder; and even mingled menaces with their demands. The oppositefaction dreaded alike the power of a stadtholder, the neighbourhood ofa French army, and the seditious disposition of the populace. Anambassador was sent to London with representations of the imminentdangers which threatened the republic, and he was ordered to solicit inthe most pressing terms the assistance of his Britannic majesty, thatthe allies might have a superiority in the Netherlands by the beginningof the campaign. The king was very well disposed to comply with theirrequest; but the rebellion in his kingdom, and the dissensions in hiscabinet, had retailed the supplies and embarrassed him so much, that hefound it impossible to make those early preparations that were necessaryto 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 fieldin the latter end of April, at the head of one hundred and twentythousand men, and advanced towards the allies, who, to the number offour-and-forty thousand, were intrenched behind the Demer under theconduct of the Austrian general Bathiani, who retired before them, andtook post in the neighbourhood of Breda, the capital of Dutch Brabant. Mareschal Saxe immediately invested Antwerp, which in a few clayswas surrendered. Then he appeared before the strong town of Mons inHainault, with an irresistible train of artillery, and an immensequantity of bombs and warlike implements. He carried on his approacheswith such unabating impetuosity, that, notwithstanding a very vigorousdefence, the garrison was obliged to capitulate on the twenty-seventhday of June, in about eight-and-twenty days after the place had beeninvested. Sieges were not now carried on by the tedious method ofsapping. The French king found it much more expeditious and effectualto bring into the field a prodigious train of battering cannon, andenormous 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 verylittle time reduced to ruins the place with all its fortifications. St. Guislain and Charleroy met with the fate of Mons and Antwerp; so thatby 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 theconfederate army at Terheyde, which being reinforced by the Hessiantroops from Scotland, and a fresh body of Austrians under count Palfi, amounted to eighty-seven thousand men, including the Dutch forcescommanded by the prince of Waldeck. The generals, supposing the nextstorm would fall upon Namur, marched towards that place, and took postin an advantageous situation on the eighteenth day of July, in sightof the French army, which was encamped at Gemblours, Here they remainedtill the eighth day of August, when a detachment of the enemy, commandedby count Lowendahl, took possession of Huy, where he found a largemagazine belonging to the confederates; and their communication withMaestricht was cut off. Mareschal Saxe, on the other side, took hismeasures so well, that they were utterly deprived of all subsistence. Then prince Charles, retiring across the Maese, abandoned Namur to theefforts of the enemy, by whom it was immediately invested. The trencheswere opened on the second day of September; and the garrison, consistingof seven thousand Austrian-s, defended themselves with equal skill andresolution; but the cannonading and bombardment were so terrible, thatin a few days the place was converted into a heap of rubbish; and on thetwenty-third day of the month the French monarch took possession of thisstrong fortress, which had formerly sustained such dreadful attacks. Meanwhile the allied army encamped at Maestricht, were joined by sirJohn Ligonier with some British and Bavarian battalions; and princeCharles resolved to give the enemy battle. With this view he passed theMaese on the thirteenth day of September, and advanced towards mareschalSaxe, whom he found so advantageously posted at Tongres, that he thoughtproper to march back to Maestricht. On the twenty-sixth day of Septemberhe crossed the Jaar in his retreat; and his rear was attacked by theenemy, who were repulsed. But count Saxe being reinforced by a body oftroops under the count de Clermont, determined to bring the confederatesto 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 forgiving him a warm reception. On the first day of October the enemyadvanced 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 villageswere attacked in columns, and as one brigade was repulsed anothersucceeded; so that the allies were obliged to abandon these posts, and retreat towards Maestricht, with the loss of five thousand menand thirty pieces of artillery. The victory, however, cost the Frenchgeneral a much greater number of lives; and was attended with no solidadvantage. Sir John ligonier, the earls of Crawford [301] _[See note 2O, at the end of this Vol. ]_ and Rothes, brigadier Douglas, and otherofficers of the British troops, distinguished themselves by theirgallantry and conduct on this occasion. This action terminated thecampaign. The allies passing the Maese, took up their winter-quarters inthe duchies of Limeburgh and Luxembourg; while the French cantoned theirtroops 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 andSpaniards. The house of Austria being no longer pressed on the side ofGermany, was enabled to make the stronger efforts in this country;and the British subsidy encouraged the king of Sardinia to act withredoubled vivacity. Mareschal Maillebois occupied the greater part ofPiedmont with about thirty thousand men. Don Philip and the count deGages were at the head of a greater number in the neighbourhood ofMilan; and the duke of Modena, with eight thousand, secured his owndominions. The king of Sardinia augmented his forces to six-and-thirtythousand; and the Austrian army, under the prince of Lichtenstein, amounted to a much greater number; so that the enemy were reduced to thenecessity of acting on the defensive, and retired towards the Mantuan. In February, baron Leutrum, the Piedmontese general, invested and tookthe strong fortress of Aste. He afterwards relieved the citadel ofAlexandria, which the Spaniards had blocked up in the winter, reducedCasal, recovered Valencia, and obliged Maillebois to retire to theneighbourhood of Genoa. On the other side, Don Philip and count Gagesabandoned Milan, Pavia, and Parma, retreating before the Austrians withthe utmost precipitation to Placentia, where they were joined on thethird of June by the French forces under Maillebois. Before this junction was effected, the Spanish general Pignatelli hadpassed the river Po in the night with a strong detachment, and beaten upthe quarters of seven thousand Austrians posted at Codogno. DonPhilip, finding himself at the head of two-and-fifty thousand men by hisjunction with the French general, resolved to attack the Austriansin their camp at San Lazaro, before they should be reinforced by hisSardinian majesty. Accordingly, on the fourth day of June, in theevening, he marched with equal silence and expedition, and entered theAustrian trenches about eleven, when a desperate battle ensued. TheAustrians were prepared for the attack, which they sustained with greatvigour till morning. Then they quitted their intrench-ments, andcharged the enemy in their turn with such fury, that after an obstinateresistance the combined army was broke, and retired with precipitationto Placentia, leaving on the field fifteen thousand men killed, wounded, and taken, together with sixty colours and ten pieces ofartillery. In a few weeks the Austrians were joined by the Piedmontese;the king of Sardinia assumed the chief command; and prince Lichtensteinbeing indisposed, his place was supplied by the marquis de Botta. DonPhilip retired to the other side of the Po, and extended his conquestsin the open country of the Milanese. The king of Sardinia called acouncil of war, in which it was determined that he should pass the riverwith a strong body of troops, in order to straiten the enemy on oneside; while the marquis de Botta should march up the Tydone, to cut offtheir communication with Placentia. They forthwith quitted all the poststhey had occupied between the Lambro and Adda, resolving to repass thePo and retreat to Tortona. With, this view they threw bridges of boatsover that river, and began to pass on the ninth day of August inthe evening. They were attacked at Rotto Freddo by a detachment ofAustrians, under general Serbelloni, who maintained the engagement tillten in the morning, when Botta arrived; the battle was renewed withredoubled rage, and lasted till four in the afternoon, when the enemyretired in great disorder to Tortona, with the loss of eight thousandmen, a good number of colours and standards, and eighteen pieces ofcannon. This victory cost the Austrians four thousand men killedupon the spot, including the gallant general Bernclau. The victorsimmediately summoned Placentia to surrender; and the garrison, consistingof nine thousand men, were made prisoners of war; Don Philip continuedhis retreat, and of all his forces brought six-and-twenty thousand onlyinto the territories of Genoa. THE AUSTRIANS TAKE POSSESSION OF GENOA. COUNT BROWN ENTERS PROVENCE. 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. Theydid not long continue in this situation; for on the twenty-second day ofAugust they were again in motion, and retired into Provence. The courtof Madrid imputing the bad success of this campaign to the misconduct ofcount Gages, recalled that general, and sent the marquis de las Minasto resume the command of the forces. In the meantime, the victoriousconfederates appeared before Genoa on the fourth day of December; andthe senate of that city thinking it incapable of defence, submitted toa very mortifying capitulation, by which the gates were delivered up tothe Austrians, together with all their arms, artillery, and ammunition;and the city was subjected to the most cruel contributions. The marquisde Botta being left at Genoa with sixteen thousand men, the king ofSardinia resolved to pass the Var, and pursue the French and Spaniardsinto Provence; but that monarch being seized with the small-pox, theconduct of this expedition was entrusted to count Brown, an Austriangeneral of Irish extract, who had given repeated proofs of uncommonvalour and capacity. He was on this occasion assisted by vice-admiralMedley, who commanded the British squadron in the Mediterranean. TheFrench forces had fortified the passes of the Var, under the conduct ofthe mareschal de Belleisle, who thought proper to abandon his postsat the approach of count Brown; and this general, at the head of fiftythousand men, passed the river without opposition, on the ninth dayof November. While he advanced as far as Draguignan, laying the opencountry under contribution, baron Both, with four-and-twenty battalions, invested Antibes, which was at the same time bombarded on the sideof the sea by the British squadron. The trenches were opened on thetwentieth day of September; but Belleisle having assembled a numerousarmy, superior to that of the confederates, and the Genoese havingexpelled 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, exactedsuch heavy contribution from the Genoese, and its directions were sorigorously put in execution, that the people were reduced to despair;and resolved to make a last effort for the recovery of their libertyand independence. Accordingly, they took arms in secret, seized severalimportant posts of the city; surprised some battalions of the Austrians;surrounded others, and cut them in pieces; and, in a word, drove themout with great slaughter. The marquis de Botta acted with cautionand spirit; but being overpowered by numbers, and apprehensive of thepeasants in the country, who were in arms, he retreated to the pass ofthe Brochetta on the side of Lombardy, where he secured himself in anadvantageous situation, until he could receive reinforcements. The losshe had sustained at Genoa did not hinder him from reducing Savona, asea-port town belonging to that republic; and he afterwards made himselfmaster of Gavi. The Genoese, on the contrary, exerted themselves withwonderful industry in fortifying their city, raising troops, and intaking other measures for a vigorous defence, in case they should againbe insulted. MADRAS TAKEN BY THE FRENCH. The naval transactions of this year reflected very little honour on theBritish nation. Commodore Peyton, who commanded six ships of war in theEast Indies, shamefully declined a decisive engagement with a Frenchsquadron of inferior force; and abandoned the important settlement ofMadras on the coast of Coromandel, which was taken without opposition inthe month of September by the French commodore, de la Bourdonnais. FortSt. David, and the other British factories in India, would probably haveshared the same fate, had not the enemy's naval force in that countrybeen shattered and partly destroyed by a terrible tempest. No event ofconsequence happened in America, though it was a scene that seemed topromise the greatest success to the arms of England. The reductionof Cape Breton had encouraged the ministry to project the conquest ofQuebec, the capital of Canada, situated upon the river St. Lawrence. Commissions were sent to the governors of the British colonies in NorthAmerica, empowering them to raise companies to join the armament fromEngland; and eight thousand troops were actually raised in consequenceof these directions; while a powerful squadron and transports, havingsix regiments on board, were prepared at Portsmouth for this expedition. But their departure was postponed by unaccountable delays, until theseason was judged too far advanced to risk the great ships on theboisterous coast of North America. That the armament, however, mightnot be wholly useless to the nation, it was employed in making a descentupon the coast of Bretagne, on the supposition that Port L'Orient, therepository of all the stores and ships belonging to the French EastIndia company, might be surprised; or, that this invasion would alarmthe enemy, and, by making a diversion, facilitate the operations of theAustrian general in Provence. The naval force intended for this service consisted of sixteen greatships, 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 andbombardiers, were embarked in thirty transports, under the conduct oflieutenant-general Sinclair; and the whole fleet set sail from Plymouthon the fourteenth day of September. On the twentieth the troops werelanded in Quimperlay-bay, at the distance of ten miles from PortL'Orient. The militia, reinforced by some detachments from differentregiments, were assembled to the number of two thousand, and seemedresolved to oppose the disembarkation; but seeing the British troopsdetermined to land at all events, they thought proper to retire. Nextday general Sinclair advanced into the country, skirmishing with theenemy in his route; and arriving at the village of Plemure, within halfa league from Port L'Orient, summoned that place to surrender. Hewas visited by a deputation from the town, which offered to admitthe British forces, on condition that they should be restrained frompillaging the inhabitants, and touching the magazines; and thatthey should pay a just price for their provisions. These terms beingrejected, the inhabitants prepared for a vigorous defence; and theEnglish general resolved to besiege the place in form, though he hadneither 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-twentyhours. All his cannon amounted to no more than a few field-pieces; andhe was obliged to wait for two iron guns, which the sailors dragged upfrom the shipping. Had he given the assault on the first night afterhis arrival, when the town was filled with terror and confusion, anddestitute of regular troops, in all probability it would havebeen easily taken by scalade; but the reduction of it was renderedimpracticable by his delay. The ramparts were mounted with cannon fromthe ships in the harbour; new works were raised with great industry; thegarrison was reinforced by several bodies of regular troops; and greatnumbers were assembling from all parts; so that the British forces werein danger of being surrounded in an enemy's country. Notwithstandingthese discouragements, they opened a small battery against the town, which was set on fire in several places by their bombs and red-hotbullets; they likewise repulsed part of the garrison which had made asally to destroy their works; but their cannon producing no effectupon the fortifications, the fire from the town daily increasing, theengineers owning they could not perform their promise, and admiralLestock declaring, in repeated messages, that he could no longerexpose the ships on an open coast at such a season of the year, generalSinclair abandoned the siege. Having caused the two iron pieces ofcannon and the mortars to be spiked, he retreated in good order tothe sea-side, where his troops were re-embarked, having sustainedvery inconsiderable damage since their first landing. He expectedreinforcements from England, and was resolved to wait a little longerfor their arrival, in hopes of being able to annoy the enemy moreeffectually. In the beginning of October, the fleet sailed toQuiberon-bay, where they destroyed the Ardent, a French ship of warof sixty-four guns; and a detachment of the forces being landed, tookpossession of a fort in the peninsula; while the little islands of Houatand Hey die were reduced by the sailors. In this situation the admiraland general continued till the seventeenth day of the month, when theforts being dismantled, and the troops re-embarked, the fleet sailedfrom the French coast; the admiral returned to England, and thetransports with the soldiers proceeded to Ireland, where they arrived insafety. NAVAL TRANSACTIONS in the WEST INDIES. This expedition, weak and frivolous as it may seem, was resented by theFrench nation as one of the greatest insults they had ever sustained;and demonstrated the possibility of hurting France in her tenderestparts, by means of an armament of this nature, well timed, andvigorously conducted. Indeed, nothing could be more absurd orprecipitate than an attempt to distress the enemy by landing a handfulof troops, without draught-horses, tents, or artillery, from a fleet ofships lying on an open beach, exposed to the uncertainty of weather inthe most tempestuous season of the year, so as to render the retreat andre-embarkation altogether precarious. The British squadrons in the WestIndies performed no exploit of consequence in the course of this year. The commerce was but indifferently protected. Commodore Lee, stationedoff Martinico, allowed a French fleet of merchant-ships, and theirconvoy, to pass by his squadron unmolested; and commodore Mitchelbehaved scandalously in a rencontre with the French squadron, under theconduct of monsieur de Conflans, who in his return to Europe tookthe Severn, an English ship of fifty guns. The cruisers on all sides, English, French, and Spaniards, were extremely alert; and though theEnglish lost the greater number of ships, this difference was more thanoverbalanced by the superior value of the prizes taken from the enemy. In the course of this year, two-and-twenty Spanish privateers, andsixty-six merchant vessels, including ten register ships, fell into thehands of the British cruisers; from the French they took seven ships ofwar, ninety privateers, and about three hundred ships of commerce. Thenew king of Spain* being supposed well-affected to the British nation, an effort was made to detach him from the interests of France, by meansof the marquis de Tabernega, who had formerly been his favourite, andresided 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 footwith the court of Madrid. But his efforts miscarried; and the influenceof the queen-mother continued to predominate in the Spanish councils. The states-general had for some years endeavoured to promote apacification by remonstrances, and even entreaties, at the court ofVersailles; the French king at length discovered an inclination topeace, and in September a congress was opened at Breda, the capitalof Dutch Brabant, where the plenipotentiaries of the emperor, GreatBritain, France, and Holland, were assembled; but the French were soinsolent in their demands, that the conferences were soon interrupted. The parliament of Great Britain meeting in November, the king exhortedthem to concert with all possible expedition the proper measuresfor pursuing the war with vigour, that the confederate army in theNetherlands might be seasonably augmented; he likewise gave them tounderstand, that the funds appropriated for the support of his civilgovernment had for some years past fallen short of the revenue intendedand granted by parliament; and said he relied on their known affectionto find out some method to make good this deficiency. As all those whohad conducted the opposition were now concerned in the administration, little or no objection was made to any demand or proposal of thegovernment and its ministers. The commons having considered theestimates, voted forty thousand seamen for the service of the ensuingyear, and about sixty thousand land-forces, including eleven thousandfive hundred marines. They granted four hundred and thirty-threethousand pounds to the empress queen of Hungary; three hundred thousandpounds to the king of Sardinia; four hundred and ten thousand pounds forthe maintenance of eighteen thousand Hanoverian auxiliaries; one hundredand sixty one thousand six hundred and seven pounds for six thousandHessians; subsidies to the electors of Cologn, Mentz, and Bavaria;and the sum of five hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty toprosecute the war with advantage. In a word, the supplies amounted tonine millions four hundred and twenty-five thousand two hundred andfifty-four pounds; a sum almost incredible, if we consider how thekingdom had been already drained of its treasure. It was raised by theusual taxes, reinforced with new impositions on windows, carriages, andspirituous liquors; a lottery, and a loan from the sinking-fund. The newtaxes were mortgaged for four millions by transferable annuities, atan interest of four, and a premium of ten per centum. By reflectingon these enormous grants, one would imagine the ministry had beendetermined to impoverish the nation; but from the eagerness andexpedition with which the people subscribed for the money, one wouldconclude that the riches of the kingdom were inexhaustible. It may notbe amiss to observe, that the supplies of this year exceeded, by twomillions and a half, the greatest annual sum that was raised during thereign of queen Anne, though she maintained as great a number of troopsas was now in the pay of Great Britain, and her armies and fleetsacquired every year fresh harvests of glory and advantage; whereasthis war had proved an almost uninterrupted series of events big withdisaster and dishonour. During the last two years, the naval expense ofEngland had exceeded that of France about five millions sterling; thoughher fleets had not obtained one signal advantage over the enemy at sea, nor been able to protect her commerce from their depredations. She wasat once a prey to her declared adversaries and professed friends. Beforethe end of summer, she numbered among her mercenaries two empresses, five German princes, and a powerful monarch, whom she hired to assisther in trimming the balance of Europe, in which they themselves wereimmediately interested, and she had no more than a secondary concern. Had these fruitless subsidies been saved; had the national revenuebeen applied with economy to national purposes; had it been employed inliquidating gradually the public incumbrances: in augmenting the navy, improving manufactures, encouraging and securing the colonies, andextending trade and navigation; corruption would have become altogetherunnecessary, and disaffection would have vanished: the people would havebeen eased of their burdens, and ceased to complain; commerce wouldhave flourished, and produced such affluence as must have raised GreatBritain to the highest pinnacle of maritime power, above all rivalshipof competition. She would have been dreaded by her enemies; revered byher neighbours; oppressed nations would have crept under her wings forprotection; contending potentates would have appealed to her decision;and she would have shone the universal arbitress of Europe. Howdifferent is her present situation! her debts are enormous, her taxesintolerable, her people discontented, and the sinews of her governmentrelaxed. Without conduct, confidence, or concert, she engages inblundering negotiations; she involves herself rashly in foreignquarrels, and lavishes her substance with the most dangerousprecipitation; she is even deserted by her wonted vigour, steadiness, and intrepidity; she grows vain, fantastical, and pusillanimous; herarms are despised by her enemies; and her councils ridiculed through allChristendom. PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. The king, in order to exhibit a specimen of his desire to diminish thepublic expense, ordered the third and fourth troops of his life-guardsto be disbanded, and reduced three regiments of horse to the quality ofdragoons. The house of commons presented an address of thanks for thisinstance of economy, by which the annual sum of seventy thousand poundswas saved to the nation. Notwithstanding this seeming harmony betweenthe king and the great council of the nation, his majesty resolved, withthe advice of his council, to dissolve the present parliament, thoughthe term of seven years was not yet expired since its first meeting. Theministry affected to insinuate, that the states-general were unwillingto concur with his majesty in vigorous measures against France, duringthe existence of a parliament which had undergone such a vicissitude ofcomplexion. The allies of Great Britain, far from being suspicious ofthis assembly, which had supplied them so liberally, saw with concernthat according to law it would soon be dismissed; and they doubtedwhether another could be procured equally agreeable to their purposes. In order to remove this doubt, the ministry resolved to surprise thekingdom with a new election, before the malcontents should be preparedto oppose the friends of the government. {1747} Accordingly, when the business of the session was despatched, the kinghaving given the royal assent to the several acts they had prepared, dismissed them in the month of June, with an affectionate speech thatbreathed nothing but tenderness and gratitude. The parliament wasimmediately dissolved by proclamation, and new writs were issued forconvoking another. Among the laws passed in this session, was an actabolishing the heritable jurisdictions, and taking away the tenureof wardholdings in Scotland, which were reckoned among the principalsources of those rebellions that had been excited since the revolution. In the highlands they certainly kept the common people in subjectionto their chiefs, whom they implicitly followed and obeyed in all theirundertakings. By this act these mountaineers were legally emancipatedfrom slavery; but as the tenants enjoyed no leases, and were at alltimes liable to be ejected from their farms, they still depended onthe pleasure of their lords, notwithstanding this interposition of thelegislature, which granted a valuable consideration in money to everynobleman and petty baron, who was thus deprived of one part of hisinheritance. The forfeited estates indeed were divided into small farms, and let by the government on leases at an under value; so that thosewho had the good fortune to obtain such leases tasted the sweets ofindependence; but the highlanders in general were left in theiroriginal indigence and incapacity, at the mercy of their superiors. Hadmanufactures and fisheries been established in different parts oftheir country, they would have seen and felt the happy consequences ofindustry, and in a little time been effectually detached from all theirslavish connexions. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE FRENCH AND ALLIES TAKE THE FIELD IN FLANDERS. The operations of the campaign had been concerted in the winter at theHague, between the duke of Cumberland and the states-general of theUnited Provinces, who were by this time generally convinced of France'sdesign to encroach upon their territories. They therefore determined totake 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 morepenetrate into Provence. The Dutch patriots, however, were not rousedinto this exertion, until all their remonstrances had failed at thecourt of Versailles; until they had been urged by repeated memorials ofthe English ambassador, and stimulated by the immediate danger to whichtheir country was exposed; for France was by this time possessed ofall the Austrian Netherlands, and seemed bent upon penetrating into theterritories of the United Provinces. In February, the duke of Cumberlandbegan to assemble the allied forces; and in the latter end of March theytook the field in three separate bodies. His royal highness, with theEnglish, Hanoverians, and Hessians, fixed his head quarters at thevillage of Tilberg; the prince of Waldeck was posted with the Dutchtroops at Breda; and mareschal Bathiani collected the Austrians andBavarians in the neighbourhood of Venlo. The whole army amounted to onehundred and twenty thousand men, who lay inactive six weeks, exposedto the inclemency of the weather, and almost destitute of forage andprovisions. Count Saxe, by this time created mareschal-general ofFrance, continued his troops within their cantonments at Bruges, Antwerp, and Brussels, declaring, that when the allied army shouldbe weakened by sickness and mortality, he would convince the duke ofCumberland that the first duty of a general is to provide for the healthand preservation of his troops. In April this fortunate commander tookthe field, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand men; and thecount de Clermont commanded a separate body of nineteen battalions andthirty squadrons. Count Lowendahl was detached on the sixteenth of themonth, with seven-and-twenty thousand men, to invade Dutch Flanders; atthe same time, the French minister at the Hague presented a memorial tothe states, intimating, that his master was obliged to take this step bythe necessity of war; but that his troops should observe the strictestdiscipline, without interfering with the religion, government, orcommerce of the republic; he likewise declared, that the countriesand places of which he might be obliged to take possession should bedetained no otherwise than as a pledge, to be restored as soon as theUnited Provinces should give convincing proofs that they would no longerfurnish the enemies of France with succours. THE PRINCE OF ORANGE ELECTED STADTHOLDER. While the states deliberated upon this declaration, count Lowendahlentered Dutch Brabant, and invested the town and fortress of Sluys, the garrison of which surrendered themselves prisoners of war on thenineteenth day of April. This was likewise the fate of Sas-van-Ghent, while the marquis de Contades, with another detachment, reduced theforts Perle and Leifkenshoek, with the town of Philippine, even withinhearing of the confederate army. The fort of Sandberg was vigorouslydefended by two English battalions; but they were overpowered, andobliged to retire to Welsthoorden; and count Lowendahl undertook thesiege of Hulst, which was shamefully surrendered by La Roque the Dutchgovernor, though he knew that a reinforcement of nine battalions was onthe march to his relief. Then the French general took possession of Axeland Terneuse, and began to prepare flat-bottomed boats for a descenton the island of Zealand. The Dutch people were now struck withconsternation. They saw the enemy at their doors, and owed theirimmediate 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 intentionof Lowendahl. The common people in Zealand being reduced to despair, began to clamour loudly against their governors, as if they had nottaken the proper measures for their security. The friends of the princeof Orange did not neglect this opportunity of promoting his interest. They encouraged their discontent, and exaggerated the danger; theyreminded them of the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-two, when the French king was at the gates of Amsterdam, and the republic wassaved by the choice of a stadtholder; they exhorted them to turn theireyes on the descendant of those heroes who had established the libertyand independence of the United Provinces; they extolled his virtue andability; his generosity, his justice, his unshaken love to his country. The people in several towns, inflamed by such representations to tumultand sedition, compelled their magistrates to declare the prince ofOrange stadtholder. He himself, in a letter to the states ofZealand, offered his services for the defence of the province. On thetwenty-eighth day of April he was nominated captain-general and admiralof Zealand. Their example was followed by Rotterdam and the wholeprovince of Holland; and on the second day of May, the prince of Orangewas, in the assembly of the states-general, invested with the powerand dignity of stadtholder, captain-general, and admiral of the UnitedProvinces. The vigorous consequences of this resolution immediatelyappeared. All commerce and contracts with the French were prohibited;the peasants were armed and exercised; a resolution passed for making aconsiderable augmentation of the army, a council of war was establishedfor inquiring into the conduct of the governors who had given up thefrontier places; and orders were issued to commence hostilities againstthe French, both by sea and land. Meanwhile the duke of Cumberland took post with his whole army betweenthe two Nethes, to cover Bergen-op-Zoom and Maestricht; and MareschalSaxe called in his detachments with a view to hazard a generalengagement. In the latter end of May the French king arrived atBrussels, and his general resolved to undertake the siege of Maestricht. For this purpose he advanced towards Louvain; and the confederatesperceiving his drift, began their march to take post between the townand the enemy. On the twentieth day of June they took possession oftheir ground, and were drawn up in order of battle, with their right atBilsen, and their left extending to Wirle within a mile of Maestricht, having in the front of their left wing the village of Laffeldt, in whichthey posted several battalions of British infantry. The French had takenpossession of the heights of Herdeeren, immediately above the allies;and both armies cannonaded each other till the evening. In the morningthe enemy's infantry marched down the hill in a prodigious column, andattacked the village of Laffeldt, which was well fortified, and defendedwith amazing obstinacy. The assailants suffered terribly in theirapproach from the cannon of the confederates, which was served withsurprising dexterity and success; and they met with such a warmreception from the British musquetry as they could not withstand; but, when they were broken and dispersed, fresh brigades succeeded withastonishing perseverance. The confederates were driven out of thevillage; yet being sustained by three regiments, they measured backtheir ground, and repulsed the enemy with great slaughter. Nevertheless, count Saxe continued pouring in other battalions, and the Frenchregained and maintained their footing in the village, after it had beenthree times lost and carried. The action was chiefly confined to thispost, where the field exhibited a horrible scene of carnage. At noon theduke of Cumberland ordered the whole left wing to advance againstthe 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 thefortune of the day took a sudden turn to their prejudice. Severalsquadrons of Dutch horse posted in the centre gave way, and flying atfull gallop, overthrew five battalions of infantry that were advancingfrom the body of reserve. The French cavalry charged them with greatimpetuosity, increasing the confusion that was already produced, andpenetrating through the lines of the allied army, which was thus dividedabout the centre. The duke of Cumberland, who exerted himself withequal courage and activity in attempting to remedy this disorder, was indanger of being taken; and the defeat would in all probability have beentotal, had not sir John Ligonier taken the resolution of sacrificinghimself and a part of the troops to the safety of the army. At the headof three British regiments of dragoons, and some squadrons of imperialhorse, he charged the whole line of the French cavalry with suchintrepidity and success, that he overthrew all that opposed him, andmade such a diversion as enabled the duke of Cumberland to effectan orderly retreat to Maestricht. He himself was taken by a Frenchcarabinier, after his horse had been killed; but the regiments hecommanded retired with deliberation. The confederates retreated toMaestricht, without having sustained much damage from the pursuit, andeven brought off all their artillery, except sixteen pieces of cannon. Their loss did not exceed six thousand men killed and taken; whereasthe French general purchased the victory at a much greater expense. Thecommon cause of the confederate powers is said to have suffered from thepride and ignorance of their generals. On the eve of the battle, when the detachment of the count de Clermont appeared on the hill ofHerdeeren, marshal Bathiani asked permission of the commander-in-chiefto attack them before they should be reinforced, declaring he wouldanswer for the success of the enterprise. No regard was paid to thisproposal; but the superior asked in his turn, where the marshal wouldbe in case he should be wanted? He replied, "I shall always be foundat the head of my troops, " and retired in disgust. The subsequentdisposition has likewise been blamed, inasmuch as not above one half ofthe 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 hisarmy in the neighbourhood of Tongres. Mareschal Saxe, having amusedthe allies with marches and counter-marches, at length detached countLowendahl with six-and-thirty thousand men to besiege Bergen-op-Zoom, the strongest fortification of Dutch Brabant, the favourite work ofthe famous engineer Coehorn, never conquered, and generally esteemedinvincible. It was secured with a garrison of three thousand men, andwell provided with artillery, ammunition, and magazines. The enemyappeared before it on the twelfth day of July, and summoned the governorto surrender. The prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen was sent to its relief, with twenty battalions and fourteen squadrons of the troops that couldbe most conveniently assembled; he entered the lines of Bergen-op-Zooin, where he remained in expectation of a strong reinforcement from theconfederate army; and the old baron Cronstrom, whom the stadtholder hadappointed governor of Brabant, assumed the command of the garrisonThe besiegers carried on their operations with great vivacity; and thetroops in the town defended it with equal vigour. The eyes of all Europewere turned upon this important siege; count Lowendahl received diversreinforcements; and a considerable body of troops was detached from theallied army, under the command of baron Schwartzenberg, to co-operatewith the prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The French general lost a greatnumber of men by the close and continual fire of the besieged; whilehe, in his turn, opened such a number of batteries, and plied them sowarmly, that the defences began to give way. From the sixteenth day ofJuly to the fifteenth of September, the siege produced an unintermittingscene of horror and destruction: desperate sallies were made, and minessprung 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 continuedroar of bombs and cannon. But still the damage fell chiefly on thebesiegers, who were slain in heaps; while the garrison suffered verylittle, and could be occasionally relieved or reinforced from the lines. In a word, it was generally believed that count Lowendahl wouldbe baffled in his endeavours; and by this belief the governor ofBergen-op-Zoom seems to have been lulled into a blind security. Atlength, some inconsiderable breaches were made in one ravelin andtwo bastions, and these the French general resolved to storm, thoughCronstrom believed they were impracticable; ind on that suppositionpresumed that the enemy would not attempt an assault. For this veryreason count Lowendahl resolved to hazard the attack, before thepreparations should be made for his reception. He accordingly regulatedhis dispositions, and at four o'clock in the morning, on the sixteenthday of September, the signal was made for the assault. A prodigiousquantity of bombs being thrown into the ravelin, his troops threwthemselves into the fosse, mounted the breaches, forced open asally-port, and entered the place almost without resistance. In a word, they had time to extend themselves along the curtains, and form in orderof battle, before the garrison could be assembled. Cronstrom was asleep, and the soldiers upon duty had been surprised by the suddenness andimpetuosity of the attack. Though the French had taken possession of theramparts, they did not gain the town without opposition. Two battalionsof the Scottish troops, in the pay of the states-general, were assembledin the market-place, and attacked them with such fury, that they weredriven from street to street, until fresh reinforcements arriving, compelled the Scots to retreat in their turn; yet they disputed everyinch of ground, and fought until two thirds of them were killed upon thespot. Then they brought off the old governor, abandoning the town to theenemy; the troops that were encamped in the lines retreating withgreat precipitation, all the forts in the neighbourhood immediatelysurrendered to the victors, who now became masters of the wholenavigation of the Schelde. The French king was no sooner informed ofLowendahl's success, than he promoted him to the rank of mareschal ofFrance; appointed count Saxe governor of the conquered Netherlands;and returned in triumph to Versailles. In a little time after thistransaction, both armies were distributed into winter quarters, and theduke of Cumberland embarked for England. In Italy, the French arms did not triumph with equal success, thoughthe mareschal de Belleisle saw himself at the head of a powerful armyin Provence. In April he passed the Var without opposition, and tookpossession of Nice. He met with little or no resistance in reducingMontalban, Villafranca, and Ventimiglia; while general Brown, witheight-and-twenty thousand Aus-trians, retired towards Final and Savona. In the meantime, another large body under count Schuylemberg, Whohad succeeded the marquis de Botta, co-operated with fifteen thousandPiedmontese in an attempt to recover the city of Genoa. The Frenchking had sent their supplies, succours, and engineers, with the dukede Boufflers, as ambassador to the republic, who likewise acted ascommander-in-chief of the forces employed for its defence. The Austriangeneral assembled his troops in the Milanese, having forced the passageof the Bochetta on the thirteenth of January, he advanced into theterritories of Genoa, and the Eiviera was ravaged without mercy. Onthe last day of March he appeared before the city at the head of fortythousand men, and summoned the revolters to lay down their arms. Theanswer he received was, that the republic had fifty-four thousand men inarms, two hundred and sixty cannon, thirty-four mortars, with abundanceof ammunition and provision; that they would defend their liberty withtheir last blood, and be buried in the ruins of their capital, ratherthan submit to the clemency of the court of Vienna, except by anhonourable capitulation, guaranteed by the kings of Great Britainand Sardinia, the republic of Venice and the United Provinces. In thebeginning of May, Genoa was invested on all sides; a furious sally wasmade by the duke de Boufflers, who drove the besiegers from their posts;but the Austrians rallying, he was repulsed in his turn, with the lossof seven hundred men. General Schuylemberg carried on his operationswith such skill, vigour, and intrepidity, that he made himself master ofthe suburbs of Bisagno; and in all probability would have reduced thecity, had he not been obliged to desist, in consequence of the repeatedremonstrances made by the king of Sardinia and count Brown, whorepresented the necessity of his abandoning his enterprise, anddrawing off his army to cover Piedmont and Lombardy from the efforts ofmareschal de Belleisle. Accordingly he raised the siege on the tenth dayof June, and returned into the Milanese in order to join his Sardinianmajesty; while the Genoese made an irruption into the Parmesan andPlacentia, where they committed terrible outrages, in revenge for themischiefs 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, attemptedto penetrate into Piedmont: on the sixth day of July he arrived atthe pass of Exilles, a strong fortress on the frontiers of Dauphiné, situated on the north side of the river Doria. The defence of thisimportant post the king of Sardinia had committed to the care of thecount de Brigueras, who formed an encampment behind the lines, with fourteen battalions of Piedmontese and Austrians, while diversdetachments were posted along all the passes of the Alps. On the eighthday of the month the Piedmontese intrenchments were attacked by thechevalier de Belleisle, with incredible intrepidity; but the columnswere repulsed with great loss in three successive attacks. Impatient ofthis obstinate opposition, and determined not to survive a miscarriage, this impetuous general seized a pair of colours, and advancing at thehead of his troops through a prodigious fire, pitched them with his ownhand on the enemy's entrenchments. At that instant he fell dead, havingreceived two musquet-balls and the thrust of a bayonet in his body. Theassailants were so much dispirited by the death of their commander, that they forthwith gave way, and retreated with precipitation towardsSesteries, having lost near five thousand men in the attack. Themareschal was no sooner informed of his brother's misfortune, than heretreated towards the Var to join the troops from Exilles, while theking of Sardinia, having assembled an army of seventy thousand men, threatened Dauphiné with an invasion; but the excessive rains preventedthe execution of his design. General Leutrum was detached with twentybattalions, to drive the French from Ventimiglia; but Belleisle marchingback, 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 thepreceding year equipped an expensive armament, under the command of theduke d'Anville, for the recovery of Cape Breton; but it was renderedineffectual by storms, distempers, and the death of the commander. Notyet discouraged by these disasters, he resolved to renew his effortsagainst the British colonies in North America, and their settlementsin the East Indies. For these purposes two squadrons were prepared atBrest, one to be commanded by the commodore de la Jonquiere; and theother destined for India, by monsieur de St. George. The ministry ofGreat Britain, being apprized of these measures, resolved to interceptboth squadrons, which were to set sail together. For this purposevice-admiral Anson and rear-admiral Warren took their departure fromPlymouth with a formidable fleet, and steered their course to CapeFinisterre on the coast of Gallicia. On the third day of May, they fellin with the French squadrons, commanded by la Jonquiere and St. George, consisting of six large ships of war, as many frigates, and four armedvessels equipped by their East India company, having under their convoyabout thirty ships laden with merchandise. Those prepared for warimmediately shortened sail, and formed a line of battle; while the rest, under the protection of the six frigates, proceeded on their voyage withall the sail they could carry. The British squadron was likewise drawnup in line of battle; but Mr. Warren, perceiving that the enemy beganto sheer off, now their convoy was at a considerable distance, advisedadmiral Anson to haul in the signal for the line, and hoist anotherfor giving chase and engaging, otherwise the French would, in allprobability, escape by favour of the night. The proposal was embraced;and in a little time the engagement began with great fury, about fouro'clock in the afternoon. The enemy sustained the battle with equalconduct and valour, until they were overpowered by numbers, and thenthey struck their colours. The admiral detached three ships in pursuitof the convoy, nine sail of which were taken; but the rest were saved bythe intervening darkness. About seven hundred of the French were killedand wounded in this action. The English lost about five hundred; andamong these captain Grenville, commander of the ship Defiance. Hewas nephew to the lord viscount Cobham, a youth of the most amiablecharacter and promising genius, animated with the noblest sentiments ofhonour and patriotism. Eager in the pursuit of glory, he rushed into themidst 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 dieduniversally lamented and beloved. The success of the British arms inthis engagement was chiefly owing to the conduct, activity, and courageof the rear-admiral. A considerable quantity of bullion was found in theprizes, which was brought to Spithead in triumph; and the treasure beinglanded, was conveyed in twenty waggons to the bank of London. AdmiralAnson 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, cruisingin the latitude of Cape Ortegal in Gallicia, took above forty Frenchships, richly laden from St. Domingo, after they had been abandoned bytheir convoy. But the French king sustained another more important lossat sea, in the month of October. Rear-admiral Hawke sailed fromPlymouth in the beginning of August, with fourteen ships of the line, tointercept a fleet of French merchant ships bound for the West Indies. Hecruised for some time on the coast of Bretagne; and at length the Frenchfleet sailed from the isle of Aix, under convoy of nine ships of theline, besides frigates, commanded by monsieur de Letendeur. On thefourteenth day of October, the two squadrons were in sight of eachother, in the latitude of Belleisle. The French commodore immediatelyordered one of his great ships, and the frigates, to proceed withthe trading ships, while he formed the line of battle, and waited theattack. At eleven in the forenoon admiral Hawke displayed the signal tochase, and in half an hour both fleets were engaged. The battle lastedtill night, when all the French squadron, except the Intrepide andTon-ant, had struck to the English flag. These two capital ships escapedin the dark, and returned to Brest in a shattered condition. TheFrench captains sustained the unequal fight with uncommon bravery andresolution; and did not yield until their ships were disabled. Theirloss in men amounted to eight hundred: the number of English killed inthis engagement did not exceed two hundred, including captain Saumarez, a gallant officer who had served under lord Anson in his expeditionto the Pacific Ocean. Indeed it must be owned, for the honour of thatnobleman, that all these officers formed under his example, and raisedby his influence, approved themselves in all respects worthy of thecommands to which they were preferred. Immediately after the action, admiral Hawke despatched a sloop to commodore Legge, whose squadron wasstationed at the Leeward Islands, with intelligence of the French fleetof merchant ships outward-bound, that he might take the proper measuresfor intercepting them in their passage to Martinique and the otherFrench islands. In consequence of this advice he redoubled hisvigilance, and a good number of them fell into his hands. Admiral Hawkeconducted his prizes to Spithead; and in his letter to the board ofadmiralty, declared that all his captains behaved like men of honourduring the engagement, except Mr. Fox, whose conduct he desired mightbe subjected to an inquiry. That gentleman was accordingly tried by acourt-martial, and suspended from his command, for having followed theadvice of his officers contrary to his own better judgment; but he wassoon restored, and afterwards promoted to the rank of admiral; while Mr. Matthews, whose courage never incurred suspicion, still laboured undersuspension for that which had been successfully practised in both theselate actions, namely, engaging the enemy without any regard to the lineof battle. In the Mediterranean, vice-admiral Medley blocked up theSpanish squadron in Carthagena; assisted the Austrian general on thecoast of Villafranca; and intercepted some of the succours sent fromFrance to the assistance of the Genoese. At his death, which happenedin the beginning of August, the command of that squadron devolved uponrear-admiral Byng, who proceeded on the same plan of operation. In thesummer, two British ships of war, having under their convoy a fleetof merchant ships bound to North America, fell in with the Glorioso, aSpanish ship of eighty guns, in the latitude of the Western Isles. Shehad sailed from the Havannah with an immense treasure on board, and musthave fallen a prize to the English ships had each captain done his duty. Captain Erskine, in the Warwick of sixty guns, attacked her with greatintrepidity, and fought until his ship was entirely disabled; but beingunsustained by his consort, he was obliged to haul off, and the Gloriosoarrived in safety at Ferrol; there the silver was landed, and sheproceeded 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 theinequality of force, engaged her without hesitation; but in the heat ofthe action, his ship being set on fire by accident, was blown up, and-heperished with all his crew, except a midshipman and ten or elevensailors, who were taken up alive by a privateer that happened to be insight. Favourable as this accident may seem to the Glorioso, she didnot escape. An English ship of eighty guns, under the command of captainBuckle, came up and obliged the Spaniards to surrender, after a shortbut vigorous engagement. Commodore Griffin had been sent, with areinforcement of ships, to assume the command of the squadron in theEast Indies; and although his arrival secured Fort St. David's and theother British settlements in that country, from the insults of monsieurda la Bourdonnais, his strength was not sufficient to enable him toundertake any enterprise of importance against the enemy; the ministryof England therefore resolved to equip a fresh armament, that, whenjoined by the ships in India, should be in a condition to besiegePon-dicherry, the principal settlement belonging to the French on thecoast of Coromandel. For this service, a good number of independentcompanies was raised, and set sail, in the sequel, with a strongsquadron under the conduct of rear-admiral Boscawen, an officer ofunquestioned valour and capacity. In the course of this year, theBritish cruisers were so alert and successful, that they took sixhundred and forty-four prizes from the French and Spaniards, whereas theloss of Great Britain in the same time did not exceed five hundred andfifty. CONGRESS AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. All the belligerent powers were by this time heartily tired of a warwhich had consumed an immensity of treasure, had been productive ofso much mischief, and in the events of which, all, in their turns, hadfound themselves disappointed. Immediately after the battle of Laffeldt, the king of France had, in a personal conversation with sir JohnLigonier, expressed his desire of a pacification; and afterwards hisminister at the Hague presented a declaration on the same subject to thedeputies of the states-general. The signal success of the British armsat sea confirmed him in these sentiments, which were likewise reinforcedby a variety of other considerations. His finances were almostexhausted, and his supplies from the Spanish West Indies rendered soprecarious by the vigilance of the British cruisers, that he could nolonger depend upon their arrival. The trading part of his subjects hadsustained such losses, that his kingdom was filled with bankruptcies;and the best part of his navy now contributed to strengthen the fleetsof his enemies. The election of a stadtholder had united the whole powerof the states-general against him, in taking the most resolute measuresfor their own safety; his views in Germany were entirely frustratedby the elevation of the grand duke to the Imperial throne, andthe re-establishment of peace between the houses of Austria andBran-denburgh; the success of his arms in Italy had not at all answeredhis expectation; and Genoa was become an expensive ally. He had themortification to see the commerce of Britain flourish in the midst ofwar, while his own people were utterly impoverished. The parliament ofEngland granted, and the nation paid such incredible sums as enabledtheir sovereign not only to maintain invincible navies and formidablearmies, but likewise to give subsidies to all the powers of Europe. Heknew that a treaty of this kind was actually upon the anvil between hisBritannic majesty and the czarina, and he began to be apprehensiveof seeing an army of Russians in the Netherlands. His fears from thisquarter were not without foundation. In the month of November, the earlof Hyndford, ambassador from the king of Great Britain at the court ofRussia, concluded a treaty of subsidy, by which the czarina engaged tohold in readiness thirty thousand men, and forty galleys, to be employedin the service of the confederates on the first requisition. Thestates-general acceded to this agreement, and even consented to payone-fourth of the subsidy. His most christian majesty, moved by theseconsiderations, made further advances towards an accommodation both atthe Plague and in London; and the contending powers agreed to anothercongress, which was actually opened in March at Aix-la-Chapelle, where the earl of Sandwich and sir Thomas Robinson assisted asplenipotentiaries from the king of Great Britain. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} COMPLIANT TEMPER OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT. The elections for the new parliament in England had been conducted so asfully to answer the purposes of the duke of Newcastle, and his brotherMr. Pelham, who had for some time wholly engrossed the administration. Both houses were assembled on the tenth day of November, when Mr. Onslowwas unanimously reelected speaker of the commons. The session was openedas usual by a speech from the throne, congratulating them on thesignal successes of the British navy, and the happy alteration in thegovernment of the United Provinces. His majesty gave them to understandthat a congress would speedily be opened at Aix-la-Chapelle, to concertthe means for effecting a general pacification; and reminded them thatnothing would more conduce to the success of this negotiation than thevigour and unanimity of their proceedings. He received such addressesas the ministers were pleased to dictate. Opposition now languished attheir feet. The duke of Bedford was become a courtier, and in alittle time appointed secretary of state, in the room of the earlof Chesterfield, who had lately executed that office, which he nowresigned; and the earl of Sandwich no longer harangued againstthe administration. This new house of commons, in imitation of theliberality of their predecessors, readily gratified all the requests ofthe government. They voted forty thousand seamen, forty-nine thousandland forces, besides eleven thousand five hundred marines; the subsidiesfor the queen of Hungary, the czarina, the king of Sardinia, the electors of Mentz and Bavaria, the Hessians, and the duke ofWolfenbuttle; the sum of two hundred and thirty-five thousand sevenhundred and forty-nine pounds, was granted to the provinces of NewEngland, to reimburse them for the expense of reducing Cape Breton;five hundred thousand pounds were given to his majesty for the vigorousprosecution of the war; and about one hundred and fifty-two thousandpounds to the Scottish claimants, in lieu of their jurisdiction. Thesupplies 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 merchandiseimported into Great Britain. Immediately after the rebellion wassuppressed, the legislature had established some regulations inScotland, which were thought necessary to prevent such commotionsfor the future. The highlanders were disarmed, and an act passed forabolishing their peculiarity of garb, which was supposed to keep upparty distinctions, to encourage their martial disposition, and preservethe memory of the exploits achieved by their ancestors. In this sessiona bill was brought in to enforce the execution of that law, and passedwith another act for the more effectual punishment of high treason inthe highlands of Scotland. The practice of insuring French and Spanishships at London being deemed the sole circumstances that prevented atotal stagnation of commerce in those countries, it was prohibited bylaw under severe penalties; and this step of the British parliamentaccelerated the conclusion of the treaty. Several other prudent measureswere 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 ofindigo in the British plantations of North America; an article for whichGreat Britain used to pay two hundred thousand pounds yearly to thesubjects of France. {1748} The session was closed on the thirteenth day of May, when the kingdeclared to both houses that the preliminaries of a general peace wereactually signed at Aix-la-Chapelle, by the ministers of GreatBritain, France, and the United Provinces; and that the basis of thisaccommodation was a general restitution of the conquests which had beenmade during the war. Immediately after the prorogation of parliamenthis majesty set out for his German dominions, after having appointed aregency to rule the realm in his absence. PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NETHERLANDS. The articles might have been made much less unfavourable to GreatBritain and her allies, had the ministry made a proper use of the treatywith the czarina; and if the confederates had acted with more vigourand expedition in the beginning of the campaign. The Russian auxiliariesmight have been transported by sea to Lubeck before the end of thepreceding summer', in their own galleys, which had been lying ready foruse since the month of July. Had this expedient been used, the Russiantroops would have joined the confederate army before the conclusion ofthe last campaign. But this easy and expeditious method of conveyancewas rejected for a march by land, of incredible length and difficulty, which could not be begun before the month of January, nor accomplishedtill Midsummer. The operations of the campaign had been concerted atthe Hague in January, by the respective ministers of the allies, whoresolved to bring an army of one hundred and ninety thousand men intothe Netherlands, in order to compel the French to abandon the barrierwhich they had conquered, The towns of Holland became the scenes oftumult and insurrection. The populace plundered the farmers of therevenue, abolished the taxes, and insulted the magistrates; so thatthe states-general, seeing their country on the brink of anarchy andconfusion, authorized the prince of Orange to make such alterations ashe should see convenient. They presented him with a diploma, by whichhe was constituted hereditary stadtholder and captain-general of DutchBrabant, Flanders, and the upper quarter of Guelderland; and the EastIndia company appointed him director and governor-general of theircommerce and settlements in the Indies. Thus invested with authorityunknown to his ancestors, he exerted himself with equal industry anddiscretion in new modelling, augmenting, and assembling the troops ofthe republic. The confederates knew that the count de Saxe had adesign upon Maestricht: the Austrian general Bathiani made repeatedremonstrances to the British ministry, entreating them to take speedymeasures for the preservation of that fortress. He, in the month ofJanuary, proposed that the duke of Cumberland should cross the sea, andconfer with the prince of Orange on this subject; he undertook, at theperil of his head, to cover Maastricht with seventy thousand men, fromall attacks of the enemy: but his representations seemed to have madevery little impression on those to whom they were addressed. The dukeof Cumberland did not depart from England till towards the latter endof February; part of March was elapsed before the transports sailed fromthe Nore with the additional troops and artillery; and the last draftsfrom 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 andencamped in the neighbourhood of Euremond, to the number of one hundredand ten thousand men; and the French army invested Maestricht, withoutopposition, on the third day of April. The garrison consisted ofImperial and Dutch troops, under the conduct of the governor, baron deAylva, who defended the place with extraordinary skill and resolution. He annoyed the besiegers in repeated sallies; but they were determinedto surmount all opposition, and prosecuted their approaches withincredible ardour. They assaulted the covered way, and there effected alodgement, after an obstinate dispute, in which they lost two thousandof their best troops; but next day they were entirely dislodged by thegallantry of the garrison. These hostilities were suddenly suspended, in consequence of the preliminaries signed at Aix-la-Chapelle. Theplenipotentiaries agreed, that, for the glory of his christian majesty'sarms, the town of Maestricht should be surrendered to his general, on condition that it should be restored with all the magazines andartillery. He accordingly took possession of it on the third day ofMay, when the garrison marched out with all the honours of war; anda cessation of arms immediately ensued. By this time the Russianauxiliaries, to the number of thirty-seven thousand, commanded byprince Repnin, had arrived in Moravia, where they were reviewed by theirimperial majesties; then they proceeded to the confines of Franconia, where they were ordered to halt, after they had marched seven hundredmiles since the beginning of the year. The French king declared, thatshould they advance farther, he would demolish the fortificationsof Maestricht and Bergen-op-Zoom. This dispute was referred to theplenipotentiaries, who, in the beginning of August, concluded aconvention, importing that the Russian troops should return to their owncountry; and that the French king should disband an equal number of hisforces. The season being far advanced, the Russians were provided withwinter-quarters in Bohemia and Moravia, where they continued tillthe spring, when they marched back to Livonia. In the meantimeseven-and-thirty thousand French troops were withdrawn from Flandersinto Picardy, and the two armies remained quiet till the conclusion ofthe definitive treaty. The suspension of arms was proclaimed at London, and in all the capitals of the contracting powers; orders were sent tothe respective admirals in different parts of the world, to refrain fromhostilities; and a communication of trade and intelligence was againopened between the nations which had been at variance. No materialtransaction distinguished the campaign in Italy. The French and Spanishtroops, who had joined the Genoese in the territories of the republic, amounted to thirty thousand men, under the direction of the duke deRichlieu, who was sent from France to assume that command on the deathof the duke de Boufflers; while mareschal de Belleisle, at the head offifty thousand men, covered the western Eiviera, which was threatenedwith an invasion by forty thousand Austrians and Piedmontese, undergeneral Leutrum. At the same time general Brown, with a more numerousarmy, prepared to re-enter the eastern Eiviera, and recommence the siegeof Genoa. But these intended operations were prevented by an armistice, which took place as soon as the belligerent powers had acceded to thepreliminaries. TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES. In the East Indies, rear-admiral Boscawen undertook the siege ofPondicherry, which in the month of August he blocked up by sea withhis squadron, and invested by land with a small army of four thousandEuropeans, and about two thousand natives of that country. He prosecutedthe enterprise with great spirit, and took the fort of Area Coupan, atthe distance of three miles from the town; then he made his approachesto the place, against which he opened batteries, while it was bombardedand cannonaded by the shipping. But the fortifications were so strong, the garrison so numerous, and the engineers of the enemy so expertin their profession, that he made very little progress, and sustainedconsiderable damage. At length, his army being diminished by sickness, and the rainy season approaching, he ordered the artillery and storesto 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 inthis expedition. In the sequel, several ships of his squadron, and abovetwelve hundred sailors, perished in a hurricane. The naval force ofGreat Britain was more successful in the West Indies. Bear-admiralKnowles, with a squadron of eight ships, attacked fort Louis, on theSouth side of Hispaniola, which after a warm action of three hours wassurrendered on capitulation, and dismantled. Then he made an abortiveattempt upon St. Jago de Cuba, and returned to Jamaica, extremelychagrined at his disappointment, which he imputed to the misconductof captain Dent, who was tried in England by a court-martial, andhonourably acquitted. On the first of October, the same admiral, cruising in the neighbourhood of the Havannah with eight ships of theline, encountered a Spanish squadron of nearly the same strength, underthe command of the admirals Beggio and Spinola. The engagement beganbetween two and three o'clock in the afternoon, and continued withintervals till eight in the evening, when the enemy retired to theHavannah, with the loss of two ships; one of which struck to theBritish admiral, and the other was two days after set on fire by her owncommander, that she might not fall into the hands of the English. Mr. Knowles taxed some of his captains with misbehaviour, and theyrecriminated on his conduct. On their return to England, a court-martialwas the consequence of the mutual accusations. Those who adhered to thecommander, and the others whom he impeached, were inflamed against eachother with the most rancorous resentment. The admiral himself did notescape uncensured; two of his captains were reprimanded; but captainHolmes, who had displayed uncommon courage, was honourably acquitted. Their animosities did not end with the court-martial. A bloodlessencounter happened between the admiral and captain Powlet; but captainInnes and captain Clarke, meeting by appointment in Hyde-Park withpistols, the former was mortally wounded, and died next morning; thelatter was tried, and condemned for murder, but indulged with hismajesty's pardon. No naval transaction of any consequence happened inthe 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 twoEnglish cruisers, after an obstinate engagement; and the privateers tooka 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, discussingall the articles of the definitive treaty, which was at length concludedand signed on the seventh of October. It was founded on former treaties, which were now expressly confirmed, from that of Westphalia to the lastconcluded at London and Vienna. The contracting parties agreed, that allprisoners on each side should be mutually released, without ransom, and all conquests restored; that the duchies of Parma, Placentia, andGuastalla, should be ceded as a settlement to the infant don Philip, andthe heirs male of his body; but in case of his ascending the throne ofSpain, or of the two Sicilies, or his dying without male issue, thatthey should revert to the house of Austria; that the king of GreatBritain should, immediately after the ratification of this treaty, sendtwo persons of rank and distinction, to reside in France, as hostages, until restitution should be made of Cape Breton, and all the otherconquests which his Britannic majesty should have achieved in the Eastor West Indies, before or after the preliminaries were signed; thatthe assiento contract, with the article of the annual ship, should beconfirmed for four years, during which the enjoyment of that privilegewas suspended since the commencement of the present war; that Dunkirkshould remain fortified on the land side, and towards the sea continueon the footing of former treaties. All the contracting powers becameguarantees to the king of Prussia for the duchy of Silesia and thecounty of Glatz, as he at present possessed them; and they likewiseengaged to secure the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemia in possessionof her hereditary dominions, according to the pragmatic sanction. Theother articles regulated the forms and times fixed for this mutualrestitution, as well as for the termination of hostilities in differentparts of the world. But the right of English subjects to navigatein the American seas, without being subject to search, was not oncementioned, though this claim was the original source of the differencesbetween Great Britain and Spain; nor were the limits of Acadiaascertained. This and all other disputes were left to the discussion ofcommissaries. We have already observed, that after the troubles of theempire began, the war was no longer maintained on British principles. It became a continental contest, and was prosecuted on the side of theallies without conduct, spirit, or unanimity. In the Netherlands theywere outnumbered, and outwitted by the enemy. They never hazarded abattle without sustaining a defeat. Their vast armies, paid by GreatBritain, lay inactive, and beheld one fortress reduced after anotheruntil the whole country was subdued; and as their generals fought, theirplenipotentiaries negotiated. At a time when their affairs began to wearthe most promising aspect, when the arrival of the Russian auxiliarieswould have secured an undoubted superiority in the field; when theBritish fleets had trampled on the naval power of France and Spain, intercepted their supplies of treasure, and cut off all their resourcesof commerce; the British ministers seemed to treat, without the leastregard to the honour and advantage of their country. They left hermost valuable and necessary rights of trade unowned and undecided; theysubscribed to the insolent demand of sending the nobles of the realmto grace the court and adorn the triumphs of her enemy; and they tamelygave up her conquests in North America, of more consequence to hertraffic than all the other dominions for which the powers at warcontended; they gave up the important isle of Cape Breton, in exchangefor a petty factory in the East Indies, belonging to a private company, whose existence had been deemed prejudicial to the commonwealth. Whatthen were the fruits which Britain reaped from this long and desperatewar? A dreadful expense of blood and treasure, [310] _[See note 2 P, at the end of this Vol. ]_ disgrace upon disgrace, an additional load ofgrievous impositions, and the national debt accumulated to the enormoussum 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_ {1748} REFLECTIONS ON THE PEACE. The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, however unstable or inglorious it mightappear to those few who understood the interests, and felt for thehonour of their country, was nevertheless not unwelcome to the nationin general. The British ministry will always find it more difficultto satisfy the people at the end of a successful campaign, than atthe conclusion of an unfortunate war. The English are impatient ofmiscarriage and disappointment, and too apt to be intoxicated withvictory. At this period they were tired of the burdens, and sick of thedisgraces, to which they had been exposed in the coarse of seven tediouscampaigns. They had suffered considerable losses and interruption in thearticle of commerce, which was the source of their national opulence andpower; they knew it would necessarily be clogged with additional dutiesfor the maintenance of a continental war, and the support of foreignsubsidiaries; and they drew very faint presages of future success eitherfrom the conduct of their allies, or the capacity of their commanders. To a people influenced by these considerations, the restoration ofa free trade, the respite from that anxiety and suspense which theprosecution of a war never fails to engender, and the prospect ofa speedy deliverance from discouraging restraint and oppressiveimpositions, were advantages that sweetened the bitter draught ofa dishonourable treaty, and induced the majority of the nation toacquiesce in the peace, not barely without murmuring, but even with somedegree 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 theirseveral proportions of troops; the French began to evacuate Flanders;and the English forces were re-embarked for their own country. HisBritannic majesty returned from his German dominions in November, havinglanded near Margate, in Kent, after a dangerous passage; and on thetwenty-ninth of the same month he opened the session of parliament. Bythis time the misunderstanding between the two first personages of theroyal family had been increased by a fresh succession of matter. Theprince of Wales had held a court of Stannary, in quality of duke ofCornwall; and revived some claims attached to that dignity, which, hadthey been admitted, would have greatly augmented his influence amongthe Cornish boroughs. These efforts roused the jealousy of theadministration, which had always considered them as an interest whollydependent on the crown; and, therefore, the pretensions of hisroyal highness were opposed by the whole weight of the ministry. Hisadherents, resenting these hostilities as an injury to their royalmaster, immediately joined the remnant of the former opposition inparliament, and resolved to counteract all the ministerial measures thatshould fall under their cognizance; at least, they determined to seizeevery opportunity of thwarting the servants of the crown, in everyscheme or proposal that had not an evident tendency to the advantage ofthe 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 eloquencerather plausible than powerful; he spoke with fluency and fire; hisspirit was bold and enterprising, his apprehension quick, andhis repartee severe. Dr. Lee was a man of extensive erudition andirreproachable morals, particularly versed in the civil law, which heprofessed, and perfectly well acquainted with the constitution of hiscountry. Mr. N----t was an orator of middling abilities, who haranguedupon all subjects indiscriminately, and supplied with confidence what hewanted in capacity; he had been at some pains to study the business ofthe house, as well as to understand the machine of government; and wastolerably well heard, as he generally spoke with an appearance ofgood humour, and hazarded every whimsical idea as it arose in hisimagination. But lord Bolingbroke is said to have been the chief springwhich, 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 allthe 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 firstcaptivated by his character, and his esteem was afterwards secured bythe irresistible address of that extraordinary personage, who continuedin a regular progression to insinuate himself still farther and fartherinto the good graces of his royal patron.. How far the conduct of hisroyal highness was influenced by the private advice of this nobleman weshall not pretend to determine; but, certain it is, the friends of theministry propagated a report, that he was the dictator of those measureswhich the prince adopted; and that, under the specious pretext ofattachment to the heir-apparent of the crown, he concealed his real aim, which was to perpetuate the breach in the royal family. Whatever hissentiments and motives might have been, this was no other than a revivalof the old ministerial clamour, that a man cannot be well affected tothe king, if he pretends to censure any measure of the administration. CHARACTER OF THE MINISTRY. The weight which the opposition derived from these new confederatesin 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 esteemedas a man of honesty and candour, actuated by a sincere love forhis country, though he had been educated in erroneous principles ofgovernment, and in some measure obliged to prosecute a fatal systemwhich descended to him by inheritance. At this time he numbered Mr. Pittamong his fellow-ministers, and was moreover supported by many otherindividuals of distinguished abilities; among whom the first placein point of genius was due to Mr. M. , who executed the office ofsolicitor-general. This gentleman, the son of a noble family in NorthBritain, had raised himself to great eminence at the bar, by a most keenintuitive spirit of apprehension, that seemed to seize every objectat first glance; an innate sagacity, that saved the trouble of intenseapplication; and an irresistible stream of eloquence, that flowed pureand classical, strong and copious, reflecting, in the most conspicuouspoint of view, the subjects over which it rolled, and sweeping beforeit all the slime of formal hesitation, and all the entangling weeds ofchicanery. Yet the servants of the crown were not so implicitly attachedto the first minister as to acquiesce in all his plans, and dedicatetheir time and talents to the support of every court measureindiscriminately. This was one material point in which Mr. Pelhamdeviated from the maxims of his predecessor, who admitted of nocontradiction from any of his adherents or fellow-servants, but insistedon sacrificing their whole perception and faculties to his conduct anddisposal. That sordid deference to a minister no longer characterizedthe subordinate instruments of the administration. It was not unusualto see the great officers of the government divided in a parliamentarydebate, and to hear the secretary at war opposing with great vehemencea clause suggested by the chancellor of the exchequer. After all, ifwe coolly consider those arguments which have been bandied about, andretorted with such eagerness and acrimony in the house of commons, anddivest them of those passionate tropes and declamatory metaphors whichthe spirit of opposition alone had produced, we shall find very littleleft for the subject of dispute, and sometimes be puzzled to discoverany material source of disagreement. SESSION OPENED. In the month of November his majesty opened the session of parliamentwith a speech, acquainting them, that the definitive treaty of peace wasat length signed by all the parties concerned; that he had made the mosteffectual provision for securing the rights and interests of his ownsubjects; and procured for his allies the best conditions, which, in thepresent situation of affairs, could be obtained. He said, he had founda general good disposition in all parties to bring the negotiation to ahappy conclusion; and observed, that we might promise ourselves a longenjoyment of the blessings of peace. Finally, after having remarked thattimes of tranquillity were the proper seasons for lessening thenational debt, and strengthening the kingdom against future events, herecommended to the commons the improvement of the public revenue, themaintenance of a considerable naval force, the advancement of commerce, and the cultivation of the arts of peace. This speech, as usual, wasechoed back by an address to the throne from both houses, containinggeneral expressions of the warmest loyalty and gratitude to his majesty, and implying the most perfect satisfaction and acquiescence in thearticles of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The members in the opposition, according to custom, cavilled at thenature of this address. They observed, that the late pacification wasthe worst and most inglorious of all the bad treaties to which theEnglish nation had ever subscribed; that it was equally disgraceful, indefinite, and absurd; they said, the British navy had gained such anascendancy over the French at sea, that the sources of their wealthwere already choked up; that the siege of Maestricht would have employedthen-arms in the Low Countries till the arrival of the Russians;and that the accession of these auxiliaries would have thrown thesuperiority into the scale of the allies. They did not fail to takenotice that the most important and original object of the war was leftwholly undecided; and demonstrated the absurdity of their promising inthe address to make good such engagements as his majesty had enteredinto with his allies, before they knew what those engagements were. Inanswer to these objections, the ministers replied, that the peace was initself rather better than could be expected; and that the smallest delaymight have proved fatal to the liberties of Europe. They affirmed, thatthe Dutch were upon the point of concluding a neutrality, in consequenceof which their troops would have been withdrawn from the allied army;and, in that case, even the addition of the Russian auxiliaries wouldnot have rendered it a match for the enemy. They asserted, that ifthe Avar had been prolonged another year, the national credit of GreatBritain must have been entirely ruined, many of the public funds havingsunk below par in the preceding season, so that the ministry had begunto despair of seeing the money paid in on the new subscription. Withrespect to the restoration of Cape Breton, the limits of Nova Scotia, and the right of navigating without search in the American seas, whichright had been left unestablished in the treaty, they declared, that thefirst was an unnecessary expense, of no consequence to Great Britain;and that the other two were points in despute, to be amicably settledin private conferences by commissaries duly authorized; but by no meansarticles to be established by a general treaty. What the opposition wanted in strength, it endeavoured to make upwith spirit and perseverance. Every ministerial motion and measure wascanvassed, sifted, and decried with uncommon art and vivacity; but allthis little availed against the single article of superior numbers; andaccordingly this was the source of certain triumph in all debates inwhich the servants of the crown were united. The nation had reasonto expect an immediate mitigation in the article of annual expense, considering the number of troops and ships of war which had been reducedat the ratification of the treaty: but they were disagreeably undeceivedin finding themselves again loaded with very extraordinary impositions, for the payment of a vast debt which government had contracted inthe course of the war, notwithstanding the incredible aids grantedby parliament. The committee of supply established four points ofconsideration, in their deliberations concerning the sums necessary tobe raised; namely, for fulfilling the engagements which the parliamenthad entered into with his majesty, and the services undertaken for thesuccess of the war; for discharging debts contracted by government; formaking good deficiencies; and for defraying the current expense of theyear. It appeared, that the nation owed four-and-forty thousandpounds to the elector of Bavaria; above thirty thousand to the duke ofBrunswick; the like sum to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and near ninethousand pounds to the elector of Mentz. The queen of Hungary claimedan arrear of one hundred thousand pounds. The city of Glasgow, in NorthBritain, presented a petition, praying to be reimbursed the sum often thousand pounds, extorted from that corporation by the son of thepretender during the rebellion. One hundred and twelve thousand poundswere owing to the forces in North America and the East Indies; besidesnear half a million due on extraordinary expense incurred by theland-forces in America, Flanders, and North Britain, by the officeof ordnance, and other services of the last year, to which theparliamentary provision did not extend. The remaining debt of theordnance amounted to above two hundred and thirty thousand pounds; butthe navy-bills could not be discharged for less than four millions. Anaddition of two millions three hundred and seventy-four thousand threehundred and thirty-three pounds, fifteen shillings and two-pence, wasalso required for the current service of the year. In a word, the wholeannual supply exceeded eight millions sterling-a sum at which the wholenation expressed equal astonishment and disgust. It was charged upon theduties on malt, mum, cyder, and perry, the land-tax at four shillings inthe pound, annuities on the sinking-fund, an application of one millionfrom that deposit, and the loan of the like sum to be charged onthe first aids of next session. The number of seamen was reduced toseventeen thousand, and that of the land-forces to eighteen thousandeight hundred and fifty-seven, including guards and garrisons. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} EXORBITANT DEMAND OF THE EMPRESS-QUEEN OPPOSED. Every article of expense, however, was warmly disputed by theanti-courtiers, especially the demand of the queen of Hungary, which wasdeemed unreasonable, exorbitant, and rapacious, considering the seas ofblood which we had shed, and the immensity of treasure we had exhaustedfor her benefit; and surely the subjects of this nation had some reasonto complain of an indulgence of this nature, granted to a power whichthey had literally snatched from the brink of ruin-a power whose quarrelthey had espoused with a degree of enthusiasm that did much more honourto their gallantry than to their discretion-a power that kept aloof, with a stateliness of pride peculiar to herself and family, and beheldher British auxiliaries fighting her battles at their own expense; whileshe squandered away, in the idle pageantry of barbarous magnificence, those ample subsidies which they had advanced in order to maintain theirarmies, and furnish out her proportion of the war. The leaders of theopposition neglected no opportunity of embittering the triumphs of theiradversaries; they inveighed against the extravagance of granting sixteenthousand pounds for the pay of general and staff officers, during apeace that required no such establishment, especially at a juncture whenthe national incumbrances rendered it absolutely necessary to practiseevery expedient of economy. They even combated the request of thecity of Glasgow, to be indemnified for the extraordinary exactionit underwent from the rebels, though it appeared from unquestionableevidence, that this extraordinary contribution was exacted on accountof that city's peculiar attachment to the reigning family; that ithad always invariably adhered to revolution principles; and, with anunequalled 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 theministry wanted to establish in two bills, relating to the sea and landservice. 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 tomartial law--a design which not only furnished the opposition with aplausible handle for accusing the ministers as intending to encroachupon the constitution, in order to extend the influence of the crown;but also alarmed the sea-officers to such a degree, that they assembledto a considerable number, with a view to deliberate upon the propermeans of defending their privileges and liberties from invasion. Theresult of their consultations was a petition to the house of commons, subscribed by three admirals and forty-seven captains, not members ofparliament, representing that the bill in agitation contained severalclauses tending to the injury and dishonour of all naval officers, aswell as to the detriment of his majesty's service; and that the lawsalready in force had been always found effectual for securing theservice of officers on half-pay upon the most pressing occasions: theytherefore hoped, that they should not be subjected to new hardships anddiscouragements; and begged to be heard by their counsel, before thecommittee of the whole house, touching such parts of the bill as theyapprehended would be injurious to themselves and the other officers ofhis majesty's navy. This petition was presented to the house by sirJohn Norris, and the motion for its being read was seconded by sir PeterWarren, whose character was universally esteemed and beloved inthe nation. This measure had like to have produced very seriousconsequences. Many commanders and subalterns had repaired to theadmiralty, and threatened in plain terms to throw up their commissions, in case the bill should pass into a law; and a general ferment was begunamong all the subordinate members of the navy. A motion was made, thatthe petitioners, according to their request, should be heard by theircounsel; and this proposal was strongly urged by the first orators ofthe anti-ministerial association; but the minister, confiding in his ownstrength, reinforced by the abilities of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Lyttelton, andMr. Fox the secretary at war, strenuously opposed the motion, which upona division was thrown out by a great majority. The several articlesof the bill were afterwards separately debated with great warmth; andthough Mr. Pelham had, with the most disinterested air of candour, repeatedly declared that he required no support even from his ownadherents, but that which might arise from reason unrestrained and fullconviction, he on this occasion reaped all the fruit from their zeal andattachment, which could be expected from the most implicit complaisance. Some plausible amendments of the most exceptionable clauses wereoffered, particularly of that which imposed an oath upon the members ofevery court-martial, that they should not, on any account, disclose theopinions or transactions of any such tribunal. This was considered as asanction, under which any court-martial might commit the most flagrantacts of injustice and oppression, which even parliament itself couldnot redress, because it would be impossible to ascertain the truth, eternally sealed up by this absurd obligation. The amendment proposedwas, that the member of a court-martial might reveal the transactionsand opinions of it in all cases wherein the courts of justice, as thelaw now stands, have a right to interfere, if required thereto by eitherhouse of parliament; a very reasonable mitigation, which however wasrejected by the majority. Nevertheless, the suspicion of an intendedencroachment had raised such a clamour without doors, and diffused theodium of this measure so generally, that the minister thought proper todrop the projected article of war, subjecting the reformed officers ofthe navy to the jurisdictions of courts-martial; and the bill beingalso softened in other particulars, during its passage through the upperhouse, at length received the royal assent. The flame which this act had kindled, was rather increased than abatedon the appearance of a new mutiny-bill, replete with divers innovationstending to augment the influence of the crown, as well as theauthority and power of a military jurisdiction. All the articles ofwar established since the reign of Charles II. , were submitted to theinspection of the commons; and in these appeared a gradual spirit ofencroachment, almost imperceptibly deviating from the civil institutesof the English constitution, towards the establishment of a militarydominion. 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 whichthe members of such a court, corresponding with the nature of a civiljury, were rendered absolutely useless, and the commander in a greatmeasure absolute; for he had not only the power of summoning suchofficers as he might choose to sit on any trial--a prerogative unknownto any civil court of judicature--but he was also at liberty to reviewand altar the sentence; so that a man was subject to two trials for thesame offence, and the commander-in-chief was judge both of the guiltand the punishment. By the final clause of this bill, martial law wasextended to all officers on half-pay; and the same arguments which hadbeen urged against this article in the navy-bill, were now repeated andreinforced with redoubled fervour. Many reasons were offered to provethat the half-pay was allotted as a recompence for past service; and theopponents of the bill affirmed, that such an article, by augmenting thedependents of the crown, might be very dangerous to the constitution. On the other hand, the partisans of the ministry asserted, that thehalf-pay was granted as a retaining fee; and that originally allthose who enjoyed this indulgence were deemed to be in actual service, consequently subject to martial law. Mr. Pitt, who at this timeexercised the office of paymaster-general, with a rigour of integrityunknown to the most disinterested of all his predecessors in thatdepartment, espoused the clause in dispute as a necessary extensionof military discipline, which could never be attended with any badconsequence to the liberty of the nation. The remarks which he made onthis occasion, implied an opinion that our liberties wholly existed independence upon the direction of the sovereign, and the virtue of thearmy. "To their virtue, " said he, "we trust even at this hour, smallas our army is; to that virtue we must have trusted, had this bill beenmodelled as its warmest opposers could have wished; and without thisvirtue, should the lords, the commons, and the people of Englandintrench themselves behind parchment up to the teeth, the sword willfind a passage to the vitals of the constitution. " All the disputedarticles of the bill being sustained on the shoulders of a greatmajority, it was conveyed to the upper house, where it excited anotherviolent contest. Upon the question whether officers on half-pay had notbeen subject to martial law, the judges were consulted and divided intheir sentiments. The earl of Bath declared his opinion that martial lawdid not extend to reformed officers; and opened all the sluices of hisancient eloquence. He admitted a case which was urged, of seven officerson half-pay, who, being taken in actual rebellion at Preston in the year1715, had been executed on the spot by martial law, in consequenceof the king's express order. He candidly owned, that he himself wassecretary at war at that period; that he had approved of this order, andeven transmitted it to general Carpenter, who commanded at Preston;but now his opinion was entirely changed. He observed, that when theforementioned rebellion first broke out, the house presented an addressto the king, desiring his majesty would be pleased to employ allhalf-pay officers, and gratify them with whole pay; and, indeed, allsuch officers were voted on whole pay by the house of commons. They wereafterwards apprised of this vote, by an advertisement in the Gazette, and ordered to hold themselves in readiness to repair to such places asshould be appointed; and finally commanded to repair by such a dayto those places, on pain of being struck off the half-pay list. Theseprecautions would have been unnecessary, had they been deemed subjectto martial law, and the penalty for non-obedience would not have beenmerely a privation of their pensions, but they would have fallen underthe punishment of death, as deserters from the service. His lordshipdistinguished with great propriety and precision, between a step whichhad been precipitately taken in a violent crisis, when the public washeated with apprehension and resentment, and a solemn law concertedat leisure, during the most profound tranquility. Notwithstandingthe spirited opposition of this nobleman, and some attempts to insertadditional clauses, the bill having undergone a few inconsiderableamendments, 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, anotherfruitless effort was made by the opposition. The danger of a standingarmy, on whose virtue the constitution of Great Britain seemed todepend, did not fail to alarm the minds of many who were zealouslyattached to the liberties of their country, and gave birth to a scheme, which if executed; would have enabled the legislature to establish amilitia that must have answered many national purposes, and acted as aconstitutional bulwark against the excesses and ambition of a militarystanding force, under the immediate influence of government. The schemewhich 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 theservice. Had this limitation taken place, such a rotation of soldierswould have ensued among the common people, that in a few years everypeasant, labourer, and inferior tradesman in the kingdom, would haveunderstood the exercise of arms; and perhaps the people in generalwould have concluded that a standing army was altogether unnecessary. Aproject of this nature could not, for obvious reasons, be agreeable tothe administration, and therefore the bill was rendered abortive; for, after having been twice read, it was postponed from time to time tillthe parliament was prorogued, and never appeared in the sequel. Such were the chief subjects of debate between the ministry and theopposition, composed, as we have already observed, of the prince'sservants and the remains of the country party, this last being headedby 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 theycarried a few unpopular measures with a high hand, they seemed earnestlydesirous of making amends to the nation, by promoting divers regulationsfor the benefit and improvement of commerce, which actually took placein the ensuing session of parliament. One of the principal objects ofthis nature which fell under their cognizance, was the trade to thecoast of Guinea; a very important branch of traffic, whether consideredas a market for British manufactures, or as the source that supplied theEnglish plantations with negroes. This was originally monopolized by ajoint-stock company, which had from time to time derived considerablesums from the legislature, for enabling them the better to supportcertain forts or castles on the coast of Africa, to facilitate thecommerce and protect the merchants. In the sequel, however, theexclusive privilege having been judged prejudicial to the nationaltrade, the coast was laid open to all British subjects indiscriminately, on condition of their paying a certain duty towards defraying theexpense of the forts and factories. This expedient did not answer thepurposes 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 andoppression. The company, whether from misconduct or knavery of theirdirectors, contracted such a load of debts as their stock was unable todischarge. They seemed to neglect the traffic, and allowed their castlesto decay. In a word, their credit being exhausted, and their creditorsgrowing clamorous, they presented a petition to the house of commons, disclosing their distresses, and imploring such assistance as shouldenable them not only to pay their debts, but also to maintain the fortsin a defensible condition. This petition, recommended to the house in amessage from his majesty, was corroborated by another in behalf of thecompany's creditors. Divers merchants of London, interested in the tradeof 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 effectualmeans should be speedily taken for protecting and extending thisvaluable branch of commerce. A fourth was offered by the merchants ofLiverpool, representing that the security and protection of the tradeto Africa must always principally depend upon his majesty's ships ofwar being properly stationed on that coast, and seasonably relieved, andthat such forts and settlements as might be judged necessary for marksof sovereignty and possession, would prove a nuisance and a burden tothe trade, should they remain in the hands of any joint-stock company, whose private interest always had been, and ever would be, foundincompatible with the interest of the separate and open trader. Theytherefore prayed, that the said forts might either be taken intohis majesty's immediate possession, and supported by the public, orcommitted to the merchants trading on that coast, in such a manner asthe house should judge expedient, without vesting in them any otheradvantage or right to the commerce, but what should be common to all hismajesty's subjects. This remonstrance was succeeded by another to thesame effect, from the master, wardens, assistants, and commonalty of thesociety of merchant adventurers within the city of Bristol. All thesepetitions were referred to a committee appointed to deliberate on thissubject; who agreed to certain resolutions, implying, that the trade toAfrica should be free and open; that the British forts and settlementson that coast ought to be maintained, and put under proper direction;and that in order to carry on the African trade in the most beneficialmanner to these kingdoms, all the British subjects trading to Africashould be united in one open company, without any joint-stock, or powerto trade as a corporation. A bill was immediately founded on theseresolutions, which alarmed the company to such a degree, that they hadrecourse to another petition, demonstrating their right to the coast ofAfrica, and expressing their reliance on the justice of the housethat they should not be deprived of their property without an adequateconsideration. In a few days a second address was offered by theircreditors, complaining of the company's mismanagement, promising tosurrender their right, as the wisdom of parliament should prescribe;praying that their debts might be inquired into; and that the equivalentto be granted for the company's possessions might be secured andapplied, in the first place, for their benefit. The commons, inconsequence of this petition, ordered the company to produce a listof their debts, together with a copy of their charter, and tworemonstrances which their creditors had presented to them before thisapplication to parliament. A committee of the whole house, havingdeliberated on these papers and petitions, and heard the company bytheir counsel, resolved to give them a reasonable compensation for theircharter, lands, forts, settlements, slaves, and effects, to be in thefirst place applied towards the payment of their creditors. A bill beingformed accordingly, passed the commons, and was conveyed to the upperhouse, where a great many objections were started; and for the presentit was dropped, until a more unexceptionable plan should be concerted. In the meantime their lordships addressed his majesty, that the lordscommissioners for trade and plantations might be directed to prepare ascheme on this subject, to be laid before both houses of parliament atthe beginning of next session; that instant orders should be givenfor preserving and securing the forts and settlements on the coast ofGuinea belonging to Great Britain; and that proper persons should beappointed to examine into the condition of those forts, as well asof the military stores, slaves, and vessels belonging to the Africancompany, so as to make a faithful report of these particulars, with allpossible expedition. SCHEME FOR IMPROVING THE BRITISH FISHERY. The ministry having professed an inclination, and indeed shown adisposition, to promote and extend the commerce of the kingdom, thecommons resolved to take some steps for encouraging the white fisheryalong the northern coast of the island, which is an inexhaustible sourceof wealth to our industrious neighbours the Dutch, who employ annuallya great number of hands and vessels in this branch of commerce. Thesensible part of the British people, reflecting on this subject, plainlyforesaw that a fishery, under due regulations, undertaken with theprotection and encouragement of the legislature, would not only provea fund of national riches, and a nursery of seamen, but likewise ina great measure prevent any future insurrections in the Highlands ofScotland, by diffusing a spirit of industry among the natives of thatcountry, who finding it in their power to become independent on thefruits of their own labour, would soon enfranchise themselves from thatslavish attachment by which they had been so long connected with theirlandlords and chieftains. Accordingly, a committee was appointed todeliberate on the state of the British fishery; and upon their reporta bill was founded for encouraging the whale fishery on the coast ofSpitsbergen, by a bounty of forty shillings per ton for every shipequipped for that undertaking. The bill having made its way through bothhouses, and obtained the royal assent, the merchants in different partsof the kingdom, particularly in North Britain, began to build and fitout ships of great burden, and peculiar structure, for the purpose ofthat fishery, which ever since hath been carried on with equal vigourand success. Divers merchants and traders of London having presented tothe house of commons a petition, representing the benefits that wouldaccrue to the community from a herring and cod fishery, establishedon proper principles, and carried on with skill and integrity, thisremonstrance was referred to a committee, upon whose resolutions abill was formed; but before this could be discussed in the house, the parliament was prorogued, and of consequence this measure provedabortive. ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE COMMERCE TO HUDSON'S BAY. The next regulation proposed in favour of trade, was that of laying openthe commerce of Hudson's-bay, in the most northern parts of America, where a small monopoly maintained a few forts and settlements, andprosecuted a very advantageous fur trade with the Indians of thatcontinent. It was suggested, that the company had long ago enrichedthemselves by their exclusive privilege; that they employed no morethan four annual ships; that, contrary to an express injunction in theircharter, they discouraged all attempts to discover a north-west passageto the East Indies; that they dealt cruelly and perfidiously withthe poor Indians, who never traded with them except when compelled bynecessity, so that the best part of the fur trade had devolved to theenemies of Great Britain; and that their exclusive patent restricted tovery narrow limits a branch of commerce which might be cultivated toa prodigious extent; as well as to the infinite advantage of GreatBritain. 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 thissubject. On the other hand, the company exerted themselves in petitionsand private applications for their own preservation. The committeeexamined many papers and records; and the report was taken intoconsideration by the whole house. Many evidences were interrogated, and elaborate speeches made, on both sides of the question. At length amajority seemed satisfied that the traffic on the coast of Hudson's-baycould not be preserved without forts and settlements, which must bemaintained either by an exclusive company, or at the public expense;and, as this was not judged a proper juncture to encumber the nationwith any charge of that kind the design of dissolving the company waslaid aside till a more favourable opportunity. PLAN FOR MAINTAINING THE NAVY. The government had, during the war, found great difficulty in pressingmen for the service of the navy--a practice, which, however sanctionedby necessity, is nevertheless a flagrant encroachment on the libertyof the subject, and a violent outrage against the constitution of GreatBritain. The ministry, therefore, had employed some of their agentsto form a scheme for retaining in time of peace, by means of a certainallowance, a number of seamen, who should be registered for the purpose, and be ready to man a squadron upon any emergency. Such a plan, properlyregulated, would have been a great advantage to commerce, which isalways distressed by the practice of pressing seamen; and at the sametime, a great security to the kingdom in dangerous conjunctures, when itmay be necessary to equip an armament at a minute's warning. The houseof commons being moved upon this subject, agreed to divers resolutionsas a foundation for the bill; but the members in the oppositionaffecting to represent this measure in an odious light, as an imitationof 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 theneutral islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Tobago, inthe West Indies, the nation had taken the alarm in the beginning ofthe year; and a motion was made in the house of commons to address hismajesty, that he would be graciously pleased to give directionsfor laying before the house copies of the instructions given to thegovernors of Barbadoes for the last ten years past, so far as theyrelated to these neutral islands; but whether the minister was consciousof a neglect in this particular, or thought such inquiries trenched uponthe prerogative, he opposed the motion with all his might; and aftersome debate, the previous question passed in the negative. This was alsothe 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 allthe proposals of peace that had been made by the French king since theyear which preceded the last rebellion, to that in which the definitivetreaty was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle. This they proposed as aprevious step to the parliament's forming any opinion concerning theutility or necessity of the peace which had been established. Violentdebates ensued, in which the opposition was as much excelled in oratoryas out-numbered in votes. Such were the material transactions of thissession, which in the month of June was closed as usual with a speechfrom the throne; in which his majesty signified his hope, that theparliament, at their next meeting, would be able to perfect what theyhad now begun for advancing the trade and navigation of the kingdom. Helikewise expressed his satisfaction at seeing public credit flourish atthe end of an expensive war; and recommended unanimity, as the surestbulwark of national security. While the ministry on some occasions exhibited all the external signsof moderation and good humour, they, on others, manifested a spirit ofjealousy 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 reportof this indiscretion was industriously circulated by certain worthlessindividuals, who, having no reliance on their own intrinsic merit, hopedto distinguish themselves as the tools of party, and to obtain favourwith the ministry by acting as volunteers in the infamous practiceof information. Though neither the rank, age, nor connexions of thedelinquents were such as ought to have attracted the notice of thepublic, the vice-chancellor, heads of houses, and proctors of theuniversity, knowing the invidious scrutiny to which their conduct wassubjected, thought proper to publish a declaration, signifying theirabhorrence of all seditious practices, their determined resolution topunish 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, whoin the heat of their intoxication had drunk the pretender's health, weretaken into custody by a messenger of state; and two of them being triedin the court of king's bench, and found guilty, were sentenced to walkthrough the courts of Westminster, with a specification of their crimefixed to their foreheads; to pay a find of five nobles each; to beimprisoned for two years, and find security for their good behaviourfor the term of seven years after their enlargement. Many people thoughtthey saw the proceedings of the star-chamber revived in the severityof this punishment. The administration, not yet satisfied with thevengeance which had been taken on these three striplings, seemeddetermined to stigmatize the university to which they belonged. The cryof jacobitism was loudly trumpeted against the whole community. The address of the university, congratulating his majesty on theestablishment of the peace, was rejected with disdain, and an attemptwas made to subject their statutes to the inspection of the king'scouncil; but this rule, being argued in the court of king's-bench, wasdismissed in consequence of the opinions given by the judges. Finally, the same tribunal granted an information against Dr. Purnel, thevice-chancellor, for his behaviour in the case of the riotersabove-mentioned; but this was countermanded in the sequel, his conductappearing unexceptionable upon a more cool and impartial inquiry. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} ELECTION OF A CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. In proportion as Oxford declined, her sister university rose in thefavour of the administration, which she at this period cultivated byan extraordinary mark of compliance and attachment. The dignity ofchancellor of the university being vacated by the death of the dukeof Somerset, the nation in general seemed to think it would naturallydevolve upon the prince of Wales, as a compliment at all times dueto that rank; but more especially to the then heir-apparent, who hademinently distinguished himself by the virtues of a patriot and aprince. He had even pleased himself with the hope of receiving thismark of attachment from a seminary for which he entertained a particularregard. But the ruling members, seeing no immediate prospect ofadvantage in glorifying even a prince who was at variance with theministry, wisely turned their eyes upon the illustrious character of theduke of Newcastle, whom they elected without opposition, and installedwith great magnificence; learning, poetry, and eloquence, joining theirefforts in celebrating the shining virtues and extraordinary talents oftheir new patron. Although opposition lay gasping at the feet of power in the house ofcommons, the people of England did not yet implicitly approve all themeasures of the administration; and the dregs of faction, still agitatedby an internal ferment, threw up some ineffectual bubbles in differentparts of the kingdom. Some of those who made no secret of theirdisaffection to the reigning family, determined to manifest theirresentment and contempt of certain noblemen, and others, who were saidto have abandoned their ancient principles, and to have sacrificed theirconsciences to their interest. Many individuals, animated by the fumesof inebriation, now loudly extolled that cause which they durst not avowwhen it required their open approbation and assistance; and, though theyindustriously avoided exposing their lives and fortunes to the chance ofwar in promoting their favourite interest when there was a possibilityof success, they betrayed no apprehension in celebrating the memoryof its last effort, amidst the tumult of a riot and the clamours ofintemperance. In the neighbourhood of Lichfield, the sportsmen of theparty appeared in the Highland taste of variegated drapery; andtheir zeal descending to a very extraordinary exhibition of practicalridicule, they hunted, with hounds clothed in plaid, a fox dressed ina red uniform. Even the females at their assembly, and the gentlemenat the races, affected to wear the chequered stuff by which theprince-pretender and his followers had been distinguished. Diversnoblemen on the course were insulted as apostates; and one personage, ofhigh 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 suddendismission of a great number of soldiers and seamen, who havingcontracted a habit of idleness, and finding themselves withoutemployment and the means of subsistence, engage in desperate courses andprey upon the community, it was judged expedient to provide an openingthrough which these unquiet spirits might exhale without damage to thecommonwealth. The most natural was that of encouraging them to becomemembers of a new colony in North America, which, by being properlyregulated, supported, and improved, might be the source of greatadvantages to its mother country. Many disputes had arisen between thesubjects 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 apart of this very country, called Annapolis-Royal, to overawe the Frenchneutrals settled in the neighbourhood; but this did not answer thepurpose for which it was intended. Upon every rupture or dispute betweenthe two crowns, these planters, forgetting their neutrality, intriguedwith the Indians, communicated intelligence to their own countrymensettled at St. John's and Cape Breton, and did all the ill offices theirhatred could suggest against the colonies and subjects of Great Britain. A scheme was now formed for making a new establishment on the samepeninsula, which should further confirm and extend the property anddominion of the crown of Great Britain in that large tract of country, clear the uncultivated grounds, constitute communities, diffuse thebenefits of population and agriculture, and improve the fishery of thatcoast, which might be rendered a new source of wealth and commerce toOld England. The particulars of the plan being duly considered, it waslaid before his majesty, who approved of the design, and referred theexecution of it to the board of trade and plantations, over whichthe earl of Halifax presided. This nobleman, endued by nature withan excellent capacity, which had been diligently and judiciouslycultivated, animated with liberal sentiments, and fired with an eagerspirit of patriotism, adopted the plan with the most generousardour, and cherished the infant colony with paternal affection. Thecommissioners for trade and plantations immediately advertised, underthe sanction of his majesty's authority, that proper encouragement wouldbe given to such of the officers and private men, lately dismissed fromthe land and sea service, as were willing to settle, with or withoutfamilies, in the province of Nova Scotia; that the fee simple, orperpetual property, of fifty acres of land should be granted to everyprivate soldier or seaman, free from the payment of any quit-rents ortaxes, for the term of ten years; at the expiration of which no personshould pay more than one shilling per annum for every fifty acres sogranted; that, over and above these fifty, each person should receive agrant of ten acres for every individual, including women and children, of which his family should consist; that further grants should be madeto them as the number should increase, and in proportion as they shouldmanifest their abilities in agriculture; that every officer, under therank of ensign in the land service, or lieutenant in the navy, should begratified with fourscore acres on the same conditions; that two hundredacres should be bestowed upon ensigns, three hundred upon lieutenants, four hundred upon captains, and six hundred on every officer above thatdegree, with proportionable considerations for the number and increaseof every family; that the lands should be parcelled out as soon aspossible after the arrival of the colonists, and a civil governmentestablished; by virtue of which they should enjoy all the liberties andprivileges of British subjects, with proper security and protection;that the settlers, with their families, should be conveyed to NovaScotia, and maintained for twelve months after their arrival, at theexpense of the government; which should also supply them with arms andammunition, as far as should be judged necessary for their defence, withproper materials and utensils for clearing and cultivating their lands, erecting habitations, exercising the fishery, and such other purposes asshould be judged necessary for their support. TOWN OF HALIFAX FOUNDED. The scheme was so feasible, and the encouragement so inviting, that ina little time about four thousand adventurers, with their families, wereentered, according to the directions of the board of trade, who in thebeginning of May set sail from England, under the command of ColonelCornwallis, whom the king had appointed their governor, and towards thelatter end of June arrived at the place of their destination, whichwas the harbour of Chebucton, on the sea-coast of the peninsula, aboutmidway between Cape Canceau and Cape Sable. It is one of the most secureand commodious havens in the whole world, and well situated for thefishery; yet the climate is cold, the soil barren, and the whole countrycovered with woods of birch, fir, pine, and some oak, unfit for thepurposes of timber; but at the same time extremely difficult to removeand extirpate. Governor Cornwallis no sooner arrived in this harbourthan he was joined by two regiments of infantry from Cape Breton, and acompany of rangers from Annapolis. Then he pitched upon a spot for thesettlement, and employed his people in clearing the ground for layingthe foundations of a town; but some inconveniences being discovered inthis situation, he chose another to the northward, hard by the harbour, on an easy ascent, commanding a prospect of the whole peninsula, andwell supplied with rivulets of fresh and wholesome water. Here he beganto 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 foundingthe colony; and before the approach of winter, above three hundredcomfortable wooden houses were built, the whole surrounded by a strongpallisade. This colony, however, has by no means answered the sanguineexpectations of the projectors; for notwithstanding the ardour withwhich the interests of it were promoted by its noble patron, and therepeated indulgence it has reaped from the bounty of the legislature, the inhabitants have made little or no progress in agriculture; thefishery is altogether neglected, and the settlement entirely subsistson the sums expended by the individuals of the army and navy, whose dutyobliges 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 notfail giving umbrage to the French in that neighbourhood, who, thoughthey did not think proper to promulgate their jealousy and disgust, nevertheless employed their emissaries clandestinely in stimulating andexciting the Indians to harass the colonists with hostilities, in sucha manner as should effectually hinder them from extending theirplantations, and perhaps induce them to abandon the settlement. Nor wasthis the only part of America in which the French court countenancedsuch perfidious practices. More than ever convinced of the importanceof a considerable navy, and an extensive plantation trade, they not onlyexerted uncommon industry in re-establishing their marine, which hadsuffered so severely during the war; but they resolved, if possible, to extend their plantations in the West Indies by settling the neutralislands, which we have already mentioned. In the beginning of the year, the governor of Barbadoes, having received intelligence that the Frenchhad begun to settle the island of Tobago, sent captain Tyrrel thitherin a frigate to learn the particulars. That officer found above threehundred men already landed, secured by two batteries and two shipsof war, and in daily expectation of a further reinforcement fromthe marquis de Caylus, governor of Martinique; who had published anordonnance, authorizing the subjects of the French king to settle theisland of Tobago, and promising to defend them from the attempts of alltheir enemies. This assurance was in answer to a proclamation issuedby Mr. Grenville, governor of Barbadoes, and stuck up in the differentparts of the island, commanding all the inhabitants to remove, in thirtydays, on pain of undergoing military execution. Captain Tyrrel, witha spirit that became a commander in the British navy, gave the Frenchofficers to understand, that his most christian majesty had no right tosettle the island, which was declared neutral by treaties; and that, ifthey would not desist, he should be obliged to employ force in drivingthem from their new settlement. Night coming on, and Mr. Tyrrel's shipfalling to leeward, the French captains seized that opportunity ofsailing to Martinique; and next day the English commander returned toBarbadoes, having no power to commit hostilities. These tidings, with acopy of the French governor's ordonnance, were no sooner transmittedto the ministry than they despatched a courier to the English envoyat Paris, with directions to make representations to the court ofVersailles on this subject. The ministry of France, knowing they werein no condition to support the consequences of an immediate rupture, andunderstanding how much the merchants and people of Great Britain werealarmed and incensed at their attempts to possess these islands, thoughtproper to disown the proceedings of the marquis de Caylus, and to grantthe satisfaction that was demanded, by sending him orders to discontinuethe settlement, and evacuate the island of Tobago. At the same time, however, that the court of Versailles made this sacrifice for thesatisfaction of England, the marquis de Puysieux, the French minister, observed to the English resident, that France was undoubtedly inpossession of that island towards the middle of the last century. Heought in candour to have added, that although Louis XIV. Made a conquestof this island from the Hollanders, during his war with that republic, it was restored to them by the treaty of Nimeguen; and since that timeFrance could not have the least shadow of a claim to number it among hersettlements. It was before this answer could be obtained from the courtof Versailles that the motion, of which we have already taken notice, was made in the house of commons, relating to the subject of theneutral islands; a motion discouraged by the court, and defeated by themajority. 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 todisplay a spirit of emulation in point of taste and magnificence; and, in all probability, these three powers were sincerely pleased atthe cessation of the war. England enjoyed a respite from intolerablesupplies, exorbitant insurance, and interrupted commerce; Holland wasdelivered from the brink of a French invasion; and France had obtaineda breathing time for re-establishing her naval power, for exertingthat spirit of intrigue, by dint of which she hath often embroiled herneighbours, and for executing plans of insensible encroachment, whichmight prove more advantageous than the progress of open hostilities. Inthe affair of Tobago, the French king had manifested his inclination toavoid immediate disputes with England; and had exhibited another proofof the same disposition in his behaviour to the prince-pretender, whohad excited such a dangerous rebellion in the island of Great Britain. Among those princes and powers who excepted against different articlesof the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the chevalier de St. George, foreseeing that none of the plenipotentiaries would receive hisprotest, employed his agents to fix it up in the public places ofAix-la-Chapelle; a precaution of very little service to his cause, whichall the states of Christendom seemed now to have abandoned. So littlewas the interest of his family considered in this negotiation, that thecontracting powers agreed, without reserve, to a literal insertion ofthe fifth article of the quadruple alliance; by which it was stipulated, that neither the pretender nor any of his descendants should be allowedto reside within the territories belonging to any of the subscribingparties. At the same time the plenipotentiaries of France promised tothose of Great Britain, that prince Charles-Edward should be immediatelyobliged to quit the dominions of his most christian majesty. Notice ofthis agreement was accordingly given by the court of Versailles to theyoung adventurer; and as he had declared he would never return to Italy, Mons. De Courteille, the French envoy to the cantons of Switzerland, wasdirected by his sovereign to demand an asylum for prince Edward in thecity of Fribourg. The regency having complied in this particular withthe earnest request of his most christian majesty, Mr. Bamaby, theBritish minister to the Helvetic body, took the alarm, and presentedthe magistracy of Fribourg with a remonstrance, couched in such terms asgave offence to that regency, and drew upon him a severe answer. In vainhad the French king exerted his influence in procuring this retreatfor the young pretender, who, being pressed with repeated messages towithdraw, persisted in refusing to quit the place, to which he had beenso cordially invited by his cousin the king of France; and where he saidthat monarch had solemnly promised, on the word of a king, that he wouldnever forsake him in his distress, nor abandon the interests of hisfamily. Louis was not a little perplexed at this obstinacy of princeEdward, which was the more vexatious, as that youth appeared to bethe darling of the Parisians; who not only admired him for his ownaccomplishments, and pitied him for his sufferings, but also reveredhim, as a young hero lineally descended from their renowned Henrythe Fourth. At length, the two English noblemen arriving at Paris ashostages for the performance of the treaty, and seeing him appear at allthe public places of diversion, complained of this circumstance as aninsult to their sovereign, and an infringement of the treaty so latelyconcluded. The French king, after some hesitation between punctilioand convenience, resolved to employ violence upon the person of thistroublesome stranger, since milder remonstrances had not been able toinfluence his conduct; but this resolution was not taken till the returnof 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 thetimes, and acquiesce with a good grace in the stipulations which hiscousin of France had found it necessary to subscribe for the interest ofhis realm. Edward, far from complying with this advice and injunction, signified his resolution to remain in Paris; and even declared thathe would pistol any man who should presume to lay violent hands onhis person. In consequence of this bold declaration, an extraordinarycouncil was held at Versailles, when it was determined to arrest himwithout further delay, and the whole plan of this enterprise was finallyadjusted. That same evening, the prince entering the narrow lane thatleads to the opera, the barrier was immediately shut, and the sergeantof the guard called "to arms;" on which monsieur de Vaudreuil, exempt ofthe French guards, advancing to Edward, "Prince, " said he, "I arrest youin the king's name, by virtue of this order. " At that instant the youthwas surrounded by four grenadiers, in order to prevent any mischief hemight have done with a case of pocket-pistols which he always carriedabout him; and a guard was placed at all the avenues and doors of theopera-house, lest any tumult should have ensued among the populace. These precautions being taken, Vaudreuil, with an escort, conducted theprisoner through the garden of the palais-royal, to a house where theduke de Biron waited with a coach and six to convey him to the castle ofVincennes, whether he was immediately accompanied by a detachment fromthe regiment of French guards, under the command of that nobleman. Hehad not remained above three days in his confinement, when he gavethe French ministry to understand that he would conform himself to theking's intentions; and was immediately enlarged, upon giving his wordand honour that he would, without delay, retire from the dominionsof France. Accordingly, he set out in four days from Fountainbleau, attended by three officers, who conducted him as far as Pont-Bauvosinon the frontiers, where they took their leave of him and returned toVersailles. He proceeded for some time in the road to Chamberri; butsoon returned into the French dominions, and, passing through Dauphiné, repaired to Avignon, where he was received with extraordinary honours bythe pope's legate. In the meantime, his arrest excited great murmuringsat Paris; the inhabitants blaming, without scruple, their king's conductin this instance, as a scandalous breach of hospitality, as well asa mean proof of condescension to the king of England; and many severepasquinades, relating to this transaction, were fixed up in the mostpublic places of that metropolis. APPEARANCE OF A RUPTURE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN. Although peace was now re-established among the principal powers of thecontinent, yet another storm seemed ready to burst upon the northernparts of Europe, in a fresh rupture between Russia and Sweden. Whetherthe czarina had actually obtained information that the French factionmeditated some revolution of government at Stockholm, or she wanted apretence of annexing Finland to her empire; certain it is, she affectedto apprehend that the prince-successor of Sweden waited only for thedecease of the reigning king, who was very old and infirm, to change theform of government, and resume that absolute authority which some ofthe monarchs, his predecessors, had enjoyed. She seemed to think that aprince thus vested with arbitrary power, and guided by the councilsof France and Prussia, with which Sweden had lately engaged in closealliance, might become a very troublesome and dangerous neighbour toher in the Baltic; she therefore recruited her armies, repaired herfortifications, filled her magazines, ordered a strong body of troops toadvance towards the frontiers of Finland, and declared in plain termsto the court of Stockholm, that if any step should be taken to alterthe government, which she had bound herself by treaty to maintain, hertroops should enter the territory of Sweden, and she would act up tothe spirit of her engagements. The Swedish ministry, alarmed at theseperemptory proceedings, had recourse to their allies; and in themeantime, made repeated declarations to the court of Petersburgh, thatthere was no design to make the least innovation in the nature of theirestablished government; but little or no regard being paid to theserepresentations, they began to put the kingdom in a posture ofdefence; and the old king gave the czarina to understand, that if, notwithstanding the satisfaction he had offered, her forces should passthe frontiers of Finland, he would consider their march as an hostileinvasion, and employ the means which God had put in his power for thedefence of his dominions. INTERPOSITION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA. This declaration, in all probability, did not produce such effect as theinterposition of his Prussian majesty, the most enterprising princeof his time, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand of the besttroops that Germany ever trained. Perhaps he was not sorry thatthe empress of Muscovy furnished him with a plausible pretence formaintaining such a formidable army, after the peace of Europe had beenascertained by a formal treaty, and all the surrounding states haddiminished the number of their forces. He now wrote a letter to hisuncle the king of Great Britain, complaining of the insults and menaceswhich had been offered by the czarina to Sweden; declaring, that he wasbound by a defensive alliance, to which France had acceded, to defendthe government at present established in Sweden; and that he would notsit still, and tamely see that kingdom attacked by any power whatsoever, without acting up to his engagements; he therefore entreated hisBritannic majesty to interpose his good offices, in conjunction withFrance and him, to compromise the disputes which threatened to embroilthe northern parts of Europe. By this time the Russian army hadapproached the frontiers of Finland: the Swedes had assembled theirtroops, replenished their magazines, and repaired their marine; and theking of Denmark, jealous of the czarina's designs with regard to theduchy of Sleswick, which was contested with him by the prince-successorof Russia, kept his army and navy on the most respectable footing. Atthis critical juncture the courts of London, Versailles, and Berlin, co-operated so effectually by remonstrances and declarations atPetersburgh and Stockholm, that the empress of Russia thought proper toown herself satisfied, and all those clouds of trouble were immediatelydispersed. Yet, in all probability, her real aim was disappointed; and, however she might dissemble her sentiments, she never heartily forgavethe king of Prussia for the share he had in this transaction. Thatmonarch, without relaxing in his attention to the support of a veryformidable military power, exerted very extraordinary endeavours incultivating the civil interests of his country. He reformed the laws ofBrandenburgh, and rescued the administration of justice from the fraudsof chicanery. He encouraged the arts of agriculture and manufacture;and even laid the foundation of naval commerce, by establishing anEast-India company in the port of Embden. Nor did the French ministry neglect any measure that might contribute torepair the damage which the kingdom had sustained in the course of thewar. One half of the army was disbanded: the severe imposition of thetenth penny was suspended by the king's edict: a scheme of economy wasproposed with respect to the finances; and the utmost diligence usedin procuring materials, as well as workmen, for ship-building, thatthe navy of France might speedily retrieve its former importance. In themidst of these truly patriotic schemes, the court of Versailles betrayeda littleness of genius, and spirit of tyranny, joined to fanaticism, inquarreling 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 ofthe defunct preferred a complaint to the parliament, whose province itwas to take cognizance of the affair; a deputation of that body attendedthe king with the report of the resolutions; and and his majestycommanded them to suspend all proceedings relating to a matter of suchconsequence, concerning which he would take an opportunity of signifyinghis royal pleasure. This interposition was the source of disputesbetween the crown and parliament, which had like to have filled thewhole kingdom with intestine troubles. CONDUCT OF DIFFERENT EUROPEAN POWERS. At Vienna, the empress-queen was not more solicitous in promotingthe trade and internal manufactures of her dominions, by sumptuaryregulations, necessary restrictions on foreign superfluities, by openingher ports in the Adriatic, and giving proper encouragement to commerce, than she was careful and provident in reforming the economy of herfinances, maintaining a respectable body of forces, and guarding, bydefensive alliances, against the enterprise of his Prussian majesty, onwhose military power she looked with jealousy and distrust. In Holland, all the authority and influence of the stadtholder were scarcelysufficient to allay the ferments excited among the people by theprovisional taxation, which had succeeded the abolition of the patchers, and was indeed very grievous to the subject. As this was no more thana temporary expedient, the prince of Orange proposed a more equitableplan, which was approved by the states, and established with greatdifficulty. In Italy the system of politics seemed to change itscomplexion. The king of Sardinia effected a match between one of theinfantas of Spain and the prince of Piedmont; and whether irritated bythe conduct of the Austrians in the last war, or apprehensive of such apowerful neighbour in the Milanese, he engaged with the kings of Franceand Spain in a defensive alliance, comprehending the king of the TwoSicilies, the republic of Genoa, and the dukes of Modena and Parma. His most catholic majesty, sincerely disposed to cultivate the artsof peace, and encourage every measure that could contribute to theadvantage of his country, was no sooner released from the embarrassmentsof war, than he began to execute plans of internal economy; to reduceunnecessary pensions, discharge the debts contracted in the war, replenish his arsenals, augment his navy, promote manufactures, andencourage an active commerce by sea, the benefits of which the kingdomof Spain had not known since the first discovery and conquest of theWest Indies. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} INSOLENCE OF THE BARBARY CORSAIRS. The preparations for refitting and increasing the navy of Spain werecarried on with such extraordinary vigour, that other nations believedan expedition was intended against the corsairs of Algiers, who had forsome time grievously infested the trade and coasts of the Mediterranean. The existence of this and other predatory republics, which entirelysubsist upon piracy and rapine, petty states of barbarous ruffians, maintained as it were in the midst of powerful nations, whichthey insult with impunity, and of which they even exact an annualcontribution, is a flagrant reproach upon Christendom; a reproachthe greater, as it is founded upon a low, selfish, illiberal maxim ofpolicy. All the powers that border on the Mediterranean, except Franceand Tuscany, are at perpetual war with the Moors of Barbary, and forthat reason obliged to employ foreign ships for the transportation oftheir merchandise. This employment naturally devolves to those nationswhose vessels are in no danger from the depredations of the barbarians;namely, the subjects of the maritime powers, who for this punyadvantage, not only tolerate the piratical states of Barbary, but evensupply them with arms and ammunition, solicit their passes, and purchasetheir forbearance with annual presents, which are, in effect, equivalentto a tribute; whereas, by one vigorous exertion of their power, theymight destroy all their ships, lay their towns in ashes, and totallyextirpate those pernicious broods of desperate banditti. Even all thecondescension of those who disgrace themselves with the title of alliesto these miscreants, is not always sufficient to restrain them from actsof cruelty and rapine. At this very period four cruisers from Algiersmade a capture of an English packet-boat, in her voyage from Lisbon, andconveyed her to their city, where she was plundered of money and effectsto the amount of one hundred thousand pounds, and afterwards dismissed. In consequence of this outrage, commodore Keppel was sent with sevenships of war to demand satisfaction, as well as to compromise certaindifferences which had arisen on account of arrears claimed of theEnglish by the dey of Algiers. The Mussulman frankly owned, that themoney having been divided among the captors, could not possibly berefunded. The commodore returned to Gibraltar; and, in the sequel, anAlgerine ambassador arrived in London, with some presents of wild beastsfor his Britannic majesty. This transaction was succeeded by anotherinjurious affront offered by the governor or alcayde of Tetuan toMr. Latton, an English ambassador, sent thither to redeem the Britishsubjects who had been many years enslaved in the dominions of the kingof Morocco. A revolution having lately happened in this empire, MullyAbdallah, the reigning ruffian, insisted upon the ambassador's paying apretended balance for the ransom of the captives, as well as depositinga considerable sum, which had already been paid to a deceased pacha;alleging, that as he, the emperor, received no part of it, the paymentwas illegal. Mr. Latton refusing to comply with this arbitrary demand, his house was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers, who violentlydragged his secretary from his presence, and threw him into a dismalsubterranean dungeon, where he continued twenty days. The Englishslaves, to the number of twenty-seven, were condemned to the same fate;the ambassador himself was degraded from his character, deprived ofhis allowance, and sequestered from all communication. All the lettersdirected to him were intercepted, and interpreted to the alcayde; twonegro porters were intrusted with the keys of all his apartments, anda couple of soldiers posted at his chamber-door; nay, this Moorishgovernor threatened to load him with irons, and violently seized partof the presents designed by his Britannic majesty for the emperor. Atlength, finding that neither Mr. Latton nor the governor of Gibraltar, to whom he had written, would deposit the money, without freshinstructions from the court of London, the barbarian thought proper torelax in his severity: the prisoners were enlarged, the restrictionsremoved from the person of the ambassador, and, after all theseindignities offered to the honour of the British nation, the balance waspaid, and the affair quietly adjusted. DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND. Britain, in the meanwhile, was altogether barren of events whichmight deserve a place in a general history. Commerce and manufactureflourished again, to such a degree of increase as had never been knownin the island; but this advantage was attended with an irresistible tideof luxury and excess, which flowed through all degrees of the people, breaking down all the mounds of civil polity, and opening a way forlicense and immorality. The highways were infested with rapine andassassination; the cities teemed with the brutal votaries of lewdness, intemperance, and profligacy. The whole land was overspread with asuccession of tumult, riot, and insurrection, excited in different partsof the kingdom by the erection of new turnpikes, which the legislaturejudged necessary for the convenience of inland carriage. In orderto 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 aspeech from the throne, in which his majesty expressed a particularpleasure in meeting them at a time when the perfect re-establishment ofa general peace had restored to his people the blessings of quiet andtranquillity. He said, the good effects of these already appeared in theflourishing condition of national commerce, and in the rise of publiccredit, which were the foundations of strength and prosperity to thesekingdoms. He declared, that, during the summer, he had used everyopportunity of cementing and securing the peace; that it was his firmresolution 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 theother contracting parties to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to cherishthe public tranquillity of Europe; and he earnestly recommended to thetwo houses the maintenance of a strong naval power, as the bulwark ofnational security. When the motion was made for an address of thanks in the house ofcommons, the first paragraph of his majesty's speech furnished theopposition with a handle to declaim against the late treaty. Sir JohnHinde Cotton observed, that the peace could not be properly styledcomplete, as nothing had been stipulated with respect to the articleof "No search;" alluding to the interruption our commerce had sustainedfrom the Spaniards in the West Indies; a stipulation, without which bothhouses of parliament had formerly voted that there should be no peacewith that kingdom. {1749} In the present conjuncture of affairs, such an objection savoured ratherof party than of patriotism; and indeed sir John declared, that theremarks he made upon the occasion were rather in discharge of the dutyhe owed to his country, than in hope of seeing his sentiments espousedby the majority. Some sharp altercation was used in the debate whicharose on this subject; and many severe invectives were levelled atthose who negotiated, as well as at those who approved and confirmed thetreaty. But Mr. Pelham, who sustained the whole weight of the debateon the side of the administration, answered every objection with equalcandour and ability; and if he failed in proving that the terms of peacewere as favourable as could be expected, considering the unfortunateevents of the war, and the situation of the contending powers; he atleast demonstrated, that it would be the interest of the kingdom toacquiesce 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 disputeremained. With respect to the vote of both houses, mentioned by sir JohnHinde Cotton, he declared that he had never approved of that step, whenit was first taken; or if he had, times and circumstances, which couldnot be foreseen, would have justified his deviating from it in there-establishment of peace. He reminded them that a parliament of GreatBritain had once voted "no peace while any part of the West Indiesshould remain in possession of the Spanish king;" yet a train ofincidents, which they could not possibly foresee, afterwards rendered itexpedient to adopt a peace without insisting upon the accomplishment ofthat condition. In a word, we must own, that, in the majority of debatesexcited in the course of this session, the ministry derived theirtriumphs from the force of reason, as well as from the weight ofinfluence. We shall always, however, except the efforts that weremade for reducing the number of land-forces to fifteen thousand, andmaintaining a greater number of seamen than the ministry proposed. Onthese constitutional points the earl of Egmont, and the other chiefsof the opposition, expatiated with all the energy of eloquence; whichhowever was frustrated by the power of superior numbers. Ten thousandseamen were voted for the service of the ensuing year, notwithstandinghis majesty's injunction to maintain a considerable navy; and the numberof land-forces was continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred andfifty-seven. The sums granted for making good his majesty's engagementswith the electors of Bavaria and Mentz, and the duke of BrunswickWolfenbuttle, amounted to fifty-three thousand two hundred andtwenty-five pounds sterling. The services done by the colonies in NorthAmerica, during the war, were gratified with the sum of one hundredand twenty-two thousand two hundred and forty-six pounds. The expenseincurred by the new colony of Nova-Scotia exceeded seventy-six thousandpounds. A small sum was voted for the improvement of Georgia; and tenthousand pounds were granted towards the support of the British fortsand settlements on the coast of Africa.. The sum total granted in thissession arose to four millions one hundred and forty-one thousand sixhundred 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 thebank and exchequer; one million by annuities at three per cent. , chargedon the sinking fund, until redeemed by parliament; and nine hundredthousand pounds out of the excess or overplus of monies denominated thesinking fund. SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT. But the capital measure which distinguished this session of parliamentwas the reduction of the interest on the public funds; a schemewhich was planned and executed by the minister, without any nationaldisturbance or disquiet, to the astonishment of all Europe; thedifferent nations of which could not comprehend how it would be possiblefor the government, at the close of a long expensive war, which had soconsiderably drained the country, and augmented the enormous burden ofnational debt, to find money for paying off such of the public creditorsas might choose to receive the principal, rather than submit to areduction of the interest. It was not very much for the honour of theopposition, that some of its leading members endeavoured to impede thisgreat machine of civil economy, by taking opportunities of affirming inparliament, in opposition to his majesty's speech, that the nation, farfrom being in a flourishing condition, was almost entirely exhausted;that commerce drooped and declined; that public credit stood totteringon the brink of ruin; and that all the treaties lately concluded amongthe different powers of Europe were, in effect, disadvantageous andprejudicial to the interests of Great Britain. In answer to theseassertions, Mr. Pelham undertook to prove, from the register of exportsand imports, that the commerce of the kingdom was more extensive at thisthan at any former period; and that the public credit was strong enoughto admit of an experiment, which he would not presume to hazard, exceptupon a moral certainty of its being firmly rooted beyond the power ofaccident and faction to shake or overturn. He declared, that his designof reducing the interest upon the funds was the result of the love hebore his country, and an opinion that it was the duty of the servants ofthe crown to ease the burdens of the people. He said, he had conferredon this subject with persons of the most approved knowledge, andundoubted experience; and chose to promulgate the method proposed foralleviating the load of the national debt, that the public, in knowingthe particulars of the scheme, might have time to consider them atleisure, and start such objections as should occur to their reflection, before it might be too late to adopt amendments. He observed, thatnothing could more clearly demonstrate the vigour of public credit, andthe augmentation of national commerce, than the price of stock, whichhad within three years risen to a very considerable increase; and theduties on imports, which in nine months had added one million to thesinking fund, notwithstanding a very extraordinary sum which had beenpaid as bounties for exported corn. He expressed great tenderness andregard for the interests of those who had advanced their money for theservice of the government; declaring, that his aim was to contrivea fair, honest, and equitable method for lessening the nationalincumbrances, by lowering the interest, conformable to parliamentaryfaith, and agreeable to the rules of eternal justice. His plan wasaccordingly communicated, canvassed, and ap proved in the house ofcommons, and an act passed for reducing the interest of the funds whichconstitute the national debt. [321] _[See note 2 Q, at the end of thisVol. ]_ In pursuance of this act for the reduction of the interest, thegreater part of the creditors complied with the terms proposed, andsubscribed their respective annuities before the end of February; butthe three great companies at first kept aloof, and refused to subscribeany part of their capital. About the middle of March the commons ordered the proper officers to laybefore them an account of the sums which had been subscribed, and thesewere taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house. It wasthen that Mr. Pelham, as chancellor of the exchequer, observed, thatbesides the debts due to the three great companies in their corporatecapacity, all the rest, carrying four per centum interest, had beensubscribed, except about eight or nine millions, the proprietors ofwhich had forfeited the favour designed them by parliament; but as manyof these had been misled by evil counsellors, who perhaps were moreintent on distressing the government, than solicitous to serve theirfriends; and as many were foreigners, residing beyond sea, who had nottime to take proper advice, and give the necessary instruction; andas these could not possibly be distinguished from such as refused tosubscribe from mere obstinacy or disaffection, it might be thought cruelto take the most rigorous advantage of the forfeiture they had incurred. With respect to the proprietors of the stock or capital belonging to thethree great companies, he asserted, that many of them would willinglyhave subscribed their properties within the time limited, but werenecessarily excluded by the majority on the ballot; and as it wasequally impossible to know those who were against the question on theballot, he thought that some tenderness was due even to the proprietorsof those three companies; his opinion therefore was, that they and theuncomplying annuitants should be indulged with further time tocomplete their subscription; but, in order to preserve the authority ofparliament, and the respect due to that august assembly, they oughtnot to be gratified with such advantageous terms as were allowed to theannuitants who at first cheerfully complied with the proposals offeredby the legislature. For these reasons he proposed, that although theterm of subscribing should be protracted till the thirtieth day of May, the encouragement of three pounds ten shillings per centum per annumshould not be continued to the second subscribers longer than tillthe fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-five. The proposal being approved, a bill was framed for thispurpose, as well as for redeeming such annuities as should not besubscribed, which passed through both houses, and was enacted into alaw, after having received an additional clause, empowering the EastIndia company, in case they should subscribe all their stock bearingan interest of four per centum, to borrow, with the consent of thetreasury, any sums not exceeding four millions two hundred thousandpounds, after the several rates of interest before proposed to be paidby the public, and one million more at three per centum per annum. Theywere also vested with a power to raise money by bonds as formerly; yetso as the whole, including the annuities, should not exceed what theywere by former acts empowered to borrow. The objections to the executionof this project, which by many were deemed insurmountable, entirelyvanished before the fortitude, perseverance, and caution of theminister; who had secured, among the monied men of the nation, thepromise of such sums as would have been sufficient to pay off thecapital belonging to those creditors who might refuse to accept theinterest thus reduced. The second subscription had the desired effect. The three great companies acquiesced, and their example was followedby the other scrupulous annuitants; the national burden was comfortablylightened, and the sinking fund considerably increased, withoutproducing the least perplexity or disturbance in the commonwealth; acircumstance that could not fail to excite the admiration and envy ofall Christendom. {1750} NEW MUTINY BILL. The mutiny bill for the ensuing year was mitigated with an essentialalteration, relating to the oath of secrecy imposed upon the members ofevery court-martial, who were now released from this reserve if requiredto give evidence, by due course of law, in any court of judicature; andwhereas, by the former mutiny bill, a general was empowered to order therevival 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 acquittedupon a fair trial; it was now enacted, that no sentence pronounced byany court-martial, and signed by the president, should be more thanonce liable to revisal. Colonel George Townshend, son of lord viscountTownshend, who had equally distinguished himself by his civil andmilitary accomplishments, proposed another clause, for preventing anynoncommissioned officer's being broke or reduced into the ranks; or anysoldier's being punished, but by the sentence of a court-martial. Hegave the house to understand, that certain persons attended at the door, who from the station of non-commissioned officers had been broke, andreduced into the ranks, without trial, or any cause assigned; and heexpatiated not only upon the iniquity of such proceedings, but alsoupon the danger of leaving such arbitrary power in the hands of anyindividual 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 theencouragement of the British manufactures, a large duty was laid uponIrish sail-cloth, which being sold at an under price, was found tointerfere with the same species of commodity fabricated in the islandof Great Britain; and, for the farther benefit of this last, the bountyupon the exportation of it, which had been deducted from a defectivefund, was now made payable out of the customs. This measure, however, was not of such importance to the nation, as the act which they passedfor encouraging the importation of pig and bar iron from the Britishcolonies in North America. Every well-wisher to his country reflectedwith concern on the nature of the British trade with Sweden, from whichkingdom the subjects of his Britannic majesty imported more iron andsteel than all the other countries in Europe. For this article they paida very great balance in ready money, which the Swedes again expendedin purchasing from the French, and other mercantile powers, thosenecessaries and superfluities with which they might have been as cheaplyfurnished by Great Britain. In the meantime, the English colonies inAmerica were restricted by severe duties from making advantage of theirown produce, in exchanging their iron for such commodities as theywere under the necessity of procuring from their mother country. Suchrestrictions was not only a cruel grievance upon our own settlements, but also attended with manifest prejudice to the interest of GreatBritain, annually drained of great sums in favour of an ungratefulnation, from which no part of them returned; whereas the ironimported from America must of necessity come in exchange for our ownmanufactures. The commons having appointed a day for taking this affairinto consideration, carefully examined into the state of the Britishcommerce carried on with Sweden, as well as into the accounts of ironimported from the plantations of America; and a committee of the wholehouse having resolved, that the duties on American pig and bar ironshould be removed, a bill [322] _[See note 2 R, at the end of thisVol. ]_ was brought in for that purpose, containing a clause, however, toprevent his majesty's subjects from making steel, and establishing millsfor slitting and rolling iron within the British colonies of America:this precaution being taken, that the colonists might not interfere withthe manufactures of their mother country. ERECTION OF THE BRITISH HERRING FISHERY. The next commercial improvement of which we shall take notice, wasthe bill for the encouragement of the British white herring andcod 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 fourscoretons burden, which should be built for that purpose, and actuallyemployed in the fishery; that a society should be incorporated, underthe name of the Free British Fishery, by a charter, not exclusive, withpower to raise a capital not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds; andthat three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, should be grantedand paid out of the customs to the proprietors for fourteen years, for so much of the capital as should be actually employed in the saidfisheries. Corresponding chambers were proposed to be erected in remoteparts of North Britain, for taking in subscriptions, and prosecuting thetrade, under the directions of the company at London; and the nationin general seemed eager to dispute this branch of commerce with thesubjects of Holland, whom they considered as ungrateful interlopers. Inthe house of peers, however, the bill met with a formidable oppositionfrom the earl of Winchelsea and lord Sandys, who justly observed, thatit was a crude indigested scheme, which in the execution would neveranswer the expectations of the people; that in contending with theDutch, who are the patterns of unwearied industry and the most rigideconomy, nothing could be more absurd than a joint-stock company, whichis always clogged with extraordinary expense; and the resolution offitting 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 theunited kingdom, exclusive of the great distance and dangerous voyagebetween the metropolis and the sound of Brassa in Shetland, therendezvous at which all the herring-busses were to assemble in thebeginning of the fishing season. They likewise took notice of theheavy duty on salt, used in curing the fish for sale, and the beeffor provisions to the mariners; a circumstance of itself sufficientto discourage adventurers from embarking in a commerce which, atbest, yields but very slender profits to the trade in particular, howimportant soever it might prove to the community in general. Theseobjections were answered by the duke of Argyle and the earl ofGranville, who seemed to think that this branch of trade could notbe fairly set on foot, without such a considerable sum of money as nosingle individual would care to advance; that a joint-stock companywould be able to prosecute the fishery at a smaller expense than thatwhich particular traders must necessarily incur; that the present spiritof the nation, which was eagerly bent upon trying the experiment, oughtnot to be balked by delay, lest it should evaporate; and that though theplan was not unexceptionable, the defects of it might in the sequelbe remedied by the legislature. In a word, the bill was adopted bythe majority, with a small amendment in the title, which produced somedisquiets in the lower house; but this dispute was compromised, and itwas enacted into a law towards the close of the session. Nothing couldbe more agreeable to the public than the sanction of the legislature tothis favourite plan, which was ardently promoted, and patronised by menof the greatest eminence for wealth and popularity. The company chosefor their governor the prince of Wales, who received this proof oftheir attachment and respect with particular marks of satisfaction;the president and vice-president were both aldermen of London; and thecouncil was composed of thirty gentlemen, the majority of whom weremembers of parliament. Great pains were taken, and some artifice wasused, to learn the Dutch method of curing the fish. People crowded withtheir subscriptions; a number of hands were employed in building andequipping the busses or vessels used in the fishery; and the mostfavourable consequences were expected from the general vigour andalacrity which animated these preparations. But the success did notgratify the sanguine hopes of the projectors and adventurers. Theobjections made in the house of lords soon appeared to have been wellfounded; these co-operating with mismanagement in the directors, the spirit of the company began to flag, the natural consequences ofcommercial disappointment; and now the British fishery seems to languishunder the neglect of the legislature. NEW AFRICAN COMPANY. Touching the trade to the coast of Africa, petitions were renewed bythe company and its creditors, the merchants of Bristol, Liverpool, and Lancaster; and a remonstrance was presented by the planters andmerchants interested in the British sugar settlements in America; butthe commons adhered to their former resolutions of laying open thetrade, maintaining the forts at the public expense, and regulating thecommerce by a committee of merchants, representing the chief tradingtowns in the kingdom, to be superintended by the board of trade andplantations. The bill was accordingly framed and presented, and havingproceeded through both houses without opposition, obtained the royalassent. Over and above these wise, salutary, and patriotic measures forthe improvement of commerce, they encouraged the importation of raw silkby an act, reducing the duties formerly payable on that which was thegrowth 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 hadbeen usually granted on the other. A second bill was brought in for theencouragement of the growth and culture of silk in Carolina and Georgia, where it had been lately produced with extraordinary success, byfreeing from all duties that which should be imported from his majesty'sdominions in America; and a third was framed, permitting raw silk of thegrowth or produce of Persia, purchased in Russia, to be imported intoGreat Britain, from any port or place belonging to the empire of Russia. Divers efforts were made, by different members in the opposition, torectify certain abuses in the army and administration; some bills werebrought in, and several petitions were left on the table; but all ofthem proved abortive, from the power and influence of the minister, whoseemed resolved that no benefit should flow upon the nation throughany channel but his own. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, for thehonour of his memory, that there is no session on record so productiveas this was of measures advantageous to the community. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} WESTMINSTER ELECTION. The people, however, were not entirely satisfied with the conduct of theadministration, if we may judge from the ferment and commotions raisedduring the progress of an election for a citizen to represent the cityof Westminster in parliament. The seat which had been filled by lordTrentham, eldest son of earl Gower, having become vacant, in consequenceof that nobleman's accepting a place at the board of admiralty, he againdeclared himself a candidate, and met with a violent opposition. Thosewho styled themselves the independent electors of Westminster, beingnow incensed to an uncommon degree of turbulence by the interpositionof ministerial influence, determined to use their utmost endeavours tobaffle the designs of the court, and at the same time take vengeance onthe family of earl Gower, who had entirely abandoned the opposition, ofwhich he was formerly one of the most respected leaders. With this viewthey held consultations, agreed to resolutions, and set up a privategentleman, named sir George Vandeput, as the competitor of lordTrentham, declaring that they would support his pretensions at their ownexpense, being the more encouraged to this enterprise by the countenanceand assistance of the prince of Wales and his adherents. Theyaccordingly opened houses of entertainment for their partisans, solicited votes, circulated remonstrances, and propagated abuse; in aword, they canvassed, with surprising spirit and perseverance, againstthe whole interest of St. James'. Mobs were hired and processions madeon both sides, and the city of Westminster was filled with tumult anduproar. The mutual animosity of the parties seemed every day to increaseduring the election, and a great number of unqualified votes werepresented on both sides; all the powers of insinuation, obloquy, andridicule, were employed to vilify and depreciate both candidates. Atlength the poll being closed, a majority of votes appeared in behalfof lord Trentham; but a scrutiny being demanded by the other side, thereturning officer complied with their request. The speaker of the lowerhouse had issued his warrant for a new writ of election about the middleof November; and towards the end of February, Mr. Fox, secretary atwar, standing up and observing that no return had yet been made, thoughtproper to move that the clerk of the crown, the messenger-extraordinaryattending the great seal, the under-sheriff of Middlesex, and thehigh-bailiff of Westminster, should attend next morning and give anaccount of their issuing, delivering, and executing the writ ofelection. These being examined, and the high-bailiff declaring that hewould proceed with all possible despatch in the scrutiny which had beendemanded and was begun, Mr. Speaker explained to him some particularsof his duty, in the discharge of which, he was given to understand, hemight depend upon the protection of the house, should he meet with anyobstruction which he could not otherwise surmount, By the violence andcaprice with which a great number of votes were contested on both sides, the scrutiny was protracted a long time, and the return attended withsome extraordinary consequences, which shall be particularized among thetransactions of the next year. In the meantime, the present session ofparliament was closed on the twelfth day of April, with a speech fromthe throne, commending the commons for having seized the very firstopportunity of reducing the interest of the national debt, without theleast infringement upon the faith of parliament; and congratulating themon the flourishing state of the public credit, which could not fail toadd strength and reputation to the government, both at home and abroad. Immediately after the rising of the parliament, his majesty appointeda regency to govern the kingdom in his absence, and embarked for thecontinent 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 tothe north-east, of a deep and dusky red colour, like the reflectionof some great fire, for which it was by many people mistaken; and thecoruscations, unlike those that are generally observed, did not meet inthe zenith, but in a point some degrees to the southward. February wasushered in by terrible peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, andsuch a tempest of wind, hail, and rain, as overwhelmed with fear andconsternation the inhabitants of Bristol, where it chiefly raged. On theeighth day of the same month, between twelve and one in the afternoon, the people of London were still more dreadfully alarmed by the shock ofan earthquake, which shook all the houses with such violence, that thefurniture rocked on the floors, the pewter and porcelain rattled on theshelves, the chamber-bells rang, and the whole of this commotion wasattended by a clap of noise resembling that produced by the fall ofsome heavy piece of furniture. The shock extended through the cities ofLondon and Westminster, and was felt on both sides of the river Thames, from Greenwich to the westward of London; but not perceptible at aconsiderable distance. On the very same day of the next month, betweenfive and six o'clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the metropoliswere again affrighted by a second shock, more violent than the first, and abundantly more alarming, as it waked the greater part of the peoplefrom their repose. It was preceded by a succession of thick low flashesof lightning, and a rumbling noise, like that of a heavy carriagerolling over a hollow pavement. The shock itself consisted of repeatedvibrations, which lasted some seconds, and violently shook every housefrom top to bottom. Again the chairs rocked, the shelves clattered, thesmall bells rang, and in some places public clocks were heard to strike. Many persons, roused by this terrible visitation, started naked fromtheir beds, and ran to their doors and windows in distraction; yet nolife was lost, and no house overthrown by this concussion, though it wasso dreadful as to threaten an immediate dissolution of the globe. Thecircumstance, however, did not fail to make a deep impression uponignorant, weak, and superstitious minds, which were the more affected bythe consideration that the two shocks were periodical; that the second, which happened exactly one month after the first, had been the moreviolent; and that the next, increasing in proportion, might be attendedwith the most dismal consequences. This general notion was confirmed, and indeed propagated, among all ranks of people, by the admonitionsof a fanatic soldier, who publicly preached up repentance, and boldlyprophesied that the next shock would happen on the same day of April, and totally destroy the cities of London and Westminster. Consideringthe infectious nature of fear and superstition, and the emphatic mannerin which the imagination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was nowonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast should havecontributed, in a great measure, to augment the general terror. Thechurches were crowded with penitent sinners; the sons of riot andprofligacy were overawed into sobriety and decorum. The streetsno longer resounded with execrations, or the noise of brutallicentiousness; and the iand of charity was liberally opened. Those whomfortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city, fled to the countrywith hurry and precipitation, insomuch that the highways were encumberedwith horses and carriages. Many who had in the beginning combatedthese groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule, beganinsensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their hearts fail inproportion as the hour of probation approached; even science andphilosophy were not proof against the unaccountable effects of thiscommunication. In after ages it will hardly be believed, that on theevening of the eighth day of April, the open fields that skirt themetropolis were filled with an incredible number of people assembled inchairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on foot, who waited in themost fearful suspense until morning, and the return of day disproved thetruth of the dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished; they returnedto their respective habitations in a transport of joy; and were soonreconciled to their abandoned vices, which they seemed to resume withredoubled affection, and once more bade defiance to the vengeance ofheaven. PESTILENTIAL FEVER AT THE SESSION IN THE OLD BAILEY. By this time all the gaols in England were filled with the refuse ofthe army and navy, which having been dismissed at the peace, and eitheraverse to labour or excluded from employment, had naturally preyedupon the commonwealth. Great numbers of those wretches who, by properregulations, might have been rendered serviceable to the community, wereexecuted as examples; and the rest perished miserably, amidst the stenchand horrors of noisome dungeons. Even the prison of Newgate was renderedso infectious by the uncommon crowds of confined felons stowed togetherin close apartments, that the very air they breathed acquired apestilential degree of putrefaction. It was this putrefied air, which, adhering to the clothes of the malefactors brought to trial at the barof the Old Bailey, in May, produced among the audience a pestilentialfever, which infected and proved fatal to the lord mayor of London, to one alderman, two of the judges, divers lawyers who attended thesession, the greatest part of the jury, and a considerable number of thespectators. In order to prevent such disasters for the future, the gaolswere cleansed, and accommodated with ventilators, which exhaust the fouland supply a circulation of fresh air; and other humane precautions weretaken for the benefit of the prisoners. DISPUTES BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN. The affairs of the continent underwent no remarkable alteration. Anambassador-extraordinary being sent to Petersburgh from the court ofLondon, declared to the czarina's minister, that, in case of a rupturebetween Russia and Sweden, occasioned by the hostilities committed bythe former power, his Britannic majesty would consider Russia as theaggressor, and the czarina could not expect that he would supply herwith the succours which he was engaged by treaty to furnish for herdefence, in case she should be attacked. A declaration of the samenature was made by the ambassador of her Imperial majesty the queen ofHungary, while the ministers of France and Prussia, who were in strictalliance with Sweden, gave her to understand that they would punctuallyfulfil their engagements with the court of Stockholm, should sheactually invade the Swedish territories of Finland. The spirit withwhich the king of Prussia exerted himself on this occasion, gaveinfinite umbrage to the czarina, who, indeed, expressed her resentment, by treating the minister of Brandenburgh with contemptuous neglect, andeven refused to favour him with an audience till he should bevested with the character of ambassador. Thus were sewn the seeds ofmisunderstanding between those two powers, which, in the sequel, grewup to the most bitter animosity, and served to inflame those dissensionswhich have desolated the fairest provinces of Germany. The remonstranceof his Prussian majesty, with respect to the troubles of the North, was couched in such terms as gave dissatisfaction to the court ofPetersburgh. The Russian minister retired from Berlin without theceremony of taking leave, and the Prussian ambassador Warendorf wasrecalled 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 thedisputes between Russia and Sweden. He had another object in view, whichmore nearly concerned the interests of his German dominions; and had seton foot two negotiations of the utmost importance to the commerceand advantage of Great Britain. His first and principal aim was, inconjunction with the court of Vienna, to take such measures as wouldsecure the succession of the Imperial dignity to the archduke Joseph, eldest son and heir to the reigning emperor. As the previous step tothat elevation, it was proposed to elect this young prince king of theRomans; and for this purpose it was necessary to procure a majority notonly of the electors, but also in the diet of the empire, through whichthe proposal must have passed. No stone was left unturned to reconcilethis expedient to the German princes. Subsidies were offered by themaritime powers of England and the states-general to the electors ofMentz and Cologn; and a treaty of the same nature was concluded withthe elector of Bavaria, who, in consideration of an annual subsidy, amounting to forty thousand pounds sterling, two-thirds to be paidby Britain, and the rest by the states-general, engaged to keep inreadiness a body of six thousand infantry, as auxiliaries to themaritime powers, though not to act against the emperor or empire; andto join the interest of his Britannic majesty in the diet, as well as inthe electoral college. In order to render the king of Poland, elector ofSaxony, propitious to this design, he was accommodated with the loanof a very considerable sum, upon the mortgage of certain bailiwicksand lordships belonging to the Saxon dominions. Thus a majority of theelectors was secured, and such foundations were laid for the success ofthis project, that it was generally believed it would be accomplishedin his Britannic majesty's next visit to his German dominions. Hopes, itwas said, were given to the king of Sweden, that his concurrence wouldbe gratified by erecting the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he washead, into a tenth electorate. Arguments of an interesting naturewere used with the king of Prussia, and the elector-palatine, thatif possible, the diet might unanimously approve of this measure, sonecessary for establishing the peace of the empire, and preventing suchtroubles as arose from a disputed succession at the death of Charles theSixth. These endeavours, however, did not succeed in their full extent. The king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, opposed the electionas unnecessary and improper, on account of the health and vigour of thereigning emperor, and the tender years of the archduke. This monarch hadset himself up as a balance to the power of the house of Austria, which had long aspired to absolute dominion over its co-estates, andendeavoured to establish an hereditary right of succession to theempire; he therefore employed all his influence to frustrate the measureproposed, either actuated by a spirit of pure patriotism, or inspiredwith designs which he had not yet thought proper to declare. Theopposition was joined by the elector-palatine, and countenanced by theFrench king; who protested, that, for the sake of peace, he would notoppose this election, though contrary to the Golden Bull, provided itshould be confirmed by the unanimous consent of the electoral college;but should any one member signify his dissent, and he or any state ofthe empire claim the protection and assistance of his most christianmajesty, he could not dispense with granting both, in consequence of hisbeing guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia; an engagement by which hewas obliged to succour those princes and states of the empire who mighthave recourse to him, in case of any grievance they suffered contrary towhat was stipulated in that constitution. This declaration co-operatingwith the known character of his Prussian majesty, whose great armyover-awed Hanover and Bohemia, in all probability damped that vigourwith which the courts of Vienna and Herenhausen had hitherto prosecutedthis 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 fromthe incursions of the Indians, excited to these outrages by the subjectsand emissaries of France. Commissaries had been appointed, by bothcrowns, to meet at Paris and compromise these disputes: but theconferences were rendered abortive by every art of cavilling, chicanery, and procrastination, which the French commissioners opposed tothe justice and perspicuity of the English claims. They not onlymisinterpreted treaties, though expressed with the utmost precision, andperplexed the conferences with difficulties and matter foreign to thesubject, but they carried the finesse of perfidy so far as to producefalse charts and maps of the country, in which the rivers and boundarieswere misplaced and misrepresented. At this time also the insincerity ofthe French court appeared in affected delays and artful objections, withrespect to the evacuation of the neutral islands in the West Indies; andthe governors of the British plantations, in different parts of NorthAmerica, transmitted intelligence that the French had begun to makeencroachments on the back of the English colonies. TREATY WITH SPAIN. Perhaps the precarious footing on which the peace stood between GreatBritain and France at this juncture, and the critical situation ofaffairs in Germany, determined the ministry of England to compromise alldifferences with Spain, upon such terms as at any other time they wouldhardly have embraced. In order to discuss those points between the twonations, 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 andLancastro, the Spanish king's minister. At length a treaty was concludedon these conditions--the king of Spain engaged to pay, in three months, to the South-sea company of England, one hundred thousand poundssterling, as an indemnification for all claims upon his crown, by virtueof the assiento. In other respects, the trade and navigation of theEnglish to the ports of Spain were regulated by former treaties. It wasstipulated, that they should pay no other duties than those that wereexacted of them in the reign of Charles II. Of Spain; that they shouldbe treated on the footing of the most favoured nations; and continue toenjoy the privilege of taking salt at the island of Tortuga. But therewas no article restricting the Spanish guarda costas from searching theBritish vessels on the high seas; although, as we have already observed, this insolent prerogative, assumed without right, and exercised withouthumanity, was in effect the original and sole cause of the late rupture, which had been attended with such enormous expense to the nation. Itmust be owned, however, that his catholic majesty was at this periodextremely 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 inparticular to encourage commerce, which he foresaw would prove a muchmore 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 donRicardo Wall, who now acted as his minister at London; a gentleman ofIrish extract, who had distinguished himself in the field as well as inthe cabinet, and possessed the joint qualifications of a general anda statesman. He had, by virtue of a passport, come over privately toEngland before the peace, in order to pave the way for the treaty, by asecret negotiation with the English ministers; but immediately after thepeace was proclaimed, he appeared in the character of ambassador. Hewas possessed of the most insinuating address, shrewd, penetrating, andinquisitive. While he resided in London, he spared no pains in learningthe nature of those manufactures, and that commerce, by which GreatBritain 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 turnedthe knowledge he had thus acquired to the advantage of his country. He not only promoted the useful arts, within the kingdom of Spain, butdemonstrated the infinite advantage that would accrue from an activetrade, which the Spaniards had for many-ages neglected; and in a fewyears their ships were seen to swarm in all the commercial ports ofEurope. Of other foreign events which distinguished this summer, themost remarkable was the death of John, king of Portugal, who perfectlyunderstood, and steadily pursued, the true interests of his country, and in whom many princely qualities were debased by a cruel spirit ofbigotry and superstition. He was succeeded by his eldest son Joseph, who, if he has fallen short of his father in some respects, cannot bejustly charged with having inherited this paternal weakness. SESSION OPENED. The king of Great Britain having returned to England, opened the sessionof parliament in January with a speech, importing, that he had concludeda treaty with the king of Spain, and amicably adjusted such differencesas could not be so properly compromised in a general treaty; that thecommerce of this nation with that country was re-established upon themost advantageous and sure foundations; and that there was the greatestreason to hope the ancient friendship between Great Britain and Spainwould, from mutual inclination as well as interest, be now effectuallyrestored. He told them, that in conjunction with the empress-queenand the states-general, he had concluded a treaty with the elector ofBavaria; and was employed in taking such further measures as might besttend to strengthen and secure the tranquillity of the empire, supportits system, and timely anticipate such events as had been foundby experience to endanger the common cause, involve Europe in thecalamities of war, and occasion the loss of much blood and treasure tothese kingdoms. He promised that both these treaties should be subjectedto their perusal; he gave them to understand that he had receivedfrom all the other contracting powers in the definitive treatyof Aix-la-Chapelle, the most full and clear declarations of theirresolution to preserve the general peace; and that he had taken care toconsolidate the ties of union and friendship between him and his allies, the better to secure their mutual interests, maintain the peace alreadysubsisting, and prevent the occasion of any future rupture. Finally, herecommended unanimity, the improvement of commerce, and the effectualsuppression of such outrages and violences as are inconsistent withgood order and government, and endanger the lives and properties of thesubject, whose happiness and flourishing condition he had entirely atheart. When the motion was made for an address of thanks, couched in termsthat savoured of the most implicit complaisance, approbation, andacquiescence in the measures which the crown had taken, the earl ofEgmont, and some other anti-courtiers, affirmed, that such an addresswould be equally servile and absurd. They observed, that nothing couldbe more preposterous than a blind approbation of measures which theydid not know; that nothing could be more ridiculous than theircongratulations on the present happy tranquillity, when almost everyday's newspapers informed them of some British ships being seized by theSpaniards, or some new attack made by the French on our infant colonyof Nova Scotia. With respect to the continent of Europe, they affirmed, that the tranquillity of Germany would have been upon a much more solidfoundation, had England never interposed in the affairs of the empire:in that case the princes would of themselves have supported theconstitution of their own country; that the election of an infant forthe king of the Romans was much more likely to disturb than establishthe tranquillity of Europe; because it would help to overturn theconstitution of the empire, by rendering the imperial dignity hereditaryin one house, instead of being the result of a free election. They tooknotice that the constitution had provided vicars to govern the empireduring the vacancy of the imperial throne; but had made no provision ofregents, protectors, or guardians, for a minor emperor, because it wasnever supposed that a minor would be chosen. They inveighed againstthe late treaty with Spain; in which, they said, the ministry, for thepaltry sum of one hundred thousand pounds, had given up the claims ofthe South-Sea company, and other British merchants, who had sufferedfrom depredations to the amount of one million three hundred thousandpounds; and bartered away the freedom of our trade and navigation, byleaving untouched that prerogative which the Spaniards had assumed, of searching the British ships in the open seas, and confiscatingthem should they find on board the least particle of what they calledcontraband merchandise. They produced an instance of an English ship, lately driven by stress of weather into one of the ports of the SpanishWest Indies, where she was searched, seized and condemned, under thispretence. They recapitulated the conduct of the French, who, in themidst of their declarations of peace and moderation, were still employedin fortifying their settlements on the neutral islands, as well as inharassing and encroaching upon our plantations in North America. Theyexclaimed against the treaty of subsidy with the elector of Bavaria, orany other prince in time of peace; observing, that for some years thenation had paid such pensions to the Danes and the Hessians; but, inthe course of the late war, the former abandoned our interests, and thelatter actually took arms against Great Britain. They affirmed thatthe subsidy was greater than the nation could spare; for, unless theland-tax should be continued at four shillings in the pound, they couldnot afford a shilling to any prince in Germany, without encroaching uponthe sinking fund. "At such a juncture, " said a certain member, "willany gentleman presume to propose the continuation of such an impositionon the land-holder, for the sake of bribing the princes of Germany to dowhat?--to preserve the freedom and independency of their native country. I say, princes of Germany, because this subsidy to Bavaria will signifynothing unless we take half a score more of them into our pay; and whenwe have thus indulged them for seven years of peace, they may give usthe 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 addresswas no more than the usual compliment to the throne, which did not implyan obligation on the parliament to approve of measures which theymight find cause to censure upon further inquiry. He said, the trivialdisputes still subsisting between this nation and the Spaniards, orFrench, would soon be terminated amicably, and could never affect thegeneral tranquillity of Europe, which was to be established upon a firmalliance between his majesty and such a confederacy upon the continent, as would be an over-match for the house of Bourbon. He expatiated uponhis majesty's wisdom in taking off from the French interest such apowerful prince as the elector of Bavaria, and concerting other salutarymeasures for preserving the balance of power on the continent. Hedefended the articles of the late treaty with Spain; observing, thatwhat remained of the assiento contract was a matter of very littleconsequence to the South-Sea company; that the demands of this company, and other British merchants, were all cancelled by the rupture withSpain, and more than recompensed to the nation by a great balance ofcaptures during the war, as well as by the great traffic carried on withthe Spanish settlements in the West Indies, after it had been laid openby the demolition of their fortresses. He asserted, that by thistreaty the court of Spain had made many important concessions; theyhad condescended to pay a great sum to the South-Sea company; they hadconsented to the re-establishment of the British trade in Spain, upona very advantageous and solid footing, by agreeing that the subjectsof Great Britain should pay no other duties on merchandize than thoseexacted of his catholic majesty's own subjects, and to abolish allinnovations that had been introduced into the commerce. He affirmed, that the article of No Search was a stipulation which it would havebeen ridiculous to insist upon; and thought proper to obviate areproach which he foresaw the opposition would throw upon him, from thecircumstance of his having, upon a former occasion, heartily concurredin a motion for an address, that no treaty of peace with Spain shouldbe admitted, unless such a stipulation should be first obtained as apreliminary. He owned he had strenuously contended for such a motion, because at that time, being very young and sanguine, he thought it rightand reasonable; but he was now ten years older, had considered mattersmore coolly, and was convinced that the privilege of No Search, withrespect to British vessels sailing near the American shore, would neverbe obtained, unless Spain should be brought so low as to acquiescein any terms we as victors might propose. He likewise signified hisconviction, that all addresses from the house of commons, during thecourse of a war, for prescribing terms of peace, were in themselvesridiculous; and that every such address was an encroachment on theking's prerogative, which had always been attended with unluckyconsequences. How far these arguments are satisfactory, conclusive, andconsistent, we shall leave to the reader's determination. Certain it is, they were adopted by the majority, and the address was presented withoutfurther opposition. The two grand committees appointed to discuss the supplies forthe ensuing year, and the funds upon which they were to be raised, proceeded, as usual, under the direction of the ministry; yet notwithout some vehement opposition, in which certain servants of thecrown expressed the most hearty concurrence. When a motion was madefor reducing the number of seamen to eight thousand, Mr. W. Pitt, Mr. Lyttelton, and Mr. G. Grenville, opposed it with all their might ofargument and elocution; but they were overruled. Annual debateswere also revived, with the same success, upon the number of troopsconstituting the standing army; but the other resolutions of the grandcommittees met with little or no opposition. The number of seamen forthe ensuing year was limited to eight thousand; and that of the standingforces continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seveneffective men, including one thousand eight hundred and fifteeninvalids. The commons granted a considerable sum of money for paying offthe principal of such redeemable stocks as had not been subscribed, in pursuance of two acts passed in the last session for reducing theinterest of annuities. Thirty thousand pounds were given for fulfillingthe king's engagement with the elector of Bavaria; large grants weremade for supplying deficiencies, and replacing sums borrowed from thesinking fund. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova Scotia, notprovided for by parliament, exceeded fifty-seven thousand pounds; andthe maintenance of it for the ensuing year was fixed at fifty-threethousand nine hundred and twenty-seven pounds, fourteen shillings andfourpence. An enormous charge! if we consider to how little purpose allthis bounty was bestowed. A fund was established under the sanctionof parliament, for the relief and maintenance of the widows of seaofficers, by allowing, upon the books of every ship of war in seapay, the wages and victuals of one man for every hundred of whichthe compliment shall consist, for such time only as the number ofmen employed in the service of the royal navy shall not exceed twentythousand. This was an additional indulgence, over and above theallowance of one man granted by a former act of parliament. On thewhole, the provisions of this year amounted to five millions one hundredand twenty-five thousand and twenty-three pounds, eleven shillings andsevenpence, to be raised by the usual duties; the sum of one milliontwenty-six thousand four hundred and seventy-six pounds, four shillingsand sixpence, advanced by the bank of England to pay off their ownunsubscribed annuities, for which they accepted exchequer bills at threeper cent, interest; by the land-tax at three shillings in the pound; alottery and annuities, at the rate of three per cent, per annum, to becharged on the sinking-fund redeemable by parliament. The annual measurecalled the mutiny bill, was not passed without dispute and altercation;some alterations were proposed, but not adopted; and the sentences ofcourt-martials still subjected to one revision. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. In the midst of these deliberations, the kingdom was alarmed with anevent which overwhelmed the people with grief and consternation. Hisroyal highness the prince of Wales, in consequence of a cold caught inhis garden at Kew, was seized with a pleuritic disorder; and, after ashort illness, expired on the twentieth day of March, to the unspeakableaffliction of his royal consort, and the unfeigned sorrow of all whowished well to their country. This excellent prince, who now died inthe forty-fifth year of his age, was possessed of every amiable qualitywhich could engage the affection of the people; a tender and obliginghusband, a fond parent, a kind master; liberal, generous, candid, andhumane; a munificent patron of the arts, an unwearied friend to merit;well disposed to assert the rights of mankind in general, and warmlyattached to the interest of Great Britain. The nation could not but beafflicted at seeing a prince of such expectations ravished from theirhopes; and their grief was the better founded, as the king had alreadyattained to an advanced age, and the heir-apparent, George, now princeof Wales, was a minor. SETTLEMENT OF A REGENCY IN CASE OF A MINOR SOVEREIGN. His majesty, foreseeing all the inconveniencies which might arise from aminority, deliberated with his council on this subject, and resolvedto obtain a parliamentary sanction for the measures judged necessary tosecure the succession. With this view he sent a message to both houseson the twenty-sixth day of April, importing, that nothing could conduceso much to the preservation of the protestant succession in his royalfamily, as proper provisions for the tuition of the person of hissuccessor, and for the regular administration of the government, in casethe successor should be of tender years; his majesty therefore earnestlyrecommended this weighty affair to the deliberation of parliament; andproposed, that when the imperial crown of these realms should descendto 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 hisperson, and regent of these kingdoms, until he should attain the age ofmajority, with such powers and limitations as should appear necessaryand expedient for these purposes. This message produced a veryaffectionate address, promising to take the affair into their seriousconsideration; and in the beginning of May the duke of Newcastlepresented to the house of peers a bill to provide for the administrationof government, in case the crown should descend to a minor. The bill wasread a second time, and committed, when a second message arrived fromhis majesty, recommending to their consideration the settlement ofsuch a council of regency as the bill proposed, consisting of his royalhighness the duke of Cumberland, who at that time commanded the army, the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, the lord hightreasurer, or first lord commissioner of the treasury, the presidentof the council, the lord privy-seal, the lord high-admiral of GreatBritain, or first commissioner of the admiralty, the two principalsecretaries of state, and the lord chief justice of the king's-bench;all these great officers, except his royal highness the duke, for thetime being. This bill did not pass through the lower house withoutviolent debate and bitter sarcasms. The council of regency, thoughespoused by all the ministry, including the paymaster-general, met withfierce opposition, as an unnecessary and fatal restriction that wouldimpede the machine of government, and, as the council was constituted, might be productive of the most pernicious consequence. Some of themembers ventured even to insinuate the danger of leaving at the head ofa large standing army, a prince of the blood vested with a share ofthe regency, possessed of great personal influence, the darling ofthe soldiery, brave, popular, and enterprising; supposed not devoid ofambition, and not at all remarkable for any symptoms of extraordinaryaffection towards the person of the heir-apparent. The history ofEngland was ransacked for invidious instances of royal uncles andregents 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, werecalled in review, canvassed, compared, and quoted, with some odiousapplications; but the majority being convinced of the loyalty, virtue, integrity, and great abilities of his royal highness, to whom the nationowed obligations of the most important nature, passed the bill with afew amendments, in which the lords acquiesced; and in a little time itreceived the royal sanction. GENERAL NATURALIZATION BILL. The death of the prince of Wales was fatal to a bill which had beenbrought into the house of commons, for naturalizing all foreignprotestants who should settle within the dominions of Great Britain. Political arithmeticians have generally taken it for granted, thatto every commercial nation an increase of people is an increase ofopulence; and this maxim is certainly true, on the supposition thatevery individual is industrious, and that there is a sufficient fieldfor employment; but all these general maxims ought to be receivedunder certain qualifications. When all branches of manufacture areoverstocked, an addition of workmen will doubtless be an additionalincumbrance on the community. In the debates which this bill produced, the members of the ministry were divided among themselves. The measurewas 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 themerchants of London, Bristol, and other trading towns of the kingdom. All merchants and traders of foreign extraction exerted themselvesvigorously in its behalf, and it was without doubt countenanced by theadministration; but the project was odious to the people in general. The lord mayor, aldermen, and commons of London, in common-councilassembled, composed a remonstrance to the lower house, setting forth thedanger and inutility of a general naturalization of foreign protestants. A petition of the merchants and principal inhabitants of Bristolrepresented that such a law would be prejudicial to the trade andcommerce of this kingdom, by preventing many industrious artificers fromprocuring a sufficient support for themselves and their families, and ofconsequence increasing the rates of the poor; that the introduction ofsuch a number of foreigners, instead of being a support to the presenthappy establishment, might endanger the very basis of our constitution;that it would greatly tend to the diminution of our manufactures, asmany strangers would doubtless come and reside in England for a time, in order to learn the methods and management of our manufacturers andartificers; and, after having obtained this instruction, return to theirnative countries, where they would establish and carry on works of thesame nature. The twentieth day of March being appointed for the thirdreading of the bill, it was postponed in consequence of the unfortunatedeath of the prince of Wales; and other petitions from different citiesof the kingdom being mustered against it in the sequel, the ministry didnot think proper to persist in any unpopular measure at such a delicateconjuncture; so the bill was no more brought upon the carpet. Diversother regulations, relating to civil policy as well as to the commerceof Great Britain, were propounded in the house of commons; but theseproposals proved abortive, either because they appeared crude andindigested in themselves, or the house could not obtain properinformation touching the allegations they contained. CENSURE PASSED UPON A PAPER ENTITLED "CONSTITUTIONAL QUERIES. " There were no other transactions in this session, except the concurrenceof both houses in stigmatizing a printed paper, entitled "ConstitutionalQueries, earnestly recommended to the serious consideration of everytrue Briton;" and the steps taken by the commons, in consequence of thecommotions occasioned by the Westminster election. The above-mentionedpaper, 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 ofMarlborough, who moved for resolutions against it as a seditious libel, and that the concurrence of the commons might be desired. A conferenceaccordingly ensued, and both houses concurred in voting the paper afalse, malicious, scandalous, infamous, and seditious libel; containingthe most false, audacious, and abominable calumnies and indignities uponhis majesty; and the most presumptuous and wicked insinuations that ourlaws, liberties, and properties, and the excellent constitution of thiskingdom, were in danger under his majesty's legal, mild, and graciousgovernment; with intent to instil groundless suspicions and jealousiesinto the minds of his majesty's good subjects, and to alienate theiraffections from his majesty and the royal family. It was thereforeresolved by the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in parliamentassembled, that, in abhorrence and detestation of such abominable andseditious practices, the paper should be burnt by the hands of thecommon hangman in the new Palace-yard of Westminster; and this sentencewas executed accordingly. Then they presented an address to his majesty, desiring that the most effectual means might be taken for discoveringthe author, printer, or publisher, that he or they might be brought tocondign punishment. Directions were given for this purpose; but withouteffect. 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 burgessfor Westminster were attended with some extraordinary circumstances, which we shall now record for the edification of those who piquethemselves on the privileges of a British subject. We have alreadyobserved, that a majority appearing on the poll for lord Trentham, the adherents of the other candidate, sir George Vandeput, demandeda scrutiny, which was granted by the high bailiff of Westminster, thereturning officer. During this tedious investigation, which rolledchiefly on the qualifications of voters, he acted with such address andseeming candour as gave entire satisfaction to both parties, till atlength he determined in favour of lord Trentham, whom he returned asduly elected. Those who styled themselves the independent electors didnot acquiesce in this determination without clamour, reproach, menaces, and riot. They taxed Mr. Leigh, the high-bailiff, with partiality andinjustice; they loudly affirmed that ministerial influence had been usedin the most scandalous manner; and, finally, joined sir George Vandeputin a petition to the lower house, complaining of an undue election andreturn of a member for the city of Westminster. The commons, instead ofinquiring into the merits of these petitions, ordered them to lie uponthe table; and, without any complaint from any person whatever, amotion was made that Leigh, the high-bailiff, should attend the houseimmediately, in order to make them acquainted with what he had done inpursuance of the directions he had formerly received from that house, touching the execution of the writ for electing a new member torepresent the city of Westminster. As this motion had been preconcerted, Leigh was attending in the lobby, and immediately called into thehouse to be examined on this subject. Having, in the course of hisexamination, alleged that the election had been protracted by affecteddelays, he was asked by whom, and by what means; but, before he couldanswer, the earl of Egmont, interposing, objected to the question asimproper, and moved for the order of the day. A debate immediatelyensued, in which the impropriety of the question was demonstrated by Mr. Henley, now lord-keeper, Dr. Lee, and some others, the most sensible andmoderate members of the house; but they were opposed with great violenceby lord viscount Corke, Henry Fox, esquire, sir William Young, colonelLyttelton, and the weight of the ministry; so that the motion for theorder of the day was carried in the negative, and the high-bailiffrequired to answer the question. Thus interrogated, he declared that hehad been impeded in the scrutiny, and maltreated, by Mr. Crowle, who hadacted as counsel for sir George Vandeput, by the honourable AlexanderMurray, brother to lord Elibank, and one Gibson, an upholsterer, who hadbeen very active, zealous, and turbulent in his endeavours to promotethe interest of sir George Vandeput, or rather to thwart the pretensionsof the other candidate, who was supposed to be countenanced by theministry. These three persons, thus accused, were brought to the barof the house, notwithstanding the strenuous remonstrances of severalmembers, who opposed this method of proceeding, as a species ofoppression equally arbitrary and absurd. They observed, that, as nocomplaint had been preferred, they had no right to take cognizanceof the affair; that if any undue influence had been used, it wouldnaturally appear when the merits of the election should fall undertheir inquiry; that a complaint having been lodged already against thereturning officer, it was their duty to investigate his conduct, andpunish him if he should be found delinquent; but that nothing could bemore flagrantly unjust, and apparently partial, than their neglectingthe petitions of the other candidate and electors, and encouraging thehigh-bailiff, who stood charged with iniquity, to recriminate uponhis accusers, that they might be disabled from giving evidence on theinquiry into the merits of the election. What difference is it tothe subject whether he is oppressed by an arbitrary prince, or by thedespotic insolence of a ministerial majority? Mr. Crowle alleged, in hisown vindication, that he had been employed as counsel by the electors ofWestminster, and attended the scrutiny in that character; that after thehigh-bailiff had, in the course of the last session, received the orderof the house to expedite the election, he hurried on the scrutiny withsuch precipitation as, he apprehended, was unjust and prejudicial to hisclients; that, in this apprehension, he (Mr. Crowle) insisted upon thehigh-bailiff's proceeding with more deliberation, and in so doing hethought he did his duty to his employers. Some evidence being examinedagainst him, declared he had not only protracted the scrutiny, but alsospoken disrespectful words of the house of commons; he was thereforereprimanded on his knees by the speaker, and discharged. MR. MURRAY SENT PRISONER TO NEWGATE. Mr Murray being charged with having uttered some threatening andaffrontive expressions, the house adjourned the consideration of thisaffair for some days, at the expiration of which Mr. Murray was to beheard by his counsel; but, in the meantime, they ordered him to be takeninto custody by the sergeant-at-arms attending the house. This stephowever was not taken without a warm opposition by some of the mostsedate and intelligent members of the house, who considered it as acruel act of oppression. They observed, that in cases of breach ofprivilege, no person complained of was ever taken into custody untilafter he had been fully heard in his defence; that this was literallyprejudging the cause before it had been examined; and the oppressionwas the greater, as the alleged offence consisted entirely of words, ofwhich no complaint or information had been made for above eight monthsafter the supposed offence had been committed; and, even then, not tillan accusation had been lodged against the informant, upon the trial ofwhich accusation the persons informed against might very probably bethe most material witnesses. They observed, that in one of the highestoffences which can be committed by words, namely, that of denying theking's right to the crown, or renouncing the trinity, the informationmust be brought in three or four days after the words are spoken; thewords must be proved to have been spoken maliciously, directly, andadvisedly, and the prosecution must commence in three months after theinformation. These suggestions made no more impression than if theyhad been uttered in a desert. Those who were secure in their number, asserted that the house of commons was not restricted by the forms orproceedings at common law; and that it was necessary to vindicate theirown honour and dignity, by making examples of those who seemed tohold them in contempt. Mr. Murray was committed to the custody ofthe sergeant-at-arms, and found bail; and Gibson was sent prisoner toNewgate, from whence he was in a few days released, upon presentingan humble petition, professing his sorrow for having incurred thedispleasure of the house, to the bar of which he was brought, andreceived 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 forWestminster, heading and exciting a tumult to acts of violence againstthe high-bailiff. The majority, therefore, after a long and warm debate, agreed, that for his dangerous and seditious practices, in violationand contempt of the privileges of the house, and of the freedom ofelections, he should be committed close prisoner to Newgate Then, in theclose of another violent debate, they resolved that he should be broughtto the bar of the house, to receive that sentence on his knees. Heaccordingly appeared, and being directed by the speaker to kneel, refused to comply. He knew that he could not be discharged from Newgateduring the session, without petitioning, acknowledging his offence, andmaking such concessions as he thought would imply a consciousness ofguilt; he considered this whole transaction as an oppressive exertion ofarbitrary power, and, being apprized of the extent of their authority, determined to bear the brunt of their indignation, rather than makesubmissions which he deemed beneath the dignity of his character. Whenhe refused to humble himself, the whole house was in commotion; he wasno sooner removed from the bar than they resolved, that his having in amost insolent and audacious manner refused to be on his knees at the barof that house, in consequence of their former resolution, was a high andmost dangerous contempt of the authority and privilege of the commons;it was therefore ordered, that he should be committed close prisonerto Newgate, debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper; and that no personshould have access to him without the leave of the house. Finally, acommittee was appointed to consider what methods might be proper to betaken by them, in relation to this instance of contempt. Meanwhile, thepetitioners against the return made by the high-bailiff, perceiving thetemper of the house, and the complexion of the majority, withdrew theirpetition; and the order which had passed for hearing the merits ofthe election was discharged. Mr. Murray being taken dangerously ill inNewgate, application was made to the commons, by some of his relations, that he might be removed to a more convenient situation; and hisphysician being examined, gave it as his opinion that he was infectedwith the gaol distemper. Upon this representation, the house agreed thatthe speaker should issue a warrant for removing him from Newgate to thecustody of the sergeant-at-arms, but this favour he refused to accept, and expressed the warmest resentment against those relations who hadapplied to the commons in his behalf. Thus he remained sequestered evenfrom his own brother and sister, under the displeasure of the commonsof England, who condescended so far as to make resolutions touching thephysician, apothecary, and nurse who attended this prisoner. But theprorogation of parliament having put an end to their authority forthat session, Mr. Murray was discharged of course, and conducted by thesheriffs from Newgate to his own house, in procession, with flags andstreamers exhibiting the emblems of liberty. SESSION CLOSED. STYLE ALTERED. In the month of June the session was closed with a speech from thethrone, in which his majesty thanked both houses for the zeal andaffection they had manifested towards him and his government; andcongratulated the commons in particular, upon their firmness andprudence in reducing the interest of the national debt, a measureas agreeable to him as essential to the strength and welfare of thekingdom. [330] _[See note 2 S, at the end of this Vol. ]_--The interioreconomy of Great Britain produced, within the circle of this year, nothing else worthy of historical regard, except a series of enormouscrimes, arising from the profligacy of individuals, which reflecteddisgrace upon the morals and the polity of the nation. Rapine androbbery had domineered without intermission ever since the return ofpeace, which was attended with a reduction of the army and navy; but nowcrimes of a deeper die seemed to lift up their heads, in contempt of lawand humanity. [331] _[See note 2 T, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Everyday almost produced fresh instances of perjury, forgery, fraud, andcircumvention; and the kingdom exhibited a most amazing jumble of virtueand vice, honour and infamy, compassion and obduracy, sentiment andbrutality. 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 thecompass of a few months. Besides the loss of the prince of Wales, whichthe nation lamented as irreparable, his majesty was deeply afflicted bythe untimely death of his youngest daughter, the queen of Denmark, whodied at Copenhagen on the nineteenth day of December, in the prime ofyouth. She was one of the most amiable princesses of the age inwhich she lived, whether we consider the virtues of her heart, or theaccomplishments of her person; generous, mild, and tender hearted;beloved even almost to adoration by her royal consort, to whom she hadborne a prince and two princesses; and universally admired and reveredby the subjects of his Danish majesty. Her death had been preceded abouttwo months by that of her brother-in-law, the prince of Orange, noless regretted by the natives of the United Provinces for his candour, integrity, and hereditary love to his country. Though he had notdistinguished himself by the lustre of a superior genius, he had been atgreat pains to cultivate his understanding, and study the true interestof that community of which he was a member. He had always approvedhimself a good and zealous citizen, and, since his elevation to thestadtholdership, taken many salutary steps for the advantage of hiscountry. Among other excellent schemes which he suggested, he left anoble plan with the states-general for restoring their commerce toits former lustre, and lived long enough to receive their warmestacknowledgments fox this last proof of his prudence and patriotism. His son and daughter being both infants, the administration of thegovernment devolved upon the princess, as governanté during her son'sminority; and as such she succeeded to all the power which her husbandhad enjoyed. MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CZARINA AND KING OF PRUSSIA. With respect to the affairs of the continent, the peace of the northseemed still as precarious as ever; for though the difference betweenRussia and Sweden had been compromised, the mutual disgust betweenthe czarina and the king of Prussia had gained such accession fromreciprocal insults, ill offices, and inflammatory declarations, thatthese two powers seemed to be on the eve of a rupture, and each wasemployed in making extraordinary preparations for war. The courts ofVienna and Great Britain, foreseeing that such a rupture would embroilthe empire, and raise insurmountable obstructions to their favouritescheme of electing the archduke Joseph king of the Romans, resolved toemploy all their influence in order to effect a reconciliation betweenthe courts of Petersburgh and Berlin. His Prussian majesty had signifiedto the king of Great Britain and the states-general, the situation inwhich he stood with the czarina, and solicited their interposition, thatthe difference might be amicably accommodated. At the same time, he sentan envoy-extraordinary to Versailles, to negotiate with the Frenchking for a very considerable body of auxiliaries, in case he should feeattacked. These circumstances induced the maritime powers, and thecourt of Vienna, to use their utmost endeavours for the prevention ofa rupture; and accordingly they made remonstrances on this subject bytheir ministers at Petersburgh, proposing that the quarrel should beterminated without bloodshed, and all cause of animosity be buried inoblivion. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MEASURES FOR ELECTING A KING OF THE ROMANS. In the meantime they eagerly prosecuted the design of the election; andthe Imperial minister at Berlin not only communicated to his Prussianmajesty the sentiments of the king of England on this expedient, buteven solicited his vote for the archduke Joseph, when the election of aking of the Romans should be proposed in the electoral college. To thisproposal he replied, that he was extremely well disposed to manifest hisregard for their imperial majesties, and to give the most genuineproofs of it, even in the proposed election of a king of the Romans, considering the great merit of the present candidate the archdukeJoseph; but he left it to the consideration of their imperial majesties, whether the election would not be a little premature, if transacted ata time when his imperial majesty was in the flower of his age; enjoyingperfect health; and when all Europe, particularly the empire, washushed in the bosom of tranquillity, so that no circumstance seemedto prognosticate the necessity of such an election; or of putting inexecution the motives mentioned in the capitulation of the reigningemperor's election; especially as the examination of these motivesbelonged to the whole empire, and ought to precede the election, byvirtue of the eighth article of the treaty of Westphalia. He observed, that in case of the emperor's death, Germany would find herself in avery disagreeable situation under the government of a minor. For thesereasons, he said, he could not help advising their imperial majestiesto wait until the archduke should be of age, when his election might becarried on more conformably to the laws and constitutions of the empire, and more suitable to the majesty of the whole Germanic body. This replyhe circulated among the electors, and in particular transmitted it tothe king of Great Britain, desiring they would deliberate maturely onthis subject, and confer together in a body, as well as in private, that they might proceed according to the ancient custom of the electoralcollege, and take such 'measures as should be judged expedient for thehonour and advantage of the community. This circular letter wasanswered both by the king of England and the elector of Bavaria, whodemonstrated, that it was the privilege of the electoral college only, without any participation of the other princes of the empire, to elect aking of the Romans during the life of the emperor, in order to maintainthe peace and preserve the liberties of Germany; and that the neglectof this wise precaution hath produced bloody wars, and many fatalconsequences to the empire. They observed, that nothing could morecontribute to the establishment of the public tranquillity than thismeasure, so ardently desired by the majority of the German princes; andthat, although the archduke Joseph wanted a few years of being of age, and it might possibly happen that the reigning emperor should die duringthat prince's minority, yet it would be much less prejudicial to theempire to have a minor chief, than to see the succession altogetherunsettled. His Prussian majesty received a declaration to the samepurpose from the elector of Mentz; and understanding that this prince, as archchancellor of the empire, intended to convoke an electoral dietin order to propose the election of a king of the Romans, he wrote anelaborate letter to his electoral highness, explaining at more lengthhis reasons for postponing the election. He quoted that sentence of thetreaty of Westphalia which expressly declares, that the election of aking of the Romans shall be discussed and ordained by the common consentof the states of the empire; and, therefore, he could not conceivewhat right the electoral college had to arrogate this privilege tothemselves, excluding the other states of the empire. He observed, thatthe imperial capitulations, which were the only laws of the empire thattreated of this subject, mentioned only three cases in which it waslawful 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 anycase of emergency in which the preservation of the empire's prosperityis interested. He affirmed that none of these motives at presentexisted; that, in case the imperial crown should devolve to a minor, many mischiefs and disorders must ensue, as the constitutions of theempire have established no regulations nor regency in that event; thatan election of this nature, carried on under the power, influence, andauthority of the head of the empire, would strike at the fundamentalprivileges of the princes and states; consequently, in time overturnthe constitution of the empire, which, from being an elective dignity, conferred by the free and independent suffrages of the electoral collegeand states of Germany, under certain capitulations, obliging the princethus chosen to govern according to law, would become an hereditarysuccession, perpetuated in one family, which of course must beaggrandized to the prejudice of its co-estates, and the ruin of theGermanic liberties. In a word, all Germany in general, and Ratisbon inparticular, was filled with writings published on both sides: by theemperor and his adherents, to demonstrate that the election of a king ofthe Romans, during the life of the emperor, had often happened, andat this present time was necessary, and would be advantageous to theempire; while the king of Prussia and his friends laboured to provethat such an election, at the present juncture, would be ill-timed, irregular, and of dangerous consequence. Perhaps, if the truth wasknown, this enterprising prince had projected some great scheme, with the execution of which this proposed establishment would haveinterfered. Certain it is, he exerted himself with that spirit andperseverance which were peculiar to his character, to frustrate theintention of the courts of Vienna and London in this particular, andwas assisted with all the intrigue of the French ministry. Their jointendeavours were so effectual, that the elector of Cologn renounced hissubsidiary treaty with the maritime powers, and once more threw himselfinto the arms of France. The elector palatine being solicited by theempress-queen and his Britannic majesty to co-operate with their views, insisted, as a preliminary article, upon being indemnified by the courtof Vienna for the ravages committed in his territories by the Austriantroops, during the course of the last war: the king of Poland, electorof Saxony, made the same demand of the like indemnification, which wasgranted by the mediation of king George; and then he subscribed to asubsidiary treaty, obliging himself to furnish a body of six thousandauxiliaries, in case they should be required by the maritime powers;and to act as an elector, in concert with the house of Austria, in everything relating to the welfare of his country that should square with thefundamental laws of the empire. The courts of London and Vienna had thiselection so much at heart, that they sounded almost all the powers ofEurope, to know how they stood affected towards the measure proposed. The king of Spain declined intermeddling in a domestic affair of theempire. The French king returned an ambiguous answer; from whence itwas concluded that nothing but opposition could be expected from thatquarter. The Swedish monarch was rendered propitious to the project byassurances that the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was the head, should be elevated into an electorate. They even endeavoured to softenhis Prussian majesty, by consenting, at last, that the treaty ofDresden, confirming to him the possession of Silesia, should beguaranteed by the diet of the empire; a sanction which he now actuallyobtained, together with the ratification of his imperial majesty. Notwithstanding this indulgence, he still persisted in raising freshobjections to the favourite project, on pretence of concerting measuresfor preventing the inconveniencies that might result from a minority;for regulating the capitulations to be agreed on with the king of theRomans; securing the freedom of future elections, and preserving theprerogatives and privileges of the Germanic body in all its members. Inconsequence of these obstacles, joined to the apostacy of the elector ofCologn, the obstinacy of the elector palatine, and the approaching dietof Hungary, at which their imperial majesties were obliged personally topreside, the measures for the election were suspended till next summer, when his Britannic majesty was expected at Hanover to put the finishingstroke 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 ofit sustained in the death of his Swedish majesty, who expired in agood old age, and was succeeded by Adolphus Frederick, duke of HolsteinEutin, bishop of Lubeck, upon whom the succession had been settled forsome 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 neverattempt to introduce a despotic authority; but maintain their libertieswith his blood, and govern his subjects in all respects according to thelaws and the form of government established in Sweden. This public act, which was communicated to all the foreign ministers, and particularlyto the envoy from Petersburgh, met with such a favourable receptionfrom the czarina, that she expressed her satisfaction in a publicdeclaration; and the good understanding between the two courts wasperfectly restored. SESSION OPENED. When the parliament of England was opened in the month of November, theking, in his speech from the throne, gave them to understand, thatfor the same purposes which suggested the treaty with the elector ofBavaria, he had now, in conjunction with the states-general, concludedanother with the king of Poland, elector of Saxony. He told them thatthe unfortunate death of the prince of Orange had made no alteration inthe state of affairs in Holland; and that he had received the strongestassurances from the states, of their firm resolution to maintain theintimate union and friendship happily subsisting between his majesty andthose ancient and natural allies of his crown. He exhorted both housesto consider seriously of some effectual provisions to suppress thoseaudacious crimes of robbery and violence, grown so frequent about thecapital, proceeding in a great measure from that profligate spiritof irreligion, idleness, gaming, and extravagance, which had of lateextended itself in an uncommon degree, to the dishonour of the nation, and the great offence and prejudice of the sober and industrious part ofthe people. The paragraphs of this speech were, as usual, echoed back tothe throne in addresses replete with expressions of loyalty, affection, and approbation. Opposition was by this time almost extinguished; andthe proceedings of both houses took place with such unanimity as washardly ever known before this period in a British parliament. Thecommons, however, seem to have assembled with such sentiments as did nogreat honour to their temper and magnanimity. In a few days after thesession opened, lord viscount C----e, a young nobleman, whose characterentitled him to very little regard or influence among men of senseand probity, made a motion, that Mr. Murray, who had been so severelyexecuted in the last session for refusing to humble himself on his kneesbefore them, should be again committed close prisoner to Newgate for thesame offence. This proposal, which supposed a power that the commons hadnever before exercised, was sharply disputed by the earl of Egmont, andothers, who had not resigned all sense of moderation; but the majorityadopted the measure with great eagerness, and the speaker was orderedto issue his warrant accordingly. Then the house resolved, that thesaid Alexander Murray should receive the sentence, for his now beingcommitted close prisoner to his majesty's gaol of Newgate, at the barof the house, upon his knees; and the sergeant-at-arms was commanded totake him into custody for this purpose. Their indignation, however, was eluded by the caution of the delinquent, who, having foreseen theeffects of their resentment, had prudently retired to another country. They determined, nevertheless, to proceed against him as a personof some consequence in the commonwealth; for, being informed of hisretreat, they condescended so far as to present an address to hismajesty, desiring that his royal proclamation might be issued forapprehending the said Mr. Murray, promising a reward to him who shouldhave the good fortune to apprehend this fugitive-a request with whichhis 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 animportant subject. A pamphlet, entitled "The Case of the Hon. AlexanderMurray, esquire, in an Appeal to the People of Great Britain, " was firststigmatized in a complaint to the house, and was afterwards producedand read at the table. The piece was written with great acrimony, andabounded with severe animadversions, not only upon the conduct of thereturning officer, but also on the proceedings of the commons. Theviolent members immediately took fire, and the flame extended itself tothe majority. Nay, the house unanimously resolved, that the pamphletwas an impudent, malicious, scandalous, and seditious libel, falsely andmost injuriously reflecting upon, and aspersing the proceedings of thehouse, tending to create misapprehensions in the minds of the people, to the great dishonour of the said house, and in violation of theprivileges thereof. They furthermore presented an address to the king, desiring his majesty would be graciously pleased to give directions tohis attorney-general to prosecute the authors or author, the printers orprinter, and the publishers or publisher of the said scandalous libel, that they might be brought to condign punishment. Directions wereaccordingly given for this purpose, and a prosecution commenced againstthe publisher, who had some reason to be dismayed, considering the greatweight of influence he was doomed to encounter--influence arising froma prosecution of the crown, instituted at the request, and founded ona vote, of the house of commons. Nevertheless, when the cause washeard before the lord-chief justice of England, a jury of free-bornEnglishmen, citizens of London, asserted their privilege of judgingthe law as well as the fact, and acquitted the defendant with a trulyadmirable spirit of independency. They considered the pamphlet as anappeal against oppression; and, convinced that the contents were true, they could not in conscience adjudge it a false libel, even though ithad been so declared by one of the branches of the legislature. {1752} The commons, in regulating the supplies of the ensuing year, voted thecontinuation of eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven menfor the land-service, though not without some opposition from certainpatriots, who, rather from a sense of duty than from any hope ofinfluencing the majority, affirmed that sixteen thousand men in time ofpeace would answer all the ends proposed by a standing army. The numberof seamen was fixed at ten thousand; large sums were granted to make updeficiencies, and fulfil the engagements of the crown with the electorsof Bavaria and Saxony, as well as for the maintenance of Nova Scotiaand Georgia, and the castles on the coast of Guinea; and one hundred andtwelve thousand one hundred and fifty-two pounds, three shillings andthreepence, were voted, as a full compensation to the old royal Africancompany for their exclusive charter and property, to be applied for therelief 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 regulationsof civil polity, consisted in an act for licensing pawnbrokers, and forthe more effectual preventing the receiving of stolen goods; anotherfor preventing thefts and robberies, by which places of entertainment, dancing, and music, in London, Westminster, and within twenty miles ofthe capital, were suppressed and prohibited, unless the proprietors ofthem could obtain licenses from the justices of the peace, empoweredfor that purpose; a third for annexing the forfeited estates in Scotlandunalienably to the crown, after having made satisfaction to the lawfulcreditors; establishing a method of leasing these estates, and applyingthe rents and profits of them for the better civilizing and improvingthe highlands, and preventing future disorders in that part of theunited kingdom. Nothing could be more salutary than the purposes ofthese regulations. The suburbs of the metropolis abounded with anincredible number of public houses, which continually resounded with thenoise 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 thesereceptacles of infamy was attended with an inconvenience, which, in somecases, arose even to a degree of oppression. The justices being vestedby the legislature with the power of granting or refusing licenses, wereconstituted, in effect, the arbiters on whose decision the fortunes andlivelihood of many individuals absolutely depended. Many of those whoexercised 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 scandalousprinciples of selfish avarice. LAW RELATING TO THE FORFEITED ESTATES IN SCOTLAND. The law relating to the highlands of Scotland was well calculated forpromoting, among the inhabitants of that country, such a spirit ofindustry as might detach them from their dangerous connexions, andgradually supersede that military genius which had been so productiveof danger and alarm to the southern part of Great Britain. The king, by this act, was empowered to appoint commissioners for managing theforfeited estates, who were enabled to grant leases of small farms, notabove twenty pounds a-year, to individuals, who should take an oath togovernment to reside upon and cultivate the lands thus let. It wasalso provided, that no lease should be granted for a longer term thantwenty-one years; and that the leases should not pay above three-fourthsof the annual value. Although these forfeited estates were generallyencumbered with claims beyond their real value, and the act directedthat they should be disposed of by public sale; yet, as they lay in themost disaffected parts of the highlands, it was thought necessary thatthey should remain in the possession of the crown, because, in caseof their being publicly sold, they might be purchased in trust for thefamilies of the persons by whom they were forfeited, and thus the spiritof disaffection would still survive. A valuation, therefore, was made bythe court of session in Scotland, at the joint suit of the crown and thecreditors; and the value being ascertained, the just claimants werepaid out of the next aids granted by parliament. The bill met withconsiderable opposition in the house of peers from the duke of Bedfordand the earl of Bath, who probably foresaw that the good effects of thisscheme, so laudable in itself, would be frustrated in the execution;and that the act, instead of answering the purposes for which it wasintended, would serve only as a job to gratify the rapacious retainersto the government, and their emissaries in that country. After a warmdebate, however, it was adopted by a great majority, and obtained theroyal assent. NEW CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS. A third law related to certain articles of the national debt, which wasnow converted into several joint-stocks of annuities, transferable atthe bank of England, to be charged on the sinking fund. A great numberof different funds for annuities, established at different times and bydifferent acts, subsisted at this period, SO that it I was necessaryto keep many different accounts, which could not be regulated withoutconsiderable trouble and expense, for the removal of which the bill wascalculated. TWO PORTS OPENED FOR THE IMPORTATION OF IRISH WOOL. In consequence of petitions from the woollen manufacturers ofWestmoreland and Yorkshire, two bills were brought in, and passedthrough both houses, by which the ports of Lancaster and Great Yarmouthwere opened for the importation of wool and woollen yarn from Ireland;but why this privilege was not extended to all the frequented portsof the kingdom it is not easy to conceive, without supposing a littlenational jealousy on one hand, and a great deal of grievous restraint onthe other. Over and above these new laws, some unsuccessful endeavourswere used in behalf of commerce and police. A bill was offered forlaying further restrictions on pawnbrokers and brokers, that they mightno longer suck the blood of the poor, and act as the accessaries oftheft and robbery, which was canvassed, debated, and made its waythrough the lower house; but the lords rejected it as a crude scheme, which they could not amend, because it was a money-bill, not cognizableby their house, without engaging in a dispute with the commons. Anotherbill was prepared, for giving power to change the punishment of felony, in certain cases, to confinement and hard labour in dockyards orgarrisons. It was the opinion of many who wished well to their country, and were properly qualified to prosecute such inquiries, that thepractice of consigning such a number of wretches to the hands of theexecutioner, served only, by its frequency, to defeat the purpose ofthe law, in robbing death of all its terror, and the public of manysubjects, who might, notwithstanding their delinquency, be in somemeasure rendered useful to society. Such was the motive that influencedthe promoters of this bill; by which it was proposed, in imitation ofthat economy practised in other countries, to confine felons convictedunder certain circumstances to hard labour upon the public works of thekingdom. The scheme was adopted by the lower house, but rejected by thelords, who seemed apprehensive of its bringing such discredit uponhis majesty's dock-yards, as would discourage persons who valued theirreputation from engaging in such employment. Of still greater importanceto the nation was the next measure proposed, in a bill for making themilitia of England more useful, presented by Mr. Thornton, a gentlemanof Yorkshire, who had distinguished himself by his loyalty andpatriotism. It was canvassed in a committee of the whole house, andunderwent divers amendments; but miscarried, through the aversion ofthe ministry to any project tending to remove or lessen the necessityof maintaining a standing army. A considerable number of petitionsfor different regulations, in respect to commerce and convenienceof traffic, were presented, considered, and left upon the table. A remonstrance from the prisoners confined in the gaol of theking's-bench, complaining of their miserable situation, arising fromwant of room and other conveniences, being taken into consideration bya committee, among other evidences, they examined that remarkablepersonage who had signalized himself in different parts of Christendom, under the name of Theodore, king of Corsica. Though formerlycountenanced and even treated as a sovereign prince by the Britishministry, he was now reduced to the forlorn condition of a confineddebtor; and, to the reproach of this kingdom, died in prison, surroundedwith all the misery of indigence, and overwhelmed with the infirmitiesof old age. But the most remarkable circumstance of the parliamentarytransactions that distinguished this session, was a motion made in bothhouses for an address to the king, beseeching his majesty, that in timeof public tranquillity, he would be graciously pleased to avoid enteringinto subsidiary treaties with foreign princes, which are so burdensometo this nation. This extraordinary proposal was made and strenuouslyurged by the duke of B----, and a vehement debate ensued, in whichthe earls of G----, S----, and H----, opposed it with an executionof superior abilities; and the question being put, was carried in thenegative without a division. The same fate attended it in the house ofcommons, where it was introduced by lord H----y, and supported by somedistinguished orators. The session ended in the latter end of March, when his majesty, having given his assent to ninety-five public andprivate 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 setout for Hanover, in order to complete the great scheme he had projectedfor electing a king of the Romans. Great Britain, in the meantime, produced no event of importance, or any transaction that deserveshistorical mention, except the ratification of two treaties of peace andcommerce with the states of Tripoli and Tunis on the coast of Barbary, concluded by the British consuls in those cities, under the influenceand auspices of an English squadron, commanded by commodore Keppel, son to the earl of Albemarle. The tide of luxury still flowed withan impetuous current, bearing down all the mounds of temperance anddecorum; while fraud and profligacy struck out new channels, throughwhich they eluded the restrictions of the law, and all the vigilance ofcivil policy. New arts of deception were invented, in order to ensnareand 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 hiscountry, in consequence of a discovery, by which it appeared that he hadcontrived and executed schemes for destroying his own ships at sea, witha view to defraud the insurers. In the course of this year the affairs of the continent did not undergoany material alteration. In France, the religious dispute concerningthe doctrine of Jansen-ius still subsisted between the clergy and theparliament; and seemed to acquire additional fuel from the violence ofthe archbishop of Paris, a haughty turbulent prelate, whose pride andbigotry were sufficient to embroil one half of Christendom. The northernpowers enjoyed a perfect tranquillity; the states-general of the UnitedProvinces were engrossed by plans of national economy. Spain was intentupon extending her commerce, bringing her manufactures to perfection, and repressing the insolence of the Barbary corsairs. His Portuguesemajesty endeavoured, by certain peremptory precautions, to checkthe exportation of gold coin from his dominions, and insisted uponinspecting the books of the British merchants settled at Lisbon; butthey refused to comply with this demand, which was contrary to a treatysubsisting between the two crowns; and he thought proper to acquiesce intheir refusal. He was much better employed in obtaining from the pope anabolition of the annual procession called the _Auto-da-fe_, one ofthe most horrid triumphs of spiritual tyranny. The peace of Italy wassecured by a defensive treaty concluded at Madrid between the emperor, his catholic majesty, the king of the two Sicilies, and the duke ofParma; 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 ofthe Romans, fresh objections seemed to rise from different quarters. Thegood understanding between the courts of Berlin and Hanover re-receivedan additional shock, from a dispute concerning the property of EastFriezeland, which his Prussian majesty had secured, as heir to thelast possessor. His Britannic majesty, as elector of Hanover, havingpretensions to the same inheritance, his minister delivered a memorialto the diet of the empire assembled at Ratisbon, demanding that theking of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, should be referred to thedecision of the Aulic council, in regard to his claim to the estates ofEast Friezeland; but the king being already in possession, refused tosubmit his right to the determination of that or any other tribunal; andwhen the diet presumed to deliberate on this affair, his envoy entered astrong protest against their proceedings. At the same time, he presentedthe other ministers with a memorial, tending to refute the elector ofHanover's pretensions to the principality in question. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE COURTS OF LONDON AND BERLIN. At this juncture his Prussian majesty made no scruple of expressing hisresentment against the court of London, which he seemed to consider asan officious cabal, that had no right to intermeddle in the affairs ofGermany. His resident at London complained to the British ministry, thatdivers ships, sailing under the Prussian flag, had been stopped at sea, and even seized by English cruisers, and that his subjects had been illtreated and oppressed; he therefore demanded reparation in a peremptorytone; and in the meantime discontinued the payment of the Silesialoan, which he had charged himself with by an article in the treatyof Breslau. This was a sum of money amounting to two hundred and fiftythousand pounds, which the emperor Charles VI. , father of the reigningempress, had borrowed of the subjects of Great Britain, on condition ofpaying an interest of six per cent. , and mortgaging the silver mines ofSilesia for the repayment of the principal. These devolved to the kingof Prussia with this incumbrance, and he continued to pay the interestpunctually till this juncture, when the payment was stopped; andhe published a paper, entitled, "An Exposition of the Motives whichinfluenced his Conduct on this occasion. " In his memorial to theministry of Great Britain, he alleged, that eighteen Prussian ships, and thirty-three neutral vessels, in which the subjects of Prussia wereconcerned, had been unjustly seized by English privateers; his accountof damages amounted to a very considerable sum; and he demanded, in themost dogmatic terms, that the affair should be finally discussed in theterm of three months from the date of his remonstrance. The expositionand memorial were subjected to the examination of the ablest civiliansin England, who refuted every article of the charge with equal precisionand perspicuity. They proved, that captures by sea fell properly underthe cognizance of those powers under whose jurisdiction the seizureswere made; and therefore his Prussian majesty could not, consistent withthe law of nations, determine these disputes in his own tribunals. Theydemonstrated, by undoubted evidence, the falsity of ma-ny facts allegedin the memorial, as well as the fairness of the proceedings by whichsome 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 transactionof such a nature, that, even if a war had happened between the emperorCharles VI. And his Britannic majesty, this must have been held sacredand inviolable; that when the empress-queen ceded Silesia to the kingof Prussia, this monarch charged himself with the repayment of the loan, which, being a private debt, and transferable, was now diffused intodifferent countries, and become the property of many others besides thesubjects of Great Britain. They wound up their chain of reasoning byobserving, that, according to agreement with the emperor, the whole ofthis loan should have been repaid in the year one thousand sevenhundred and forty-five; whereas the complaints specified in the Prussianmemorial were founded on facts posterior to that period. Whether hisPrussian majesty was convinced by these reasons, and desisted fromprinciple, or thought proper to give up his claim upon other politicalconsiderations; certain it is, he no longer insisted upon satisfaction, but ordered the payment of the Silesia loan to be continued withoutfurther interruption. A report, indeed, was circulated, that advantagehad been taken of the demur by a certain prince, who employed his agentsto 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 onthis 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 peopledthe deserts of Pomerania, by encouraging, with royal bounties, a greatnumber of industrious emigrants to settle in that province; the face ofwhich in a very few years underwent the most agreeable alteration. Abovesixty new villages arose amidst a barren waste, and every part of thecountry exhibited marks of successful cultivation. Those solitary anddesolate plains, where no human footsteps had for many ages beenseen, were now converted into fields of corn. The farms were regularlyparcelled out; the houses multiplied, and teemed with population;the happy peasants, sheltered in a peculiar manner under their king'sprotection, sowed their grounds in peace, and reaped their harvests insecurity. The same care and indulgence were extended to theunpeopled parts of other provinces within the Prussian dominions, andextraordinary encouragement was granted to all French protestants whoshould 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 attentionupon the scheme of electing a king of the Romans; and the electorof Mentz, influenced by the majority of the college, had convokedan electoral diet for that purpose; but strong protests against thisconvocation were entered by the electors of Cologn and Palatine, insomuch that it was thought expedient to conciliate this last, bytaking some steps in his favour, with respect to the satisfaction hedemanded from the empress-queen and his Britannic majesty. His claimupon the court of Vienna amounted to three millions of florins, by wayof indemnification for the losses he had sustained during the war. Hedemanded of the king of England twenty thousand pounds sterling, forprovisions and forage furnished to the British troops while theyacted on the Maine; and the like sum for the like purposes from thestates-general of the United Provinces. The empress-queen could not helpremonstrating against this demand as exorbitant in itself, and the moreunreasonable, as the elector palatine, at the death of her father, hadopenly declared against the pragmatic sanction, which he had guaranteedin the most solemn manner; she therefore observed, that the damage hehad sustained in consequence of that declaration, ought to be consideredas the common fate of war. These reasons, though conclusive andirrefragable in the usual way of arguing, made no impression upon thepalatine, who perfectly well understood his own importance, andwas determined to seize this opportunity of turning it to the bestadvantage. The court of Vienna, and the maritime powers, finding himthus obstinately attached to his own interest, resolved to bring himover to their views at any rate, and commenced a negotiation with him, which produced a formal treaty. By this convention his demands in moneywere fixed at twelve hundred thousand Dutch florins, to be paid atthree instalments: five hundred thousand by the empress-queen, and theremaining seven hundred thousand by the king of Great Britain andthe states-general, according to the proportion established in formertreaties. The privilege of _Non appellendo_ for the duchy of Deux-pontswas confirmed to his electoral highness, together with some other rightsand pretensions, in consideration of his concurring with the otherelectors in the choice of a king of the Romans, to be elected accordingto the customs prescribed by the laws and constitutions of the empire. He likewise engaged to join them in settling the articles of thecapitulation with the king of the Romans, emperor _in futuro_. Yet, evenafter the concurrence of this prince was secured, the purposed electionproved abortive, from the strong objections that were started, and thestrenuous opposition which was made by his Prussian majesty, who perhapsaspired in secret at the imperial dignity, which the empress-queen tookall this pains to perpetuate in her own family. {1753} SESSION OPENED. The king of Great Britain returning from the continent, opened thesession of parliament on the eleventh day of January, with a speech, implying that all his views and negotiations had been calculated anddirected to preserve and secure the duration of the general peace, soagreeable and necessary to the welfare of all Europe; that he had thesatisfaction to be assured of a good disposition in all the powers thatwere his allies, to adhere to the same salutary object. He exhorted themto continue their attention to the reduction of the national debt, theaugmentation of the sinking fund, and the improvement of the publicrevenue. He recommended to their serious consideration what furtherlaws and regulations might be necessary for suppressing those crimes anddisorders, of which the public had so justly complained; and concludedwith an assurance, that his hearty concurrence and endeavours shouldnever be wanting in any measure that might promote their welfare andprosperity. The addresses in answer to this speech were couched in theusual form of implicit approbation; but that of the commons did not passwithout 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 renderpermanent the general tranquillity of Europe; and declared theirsatisfaction at the assurances his majesty had received from his allies, that they were all attached to the same salutary object. His lordshipexpatiated on the absurdity of these compliments at such a juncture, when the peace of Europe was so precarious, and the English nation hadso much cause of complaint and dissatisfaction. He was seconded by someother individuals, who declaimed with great vivacity against continentalconnexions; and endeavoured to expose the weakness and folly of thewhole system of foreign measures which our ministry had latelypursued. It must be owned, indeed, that they might have chosen a betteropportunity to compliment their sovereign on the permanency of the peacethan at this juncture, when they must have seen themselves on the verybrink of a new rupture with the most formidable power in Europe. Butthe truth is, these addresses to the throne had been long considered ascompliments of course, implying no more than a respectful attachmentto their sovereign; accordingly, both houses agreed to their respectiveaddresses without division. The two grand committees of supply andof ways and means, being established, the business of the house wastransacted without much altercation; and the people had great reason tobe satisfied with their moderate proceedings. Ten thousand seamen, andthe usual number of land forces, were retained for the service of theensuing year. They provided for the maintenance of the new colony ofNova Scotia, the civil establishment of Georgia, the support of thecastles on the coast of Guinea, and the erection of a new fort atAnarnabo, where the French had attempted to make a settlement; and theyenabled his majesty to fulfil his engagements with the king of Polandand the elector of Bavaria. The supplies, including grants for former deficiencies and services forwhich no provision had been made in the course of the last year, did notexceed two millions one hundred and thirty-two thousand seven hundredand seven pounds, seventeen shillings and twopence halfpenny. Inorder to defray which expense, they assigned the duty on malt, &c, theland-tax at two shillings in the pound, the surplus of certain funds inthe exchequer, and the sum of four hundred and twenty thousand poundsout of the sinking fund; so that the exceedings amounted to near threehundred 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 ofseventy-four millions three hundred and sixty-eight thousand fourhundred and fifty-one pounds, fifteen shillings and one penny; and thesinking fund produced one million seven hundred and thirty-five thousandfive hundred and twenty-nine pounds, six shillings and tenpence onefarthing. GAME ACT. One of the first measures brought upon the carpet in the course of thissession, was an act containing regulations for the better preservationof the game, of which so great havoc had been made by poachers, andother persons unqualified to enjoy that diversion, that the totalextirpation of it was apprehended. ACT FOR PERFORMING QUARANTINE. The next step taken by the commons was an affair of much greaterconsequence to the community, being a bill for obliging ships the moreeffectually to perform quarantine, in order to prevent the plague frombeing imported from foreign countries into Great Britain. For thispurpose it was ordained, that if this dreadful visitation should appearin any ship to the northward of cape Finisterre, the master or commandershould immediately proceed to the harbour of New Grimsby, in one of theislands of Scilly, and there communicate the discovery to some officerof the customs; who should, with the first opportunity, transmit thisintelligence to another custom-house officer in the nearest port ofEngland, to be by him forwarded to one of his majesty's principalsecretaries of state. In the meantime the ship should remain at the saidisland, and not an individual presume to go ashore until his majesty'spleasure should be known. It was also provided, that in case the masterof a ship thus infected should not be able to make the islands ofScilly, or be forced up either channel by violent winds, he should notenter any frequented harbour; but remain in some open road, until hecould 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 offelony, 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 ofplundering ships which have the misfortune to suffer shipwreck--apractice which prevailed upon many different parts of the Britishcoast--to the disgrace of the nation, and the scandal of human nature;a bill was prepared, containing clauses to enforce the laws against suchsavage delinquents, who prowl along the shore like hungry wolves, inhope of preying upon their fellow-creatures; and certain provisions forthe 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 Egmontproposed a new clause for empowering and requiring regimentalcourts-martial to examine witnesses upon oath in all their trials. Theproposal occasioned a debate, in which the ministry were pretty equallydivided; but the clause was disapproved by the majority, and this annualbill 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 bythe 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 therate of three per cent, should be allowed upon every debenture, for thebounty on the exportation of com, payable by the receiver-general orcashier of the customs, until the principal could be discharged outof such customs or duties as are appropriated for the payment of thisbounty. This premium on the exportation of corn ought not to be granted, except when the lowness of the market price in Great Britain proves thatthere is a superabundance in the kingdom; otherwise the exporter willfind his account in depriving our own labourers of their bread, in orderto supply our rivals at an easier rate; for example, suppose wheat inEngland should sell for twenty shillings a quarter, the merchant mightexport into France, and afford it to the people of that kingdom foreighteen shillings, because the bounty on exportation would, even atthat rate, afford him a considerable advantage. TURKEY TRADE LAID OPEN. A great number of merchants having presented petitions from differentparts of the kingdom, representing that the trade of Turkey was greatlydecreased, ascribing this diminution to the exclusive charter enjoyedby a monopoly, and praying that the trade might be laid open to all hismajesty's subjects, one of the members for Liverpool moved for leave tobring in a bill for this purpose. Such a measure had been twice beforeproposed without success; but now it was adopted without opposition. Abill was immediately introduced; and, notwithstanding all the interestand efforts of the Turkey company, who petitioned the house againstit, and were heard by their counsel, it passed through both houses, andreceived the royal sanction. By this regulation any British subject mayobtain the freedom of the Turkey company, by paying or rendering a fineof twenty pounds; and all the members are secured from the tyranny ofoppressive 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 naturalizingJews, and a bill for the better preventing clandestine marriages. Thefirst of these, which passed without much opposition in the house oflords, from whence it descended to the commons, was entitled, "An actto permit persons professing the Jewish religion to be naturalized byparliament, and for other purposes therein mentioned. " It was supportedby some petitions of merchants and manufacturers, who, upon examination, appeared to be Jews, or their dependents; and countenanced by theministry, who thought they foresaw, in the consequences of sucha naturalization, a great accession to the monied interest, and aconsiderable increase of their own influence among the individuals ofthat community. They boldly affirmed, that such a law would greatlyconduce to the advantage of the nation; that it would encourage personsof wealth to remove with their effects from foreign parts into GreatBritain, increase the commerce and the credit of the kingdom, and set alaudable example of industry, temperance, and frugality. Such, however, were not the sentiments of the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons ofthe city of London in common-council assembled, who, in a petition toparliament, expressed their apprehension that the bill, if passed intoa law, would tend greatly to the dishonour of the christian religion, endanger the excellent constitution, and be highly prejudicial to theinterest and trade of the kingdom in general, and of the city ofLondon in particular. Another petition to the same purpose was next daypresented to the house, subscribed by merchants and traders of the cityof London; who, among other allegations, observed, that the consequencesof such a naturalization would greatly affect their trade and commercewith foreign nations, particularly with Spain and Portugal. Counselwas heard, evidence examined, and the bill produced violent debates, inwhich there seemed to be more passion than patriotism, more declamationthan argument. The adversaries of the bill affirmed, that such anaturalization would deluge the kingdom with brokers, usurers, andbeggars; that the rich Jews, under the shadow of this indulgence, would purchase lands, and even advowsons; so as not only to acquire aninterest in the legislature, but also to influence the constitution ofthe church of Christ, to which they were the inveterate and professedenemies; that the lower class of that nation, when thus admitted to theright of denizens, would interfere with the industrious natives who earntheir livelihood by their labour; and by dint of the most parsimoniousfrugality, 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 allemployment; that such an adoption of vagrant Jews into the community, from all parts of the world, would rob the real subjects of theirbirthright, disgrace the character of the nation, expose themselvesto the most dishonourable participation and intrusion, endanger theconstitution both in church and state, and be an indelible reproach uponthe established religion of the country. Some of these orators seemedtransported even to a degree of enthusiasm. They prognosticated that theJews would multiply so much in number, engross such wealth, and acquireso great power and influence in Great Britain, that their persons wouldbe revered, their customs imitated, and Judaism become the fashionablereligion of the English. Finally, they affirmed that such an act wasdirectly flying in the face of the prophecy, which declares, that theJews shall be a scattered people, without country or fixed habitation, until they shall be converted from their infidelity, and gatheredtogether in the land of their forefathers. These arguments andapprehensions, which were in reality frivolous and chimerical, beingindustriously circulated among the vulgar, naturally prejudiced againstthe Jewish people, excited such a ferment throughout the nation, asought to have deterred the ministry from the prosecution of such anunpopular measure; which, however, they had courage enough to maintainagainst all opposition. The bill passed the ordeal of both houses, andhis majesty vouchsafed the royal sanction to this law in favour of theHebrew nation. The truth is, it might have increased the wealth, andextended the commerce of Great Britain, had it been agreeable to thepeople; and as the naturalized Jews would still have been excluded fromall civil and military offices, as well as from other privilegesenjoyed by their christian brethren, in all probability they would havegradually forsaken their own unprofitable and obstinate infidelity, opened their eyes to the shining truths of the gospel, and joined theirfellow-subjects in embracing the doctrines of Christianity. But noministry ought to risk an experiment, how plausible soever it might be, if they found it, as this was, an object of the people's unconquerableaversion. What rendered this unpopular measure the more impolitic, wasthe unseasonable juncture at which it was carried into execution;that is, at the eve of a general election for a new parliament, when aminister ought carefully to avoid every step which may give umbrage tothe body of the people. The earl of Egmont, who argued against the billwith equal power and vivacity, in describing the effect it might haveupon that occasion, "I am amazed, " said he, "that this considerationmakes 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 thekingdom, 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 receptionequally unfavourable among the commons, though it was sustained on theshoulders of the majority, and thus forced its way to the throne, where it obtained the royal approbation. The practice of solemnizingclandestine marriages, so prejudicial to the peace of families, and sooften productive of misery to the parties themselves thus united, wasan evil that prevailed to such a degree as claimed the attention ofthe legislature. The sons and daughters of great and opulent families, before they had acquired knowledge and experience, or attained to theyears of discretion, were every day seduced in their affections, andinveigled into matches big with infamy and ruin; and these weregreatly facilitated by the opportunities that occurred of being unitedinstantaneously by the ceremony of marriage, in the first transport ofpassion, before the destined victim had time to cool or deliberate onthe subject. For this pernicious purpose, there was a band of profligatemiscreants, the refuse of the clergy, dead to every sentiment ofvirtue, abandoned to all sense of decency and decorum, for the most partprisoners for debt or delinquency, and indeed the very outcasts of humansociety, who hovered about the verge of the Fleet-prison to interceptcustomers, plying like porters for employment, and performed theceremony of marriage without license or question, in cellars, garrets, or ale-houses, to the scandal of religion, and the disgrace of thatorder which they professed. The ease with which this ecclesiasticalsanction was obtained, and the vicious disposition of those wretches, open to the practices of fraud and corruption, were productive ofpolygamy, indigence, conjugal infidelity, prostitution, and every cursethat could embitter the married state. A remarkable case of this naturehaving fallen under the cognizance of the peers, in an appeal from aninferior tribunal, that house ordered the judges to prepare a new billfor preventing such abuses; and one was accordingly framed, underthe auspices of lord Hardwicke, at that time lord high chancellorof England. In order to anticipate the bad effects of clandestinemarriages, this new statute enacted, that the banns should be regularlypublished three successive Sundays, in the church of the parish wherethe parties dwell; that no license should be granted to marry in anyplace, where one of the parties has not dwelt at least a month, excepta special license by the archbishop; that if any marriage should besolemnized in any other place than a church or a chapel without aspecial license, or in a public chapel without having published thebanns, or obtained a license of some person properly qualified, themarriage should he void, and the person who solemnized it transportedfor seven years; that marriages by license, of parties under age, without consent of parent or guardian, should be null and void, unlessthe party under age be a widow, and the parent refusing consent a widowmarried again: that when the consent of a mother or guardian is refusedfrom caprice, or such parent or guardian be _non compos mentis_, orbeyond sea, the minor should have recourse for relief to the court ofchancery; that no suit should be commenced to compel a celebration ofmarriage, upon pretence of any contract; that all marriages should besolemnized before two witnesses, and an entry be made in a book kept forthat purpose, whether it was by banns or license, whether either of theparties was under age, or the marriage celebrated with the consent ofparent or guardian, and this entry to be signed by the minister, theparties, and the witnesses; that a false license or certificate, ordestroying register books, should be deemed felony, either in principalor accessary, and punished with death. The bill, when first consideredin the lower house, gave rise to a variety of debates; in whichthe members appeared to be divided rather according to their realsentiments, than by the rules of any political distinction; for someprincipal servants of the government freely differed in opinion from theminister, who countenanced the bill; while on the other hand, he wason this occasion supported by certain chiefs of the opposition, and thedisputes were maintained with extraordinary eagerness and warmth. Theprincipal objections imported, that such restrictions on marriage woulddamp the spirit of love and propagation; promote mercenary matches, tothe ruin of domestic happiness, as well as to the prejudice of posterityand population; impede the circulation of property, by preserving thewealth of the kingdom among a kind of aristocracy of opulent families, who would always intermarry within their own pale; subject the poor tomany inconveniencies and extraordinary expense, from the nature of theforms to be observed; and throw an additional power into the handsof the chancellor. They affirmed, that no human power had a rightto dissolve a vow solemnly made in the sight of heaven; and that, in proportion as the bill prevented clandestine marriages, it wouldencourage fornication and debauchery, insomuch as the parties restrainedfrom indulging their mutual passions in an honourable manner, would betempted 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 thisbill, which have not yet been realized. On the other side, its advocatesendeavoured to refute these arguments, and some of them spoke with greatstrength and precision. The bill underwent a great number of alterationsand amendments; which were not effected without violent contest andaltercation. At length, however, it was floated through both houses onthe tide of a great majority, and steered into the safe harbour of royalapprobation. Certain it is, the abuse of clandestine marriage might havebeen removed upon much easier terms than those imposed upon the subjectby this bill; which, after all, hath been found ineffectual, as itmay be easily eluded by a short voyage to the continent, or a moderatejourney to North Britain, where the indissoluble knot may be tiedwithout scruple or interruption. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DELIBERATIONS CONCERNING THE SUGAR COLONIES. Over and above these new statutes, there were some other subjects whichoccasionally employed the attention of the commons; such as the stateof the British sugar colonies, which was considered, in consequenceof petitions presented by the sugar refiners and grocers of London, Westminster, and Bristol, complaining of the exorbitant pricedemanded and given for sugars imported from Jamaica; desiring that theproprietors of lands in Jamaica might be obliged to cultivate greaterquantities of ground for raising sugar-canes, or that they (thepetitioners) might have leave to import muscovado sugars from othercountries, when the price of those imported from Jamaica should exceeda certain rate. This remonstrance was taken into consideration by acommittee of the whole house; and a great number of evidences and papersbeing examined, they resolved, that the peopling of Jamaica with whiteinhabitants, and cultivating the lands thereof, would be the mostproper measure for securing that island, and increasing the tradeand navigation between it and Great Britain, and other parts ofhis majesty's dominions; that the endeavours hitherto used by thelegislature of Jamaica to increase the number of white inhabitants, andenforce the cultivation of lands, in the manner that might best conduceto the security and defence of that island, had not been effectualfor these purposes. The house ordered a bill to be founded on theseresolutions; but this was postponed until the ministry should receivemore full information touching the true state of that island. Theplanters of Jamaica laboured under many grievances and hardships, fromdivers heavy impositions and restrictions; and a detail of these wastransmitted in a representation to his majesty, which was referred tothe consideration of the commissioners of trade and plantations. Thecause of the planters was defended vigorously, and managed in the houseof commons by alderman Beckford, a gentleman of vast possessions inthe island of Jamaica, who perfectly well understood, and strenuouslysupported, the interest of that his native country. FATE OF THE REGISTER BILL. Abortive also proved the attempt to establish a law for keeping anannual register of marriages, births, deaths, the individuals whoreceived alms, and the total number of people in Great Britain. A billfor this purpose was presented by Mr. Potter, a gentleman of pregnantparts and spirited elocution; who, enumerating the advantages of such alaw, observed, that it would ascertain the number of the people, and thecollective strength of the nation; consequently, point out those placeswhere there is a defect or excess of population, and certainly determinewhether a general naturalization would be advantageous or prejudicialto the community; that it would decide what number of men might, on anysudden emergency, be levied for the defence of the kingdom; and whetherthe nation is gainer or loser, by sending its natives to settle, andour troops to defend distant colonies; that it would be the means ofestablishing a local administration of civil government, or a policeupon certain fixed principles, the want of which hath been long areproach to the nation, a security to vice, and an encouragement toidleness; 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 presenttaxes, and laying future impositions; specify the lineal descents, relations, and alliances of families; lighten the intolerable burdensincurred by the public, from innumerable and absurd regulations relatingto 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 thesanguine expectations of its patron, we shall not pretend to determine;though, in our opinion, it must have been attended with very salutaryconsequences, particularly in restraining the hand of robbery andviolence, in detecting fraud, bridling the ferocity of a licentiouspeople, and establishing a happy system of order and subordination. Atfirst the bill met with little opposition, except from Mr. Thornton, member for the city of York, who inveighed against it with greatfervour, as a measure that savoured of French policy, to which theEnglish nation ever had the utmost aversion. He affirmed, that themethod in which it was proposed this register should be kept, wouldfurnish the enemies of Great Britain with continual opportunities ofknowing the strength or weakness of the nation; that it would empoweran ill-designing minister to execute any scheme subversive of publicliberty, invest parish and petty officers of the peace with exorbitantpowers, and cost the nation about fifty thousand pounds a-year to carrythe scheme into execution. These arguments, which, we apprehend, are extremely frivolous and inconclusive, had great weight with aconsiderable number who joined in the opposition, while the ministrystood neutral. Nevertheless, after having undergone some amendments, itwas conveyed to the lords, by whom it was, at the second reading, thrownout as a scheme of very dangerous tendency. The legislature of GreatBritain have, on some occasions, been more startled at the distantshadow of a bare possibility, than at the real approach of the mostdangerous innovation. SIR HANS SLOANE'S MUSEUM PURCHASED BY PARLIAMENT. From the usual deliberations on civil and commercial concerns, theattention of the parliament, which had seldom or never turned uponliterary avocations, was called off by an extraordinary subject of thisnature. Sir Hans Sloane, the celebrated physician and naturalist, well known through all the civilized countries of Europe for his amplecollection of rarities, culled from the animal, vegetable, and mineralkingdoms, as well as of antiquities and curiosities of art, haddirected, in his last will, that this valuable museum, together with hisnumerous library, should be offered to the parliament, for the useof the public, in consideration of their paying a certain sum incompensation to his heirs. His terms were embraced by the commons, whoagreed to pay twenty thousand pounds for the whole, supposed to be worthfour times that sum; and a bill was prepared for purchasing this museum, together with the Harleian collection of manuscripts, so denominatedfrom its founder, Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, lord-high-treasurer ofEngland, and now offered to the public by his daughter, the duchess ofPortland. It was proposed, that these purchases should be joined to thefamous Cottonian library, and a suitable repository provided for themand the king's library, which had long lain neglected and exposed tothe injuries of the weather in the old dormitory at Westminster. Accordingly, trustees and governors, consisting of the most eminentpersons of the kingdom, were appointed, and regulations establishedfor the management of this noble museum, which was deposited inMontagu-house, one of the most magnificent edifices in England, where itis subjected, without reserve, to the view of the public, under certainnecessary restrictions, and exhibits a glorious monument of nationaltaste 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 hismajesty, who mentioned nothing particular in his speech, but that thestate of foreign affairs had suffered no alteration since their meeting. The genius of the English people is perhaps incompatible with a state ofperfect tranquillity; if it was not ruffled by foreign provocations, or agitated by unpopular measures of domestic administration, it willundergo temporary fermentations from the turbulent ingredients inherentin its own constitution Tumults are excited, and faction kindled intorage and inveteracy, by incidents of the most frivolous nature. At thisjuncture the metropolis of England was divided and discomposed in asurprising manner, by a dispute in itself of so little consequence tothe community, that it could not deserve a place in a general history, if it did not serve to convey a characteristic idea of the Englishnation. In the beginning of the year an obscure damsel, of low degree, whose name was Elizabeth Canning, promulgated a report, which in alittle time attracted the attention of the public. She affirmed, thaton the first day of the new year, at night, she was seized underBedlam-wall by two ruffians, who having stripped her of her upperapparel, secured her mouth with a gag, and threatened to murder hershould she make the least noise; that they conveyed her on foot aboutten miles, to a place called Enfieldwash, and brought her to the houseof one Mrs. Wells, where she was pillaged of her stays; and becauseshe refused to turn prostitute, confined in a cold, damp, separate, andunfurnished apartment; where she remained a whole month, without anyother sustenance than a few stale crusts of bread, and about a gallon ofwater; till at length she forced her way through a window, and ran hometo her mother's house almost naked, in the night of the twenty-ninth ofJanuary. This story, improbable and unsupported, operated so strongly onthe passions of the people in the neighbourhood of Aldermanbury, where Canning's mother lived, and particularly among fanatics of alldenominations, that they raised voluntary contributions, with surprisingeagerness, in order to bring the supposed delinquents to justice. Warrants were granted for apprehending Wells, who kept the house atEnfieldwash, and her accomplices, the servant maid, whose name wasVirtue Hall, and one Squires, an old gipsey-woman, which last wascharged by Canning of having robbed her of her stays. Wells, thoughacquitted of the felony, was punished as a bawd. Hall turned evidencefor Canning, but afterwards recanted. Squires, the gipsey, was convictedof the robbery, though she produced undoubted evidence to prove that shewas at Abbotsbury in Dorsetshire that very night in which the felonywas said to be committed, and Canning and her friends fell intodivers contradictions during the course of the trial. By this time theprepossession of the common people in her favour had risen to such apitch of enthusiasm, that the most palpable truths which appeared on theother side, had no other effect than that of exasperating them to themost dangerous degree of rage and revenge. Some of the witnesses forSquires, though persons of unblemished character, were so intimidated, that they durst not enter the court; and those who had resolution enoughto give evidence in her behalf, ran the risk of assassination from thevulgar that surrounded the place. On this occasion, sir Crisp Gascoyne, lord-mayor of London, behaved with that laudable courage and humanitywhich ought ever to distinguish the chief magistrate of such ametropolis. Considering the improbability of the charge, the heat, partiality, and blind enthusiasm with which it was prosecuted, and beingconvinced of the old woman's innocence by a great number of affidavits, voluntarily sent up from the country by persons of unquestionablecredit, he, in conjunction with some other worthy citizens, resolvedto oppose the torrent of vulgar prejudice. Application was made tothe throne for mercy; the case was referred to the attorney andsolicitor-general, who, having examined the evidences on both sides, made their report in favour of Squires to the king and council; and thispoor old creature was indulged with his majesty's pardon. This affairwas now swelled up into such a faction as divided the greater part ofthe kingdom, including the rich as well as the poor, the high as wellas the humble. Pamphlets and pasquinades were published on both sidesof the dispute, which became the general topic of conversation in allassemblies, and people of all ranks espoused one or other party withas much warmth and animosity as had ever inflamed the whigs and tories, even at the most rancorous period of their opposition. Subscriptionswere opened, and large sums levied, on one side, to prosecute forperjury the persons on whose evidence the pardon had been granted. On the other hand, those who had interested themselves for the gipseyresolved to support her witnesses, and, if possible, detect theimposture of Canning. Bills of perjury were preferred on both sides. The evidences for Squires were tried and acquitted; at first Canningabsconded; but afterwards surrendered to take her trial, and being, after a long hearing, found guilty, was transported to the Britishcolonies. The zeal of her friends, however, seemed to be inflamed by herconviction; and those who carried on the prosecution against her wereinsulted, even to the danger of their lives. They supplied her withnecessaries of all sorts, paid for her transportation in a privateship, where she enjoyed all the comforts and conveniences that could beafforded in that situation, and furnished her with such recommendationsas secured to her a very agreeable reception in New England. EXECUTION OF DR. CAMERON. Next to this very remarkable transaction, the incident that principallydistinguished this year in England, was the execution of DoctorArchibald Cameron, a native of North Britain, and brother to Cameronof Lochiel, chief of that numerous and warlike tribe who had taken thefield with the prince-pretender. After the battle of Culloden, where hewas dangerously wounded, he found means to escape to the continent. Hisbrother, the doctor, had accompanied him in all his expeditions, thoughnot in a military capacity, and was included with him in the act ofattainder passed against those who had been concerned in the rebellion. Notwithstanding the imminent danger attending such an attempt, thedoctor returned privately to Scotland, in order, as it was reported, to recover a sum of money belonging to the pretender, which had beenembezzled by his adherents in that country. Whatever may have beenhis 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 inthe court of king's-bench, where his identity being proved by severalwitnesses, 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 tooperate in favour of this unfortunate gentleman; their pity was mingledwith esteem, arising from his personal character, which was altogetherunblemished, and his deportment on this occasion, which they couldnot help admiring as the standard of manly fortitude and decorum. Thepopulace, though not very subject to tender emotions, were movedto compassion and even to tears, by his behaviour at the place ofexecution; and many sincere well-wishers to the present establishmentthought that the sacrifice of this victim, at such a juncture, could notredound either to its honour or security. TUMULTS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE KINGDOM. The turbulent spirit, which is never totally extinguished in thisisland, manifested itself in sundry tumults that broke out indifferent parts of South Britain. The price of provisions, and breadin particular, being raised to an exorbitant rate in consequence of anabsurd exportation of corn, for the sake of the bounty, a formidablebody of colliers, and other labouring people, raised an insurrection atBristol, began to plunder the corn vessels in the harbour, and commitsuch outrages in the city, that the magistrates were obliged to haverecourse to military power. A troop of dragoons were sent to theirassistance, and the insurgents were quelled, though not without somebloodshed. 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 tofire upon the rioters, eight or nine of whom were killed on the spot;and, indeed, so little care had been taken to restrain the licentiousinsolence of the vulgar by proper laws and regulations, duly executedunder the eye of civil magistracy, that a military power was foundabsolutely necessary to maintain the peace of the kingdom. DISTURBANCES IN FRANCE. The tranquillity of the continent was not endangered by any new contestor disturbance; yet the breach between the clergy and the parliament ofParis was every day more and more widened, and the people were prettyequally divided between superstition and a regard for civil liberty. The parliament having caused divers ecclesiastics to be apprehended, forhaving refused to administer the sacraments to persons in extremity, whorefused to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus, all of them declared theyacted according to the direction of the archbishop of Paris. Applicationbeing made to this haughty prelate, he treated the deputies of theparliament with the most supercilious contempt, and even seemed to bravethe power and authority of that body. They, on the other hand, proceededto take cognizance of the recusant clergy, until their sovereign orderedthem to desist. Then they presented remonstrances to his majesty, reminding him of their privileges, and the duty of their station, whichobliged them to do justice on all their delinquents. In the meantimethey continued to perform their functions, and even commenced aprosecution against the bishop of Orleans, whom they summoned to attendtheir tribunal. Next day they received from Versailles a _lettre decachet_, accompanied by letters patent, commanding them to suspend allprosecutions relating to the refusal of the sacraments; and ordering theletters patent to be registered. Instead of obeying these commands, theypresented new remonstrances, for answers to which they were referred tothe king's former declarations. In consequence of this intimation, theyhad spirit enough to resolve, "That, whereas certain evil-minded personshad prevented truth from reaching the throne, the chambers remainedassembled, and all other business should be suspended. " The affair wasnow become very serious. His majesty, by fresh letters patent, renewedhis orders, and commanded them to proceed with their ordinary business, on pain of incurring his displeasure. They forthwith came to anotherresolution, importing, that they could not obey this injunction withouta breach of their duty and their oath. Next day _lettres de cachet_ wereissued, banishing to different parts of the kingdom all the members, except those of the great chamber, which the court did not find moretractable than their brethren. They forthwith resolved to abide by thetwo resolutions mentioned above; and, as an instance of their unshakenfortitude, ordered an ecclesiastic to be taken into custody for refusingthe sacraments. This spirited measure involved them in the fate of therest; for they were also exiled from Paris, the citizens of which didnot fail to extol their conduct with the loudest encomiums, and at thesame time to express their resentment against the clergy, who could notstir abroad without being exposed to violence or insult. The example ofthe parliament of Paris was followed by that of Rouen, which had courageenough to issue orders for apprehending the bishop of Evreux, because hehad refused to appear when summoned to their tribunal. Their decreeson this occasion being annulled by the king's council of state, theypresented a bold remonstrance, which, however, had no other effect thanthat of exasperating the ministry. A grand deputation being ordered toattend the king, they were commanded to desist from intermeddling indisputes relating to the refusal of the sacraments, and to register thisinjunction. At their return they had recourse to a new remonstrance; andone of their principal counsellors, who had spoken freely in the debateson this subject, was arrested by a party of dragoons, who carried himprisoner to the castle of Dourlens. In a word, the body of the peopledeclared for the parliament, in opposition to ecclesiastical tyranny;and had they not been overawed by a formidable standing army, wouldcertainly have taken up arms in defence of their liberties; while themonarch weakly suffered himself to be governed by priestly delusions;and, secure in his military appointment, seemed to set the rest of hissubjects at defiance. Apprehensive, however, that these disputes wouldput an entire stop to the administration of justice, he, by letterspatent, established a royal chamber for the prosecution of suits civiland criminal, which was opened with a solemn mass performed in thequeen's chapel at the Louvre, where all the members assisted. On thisoccasion another difficulty occurred. The letters patent, constitutingthis new court, ought to have been registered by the parliament whichwas now no more. To remedy this defect, application was made to theinferior court of the Chatelet, which refusing to register them, oneof its members was committed to the Bastile, and another absconded. Intimidated by this exertion of despotic power, they allowed the king'sofficers to enter the letters in their register; but afterwards adoptedmore vigorous resolutions. The lieutenant, -civil appearing in theircourt, all the counsellors rose up and retired, leaving him alone, andon the table an _arret_, importing, that whereas the confinement of oneof their members, the prosecution of another, who durst not appear, andthe present calamities of the nation, gave them just apprehensions fortheir own persons; they had, after mature deliberation, thought properto retire. Thus a dangerous ferment was excited by the king's espousingthe cause of spiritual insolence and oppression against the generalvoice of his people, and the plainest dictates of reason and commonsense. PROCEEDINGS OF THE DIET RELATIVE TO EAST FRIEZELAND. The property of East Friezeland continued still to be the source ofcontention between the electors of Bran-denburgh and Hanover. Theinterest of his Britannic majesty being powerfully supported by thehouse of Austria, the minister of that power at the diet proposed thatthe affair should be taken into immediate consideration. He was secondedby the minister of Brunswick; but the envoy from Brandenburgh, havingprotested in form against this procedure, withdrew from the assembly, and the Brunswick minister made a counter-protestation, after whichhe also retired. Then a motion being made, that this dispute should bereferred to the decision of the Aulic council at Vienna, it was carriedin the affirmative by a majority of fourteen voices. His Prussianmajesty's final declaration with regard to this affair was afterwardspresented to the diet, and answered in the sequel by a memorial fromhis Britannic majesty as elector of Hanover. Some other petty disputeslikewise happened between the regency of Hanover and the city ofMunster; and the former claiming some bailiwicks in the territories ofBremen, sequestered certain revenues belonging to this city, in Stadeand Ferden, till these claims should be satisfied. EXTRAORDINARY TREATY. The court of Vienna having dropped for the present the scheme forelecting a king of the Romans, concluded a very extraordinary treatywith the duke of Modena, stipulating that his serene highness shouldbe appointed perpetual governor of the duchy of Milan, with a salary ofninety thousand florins, on condition that he should maintain a body offour thousand men, to be at the disposal of the empress-queen; that herimperial majesty should have a right to place garrisons in the citadelsof 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 theheiress of Massa-Carrara; and in case of her dying without heirs male, the estates of that house and the duchy of Mirandola should devolveto the archduke; but in case of her having male issue, that she shouldenjoy the principality of Fermia, and other possessions in Hungary, claimed by the duke of Modena, for her fortune; finally, that on theextinction of the male branch of the house of Este, all the dominions ofthe 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 instrengthening their respective interests, and concerting measures forpreventing any interruption of the general tranquillity, matters werefast ripening to a fresh rupture between the subjects of Great Britainand France, in different parts of North America. We have alreadyobserved that commissaries had been appointed, and conferences opened atParis, to determine the disputes between the two crowns, relating to theboundaries of Nova Scotia; and we took notice in general of the littlearts of evasion practised by the French commissaries, to darken andperplex the dispute, and elude the pretensions of his Britannic majesty. They persisted in employing these arts of chicanery and cavil with suchperseverance, that the negotiation proved abortive, the conferencesbroke up, and every thing seemed to portend approaching hostilities. But, before we proceed to a detail of the incidents which were theimmediate forerunners of the war, we will endeavour to convey a justidea of the dispute concerning Nova Scotia; which, we apprehend, is butimperfectly understood, though of the utmost importance to the interestof Great Britain. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DESCRIPTION OF NOVA SCOTIA. Nova Scotia, called by the French Acadia, lies between the forty-fourthand fiftieth degrees of north latitude, having New England and theAtlantic ocean to the south and south-west, and the river and gulph ofSt. Lawrence to the north and north-east. The winter, which continuesnear seven months in this country, is intensely cold; and without theintervention of any thing that can be called spring, it is immediatelysucceeded by a summer, the heat of which is almost insupportable, but ofno long continuance. The soil in general is thin and barren, though someparts of it are said to be equal to the best land in England. The wholecountry is covered with a perpetual fog, even after the summer hascommenced. It was first possessed by the French, before they made anyestablishment in Canada; who, by dint of industry and indefatigableperseverance, in struggling with the many difficulties they necessarilylaboured under in the infancy of this settlement, subsisted tolerablywell, and increased considerably, with very little assistance fromEurope; whilst we, even now, should lose the immense expense we havealready been at to settle a colony there, and should see all ourendeavours to that end defeated, if the support of the royal hand waswithdrawn but for a moment. This country, by the possession of which anenemy would be enabled greatly to annoy all our other colonies, and, ifin the hands of the French, would be of singular service both to theirfishery and their sugar islands, has frequently changed hands from theFrench 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 thetreaty of Utrecht, by which all the country included within the ancientlimits of what was called Nova Scotia or Acadia, was ceded to theEnglish. This article was confirmed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, but, for want of ascertaining distinctly what were the bounds intendedto be fixed by the two nations with respect to this province, disputesarose, and commissaries, as we have observed, were appointed by bothsides to adjust the litigation. The commissaries of the king of Great Britain conformed themselvesto the rule laid down by the treaty itself, and assigned those as theancient limits of this country, which had always passed as such, fromthe very earliest time of any certainty, down to the conclusion of thetreaty; which the two crowns had frequently declared to be such, andwhich the French had often admitted and allowed. These limits are, thesouthern bank of the river St. Lawrence to the north, and Pentagoet tothe west: the country situated between these boundaries is that whichthe French received by the treaty of St. Germain's, in the year onethousand six hundred and thirty-two, under the general name of Acadia. Of this country, thus limited, they continued in possession from thatperiod to the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four, when adescent was made upon it, under the command of colonel Sedgwick. Thatthese were then the undisputed limits of Acadia, his Britannic majesty'scommissaries plainly proved, by a letter of Louis XIII. To the sieursCharnisay and La Tour, regulating their jurisdictions in Acadia; bythe subsequent commissions of the French king to the same persons, asgovernors of Acadia, in the sequel; and by that which was afterwardsgranted to the sieur Denys, in the year one thousand six hundred andfifty-four; all of which extend the bounds of this country from theriver St. Lawrence to Pentagoet and New England. That these werethe notions of the French with respect to the ancient limits of thisprovince, was further confirmed by the demands made by their ambassadorin the course of that same year, for the restitution of the fortsPentagoet, St. John's, and Port Eoyal, as forts situated in Acadia. Inthe year one thousand six hundred and sixty-two, upon the revival of theclaim of France to the country of Acadia, which had been left undecidedby the treaty of Westminster, the French ambassador, then at the courtof London, assigned Pentagoet as the western, and the river St. Lawrenceas the northern, boundary of that country; and alleged the restitutionof Acadia in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, andthe possession taken by France in consequence thereof, as well as thecontinuation of that possession, with the same limits, to the yearone thousand six hundred and fifty-four, as proofs of the equity andvalidity of the claim he then made; in which claim and in the manner ofsupporting it, he was particularly approved of by the court ofFrance. The same court afterwards thought it so clear, upon formerdeterminations, and her own former possessions, that the true ancientboundaries of Acadia were Pentagoet to the west, and the river St. Lawrence to the north, that she desired no specification of limits inthe treaty of Breda, but was contented with the restitution of Acadia, generally named; and, upon a dispute which arose in the executionof this treaty, France re-asserted, and Great Britain, after somediscussion, agreed to the above-mentioned limits of Acadia; and Franceobtained possession of that country, so bounded, under the treaty ofBreda. The sense of France upon this subject, in the years onethousand six hundred and eighty-five, and one thousand six hundred andeighty-seven, was also clearly manifested in the memorials delivered atthat time by the French ambassador at the court of London, complainingof some encroachments made by the English upon the coast of Acadia: hedescribed the country as extending from isle Percée, which lies at theentrance of the river St. Lawrence, to St. George's island; and again, in a subsequent complaint, made by Mons. Barillon and Mons. Bonrepausto the court of Great Britain, against the judge of Pemaquid, for havingseized the effects of a French merchant at Pentagoet, which, said they, was situated in Acadia, as restored to France by the treaty of Breda. Toexplain the sense of France, touching the bounds of Acadia in the yearone thousand seven hundred, the British commissaries produced a proposalof the French ambassador, then residing in Great Britain, to restrainthe limits of that country to the river St-George. They also instancedthe surrender of Port Royal in the year one thousand seven hundred andten, in which Acadia is described with the same limits with which Francehad received it in the years one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, and one thousand six hundred and sixty-seven. And further to ascertainthe sense of both crowns, even at the treaty of Utrecht itself, theyproduced the queen of Great Britain's instructions to her ambassadors, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eleven, in which they weredirected to insist, "That his most christain majesty should quit allclaim or title, by virtue of any former treaty, or otherwise, to thecountry called Nova Scotia, and expressly to Port Royal, otherwiseAnnapolis Royal. " To these they added a manifest demonstration, foundedon indisputable facts, proving that the recital of the several sortsof right which France had ever pretended to this country, and thespecification of both terms, Acadia or Nova Scotia, were intended byGreat Britain to obviate all doubts which had ever been made concerningthe limits of Acadia, and to comprehend with more certainty all thatcountry which France had ever received as such; finally, to specify whatFrance considered as Acadia. During the treaty, they referred to theoffers of that crown in the year one thousand seven hundred and twelve, in which she proposed to restrain the boundary of Acadia to the riverSt. George, as a departure from its real boundary, in case Great Britainwould restore to her the possession of that country. From all thesefacts it plainly appears that Great Britain demanded nothing but whatthe fair construction of the words of the treaty of Utrecht necessarilyimplies; and that it is impossible for any thing to have more evidentmarks of candour and fairness in it, than the demand of the English onthis occasion. From the variety of evidence brought in support of thisclaim, it evidently results that the English commissaries assigned nolimits as the ancient limits of Acadia, but those which Franceherself determined to be such in the year one thousand six hundredand thirty-two; and which she possessed, in consequence of thatdetermination, till the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four;that in one thousand six hundred and sixty-two, France claimed, andreceived in one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine, the country whichGreat Britain now claims as Acadia, restored to France by the treatyof Breda under that general denomination; that France never consideredAcadia as having any other limits than those which were assigned to itfrom the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, to the year onethousand seven hundred and ten; and that, by the treaty of Utrecht, sheengaged to transfer that very same country as Acadia, which France hasalways asserted and possessed, and Great Britain now claims, as such. Should the crown of France, therefore, be ever willing to decide whatare the ancient limits of Acadia, by her own declarations so frequentlymade in like discussions upon the same point, by her possessions of thiscountry for almost a century, and by her description of Acadia, duringthe negotiation of that very treaty upon which this doubt is raised, she cannot but admit the claim of Great Britain to be conformable to thetreaty of Utrecht, and to the description of the country transferredto Great Britain by the twelfth article of that treaty. There is aconsistency in the claim of the English, and a completeness in theevidence brought in support of it, which is seldom seen in discussionsof this sort; for it rarely happens, in disputes of such a naturebetween two crowns, that either of them can safely offer to have itspretensions decided by the known and repeated declarations, or thepossessions of the other. To answer the force of this detail ofconclusive historical facts, and to give a new turn to the real questionin dispute, the French commissaries, in their memorial, laid it down asa distinction made by the treaty of Utrecht, that the ancient limits ofAcadia, referred to by that treaty, are different from any with whichthat country may have passed under the treaties of St. Germain's andBreda; and then endeavoured to show, upon the testimonies of maps andhistorians, that Acadia and its limits were anciently confined to thesouth-eastern part of the peninsula. In support of this system, theFrench 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 overAcadia, which the English cited as evidence of the limits they claimed, were given as commissions over Acadia and the country around it, and notover Acadia only; that the whole of the country claimed by the Englishas Acadia, could not possibly be supposed ever to be considered as such, because many parts of that territory always did, and still do, preserveparticular and distinct names. They affirmed New France to be a provincein itself; and argued that many parts of what we claim as Acadia cannever have been in Acadia, because historians and the French commissionsof government expressly place them in New France. They asserted, that noevidence can be drawn of the opinion of any crown, with respect to thelimits of any country, from its declaration during the negotiation ofa treaty: and, in the ends relying upon maps and historians for theancient limits of Acadia, they pretended that the express restitution ofSt. Germain's, and the possession taken by France in consequence ofthe treaty of Breda, after a long discussion of the limits and thedeclaration 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 andhistorians cited by the French in support of their system, that if thisquestion was to be decided upon the authorities which they themselvesallowed to belong, and to be applicable to, this discussion, the limitswhich they assigned were utterly inconsistent with the best maps of allcountries, which are authorities in point for almost every part ofthe claim of Great Britain. They showed that the French historians, Champlain and Denys, and particularly this last, with his commissionin the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-five, assigned the samenorthern and western limits to Acadia which they did; and that Escarbot, another of their historians, as far as any evidence can be drawn fromhis writings, agrees entirely with the former two. They observed, thatall these evidences fall in with and confirmed the better authorities oftreaties, and the several transactions between the two crowns for neara century past; and that the French commissaries, by deviating fromtreaties, and the late proceedings of the two crowns, to ancienthistorians and maps, only made a transition from an authentic to aninsufficient sort of evidence, and led the English commissaries into aninquiry which proved that both the proper and the improper, the regularand the foreign evidence, upon which this matter had been rested, equally confuted the limits alleged by the French commissaries as theancient 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 conferencesbetween the commissaries of the two crowns at Paris, the French wereactually employed in executing their plans of encroachment upon theBritish colonies of North America. Their scheme was to engross the wholefur trade of that continent; and they had already made great progressin extending a chain of forts, connecting their settlements on the riverMississippi with their possessions in Canada, along the great lakesof Erie and Ontario, which last issues into the river St. Lawrence. Bythese means they hoped to exclude the English from all communication andtraffic with the Indian nations, even those that lay contiguous to theBritish 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 stridesof their ambition; they could not supply all those Indians with thenecessaries they wanted, so that many of the natives had recourse tothe English settlements; and this commerce produced a connexion, inconsequence of which the British adventurers ventured to travel withmerchandise as far as the banks of the river Ohio, that runs into theMississippi, 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 thosedelightful plains, were so well disposed towards a close alliance withthe English, that, as far back as the year one thousand seven hundredand sixteen, Mr. Spotswood, governor of Virginia, proposed a plan forerecting a company to settle such lands upon this river as should beceded to them by treaty with the natives; but the design was at thattime frustrated, partly by the indolence and timidity of the Britishministry, who were afraid of giving umbrage to the French, and partly bythe jealousies and divisions subsisting between the different coloniesof Great Britain. The very same circumstances encouraged the French toproceed in their project of invasion. At length they penetrated fromthe banks of the river St. Lawrence, across lake Champlain, and uponthe territory of New York, built with impunity, and indeed withoutopposition, the fort of Crown Point, the most insolent and dangerousencroachment that they had hitherto carried into execution. RISE AND CONDUCT OF THE OHIO COMPANY. Governor Spotswood's scheme for an Ohio company was revived immediatelyafter the peace of Aix-la-Cha-pelle, when certain merchants of London, who traded to Maryland and Virginia, petitioned the government on thissubject, and were indulged not only with a grant of a great tract ofground to the southward of Pennsylvania, which they promised to settle, but also with an exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians onthe banks of the river Ohio. This design no sooner transpired, thanthe French governor of Canada took the alarm, and wrote letters to thegovernors of New York and Pennsylvania giving them to understand, thatas the English inland traders had encroached on the French territoriesand privileges, by trading with the Indians under the protection of hissovereign, he would seize them wherever they could be found, if they didnot immediately desist from that illicit practice. No regard being paidto this intimation, he next year caused three British traders to bearrested. Their effects were confiscated, and they themselves conveyedto Quebec, from whence they were sent prisoners to Rochelle in France, and there detained in confinement. In this situation they presented aremonstrance to the earl of Albemarle, at that time English ambassadorin Paris, and he claiming them as British subjects, they were set atliberty. Although, in answer to his lordship's memorial, the courtof Versailles promised to transmit orders to the French governors inAmerica, to use all their endeavours for preventing any disputes thatmight have a tendency to alter the good correspondence establishedbetween the two nations; in all probability the directions givenwere seemingly the very reverse of these professions, for the Frenchcommanders, partisans, and agents in America, took every step theirbusy genius could suggest, to strengthen their own power, and weaken theinfluence of the English, by embroiling them with the Indian nations. This task they found the more easy, as the natives had taken offenceagainst the English, when they understood that their lands were givenaway without their knowledge, and that there was a design to build fortsin their country without their consent and concurrence. Indeed, theperson whom the new company employed to survey the banks of the Ohio, concealed his design so carefully, and behaved in other respects in sucha dark mysterious manner, as could not fail to arouse the jealousy of apeople naturally inquisitive, and very much addicted to suspicion. Howthe company proposed to settle this acquisition in despite of thenative possessors, it is not easy to conceive, and it is still moreunaccountable that they should have neglected the natives, whose consentand assistance they might have procured at a very small expense. Insteadof acting such a fair, open, and honourable part, they sent a Mr. Gistto make a clandestine survey of the country, as far as the falls of theriver Ohio; and, as we have observed above, his conduct alarmed boththe French and Indians. The erection of this company was equallydisagreeable to the separate traders of Virginia and Pennsylvania, whosaw themselves on the eve of being deprived of a valuable branch oftraffic, by the exclusive charter of a monopoly; and therefore theyemployed their emissaries to foment the jealousy of the Indians. TheFrench having in a manner commenced hostilities against the English, and actually built forts on the territories of the British allies atNiagara, and on the lake Erie, Mr. Hamilton, governor of Pennsylvania, communicated this intelligence to the assembly of the province, andrepresented the necessity of erecting truck-houses, or places ofstrength and security, on the river Ohio, to which the traders mightretire in case of insult or molestation. The proposal was approved, andmoney granted for the purpose; but the assembly could not agree aboutthe manner in which they should be erected; and in the meantime theFrench fortified themselves at leisure, and continued to harass thetraders belonging to the British settlements. Repeated complaints ofthese encroachments and depredations being represented to Mr. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, he, towards the latter end of this very year, sentmajor Washington with a letter to the commanding officer of a fort whichthe 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 hissurprise that the French should build forts and make settlements on theriver Ohio, in the western part of the colony of Virginia, belongingto the Crown of Great Britain. He complained of these encroachments, aswell as of the injuries done to the subjects of Great Britain, in openviolation of the law of nations, and of the treaties actually subsistingbetween the two crowns. He desired to know by whose authority andinstructions his Britannic majesty's territories had been invaded; andrequired him to depart in peace, without further prosecuting a planwhich must interrupt the harmony and good understanding which hismajesty was desirous to continue and cultivate with the most christianking. To this spirited intimation the officer replied, that it was nothis province to specify the evidence, and demonstrate the right of theking his master to the lands situated on the river Ohio; but he wouldtransmit the letter to the marquis du Quesne, and act according to theanswer he should receive from that nobleman. In the meantime, he saidhe did not think himself obliged to obey the summons of the Englishgovernor; that he commanded the fort by virtue of an order from hisgeneral, to which he was determined to conform with all the precisionand resolution of a good officer. Mr. Dinwiddie expected no other reply, and therefore had projected a fort to be erected near the forks of theriver. The province undertook to defray the expense, and the stores forthat purpose were already provided; but by some fatal over sight, theconcurrence of the Indians was neither obtained nor solicited, andtherefore they looked upon this measure with an evil eye, as a manifestinvasion of their property. PERFIDY OF THE FRENCH. While the French thus industriously extended their encroachments to thesouthward, they were not idle in the gulf of St. Lawrence, but seizedevery 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 commithostilities against the inhabitants, some of whom they murdered, andothers they carried prisoners to Louisbourg, where they sold them forarms and ammunition, the French pretending that they maintained thistraffic from motives of pure compassion, in order to prevent themassacre of the English captives, whom, however, they did not set atliberty without exacting an exorbitant ransom. As these skulking partiesof Indians were generally directed and headed by French commanders, repeated complaints were made to the governor of Louisbourg, who stillanswered, that his jurisdiction did not extend over the Indians, and that their French conductors were chosen from the inhabitants ofAnnapolis, who thought proper to remain in that country after it wasceded to the English, and were in fact the subjects of Great Britain. Even while the conferences were carried on for ascertaining the limitsof Nova Scotia, the governor of Canada detached M. La Come, with someregular troops, and a body of militia, to fortify a post on the bayof Chignecto, on pretence that this and a great part of the peninsulabelonged to his government. The possession of this post not only securedto the Indians of the continent a free entrance into the peninsula, and a safe retreat in case of pursuit; but also encouraged the Frenchinhabitants of Annapolis to rise in open rebellion against the Englishgovernment. MAJOR LAURENCE DEFEATS THE FRENCH NEUTRALS. In the spring of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, generalCornwallis, governor of Halifax, detached major Laurence with a few mento reduce them to obedience. At his approach they burned their townto ashes, forsook their possessions, and threw themselves under theprotection of M. La Corne, who, thus reinforced, found himself at thehead of fifteen hundred men, well provided with arms and ammunition. Major Laurence being unable to cope with him in the field, demandedan interview, at which he desired to know for what cause the Frenchinhabitants of Nova Scotia had shaken off their allegiance to the crownof Great Britain, and violated the neutrality which they had hithertoaffected to profess. The French officer, without pretending to accountfor their behaviour, gave him to understand in general terms, that hehad orders to defend his post, and these orders he was determined toobey. The English major finding himself too weak to attack their unitedforce, and having no orders to commit hostilities against any but theIndians and their open abettors, returned to Halifax, without havingbeen able to fulfil the purpose of his expedition. Immediately afterhis retreat, the French neutrals (so they were called) returned totheir habitations which they had abandoned, and, in conjunction with theIndians, renewed their depredations upon the inhabitants of Halifaxand its dependent settlements. The English governor, justly incensedat these outrages, and seeing they would neither submit to the Englishgovernment themselves, nor allow others to enjoy it with tranquillity, resolved to expel them effectually from the country they so ill deservedto possess. Major Laurence was again detached with a thousand men, transported by sea to Chignecto, where he found the French and Indiansintrenched in order to dispute his landing. Notwithstanding thisopposition, he made a descent with a few companies, received andreturned a smart fire, and rushing into their intrenchments, obligedthem to fly with the utmost precipitation, leaving a considerablenumber killed and wounded on the spot. The fugitives saved themselvesby crossing a river, on the farther bank of which la Corne stood at thehead of his troops, drawn up in order to receive them as friends anddependents. He had by this time erected a fort, which he denominatedBeau Séjour; and now the English built another on the opposite side ofthe river, which was called after its founder St. Laurence. This beingprovided with a good garrison, served as a check upon the French, and insome measure restrained the incursions of these barbarians. Not that iteffectually answered this purpose; for the Indians and Neutrals stillseized every opportunity of attacking the English in the interior partsof the peninsula. In the course of the succeeding year they surprisedthe little town of Dartmouth, on the other side of Halifax-bay, wherethey killed and scalped a great number of people, and carried off someprisoners. For these expeditions the French always supplied them withboats, canoes, arms, and ammunition; and indeed they were conducted withsuch care and secrecy, that it was almost impossible to prevent theirsuccess. One sure remedy against the sudden and stolen incursions ofthose savages might have been found in the use of staunch hounds, whichwould have run upon the foot, detected the skulking parties of theIndians, and frustrated all their ambuscades; but this expedient, soeasy and practicable, was never tried, though frequently recommended inpublic to the attention of the government, and the consideration of thecolonists. The Indians continued to plunder and massacre the Britishsubjects with impunity, and were countenanced by the French governmentin that country, who now strengthened their lodgement on the neck ofthe peninsula with an additional fort, distinguished by the name ofBayeverte; and built a third at the mouth of St. John's river, on thenorth 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 greatdeliberation, while the commissaries of both nations were disputingabout 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 Englishgovernors, or to a memorial presented at Versailles by the earl ofAlbemarle, the British minister. He demanded that express orders shouldbe 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 subjectsof Great Britain, who had been made prisoners, should be set at liberty, and indemnified for the losses they had sustained; and that the personswho had committed these excesses should be punished in an exemplarymanner. True it is, six Englishmen, whom they had unjustly taken, wereimmediately dismissed; and the ambassador amused with general promisesof sending such instructions to the French governor in America, asshould anticipate any cause of complaint for the future; but, far fromhaving any intention to perform these promises, the court of Versailles, without all doubt, exhorted la Jonquire to proceed in bringing itsambitious schemes to perfection. SESSION OPENED. Every incident in America seemed to prognosticate war, when the sessionof parliament was opened on the fifteenth day of November; yet hismajesty, on this occasion, told them that the events of the year hadnot made it necessary for him to offer any thing in particular to theirconsideration relating to foreign affairs. He even declared that thecontinuance of the public tranquillity, and the general state of Europe, remained upon the same footing as when they last parted; and assuredthem of his steadiness in pursuing the most effectual measures topreserve to his people the blessings of peace. He expressed uncommonconcern that the horrid crimes of robbery and murder were of late ratherincreased than diminished, and earnestly recommended this importantobject to their serious attention. Affectionate addresses werepresented by both houses in answer to this harangue; and, what was veryremarkable, they were proposed and passed without question or debate. The commons continued the same number of seamen and land-forces forthe ensuing year, which had been granted in the last session, and madesuitable provision for all the exigences of the state. The whole supplyamounted to two millions seven hundred and ninety-seven thousand ninehundred and sixteen pounds, ten shillings and twopence, to be raised bya land-tax of two shillings in the pound, a malt-tax, a continuation ofcertain duties on wine, vinegar, cider, and beer imported, a sum takenfrom the sinking-fund, and the overplus of certain grants, funds, andduties. The provisions made considerably exceeded the grants; but thisexcess was chargeable with the interest of what should be borrowed uponthe credit in the land or malt-tax, there being a clause of credit inboth, as also with the deficiency (if any should happen) in the sumsthey were computed to produce. The house agreed to all these resolutionsalmost unanimously; indeed, no opposition was made to any of them, butthat for continuing the same number of land-forces, which was carried bya great majority. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} REPEAL OF THE ACT FOR NATURALIZING JEWS. The act for permitting Jews to be naturalized, which had, during thelast session, triumphed over such an obstinate opposition, was by thistime become the object of national horror and execration. Every part ofthe kingdom resounded with the reproach of the ministry who had enforcedsuch an odious measure; and the two brothers, who engrossed the greaterpart of the administration, trembled at the prospect of what thisclamour might produce at the general election, this being the lastsession of the present parliament. So eager were the ministers to annulthis unpopular measure, that, immediately after the peers had agreedto the nature and forms of an address to his majesty, the duke ofNewcastle, with that precipitation so peculiar to his character, pouredforth an abrupt harangue in that house, importing, that the disaffectedhad 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 asthe act was in itself of little importance, he was of opinion it oughtto be repealed; for this purpose he presented a bill ready framed, which was read and committed, though not without some debate. Thenaturalization bill, now devoted as a sacrifice to the resentment ofthe people, containing a clause disabling all naturalized Jews frompurchasing, inheriting, or receiving any advowson or presentation, orright to any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion, school, hospital, or donative; and by the first draft of the bill, which his grace nowpresented, it was intended that this clause should not be repealed. Itwas the opinion, however, of the majority, that such a clause standingunrepealed might imply, that the Jews, by being thus expressly excludedfrom the possession of any ecclesiastical right of presentation, wouldbe considered as having the power and privilege of purchasing andinheriting any lay-property in the kingdom. On this consideration anamendment was made in the bill, the clause in question was left out, andthe 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 andunfounded clamours of the multitude; and upon this side of the debatea great power of elocution was displayed by earl Temple, who had latelysucceeded to this title on the death of his mother, a nobleman ofdistinguished abilities, and the most amiable disposition, frank, liberal, humane, and zealously attached to the interest and honour ofhis country. In the lower house, the members of both parties seemed tovie with each other in demonstrations of aversion to this unpopular act. On the very first day of the session, immediately after the motion foran address to his majesty, sir James Dash-wood, an eminent leader in theopposition, gave the commons to understand, that he had a motion of verygreat importance to make, which would require the attention of everymember, as soon as the motion for the address should be discussed; hetherefore desired they would not quit the house, until he should havean opportunity to explain his proposal. Accordingly, they had no sooneragreed to the motion for an address of thanks to his majesty, thanhe stood up again, and having expatiated upon the just and generalindignation which the act of the preceding session, in favour of theJews, had raised among the people, he moved to order that the houseshould be called over on Tuesday the fourth day of December, for takingthat act into consideration; but being given to understand, that it wasnot usual to appoint a call of the house for any particular purpose, he agreed that the motion should be general. It was seconded by lordParker, his opposite in political interests; the house agreed to itwithout opposition, and the call was ordered accordingly. They wereanticipated, however', by the lords, who framed and transmitted to thema bill on the same subject, to the purport of which the commons madean objection; for every member, having the fear of the general electionbefore his eyes, carefully avoided every expression which could giveumbrage to his constituents; but violent opposition was made to thepreamble, which ran in the following strain:--"Whereas an act ofparliament was made and passed in the twenty-fifth year of his majesty'sreign, intituled, An act to permit persons professing the Jewishreligion, to be naturalized by parliament, and for other purposestherein mentioned; and whereas occasion has been taken, from the saidact, to raise discontents and disquiets in the minds of his majesty'ssubjects, be it enacted, &c. " This introduction was considered asan unjust reflection upon the body of the people in general, and inparticular upon those who had opposed the bill in the course of thepreceding session. Sir Roger Newdigate therefore moved, that theexpression should be varied to this effect: "Whereas great discontentsand disquietudes had from the said act arisen. " The consequence of thismotion was an obstinate debate, in which it was supported by the earl ofEgmont, and divers other able orators; but Mr. Pel ham and Mr. Pitt werenumbered among its opponents. The question being put for the proposedalteration, it was of course carried in the negative; the bill, afterthe third reading, passed _nemine contradicente_, and in due timeobtained 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 thepeople, and their apprehension of encroachment from the Jews. Anotheract still subsisted, by virtue of which any person professing the Jewishreligion might become a free denizen of Great Britain, after havingresided seven years in any of his majesty's colonies in America; andthis was now considered as a law, having the same dangerous tendency, ofwhich 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 beread; then the same member made a motion for an address to his majesty, desiring that the house might have the perusal of the lists transmittedfrom the American colonies to the commissioners for trade andplantations, containing the names of all such persons professing theJewish religion, as had entitled themselves to the benefit of the saidact, since the year one thousand seven hundred and forty. These listswere accordingly presented, and left upon the table for the perusalof the members; but as this act contained no limitation of time withinwhich the benefit of it should be claimed, and as this claim wasattended with a good deal of trouble and some expense, very few personshad availed themselves of it in that period. Nevertheless, as a greatnumber of Jews were already entitled to claim this indulgence, and asit remained an open channel through which Great Britain might be delugedwith those people, all of whom the law would hold as natural-bornsubjects, and their progeny as freed from all tha restriction containedin the act with respect to naturalized foreigners, lord Harley moved forleave to bring in a bill to repeal so much of the said act as related topersons professing the Jewish religion, who should come to settle inany British colony after a certain time. The motion was seconded by sirJames Dashwood, and supported by the earl of Egmont; but being foundunequal to the interest and elocution of Mr. Pelham and Mr. Pitt, wasrejected by the majority. {1754} EAST-INDIA MUTINY BILL. The next object that claimed the attention of the commons, was a billfor improving the regulations already made to prevent the spreading ofa contagious distemper, which raged among the horned cattle in differentparts of the kingdom. The last bill of this session that had the goodfortune to succeed, was brought in for punishing mutiny and desertion ofofficers and soldiers in the service of the East India company, and forthe punishment of offences committed in the East Indies and the islandof St. Helena. This being a measure of a very extraordinary nature, allthe members were ordered to attend the house on the day fixed forthe second reading; at the same time all charters, commissions, andauthorities, by which any power relative to a military jurisdiction, orthe exercise of martial law, had been granted or derived from the crownto the said company, were submitted to the perusal of the members. Thebill was by many considered as a dangerous extension of military power, to the prejudice of the civil rights enjoyed by British subjects, andas such violently contested by the earl of Egmont, lord Strange, andMr. Alderman Beckford. Their objections were answered by thesolicitor-general and Mr. Yorke. The bill, after some warm debates, being espoused by the ministry, was enacted into a law, and despatchedto the East Indies by the first opportunity. Some other motions were made, and petitions presented on differentsubjects, which, as they miscarried, it will be unnecessary toparticularize. It may not be amiss, however, to record an exemplary actof justice done by the commons on a person belonging to a publicoffice, whom they detected in the practice of fraud and imposition. Notwithstanding the particular care taken in the last session, toprevent the monopolizing of tickets in the state lottery, allthose precautions had been eluded in a scandalous manner by certainindividuals, intrusted with the charge of delivering the tickets tothe contributors, according to the intent of the act, which expresslydeclared that not more than twenty should be sold to any one person. Instead of conforming to these directions of the legislature, they andtheir friends engrossed great numbers, sheltering themselves under afalse list of feigned names for the purpose; by which means they notonly defeated the equitable intention of the commons, but in somemeasure injured the public credit; inasmuch as their avarice hadprompted them to subscribe for a greater number than they had cash topurchase, so that there was a deficiency in the first payment, whichmight have had a bad effect on the public affairs. These practices wereso flagrant and notorious as to attract the notice of the lower house, where an inquiry was begun, and prosecuted with a spirit of realpatriotism, in opposition to a scandalous cabal, who endeavoured withequal eagerness and perseverance to screen the delinquents. All theirefforts however proved abortive; and a committee, appointed to examineparticulars, 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 ofthe lottery act; and an address was presented to his majesty, desiringhe might be prosecuted by the attorney-general for these offences. Hewas accordingly sued in the court of king's bench, and paid a fine ofone thousand pounds, for having committed frauds by which he hadgained forty times that sum; but he was treated with such gentleness asremarkably denoted the clemency of that tribunal. SESSION CLOSED. The session ended in the beginning of April, when the king gave theparliament to understand, that he should say nothing at present onforeign affairs; but assured them of his fixed resolution to exert hiswhole power in maintaining the general tranquillity, and adhering tosuch measures for that purpose as he had hitherto pursued in conjunctionwith his allies. He, in very affectionate terms, thanked both housesfor the repeated proofs they had given of their zealous attachmentand loyalty to his person and government. He enumerated the salutarymeasures they had taken for lessening the national debt, and augmentingthe public credit, extending navigation and commerce, reforming themorals of the people, and improving the regulations of civil economy. Heconcluded with declaring, that he securely relied upon the loyalty andgood affection of his people, and had no other aim than their permanenthappiness. In a little time after the close of this session they weredissolved by proclamation, and new writs issued by the lord-chancellorfor convoking a new parliament. The same ceremonies were practisedwith respect to the convocations of Canterbury and York, though they nolonger retained their former importance; nor indeed were they sufferedto sit and deliberate upon the subjects which formerly fell under theircognizance and discussion. DEATH OF MR. PELHAM. CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY. In the beginning of March, the ministry of Great Britain had been leftwithout a head by the death of Mr. Pelham, which was not only sincerelylamented by his sovereign, but also regretted by the nation in general, to whose affection he had powerfully recommended himself by the candourand humanity of his conduct and character, even while he pursuedmeasures which they did not entirely approve. The loss of such aminister was the more deeply felt by the government at this juncture, being the eve of a general election for a new parliament, when everyadministration is supposed to exert itself with redoubled vigilance andcircumspection. He had already concerted the measures for securinga majority, and his plan was faithfully executed by his friends andadherents, who still engrossed the administration. His brother, the dukeof Newcastle, was appointed first lord commissioner of the treasury, and succeeded as secretary of state by sir Thomas Robinson, who had longresided as ambassador at the court of Vienna. The other departmentof this office was still retained by the earl of Holdernesse, and thefunction of chancellor of the exchequer was performed as usual by thelord chief-justice of the king's bench, until a proper person could befound to fill that important office; but in the course of the summer itwas bestowed upon Mr. Legge, who acquitted himself with equal honour andcapacity. Divers other alterations were made of less importance to thepublic, sir George Lyttelton was appointed cofferer, and the earl ofHillsborough comptroller of the household. Mr. George Grenville, brotherto earl Temple, became treasurer of the navy; and Mr. Charles Townshend, of whom we shall have occasion to speak in the sequel, took his placeas a commissioner at the board of admiralty, in the room of lordBarrington, made master of the wardrobe. Lord Hardwicke, the chancellor, was promoted to the dignity of an earl. The place of lord chief-justiceof the king's-bench becoming vacant by the death of sir William Lee, wasfilled with sir Dudley Ryder, and he was succeeded by Mr. Murray in theoffice of attorney-general. NEW PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED AND PROROGUED. The elections for the new parliament generally succeeded according tothe wish of the ministry; for opposition was now dwindled down to thelowest state of imbecility. It had received a mortal wound by the deathof the late prince of Wales, whose adherents were too wise to pursue an_ignis fatuus_, without any prospect of success or advantage. Someof them had prudently sung their palinodia to the ministry, and beengratified with profitable employments; while others, setting too greata 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 barrenprinciples of a losing game; the body of the people were conciliatedto the established government; and the harmony that now, for the firsttime, subsisted among all the branches of the royal family, had awonderful effect in acquiring a degree of popularity which they hadnever before enjoyed. The writs being returned, the new parliament wasopened on the last day of May by the duke of Cumberland, and some otherpeers, who acted by virtue of a commission from his majesty. The commonshaving chosen for their speaker the right hon. Arthur Onslow, who hadhonourably filled that high office in four preceding parliaments, hewas presented and approved by the commissioners. Then the lordhigh-chancellor harangued both houses, giving them to understand, thathis majesty had indulged them with this early opportunity ofcoming together, in order to complete without loss of time certainparliamentary proceedings, which he judged would be for the satisfactionof his good subjects; but he did not think proper to lay before them anypoints of general business, reserving every thing of that nature to theusual time of their assembling in the winter. On the fifth day of Junethis short session was closed, and the parliament prorogued by thelords-commissioners. DISPUTES IN THE IRISH PARLIAMENT. In the beginning of this year violent disputes arose between thegovernment and the house of commons in Ireland, on the almost forgottensubjects of privilege and prerogative. The commons conceived they had anundoubted right to apply the surplus of their revenue towards nationalpurposes, without the consent of their sovereign; and accordingly, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, prepared a billwith this preamble, "Whereas, on the twenty-fifth day of March last, a considerable balance remained in the hands of the vice-treasureror receivers-general of the kingdom, or their deputy or deputies, unapplied; and it will be for your majesty's service, and for the easeof your faithful subjects in this kingdom, that so much thereof as canbe conveniently spared should be paid, agreeably to your majesty's mostgracious intentions, in discharge of part of the national debt. " Thisappropriation gave great offence to the advocates for prerogatives inEngland, who affirmed that the commons had no right to apply any partof the unappropriated revenue, nor even to take any such affair intoconsideration, without the previous consent of the crown, expressed inthe most explicit terms. It was in consequence of this doctrine, thatthe duke of Dorset, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, told them in the nextsession of parliament, held in the year one thousand seven hundredand fifty-one, he was commanded by the king to aquaint them, that hismajesty, ever attentive to the ease and happiness of his subjects, wouldgraciously consent and recommend it to them, that such a part of themoney then remaining in the treasury, as should be thought consistentwith the public service, be applied towards the further reduction ofthe national debt. This declaration alarmed the commons, zealous as theywere for the preservation of their privileges; and in their address ofthanks, which, like that of the parliament of Great Britain, usedalways to echo back the words of the speech, they made no mention of hismajesty's consent; but only acknowledged his gracious attention totheir ease and happiness, in recommending to them the application ofthe surplus. They accordingly resolved to apply one hundred and twentythousand pounds of that overplus towards the discharge of the nationaldebt; and, in the preamble of the bill, framed for this purpose, madeno mention of his majesty's consent, though before they had acknowledgedhis goodness in recommending this application. The ministry in Englandwere highly offended at this purposed omission, which they construedinto a wilful encroachment on the prerogative; and the bill was sentback with an alteration in the preamble, signifying his majesty'sconsent as well as recommendation. The Irish house of commons beingat that time deeply engaged in a minute inquiry into the conduct ofa 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 hadbeen intrusted for rebuilding or repairing the barracks, were nowunwilling to embroil themselves farther with the government, until thisaffair should be discussed. They therefore passed the bill with thealteration, and proceeded with their inquiry. The person was convictedof having misapplied the public money, and ordered to make the barracksfit for the reception and accommodation of the troops at his ownexpense. They did not, however, neglect to assert what they thoughttheir rights and privileges, when the next opportunity occurred. Theduke of Dor-get, when he opened the session of this year, repeated theexpression of his majesty's gracious consent, in mentioning the surplusof the public money. They again omitted that word in their address; andresolved, in their bill of application, not only to sink this odiousterm, but likewise to abate in their complaisance to the crown, byleaving out that expression of grateful acknowledgment, which had metwith such a cold reception above. By this time the contest had kindledup two violent factions, and diffused a general spirit of resentmentthrough the whole Irish nation. The committee who prepared the bill, instead of inserting the usual compliments in the preamble, mentionednothing but a recital of facts, and sent it over in a very plain dress, quite destitute of all embroidery. The ministry, intent upon vindicatingthe prerogative from such an unmannerly attack, filled up the omissionsof the committee, and sent it back with this alteration: "And yourmajesty, ever attentive to the ease and happiness of your faithfulsubjects, has been graciously pleased to signify that you would consent, and to recommend it to us, that so much of the money remaining in yourmajesty's treasury as should be necessary to be applied to the dischargeof the national debt, or such part thereof as should be thoughtexpedient by parliament. " This then being the crisis which was todetermine a constitutional point of such importance, namely, whether thepeople in parliament assembled have a right to deliberate upon, and votethe application of any part of the unappropriated revenue, withoutthe previous consent of the crown; those who were the most zealouslyattached to the liberties of their country, resolved to exert themselvesin opposing what they conceived to be a violation of those liberties;and the bill, with its alterations, was rejected by a majority of fivevoices. The success of their endeavours was celebrated with the mostextravagant rejoicing, as a triumph of patriotism over the arts ofministerial corruption; and, on the other hand, all the servants of thecrown, who had joined the popular cry on this occasion, were in a littletime dismissed from their employments. The rejection of the bill was agreat disappointment to the creditors of the public, and the circulationof cash was almost stagnated. These calamities were imputed to arbitrarydesigns in the government; and the people began to be inflamed withan enthusiastic spirit of independency, which might have producedmischievous effects, had not artful steps been taken to bring overthe demagogues, and thus divert the stream of popular clamour from theministry to those very individuals who had been the idols of popularveneration. The speaker of the house of commons was promoted tothe dignity of an earl; and some other patriots were gratified withlucrative employments. His majesty's letter arrived for paying offseventy-five thousand five hundred pounds of the national debt. Thecirculation was thus animated, and the resentment of the populacesubsiding, the kingdom retrieved its former tranquillity. TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES. The ambition and intrigues of the French court, by which the Britishinterest was invaded and disturbed on the continent of America, had alsoextended itself to the East Indies, where they endeavoured to embroilthe English company with divers nabobs or princes, who governeddifferent parts of the peninsula intra Gangem. That the reader may havea clear and distinct idea of these transactions, we shall exhibita short sketch of the English forts and settlements in that remotecountry. The first of these we shall mention is Surat, [348] _[Seenote 2U, at the end of this Vol. ]_ in the province so called, situatedbetween the twenty-first and twenty-second degrees of north latitude;from hence the peninsula stretches into the Indian ocean as far as thelatitude of eight north, ending in a point at Cape Comorin, which is thesouthern 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 kingdomsof Malabar, Decan, Golconda, and Bisnagar, with the principalities ofGingi, Tanjaour, and Madura. The western side is distinguished bythe name of the Malabar coast: the eastern takes the denomination ofCoromandel; and in different parts of this long sweep, from Surat roundCape Comorin to the bottom of the bay of Bengal, the English and otherEuropean powers have, with the consent of the mogul, established fortsand trading settlements. All these kingdoms, properly speaking, belongto the mogul; but his power was so weakened by the last invasion ofKouli Khan, that he has not been able to assert his empire over thisremote country; the tributary princes of which, and even the nabobs, whowere originally governors appointed under their authority, have renderedthemselves independent, and exert an absolute dominion over theirrespective territories, without acknowledging his superiority either bytribute or homage. These princes, when they quarrel among themselves, naturally have recourse to the assistance of such European powers asare settled in or near their dominions; and in the same manner the EastIndian companies of the European powers which happen to be at war witheach other, never fail to interest the nabobs in the dispute. [Illustration: 349. Jpg BOMBAY] ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS. The next English settlement to Surat, on the coast of the peninsula, isBombay, in the kingdom of Decan, a small island, with a very convenientharbour, above five-and-forty leagues to the south of Surat. The townis very populous; but the soil is barren, and the climate unhealthy; andthe commerce was rendered very precarious by the neighbourhood ofthe famous corsair Angria, until his port of Geria was taken, and hisfortifications demolished. The English company likewise carry on sometraffic at Dabul, about forty leagues further to the south, in theprovince of Cuncan. In the same southerly progression, towards thepoint of the peninsula, we arrive at Carwar, in the latitude of fifteendegrees, where there is a small fort and factory belonging to thecompany, standing on the south side of a bay, with a river capable ofreceiving ships of pretty large burden. The climate here is remarkablysalubrious; the country abounds with provisions of all sorts, and thebest pepper of India grows in this neighbourhood. The next Englishsettlement we find at Tilli-cherry, where the company has erecteda fort, to defend their commerce of pepper and cardamomoms from theinsults of the rajah, who governs this part of Malabar. Hither theEnglish trade was removed from Calicut, a large town that stands fifteenleagues to the southward of Tillicherry, and was as well frequentedas any port on the coast of the Indian peninsula. The most southerlysettlement which the English possess on the Malabar coast, is thatof Anjengo, between the eighth and ninth degrees of latitude. It isdefended by a regular fort, situated on a broad river, which falls intothe sea, and would be very commodious for trade, were not the water onthe bar too shallow to admit ships of considerable burden. Then turningthe Cape, and passing through the strait of Chilao, formed by the islandof Ceylon, we arrive on the coast of Côromandel, which forms the easternside of the isthmus. Prosecuting our course in a northern direction, the first English factory we reach is that of Fort St. David's, formerlycalled Tegapatan, situated in the latitude of eleven degrees fortyminutes north, within the kingdom of Gingi. It was, about six and-twentyyears ago, sold by a Mahratta prince to the East India company, and, next to Bombay, is the most considerable settlement we have yetmentioned. * * 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 thatspace up to the country, which is delightfully watered by a varietyof rivers; the soil is fertile, and the climate healthy. The fort isregular, well provided with cannon, ammunition, and a numerous garrison, which is the more necessary, on account of the neighbourhood of theFrench settlement at Pon-dicherry. But the chief settlement belongingto the company on this coast is that of Madras, or Fort St. George, standing farther to the northward, between the thirteenth and fourteenthdegrees of latitude, and not a great way from the diamond mines ofGolconda. It is seated on a flat, barren, scorching sand, so near thesea, that in bad weather the walls are endangered by the mighty surgesrolled in from the ocean. As the soil is barren, the climate is sointensely hot that it would be altogether uninhabitable, were not theheat mitigated by the sea breezes. On the land side it is defended bya salt water river, which, while it contributes to the security of theplace, robs the inhabitants of one great comfort, by obstructingthe springs of fresh water. The fort is a regular square, the townsurrounded with walls well mounted with artillery, and the place, including the Black Town, is very populous. Madras, with severalvillages in the neighbourhood, was purchased of the king of Golconda, before the mogul became sovereign of this country. The governor of thisplace is not only president of Fort St. George, but also of all theother settlements on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, as far as theisland of Sumatra. He lives in great pomp, having inferior judges, whopass sentence of death occasionally on malefactors of any nation, exceptthe subjects of Great Britain. All the company's affairs are directedby him and his council, who are invested with the power of inflictingcorporal punishment, short of life and member, upon such Europeans asare in the service, and dispose of all places of trust and profit. Byvirtue of an act passed in the course of this very session, the militaryofficers 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 forits strength, wealth, and the great returns it makes in calicoes andmuslins. Towards the latter end of the last century, the English companyhad a flourishing factory at Masulipatam, standing on the north sideof the river Nagundi, which separates the provinces of Golconda andBisnagar, in the latitude of sixteen degrees and thirty minutes; but nowthere is no European settlement here, except a Dutch factory, maintainedfor carrying on the chintz commerce. At Visgapatam, situated stillfarther to the northward, the English possess a factory regularlyfortified on the side of the river, which, however, a dangerous barhas rendered unfit for navigation. The adjacent country affords cottoncloths, and the best stripped muslins of India. It is chiefly for theuse of this settlement that the company maintains a factory at Ganjam, the most eastern town in the province or kingdom of Golconda, situatedin a country abounding with rice and sugar-canes. Still farther tothe north coast, in the latitude of twenty-two degrees, the companymaintains a factory at Balasore, which was formerly very considerable;but hath been of very little consequence since the navigation of theriver Huguely Avas improved. At this place every European ship bound forBengal and the Ganges takes in a pilot. The climate is not counted verysalubrious; but the adjacent country is fruitful to admiration, and hereare considerable manufacture of cotton and silk. Without skilful pilots, the English would find it very difficult to navigate the differentchannels through which the river Ganges discharges itself into the seaat the bottom of the bay of Bengal. On the southern branch is a towncalled Pepely, where there was formerly an English factory, but this wasremoved to Huguely, one hundred and sixty miles farther up the river;a place which, together with the company's settlement at Calcutta, werethe emporiums of their commerce for the whole kingdom of Bengal. IndeedHuguely is now abandoned by the English, and their whole tradecenters at Calcutta or Fort William, which is a regular fortification, containing lodgings for the factors and writers, store-houses for thecompany's merchandise, and magazines for their ammunition. As for thegovernor's house, which likewise stands within the fort, it is one ofthe most regular structures in all India. Besides these settlementsalong the sea-coast of the peninsula, and on the banks of the Ganges, the English East India company possess certain inland fac toriesand posts for the convenience and defence of their commerce, eitherpurchased of the nabobs and rajahs, or conquered in the course of thewar. As the operations we propose to record were confined to the coastsof Malabar and Coromandel, or the interior countries which form thepeninsula intra Gangem, it will be unnecessary to describe the factoryat Bencoolen, on the island of Sumatra, or any settlement which theEnglish possess in other parts of the East Indies. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DISPUTE ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT OF ARCOT. In order to understand the military transactions of the English companyin India, the reader will take notice, that immediately after the peaceof Aix-la-Chapelle, mons. Dupleix, who commanded for the French in thatcountry, began by his intrigues to sow the seeds of dissension amongthe nabobs, that he might be the better able to fish in troubled waters. Nizam Almuluck, the mogul's viceroy of Decan, having the right ofnominating a governor of the Carnatic, now more generally known by thename of the nabob of Arcot, appointed Anaverdy Khan to that office, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five. The viceroy dying, was succeeded in his viceroyalty, or subaship, by his second sonNazirzing, whom the mogul confirmed. He was opposed in his pretensionsby his own cousin Muzapherzing, who had recourse to the assistanceof M. Dupleix, and obtained from him a reinforcement of Europeans andartillery, in consideration of many presents and promises, which hefulfilled 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; andMuzapherzing, seeing himself abandoned by all his own troops, appealedto the clemency of his cousin, who spared his life, but detained him asa state prisoner. In this situation, he formed a conspiracy againsthis kinsman's life, with Nazirzing's prime minister, and the nabobsof Cadupab and Condaneor, then in his camp; and the conspirators wereencouraged in their scheme by Dupleix and Chunda Saib, who had retiredto Pondicherry. Thus stimulated, they murdered Nazirzing in his camp, and proclaimed Muzapherzing viceroy of Decan. In the tents of themurdered viceroy they found an immense treasure, of which a greatshare fell to M. Dupleix, whom Muzapherzing the usurper at this timeassociated in the government. By virtue of this association, theFrenchman assumed the state and formalities of an eastern prince; andhe and his colleague Muzapherzing appointed Chunda Saib nabob of Arcot;Anaverdy Khan, the late nabob, had been, in the year one thousand sevenhundred and forty-nine, defeated and slain by Muzapherzing and ChundaSaib, with the assistance of their French auxiliaries; and his sonMahommed Ali Khan had put himself under the protection of the Englishat Madras, and was confirmed by Nazirzing, as his father's successor inthe nabobship, or government of Arcot. This government, therefore, was disputed between Mahommed Ali Khan, appointed by the legal viceroyNazirzing, supported by the English company, and Chunda Saib, nominatedby the usurper Muzapherzing, and protected by Dupleix, who commanded atPondicherry. Muzapherzing did not long survive his usurpation. In theyear one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, the same nabobs who hadpromoted him to his kinsman's place, thinking themselves ill rewardedfor their services, fell upon him suddenly, routed his troops, andput him to death: and next day the chiefs of the army proclaimedSallabatzing, brother to Nazirzing, viceroy of Decan; on the otherhand, the mogul appointed Gauzedy Khan, who was the elder brotherof Sallabatzing; and this prince confirmed Mahommed Ali Khan in thegovernment of Arcot; but the affairs of the mogul's court were thenin such confusion, that he could not spare an army to support thenomination he had made. Chunda Saib, nabob of Arcot, having been deposedby the great mogul, who placed Anaverdy Khan in his room, ha resolved torecover his government by force, and had recourse to the French generalat Pondicherry, who reinforced him with two thousand sepoys, or soldiersof the country, sixty caffrees, and four hundred and twenty Frenchtroops, on condition that, if he proved successful in his enterprise, he should cede to the French the town of Velur, in the neighbourhood ofPondicherry, with its dependencies, consisting of forty-five villages. Thus reinforced, he defeated his rival Anaverdy Khan, who lost his lifein the engagement, reassumed the government of Arcot, and punctuallyperformed 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 toTiruchirapalli, * and solicited the assistance of the English, whofavoured him with a reinforcement of money, men, and ammunition, underthe 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. Mahommedafterwards repaired in person to fort St. David's, to demand morepowerful succours, alleging that his fate was connected with theinterest of the English company, which in time would be obliged toabandon the whole coast, should they allow the enemy to proceed in theirconquests. In consequence of these representations, he received anotherstrong reinforcement, under the command of captain Cope; but nothingof importance was attempted, and the English auxiliaries retired. ThenMahommed was attacked by the enemy, who obtained a complete victory overhim. Finding it impossible to maintain his footing by his own strength, he entered into a close alliance with the English, and ceded to themsome commercial points which had been long in dispute. Then theydetached captain Cope to put Tiruchirapalli in a posture of defence;while captain de Gingins, a Swiss officer, marched at the head of fourhundred Europeans to the nabob's assistance. The two armies being prettyequal in strength, lay encamped in sight of each other a whole month;during which nothing happened but a few skirmishes, which generallyterminated to the advantage of the English auxiliaries. In order to makea diversion, and divide the French forces, the company resolved to senda detachment into the province of Arcot; and this was one of thefirst occasions upon which the extraordinary talents of Mr. Clive weredisplayed. He had entered into the service of the East India company asa writer, and Avas considered as a person very indifferently qualifiedfor succeeding in any civil station of life. He now offered his servicein a military capacity, and actually began his march to Arcot, at thehead 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 conductedthis enterprise, that the enemy knew nothing of his motions until hewas in possession of the capital, which he took without opposition. Theinhabitants, expecting to be plundered, offered him a large sum to sparetheir city; but they derived their security from the generosity anddiscretion of the conqueror. He refused the proffered ransom, and issueda proclamation, intimating, that those who were willing to remain intheir houses should be protected from insult and injury, and the resthave leave to retire with all their effects, except provisions, forwhich he promised to pay the full value. By this sage conduct heconciliated the affection of the people so entirely, that even those whoquitted the place supplied him with exact intelligence of the enemy'sdesigns, when he was besieged in the sequel. The town was in a littletime invested by Rajah Saib, son of Chunda Saib, at the head of anumerous army, and the operations of the siege were conducted byEuropean engineers. Though their approaches were retarded by therepeated and resolute sallies of Mr. Clive, they at length effectedtwo breaches supposed to be practicable; and on the fourteenth day ofOctober, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, gave ageneral assault. Mr. Clive, having received intimation of their design, had made such preparations for their reception, that they were repulsedin every quarter with great loss, and obliged to raise the siege withthe utmost precipitation. This gallant Englishman, not contented with the reputation he hadacquired from his noble defence, was no sooner reinforced by adetachment under captain Kirkpatrick from Trichinopoly, than he marchedin pursuit of the enemy, whom he overtook in the plains of Arani. There, on the third day of December, he attacked them with irresistibleimpetuosity; and, after an obstinate dispute, obtained a completevictory at a very small expense. The forts of Timery, Caujeveram, andArani, surrendered to the terror of his name, rather than to the forceof his arms; and he returned to Fort St. David's in triumph. He hadenjoyed a very few weeks of repose, when he was summoned to the field byfresh incursions of the enemy. In the beginning of the year one thousandseven hundred and fifty-two, he marched with a small detachment toMadras, where he was joined by a reinforcement from Bengal, the wholenumber not exceeding three hundred Europeans, and assembled a body ofthe natives, that he might have at least the appearance of an army. Withthese he proceeded to Koveripauk, about fifteen miles from Ar-cot, wherehe found the French and Indians, consisting of fifteen hundred sepoys, seventeen hundred horse, a body of natives, and one hundred and fiftyEuropeans, with eight pieces of cannon. Though they were advantageouslyposted and intrenched, and the day was already far advanced, Mr. Cliveadvanced against them with his usual intrepidity; but the victoryremained for some time in suspense. It was now dark, and the battledoubtful, when Mr. Clive sent round a detachment to fall in the rearof the French battery. This attack was executed with great resolution, while the English in front entered the entrenchments with their bayonetsfixed; and, though very little tinctured with discipline, displayed thespirit and activity of hardy veterans. This double attack disconcertedthe enemy in such a manner, that they soon desisted from all opposition. A considerable carnage ensued; yet the greater part of the enemy, bothhorse and foot, saved themselves by flight, under cover of the darkness. The French, to a man, threw down their arms, and surrendered themselvesprisoners of war; and all the cannon and baggage fell into the hands ofthe victor. MR. CLIVE REDUCES THREE FORTS, &c. The province of Arcot being thus cleared of the enemy, Mr. Clive withhis forces returned to Fort St. David's, where he found major Laurencejust arrived from England, * to take upon him the command of the troopsin the company's service. * Major Laurence had sailed for England in the year 1750. 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, afew Mahratta horse, and a body of sepoys, to cut off the enemy's retreatto Pondicherry. In the course of this expedition he dislodged a strongbody of the foe posted at Samiaveram, and obliged Chunda Saib to throw abody of troops into a strong fortified temple, or pagoda, upon the riverKoleroon, which was immediately invested. The commanding officer, in attempting to escape, was slain with some others, and the restsurrendered at discretion. They were still in possession of anotherfortified temple, which he also besieged in form, and reduced bycapitulation. Having subdued these forts, he marched directly toVolconda, whither he understood the French commander d'Anteuil hadretired. He found that officer intrenched in a village, from whencehe drove him with precipitation, and made himself master of the Frenchcannon. The enemy attempted to save themselves in a neighbouringfort; but the gates being shut against them by the governor, who wasapprehensive 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 oftruce to the vanquished, with terms of capitulation, which they readilyembraced. These articles imported, that D'Anteuil, and three otherofficers, should remain prisoners on parole for one year; that thegarrison should be exchanged, and the money and stores be delivered tothe nabob whom the English supported. CHUNDA SAIB TAKEN AND PUT TO DEATH. During these transactions, Chunda Saib lay encamped with an army ofthirty thousand men at Syrinham, an island in the neighbourhood ofTiruchirapalli, which he longed eagerly to possess. Hither majorLaurence 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 ofTanjore, an ally of the English company, who ordered his head to bestruck off, in order to prevent the disputes which otherwise would havearisen 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 totallydefeated, the island of Syrinham was surrendered, and about a thousandEuropean French soldiers, under the command of Mr. Law, nephew to thefamous Law who schemed the Mississippi company, fell into the hands ofthe conquerors, including thirty officers, with forty pieces of cannon, and ten mortars. M. Dupleix, though exceedingly mortified by thisdisaster, resolved to maintain the cause which he had espoused. Heproclaimed Rajah Saib, the son of Chunda Saib, nabob of Arcot; andafterwards pretended that he himself had received from the mogul sanidsor commissions, appointing him governor of all the Carnatic, from theriver Kristnah to the sea; but these sanids appeared in the sequel to beforged. In order to complete the comedy, a supposed messenger fromDelhi was received at Pondicherry as ambassador from the mogul. Dupleix, mounted on an elephant, preceded by music and dancing women, in theoriental manner, received in public his commission from the hands of thepretended ambassador. He affected the eastern state, kept his Durbar orcourt, where he appeared sitting cross-legged on a sofa, and receivedpresents as prince of the country from his own council, as well as fromthe natives. In the meantime, hostilities continued between the forcesof the two companies, as auxiliaries to the contending nabobs. TheEnglish, under major Kinnier, made an unsuccessful attempt upon Gingee, a strong town situated to the west of Pondicherry. Major Laurencedefeated a strong body of French and natives, commanded by Dupleix'snephew, M. De Kerjean, in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry, and took himprisoner, together with fifteen officers; after this success, Mr. Clivereduced the forts of Cove-long and Chengalput, the last very strong, situated about forty miles to the southward of Madras. On the otherhand, M. Dupleix intercepted at sea captain Schaub, with his whole Swisscompany, whom he detained prisoners at Pondicherry, although the twonations were not at war with each other. During these transactions, Sallabatzing, with a body of French under M. De Bussy, advanced towardsAurengabad, which was the seat of government; but he was opposed by achief of the Mahrattas, at the head of a numerous army. In the meantime, Gauzedy Khan, the elder brother of Sallabatzing, whom the mogul hadappointed viceroy of Decan, took possession of his government atAurengabad, where, in fourteen days after his arrival, he was poisonedby his own sister. The mogul immediately appointed his son Schah AbadinKhan to succeed his father; and this prince actually raised an army tocome and take possession; but the mogul's affairs requiring his presenceat Delhi, he was obliged to postpone his design, so that Sallabatzingwas left without a competitor, and made a present to the French of allthe English settlements to the northward. Thus concluded the year onethousand seven hundred and fifty-two. Next campaign was chiefly confinedto the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly, where major Laurence made severalvigorous attacks upon the enemy's army, and obtained many advantages;which, however, did not prove decisive, because he was so muchout-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 SchahAbadin Khan, the viceroy of Decan, who raised to the throne Allum Geer, another prince of the blood. In the succeeding year, a negotiation wasBet on foot by Mr. Saunders, governor of Madras, and M. Dupleix;and conferences were opened at Sadrass, a Dutch settlement betweenPondicherry and Fort St. George; but this proved abortive; and manyother gallant efforts were made by major Laurence in the territory ofTrichinopoly, which still continued to be the scene of action. In thecourse of this year admiral Watson arrived on the coast of Coromandelwith a squadron of ships of war, having on board a regiment commanded bycolonel Aldercroon; at the same time the ships from France broughtover to Pondicherry the sieur Godeheu, commissary-general andgovernor-general of all their settlements, at whose arrival Dupleixdeparted for Europe. The new governor immediately wrote a letter toMr. Saunders, professing the most pacific inclinations, and proposing asuspension of arms between the two companies until their disputes couldbe amicably adjusted. This proposal was very agreeable to the governorand council at Madras, and a cessation of arms actually took placein the month of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-four. Deputies being sent to Pondicherry, a provisional treatyand truce were concluded, on condition that neither of the two companiesshould for the future interfere in any difference that might arisebetween the princes of the country. The other articles related to theplaces and settlements that should be retained or possessed by therespective companies, until fresh orders relating to this agreementshould arrive from the courts of London and Versailles, transmitted bythe two East India companies of France and England. Until such ordersshould arrive, it was stipulated that neither nation should be allowedto procure any new grant or cession, or to build forts for the defenceof new establishments; and that they should not proceed to any cession, retrocession, or evacuation of what they then possessed; but every thingshould remain on the footing of _uti possidetis_. How pacific soever thesentiments of the French subjects might have been at this period inthe East Indies, certain it is, the designs of the French governors inAmerica were altogether hostile, and their conduct hastening towards arupture, 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 scenesof it were acted on that continent, we shall, for the information of thereader, sketch out the situation of the then British colonies as theybordered on each other, and extended along the sea coast, from thegulf of St. Lawrence as far south as the country of Florida. We shallenumerate the Indian nations that lie scattered about their confines, and delineate the manner in which the French hemmed them in by asurprising line of fortifications. Should we comprehend Hudson's Bay, with the adjacent countries, and the banks of Newfoundland, in thisgeographical detail, we might affirm that Great Britain at that timepossessed a territory along the sea-coast, extending seventeen hundredmiles in a direct line, from the sixtieth to the thirty-first degree ofnorthern latitude; but as these two countries were not concerned in thisdispute, we shall advance from the northward to the southern side of thegulf of St. Lawrence; and beginning with Acadia or Nova Scotia, describeour settlements as they lie in a southerly direction, as far as the gulfof Florida. This great tract of country, stretching fifteen degreesof latitude, is washed on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; the southernboundary is Spanish Florida; but to the westward the limits areuncertain, some affirming that the jurisdiction of the coloniespenetrates through the whole continent, as far as the South Sea; whileothers, with more moderation, think they are naturally bounded by theriver Illinois that runs into the Mississippi, and in a manner connectsthat 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 samedenomination, 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, notonly extended their forts from the source of the St. Lawrence, throughan immense tract of that country, as far as the Mississippi, whichdisembogues itself into the gulf of Florida; but also, by a series ofunparalleled encroachments, endeavoured to contract the English colonieswithin such narrow limits as would have cut off almost one half of theirpossessions. As we have already given a geographical description of NovaScotia, and mentioned the particulars of the new settlement of Halifax, we shall now only observe, that it is surrounded on three sides by thesea, the gulf, and river of St. Lawrence; that its original boundary tothe west was the river Pentagoet; but it is now contracted within theriver St. Croix, because the crown of Great Britain did, in the yearone thousand six hundred and sixty-three, grant to the duke of York theterritory of Sagadahack, stretching from St. Croix to the river of thisname; which was in the sequel, by an express charter from the crown, annexed to the province of Massachusett's Bay, one of the fourgovernments 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 inbreadth, if we bound it by those tracts which the French possessed: nopart of the settlements of this country, however, stretches above sixtymiles from the sea. The summer is here intensely hot, and the winterproportionably severe; nevertheless, the climate is healthy, and thesky generally serene. The soil is not favourable to any of the Europeankinds of grain; but produces great plenty of maize, which the peoplebake into bread, and brew into beer, though their favourite drinkis made of molasses hopped, and impregnated with the tops of thespruce-fir, which is a native of this country. The ground raises goodflax and tolerable hemp. Here are great herds of black cattle, some ofthem very large in size, a vast number of excellent hogs, a breed ofsmall horses, graceful, swift, and hardy; and large flocks of sheep, whose wool, though not so fine as that of England, is manufactured withgreat success. New England is composed of the four provinces known by the names ofNew Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It isbounded on the south by New York, extending northerly on both sides ofthe river Hudson, about two hundred miles into the country possessed bythe Indians of the Five Nations, whom the French distinguish by the nameof the Irroquois; but in breadth this province does not exceed fiftymiles, though it comprehends Long Island, lying to the southward ofConnecticut. The capital, which derives from the province the nameof New York, is situated on an excellent harbour in the island ofManahatton, extending fourteen miles in length, and five in breadth, at the mouth of the noble river Hudson, which is navigable for above twohundred miles. At the distance of one hundred and fifty miles from NewYork, stands the town of Albany, upon the same river. In this place allthe treaties and other transactions were negotiated between the Englishand the Irroquois, a confederacy of five Indian nations, who, by theirunion, courage, and military skill, had reduced a great number of otherIndian tribes, and subdued a territory more extensive than the wholekingdom of France. They were about fourscore years ago able to bringten thousand warriors into the field; but now their number is so greatlydiminished by wars, epidemical diseases, and the use of spirituousliquors, that they cannot raise above fifteen hundred men, even thoughthey have admitted into their confederacy the nation of the Tuscaroras, whom the English drove from the confines of Carolina. The Mohawk Indiansinhabit the country advanced from Albany. The northern extremitiesof New Hampshire and New York are divided by the lakes Champlain andSacrament, between which the French had raised the fort of Crown Point. Contiguous to New York, and lying along the coast, in a southerlydirection, is the small province of New Jersey, bounded on the west bythe river Delaware, which divides it from Pennsylvania, extending aboutone hundred and fifty miles in length, but in breadth not more thanone third of that extent. The climate, soil, and produce of these twoprovinces, as well as of Pennsylvania, are similar. They yield greatquantities of grain, sheep, horses, hogs, and horned cattle; all kindsof poultry and game in great abundance; vegetables of every sort inperfection, and excellent fruit, particularly peaches and melons. Theirvast forests abound with oak, ash, beech, chesnut, cedar, walnut-tree, cypress, hickory, sassafras, and pine; but the timber is not counted sofit for shipping as that of New England and Nova Scotia. These provincesproduce great quantities of flax and hemp. New York affords mines ofiron, and very rich copper ore is found in New Jersey. Pennsylvania, lying to the southward of New York and New Jersey, isbounded on the other side by Maryland, stretching two hundred and fiftymiles in length, two hundred in breadth, and having no communicationwith the sea, except by the mouth of the river Delaware. This provincewas originally settled by Quakers, under the auspices of the celebratedWilliam Penn, whose descendants are still proprietaries of the country. Philadelphia, the capital, stands on a tongue of land at the confluenceof the two navigable rivers, the Delaware and Sculkel, disposed in theform of a regular oblong, and designed by the original plan to extendfrom the one to the other. The streets, which are broad, spacious, anduniform, cross each other at right angles, leaving proper spaces forchurches, markets, and other public edifices. The houses are neatlybuilt of brick, the quays spacious and magnificent, the warehouseslarge and numerous, and the docks commodious and well contrived for shipbuilding. Pennsylvania is understood to extend as far northerly asthe banks of the lake Erie, where the French erected a fort. They alsoraised 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 provinceof Maryland, a tract of land situated along the bay of Chesapeak, in length about one hundred and forty miles, and nearly of the samebreadth, bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by theAtlantic Ocean, and by the river Potowmack on the south. This countrywas first planted with Roman catholics by lord Baltimore, to whomCharles II. Granted it by patent. In the sequel, however, people of allreligions were admitted into this settlement, and indulged with libertyof conscience, and at present the reigning religion is that of theEnglish church. The climate is very sultry in summer, and not verysalubrious. The soil is fruitful, and produces a great quantity oftobacca, which the people cultivate as their staple commodity. The seatof government is established at Annapolis, a small town beautifullysituated 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 boundarybetween this and the colony last described, having the bay of Chesapeakto the east, bounded on the south by Carolina, and extending westwardwithout any prescribed limits, though the plantations have reached nofarther than the great Allegany mountains; so that the province, as nowpossessed, stretches in length above two hundred and forty miles, andin breadth not above two hundred, lying between the fifty-fifth andfortieth degrees of latitude. In sailing to Virginia, navigators steerthrough a strait formed by two points, called the Capes, into the bay ofChesapeak, a large inlet that runs three hundred miles into the countryfrom south to north, covered from the Atlantic Ocean by the eastern sideof Maryland, and a small portion of Virginia on the same peninsula. Thisnoble bay is about eighteen miles broad for a considerable space, andseven at its narrowest part, yielding generally nine fathoms depth ofwater; on both sides it receives many navigable rivers, those on theVirginia side being known by the names of James River, York River, theRappahannock, and Potowmack. This country, especially towards the sea, lies very low and swampy, and the soil is extremely fertile. The airand weather are variable, the heats of summer excessive, the frosts ofwinter sudden, and intensely cold; so that, upon the whole, the climateis neither very agreeable nor healthy, the people being particularlysubject to agues and pleuritic disorders. The province abounds with vastforests of timber; the plains are covered with a surprising luxuriancyof vegetables, flowers, and flowering shrubs, diffusing the mostdelicious fragrance. The ground yields plenty of corn, and every sortof fruit in great abundance and perfection. Horned cattle and hogshave here multiplied to admiration, since they were first imported fromEurope. The animals, natives of this and the neighbouring countries, aredeer, panthers or tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, squirrels, racoons, andcreatures called opossums, with an infinite variety of beautiful birds, and a diversity of serpents, among which the rattlesnake is the mostremarkable. Virginia is bounded to the south by the two Carolinas, situated betweenthe forty-sixth and thirty-first degrees of latitude; the lengthamounting to upwards of four hundred miles, and the breadth extendingnear three hundred, as far as the Indian nations called the Catawbas, the Creeks, and Cherokees. The country of Carolina is divided into twogovernments, of which the most northern is the most inconsiderable. Theclimate in both is the same, as well as the soil: the first is warm, though not unhealthy; the last extremely fertile, yielding every thingin plenty which is produced in Virginia, besides abundance of excellentoranges, and some commodities which are not found to the northward. North Carolina, though not so opulent, is more populous than thesouthern part. The colonists of North Carolina carry on a considerabletraffic 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. SouthCarolina is much better cultivated; the people are more civilized, and the commerce more important. The capital of this province, calledCharles Town, is finely situated at the confluence of two navigablerivers, having the advantage of a commodious harbour. Their trade, exclusive of the articles we have already mentioned as common to thisgovernment and that of North Carolina, consists of two chief staplecommodities, 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 Apalachianmountains. This country differs very little from that of South Carolina, with which it borders; yet the summer is here more hot, and the soil notso fertile. Savannah, the capital, stands commodiously for trade, aboutten miles from the sea, on a river of the same name, navigable withlarge boats two hundred miles farther up to the second town calledAugusta, a place that flourishes by the Indian trade of skins, which theinhabitants carry on with their neighbours the Creeks, the Chickesaws, and the Cherokees, who are the most numerous and powerful tribes inAmerica. Georgia is bounded on the south by the river Attamaha, at nogreat distance from the Spanish fort of St. Augustine. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE FRENCH SURPRISE LOG'S TOWN. Having thus exhibited a succinct view of the British colonies in NorthAmerica, for the information of the reader, we shall now resume thethread of our history, and particularize the transactions by whichthe present year was distinguished on this extensive continent. Thegovernment of England having received nothing but evasive answers fromthe court of France, touching the complaints that were made of theencroachments in America, despatched orders to all the governors ofthat country to repel force by force, and drive the French from theirsettlements on the river Ohio. Accordingly, the provinces of Virginiaand Pennsylvania took this important affair into their consideration;but while they deliberated, the French vigorously prosecuted theirdesigns on the other side of the mountains. They surprised Log's Town, which the Virginians had built upon the Ohio; made themselves mastersof the Block-house and Truck-house, where they found skins and othercommodities to the amount of twenty thousand pounds, and destroyed allthe British traders, except two who found means to escape. At the sametime, M. De Contrecour, with a thousand men and eighteen pieces ofcannon, arrived in three hundred canoes from Venango, a fort they hadraised on the banks of the Ohio, and reduced by surprise a British fortwhich the Virginians had built on the forks of the Monangahela, thatruns into the same river. CONFERENCE WITH THE INDIANS. These hostilities were followed by divers skirmishes between the peopleof the two nations, which were fought with various success. At lengththe governors of the English settlements received orders from England toform a political confederacy for their mutual defence; and the governorof 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 promisesand presents of value, sent over for that purpose. A congress wasaccordingly appointed at Albany, to which place the governor of NewYork repaired, accompanied by commissioners from all the other Britishsettlements; but a very small number of Indians arrived, and even theseseemed to be indifferent to the advances and exhortations that were madeby the English orator. The truth is, the French had artfully weaned themfrom their attachment to the subjects of Great Britain. Nevertheless, they accepted the presents, renewed their treaties with the king ofEngland, and even demanded his assistance in driving the French from theposts and possessions they had usurped within the Indian territories. Itwas in consequence of the measures here taken, that colonel Washingtonwas detached from Virginia with four hundred men, and occupied a post onthe banks of the river Ohio, where he threw up some works, and erecteda kind of occasional fort, in hopes of being able to defend himself inthat situation, until he should be joined by a reinforcement from NewYork, 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, atthe head of nine hundred men, being on his march to dislodge Washington, detached one Jamonville, an inferior officer, with a small party, anda formal summons to colonel Washington, requiring him to quit the fort, which he pretended was built on ground belonging to the French, or theirallies. So little regard was paid to this intimation, that the Englishfell upon this party, and, as the French affirm, without the leastprovocation, 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 theperformance of which he left two officers as hostages in the hands ofthe French; and in his retreat was terribly harassed by the Indians, who plundered his baggage, and massacred his people. This event was nosooner known in England, than the British ambassador at Paris receiveddirections to complain of it to the French ministry, as an openviolation 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 tosend reinforcements of men, and supplies of ammunition to Quebec, forthe prosecution of her ambitious projects; and the ministry of GreatBritain transmitted salutary cautions to the governors of the provincesin North America, exhorting them to join their endeavours for repellingthe incursions of the enemy. Such an union as seemed necessary for theircommon preservation was not easily effected. The different colonies weredivided by different views and interests, both religious and political;besides, every settlement was distracted into factions, formed bythe governor and the demagogues of the assembly; in other words, anopposition like that in parliament, and a continual struggle between theliberties of the people and the prerogative of the proprietor, whethersovereign or subject. Mr. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, havingdemanded a certain perquisite or fee for every patent he should pass forland, the assembly voted his demand illegal, arbitrary, and oppressive. They declared that every man who paid it should be deemed an enemy tohis country, and sent over an agent to London to solicit the suppressionof this imposition. The representatives of the people in Pennsylvaniawasted the time in vain deliberations and violent disputes with theirproprietors, while the enemy infested their frontiers. The colony of NewYork was filled with discontent and animosity. Sir Danvers Osborn, whohad been appointed governor of this province, died immediately after hisarrival at New York, and the instructions he had received were exposedto public censure. The preamble inveighed severely against the want ofduty, allegiance, loyalty, and unanimity, which had lately appeared sonotorious in the assembly of that province, who had violated the royalcommission and instructions, by assuming to themselves the power todispose of public money in the laws which they had occasionally passed. This gentleman was, therefore, directed to insist upon the reformationof all those public abuses, and upon the establishment of a certainsupply for the service of the government, as well as upon the settlementof a salary for himself. Moreover, his majesty, in these instructions, signified his will and pleasure, that all money raised for the supplyand support of government, or upon any emergency for immediate service, should be disposed of and applied properly to the use for which it mightbe granted, by warrant from the governor, by and with the adviceand consent of the council of the province, and no otherwise; that, nevertheless, the assembly should be permitted, from time to time, toview and examine the accounts of money disposed of, by virtue of lawswhich they had enacted; that if any member of the council, or officerholding place of trust or profit within the government, should, in anymanner whatever, give his assent to, or in anywise advise or concur withthe assembly in passing any act or vote, whereby the royal prerogativemight be lessened or impaired, or any money be raised or disposed offor the public service, contrary to, or inconsistent with, the methodprescribed by these instructions, the governor should forthwithremove or suspend such counsellor or officer so offending, and give animmediate account of his proceedings to the commissioners of trade andplantations. These were peremptory injunctions, which plainly provedthat the ministry was determined to support the prerogative with ahigh hand; but it must be owned, at the same time, that abundance ofprovocation had been given by the insolent opposition of some turbulentindividuals, who had exerted all their influence in disturbing anddistressing the views and designs of the government. While the Britishcolonies in America were, by these divisions, in a great measuredisabled from making vigorous efforts against the common enemy, theadministration at home began to exert itself for their defence.. Officers were appointed for two regiments, consisting of two battalionseach, to be raised in America, and commanded by sir William Pepperel andgovernor Shirley, who had enjoyed the same command in the last war, anda 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 ofEurope, was the conversion of the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, who had espoused the princess Mary of England. He now declared himself aRoman-catholic, and was supposed to have been cajoled to this professionby the promises of certain powers, who flattered his ambition, in orderto weaken the protestant interest in Germany. His father, though deeplyaffected by his son's apostacy, did not fail to take immediate measuresfor preventing the evil consequences which might otherwise haveflowed from his defection. He forthwith, assembled the states of thelandgraviate, in order to take such measures as might appear necessaryto maintain the religion, laws, and constitution of the country; and theprince was laid under certain restrictions, which he did not find itan easy task to set aside. It was enacted, that when the regency shoulddevolve to him by succession, he should not have it in his power toalter the established laws, or grant any church to persons of the Romancommunion, for the public exercise of their religion; and that he shouldbe excluded from all share in the education of his sons, the eldestof whom should be put in possession of the country of Hanau upon hisfather's accession to the regency of the landgraviate. These resolutionswere guaranteed by the kings of Prussia and Denmark, by the maritimepowers, and the evangelic body of the empire. PARLIAMENT OF PARIS RECALLED FROM EXILE. The exile of the parliament of Paris, far from having intimidated theother tribunals from performing what they apprehended to be their duty, served only to inflame the discontents of the people, and to animateall the courts of justice to a full exertion of their authority. Thechatelot continued to prosecute those priests, who refused the sacramentto persons whose consciences would not allow them to subscribe to thebull Unigenitus, even after three of their members were sent to theBastile. The same prosecutions were carried on, and bold remonstrancespublished by, the parliaments of Aix and Rouen. In a word, the wholekingdom was filled with such confusion as threatened a total suppressionof justice, in a general spirit of disaffection and universal anarchy. The prelates, meanwhile, seemed to triumph in the combustion they hadraised. They entered into associations to support each other; theyintrigued at court, and harassed the king with insolent declarations, till he grew tired of their proceedings, and opened his eyes to thefatal consequences of their pride and obstinacy. He even took anopportunity of exhorting the archbishop of Paris to act more suitably tothe 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 extravagantdemonstrations of joy; and the archbishop, notwithstanding the king'sexpress declaration to the contrary, still persisting in countenancingthe 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 sopowerfully supported by Mr. Wall, who had been resident in England, thatthe French party, though countenanced by the queen-mother, and sustainedwith all the influence of the marquis de la Ensenada, the primeminister, was totally defeated. The king being convinced that it wouldbe for the interest of his subjects to live on good terms with England, and well apprized of Ensenada's intrigues, ordered that minister to bearrested and confined, and bestowed upon Mr. Wall the best part of hisemployments. Nevertheless, the Spaniards in the West Indies continuedto oppress the subjects of Great Britain, employed in cutting logwood inthe bay of Honduras; and representations on this head being made to thecourt of Madrid, the dispute was amicably adjusted between Mr. Walland sir Benjamin Keene, the British ambassador. While the interest ofBritain thus triumphed in Spain, it seemed to lose ground at the courtof Lisbon. His Portuguese majesty had formed vast projects of an activecommerce, and even established an East India company; in the meantime hecould not help manifesting his chagrin at the great quantities of goldwhich were yearly exported from his dominions, as the balance due fromhis subjects on English commodities. In his endeavours to check thistraffic, which he deemed so detrimental to his subjects, he inflictedhardships on the British merchants settled at Lisbon: some wereimprisoned on frivolous pretences; others deprived of their property, and obliged to quit the kingdom. He insisted upon laying an impositionof 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 suppliedfrom England; and the people having nothing but gold to purchasethis necessary supply, the king saw the necessity of conniving at theexportation 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 thesession of parliament with an harangue, which intimated nothing ofan approaching rupture. He said, that the general state of affairs inEurope had undergone very little alteration since their last meeting;that he had lately received the strongest assurances from his goodbrother the king of Spain, of friendship and confidence, which he wouldcultivate with harmony and good faith. He declared his principal viewshould be to strengthen the foundation, and secure the duration of ageneral peace; to improve the present advantages of it for promotingthe trade of his good subjects, and protecting those possessions whichconstituted one great source of their wealth and commerce. Finally, heexhorted them to complete their plan for appropriating the forfeitedestates in the highlands to the service of the public. He probablyavoided mentioning the encroachments of France, that he might supplyno handle for debates on the address, which was carried in both housesalmost without opposition. The government seemed determined to humblethe insolence of the French councils; and this disposition was soagreeable to the people in general, that they grudged no expense, andheartily concurred with the demands of the ministry. The commons granted for the service of the ensuing year, four millionsseventy-three thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds; one millionof that sum expressly given to enable his majesty to augment his forcesby land and sea. Thirty-two thousand pounds were allotted as a subsidyto the king of Poland, and twenty thousand to the elector of Bavaria. These gratifications met with little or no opposition in the committeeof 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 thereforeit might be necessary to secure the assistance of such allies on thecontinent. That they prognosticated aright, with respect to the designsof that ambitious power, will soon appear in the course of this history;which will also demonstrate how little dependence is to be placed uponthe professed attachment of subsidiary princes. The supplies were raisedby 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 bededucted for the service of the public, and the remaining nine hundredthousand to be charged on the produce of the sinking-fund, at the rateof three per cent, per annum, to commence from the fifth day ofJanuary, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. The civiltransactions of this session were confined to a few objects. Divers newregulations were made for encouraging and improving the whale and whiteherring fishery, as well as for finishing and putting in a proper stateof 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, whichwill ever remain a standing monument of his humanity. The poordisabled veterans who enjoyed the pension of Chelsea hospital, were soiniquitously oppressed by a set of miscreants, who supplied them withmoney per advance, at the most exorbitant rates of usury, that many ofthem, with their families, were in danger of starving; and the intentionof government in granting such a comfortable subsistence, was in a greatmeasure defeated. Mr. Pitt, perceiving that this evil originally flowedfrom the delay of the first payment, which the pensioner could not touchtill 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 halfa year's pension should be advanced half a year before it is due; andthe practice of usury was effectually prevented by a clause, enacting, that all contracts should be void by which any pension might bemortgaged. This humane regulation was unanimously approved, and havingpassed through both houses with uncommon expedition, received the royalassent. Notwithstanding the unanimity manifested by the commons, in every thingrelating to the measures for acting vigorously against the common enemyof the nation, they were remarkably disturbed and divided by a contestedelection of members for Oxfordshire. In the course of this dispute, thestrength and influence of what they called the old and new interest, or, to speak more intelligibly, of the tories and whigs in that county, werefully displayed. The candidates sustained on the shoulders of theold interest, were lord viscount Wenman and sir James Dashwood: theircompetitors, whom the new interest supported, and of consequence theministry countenanced, were lord Parker and sir Edward Turner. Never wasany contention of this kind maintained with more spirit and animosity, or carried on at a greater expense. One would have imagined that eachside considered it as a dispute which must have determined whether thenation should enjoy its ancient liberty, or tamely submit to the fettersof corruption. Noblemen and gentlemen, clergymen and ladies, employedall their talents and industry in canvassing for either side, throughoutevery township and village in the county. Scandal emptied her wholequiver of insinuation, calumny, and lampoon; corruption was not remissin promises and presents: houses of entertainment were opened; andnothing was for some time to be seen but scenes of tumult, riot, and intoxication. The revenue of many an independent prince on thecontinent, would not have been sufficient to afford such sums of moneyas were expended in the course of this dispute. At length they proceededto election, and the sheriff made a double return of all the fourcandidates, so that not one of them could sit, and the county remainedwithout a representative until this ambiguous affair could be decidedin the house of commons. About the middle of November, petitions beingpresented 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 ofthe house on the third day of December. The counsel for lord Wenman andsir James Dashwood alleged that they had the majority of votes upon thepoll, and this circumstance was admitted by the counsel on the otherside; then they proceeded to prove by evidence, that, after closingthe poll, the sheriff declared the majority of votes to be in favour ofthese two candidates, and adjourned the court from the twenty-third dayof April to the eighth of May; so that the scrutiny demanded andgranted on the behalf of lord Parker and sir Edward Turner could notbe discussed before the last day of the month, when the writ wasreturnable; that the scrutiny did not begin till the ninth day of May, when the time was protracted by disputes about the manner in whichit should be carried on; that lord Parker and sir Edward Turner wereallowed to object, through the whole poll, to the votes on the otherside, on pretence that their competitors should be permitted to answerthese objections, and, in their turn, object through the whole poll tothe voters for lord Parker and sir Edward Turner, who should, inthe last place, have leave to answer: that lord Wenman and sir JamesDashwood had disapproved of this method, because they apprehendedit might induce their competitors to make such a number of frivolousobjections, that they should not have time to answer one half of them, much less to make objections of their own before the writ should bereturned: that they foresaw such a number of frivolous objections weremade, as engrossed the attention of the court till the twenty-seventhday of May; so that they could not begin to answer any of theseobjections till the twenty-eighth; and on the thirtieth, the sheriff, having closed the scrutiny, made the double return. The proof beingexhibited, the counsel insisted, that as they had established a majorityon the poll, and demonstrated that this majority neither was nor couldbe overthrown by such an unfinished scrutiny, it was incumbent on theother side to proceed upon the merits of the election, by endeavouringto overthrow that majority of which their clients were in possession. Aquestion in the house being carried to the same purpose, lord Wenmanand sir James Dashwood objected to five hundred and thirty voters onthe other side, whom they proposed to disqualify. Their counsel examinedseveral witnesses, to prove the partiality of the sheriff in favour oflord Parker and sir Edward Turner, and to detect these candidates in thepractice of bribery; for which purpose they produced a letter in theirown handwriting. {1755} They afterwards proceeded to disqualify particular voters, and summed uptheir evidence on the twenty-first day of January. Then the counsel forthe 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 customaryholdings, had voted in elections in the counties at Glamorgan, Monmouth, Gloucester, Wells, and Hereford; and that the customary tenants of themanor of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, had been reputed capable of voting, and even voted at elections for that county. In a word, they continuedto examine evidences, argue and refute, prove and disprove, until thetwenty-third day of April, when, after some warm debates and divisionsin the house, lord Parker and sir Edward Turner were declared dulyelected; and the clerk of the crown was ordered to amend the return, by erasing the names of lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood. Many, whopresumed to think for themselves, without recollecting the power andinfluence of the administration, were astonished at the issue of thisdispute, which, however, might have easily been foreseen; inasmuch, as, during the course of the proceedings, most if not all of the manyquestions debated in the house, were determined by a great majorityin favour of the new interest. A great number of copyholders had beenadmitted to vote at this election, and the sheriff incurred no censurefor allowing them to take the oath appointed by law to be taken byfreeholders: nevertheless, the commons carefully avoided determiningthe question, whether copyholders possessed of the yearly value of fortyshillings, clear of all deductions, have not a right to vote for knightsto represent the shire within which their copyhold estates are situated?This point being left doubtful by the legislature, puts it often in thepower of the sheriff to return which of the candidates he pleases tosupport; for if the majority of the voting copyholders adheres to theinterest of his favourite, he will admit their votes both on the polland the scrutiny; whereas, should they be otherwise disposed, he willreject them as unqualified What effect this practice may have upon theindependency of parliament, every person must perceive who reflects, that, in almost all the counties of England, the high sheriffs areannually appointed by the minister for the time being. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MESSAGE FROM THE KING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. The attention of the legislature was chiefly turned upon the conduct ofFrance, which preserved no medium, but seemed intent upon striking someimportant blow, that might serve as a declaration of war. At Brest, andother ports in that kingdom, the French were employed in equipping apowerful armament, and made no scruple to own it was intended for NorthAmerica. Towards the latter end of March, sir Thomas Eobinson, secretaryof state, brought a message from the king to the parliament, intimating, that his majesty having at the beginning of the session declared hisprincipal object was to preserve the public tranquillity, and at thesame time to protect those possessions which constitute one great sourceof the commerce and wealth of his kingdoms, he now found it necessaryto acquaint the house of commons, that the present situation of affairsmade it requisite to augment his forces by sea and land, and to takesuch other measures as might best tend to preserve the general peaceof Europe, and secure the just rights and possessions of his crown inAmerica, as well as to repel any attempts whatsoever that might be madeto support or countenance any designs which should be formed against hismajesty and his kingdoms; and his majesty doubted not but his faithfulcommons, on whose affection and zeal he entirely relied, would enablehim to make such augmentations, and to take such measures for supportingthe honour of his crown, and the true interest of his people, and forthe security of his dominions in the present critical conjuncture, asthe exigency of affairs might require; in doing which his majestywould have as much regard to the ease of his good subjects as should beconsistent with their safety and welfare. In answer to this message, avery warm and affectionate address was presented to his majesty; andit was on this occasion that the million was granted for augmenting hisforces by sea and land. [357] _[See note 2 X at the end of this Vol. ]_The court of Versailles, notwithstanding the assiduity and despatchwhich they were exerting in equipping armaments, and embarking troops, for the support of their ambitious schemes in America, still continuedto amuse the British ministry with general declarations, that nohostility 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 latelydied in that city, these assurances were communicated to the court ofLondon by the marquis de Mirepoix, who resided in England with the samecharacter which he had supported since his first arrival, with equalhonour and politeness. On this occasion he himself was so far imposedupon by the instructions he had received, that he believed theprofessions of his court were sincere, and seriously endeavoured toprevent a rupture between the two nations. At length, however, theirpreparations were so notorious that he began to suspect the consequence;and the English ministry produced such proofs of their insincerityand double dealing, that he seemed to be struck with astonishment andchagrin. He repaired to France, and upbraided the ministry of Versaillesfor having made him the tool of their dissimulation. They referred himto the king, who ordered him to return to London, with fresh assurancesof his pacific intentions; but his practice agreed so ill with hisprofessions, that the ambassador had scarce obtained an audience tocommunicate them, when undoubted intelligence arrived, that a powerfularmament was ready to sail from Brest and Rochfort. The government ofGreat Britain, roused by this information, immediately took the mostexpeditious methods for equipping a squadron; and towards the latter endof April, admiral Boscawen sailed with eleven ships of the line and onefrigate, having on board a considerable number of land forces, to attendthe motions of the enemy; but more certain and particular intelligencearriving soon after touching the strength of the French fleet, whichconsisted of twenty-five ships of the line, besides frigates andtransports, with a great quantity of warlike stores, and four thousandregular troops, commanded by the baron Dieskau, admiral Holbourne wasdetached 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, anofficer of Irish extraction, sailed from Brest, directing his courseto North America; but, after having proceeded beyond the chops of theEnglish channel, he returned with nine of the capital ships, while therest 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 ofinsolvent debtors, for the better regulation of marine forces on shore, for the better raising of marines and seamen, and to several otherpublic and private bills; his majesty put an end to the session ofparliament by a speech, in which he acquainted the two houses, that thezeal they had shown for supporting the honour, rights, and possessionsof his crown, had afforded him the greatest satisfaction; that hisdesire to preserve the public tranquillity had been sincere and uniform;that he had religiously adhered to the stipulations of the treaty ofAix-la-Chapelle, and made it his care not to injure or offend any powerwhatsoever; but that he never could entertain a thought of purchasingthe name of peace at the expense of suffering encroachments upon, or ofyielding up, what justly belonged to Great Britain, either by ancientpossession or by solemn treaties; that the vigour and firmness of hisparliament, on this important occasion, had enabled him to be preparedfor such contingencies as might happen; that if reasonable andhonourable terms of accommodation could be agreed upon, he would besatisfied, and, at all events, rely on the justice of his cause, the effectual support of his people, and the protection of DivineProvidence. The parliament was then prorogued to the twenty-seventh ofMay. 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 andFrench squadrons, preparations for a vigorous sea war were going forwardin England with an unparalleled spirit and success. Still the Frenchcourt flattered itself that Great Britain, out of tenderness to hismajesty's German dominions, would abstain from hostilities. Mirepoixcontinued to have frequent conferences with the British ministry, whomade no secret that their admirals, particularly Boscawen, had ordersto attack the French ships wherever they should meet them; on the otherhand, Mons. De Mirepoix declared, that his master would consider thefirst gun fired at sea in an hostile manner as a declaration of war. This menace, far from intimidating the English, animated them toredouble their preparations for war. The press for seamen was carriedon with extraordinary vigour in all parts of this kingdom, as well as inIreland; and great premiums were given not only by the government, but also, over and above his majesty's bounty, by almost all theconsiderable cities and towns in England, to such as should enlistvoluntarily for sailors or soldiers. Other branches of the publicservice went on with equal alacrity; and such was the eagerness ofthe people to lend their money to the government, that instead of onemillion, which was to be raised by way of lottery, three millions eighthundred and eighty thousand pounds were subscribed immediately. EARL PAULET'S MOTION. The situation of affairs requiring his majesty to go to Germany thissummer, great apprehensions arose in the minds of many, lest the Frenchshould either intercept him in his journey, or prevent his return. EarlPaulet had made a motion in the house of lords, humbly to represent tohis majesty, "That it was an article in the original act of settlementby which the succession of these kingdoms devolved to his electoralhouse, that the king should not go to his foreign dominions withoutthe consent of parliament; and that this was a principal article in thecompact between the crown and the people; that though this article wasrepealed in the late reign, yet, till of late, it had always been thecustom for his majesty to acquaint the parliament with his intendeddeparture to his German dominions, both in regard to the true senseand spirit of the act that placed him on the throne, as well as for thepaternal kindness of his royal heart, and the condescension he hadbeen so good to show to his parliament on all occasions; but that hismajesty's declaration of his design to visit his electoral estates hadalways come on the last day of a session, when it was too late for thegreat constitutional council of the crown to offer such advice as mightotherwise have been expedient and necessary; that his majesty's leavinghis kingdoms in a conjuncture so pregnant with distress, so denunciativeof danger, would not only give the greatest advantage to such asmight be disposed to stir up disaffection and discontent, and to theconstitutional and national enemies of England; but would also fill hisloyal subjects with the most affecting concern, and most gloomy fears, as well for their own safety, as for that of their sovereign, whoseinvaluable life, at all times of the utmost consequence to his people, was then infinitely so, by reason of his great experience, theaffection of every one to his royal person, and the minority of the heirapparent. " Such was the purport of this motion; but it was not secondedby any of the other lords. REGENCY APPOINTED. The general uneasiness, on account of his majesty's departure, wasgreatly increased by an apprehension that there would, during hisabsence, be no good agreement amongst the regency, which consisted ofthe following persons: his royal highness William duke of Cumberland;Thomas lord archbishop of Canterbury; Philip earl of Hardwicke, lordhigh 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 commissionerto the treasury; the duke of Dorset, master of the horse; the earl ofHoldernesse, one of the secretaries of state; the earl of Rochford, groom of the stole; the marquis of Hartington, lord lieutenant ofIreland; lord Anson, first commissioner of the admiralty; sir ThomasEobinson, secretary of state; and Henry Fox, esq. , secretary at war. Hismajesty set out from St. James' on the twenty-eighth of April early inthe morning, and embarked at Harwich in the afternoon, landed the nextday 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, havingtaken on board two regiments at Plymouth, sailed from thence on thetwenty-seventh of April for the banks of Newfoundland, and in a few daysafter his arrival there, the French fleet from Brest came to the samestation, under the command of M. Bois de la Mothe. But the thick fogswhich prevail upon these coasts, especially at that time of the year, kept the two armaments from seeing each other; and part of the Frenchsquadron escaped up the river St. Lawrence, whilst another part ofthem went round, and got into the same river through the straits ofBelleisle, by a way which was never known to be attempted before byships of the line. However, whilst the English fleet lay off Cape Race, which is the southernmost point of Newfoundland, and was thought to bethe most proper situation for intercepting the enemy, two French ships, the Alcide, of sixty-four guns and four hundred and eighty men, and theLys, pierced for fifty-four guns, but mounting only twenty-two, havingeight companies of land-forces on board, being separated from the restof their fleet in the fog, fell in with the Dunkirk, captain Howe, and the Defiance, captain Andrews, two sixty gun ships of the Englishsquadron; and after a smart engagement, which lasted some hours, and inwhich captain (afterwards lord) Howe behaved with the greatest skilland intrepidity, were both taken, with several considerable officers andengineers, and about eight thousand pounds in money. Though the captureof these ships, from which the commencement of the war may in fact bedated, fell greatly short of what was hoped for from this expedition;yet, when the news of it reached England, it was of infinite service tothe public credit of every kind, and animated the whole nation, whonow saw plainly that the government was determined to keep no furthermeasures with the French, but justly to repel force by force, and puta stop to their sending more men and arms to invade the property of theEnglish in America, as they had hitherto done with impunity. The French, who, for some time, did not even attempt to make reprisals on ourshipping, would gladly have chosen to avoid a war at that time, and tohave continued extending their encroachments on our settlements, tillthey had executed their grand plan of securing a communication fromthe Mississippi to Canada, by a line of forts, many of which they hadalready erected. FRENCH AMBASSADOR RECALLED. Upon the arrival of the news of this action at Paris, the Frenchambassador, M. De Mirepoix, was recalled from London, and M. De Bussyfrom Hanover, where he had just arrived, to attend the king of Englandin a public character. They complained loudly of Boscawen's attackingthe ships, as a breach of national faith; but it was justly retorted onthe part of England, that their encroachments in America had renderedreprisals both justifiable and necessary. The resolution of making themwas the effect of mature deliberation in the English council. The vastincrease of the French marine of late years, which in all probabilitywould soon be employed against Great Britain, occasioned an order formaking reprisals general in Europe as well as in America; and that allFrench ships, whether outward or homeward bound, should be stopped, andbrought into British ports. To give the greater weight to these orders, it was resolved to send out those admirals who had distinguishedthemselves most towards the end of the last war. Accordingly, onthe twenty-first of July, sir Edward Hawke sailed on a cruise to thewestward, with eighteen ships of the line, a frigate, and a sloop; but, not meeting with the French fleet, these ships returned to Englandabout the latter end of September and the beginning of October; on thefourteenth of which last month another fleet, consisting of twenty-twoships of the line, two frigates, and two sloops, sailed again on acruise to the westward, under admiral Byng, in hopes of intercepting theFrench squadron under Duguay, and likewise that commanded by La Mothe, in case of its return from America. But this fleet likewise returned toSpithead on the twenty-second of November, without having been ableto effect any thing, though it was allowed by all that the admiral hadacted judiciously in the choice of his stations. While these measures were pursued, for the general security of theBritish coasts and trade in Europe, several new ships of war were begun, and finished with the utmost expedition, in his majesty's docks: twelvefrigates and sloops, contracted for in private yards, were completed bythe month of August; and twenty-four ships and twelve colliers were thentaken into the service of the government, to be fitted out as vesselsof war, to carry twenty guns and one hundred and twenty men each. In themeantime the French trade was so annoyed by the English cruisers, thatbefore the end of this year three hundred of their merchant ships, manyof which, from St. Domingo and Martinique, were extremely rich, andeight thousand of their sailors were brought into English ports. By these captures the British ministry answered many purposes: theydeprived the French of a great body of seamen, and withheld from them avery large property, the want of which greatly distressed their people, and ruined many of their traders. Their outward-bound merchant shipswere insured at the rate of thirty per cent. , whilst the English paid nomore than the common insurance. This intolerable burden was felt by alldegrees 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 alittle heightened by new broils between their king and the parliamentof Paris, occasioned by the obstinacy of the clergy of that kingdom, who seemed determined to support the church, in all events, against thesecular tribunals, and as much as possible to enforce the observanceof the bull Unigenitus, which had long been the occasion of so manydisputes among them. However, the parliament continuing firm, and theFrench king approving of its conduct, the ecclesiastics thought properto submit for the present, and in their general assembly this year, granted him a free gift of sixteen millions of livres, which he demandedof them--a greater sum than they had ever given before, even in time ofwar. AFFAIRS OF THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA. In the beginning of this year the assembly of Massachusetts Bay in NewEngland, passed an act prohibiting all correspondence with the French atLouisbourg; and early in the spring they raised a body of troops, whichwas transported to Nova Scotia, to assist lieutenant-governor Laurencein driving the French from the encroachments they had made upon thatprovince. Accordingly, towards the end of May, the governor sent a largedetachment of troops, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Monckton, upon this service; and three frigates and a sloop were despatched upthe bay of Fundy, under the command of captain Rous, to give theirassistance by sea. The troops, upon their arrival at the riverMassaguash, found the passage stopped by a large number of regularforces, rebel neutrals, or Acadians, and Indians, four hundred andfifty of whom occupied a block-house, with cannon mounted on their sideof the river; and the rest were posted within a strong breast-work oftimber, thrown up by way of outwork to the block-house. The Englishprovincials attacked this place with such spirit, that the enemy wereobliged to fly, and leave them in possession of the breast-work; thenthe garrison in the block-house deserted it, and left the passage of theriver free. From thence colonel Monckton advanced to the French fort ofBeau-Sejour, which he invested, as far at least as the small number ofhis troops would permit, on the twelfth of June; and after four daysbombardment, obliged it to surrender, though the French had twenty-sixpieces of cannon mounted, and plenty of ammunition, and the English hadnot yet placed a single cannon upon their batteries. The garrison wassent to Louisbourg, on condition of not bearing arms in America for thespace of six months; and the Acadians, who had joined the French, were pardoned, in consideration of their having been forced into thatservice. Colonel Monckton, after putting a garrison into this place, and changing its name to that of Cumberland, the next day attacked andreduced the other French fort upon the river Gaspereau, which runs intoBay Verte; where he likewise found a large quantity of provisions andstores of all kinds, that being the chief magazine for supplyingthe French Indians and Acadians with arms, ammunition, and othernecessaries. He then disarmed these last, to the number of fifteenthousand; and in the meantime, captain Rous with his ships sailed tothe mouth of the river St. John, to attack the new fort the French haderected there; but they saved him that trouble, by abandoning itupon his appearance, after having burst their cannon, blown up theirmagazine, and destroyed, as far as they had time, all the works they hadlately raised. The English had but twenty men killed, and about the samenumber wounded, in the whole of this expedition, the success of whichsecured the tranquillity of Nova Scotia. BRADDOCK'S UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION. While the new Englanders were thus employed in reducing the French inNova Scotia, preparations were made in Virginia for attacking them uponthe Ohio. A fort was built, which was likewise called Fort Cumberland, and a camp formed at Will's-Creek. On the fourteenth of January ofthis year, major-general Brad-dock, with colonel Dunbar's and colonelHalket's regiments of foot, sailed from Cork, in Ireland, for Virginia, where they all landed safe before the end of February. This generalmight consequently have entered upon action early in the spring, hadhe not been unfortunately delayed by the Virginian contractors for thearmy, who, when he was ready to march, had neither provided a sufficientquantity of provisions for his troops, nor a competent number ofcarriages for his army. This accident was foreseen by almost everyperson who knew any thing of our plantations upon the continent ofAmerica; for the people of Virginia, who think of no produce but theirtobacco, and do not raise corn enough even for their own subsistence, being, by the nature of their country, well provided with theconveniency of water conveyance, have but few wheel carriages, or beastsof burden; whereas Pennsylvania, which abounds in corn, and most othersorts of provisions, has but little water-carriage, especially in itswestern settlements, where its inhabitants have great numbers of carts, waggons, and horses. Mr. Braddock should therefore certainly, in pointof prudence, have landed in Pennsylvania: the contract for supplying histroops should have been made with some of the chief planters there, whocould easily have performed their engagements; and if his camp had beenformed near Frank's Town, or somewhere upon the south-west borders ofthat province, he would have had but eighty miles to march from thenceto Fort Du Quesne, instead of an hundred and thirty miles that he hadto advance from Will's-Creek, where he did encamp, through roads neitherbetter nor more practicable than the other would have been. This error, in the very beginning of the expedition, whether owing to an injudiciouspreference fondly given to the Virginians in the lucrative job ofsupplying these troops, or to any other cause, delayed the march ofthe army for some weeks, during which it was in the utmost distressfor necessaries of all kinds; and would probably have defeated theexpedition entirely for that summer, had not the contractors found meansto procure some assistance from the back settlements of Pennsylvania. But even when these supplies did arrive, they consisted of only fifteenwaggons, and an hundred draft horses, instead of an hundred and fiftywaggons and three hundred horses, which the Virginian contractors hadengaged to furnish, and the provisions were so bad that they could notbe used. However, some gentlemen in Pennsylvania, being applied to inthis exigency, amply made up for these deficiencies, and the troops wereby this means supplied with every thing they wanted. Another, and stillmore fatal error was committed in the choice of the commander forthis expedition. Major-general Braddock, who was appointed to it, wasundoubtedly a man of courage, and expert in all the punctilios ofa review, having been brought up in the English guards; but he wasnaturally very haughty, positive, and difficult of access; qualities illsuited to the temper of the people amongst whom he was to command. Hisextreme severity in matters of discipline had rendered him unpopularamong the soldiers; and the strict military education in which he hadbeen trained from his youth, and which he prided himself on scrupulouslyfollowing, made him hold the American militia in great contempt, becausethey could not go through their exercise with the same dexterity andregularity as a regiment of guards in Hyde Park, little knowing, or indeed being able to form any idea of the difference between theEuropean manner of fighting, and an American expedition through woods, deserts, and morasses. Before he left England, he received, in thehand-writing of colonel Napier, a set of instructions from the duke ofCumberland. By these, the attempt upon Niagara was in a great measurereferred to him, and the reduction of Crown Point was to be left chieflyto the provincial forces. But above all, his royal highness, bothverbally and in this writing, frequently cautioned him carefully tobeware of an ambush or surprise. Instead of regarding this salutarycaution, his conceit of his own abilities made him disdain to ask theopinion of any under his command; and the Indians, who would have beenhis safest guards against this danger in particular, were so disgustedby the haughtiness of his behaviour, that most of them forsook hisbanners. Under these disadvantages he began his march from FortCumberland on the tenth of June, at the head of about two thousand twohundred men, for the meadows, where colonel Washington was defeated theyear before. Upon his arrival there, he was informed that the French atFort du Quesne, which had lately been built on the same river, nearits confluence with the Monangahela, expected a reinforcement of fivehundred regular troops: therefore, that he might march with a greaterdespatch, he left colonel Dunbar with eight hundred men, to bring upthe provisions, stores, and heavy baggage, as fast as the nature of theservice would permit; and with the other twelve hundred, together withten pieces of cannon, and the necessary ammunition, and provisions, he marched on with so much expedition, that he seldom took any timeto reconnoitre the woods or thickets he was to pass through; as if thenearer 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 hisofficers, particularly sir Peter Halket, earnestly entreated him toproceed with caution, and to employ the friendly Indians who were withhim, by way of advanced guard, in case of ambuscades; yet he resumedhis march the next day, without so much as endeavouring to obtain anyintelligence of the situation or disposition of the enemy, or evensending out any scouts to visit the woods and thickets on both sides ofhim, 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 allalong his left flank, from an enemy so artfully concealed behind thetrees and bushes, that not a man of them could be seen. The vanguardimmediately fell back upon the main body, and in an instant the panicand confusion became general; so that most of the troops fled with greatprecipitation, notwithstanding all that their officers, some of whombehaved very gallantly, could do to stop their career. As to Braddockhimself, instead of scouring the thickets and bushes from whence thefire came, with grape shot from the ten pieces of cannon he had withhim, or ordering flanking parties of his Indians to advance againstthe enemy, he obstinately remained upon the spot where he was, and gaveorders for the few brave officers and men who staid with him, to formregularly, and advance. Meanwhile his men fell thick about him, andalmost all his officers were singled out, one after another, and killedor wounded; for the Indians, who always take aim when they fire, and aimchiefly at the officers, distinguished them by their dress. At last, the general, whose obstinacy seemed to increase with the danger, afterhaving had some horses shot under him, received a musket shot throughthe right arm and lungs, of which he died in a few hours, having beencarried off the field by the bravery of lieutenant-colonel Gage, anotherof his officers. When he dropped, the confusion of the few that remainedturned it into a downright and very disorderly flight across a riverwhich they had just passed, though no enemy appeared, or attempted toattack them. All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage of the army wereleft to the enemy, and, among the rest, the general's cabinet, with allhis letters and instructions, which the French court afterwards madegreat use of in their printed memorials or manifestoes. The loss ofthe English in this unhappy affair amounted to seven hundred men. Their officers, in particular, suffered much more than in the ordinaryproportion of batteries in Europe. Sir Peter Halket fell by the very firstfire, at the head of his regiment; and the general's secretary, son togovernor Shirley, was killed soon after. Neither the number of men whichthe 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, mostlyIndians; and that their loss was quite inconsiderable, as it probablywas, because they lay concealed in such a manner that the English knewnot whither to point their muskets. The panic of these last continued solong, that they never stopped till they met the rear division; and eventhen they infected those troops with their terrors; so that the armyretreated without stopping, till they reached Fort Cumberland, thoughthe enemy did not so much as attempt to pursue, nor ever appeared insight, either in the battle, or after the defeat. On the whole, this wasperhaps the most extraordinary victory that ever was obtained, and thefarthest flight that ever was made. Had the shattered remains of this army continued at Fort Cumberland, andfortified themselves there, as they might easily have done, during therest of the summer, they would have been such a check upon the Frenchand their scalping Indians, as would have prevented many of thoseravages that were committed in the ensuing winter upon the westernborders of Virginia and Pennsylvania; but, instead of taking thatprudent step, their commander left only the sick and wounded at thatfort, under the protection of two companies of the provincial militia, posted there by way of garrison, and began his march on the second ofAugust, with about sixteen hundred men, for Philadelphia; where thosetroops could be of no immediate service. From thence they were orderedaway to Albany, in New York, by general Shirley, on whom the chiefcommand of the troops in America had devolved by the death ofmajor-general Braddock. Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were bythese means left entirely to the care of themselves, which they mighthave done effectually, had they been united in their councils; but theusual disputes between their governors and assemblies, defeated everysalutary plan that was proposed. Pennsylvania, the most powerful of thethree, was rendered quite impotent, either for its own defence or thatof its neighbours, by these unhappy contests; though, at last, theassembly of that province, sensible of the danger to which they wereexposed, and seeing the absolute necessity of providing a standingmilitary force, and of erecting some forts to defend their westernfrontier, passed a bill for raising fifty thousand pounds. But eventhis sum, small as it was, even to a degree of ridicule, considering therichness of the province and the extent of its frontier, could not beobtained; the governor positively refusing to give his assent to theact of the assembly, because they had taxed the proprietaries estatesequally with those of the inhabitants, which, he said, he was orderedby his instructions, not to consent to, nor indeed any new tax upon theproprietaries: and the assembly, consisting chiefly of members whoseestates lay in the eastern or interior parts of the province, aspositively refusing to alter their bill. One would be apt to think, that, in a case of such urgent necessity, the governor might haveventured to give his assent to the bill under a protest, that it shouldnot prejudice the rights of the proprietaries upon any future occasion;but as he did not, the bill was dropped, and the province leftdefenceless; by which means it afterwards suffered severely, to thedestruction of many of the poor inhabitants upon the western frontier, and to the impressing the Indians with a contemptible opinion of theEnglish, and the highest esteem of the French. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} EXPEDITION AGAINST CROWN POINT AND NIAGARA RESOLVED ON. Our colonies to the north of Pennsylvania were more active, and moresuccessful in their preparations for war. New York, following theexample of New England, passed an act to prohibit the sending ofprovisions to any French port or settlement on the continent of NorthAmerica, or any of the adjacent islands; and also for raising forty-fivethousand pounds, on estates real and personal, for the better defence oftheir colony, which lay more exposed than any other to a French invasionfrom Crown Point. However, this sum, great as it might seem to them, was far from being sufficient; nor, indeed, could they have providedproperly for their security, without the assistance of our othercolonies to the east of them; but with their help, and the additionalsuccour of the small body of regular troops expected under ColonelDunbar, they boldly resolved upon offensive measures, which whenpracticable are always the safest; and two expeditions, one against theFrench 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 thecommand of general Johnson, a native of Ireland, who had long residedupon the Mohawk river, in the western parts of New York, where he hadacquired a considerable estate, and was universally beloved, not only bythe inhabitants, but also by the neighbouring Indians, whose language hehad learnt, and whose affections he had gained by his humanity towardsthem. The expedition against Niagara was commanded by general Shirleyhimself. The rendezvous of the troops for both these expeditions was appointed tobe at Albany, where most of them arrived before the end of June; but theartillery, batteaux, provisions, and other necessaries for the attemptupon Crown Point, could not be prepared till the eighth of August, whengeneral Johnson set out with them from Albany for the Carrying-placefrom Hudson's river to Lake George. There the troops had alreadyarrived, under the command of major-general Lyman, and consisted ofbetween five and six thousand men, besides Indians, raised by thegovernments of Boston, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and NewYork. Every thing was then prepared as fast as possible for a march; andtowards the end of the month, general Johnson advanced about fourteenmiles forward with his troops, and encamped in a very strong situation, covered on each side by a thick wooded swamp, by Lake George in hisrear, and by a breast-work of trees, cut down for that purpose, inhis front. Here he resolved to wait the arrival of his batteaux, andafterwards to proceed to Ticonderoga, at the other end of the lake, fromwhence it was but about fifteen miles to the fort at the south end ofLake Colaer, or Champlain, called Fort Frederick by the French, and byus 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 tothe farther end of Lake George, brought him intelligence thata considerable number of the enemy were then on their march fromTiconderoga, by the way of the south bay, towards the fortifiedencampment, since called Fort Edward, which general Lyman had builtat the Carrying-place; and in which four or five hundred of the NewHampshire and New York men had been left as a garrison. Upon thisinformation general Johnson sent two expresses, one after the other, to colonel Blanchard their commander, with orders to call in all hisout-parties, and to keep his whole force within the intrenchments. Abouttwelve o'clock at night, those who had been sent upon the second expressreturned with an account of their having seen the enemy within fourmiles of the camp at the Carrying-place, which they scarcely doubtedtheir having by that time attacked. Important as the defence of thisplace was for the safety of the whole army, and imminent as the dangerseemed to be, it does not appear that the general then called anycouncil of war, or resolved upon any thing for its relief; but early thenext morning he called a council, wherein it was unadvisedly resolvedto detach a thousand men, with a number of Indians, to intercept, or, asthe general's expression was in his letter, to catch the enemy intheir retreat, either as victors, or as defeated in their design. Thisexpedient 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 largenumber, which, when it exceeds their reckoning, they signify by pointingto the stars in the firmament, or to the hair of their head; and thisthey often do to denote a number less than a thousand, as well as tosignify ten thousand, or any greater number. Between eight and nine o'clock in the morning a thousand men, with twohundred Indians, were detached under the command of colonel Williams;but they had not been gone two hours when those in the camp began tohear a close firing, at about three or four miles' distance, as theyjudged; as it approached nearer and nearer, they rightly supposed thatthe detachment was overpowered, and retreating towards the camp; whichwas soon confirmed by some fugitives, and presently after by wholecompanies, who fled back in great confusion. In a very short time after, the enemy appeared marching in regular order up to the centre of thecamp, where the consternation was so great, that, if they had attackedthe breastwork directly, they might probably have thrown all intoconfusion, and obtained an easy victory; but fortunately for theEnglish, they halted for some time at about an hundred and fifty yards'distance, and from thence began their attack with platoon firing, toofar off to do much hurt, especially against troops who were defended bya strong breastwork. On the contrary, this ineffectual fire served onlyto raise the spirits of these last, who, having prepared their artilleryduring the time that the French halted, began to play it so brisklyupon the enemy, that the Canadians and Indians in their service fledimmediately into the woods on each side of the camp, and there squattedunder bushes, or skulked behind trees, from whence they continued firingwith very little execution, most of their shot being intercepted by thebrakes and thickets; for they never had the courage to advance to theverge of the wood. Baron Dieskau, who commanded the French, being thusleft alone with his regular troops at the front of the camp, finding hecould not make a close attack upon the centre with his small numberof men, moved first to the left, and then to the right, at both whichplaces he endeavoured to force a passage, but was repulsed, beingunsupported by the irregulars. Instead of retreating, as he ought inprudence to have done, he still continued his platoon and bush firingtill four o'clock in the afternoon, during which time his regular troopssuffered greatly by the fire from the camp, and were at last thrown intoconfusion; which was no sooner perceived by general Johnson's men, thanthey, without waiting for orders, leaped over their breastwork, attackedthe enemy on all sides, and after killing and taking a considerablenumber of them, entirely dispersed the rest. The French, whose numbersat the beginning of this engagement amounted to about two thousand men, including two hundred grenadiers, eight hundred Canadians, and the restIndians of different nations, had between seven and eight hundred menkilled, and thirty taken prisoners; among the latter was baron Dieskauhimself, 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 thedetachment under Colonel Williams; for they had very few either killedor wounded in the attack upon their camp, and not any of distinction, except colonel Tit-comb killed, and the general himself and majorNichols wounded. Among the slain of the detachment, which would probablyhave been entirely cut off had not lieutenant-colonel Cole been sent outfrom the camp with three hundred men, with which he stopped the enemy'spursuit, 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 braveold Hendrick, the Mohawk sachem, or chief captain. BRAVERY OF CAPTAIN M'GINNES. When baron Dieskau set out from Ticonderoga, his design was only tosurprise and cut off the intrenched camp, now called Fort Edward, at theCarrying-place, where there were but four or five hundred men. If hehad executed this scheme, our army would have been thrown into greatdifficulties; for it could neither have proceeded farther, nor havesubsisted where it was, and he might have found an opportunity to attackit with great advantage in its retreat. But when he was within fouror five miles of that fort, his people were informed that there wereseveral cannon there, and none at the camp; upon which they all desiredto be led on to this last, which he the more readily consented to, as hehimself had been told by an English prisoner, who had left this campbut a few days before, that it was quite defenceless, being without anylines, and destitute of cannon; which, in effect, was true at that time;for the cannon did not arrive, nor was the breast-work erected, tillabout two days before the engagement. To this misinformation, therefore, must be imputed this step, which would otherwise be inconsistent withthe general character and abilities of baron Dieskau. A less justifiableerror seems to have been committed by general Johnson, in not detachinga party to pursue the enemy when they were defeated and fled. Perhapshe was prevented from so doing by the ill fate of the detachment he hadsent out in the morning under colonel Williams. However that may be, hisneglect in this respect had like to have been fatal the next day to adetachment sent from Fort Edward, consisting of an hundred and twentymen of the New Hampshire regiment, under captain M'Ginnes, as areinforcement to the army at the camp. This party fell in with betweenthree and four hundred men of Dieskau's troops, near the spot wherecolonel Williams had been defeated the day before; but M'Ginnes, havingtimely notice by his scouts of the approach of an enemy, made such adisposition, that he not only repulsed the assailants, but defeated andentirely dispersed them, with the loss only of two men killed, elevenwounded, and five missing. He himself unfortunately died of the woundshe received in this engagement, a few days after he arrived at the campwith his party. It was now judged too late in the year to proceed to theattack 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 orderto secure a communication with Albany, from whence only the troops couldexpect to be reinforced, or supplied with fresh stores of ammunitionor provisions. They therefore set out upon their return soon after thisengagement, having first erected a little stockaded fort, at the hitherend of Lake George, in which they left a small garrison, as a futureprey for the enemy; a misfortune which might easily have been foreseen, because this whole army being country militia, was to be disbanded, andreturn to their respective homes, as they actually did soon after theirretreat to Albany. This was all the glory, this all the advantage, thatthe English nation acquired by such an expensive expedition. But solittle had the English been accustomed of late to hear of victory, thatthey rejoiced at this advantage, as if it had been an action of thegreatest consequence. The general was highly applauded for his conduct, and liberally rewarded; for he was created a baronet by his majesty, andpresented with five thousand pounds by the parliament. DESCRIPTION OF FORT OSWEGO, &c The preparations for general Shirley's expedition against Niagara, werenot only deficient, but shamefully slow; though it was well known thateven the possibility of his success must, in a great measure, dependupon his setting out early in the year, as will appear to any person whoconsiders the situation of our fort at Oswego, this being the only wayby which he could proceed to Niagara. Oswego lies on the south-eastside of the lake Ontario, near three hundred miles almost due west fromAlbany 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 watercarriage, by what the inhabitants called batteaux, which are a kind oflight flat-bottomed boats, widest in the middle, and pointed at eachend, of about fifteen hundred weight burden, and managed by two mencalled batteau-men, with paddles and setting poles, the rivers being inmany places too narrow to admit of oars. From Albany to the village ofSchenactady, about sixteen miles, is a good waggon road. From thenceto the little falls in the Mohawk-river, being sixty-five miles, thepassage is by water-carriage up that river, and consequently againstthe stream, which in many places is somewhat rapid, and in others soshallow, that, when the river is low, the watermen are obliged to getout and draw their batteaux over the rifts. At the little falls is apostage or land-carriage for about a mile, over a ground so marshy thatit will not bear any wheel carriage; but a colony of Germans settledthere, attend with sledges, on which they draw the loaded batteaux tothe next place of embarkation upon the same river. From thence theyproceed 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 whichdepends upon the dryness or wetness of the season, but is generallyabove six or eight miles over in the summer months. Here the batteauxare again carried upon sledges, till they come to a narrow river, calledWood's Creek, down which they are wafted on a gentle stream for aboutforty miles into the lake Oneyada, which stretches from east to westabout thirty miles, and is passed with great ease and safety in calmweather. At the western end of the lake is the river Onondaga, which, after a course of between twenty and thirty miles, unites with the riverCayuga, or Seneca, and their united streams run into the lake Ontario, at the place where Oswego fort is situated. But this river is so rapidas 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 ofeleven feet perpendicular, where there is consequently a postage, whichhowever, does not exceed forty yards. From thence the passage is easyquite to Oswego. The lake Ontario, on which this fort stands, is neartwo hundred and eighty leagues in circumference; its figure is oval, andits depth runs from twenty to twenty-five fathoms. On the north side ofit are several little gulfs. There is a communication between thislake and that of the Hurons by the river Tanasuate, from whence it is aland-carriage of six or eight leagues to the river Toronto, whichfalls into it. The French have two forts of consequence on this lake;Frontenac, which commands the river St. Lawrence, where the lakecommunicates with it; and Niagara, which commands the communicationbetween the lake Ontario and the lake Erie. But of these forts, andthis last lake, which is one of the finest in the world, we shall haveoccasion to speak hereafter. Though we had long been in possession of fort Oswego, and though it laygreatly exposed to the French, particularly to those of Canada, upon anyrupture between the two nations, we had never taken care to renderit tolerably defensible, or even to build a single vessel fit fornavigating the lake: nor was this strange neglect ever taken effectualnotice of, till the beginning of this year, when, at a meeting whichgeneral Braddock had in April with the governors and chief gentlemen ofseveral of our colonies at Alexandria, in Virginia, it was resolved tostrengthen both the fort and garrison at Oswego, and to build some largevessels at that place. Accordingly a number of shipwrights and workmenwere sent thither in May and June. At the same time captain Bradstreetmarched thither with two companies of an hundred men each, to reinforcethe hundred that were there before under captain King, to which numberthe garrison had been increased since our contests with France beganto grow serious. For a long time before, not above twenty-five menwere left to defend this post, which from its great importance, and thesituation of affairs at this juncture, most certainly required a muchstronger garrison than was put into it even at this juncture; buteconomy was the chief thing consulted in the beginning of this war, andto 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 isplain how necessary it was that the troops intended for this expeditionshould have set out early in the spring. But instead of that, the veryfirst of them, colonel Schuyler's New Jersey regiment, did not begintheir march till after the beginning of July, and just as Shirley's andPepperell's regiments were preparing to follow, the melancholy accountof Braddock's disaster arrived at Albany, where it so damped thespirits of the people, and spread such a terror, that many of the troopsdeserted, and most of the batteau-men dispersed and ran home, by whichmeans even all the necessary stores could not be carried along with thetroops. Notwithstanding this disappointment, Mr. Shirley set out fromAlbany before the end of July, with as many of the troops and stores ashe could procure a conveyance for, hoping to be joined in his routeby great numbers of the Indians of the Six Nations, to whom he sentinvitations to that effect as he passed by their settlements; but they, instead of complying with his desire, absolutely declared against allhostilities on that side of the country; and insisted that Oswego, beinga place of traffic and peace, ought not to be disturbed either by theEnglish or the French, as if they could have persuaded both parties toagree to such a local truce. Upon this refusal, Mr. Shirley proceededforward, being joined by a very few Indians, and arrived at Oswego onthe seventeenth or eighteenth of August; but the rest of the troops andartillery did not arrive till the last day of that month; and eventhen, their store of provisions was not sufficient to enable them togo against Niagara, though some tolerably good vessels had by this timebeen built and got ready for that purpose. The general now resolved totake but six hundred men with him for the attack of Niagara, and toleave the rest of his army, consisting of about fourteen hundred more, at Oswego, to defend that place, in case the French should attack itin his absence, which there was reason to apprehend they might, as theythen had a considerable force at fort Frontenac, from whence they couldeasily cross over the lake Ontario to Oswego. However, he was stillobliged to wait at Oswego for provisions, of which at length a smallsupply arrived on the twenty-sixth of September, barely sufficient tosupport his men during their intended expedition, and to allow twelvedays' short subsistence for those he left behind. But by this time therainy boisterous season had begun, on which account most of his Indianshad already left him and were returned home; and the few that remainedwith him declared that there was no crossing the lake Ontario inbatteaux at that season, or any time before the next summer. In thisperplexity he called a council of war, which, after weighing allcircumstances, unanimously resolved to defer the attempt upon Niagaratill the next year, and to employ the troops, whilst they remained atOswego, in building barracks, and erecting, or at least beginning toerect, two new forts, one on the east side of the river Onondaga, fourhundred and fifty yards distant from the old fort, which it was tocommand, as well as the entrance of the harbour, and to be calledOntario-fort; and the other four hundred and fifty yards west of the oldfort, to be called Oswego new fort. GENERAL SHIRLEY RETURNS TO ALBANY. These things being agreed on, general Shirley, with the greatest partof the troops under his command, set out on his return to Albany on thetwenty-fourth of October, leaving colonel Mercer, with a garrison ofabout seven hundred men, at Oswego; though repeated advice had beenreceived, that the French had then at least a thousand men at their fortat Frontenac, upon the same lake; and, what was still worse, the newforts were not yet near completed; but left to be finished by the hardlabour of colonel Mercer and his little garrrison, with the additionof this melancholy circumstance, that, if besieged by the enemy inthe winter, it would not be possible for his friends to come to hisassistance. Thus ended this year's unfortunate campaign, during whichthe French, with the assistance of their Indian allies, continued theirmurders, scalping, captivating, and laying waste the western frontiersof Virginia and Pennsylvania, during the whole winter. The ministers of the two warring powers were very busily employed thisyear at most of the courts of Europe; but their transactions were keptextremely secret. The French endeavoured to inspire the Spaniards witha jealousy of the strength of the English by sea, especially in America;and the Spanish court seemed inclined to accept of the office ofmediator; but Mr. Wall, who was perfectly well acquainted with the stateof affairs between England and France, seconded the representations ofthe British ministry, which demonstrated, that, however willing GreatBritain might be to accept of the mediation of Spain, she could notagree to any suspension of arms in America, which France insisted onas a preliminary condition, without hazarding the whole of her interestthere; and that the captures which had been made by the English were thenecessary consequences of the encroachments and injustice of the French, particularly in that country. Upon this remonstrance, all further talkof the mediation of Spain was dropped, and the ministry of Versailleshad recourse to the princes of Germany; amongst whom the elector ofCologn was soon brought over to their party, so as to consent to theirforming magazines in his territories in Westphalia. This was a plainindication of their design against Hanover, which they soon after madehis Britannic majesty, who was then at Hanover, an offer of sparing, ifhe would agree to certain conditions of neutrality for thatelectorate, which he rejected with disdain. Then the count d'Aubeterre, envoy-extraordinary from France at the court of Vienna, proposed asecret negotiation with the ministers of the empress-queen. The secretarticles of the treaty of Petersburgh, between the two empresses, hadstipulated a kind of partition of the Prussian territories, in case thatprince should infringe the treaty of Dresden; but his Britannicmajesty, though often invited, had always refused to agree to any suchstipulation; and the king of Poland, howsoever he might be inclined tofavour the scheme, did not dare to avow it formally, till matters shouldbe more ripe for carrying it into execution. The court of Vienna, whose favourite measure this was, began to listen to d'Aubeterre'sinsinuations, and by degrees entered into negotiations with him, which, in the end, were productive of that unnatural confederacy between theempress-queen and the king of France, of which further notice will betaken in the occurrences of the next year, when the treaty between them, into which they afterwards found means secretly to bring the empress ofRussia, was concluded at Versailles. TREATY WITH THE LANDGRAVE OF HESSE-CASSEL. The king of England taking it for granted that the French would invadeHanover, in consequence of their rupture with Great Britain, whichseemed to be near at hand, began to take measures for the defence ofthat electorate. To this end, during his stay at Hanover, he concluded, on the eighteenth day of June, a treaty with the landgrave ofHesse-Cassel, by which his serene highness engaged to hold in readiness, during four years, for his majesty's service, a body of eight thousandmen, to be employed, if required, upon the continent, or in Britain, orIreland; but not on board the fleet or beyond the seas; and also, ifhis Britannic majesty should judge it necessary or advantageous for hisservice, to furnish and join to this body of eight thousand men, withinsix months after they should be demanded, four thousand more, ofwhich seven hundred were to be horse or dragoons, and each regiment ofinfantry to have two field pieces of cannon. [364] _[See note 2 Y, atthe end of this Vol. ]_ Another treaty was begun with Russia about thesame time; but this did not take effect during his majesty's residenceat Hanover: that others were not concluded was the more surprising, asour subsidy-treaty with Saxony had then expired, and that with Bavariawas near expiring, and as the securing of these two princes in ourinterest was at least as necessary towards forming a sufficientconfederacy upon the continent for the defence of Hanover, as it was tosecure the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. If the reason of their not beingengaged, and no other seems so probable, was, that they refused to renewtheir treaties with England upon any terms, all that can be said is, that they were guilty of flagrant ingratitude, as they had both receiveda subsidy from this kingdom for many years in time of peace, whenthey neither were nor could be of any service to the interest of GreatBritain. NEWS OF THE CAPTURE OF THE ALCIDE AND LYS REACHES ENGLAND. On the fifteenth of July, an express arrived from admiral Boscawen, withan account of his having taken the two French ships of war, the Alcideand the Lys. This was certainly contrary to the expectation of the courtof France; for had they apprehended any such attack, they would not haveordered Mr. Macnamara to return to Brest with the chief part of theirsquadron; nor was it perhaps less contrary to the expectation of someof our own ministry; but as matters had been carried so far, it was thentoo late to retreat; and, therefore, orders were soon after given toall our ships of war to make reprisals upon the French, by taking theirships wherever they should meet them. Sir Edward Hawke sailed fromPortsmouth 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 thethirteenth of August, with four ships of war, furnished with orders tocommit hostilities, as well as to protect our trade and sugar-islandsfrom any insult that the French might offer; and the duke de Mirepoix, their ambassador at the court of London, set out for Paris on thetwenty-second of July, without taking leave. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 thanusual; for he left Hanover on the eighth of September, and arrived onthe fifteenth at Kensington, where the treaty of alliance between himand the empress of Russia, which he had begun during his absence, wasconcluded on the thirtieth of the same month. By this treaty her Russianmajesty engaged to hold in readiness in Livonia, upon the frontiers ofLithuania, a body of troops consisting of forty thousand infantry, withthe necessary artillery, and fifteen thousand cavalry; and also on thecoast of the same province, forty or fifty galleys, with the necessarycrews; to be ready to act, upon the first order, in his majesty'sservice, in case, said the fifth article, which was the most remarkable, that the dominions of his Britannic majesty in Germany should be invadedon account of the interests or disputes which regard his kingdoms; herimperial majesty declaring that she would look upon such an invasionas a case of the alliance of the year one thousand seven hundred andforty-two; and that the said dominions should be therein comprised inthis respect; but neither these troops nor galleys were to be put inmotion, unless his Britannic majesty, or his allies, should be somewhereattacked; in which case the Russian general should march as soon aspossible after requisition, to make a diversion with thirty thousandinfantry, and fifteen thousand cavalry; and should embark on board thegalleys the other ten thousand infantry to make a descent according tothe exigency of the affair. On the other side, his Britannic majestyengaged to pay to her Russian majesty an annual subsidy of an hundredthousand pounds sterling a year, each year to be paid in advance, andto be reckoned from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, to theday that these troops should upon requisition march out of Russia; fromwhich day the annual subsidy to her imperial majesty was to be fivehundred thousand pounds sterling, to be paid always four months inadvance, until the troops should return into the Russian dominions, andfor three months after their return. His Britannic majesty, who was tobe at liberty to send once every year into the said province of Livoniaa commissary, to see and examine the number and condition of the saidtroops, further engaged, that, in case her Russian majesty shouldbe disturbed in this diversion, or attacked herself, he would famishimmediately the succour stipulated in the treaty of one thousand sevenhundred and forty-two, and that in case a war should break out, heshould send, into the Baltic a squadron of his ships, of a forcesuitable to the circumstances. This was the chief substance of thetreaty, which, by agreement of both parties, was to subsist for fouryears from the exchange of the ratifications; but in the seventh articlethese words were unluckily inserted: "Considering also the proximity ofthe countries wherein the diversion in question will probably be made, and the facility her troops will probably have of subsisting immediatelyin an enemy's country, she takes upon herself alone, during such adiversion, the subsistence and treatment of the said troops by seaand land. " And in the eleventh article it was stipulated, that all theplunder the Russian army should take from the enemy should belong tothem. That his Britannic majesty, who now knew enough of the court ofVienna to be sensible that he could expect no assistance from thence, in case his German dominions were invaded, should enter into thisconvention with the empress of Russia, in order to strengthen hisdefence upon the continent, was extremely natural; especially as he hadlately lived in great friendship with her, and her transactions withthe court of France had been so secret, by passing through only thatof Vienna, that he had not yet been informed of them; neither had theproject of the treaty of Versailles then come to his knowledge, or tothat of the king of Prussia, nor had either of these princes yet madeany formal advances to the other. DECLARATION OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY AT THE COURT OF VIENNA. The first intimation that appeared publicly of the negotiations ofFrance with the empress of Germany, was when the French minister, countd'Aubeterre, declared at Vienna, "That the warlike designs with whichthe king his master was charged, were sufficiently confuted by his greatmoderation, of which all Europe had manifold proofs; that his majestywas persuaded this groundless charge had given as much indignation totheir imperial majesties as to himself; that he was firmly resolved topreserve to Christendom that tranquillity which it enjoyed through hisgood faith, in religiously observing the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; butthat if his Britannic majesty's allies should take part in the warwhich was kindled in America, by furnishing succours to the English, hismajesty would be authorized to consider and treat them as principals init. " France likewise made the same declaration to other courts. SPIRITED DECLARATION OF PRUSSIA. The words and stipulation in the above-recited clause, in the seventharticle of the treaty of Great Britain with Russia, were looked on asa menace levelled at the king of Prussia, who, having some time foundmeans 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 hewould oppose, with his utmost force, the entrance of any foreign troopsinto the empire, under any pretence whatever. This declaration wasparticularly displeasing to the French, who had already marched largebodies of troops towards the frontiers of the empire, and erectedseveral great magazines in Westphalia, with the permission of theelector of Cologn, for which the English minister at his court was, inAugust, ordered to withdraw from thence without taking leave. However, as soon as this declaration of the king of Prussia was notified to thecourt of Versailles, they sent an ambassador-extraordinary, the dukede Nivernois, to Berlin, to try to persuade his majesty to retracthis declaration, and enter into a new alliance with them. His Prussianmajesty received this ambassador in such a manner as seemed to denote adisposition to agree to every thing he had to propose. This awakened inEngland 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 LowerRhine, 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 auxiliariescould possibly be brought thither, or any army be formed for protectingit. * For this reason a negotiation was set on foot by Great Britain atBerlin, but as it was not concluded before the beginning of the nextyear, we shall defer entering into the particulars of it till we come tothat 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'ssquadron, before any declaration of war was made, representing it asa most unjustifiable proceeding, which threatened a dissolution of allfaith amongst nations. This produced a strong memorial from sir BenjaminKeene, our minister at that court, importing, "That it was well knownthat the French fleet carried troops, ammunition, and every thingnecessary for defending the countries which the French had unjustlyusurped in America, and of which the English claimed the property; thatthe rules of self-defence authorize every nation to render fruitless anyattempt that may tend to its prejudice; that this right had beenmade use of only in taking the two French ships of war; and that thedistinction of place might be interpreted in favour of the English, seeing the two ships were taken on the coasts of the countries wherethe contest arose. " In answer to this observation, the French ministerrepresented the vast number of ships which had been taken in theEuropean seas; for in fact the English ports soon began to be filledwith them, in consequence of the general orders for making reprisals. But the court of Madrid was so far from being persuaded by any thing hecould say, that it gave his Britannic majesty the strongest assurancesof its friendship, and of its intention to take no part in thedifferences 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 ofGreat Britain, the auxiliaries stipulated to him by treaty from theempress-queen. But these were refused, under pretence, that as thecontest between him and France related to America only, it was not acase of the alliance; though at the same time the French made no scrupleof owning, that they intended to make a powerful descent on GreatBritain early in the spring. When, a little while after, France beingemployed in making great preparation for a land war in Europe, the kingof England required her to defend her own possessions, the barrier inthe Low Countries, with the number of men stipulated by the treaty, which countries, acquired by English blood and English treasure, hadbeen given to her on that express condition, she declared that she couldnot spare troops for that purpose, on account of her dangerous enemy theking of Prussia; and afterwards, when he was secured by his treaty withEngland, she urged that as a reason for her alliance with France. Itmust be owned, however, for the sake of historical truth, that this wasno bad reason, considering the power, the genius, and the character ofthat prince, who hovered over her dominions with an army of one hundredand fifty thousand veterans. It must likewise be owned, that sheundertook to procure the French king's consent to a neutrality forHanover, which would have effectually secured that electorate from theinvasion of every other power but Prussia itself; and it is no strainedconjecture to suppose, that the dread of this very power was the truesource of those connexions in Germany, which entailed such a ruinouscontinental war upon Great Britain. THE FRENCH TAKE THE BLANDFORD. Though the English continued to make reprisals upon the French, not onlyin the seas of America, but also in those of Europe, by taking everyship they could meet with, and detaining them, their cargoes, and crews;yet the French, whether from a consciousness of their want of power bysea, or that they might have a more plausible plea to represent Englandas the aggressor, were so far from returning these hostilities, thattheir fleet, which escaped sir Edward Hawke, having, on the thirteenthof August, taken the Blandford ship of war, with governor Lyttelton onboard, going to Carolina, they set the governor at liberty, as soonas the court was informed of the ship's being brought into Nantes, andshortly after released both the ship and the crew. However, at thesame time, their preparations for a land war still went on with greatdiligence, and their utmost arts and efforts were fruitlessly exertedto persuade the Spaniards and Dutch to join with them against GreatBritain. STATE OF THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH NAVIES. In England the preparations by sea became greater than ever, severalnew ships of war were put in commission, and many others taken into theservice of the government; the exportation of gunpowder was forbid; thebounties to seamen were continued, and the number of those that eitherentered voluntarily, or were pressed, increased daily, as did also thecaptures from the French, among which was the Espérance, of seventyguns, taken as she was going from Rochefort to Brest to be manned. Theland-forces of Great Britain were likewise ordered to be augmented;several new regiments were raised, and all half-pay officers, and theout-pensioners belonging to Chelsea-hospital, were directed to send intheir names, ages, and time of service, in order that such of them aswere yet able to serve might be employed again if wanted. The Englishnavy, so early as in the month of September of this year, consistedof 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-nineof seventy, four of sixty-six, one of sixty-four, thirty-three ofsixty, 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 ofeighteen guns each, two of sixteen, eleven of fourteen, thirteenof twelve, and one of ten, besides a great number of bomb-ketches, fire-ships, and tenders; a force sufficient to oppose the unitedmaritime strength of all the powers in Europe; whilst that of theFrench, even at the end of this year, and including the ships thenupon 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-twofrigates. SESSION OPENED. Such was the situation of the two kingdoms, when, on the thirteenth ofNovember, the parliament met, and his majesty opened the session witha speech from the throne, in which he acquainted them--"That the mostproper measures had been taken to protect our possessions in America, and to regain such parts thereof as had been encroached upon, orinvaded; that to preserve his people from the calamities of war, as wellas to prevent a general war from being lighted up in Europe, he had beenalways ready to accept reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation, but that none such had been proposed by France; that he had alsoconfined his views and operations to hinder France from making newencroachments, or supporting those already made; to exert his people'sright to a satisfaction for hostilities committed in time of profoundpeace, and to disappoint such designs, as, from various appearancesand preparations, there was reason to think had been formed againsthis kingdoms and dominions; that the king of Spain earnestly wished thepreservation of the public tranquillity, and had given assurances of hisintention to continue in the same pacific sentiments; that he himselfhad greatly increased his naval armaments, and augmented his land-forcesin such a manner as might be least burdensome; and, finally, that hehad concluded a treaty with the empress of Russia, and another with thelandgrave 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 particularexpressions; for it having been proposed in the house of lords to insertin their address the words following, viz. : "That they looked uponthemselves as obliged, by the strongest ties of duty, gratitude, and honour, to stand by and support his majesty in all such wise andnecessary measures and engagements as his majesty might have taken invindication of the rights of his crown, or to defeat any attempts whichmight be made by France in resentment for such measures, and to assisthis majesty in disappointing or repelling all such enterprises as mightbe formed, not only against his kingdoms, but also against any other ofhis dominions (though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain), incase they should be attacked on account of the part which his majestyhad taken for maintaining the essential interests of his kingdoms;" theinserting of these words in their address was opposed by earl Temple, and several other lords; because, by the first part of them, theyengaged to approve of the treaties with Russia and Hesse-Cassel, neitherof which they had ever seen; nor could it be supposed that either ofthem could be of any advantage to this nation; and by the second partof these words it seemed to be resolved, to engage this nation ina continental connexion for the defence of Hanover, which it wasimpossible for England to support, and which would be so far from beingof any advantage to it at sea, or in America, that it might at lastdisable the nation from defending itself in either of those parts of theworld. But upon putting the question, the inserting of these words wasagreed to by a great majority, and accordingly they stand as part of theaddress of the house upon that occasion. HIS MAJESTY'S ANSWER. To this remarkable address his majesty returned the following asremarkable answer: "My lords, I give you my hearty thanks for thisdutiful and affectionate address. I see, with the greatest satisfaction, the zeal you express for my person and government, and for the trueinterest of your country, which I am determined to adhere to. Theassurances 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 willeffectually maintain the possessions and rights of my kingdoms, andprocure reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation. "--The addressof the house of commons breathed the same spirit of zeal and gratitude, and was full of the warmest assurances of a ready support of hismajesty, and of his foreign dominions, if attacked in resentment ofhis maintaining the rights of his crown and kingdom; and his majesty'sanswer to it was to the same effect as that to the house of lords. Thesame, or nearly the same words, relating to the treaties concluded byhis majesty, and to the defence of his foreign dominions, were proposedto 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 othergentlemen in high posts under the government, as well as by many others;but, upon putting the question, it was by a considerable majority agreedto 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 theopposition, were dismissed from their employments. In the meantime, adraft came over from Russia for part of the new subsidy stipulated tothat crown; but some of the ministry, who were then at the head ofthe finances, refused to pay it, at least before the treaty should beapproved of by parliament. ALTERATIONS IN THE MINISTRY. Sir Thomas Robinson had not been long in possession of the office ofsecretary of state, before it was generally perceived, that, though anhonest well meaning man, and a favourite with the king, his abilitieswere not equal to the functions of that post. Much less were they so atthis juncture, when the nation was on the point of being engaged ina difficult and expensive war, and plunged into foreign measures andconnexions, which would require the utmost skill of an able politicianto render them palatable to the people. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, thoughthey scarce ever agreed in any other particular, had generally unitedin opposing his measures, and their superior influence in the houseof commons, and universally acknowledged abilities, though of verydifferent kinds, had always prevailed; uncommon as it was, to see twopersons who held considerable places under the government, one of thembeing paymaster-general, and the other secretary at war, oppose, uponalmost every occasion, a secretary of state who was supposed to knowand speak the sentiments of his master. Sir Thomas himself soon grewsensible of his want of sufficient weight in the senate of the nation;and therefore, of his own accord, on the tenth of November, wisely anddutifully resigned the seals of his office to his majesty, who deliveredthem to Mr. Fox, and appointed sir Thomas master of the wardrobe, witha pension to him during his life, and after his death to his sons. LordBarrington succeeded Mr. Fox as secretary at war; and soon after sirGeorge Lyttelton was made chancellor of the exchequer, and a lord of thetreasury, in the room of Mr. Legge, who had declared himself against thenew continental system. However, notwithstanding these changes in theministry, very warm debates arose in both houses, when the treatiesof Russia and Hesse-Cassel came to be considered by them; some of themembers were for referring them to a committee; but this motion wasover-ruled, in consideration of his majesty's having engaged in themto guard against a storm that seemed ready to break upon his electoraldominions, merely on account of our quarrel with the French. Theywere at length approved of by a majority of three hundred and eighteenagainst one hundred and twenty-six, in the house of commons; and byeighty-four against eleven, in the house of lords. The house of commons then proceeded to provide for the service of theensuing year, and for the deficiencies of the provisions for theformer. Fifty thousand seamen, including nine thousand one hundred andthirty-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 theirmaintenance; and thirty-four thousand two hundred and sixty-three landsoldiers, with nine hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and threepounds, six shillings and ninepence, for their support. An hundredthousand pounds were voted as a subsidy to the empress of Russia;fifty-four thousand one hundred and forty pounds, twelve shillings andsixpence, to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and ten thousand pounds tothe elector of Bavaria. EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON. During these transactions, the public was overwhelmed with consternationby the tidings of a dreadful earthquake, which, on the first November, shook all Spain and Portugal, and many other places in Europe, and laidthe city of Lisbon in ruins. When the news of this great calamity firstreached England, it was feared the consequences of it might affect ourpublic credit, considering the vast interest which the English merchantshad in the Portuguese trade; but fortunately, it afterwards provedinconsiderable, in comparison of what had been apprehended; the quarterin which the English chiefly lived, and where they had their warehouses, having suffered the least of any part of the city; and most of theEnglish merchants then residing there, together with their families, being at their country houses, to avoid the insults to which they mighthave been exposed from the Portuguese populace, during the celebrationof their _auto-da-fe_, which was kept that very day. The two firstshocks of this dreadful visitation continued near a quarter of an hour, after which the water of the river Tagus rose perpendicularly abovetwenty feet, and subsided to its natural bed in less than a minute. Great numbers of houses, of which this city then contained aboutthirty-six thousand, extending in length near six miles, in form of acrescent, on the ascent of a hill upon the north shore of the mouth ofthe river Tagus, within nine miles from the ocean, were thrown down bythe repeated commotions of the earth, together with several magnificentchurches, monasteries, and public buildings. But what entirely completedthe ruin of this then most opulent capital of the Portuguese dominions, was a devouring conflagration, partly fortuitous or natural, but chieflyoccasioned by a set of impious villains, who, unawed by the tremendousscene at that very instant passing before their eyes, with a wickednessscarcely to be credited, set fire even to the falling edifices indifferent parts of the city, to increase the general confusion, thatthey might have the better opportunity to rob and plunder their alreadydesolated fellow-citizens. Out of three hundred and fifty thousandinhabitants, which Lisbon was then supposed to contain, about tenthousand perished by this calamity; and the survivors, deprived of theirhabitations, and destitute even of the necessaries of life, were forcedto 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 bothhouses of parliament, on the twenty-eighth of November, acquaintingthem therewith, and desiring their concurrence and assistance towardsspeedily relieving the unhappy sufferers; and the parliament thereupon, to the honour of British humanity, unanimously voted, on the eighth ofDecember, a gift of an hundred thousand pounds for the distressed peopleof Portugal. A circumstance which enhances the merit of this action is, that though the English themselves were, at that very time, in greatwant of grain, a considerable part of the sum was sent in corn, flour, rice, and a large quantity of beef from Ireland; supplies which camevery seasonably for the poor Portuguese, who were in actual want ofthe necessaries of life. Their king was so affected by this instance ofBritish generosity, that, to show his gratitude for the timely relief, he ordered Mr. Castres, the British resident at his court, to givethe preference, in the distribution of these supplies, to the Britishsubjects who had suffered by the earthquake; accordingly, about athirtieth part of the provisions, and two thousand pounds in money, were set apart for that purpose; and his Portuguese majesty returned histhanks, in very warm terms, to the British crown and nation. The report of an intended invasion of these kingdoms by the Frenchincreasing daily, on the twenty-second day of January lord Barrington, as secretary at war, laid before the house an estimate for defrayingthe charge of ten new regiments of foot, over and above the thirty-fourthousand two hundred and sixty-three land soldiers before ordered tobe raised; and a sum of ninety-one thousand nine hundred and nineteenpounds, ten shillings, was voted for these additional forces; uponanother estimate presented a little after by the same lord, and foundedupon the same reasons, for raising, for the further defence of thekingdom, eleven troops of light dragoons, forty-nine thousand sixhundred and twenty-eight pounds, eleven shillings and threepence, were voted for the ensuing year; together with eighty-one thousand onehundred and seventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings, for a regimentof foot to be raised in North America; two hundred and ninety-eightthousand five hundred and thirty-four pounds, seventeen shillingsand tenpence halfpenny, for the maintenance of our forces alreadyestablished in our American colonies; and seventy-nine thousand ninehundred and fifteen pounds, six shillings, for six regiments of footfrom Ireland, to serve in North America and the East Indies. Besides allthese supplies, Mr. Fox, on the twenty-eighth of January, presentedto the house a message from the king, desiring them to take intoconsideration the faithful services of the people of New England, andof some other parts of North America; upon which one hundred and fifteenthousand pounds more were voted, and five thousand pounds as a rewardto sir William Johnson in particular. In short, including several othersums, as well as for defraying the expense of the army and navy, asfor a subsidy of twenty thousand pounds to the king of Prussia, and onehundred and twenty-one thousand four hundred and forty-seven pounds, two shillings and sixpence, for Hanoverian troops, of which two lastarticles further notice will be taken hereafter, the whole of thesupplies granted by parliament in this session, amounted to sevenmillions two hundred and twenty-nine thousand one hundred and seventeenpounds, four shillings and sixpence three farthings. For raising thissum, besides the malt tax, and the land tax of four shillings in thepound, the whole produce of the sinking fund, from the fifth of Januaryone thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, till it should amount to onemillion five hundred and fifty-five thousand nine hundred and fifty-fivepounds, eleven shillings and elevenpence halfpenny, was ordered to beapplied thereunto; together with a million to be raised by loans orexchequer bills, at three per cent, interest; one million five hundredthousand pounds, to be raised by the sale of redeemable annuities atthree and a half per cent. , and five hundred thousand pounds tobe raised by a lottery, at three per cent. All which sums, witheighty-three thousand four hundred and twelve pounds, two shillings, andfive-pence halfpenny, then remaining in the exchequer, amounted toseven millions four hundred and twenty-seven thousand two hundred andsixty-one pounds, five shillings and sevenpence. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MUTINY BILL, MARINE, AND MARINERS' ACTS CONTINUED. The clause inserted in the mutiny bill last year, subjecting allofficers and soldiers raised in America, by authority of the respectivegovernors or governments there, to the same rules and articles of war, and the same penalties and punishments, as the British forces wereliable to; the act passed at the same time for regulating the marineforces, while on shore, and that for the more speedy and effectualmanning of his majesty's navy, were not only confirmed now, but it wasfurther enacted, with respect to this last, as well as for the morespeedy and effectual recruiting of his majesty's land-forces, that thecommissioners appointed by the present act should be empowered to raiseand levy, within then-respective jurisdictions, such able-bodied men asdid not follow any lawful calling or employment; or had not some otherlawful and sufficient support; and might order, wherever and wheneverthey pleased, a general search to be made for such persons, in order totheir being brought before them to be examined; nay, that the parish ortown officers might, without any such order, search for and secure suchpersons, in order to convey them before the said commissioners to beexamined; that if any three commissioners should find any person, sobrought before them, to be within the above description, and if therecruiting officer attending should judge him to be a man fit forhis majesty's service, they should cause him to be delivered to suchofficer, who might secure him in any place of safety provided by thejustices of peace for that purpose, or even in any public prison; andthat 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, otherthan for some criminal matter. Nothing could more plainly show eitherthe zeal of the parliament for a vigorous prosecution of the war, ortheir confidence in the justice and moderation of our ministry, thantheir agreeing to this act, which was to continue in force till theend of the next session; and which, in the hands of a wicked andenterprising administration, might have been made such an use of, aswould have been inconsistent with that security which is provided by ourhappy 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 thissession, was the raising of a new regiment of foot in North America;for which purpose the sum of eighty-one thousand one hundred andseventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings, to which the estimate thereofamounted, was voted. This regiment, which was to consist of fourbattalions of a thousand men each, was intended to be raised chieflyout of the Germans and Swiss, who, for many years past, had annuallytransported themselves in great numbers to the British plantations inAmerica, where waste lands had been assigned them upon the frontiersof the provinces; but, very injudiciously, no care had been takento intermix them with the English inhabitants of the place. To thiscircumstance it is owing, that they have continued to correspond andconverse only with one another; so that very few of them, even of thosewho have been born there, have yet learned to speak or understand theEnglish tongue. However, as they were all zealous protestants, and ingeneral strong hardy men, and accustomed to the climate, it was judgedthat a regiment of good and faithful soldiers might be raised out ofthem, particularly proper to oppose the French; but to this end itwas necessary to appoint some officers, especially subalterns, whounderstood military discipline, and could speak the German language;and as a sufficient number of such could not be found among the Englishofficers, it was necessary to bring over and grant commissions toseveral German and Swiss officers and engineers; but this step, bythe act of settlement, could not be taken without the authority ofparliament; an act was now passed for enabling his majesty to grantcommissions to a certain number of foreign protestants, who hadserved abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers orengineers in America only. An act was likewise passed in this session, strictly forbidding, under pain of death, any of his majesty's subjectsto serve as officers under the French king, or to enlist as soldiersin his service, without his majesty's previous license; and also forobliging such of his majesty's subjects as should, in time to come, accept of commissions in the Scotch brigade in the Dutch service, totake the oaths of allegiance and abjuration, on pain of forfeiting fivehundred pounds. MARITIME LAWS OF ENGLAND EXTENDED TO AMERICA. As it had been resolved, in the beginning of the preceding summer, tobuild vessels of force upon the lake Ontario, an act was now passed forextending the maritime laws of England, relating to the government ofhis majesty's ships and forces by sea, to such officers, seamen, andothers, as should serve on board his majesty's ships or vessels employedupon the lakes, great waters, or rivers in North America; and also, butnot without opposition to this last, for the better recruiting of hismajesty's forces upon the continent of America; to which end, by a newclause now added to a former act, a recruiting officer was empoweredto enlist and detain an indented servant, even though his master shouldreclaim him, upon paying to the master such a sum as two justices ofpeace within the precinct should adjudge to be a reasonable equivalentfor the original purchase money, and the remaining time such servantmight have to serve. QUIET OF IRELAND RESTORED. The intestine broils of Ireland were happily composed this year, by theprudent management of the marquis of Hartington, lord lieutenant ofthat kingdom. By his steady and disinterested conduct, his candour andhumanity, the Irish were not only brought to a much better temper, evenamong themselves, than they were before their late outrageous riots anddangerous dissensions happened; but also prevailed upon to acquiesce inthe measures of England, without this last being obliged to give upany one point of her superiority. The leading men in the parliament ofIreland were the first that conformed; and though the ferment continuedvery high for some time after, among the middling and lower ranks ofpeople, it was at length entirely allayed by the wisdom of the lordlieutenant, and the excellent law which he encouraged and passed for thebenefit of that nation. * The primate of Ireland, who had been verybusy in fomenting many of the late disturbances, was, by his majesty'scommand, struck off the list of privy-counsellors; and the greatestpart of those patriots, whom faction had turned out of their employmentsthere, 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. {1756} TREATY CONCLUDED WITH PRUSSIA. The parliament of England, which had adjourned on the twenty-thirdday of December, met again: the house of commons on the thirteenth ofJanuary, and the lords on the nineteenth. On the sixteenth of the samemonth, the treaty between his Britannic majesty and the king of Prussiawas signed, importing, that, for the defence of their common country, Germany, and in order to preserve her peace and tranquillity, which itwas feared was in danger of being disturbed, on account of the disputesin America, the two kings, for that end only, entered into a conventionof neutrality, by which they reciprocally bound themselves not to sufferforeign troops of any nation whatsoever to enter into Germany, or passthrough it during the troubles aforesaid, and the consequences thatmight result from them; but to oppose the same with their utmost might, in order to secure Germany from the calamities of war, maintainher fundamental laws and constitutions, and preserve her peaceuninterrupted. Thus, the late treaty with Russia was virtuallyrenounced. Their majesties, moreover, seized this favourable opportunityto adjust the differences that had subsisted between them, in relationto the remainder of the Silesia loan due to the subjects of hisBritannic majesty, and the indemnification claimed by the subjects ofhis Prussian majesty for their losses by sea during the late war; sothat the attachment laid on the said debt was agreed to be taken off, assoon as the ratification of this treaty should be exchanged. NEW MILITIA-BILL. On the twenty-first of January the house took into consideration thelaws then in being relating to the militia of this kingdom; and, findingthem insufficient, ordered a new bill to be prepared, and brought in, for the better regulating of the militia forces in the several countiesof England. A bill was accordingly prepared to that effect, andpresented to the house on the twelfth of March, by the hon. CharlesTownshend, esq. , who, to his honour, was one of the chief promoters ofit. After receiving many amendments in the house of commons, it was onthe tenth of May passed, and sent to the lords; but several objectionsbeing made to it by some of the peers, and it seemed to them that somefurther amendments were still necessary, which they thought they couldnot in that session spare time to consider so maturely as the importanceof the subject required, a negative of fifty-nine against twenty-threewas put upon the motion for passing the bill; though every one musthave been sensible, not only of the propriety, but even of the absolutenecessity 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 vigorousand effectual support. He acquainted them, that the injuries andhostilities which had been for some time committed by the French againsthis dominions and subjects, were then followed by the actual invasion ofthe island of Minorca, though guaranteed to him by all the great powersin Europe, and particularly by the French king; that he had, therefore, found himself obliged, in vindication of the honour of his crown, andof the rights of his people, to declare war in form against France; andthat he relied on the Divine Protection, and the vigorous assistanceof his faithful subjects, in so just a cause. The parliament was thenadjourned to the eighteenth of June; and from thence afterwards to theeighteenth 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 forforeign affairs to the king of France, expostulating, in the name of hissovereign, upon the orders and instructions for committing hostilities, which his Britannic majesty had given to general Braddock, and admiralBoscawen, in diametrical opposition to the most solemn assurances sooften repeated by word of mouth, as well as in writing. He complained ofthe insult which had been offered to his master's flag in attackingand taking two of his ships in the open sea, without any previousdeclaration of war; as also by committing depredations on the commerceof his most christian majesty's subjects, in contempt of the lawof nations, the faith of treaties, and the usages established amongcivilised nations. He said, the sentiments and character of hisBritannic majesty gave the king his master room to expect, that, at hisreturn to London, he would disavow the conduct of his admiralty; butseeing that, instead of punishing, he rather encouraged those who hadbeen guilty of such depredations, his most christian majesty would bedeemed deficient in what he owed to his own glory, the dignity ofhis crown, and the defence of his people, if he deferred any longerdemanding a signal reparation for the outrage done to the Frenchflag, and the damage sustained by his subjects. He therefore demandedimmediate and full restitution of all the French ships, which, contraryto law and decorum, had been taken by the English navy, together withall the officers, soldiers, mariners, guns, stores, and merchandise. Hedeclared, that should this restitution be made, he should be willing toengage in a negotiation for what further satisfaction he might claim, and continue desirous to see the differences relating to Americadetermined by a solid and equitable accommodation; but if, contrary toall hopes, these demands should be rejected, he would consider such adenial of justice as the most authentic declaration of war, and as aformed design in the court of London to disturb the peace of Europe. To this peremptory remonstrance the British secretary was directed toanswer, that though the king of England would readily consent to anequitable and solid accommodation, he would not comply with the demandof immediate and full restitution as a preliminary condition; forhis majesty had taken no steps but such as were rendered just andindispensable by the hostilities which the French began in time ofprofound peace, and a proper regard for his own honour, the rights andpossessions of his crown, and the security of his kingdoms. Without all doubt the late transactions had afforded specious argumentsfor both nations to impeach the conduct of each other. The French court, conscious of their encroachments in Nova Scotia, affected to draw ashade over these, as particulars belonging to a disputed territory, andto divert the attention to the banks of the Ohio, where Jamonville andhis detachment had been attacked and massacred by the English, withoutthe least provocation. They likewise inveighed against the capture oftheir ships, before any declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy;and some neutral powers of Europe seemed to consider them in the samepoint of view. It was certainly high time to check the insolence of theFrench by force of arms, and surely this might have been as effectuallyand expeditiously exerted under the usual sanction of a formaldeclaration; the omission of which exposed the administration tothe censure of our neighbours, and fixed the imputation of fraud andfree-booting on the beginning of the war. The ministry was said to havedelayed the ceremony of denouncing war from political considerations, supposing that, should the French be provoked into the first declarationof this kind, the powers of Europe would consider his most christianmajesty as the aggressor, and Great Britain would reap all the fruits ofthe defensive alliances in which she had engaged. But nothing could bemore weak and frivolous than such a conjecture. The aggressor is he whofirst violates the peace; and every ally will interpret the aggressionaccording to his own interest and convenience. The administrationmaintained the appearance of candour in the midst of their hostilities. The merchant ships, of which a great number had been taken from theFrench, were not sold and divided among the captors, according to thepractice of war; but carefully sequestered, with all their cargoesand effects, in order to be restored to the right owners, in case thedisputes between the two nations should not be productive of an openrupture. In this particular, however, it was a pity that a little commonsense had not been blended with their honourable intention. Great partof 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 equallydisappointed, 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 theyknew would prove ineffectual, and exclaimed against the conduct of GreatBritain with all the arts of calumny and exaggeration at every court inChristendom, continued nevertheless to make such preparations as denoteda design to prosecute the war with uncommon vigour. They began to repairand fortify Dunkirk; orders were published that all British subjectsshould quit the dominions of France; many English vessels were seized inthe different ports of that kingdom, and their crews sent to prison. Atthe same time an edict was issued, inviting the French subjects to equipprivateers, offering a premium of forty livres for every gun, and asmuch for every man they should take from the enemy; and promising that, in case a peace should be speedily concluded, the king would purchasethe privateers at prime cost. They employed great numbers of artificersand seamen in equipping a formidable squadron of ships at Brest; andassembling a strong body of land-forces, as well as a considerablenumber of transports, threatened the island of Great Britain with adangerous invasion. REQUISITION OF SIX THOUSAND DUTCH TROOPS. The English people were seized with consternation; the ministry werealarmed and perplexed. Colonel Yorke, the British resident at the Hague, was ordered by his majesty to make a requisition of the six thousandmen whom the states-general are obliged by treaty to furnish, whenGreat Britain shall be threatened with an invasion; and in Februaryhe presented a memorial for this purpose. Monsieur d'Affry, the Frenchking's minister at the Hague, having received intimation of this demand, produced a counter-memorial from his master, charging the English as theaggressors, and giving the states-general plainly to understand, that, should they grant the succours demanded by Great Britain, he wouldconsider their compliance as an act of hostility against himself. TheDutch, though divided among themselves by faction, were unanimouslyaverse to any measure that might involve them in the approaching war. Their commerce was in a great measure decayed, and their financeswere too much exhausted to admit of an immediate augmentation of theirforces, which for many other reasons they strove to avoid. They foresawa great increase of trade in their adhering to a punctual neutrality;they were afraid of the French by land, and jealous of the English bysea; and perhaps enjoyed the prospect of seeing these two proud andpowerful nations humble and impoverish each other. Certain it is, thestates-general protracted their answer to Mr. Yorke's memorial by suchaffected delays, that the court of London perceived their intention, and, in order to avoid the mortification of a flat denial, the kingordered his resident to acquaint the princess regent, that he would notinsist upon his demand. The states, thus freed from their perplexity, atlength delivered an answer to Mr. Yorke, in which they expatiated on thedifficulties they were laid under, and thanked his Britannic majesty forhaving freed them by his declaration from that embarrassment into whichthey were thrown by his first demand and the counter-memorial of theFrench minister. The real sentiments of those people, however, moreplainly appeared in the previous resolution delivered to the states ofHolland by the towns of Amsterdam, Dort, Haerlem, Gouda, Rotterdam, and Enckhuysen, declaring flatly that England was uncontrovertibly theaggressor in Europe, by seizing a considerable number of French vessels;that the threatened invasion of Great Britain did not affect therepublic's guarantee of the protestant succession, inasmuch as it wasonly intended to obtain reparation for the injury sustained by thesubjects of his most christian majesty; finally, that the succoursdemanded could be of no advantage to the king of England, as it appearedby the declaration of his most christian majesty; that their grantingthese succours would immediately lay them under the necessity ofdemanding, in their turn, assistance from Great Britain. From this wayof arguing, the English may perceive what they have to expect in casesof emergency from the friendship of their nearest allies, who mustalways be furnished with the same excuse, whenever they find itconvenient or necessary to their own interest. Such a consideration, joined to other concurring motives, ought to induce the Britishlegislature to withdraw its dependence from all foreign connexions, and provide such a constitutional force within itself, as will befully sufficient to baffle all the efforts of an external enemy. Theapprehensions and distraction of the people at this juncture plainlyevinced the expediency of such a national force; but different partieswere divided in their opinions about the nature of such a provision. Some of the warmest friends of their country proposed a well regulatedmilitia, as an institution that would effectually answer the purpose ofdefending a wide extended sea-coast from invasion; while, on the otherhand, this proposal was ridiculed and refuted as impracticable oruseless by all the retainers to the court, and all the officers ofthe standing army. In the meantime, as the experiment could not beimmediately tried, and the present juncture demanded some instantdetermination, recourse was had to a foreign remedy. Towards the latter end of March, the king sent a written message toparliament, intimating, that he had received repeated advices fromdifferent persons and places, that a design had been formed bythe French court to invade Great Britain or Ireland; and the greatpreparations of forces, ships, artillery, and warlike stores, thennotoriously making in the ports of France opposite to the Britishcoasts, together with the language of the French ministers in someforeign courts, left little room to doubt the reality of such a design;that his majesty had augmented his forces both by sea and land, andtaken proper measures and precautions for putting his kingdom in aposture of defence; that, in order further to strengthen himself, hehad made a requisition of a body of Hessian troops, pursuant to thelate treaty, to be forthwith brought over, and for that purpose orderedtransports to be prepared; that he doubted not of being enabledand supported by his parliament in taking such measures as mightbe conducive to an end so essential to the honour of his crown, thepreservation of the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties ofthese kingdoms. This message was no sooner received, than both housesvoted, composed, and presented very warm and affectionate addresses, in which his majesty was thanked for the requisition he had made ofthe Hessian troops; a measure which at any other time would have beenstigmatized 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 newminister, encouraged by the unanimity which had appeared so conspicuousin the motions for the late addresses, ventured to move again in thehouse of commons, that another address should be presented to the king, beseeching his majesty, that for the more effectual defence of thisisland, and for the better security of the religion and liberties of hissubjects, against the threatened attack by a foreign enemy, he would begraciously pleased to order twelve battalions of his electoral troops, together with the usual detachment of artillery, to be forthwith broughtinto this kingdom. There was a considerable party in the house, to whomsuch a motion was odious and detestable; but considering the criticalsituation of affairs, they were afraid that a direct opposition mightexpose them to a more odious suspicion; they therefore moved for theorder of the day, and insisted on the question's being put upon thatmotion; but it was carried in the negative by a considerable majority, which also agreed to the other proposal. The resolution of the house wascommunicated to the lords, who unanimously concurred; and their jointaddress being presented, his majesty assured them he would immediatelycomply with their request. Accordingly, such expedition was used, thatin the course of the next month both Hanoverians and Hessians arrived inEngland, and encamped in different parts of the kingdom. --As the fearsof an invasion subsided in the minds of the people, their antipathy tothese foreign auxiliaries emerged. They were beheld with the eyes ofjealousy, suspicion, and disdain. They were treated with contempt, reserve, and rigour. The ministry was execrated for having reduced thenation to such a low circumstance of disgrace, as that they shouldowe their security to German mercenaries. There were not wanting someincendiaries, who circulated hints and insinuations, that the kingdomhad been purposely left unprovided; and that the natives of SouthBritain had been formerly subdued and expelled by a body of Saxonauxiliaries, 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 haverestrained them from violent acts of outrage, but the most orderly, modest, and inoffensive behaviour by which both the Hanoverians andHessians were distinguished. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} FRENCH PREPARATIONS AT TOULON. Under the cloak of an invading armament, which engrossed the attentionof the British nation, the French were actually employed in preparationsfor an expedition, which succeeded according to their wish. In thebeginning of the year, advice was received that a French squadronwould soon be in a condition to sail from Toulon; this was afterwardsconfirmed by repeated intelligence, not only from foreign gazettes, butalso from English ministers and consuls residing in Spain and Italy. They affirmed that the Toulon squadron consisted of twelve or fifteenships of the line, with a great number of transports; that they weresupplied with provisions for two months only, consequently could notbe intended for America; and that strong bodies of troops were on theirmarch from different parts of the French dominions to Dauphiné andProvence in order to be embarked. Notwithstanding these particulars ofinformation, which plainly pointed out Minorca as the object of theirexpedition; notwithstanding the extensive and important commerce carriedon by the subjects of Great Britain in the Mediterranean; no care wastaken to send thither a squadron of ships capable to protect the trade, and frustrate the designs of the enemy. That great province was leftto a few inconsiderable ships and frigates, which could serve noother purpose than that of carrying intelligence from port to port, andenriching their commanders by making prize of merchant vessels. Nay, the ministry seemed to pay little or no regard to the remonstrances ofgeneral Blakeney, deputy governor of Minorca, who, in repeated advices, represented the weakness of the garrison which he commanded inSt. Philip's castle, the chief fortress on the island. Far fromstrengthening the garrison with a proper reinforcement, they did noteven send thither the officers belonging to it, who were in England uponleave 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 personssuddenly waking, acted with hurry and precipitation. Instead ofdetaching a squadron that in all respects should be superior to theFrench fleet in the Mediterranean, and bestowing the command of it uponan officer of approved courage and activity, they allotted no more thanten ships of the line for this service, vesting the command of themin admiral Byng, who had never met with any occasion to signalize hiscourage, and whose character was not very popular in the navy; but Mr. West, the second in command, was a gentleman universally respected forhis probity, ability, and resolution. The ten ships destined for thisexpedition were but in very indifferent order, poorly manned, andunprovided with either hospital or fire-ship. They sailed fromSpithead on the seventh day of April, having on board, as part of theircomplement, a regiment of soldiers to be landed at Gibraltar, withmajor-general Stuart, lord Effingham, and colonel Cornwallis, whoseregiments were in garrison at Minorca, about forty inferior officers, and near one hundred recruits, as a reinforcement to St. Philip'sfortress. ADMIRAL BYNG ARRIVES AT GIBRALTAR. After all the intelligence which had been received, one would imaginethe government of England was still ignorant of the enemy's force anddestination; for the instructions delivered to admiral Byng, imported, that on his arrival at Gibraltar, he should inquire whether any Frenchsquadron had passed through the straits; and that, being certifiedin the affirmative, as it was probably designed for North America, heshould immediately detach rear-admiral West to Louisbourg, on the islandof cape Breton, with such a number of ships, as, when joined with thoseat Halifax, would constitute a force superior to the armament of theenemy. 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 agreat number of transports, having on board a body of fifteen thousandland-forces, had sailed from Toulon on the tenth day of April, and madea descent on the island of Minorca, from whence he, captain Edgecumbe, had been obliged to retire on their approach. General Fowke, whocommanded at Gibraltar, had received two successive orders from thesecretary at war, with respect to his sparing a battalion of troops, tobe transported by Mr. Byng, as a reinforcement to Minorca; but as thetwo orders appeared inconsistent or equivocal, a council of war wasconsulted, and a majority were of opinion that no troops should be sentfrom thence to Minorca, except a detachment to supply the deficiency inthe little squadron of captain Edgecumbe, who had left a good number ofhis seamen and mariners, under the command of captain Scroop, to assistin the defence of fort St. Philip's. These articles of intelligence theadmiral despatched by an express to the lords of the admiralty, andin his letter made use of some impolitic expressions, which, in allprobability, it would have been well for him had he omitted. He said, ifhe had been so happy as to have arrived at Mahon before the French hadlanded, he flattered himself he should have been able to prevent theirgetting a footing on that island. He complained, that there were nomagazines in Gibraltar for supplying the squadron with necessaries; thatthe careening wharfs, pits, and store-houses were entirely decayed, sothat he should find the greatest difficulty in cleaning the ships thatwere foul; and this was the case with some of those he carried out fromEngland, as well as with those which had been for some time cruising inthe Mediterranean. He signified his opinion, that, even if it should befound practicable, it would be very impolitic to throw any men intoSt. Philip's castle, which could not be saved without a land-forcesufficient to raise the seige; therefore, a small reinforcement wouldonly add so many men to the number which must fall into the hands of theenemy. He observed, that such engineers and artillery-men in Gibraltaras had been at Minorca, were of opinion that it would be impossible tothrow any number of men into St. Philip's, if the French had erectedbatteries on the two shores near the entrance of the harbour, so asto bar all passage up to the sally-port of the fortress; and with thisopinion he signified the concurrence of his own sentiments. The firstpart of this letter was a downright impeachment of the ministry, forhaving delayed the expedition, for having sent out ships unfit forservice, and for having neglected the magazines and wharfs at Gibraltar. In the latter part he seemed to prepare them for the subsequent accountof his misconduct and miscarriage. It cannot be supposed that theyunderwent this accusation without apprehension and resentment; andas they foresaw the loss of Minorca, which would not fail to excite anational clamour, perhaps they now began to take measures for gratifyingtheir resentment, and transferring the blame from themselves to theperson who had presumed to hint a disapprobation of their conduct: forthis 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 adetachment from the garrison, set sail from Gibraltar on the eighth dayof May, and was joined off Majorca by his majesty's ship the Phoenix, under the command of captain Hervey, who confirmed the intelligencehe had already received, touching the strength and destination of theFrench squadron. When he approached Minorca, he descried the Britishcolours still flying at the castle of St. Philip's, and severalbomb-batteries playing upon it from different quarters where the Frenchbanners were displayed. Thus informed, he detached three ships a-head, with captain Hervey, to reconnoitre the harbour's mouth, and land, ifpossible, a letter for general Blakeney, giving him to understand thefleet was come to his assistance. Before this attempt could be made, theFrench fleet appearing to the south-cast, and the wind blowing strongoff shore, he recalled his ships, and formed the line of battle. Aboutsix o'clock in the evening, the enemy, to the number of seventeen ships, thirteen of which appeared to be very large, advanced in order; butabout 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 theland-wind in the morning, followed their example, being then about fiveleagues from Cape Mola. At daylight the enemy could not be descried; buttwo tartanes appearing close to the rear of the English squadron, theywere immediately chased by signal. One escaped, and the other beingtaken, was found to have on board two French captains, two lieutenants, and about one hundred private soldiers, part of six hundred who hadbeen sent out in tartanes the preceding day, to reinforce the enemy'ssquadron. This soon re-appearing, the line of battle was formed on eachside, and about two o'clock admiral Byng threw out a signal to bear awaytwo points from the wind and engage. At this time his distance from theenemy was so great, that rear-admiral West, perceiving it impossible tocomply with both orders, bore away with his division seven points fromthe wind, and closing down upon the enemy, attacked them with suchimpetuosity, that the ships which opposed him were in a little timedriven out of the line. Had he been properly sustained by the van, in all probability the British fleet would have obtained a completevictory; but the other division did not bear down, and the enemy'scentre keeping that station, rear-admiral West could not pursue hisadvantage without running the risk of seeing his communication with therest of the line entirely cut off. In the beginning of the action, theIntrepid, in Mr. Byng's division, was so disabled in her riggingthat she could not be managed, and drove on the ship that was next inposition; a circumstance which obliged several others to throw all abackin order to avoid confusion, and for some time retarded the action. Certain it is, that Mr. Byng, though accommodated with a noble ship ofninety guns, made little or no use of his artillery, but kept aloof, either from an overstrained observance of discipline, or timidity. Whenhis captain exhorted him to bear down upon the enemy, he very coollyreplied, that he would avoid the error of admiral Matthews, who, in hisengagement with the French and Spanish squadrons off Toulon, during thepreceding war, had broke the line by his own precipitation, and exposedhimself singly to a fire which he could not sustain. Mr. Byng, on thecontrary, was determined against acting, except with the line entire;and, on pretence of rectifying the disorder which had happened amongsome of the ships, hesitated so long, and kept at such a wary distance, that he never was properly engaged, though he received some few shotsin his hull. M. De la Galissionniere seemed equally averse to thecontinuance of the battle; part of his squadron had been fairly obligedto quit the line; and though he was rather superior to the Englishin number of men and weight of metal, he did not choose to abidethe consequence of a closer fight with an enemy so expert in navaloperations: he therefore took advantage of Mr. Byng's hesitation, and edged away with an easy sail to join his van, which had beendiscomfited. The English admiral gave chase; but the French ships beingclean, he could not come up and close them again, so they retired attheir leisure. Then he put his squadron on the other tack, in order tokeep the wind of the enemy; and next morning they were altogether out ofsight. While he lay-to with the rest of the fleet, at the distance of tenleagues from Mahon, he detached cruisers to look for some missing ships, which joined him accordingly, and made an inquiry into the conditionof the squadron. The number of killed amounted to forty-two, includingcaptain Andrews of the Defiance, and about one hundred and sixty-eightwere 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; agreat number of the seamen were ill, and there was no vessel whichcould be converted into an hospital for the sick and wounded. In thissituation he called a council of war, at which the land-officers werepresent. He represented to them that he was much inferior to the enemyin weight of metal and number of men; that they had the advantage ofsending their wounded to Minorca, from whence at the same time theywere refreshed and reinforced occasionally; that in his opinion it wasimpracticable to relieve St. Philip's fort, and, therefore, they oughtto make the best of their way back to Gibraltar, which might requireimmediate protection. They unanimously concurred with his sentiments, and thither he directed his course accordingly. How he came to be sowell 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 leastexcusable part of his conduct; for it afterwards appeared that theofficers and soldiers belonging to the garrison might have been landedat the sally-port, without running any great risk; and a gentleman, thenin the fort, actually passed and repassed in a boat, unhurt by any ofthe 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 whenit appeared, was curtailed of divers expressions, and whole paragraphs, which either tended to his own justification, or implied a censure onthe conduct of his superiors. Whatever use might have been made of thisletter while it remained a secret to the public, we shall not pretend toexplain; but sure it is, that, on the sixteenth day of June, sir EdwardHawke and admiral Saunders sailed from Spit-head to Gibraltar, to supersede the admirals Byng and West in their commands of theMediterranean squadron; and Mr. Byng's letter was not published tillthe twenty-sixth day of the same month, when it produced all theeffect 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 thedevoted admiral, as could not have been exceeded if he had lost thewhole navy of England, and left the coasts of the kingdom naked toinvasion. This animosity was carefully fomented and maintained byartful emissaries, who mingled with all public assemblies, from thedrawing-room in St. James' to the mob at Charing-cross. They expatiatedupon the insolence, the folly, the cowardice, and misconduct of theunhappy admiral. They even presumed to make their sovereign in somemeasure an instrument of their calumny, by suggesting, that his majestyhad prognosticated Byng's misbehaviour from the contents of his firstletter, dated at Gibraltar. They ridiculed and refuted the reasonshe had given for returning to that fortress, after his scandalousre-encounter with the French squadron; and, in order to exasperate themto the most implacable resentment, they exaggerated the terribleconsequences of losing Minorca, which must now be subdued throughhis treachery or want of resolution. In a word, he was devoted as thescape-goat of the ministry, to whose supine negligence, ignorance, andmisconduct, the loss of that important fortress was undoubtedly owing. Byng's miscarriage was thrown out like a barrel to the whale, in orderto engage the attention of the people, that it might not be attracted bythe real cause of the national misfortune. In order to keep up the flamewhich had been kindled against the admiral, recourse was had to thelowest artifices. Agents were employed to vilify his person in allpublic places of vulgar resort, and mobs were hired at different partsof 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 tosupersede general Fowke in the government of Gibraltar, that gentlemanhaving incurred the displeasure of the ministry, for not havingunderstood an order which was unintelligible. By the same conveyance, aletter from the secretary to the admiralty was transmitted to Mr. Byng, giving him notice that he was recalled. To this intimation he replied insuch a manner as denoted a consciousness of having done his duty, anda laudable desire to vindicate his own conduct. His answer containeda further account of the engagement in which he was supposed to havemisbehaved, intermixed with some puerile calculations of the enemy'ssuperiority in weight of metal, which served no other purpose than thatof exposing his character still more to ridicule and abuse; and he wasagain so impolitic as to hazard certain expressions, which added freshfuel to the resentment of his enemies. Directions were immediatelydespatched to sir Edward Hawke, that Byng should be sent home inarrest; and an order to the same purpose was lodged at every port in thekingdom; precautions which, however unnecessary to secure the person ofa man who longed ardently to justify his character by a public trial, were yet productive of considerable effect in augmenting the popularodium. Admiral Byng immediately embarked in the ship which had carriedout his successor, and was accompanied by Mr. West, general Fowke, andseveral other officers of that garrison, who were also recalled, inconsequence of having subscribed to the result of the council of war, which we have mentioned above. When they arrived in England, Mr. Westmet with such a gracious reception from his majesty as was thought dueto his extraordinary merit; but Mr. Byng was committed close prisoner inan 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 wasprosecuted with unremitting vigour. The armament of Toulon, consistingof the fleet commanded by M. De la Galissonniere, and the troops underthe duke de Richelieu, arrived on the eighteenth day of April at theport of Ciudadella, on that part of the island opposite to Mahon, orSt. Philip's, and immediately began to disembark their forces. Two daysbefore they reached the island, general Blakeney had, by a packet boat, received certain intelligence of their approach, and began to makepreparations for the defence of the castle. The fort which he commandedwas very extensive, surrounded with numerous redoubts, ravelins, andother outworks; and provided with subterranean galleries, mines, andtraverses, Cut out of the solid rock with incredible labour. Uponthe whole, this was one of the best fortified places in Europe, wellsupplied with artillery, ammunition, and provisions; and, withoutall doubt, might have sustained the most desperate siege, had it beendefended by a numerous garrison, conducted by able engineers, underthe eye and auspices of an active and skilful commander. All theseadvantages, however, did not concur on this occasion. The number oftroops in Minorca did not exceed four regiments, whereas the nature ofthe works required at least double the number; and even of these, aboveforty officers were absent. The chief engineer was rendered lame by thegout, and the general himself oppressed with the infirmities of old age. The natives of the island might have been serviceable as pioneers, orday-labourers, but from their hatred to the protestant religion, theywere generally averse to the English government, although they had livedhappily and grown wealthy under its influence. PRECAUTIONS taken by GENERAL BLAKENEY. The governor ordered his officers to beat up for volunteers in theadjacent town of St. Philip's; but few or none would enlist under hisbanners, and it seems he would not venture to compel them into theservice. He recalled all his advanced parties; and, in particular, acompany posted at Fornelles, where a small redoubt had been raised, and five companies at Ciudadella, a post fortified with two pieces ofcannon, which were now withdrawn as soon as the enemy began to disembarktheir forces. At the same time major Cunningham was detached with aparty to break down the bridges, and break up the roads between thatplace and St. Philip's; but the task of destroying the roads could notbe performed in such a hurry, on account of the hard rock which runsalong the surface of the ground through this whole island; nor was theretime 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 havebeen dug through the solid rock. Here they made a lodgement close to theworks; here they found convenient barracks and quarters of refreshment, masks for their batteries, and an effectual cover for their mortars andbombardiers. The general has been blamed for leaving the town standing;but if we consider his uncertainty concerning the destination of theFrench armament, the odious nature of such a precaution, which could notfail to exasperate the inhabitants, and the impossibility of executingsuch a scheme after the first appearance of the enemy, he will be foundexcusable, if not altogether blameless. Some houses and windmills wereactually demolished, so as to clear the esplanade and the approaches. All the wine in the cellars of St. Philip's town was destroyed, and thebutts were carried into the castle, where they might serve for gabionsand traverses. Five-and-twenty Minorquin bakers were hired, and a largenumber 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 thenanchored 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 hismarines, a detachment from Gibraltar, the whole crew of the Porcupinesloop, and the greater part of the Dolphin's, as a reinforcement to thefort, under the immediate direction and command of captain Scroop ofthe Dolphin, who, with great gallantry, offered himself for this severeduty, and bravely signalized himself during the whole siege. The Frenchadmiral might certainly have blocked up this harbour in such a manner, as would have prevented the escape of these ships, and divers otherrich merchant vessels, which happened then to be at Mahon; but in allprobability, they purposely allowed them to abandon the place, which, on any emergency or assault, their crews and officers would haveconsiderably reinforced. The enemy were perfectly acquainted with thegreat extent of the works, and the weakness of the garrison, from whichcircumstance they derived the most sanguine hopes that the place mightbe suddenly taken, without the trouble of a regular siege. After Mr. Edgecumbe had sailed from Gibraltar, and general Blakeney had ordereda sloop to be sunk in the channel that leads to the harbour, the Frenchsquadron made its appearance at this part of the island; but withouthaving attempted anything against the fort, fell to leeward of CapeMola. Next day they came in sight again, but soon bore away, and neverafterwards, during the whole course of the siege, approached so near asto give the garrison the least disturbance. On the twenty-second day of April, the governor sent a drummer to theFrench general with a letter, desiring to know his reasons for invadingthe island. To this an answer was returned by the duke de Richelieu, declaring he was come with intention to reduce the island under thedominion of his most christian majesty, by way of retaliation for theconduct of his master, who had seized and detained the ships belongingto the king of France and his subjects. If we may judge from the firstoperations of this nobleman, he was but indifferently provided withengineers; for instead of beginning his approaches on the side of St. Philip's town, close by the outworks, where he might have been screenedfrom the fire of the garrison, his batteries were erected at Cape Mola, on the other side of the harbour, where they were more exposed, theirfire much less effectual, and indeed at too great a distance to be ofany service. The fire of St. Philip's was so severe, and the cannon sowell served on this quarter, that in a little time the enemy thoughtproper to change their plan of attack, and advance on the side ofSt. Philip's town, which ought to have been the first object of theirconsideration, especially as they could find little or no earth to filltheir gabions, and open their trenches in the usual form. On the twelfthof May, about nine at night, they opened two bomb-batteries, near theplace where the windmills had been destroyed; and from that period anincessant fire was kept up on both sides, from mortars and cannon, theFrench continuing to raise new batteries in every situation from whencethey could annoy the besieged. On the seventeenth day of the month, the garrison were transported withjoy at sight of the British squadron, commanded by admiral Byng; and Mr. Boyd, commissary of the stores, ventured to embark in a small boat, withsix oars, which passed from St. Stephen's cove, a creek on the west sideof the fortification, through a shower of cannon and musketry from theenemy's post on the other side, and actually reached the open sea, hisdesign being to join the squadron; but this being at a great distance, stretching away to the southward, and Mr. Boyd perceiving himself chasedby two of the enemy's light vessels, he returned oy the same route tothe garrison, without having sustained the least damage; a circumstancewhich plainly confutes the notion of Mr. Byng, that it was impracticableto open a communication with the garrison of St. Philip's. Next day thehopes of the besieged, which had prognosticated a naval victory tothe British squadron, a speedy relief to themselves, and no less thancaptivity to the assailants, were considerably damped by the appearanceof the French fleet, which quietly returned to their station off theharbour of Mahon. That same evening they were told by a deserter, that the English fleet had been worsted in an engagement by M. De laGalissonniere; and this information was soon confirmed by a generaldischarge, or _feu-de-joie_, through the whole French camp, to celebratethe victory they pretended to have obtained. How little soever theyhad reason to boast of any advantage in the action, the retreat of theEnglish squadron was undoubtedly equivalent to a victory; for had Mr. Byng acquired and maintained the superiority at sea, the French forceswhich had been disembarked in Minorca, would, in all probability, havebeen obliged to surrender prisoners of war to his Britannic majesty. Thecase was now much altered in their favour: their squadron cruised aboutthe island without molestation, and they daily received, by means oftheir transports, reinforcements of men and ammunition, as well asconstant supplies of provisions. The English garrison, however mortified at finding themselves thusabandoned, resolved to acquit themselves with gallantry in the defenceof the place, not without some remaining hope that the English squadronwould be reinforced and return to their relief. In the meantime, theysustained and retorted the enemy's fire with undaunted resolution. Theyremounted cannon, the carriages of which had been disabled; they removedthem occasionally to places from whence it was judged they could dothe greatest execution; they repaired breaches, restored merlins, andlaboured with surprising alacrity, even when they were surrounded bythe numerous batteries of the foe; when their embrasures and even theparapets were demolished, and they stood exposed not only to the cannonand mortars, but also to the musketry which fired upon them withoutceasing, from the windows of the houses in the town of St. Philip. Bythis time they were invested with an army of twenty thousand men, andplied incessantly from sixty-two battering cannon, twenty-one mortars, and four howitzers, besides the small arms; nevertheless, the loss ofmen within the fortress was very inconsiderable, the garrison beingmostly secured in the subterranean works which were impenetrable toshells or shot. By the twenty-seventh day of June they had made apracticable breach in one of the ravelins, and damaged the otheroutworks to such a degree, that they determined this night to give ageneral assault. Accordingly, between the hours of ten and eleven, theyadvanced to the attack from all quarters on the land side. At thesame time a strong detachment, in armed boats, attempted to force theharbour, and penetrate into the creek called St. Stephen's Cove, tostorm fort Charles, and second the attack upon fort Marlborough, on thefarther side of the creek, the most detached of all the outworks. Theenemy advanced with great intrepedity, and their commander, the dukede Richelieu, is said to have led them up the works in person. Such anassault could not but be attended with great slaughter; they were moweddown as they approached, with grape shot and musketry; and several mineswere sprung with great effect, so that the glacis was almost coveredwith the dying and the dead. Nevertheless, they persevered with uncommonresolution; and though repulsed on every other side, at length madea lodgement in the queen's redoubt, which had been greatly damaged bytheir cannon. Whether their success in this quarter was owing to theweakness of the place, or to the timidity of the defender, certain itis, the enemy were in possession before it was known to the officers ofthe garrison; for lieutenant-colonel Jeffries the second in command, who had acquitted himself since the beginning of the siege with equalcourage, skill, and activity, in his visitation of this post, wassuddenly surrounded and taken by a file of French grenadiers, at a timewhen he never dreamed they had made a lodgement. Major Cunningham, whoaccompanied him, met with a severer fate, though he escaped captivity;he was run through the arm with a bayonet, and the piece beingdischarged at the same time, shattered the bones of his hand in sucha manner, that he was maimed for life. In this shocking condition heretired behind a traverse, and was carried home to his quarters. Thusthe governor was deprived of his two principal assistants, one beingtaken, and the other disabled. The enemy having made themselves masters of Anstruther's and thequeen's redoubts, from which perhaps they might have been dislodged, hada vigorous effort been made for that purpose before they had leisure tosecure 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, inasmuchas the enemy took this opportunity to throw a reinforcement of menprivately into the places where the lodgements had been made, and thesepenetrated into the gallery of the mines, which communicated withall the other outworks. During this short cessation, general Blakeneysummoned a council of war to deliberate upon the state of the fort andgarrison; and the majority declared for a capitulation. The works werein many places rained; the body of the castle was shattered; many gunswere dismounted, the embrasures and parapets demolished, the palisadoesbroken in pieces, the garrison exhausted with hard duty andincessant watching, and the enemy in possession of the subterraneancommunications. Besides, the governor had received information fromprisoners, that the duke de Richelieu was alarmed by a report thatthe marshal duke de Belleisle would be sent to supersede him in thecommand, 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, inducedhim to demand a capitulation. But this measure was not taken with theunanimous consent of the council. Some officers observed, that thegarrison was very little diminished, and still in good spirits; that nobreach was made in the body of the castle, nor a single cannon erectedto batter in breach; that the loss of an outwork was never deemeda sufficient reason for surrendering such a fortress; that thecounterscarp was not yet taken, nor, on account of the rocky soil, couldbe taken, except by assault, which would cost the enemy a greater numberthan they had lost in their late attempt; that they could not attack theditch, or batter in breach, before the counterscarp should be taken, andeven then they must have recourse to galleries before they could passthe fosse, which was furnished with mines and countermines; finally, they suggested, that in all probability the British squadron would bereinforced, 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 beingoverruled, the chamade was beat, a conference ensued, and veryhonourable conditions were granted to the garrison, in consideration ofthe gallant defence they had made. This it must be owned was vigorouswhile it lasted, as the French general was said to have lost fivethousand men in the siege; whereas the loss of the garrison, which atfirst fell short of three thousand men, did not exceed one hundred. Thecapitulation imported, that the garrison should march out with all thehonours of war, and be conveyed by sea to Gibraltar. The French wereput in possession of one gate, as well as fort Charles and Marlboroughredoubt; but the English troops remained in the other works till theseventh day of July, when they embarked. In the meantime reciprocalcivilities passed between the commanders and officers of both nations. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SIR E. HAWKE SAILS TO MINORCA. The articles of capitulation were no sooner executed, than monsieur dela Galissonniere sailed back to Toulon, with all the prizes which hadlain at anchor in the harbour of Matron, since the fort of St. Philipwas first invested. In all probability, the safety of himself and hiswhole squadron was owing to this expeditious retreat; for in a few daysafter the surrender of the fort, sir Edward Hawke's fleet, augmented byfive ships of the line, which had been sent from England when the firsttidings arrived of Minorca's being invaded, now made its appearance offthe island; but by this time Galissonniere was retired, and the Englishadmiral had the mortification to see the French colours flying upon St. Philip's castle. What, perhaps, chagrined this gallant officer stillmore, he was not provided with frigates, sloops, and small craft, tocruise round the island and intercept the supplies which were daily sentto the enemy. Had he reached Minorca sooner, he might have discomfitedthe 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 thecommunication with it opened by sea, the defence would have beenprotracted, and so many vigorous sallies might have been made, that theassailants would have had cause to repent of their enterprise. When the news of this conquest was brought to Versailles, by the countof 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 butanthems, congratulations, and hyperbolical encomiums upon the conquerorof 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 warlikenation than the pride of such mean triumph, for an advantage, which, in more vigorous times, would scarce have been distinguished by theceremony of a _Te Deum Laudamus_. Nor is this childish exultation, thatdisgraces the laurels of victory, confined to the kingdom of France. Truth obliges us to own, that even the subjects of Great Britain are aptto be elevated by success into an illiberal insolence of self-applause, and contemptuous comparison. This must be condemned as a proof ofunmanly arrogance, and absurd self-conceit, by all those who coollyreflect that the events of war generally, if not always, depend upon thegenius or misconduct of one individual. The loss of Minorca was severelyfelt in England, as a national disgrace; but, instead of producingdejection and despondence, it excited an universal clamour of rage andresentment, not only against Mr. Byng, who had retreated from the Frenchsquadron; but also in reproach of the administration, which was taxedwith having neglected the security of Minorca. Nay, some politicianswere inflamed into a suspicion, that this important place had beennegatively betrayed into the hands of the enemy, that in case the armsof Great Britain should prosper in other parts of the world, the Frenchking might have some sort of equivalent to restore for the conquestswhich should be abandoned at the peace. This notion, however, seems tohave been conceived from prejudice and party, which now began toappear with the most acrimonious aspect, not only throughout the unitedkingdoms in general, but even in the sovereign's councils. GALLANTRY OF FORTUNATUS WRIGHT. Sir Edward Hawke, being disappointed in his hope of encountering LaGalissonniere, and relieving the English garrison of St. Philip's, atleast asserted the empire of Great Britain in the Mediterranean, byannoying the commerce of the enemy, and blocking up the squadron in theharbour of Toulon. Understanding that the Austrian government at Leghornhad detained an English privateer, and imprisoned the captain, onpretence that he had violated the neutrality of the port, he detachedtwo ships of war, to insist, in a peremptory manner, on the release ofthe ship, effects, crew, and captain; and they thought proper to complywith this demand, even without waiting for orders from the court ofVienna. The person in whose behalf the admiral thus interposed, was oneFortunatus Wright, a native of Liverpool; who, though a stranger to asea life, had in the last war equipped a privateer, and distinguishedhimself in such a manner by his uncommon vigilance and valour, that, if he had been indulged with a command suitable to his genius, he wouldhave deserved as honourable a place in the annals of the navy, as thatwhich the French have bostowed upon their boasted Guai Trouin, Du Bart, and Thurot. An uncommon exertion of spirit was the occasion of his beingdetained at this juncture. While he lay at anchor in the harbour ofLeghorn, commander of the St. George privateer of Liverpool, a smallship of twelve guns and eighty men, a large French xebeque, mounted withsixteen cannon, and nearly three times the number of his complement, chose her station in view of the harbour, in order to interrupt theBritish 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 ofthe shore, and after a very obstinate dispute, in which the captain, lieutenant, and above threescore of the men belonging to the xebequewere killed on the spot, he obliged them to sheer off, and returnedto the harbour in triumph. This brave corsair would, no doubt, havesignalized himself by many other exploits, had he not, in the sequel, been overtaken in the midst of his career by a dreadful storm, in whichthe ship foundering, he and all his crew perished. GENERAL BLAKENEY CREATED A BARON. Sir Edward Hawke, having scoured the Mediterranean, and insulted theenemy's ports, returned with the home-ward bound trade to Gibraltar;from whence about the latter end of the year he set sail for Englandwith part of his squadron, leaving the rest in that bay for theprotection of our commerce, which, in those parts, soon began to sufferextremely from French privateers that now swarmed in the Mediterranean. General Blakeney had arrived, with the garrison of Minorca, atPortsmouth, in the month of November, and been received with expressionsof tumultuous joy: every place through which he passed celebrated hisreturn with bonfires, illuminations, bell-ringing, and acclamations:every mouth was opened in his praise, extolling him for the gallantdefence he had made in the castle of St. Philip. In a word, the people'sveneration for Blakeney increased in proportion to their abhorrence ofByng: the first was lifted into an idol of admiration, while the othersunk into an object of reproach; and they were viewed at different endsof a false perspective, through the medium of prejudice and passion; ofa perspective artfully contrived, and applied by certain ministers forthe purposes of self-interest and deceit. The sovereign is said to havebeen influenced by the prepossession of the secret. Mr. Blakeney metwith a gracious reception from his majesty, who raised him to the rankof an Irish baron in consideration of his faithful services, whilesome malcontents murmured at this mark of favour, as an unreasonablesacrifice to popular misapprehension. MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE DEFENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN. In the beginning of the year, the measures taken by the government inEngland seem to have been chiefly dictated by the dread of an invasion, from which the ministers did not think themselves secured by theguard-ships and cruisers on different parts of the coast, or thestanding army of the kingdom, though reinforced by the two bodies ofGerman auxiliaries. A considerable number of new troops was levied;the success of recruiting was not only promoted by the land-holdersthroughout the kingdom, who thought their estates were at stake, and forthat reason encouraged their dependents to engage in the service; butalso in a great measure owing to a dearth of corn, which reduced thelower class of labourers to such distress, that some insurrections wereraised, and many enlisted with a view to obtain a livelihood, whichotherwise they could not earn. New ships of war were built, and dailyput in commission; but it was found impracticable to man them, withouthaving recourse to the odious and illegal practice of impressingsailors, 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 impressall the seamen that could be found, without any regard to formerprotections; so that all the merchant ships were stripped of theirhands, and foreign commerce for some time wholly suspended. Nay, theexpedient of compelling men into the service was carried to an unusualdegree of oppression; for rewards were publicly offered to those whoshould discover where any seamen lay concealed; so that those unhappypeople were in some respects treated like felons, dragged from theirfamilies and connexions to confinement, mutilation, and death, andtotally cut off from the enjoyment of that liberty which, perhaps at theexpense of their lives, their own arms had helped to preserve, in favourof 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 alreadyequipped, and considerable bodies of land-forces assembled, when, onthe third day of February, a proclamation was issued, requiring allofficers, civil and military, upon the first appearance of any hostileattempt to land upon the coasts of the kingdom, immediately to cause allhorses, oxen, or cattle, which might be fit for draught or burden, andnot actually employed in the king's service, or in the defence of thecountry, and also (so far as might be practicable) all other cattleand provisions, to be driven and removed twenty miles at least from theplace 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 whoshould make such attempt: regard being had, however, that the respectiveowners should suffer as little damage as might be consistent with thepublic safety. EARL OF LOUDON APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN AMERICA. As the ministry were determined to make their chief efforts against theenemy in North America, where the first hostilities had been committed, and where the strongest impression could be made, a detachment of tworegiments was sent thither under the conduct of general Abercrombie, appointed as successor to general Shirley, whom they recalled, as aperson nowise qualified to conduct military operations; nor, indeed, could any success in war be expected from a man who had not been trainedto arms, nor ever acted but in a civil capacity. But the command inchief of all the forces in America was conferred upon the earlof Loudon, a nobleman of an amiable character, who had alreadydistinguished himself in the service of his country. Over and above thiscommand, he was now appointed governor of Virginia, and colonel of aroyal American regiment, consisting of four battalions, to be raisedin that country, and disciplined by officers of experience invited fromforeign service. Mr. Abercrombie set sail for America in March; but theearl of Loudon, who directed in chief the plan of operations, and wasvested 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 ofthe 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 andencroachments made upon the British territories, in America, hadbeen notorious; that his Britannic majesty had, in divers seriousrepresentations to the court of Versailles, complained of these repeatedacts of violence, and demanded satisfaction; but notwithstanding therepeated assurances given by the French king, that every thing should besettled agreeably to the treaties subsisting between the two crowns, andparticularly that the evacuation of the four neutral islands in the WestIndies should be effected, the execution of these assurances, and ofthe treaties on which they were founded, had been evaded under the mostfrivolous pretences; that the unjustifiable practices of the Frenchgovernors, and officers acting under their authority, were stillcontinued, until they broke out in open acts of hostility, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and fifty-four; when, in time of profoundpeace, without any declaration of war, without any previous noticegiven, or application made, a body of French troops, commanded by anofficer bearing the French king's commission, attacked in an hostilemanner, and took possession of an English fort on the river Ohio, inNorth America; that great naval armaments were prepared in the portsof France, and a considerable body of French troops embarked for thatcountry; that although the French ambassador was sent back to Englandwith specious professions of a desire to accommodate these differences, it appeared their real design was only to amuse and gain time for thepassage of these supplies and reinforcements, which they hoped wouldsecure the superiority of the French forces in America, and enable themto carry their ambitious and oppressive projects into execution; thatinconsequence of the just and necessary measures taken by the king ofGreat Britain for preventing the success of such a dangerous design, the French ambassador was immediately recalled from England, thefortifications of Dunkirk were enlarged, great bodies of troops marcheddown to the sea-coasts of France, and the British dominions threatenedwith an invasion; that though the king of England, in order to frustratethese intentions, had given orders for seizing at sea the ships of theFrench king and his subjects, yet he had hitherto contented himself withdetaining those ships which had been taken, and preserving their cargoesentire, without proceeding to confiscation; but it being at last evidentfrom the hostile invasion of Minorca, that the court of Versailles wasdetermined to reject all proposals of accommodation, and carry on thewar with the utmost violence, his Britannic majesty could no longer, consistently with the honour of his crown, and the welfare of hissubjects, remain within those bounds, which from a desire of peace hehad hitherto observed. A denunciation of war followed in the usualform, and was concluded with an assurance, that all the French subjectsresiding in Great Britain and Ireland, who should demean themselvesdutifully to the government, might depend upon its protection, and besafe in their persons and effects. SUBSTANCE OF THE FRENCH KING'S DECLARATION. In the beginning of June the French king declared war in his turnagainst his Britannic majesty, and his declaration was couched in termsof uncommon asperity. He artfully threw a shade over the beginning of hostilities in NorthAmerica, referring to a memorial which had been delivered to the severalcourts of Europe, containing a summary of those facts which related tothe 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 onethousand seven hundred and fifty-four, on the French possessions inNorth America; and afterwards by the English navy on the navigation andcommerce of the French subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, anddirect violation of treaties. He complained that the French soldiers andsailors underwent the harshest treatment in the British isles, exceedingthose bounds which are prescribed to the most rigorous rights of war, by the law of nature, and common humanity. He affirmed, that while theEnglish ministry, under the appearance of sincerity, imposed uponthe French ambassador with false protestations, others diametricallyopposite to these deceitful assurances of a speedy accommodation wereactually carrying into execution in North America; that while thecourt of London employed every caballing art, and squandered away thesubsidies of England, to instigate other powers against France, his mostchristain majesty did not even ask of these powers the succourswhich guarantees and defensive treaties authorised him to demand; butrecommended to them such measures only as tended to their own peace andsecurity; that while the English navy, by the most odious violences, and sometimes by the vilest artifices, made captures of French vesselsnavigating in full security under the safeguard of public faith, hismost christian majesty released an English frigate taken by a Frenchsquadron; and British vessels traded to the ports of France withoutmolestation. That the striking contrast formed by these differentmethods of proceeding would convince all Europe, that one court wasguided by motives of jealousy, ambition, and avarice, and that theconduct of the other was founded on principles of honour, justice, and moderation; that the vague imputations contained in the king ofEngland's declaration, had in reality no foundation; and the very mannerin which they were set forth would prove their futility and falsehood;that the mention made of the works at Dunkirk, and the troop assembledon the coasts of the ocean, implied the most gross attempt to deceivemankind into a belief that these were the points which determined theking of England to issue orders for seizing the French vessels; whereasthe works at Dunkirk were not begun till after two French ships ofwar had been taken by an English squadron; and depredations had beencommitted six months upon the subjects of France before the firstbattalions began their march for the sea-side. In a word, the mostchristian king, laying aside that politeness and decorum on which hispeople value themselves above all the nations upon the face of theearth, very roundly taxes his brother monarch's administration withpiracy, perfidy, inhumanity, and deceit. A charge conveyed in suchreproachful terms, against one of the most respectable crowned heads inEurope, will appear the more extraordinary and injurious, if we considerthat the accusers were well acquainted with the falsity of their ownimputations, and at the same time conscious of having practised thosevery arts which they affected so much to decry. For after all, it mustbe allowed, that nothing could be justly urged against the Englishgovernment, with respect to France, except the omission of a mere form, which other nations might interpret into an irregularity, but could notconstrue into perfidious dealing, as the French had previously violatedthe 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 hostilitiescommitted and intended against a people whom they have always consideredas their natural enemies, and the incendiaries of Europe. Theycheerfully contributed to the expense of armaments, * and seemed toapprove of their destination, in hopes of being able to wipe off thedisgraces they had sustained in the defeat of Braddock, and the loss ofMinorca. * 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, andcommon-council of London, containing strong hints to the disadvantageof the ministry. They expressed their apprehension, that the loss of theimportant fortress of St. Philip and island of Minorca, possessionsof the utmost consequence to the commerce and naval strength of GreatBritain, without any attempt by timely and effectual succours to preventor defeat an attack, after such early notice of the enemy's intentions, and when his majesty's navy was so evidently superior to theirs, wouldbe an indelible reproach on the honour of the British nation. Theyexpatiated upon the imminent danger to which the British possessions inAmerica were exposed, by the mismanagement and delays which had attendedthe defence of those invaluable colonies, the object of the present war, the principal source of the wealth and strength of these kingdoms. Theylamented the want of a constitutional and well-regulated militia, themost natural and certain defence against all invaders whatsoever. They signified their hope, that the authors of the late losses anddisappointments would be detected, and brought to condign punishment;that his majesty's known intentions of protecting and defending hissubjects in their rights and possessions, might be faithfullyand vigorously carried into execution; and the large supplies, sonecessarily demanded, and so cheerfully granted, might be religiouslyapplied to the defence of these kingdoms, their colonies, and theircommerce, as well as to the annoyance of their inveterate and perfidiousenemies, the only sure means of obtaining a lasting and honourablepeace. In answer to this address, the king assured them that he wouldnot fail to do justice upon any persons who should have been wanting intheir duty to him and their country; to enforce obedience and disciplinein his fleets and armies; and to support the authority and respect dueto his government. Remonstrances of the same kind were presented bydifferent counties and corporations; and the populace clamoured aloudfor inquiry and justice. TRIAL OF GENERAL FOWKE. The first victim offered to the enraged multitude was the unfortunategeneral Fowke, who had been deputy-governor of Gibraltar, and behavedwith remarkable conduct and integrity in the exercise of that importantoffice, till that period when he fell under the displeasure of thegovernment. He was now brought to trial before a board of generalofficers, and accused of having disobeyed the orders he had receivedfrom the secretary at war in three successive letters [379] _[See note 3B, at the end of this Vol. ]_, touching the relief of Minorca. Mr. Fowke alleged in his own defence, that the orders were confused andcontradictory, and implied a discretionary power; that the whole numberof his garrison did not exceed two thousand six hundred men, after hehad spared two hundred and seventy-five to the ships commanded byMr. Edgecumbe; that the ordinary duty of the garrison requiring eighthundred men, the whole number was not sufficient for three reliefs;that, if he had detached a battalion on board the fleet, he should nothave had above two reliefs, at a time when he believed the place wasin danger of being attacked, for good reasons, which he did not thinkhimself at liberty to mention; that his orders being doubtful, he held acouncil of war, which was of opinion, that as undoubted intelligence wasreceived of the French army's being landed at Minorca, to the number ofbetween thirteen and sixteen thousand men, and that a French squadronof sixteen ships was stationed off the harbour, the sending a detachmentequal to a battalion from Gibraltar would be an ineffectual supply forthe relief of the place, and a weakening of the garrison from whichthey must be sent. He observed, that supposing the orders to havebeen positive, and seven hundred men detached to Minorca, the numberremaining at Gibraltar would not have exceeded one thousand five hundredand fifty-six: a deduction of seven hundred more, according to the orderof May the twelfth, would have left a remainder of eight hundredand fifty-six; that the men daily on duty in the garrison, includingartificers and labourers in the king's works, amounted to eight hundredand thirty-nine; so that if he had complied with the orders as theyarrived, he would not have had more than seventeen men over and abovethe number necessary for the daily work of the garrison; thus theimportant fortress of Gibraltar must, at this critical conjuncture, havebeen left almost naked and defenceless to the attempts of the enemy; andhad those detachments been actually sent abroad, it afterwards appearedthat they could not have been landed on the island of Minorca. The ordertransmitted to general Fowke to detain all empty vessels, for a furthertransportation of troops, seems to have been superfluous; for it canhardly be supposed he could have occasion for them, unless to embark thewhole garrison, and abandon the place. It seems likewise to have beenunnecessary to exhort the general to keep his garrison as alert aspossible, during that critical time; inasmuch as it would have beenimpossible for the men to have enjoyed the least repose or intromissionof duty, had the orders been punctually and literally obeyed. What otherassistance it might have been in the governor's power to give forthe relief of Minorca, or in what manner he could avoid fatiguing hisgarrison, while there was an impossibility of relieving the guards, it is not easy to comprehend. Be that as it may, when the trial wasfinished, and the question put to acquit or suspend for one year, thecourt was equally divided; and in such cases the casting vote beingvested in the president, he threw it into the scale against theprisoner, whom his majesty thought fit to dismiss from his service. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 thetwenty-fifth day of June, Mr. Abercrombie arrived at Albany, thefrontier of New York, and assumed the command of the forces thereassembled, 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 maintainedin New York, the New Jersey regiment, four companies levied in NorthCarolina, and a body of provincial forces raised by the government ofNew 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 frontierfrom the French and Indians, who, in skulking parties, made suddenirruptions upon their unguarded settlements, burning, plundering, andmassacring with the most savage inhumanity. As for South Carolina, theproportion of negro slaves to the number of white inhabitants was sogreat in that colony, that the government could not, with any regardto the safety of the province, spare any reinforcement for the generalenterprise. The plan of this undertaking had been settled in thepreceding year in a council of war, held at New York. There it wasresolved to attack the fort of Niagara, situated between the lakesOntario and Erie, in order to cut off the communication betweenCanada and Louisiana, and prevent the French from supporting their newfortresses on the Ohio; to reduce Ticonderago and Crown Point, sothat the frontier of New York might be delivered from the danger of aninvasion, and Great Britain become master of the lake Champlain, overwhich the forces might be transported in any future attempt; to besiegefort Du Quesne upon the Ohio; and to detach a body of troops by theriver Kennebec, to alarm the capital of Canada. This plan was tooextensive for the number of troops which had been prepared; the seasonwas too far advanced before the regiments arrived from England, thedifferent colonies were divided in their opinions, and Mr. Abercrombiepostponed the execution of any important scheme till the arrival oflord Loudon, who was daily expected. The reasons that delayed thereinforcement, and detained his lordship so long, we do not pretendto explain; though we may be allowed to observe, that many fairopportunities have been lost, by the neglect and procrastination ofan English ministry. Certain it is, the unaccountable delay of thisarmament rendered it useless for a whole year, afforded time and leisureto the enemy to take their precautions against any subsequent attack, and, in the meantime, to proceed unmolested in distressing the Britishsettlements. Even before this period, they had attacked and reduced asmall post in the country of the Five Nations, occupied by twenty-fiveEnglishmen, who were cruelly butchered to a man, in the midst of thoseIndians whom Great Britain had long numbered among her allies. Soon after this expedition, having received intelligence that aconsiderable convoy of provisions and stores, for the garrison ofOswego, would in a little time set out from Schenectady, and be conveyedin batteaux up the river Onondaga, they formed an ambuscade among thewoods and thickets on the north side of that river; but understandingthe convoy had passed before they reached the place, they resolved towait the return of the detachment. Their design, however, was frustratedby the vigilance and valour of colonel Bradstreet, who expected suchan attempt, and had taken his measures accordingly. On the third day ofJuly, while he stemmed the stream of the river, with his batteaux formedinto three divisions, they were saluted with the Indian war-hoop, anda general discharge of musketry from the north shore. Bradstreetimmediately ordered his men to land on the opposite bank, and with afew of the foremost took possession of a small island, where he wasforthwith attacked by a party of the enemy, who had forded the river forthat purpose; but these were soon repulsed. Another body having passeda mile higher, he advanced to them at the head of two hundred men, andfell upon them, sword in hand, with such vigour, that many were killedon the spot, and the rest driven into the water with such precipitationthat a considerable number of them were drowned. Having receivedinformation that a third body of them had passed at a ford still higher, he marched thither without hesitation, and pursued them to the otherside, where they were entirely routed and dispersed. In this action, which lasted near three hours, about seventy of the batteau-men werekilled or wounded, but the enemy lost double the number killed, andabove seventy taken prisoners. In all probability the whole detachmentof the French, amounting to seven hundred men, would have been cut offhad not a heavy rain interposed, and disabled colonel Bradstreet fromfollowing his blow; for that same night he was joined by captain Pattenwith his grenadiers, in his march from Oneida to Oswego, and nextmorning reinforced with two hundred men, detached to his assistance fromthe garrison of Oswego; but by this time the rivulets were so swelledby the rain, that it was found impracticable to pursue the enemy throughthe woods and thickets. Patten and his grenadiers accompaniedthe detachment to Oswego, while Bradstreet pursued his voyage toSchenectady, from whence he repaired to Albany, and communicated togeneral Abercrombie the intelligence he had received from the prisoners, that a large body of the enemy were encamped on the eastern side ofthe lake Ontario, provided with artillery, and all other implements, tobesiege the fort of Oswego. EARL OF LOUDON ARRIVES AT NEW YORK. In consequence of this information, major-general Webb was ordered tohold himself in readiness to march with one regiment to the relief ofthat garrison; but, before they could be provided with necessaries, the earl of Loudon arrived at the head-quarters at Albany, on thetwenty-ninth day of July. The army at this time is said to haveconsisted of regular troops to the number of two thousand six hundred, about seven thousand provincials, supposed to be in readiness to marchfrom fort William-Henry, under the command of general Winslow, over andabove a considerable number of batteau-men at Albany and Schenectady. The garrison at Oswego amounted to fourteen hundred soldiers, besidesthree hundred workmen and sailors, either in the fort, or posted insmall parties between the fort and place called Burnet's Field, tosecure a safe passage through the country of the Six Nations, uponwhose friendship there was no longer any reliance. By the best accountsreceived of the enemy's forces, they had about three thousand men atCrown Point and Ticonderago upon the lake Champlain; but their chiefstrength was collected upon the banks of the lake Ontario, where theirpurpose undoubtedly was to reduce the English fort at Oswego. Theimmediate object, therefore, of lord Loudon's attention was the reliefof this place; but his design was strenuously opposed by the province ofNew York, and other northern governments, who were much more intent uponthe reduction of Crown Point, and the security of their own frontiers, which they apprehended was connected with this conquest. They insistedupon Winslow's being joined by some regiments of regular troops beforehe should march against this fortress; and stipulated that a body ofreserve should be detained at Albany, for the defence of that frontier, in case Winslow should fail in his enterprise, and be defeated. Atlength they agreed, that the regiment which Mr. Abercrombie had destinedfor that purpose should be detached for the relief of Oswego; and on thetwelfth day of August major-general Webb began his march with it fromAlbany; but on his arrival at the Carrying-place, between the Mohawk'sriver and Wood's creek, he received the disagreeable news thatOswego 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, byfelling 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 ofthis apprehension, he was permitted to retire unmolested. OSWEGO REDUCED BY THE ENEMY. The loss of the two small forts called Ontario and Oswego, was aconsiderable national misfortune. They were erected on the south side ofthe great lake Ontario, standing on the opposite sides of the mouthof the Onondago river, that discharges itself into the lake, andconstituted a post of great importance, where vessels had been built tocruise upon the lake, which is a kind of inland sea, and interrupt thecommerce as well as the motions and designs of the enemy. The garrison, as we have already observed, consisted of fourteen hundred men, chieflymilitia and new-raised recruits, under the command of lieutenant-colonelMercer, an officer of courage and experience; but the situation of theforts was very ill chosen; the materials mostly timber or logs of wood;the defences wretchedly contrived and unfinished; and, in a word, theplace altogether untenable against any regular approach. Such werethe forts which the enemy wisely resolved to reduce. Being underno 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 ofthe marquis de Montcalm, a vigilant and enterprising officer, to whomthe conduct of the siege was entrusted by the marquis de Vaudreuil, governor and lieutenant-general of New France. The first step taken byMontcalm 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 theforts, to cut off all communication of succour and intelligence. In themeantime he embarked his artillery and stores upon the lake, and landedthem in the bay of Nixouri, the place of general rendezvous. At anothercreek, within half a league of Oswego, he erected a battery forthe protection of his vessels, and on the twelfth day of August, atmidnight, after his dispositions had been made, he opened the trenchesbefore fort Ontario. The garrison having fired away all their shells andammunition, spiked up the cannon, and deserting the fort, retired nextday across the river into Oswego, which was even more exposed than theother, especially when the enemy had taken possession of Ontario, fromwhence they immediately began to fire without intermission. ColonelMercer being on the thirteenth killed by a cannon ball, the fortdestitute of all cover, the officers divided in opinion, and thegarrison in confusion, they next day demanded a capitulation, andsurrendered prisoners of war, on condition that they should be exemptedfrom plunder, conducted to Montreal, and treated with humanity. Theseconditions, however, the marquis did not punctually observe. The Britishofficers and soldiers were insulted by the savage Indians, who robbedthem of their clothes and baggage, massacred several men as they stooddefenceless on the parade, assassinated lieutenant de la Court as helay 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 contemptof common humanity, delivered up above twenty men of the garrison to theIndians, in lieu of the same number they had lost during the siege; andin all probability these miserable captives were put to death by thosebarbarians, with the most excruciating tortures, according to theexecrable custom of the country. Those who countenance the perpetrationof cruelties, at which human nature shudders with horror, ought to bebranded as infamous to all posterity. Such, however, were the trophiesthat, in the course of the American war, distinguished the operationsof a people who pique themselves upon politeness, and the virtuesof humanity. The prisoners taken at Oswego, after having been thusbarbarously treated, were conveyed in batteaux to Montreal, where theyhad no reason to complain of their reception; and before the end of theyear they were exchanged. The victors immediately demolished the twoforts (if they deserve that denomination, ) in which they found onehundred and twenty-one pieces of artillery, fourteen mortars, with agreat quantity of ammunition, warlike stores, and provisions, besidestwo sloops, and two hundred batteaux, which likewise fell into theirhands. Such an important magazine, deposited in a place altogetherindefensible, and without the reach of immediate succour, was a flagrantproof of egregious folly, temerity, and misconduct. FURTHER PROCEEDINGS IN AMERICA. The earl of Loudon finding the season too far advanced to admit ofany enterprise against the enemy, exerted all his endeavours in makingpreparations for an early campaign in the spring, securing the frontiersof the English colonies, in forming an uniform plan of action, andpromoting a spirit of harmony among the different governments, which hadbeen long divided by jarring interests, and other sources of dissension. Meanwhile, the forts Edward and William-Henry were put in a properposture of defence, and secured with numerous garrisons; and the forcesput into winter quarters at Albany where comfortable barracks were builtfor that purpose. Fort Granville, on the confines of Pennsylvania, an inconsiderable block-house, was surprised by a party of French andIndians, who made the garrison prisoners, consisting of two-and-twentysoldiers, with a few women and children. These they loaded with flourand provisions, and drove them into captivity; but the fort they reducedto ashes. Many shocking murders were perpetrated upon defencelesspeople, without distinction of age or sex, in different parts of thefrontiers; but these outrages were in some measure balanced by theadvantages resulting from a treaty of peace, which the governor ofPennsylvania concluded with the Delaware Indians, a powerful tribe thatdwell upon the river Sasquehanna, forming, as it were, a line alongthe southern skirts of the province. At the same time the governorof Virginia secured the friendship and alliance of the Cherokees andCatawbas, two powerful nations adjoining to that colony, who wereable to bring three thousand fighting men into the field. All thesecircumstances considered, Great Britain had reason to expect that theensuing campaign would be vigorously prosecuted in America, especiallyas a fresh reinforcement of troops, with a great supply of warlikestores, were sent to that country in fourteen transports, under convoyof two ships of war, which sailed from Cork in Ireland about thebeginning of November. NAVAL OPERATIONS IN AMERICA. No action of great importance distinguished the naval transactions ofthis year on the side of America. In the beginning of June, captainSpry, who commanded a small squadron cruising off Louisbourg, in theisland of Cape Breton, took the _Arc en Ciel_, a French ship of fiftyguns, having on board near six hundred men, with a large quantityof stores and provisions for the garrison. He likewise made prize ofanother French ship, with seventy soldiers, two hundred barrelsof powder, two large brass mortars, and other stores of the likedestination. On the twenty-seventh day of July, commodore Holmes, beingin the same latitude, with two large ships and a couple of sloops, engaged two French ships of the line and four frigates, and obliged themto sheer off after an obstinate dispute. A great number of privateerswere equipped in this country, as well as in the West India islandsbelonging to the crown of Great Britain; and as those seas swarmedwith French vessels, their cruises proved very advantageous to theadventurers. TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES. Scenes of higher import were this year acted by the British arms in theEast Indies. The cessation of hostilities between the English and Frenchcompanies on the peninsula of Indus, though it encouraged Mr. Clive tovisit his native country, was not of long duration; for in a few monthsboth sides recommenced their operations, no longer as auxiliaries to theprinces of the country, but as principals and rivals both in arms andcommerce. Major Laurence, who now enjoyed the chief command of theEnglish force, obtained divers advantages over the enemy; and prosecutedhis success with such vigour, as, in all probability, would in alittle time have terminated the war according to his own wish, when theprogress of his arms was interrupted and suspended by an unfortunateevent at Calcutta, the cause of which is not easily explained;for extraordinary pains have been taken to throw a vail over sometransactions from whence this calamity was immediately or remotelyderived. CALCUTTA BESIEGED. The old suba or viceroy of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa, dying in the monthof April, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, wassucceeded by his adopted son, Sur Raja al Dowlat, a young man of violentpassions, without principle, fortitude, or good faith, who began hisadministration with acts of perfidy and violence. In all probability, his design against the English settlements was suggested by hisrapacious disposition, on a belief that they abounded with treasure; asthe pretences which he used for commencing hostilities, were altogetherinconsistent, false, and frivolous. In the month of May, he caused theEnglish factory at Cassimbuzzar to be invested, and inviting Mr. Watts, the chief of the factory, to a conference, under the sanction of a safeconduct, detained him as prisoner; then, by means of fraud and forceintermingled, made himself master of the factory. This exploit beingachieved, he made no secret of his design to deprive the English of alltheir settlements. With this view he marched to Calcutta at the head ofa numerous army, and invested the place, which was then in no posture ofdefence. [Illustration: 382. Jpg CALCUTTA: THE ESPLANADE] 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 thesettlement, took refuge on board a ship in the river, carrying alongwith them their most valuable effects, and the books of the company. Thus the defence of the place devolved to Mr. Holwell, the second incommand, who, with the assistance of a few gallant officers, and a veryfeeble garrison, maintained it with uncommon courage and resolutionagainst several attacks, until he was overpowered by numbers, and theenemy had forced their way into the castle. Then he was obliged tosubmit; and the suba, or viceroy, promised on the word of a soldier, that no injury should be done to him or his garrison. Nevertheless, theywere all driven, to the number of one hundred and forty-six persons ofboth sexes, into a place called the Black Hole Prison, a cube ofabout eighteen feet, walled up to the eastward and southward, the onlyquarters from which they could expect the least refreshing air, and opento the westward by two windows strongly barred with iron, through whichthere was no perceptible circulation. The humane reader will conceivewith horror the miserable situation to which they must have beenreduced, when thus stewed up in a close sultry night under such aclimate as that of Bengal, especially when he reflects that many of themwere wounded, and all of them fatigued with hard duty. Transported withrage to find themselves thus barbarously cooped up in a place where theymust be exposed to suffocation, those hapless victims endeavouredto force open the door that they might rush upon the swords of thebarbarians by whom they were surrounded; but all their efforts wereineffectual; the door was made to open inwards, and being once shutupon them, the crowd pressed upon it so strongly as to render all theirendeavours abortive; then they were overwhelmed with distraction anddespair. Mr. Holwell, who had placed himself at one of the windows, accosted a jemmautdaar, or Serjeant of the Indian guard, and havingendeavoured to excite his compassion, by drawing a pathetic picture oftheir sufferings, promised to gratify him with a thousand rupees inthe morning, if he could find means to remove one half of them intoa separate apartment. The soldier, allured by the promise of such areward, assured him he would do his endeavour for their relief, andretired for that purpose, but in a few minutes returned and told themthat the suba, by whose order alone such a step could be taken, wasasleep, and no person durst disturb his repose. By this time a profusesweat had broke out on every individual, and this was attended with aninsatiable thirst, which became the more intolerable as the body wasdrained of its moisture. In vain those miserable objects strippedthemselves of their clothes, squatted down on their hams, and fannedthe air with their hats, to produce a refreshing undulation. Many wereunable to rise again from this posture, but falling down, were trod todeath or suffocated. The dreadful symptom of thirst was now accompaniedwith a difficulty of respiration, and every individual gasped forbreath. Their despair became outrageous: again they attempted to forcethe door, and provoke the guard to fire upon them by execration andabuse. The cry of "Water! water!" issued from every mouth. Even thejemmautdaar was moved to compassion at their distress. He ordered hissoldiers to bring some skins of water, which served only to enrage theappetite, and increase the general agitation. There was no other wayof conveying it through the windows but by hats, and this was renderedineffectual 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 stoodnearest the windows, while the rest, at the farther end of the prison, were totally excluded from all relief, and continued calling upon theirfriends for assistance, and conjuring them by all the tender ties ofpity and affection. To those who were indulged it proved pernicious, forinstead 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 tothe window, and the weak were pressed down to the ground never to riseagain. The inhuman ruffians without derived entertainment from theirmisery; they supplied the prisoners with more water, and held up lightsclose to the bars that they might enjoy the inhuman pleasure of seeingthem fight for the baneful indulgence. Mr. Holwell seeing all hisparticular friends lying dead around him, and trampled upon by theliving, finding himself wedged up so close as to be deprived of allmotion, begged, as the last instance of their regard, that they wouldremove the pressure, and allow him to retire from the window, that hemight die in quiet. Even in those dreadful circumstances, which might besupposed to have levelled all distinction, the poor delirious wretchesmanifested a respect for his rank and character: they forthwith gaveway, and he forced his passage into the centre of the place, which wasnot crowded so much, because by this time about one-third of the numberhad perished, and lay on small compass on the floor, while the reststill crowded to both windows. He retired to a platform at thefarther 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 strongpalpitation. These violent symptoms, which he could not bear, urged himto make another effort: he forced his way back to the window, and criedaloud, "Water! for God's sake!" He had been supposed already dead by hiswretched companions, but finding him still alive, they exhibited anotherextraordinary proof of tenderness and regard to his person: "Give himwater, " they cried; nor would any of them attempt to touch it until hehad drank. He now breathed more freely, and the palpitation ceased; butfinding himself still more thirsty after drinking, he abstainedfrom water, and moistened his mouth from time to time by sucking theperspiration 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 thanrelieved their distress, grew clamorous for air, and repeated theirinsults to the guard, loading the suba and his governor with the mostvirulent reproach. From railing they had recourse to prayer, beseechingheaven to put an end to their misery. They now began to drop on allhands; but then a steam arose from the living and the dead, as pungentand volatile as spirit of hartshorn; so that all who could not approachthe windows were suffocated. Mr. Holwell, being weary of life, retiredonce more to the platform, and stretched himself by the Rev. Mr. Jer-visBellamy, who, together with his son, a lieutenant, lay dead in eachother's embrace. In this situation he was soon deprived of sense, andlay to all appearance dead till day broke, when his body was discoveredand removed by his surviving friends to one of the windows, where thefresh air revived him, and he was restored to his sight and senses. Thesuba, at last, being informed that the greater part of the prisonerswere suffocated, inquired if the chief was alive; and being answered inthe affirmative, sent an order for their immediate release, when no morethan twenty-three survived of an hundred and forty-six who had enteredalive. ADDITIONAL CRUELTIES EXERCISED ON MR. HOLWELL. Nor was the late deliverance, even of these few, owing to any sentimentof compassion in the viceroy. He had received intimation that there wasa considerable treasure secreted in the fort, and that Mr. Holwellknew the place where it was deposited. That gentleman, who, with hissurviving companions, had been seized with a putrid fever immediatelyupon their release, was dragged in that condition before the inhumansuba, who questioned him about the treasure, which existed nowhere butin his own imagination; and would give no credit to his protestations, when he solemnly declared he knew of no such deposit. Mr. Holwell andthree of his friends were loaded with fetters, and conveyed three milesto the Indian camp, where they lay all night exposed to a severe rain;next morning they were brought back to town still manacled, underthe scorching beams of a sun intensely hot, and must infallibly haveexpired, had not nature expelled the fever in large painful boils, that covered almost the whole body. In this piteous condition they wereembarked in an open boat for Muxadavad, the capital of Bengal, andunderwent such cruel treatment and misery in their passage, as wouldshock the humane reader should he peruse the particulars. At Maxadavadthey were led through the city in chains, as a spectacle to theinhabitants, lodged in an open stable, and treated for some days asthe worst of criminals. At length the suba's grandmother interposed hermediation in their behalf, and as that prince was by this time convincedthat there was no treasure concealed at Calcutta, he ordered them tobe set at liberty. When some of his sycophants opposed this indulgence, representing that Mr. Holwell had still enough left to pay aconsiderable ransom, he replied, with some marks of compunction andgenerosity, "If he has anything left, let him keep it: his sufferingshave been great: he shall have his liberty. " Mr. Holwell and his friendswere no sooner unfettered, than they took water from the Dutch Tank-sailor mint, in the neighbourhood of that city, where they were receivedwith great tenderness and humanity. The reader, we hope, will excuseus for having thus particularized a transaction so interesting andextraordinary in all its circumstances. The suba having destroyedCalcutta and dispersed the inhabitants, extorted large sums fromthe French and Dutch factories, that he might display a spirit ofimpartiality against all the Europeans, even in his oppression, returnedto his city of Muxadavad in triumph. By the reduction of Calcutta, theEnglish East India company's affairs were so much embroiled in that partof the world, that perhaps nothing could have retrieved them but theinterposition 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 aconsiderable expense in maintaining a marine force at Bombay, toprotect their ships from the piracies of the Angrias, who hadrendered themselves independent princes, and fortified Geriah in thatneighbourhood; many unsuccessful attempts had been made to destroytheir naval power, and reduce the fortress, under which they alwaystook shelter. In the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, thefleet of Tullagree Angria, the reigning prince, attacked three Dutchships of force, which they either took or destroyed. Elated with thissuccess, he boasted that he should in a little time sweep the seas ofthe Europeans, and began to build some large ships, to reinforce hisgrabs and gallivats, which were the vessels on which he had for merelydepended. Next year his neighbours, the Malirattas, having signifiedto the presidency of Bombay, that they were disposed to join in thenecessary service of humbling this common enemy, so formidable to thewhole Malabar coast, commodore James was detached with some shipsof force to attack Angria, in conjunction with those allies. Theyaccordingly joined him with seven grabs and sixty gallivats. Theyproceeded to the harbour of Severndroog, where Angria's fleet lay atanchor; but they no sooner received intelligence of his approach, thanthey slipped their cables and stood out to sea. He chased them with allthe canvass he could carry, but their vessels being lighter than histhey escaped; and he returned to Severndroog, which is a fortresssituated on an island within musket shot of the main land, strongly butirregularly fortified, and mounted with fifty-four pieces of cannon. There were three other small forts on the continent, the largest ofwhich was called Goa. On the second day of April the commodore beganto 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; ageneral conflagration ensued; the garrison was overwhelmed with fire andconfusion; the English seamen landed un der cover of the fire from theships, and took the place by storm, with very little loss. The otherforts were immediately surrendered, and all of these, by treaty, delivered to the Mahrattas. On the eighth of April the commodoreanchored off Bancote, now called fort Victoria, one of the most northernparts of Angria's dominions, which surrendered without opposition, andstill remains in the hands of the English East India company, by theconsent of the Mahrattas. The harbour is good, and here is great tradefor salt and other commodities sent hither from Bombay. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} FORT GERIAH TAKEN BY ADMIRAL WATSON AND MR. CLIVE. It was in November following that the squadron under admiral Watsonarrived at Bombay, where it was resolved to give Angria the finishingstroke, still in conjunction with the Mahrattas. Meanwhile commodoreJames was sent to reconnoitre Geriah, the capital of his dominions, and to sound the depth of the harbour, a service which he successfullyperformed. The admiral being joined by a division of ships, fitted outat the company's expense, having on board a body of troops commanded bycolonel Clive, sailed on the seventeenth day of January, and foundin the neighbourhood of Geriah the Mahratta fleet, consisting offour grabs, and forty smaller vessels called gallivats, lying to thenorthward of the place, in a creek called Rajipore; and a land-armyof horse and foot, amounting to seven or eight thousand men, the wholecommanded by Rhamagee Punt, who had already taken one small fort, andwas actually treating about the surrender of Geriah. Angria himself hadquitted the place, but his wife and family remained under the protectionof his brother-in-law; who, being summoned to surrender by a messagefrom the admiral, replied, that he would defend the place to the lastextremity. In consequence of this refusal, the whole English fleet, intwo 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 theirstations, so as to return the salutation. Between the hours of four andfive in the afternoon, a shell being thrown into one of Angria's armedvessels, set her on fire; and the flames communicating to the rest, theywere all destroyed: between six and seven the fort was set on fireby another shell; and soon after the firing ceased on both sides. Theadmiral, suspecting that the governor of the place would surrender itto the Mahrattas, rather than to the English, disembarked all the troopsunder Mr. Clive, that he might be at hand, in case of emergency, to takepossession. In the meantime, the fort was bombarded; the line of battleships were warped near enough to batter in breach, and then the admiralsent an officer with a flag of truce to the governor, requiring him tosurrender. His proposal being again rejected, the English ships renewedtheir fire next day with redoubled vigour. About one o'clock themagazine of the fort blew up, and at four the garrison hung out a whiteflag for capitulation. The parley that ensued proving ineffectual, theengagement began again, and continued till fifteen minutes after five;when the white flag was again displayed, and now the governor submittedto the conditions which were imposed. Angria's flag was immediatelyhauled down; and two English captains taking possession of the fort witha detachment, forthwith hoisted the British ensign. To these captains, whose names were Buchanan and Forbes, the Mahrattas offered a bribe offifty thousand rupees, if they would allow them to pass their guards, that they might take possession of the fort for themselves; but thisoffer was rejected with disdain, and immediately disclosed to colonelClive, who took effectual measures to frustrate their design. In thisplace, which was reduced with very inconsiderable loss, the conquerorsfound above two hundred cannon, six brass mortars, a large quantityof ammunition, with money and effects to the value of one hundred andthirty thousand pounds. The fleet which was destroyed consisted of eightgrabs, one ship finished, two upon the stocks, and a good numberof gallivats. Among the prisoners, the admiral found Angria's wife, children, and mother, toward whom he demeaned himself with greathumanity. * * 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 toguard the fort; and four of the company's armed vessels remained in theharbour for the defence of the place, which was extremely well situatedfor commerce. The admiral and Mr. Clive sailed back to Madras in triumph, and thereanother plan was formed for restoring the company's affairs upon theGanges, recovering Calcutta, and taking vengeance on the cruel viceroyof Bengal. In October they set sail again for the bottom of the bay; andabout the beginning of December arrived at Balasore, in the kingdom ofBengal. Having crossed the Braces, they proceeded up the river Ganges asfar as Falta, where they found governor Drake, and the other persons whohad escaped on board of the ships when Calcutta was invested. ColonelClive was disembarked with his forces to attack the fort of Busbudgiaby land, while the admiral battered it by sea; but the place being illprovided with cannon, did not hold out above an hour after the firingbegan. This conquest being achieved at a very easy purchase, two of thegreat ships anchored between Tanny fort and a battery on the otherside of the river, which were abandoned before one shot was dischargedagainst either; thus the passage was laid open to Calcutta, thereduction of which we shall record among the transactions of the ensuingyear. 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 detailof every material event in which Great Britain was concerned, either athome, or in her settlements abroad, during the greatest part of the yearone thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, we shall now return to Europe, and endeavour to explain the beginning of a bloody war in Germany, whichthen seemed to have become the chief object of the British councils. Onthe eve of a rupture between France and England, it was natural for hisBritannic majesty to provide for the safety of his electoral dominions, the only quarter by which he was at all accessible to the efforts of theenemy, 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 thatthe house of Austria alone would not be sufficient to support himagainst two such powerful antagonists. In this emergency, he hadrecourse to the empress of Russia, who, in consequence of a largesubsidy granted by England, engaged to furnish a strong body of forcesfor the defence of Hanover. His Prussian majesty, startled at theconditions of this treaty, took an opportunity to declare that he wouldnot suffer foreign forces of any nation to enter the empire, either asprincipals or auxiliaries; a declaration which probably flowed from ajealousy and aversion he had conceived to the court of Petersburgh, aswell as from a resolution he had formed of striking some great stroke inGermany, without any risk of being restricted or controlled. He knewhe should give umbrage to the French king, who had already madepreparations for penetrating into Westphalia; but he took it forgranted he should be able to exchange his connexions with France for thealliance with Great Britain, which would be much less troublesome, andmuch more productive of advantage: indeed, such an alliance was thenecessary consequence of his declaration. Had his Britannic majestymade a requisition of the Russian auxiliaries, he must have exposedhimself to the resentment of a warlike monarch, who hovered on theskirts of his electorate at the head of one hundred and forty thousandmen, and could have subdued the whole country in one week; and if heforbore to avail himself of the treaty with the czarina, he did not knowhow soon the king of Prussia might be reconciled to his most christianmajesty's design of invasion. As for the empress-queen, her attentionwas engrossed by schemes for her interest or preservation; and her handsso full, that she either could not, or would not, fulfil the engagementsshe had contracted with her former and firmest allies. In thesecircumstances the king of England sought and obtained the alliance ofPrussia, which, to the best of our comprehension, entailed upon GreatBritain the enormous burden of extravagant subsidies, together with theintolerable expense of a continental war, without being productive ofone advantage, either positive or negative, to England or Hanover. Onthe contrary, this connexion threw the empress-queen into the arms ofFrance, whose friendship she bought at the expense of the barrier in theNetherlands, acquired with infinite labour, by the blood and treasure ofthe maritime powers; it gave birth to a confederacy of despotic princes;sufficient, if their joint force was fully exerted, to overthrow theliberties of all the free states in Europe; and, after all, Hanover hasbeen overrun, and subdued by the enemy; and the king of Prussia put tothe ban of the empire. All these consequences are, we apprehend, fairlydeducible from the resolution which his Prussian majesty took, at thisjuncture, to precipitate a war with the house of Austria. The apparentmotives that prompted him to this measure we shall presently explain. Inthe meantime, the defensive treaty between the empress-queen and Francewas no sooner ratified, than the czarina was invited to accede to thealliance, and a private minister sent from Paris to Petersburgh, tonegotiate the conditions of this accession, which the empress of Russiaaccordingly embraced: a circumstance so agreeable to the court ofVersailles, that the marquis de l'Hôpital was immediately appointedambassador-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 majestieswisely resolved to observe a neutrality. At the same time, intrigueswere begun by the French emissaries in the senate of Sweden, in orderto kindle up a war between that nation and Prussia; and their endeavourssucceeded in the sequel, even contrary to the inclination of theirsovereign. At present, a plot was discovered for altering the form ofgovernment, by increasing the power of the crown; and several personsof rank being convicted upon trial, were beheaded as principals in thisconspiracy. Although it did not appear that the king or queen were atall concerned in the scheme, his Swedish majesty thought himself sohardly treated by the diet, that he threatened to resign his royalty, and retire into his own hereditary dominions. This design was extremelydisagreeable to the people in general, who espoused his cause inopposition to the diet, by whom they conceived themselves more oppressedthan 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 allhis forces to be completed, and held in readiness to march at the firstnotice; and a report was industriously circulated, that by a secretarticle in the late treaty between France and the house of Austria, these two powers had obliged themselves to destroy the protestantreligion, and overturn the freedom of the empire, by a forced electionof 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 wasmade a pretence on both sides; for the partisans of the empress-queeninsinuated, on all occasions, that the ruin of the catholic faith inGermany was the principal object of the new alliance between the kingsof 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 hissurprise to find the treaty he had concluded with the king of Prussiaindustriously represented as a ground of apprehension and umbrage, especially for religion. He observed, that as France had made opendispositions for invading the electorate of Hanover, and disturbing thepeace of the empire; that as he had been denied, by the empress-queen, the succours stipulated in treaties of alliance; and as he was refusedassistance by certain states of the empire, who even seemed disposed tofavour such a diversion: he had, in order to provide for the securityof his own dominions, to establish peace and tranquillity in theempire, and maintain its system and privileges, without any prejudice toreligion, concluded a defensive treaty with the king of Prussia; that, by this instance of patriotic zeal for the welfare of Germany, he haddone an essential service to the empress-queen, and performed the partwhich the head of the empire, in dignity and duty, ought to have acted;that time would demonstrate how little it was the interest of theempress-queen to engage in a strict alliance with a foreign power, which, for upwards of two centuries, had ravaged the principal provincesof the empire, maintained repeated wars against the archducal houseof Austria, and always endeavoured, as it suited her views, to excitedistrust and dissension among the princes and states that compose theGermanic body. The court of Vienna formed two considerable armies in Bohemiaand Moravia; yet pretended that they had nothing in view butself-preservation, and solemnly disclaimed both the secret article, and the design which had been laid to their charge. His most christainmajesty declared, by his minister at Berlin, that he had no otherintention but to maintain the public tranquillity of Europe; and, thisbeing the sole end of all his measures, he beheld with surprise thepreparations and armaments of certain potentates; that, whatever mightbe the view with which they were made, he was dis posed to make use ofthe power which God had put into his hands, not only to maintain thepublic peace of Europe against all who should attempt to disturb it, but also to employ all his forces, agreeably to his engagements, forthe 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 otherpowers with whom he was in alliance. This intimation made very littleimpression upon the king of Prussia, who had already formed his plan, and was determined to execute his purpose. What his original planmight have been, we shall not pretend to disclose; nor do we believe heimparted it to any confidant or ally. It must be confessed, however, that the intrigues of the court of Vienna furnished him with a speciouspretence for drawing the sword, and commencing hostilities. Theempress-queen had some reason to be jealous of such a formidableneighbour. She remembered his irruption into Bohemia, in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-four, at a time when she thought thatcountry, and all her other dominions, secure from his invasion by thetreaty of Breslau, which she had in no particular contravened. Shecaballed against him in different courts of Europe; she concluded atreaty with the czarina, which, though seemingly defensive, impliedan intention of making conquests upon this monarch; she endeavoured toengage the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, as a contracting power inthis confederacy; and, if he had not been afraid of a sudden visit fromhis neighbour of Prussia, it cannot be supposed but he would have beenpleased to contribute to the humiliation of a prince, who had oncebefore, without the least provocation, driven him from his dominions, taken possession of his capital, routed his troops, and obliged himto pay a million of crowns, to indemnify him for the expense of thisexpedition; but he carefully avoided taking such a step as might exposehim to another invasion, and even refused to accede to the treaty ofPetersburgh, though it was expressly defensive; the _casus fæderus_being, his Prussian majesty's attacking either of the contractingparties. It appears, however, that count de Bruhl, prime minister andfavourite of the king of Poland, had, in conjunction with some of theAustrian ministers, carried on certain scandalous intrigues, in order toembroil the king of Prussia with the empress of Russia, between whom amisunderstanding had long subsisted. THE KING OF PRUSSIA DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION. His Prussian majesty, perceiving the military preparations of the courtof Vienna, and having obtained intelligence of their secret negotiationswith different powers of Europe, ordered M. De Klingraafe, his ministerat the imperial court, to demand whether all those preparations of war, on the frontiers of Silesia, were designed against him, and what werethe intentions of her imperial majesty? To this demand the empressreplied, that in the present juncture she had found it necessary to makearmaments, as well for her own defence as for that of her allies; butthat they did not tend to the prejudice of any person or state whatever. The king, far from being satisfied with this general answer, sent freshorders to Klingraafe, to represent, that after the king had dissembled, as long as he thought consistent with his safety and honour, the baddesigns imputed to the empress would not suffer him longer to disguisehis sentiments: that he was acquainted with the offensive projects whichthe two courts had formed at Petersburgh; that he knew they had engagedto attack him suddenly with an army of two hundred thousand men; adesign which would have been executed in the spring of the year, had notthe Russian forces wanted recruits, their fleet mariners, and Livonia asufficient quantity of corn for their support; that he constituted theempress arbiter of peace or war: if she desired the former, he requireda clear and formal declaration, or positive assurance, that she had nointention to attack him either this year or the next; but he should lookupon an ambiguous answer as a declaration of war; and he called heavento witness, that the empress alone would be guilty of the innocent bloodthat should be spilt, and all the dismal consequences that would attendthe commission of hostilities. A declaration of this nature might have provoked a less haughty courtthan that of Vienna, and, indeed, seems to have been calculated onpurpose to exasperate the pride of her imperial majesty, whose answer hesoon received to this effect: that his majesty the king of Prussiahad already been employed, for some time, in all kinds of the mostconsiderable preparations of war, and the most disquieting with regardto the public tranquillity, when he thought fit to demand explanationsof her majesty, touching the military dispositions that were making inher dominions; dispositions on which she had not resolved till afterthe preparations of his Prussian majesty had been made; that though hermajesty might have declined explaining herself on those subjects, whichrequired no explanation, she had been pleased to declare, with her ownmouth, to M. De Klingraafe, that the critical state of public affairsrendered the measures she was taking absolutely necessary for her ownsafety, and that of her allies; but that, in other respects, they tendedto the prejudice of no person whatsoever; that her imperial majestyhad undoubtedly a right to form what judgment she pleased on thecircumstances of the times; and likewise that it belonged to none butherself to estimate her own danger; that her declaration was so clear, she never imagined it could be thought otherwise; that being accustomedto receive, as well as to practise, the decorums which sovereigns owe toeach other, she could not hear without astonishment and sensibilitythe contents of the memorial now presented by M. De Klingraafe; soextraordinary, both in the matter and expressions, that she would findherself under a necessity of transgressing the bounds of that moderationwhich she had prescribed to herself, were she to answer the whole ofits contents; nevertheless, she thought proper to declare, that theinformation communicated to his Prussian majesty, of an offensivealliance against him, subsisting between herself and the empress ofRussia, together with the circumstances and pretended stipulations ofthat alliance, were absolutely false and forged, for no such treatydid exist, or ever had existed. She concluded with observing, that thisdeclaration would enable all Europe to judge of what weight and qualitythose dreadful events were which Klingraafe's memorial announced; andto perceive that, in any case, they could not be imputed to herimperial majesty. This answer, though seemingly explicit, was not deemedsufficiently categorical, or, at least, not suitable to the purposes ofthe king of Prussia, who, by his resident at Vienna, once more declared, that if the empress-queen would sign a positive assurance that she wouldnot attack his Prussian majesty, either this year or the next, he woulddirectly withdraw his troops, and let things be restored to their formerfooting. This demand was evaded, on pretence that such an assurancecould not be more binding than the solemn treaty by which he was alreadysecured; a treaty which the empress-queen had no intention to violate. But, before an answer could be delivered, the king had actually invadedSaxony, and published his declaration against the court of Vienna. The court of Vienna believing that the king of Prussia was bent uponemploying his arms somewhere; being piqued at the dictatorial mannerin which his demands were conveyed; unwilling to lay themselves underfurther restrictions; apprehensive of giving umbrage to their allies, and confident of having provided for their own security, resolved to runthe risk of his resentment, not without hopes of being indemnified inthe course of the war, for that part, of Silesia which the queen hadbeen 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 thestorm fell first upon Saxony. He resolved to penetrate through thatcountry 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 theAustrian dominions. Besides, he had reason to believe the king ofPoland, elector of Saxony, was connected with the czarina and theempress-queen; therefore, he thought it would be impolitic to leavethat prince in any condition to give him the least disturbance. His armyentered the Saxon territory towards the latter end of August, whenhe published a declaration, importing, that the unjust conduct anddangerous views of the court of Vienna against his majesty's dominions, laid him under the necessity of taking proper measures for protectinghis territories and subjects; that for this purpose he could notforbear taking the disagreeable resolution to enter with his troopsthe hereditary dominions of his majesty the king of Poland, electorof Saxony; but he protested before God and man, that on account ofhis personal esteem, and friendship for that prince, he would not haveproceeded to this extremity, had he not been forced to it by the lawsof war, the fatality of the present conjuncture, and the necessity ofproviding for the defence and security of his subjects. He remindedthe public of the tenderness with which he had treated the elector ofSaxony, during the campaign of the year one thousand seven hundred andforty-four, and of the bad consequences resulting to that monarchfrom his engagements with the enemies of Prussia. He declared that theapprehensions of being exposed again to such enterprises, had obligedhim to take those precautions which prudence dictated; but he protestedin the most solemn manner, that he had no hostile views against hisPolish majesty, or his dominions; that his troops did not enter Saxonyas enemies, and he had taken care that they should observe the bestorder, and the most exact discipline; that he desired nothing moreardently than the happy minute that should procure him the satisfactionof restoring to his Polish majesty his hereditary dominions, which hehad seized only as a sacred depositum. By his minister at Dresden, hehad demanded a free passage for his forces through the Saxon dominions;and this the king of Poland was ready to grant, with reasonablelimitations, to be settled by commissaries appointed for that purpose. But these were formalities which did not at all suit with his Prussianmajesty's disposition or design. Even before this requisition was made, a body of his troops, amounting to fifteen thousand, under the commandof prince Ferdinand, brother to the duke of Brunswick, took possessionof Leipsic on the twentieth day of September. Here he published adeclaration, signifying that it was his Prussian majesty's intention toconsider and defend the inhabitants of that electorate as if they werehis own subjects; and that he had given precise orders to his troops toobserve 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 sameevening notice was given to the corporation of merchants, that theirdeputies should pay all taxes and customs to the king of Prussia; thenhe took possession of the custom-house, and excise office, and orderedthe 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 allthe troops of his electorate to leave their quarters, and assemble in astrong camp marked out for them, between Pirna and Konigstein, which wasintrenched, and provided with a numerous train of artillery. Thither theking of Poland repaired with his two sons Xaverius and Charles; butthe queen and the rest of the royal family remained at Dresden. Of thiscapital his Prussian majesty, with the bulk of his army, took possessionon the eighth day of September, when he was visited by lord Stormont, the English ambassador at that court, accompanied by count Salmour, aSaxon minister, who, in his master's name, proposed a neutrality. The king of Prussia professed himself extremely well pleased with theproposal; and, as the most convincing proof of his neutrality, desiredthe king of Poland would separate his army, by ordering his troops toreturn to their former quarters. His Polish majesty did not like to beso tutored in his own dominions; he depended for his own safety moreupon the valour and attachment of his troops thus assembled, thanupon the friendship of a prince who had invaded his dominions, andsequestered his revenue, without provocation; and he trusted too much tothe situation of his camp at Pirna, which was deemed impregnable. In themeantime, the king of Prussia fixed his headquarters at Seidlitz, abouthalf a German league distant from Pirna, and posted his army in such amanner, as to be able to intercept all convoys of provisions designedfor the Saxon camp; his forces extended on the right towards thefrontiers of Bohemia, and the vanguard actually seized the passes thatlead to the circles of Satzer and Leutmeritz, in that kingdom; whileprince Ferdinand of Brunswick marched with a body of troops along theElbe, and took post at this last place without opposition. At the sametime, the king covered his own dominions, by assembling two considerablebodies in Upper and Lower Silesia, which occupied the passes thatcommunicated with the circles of Buntzlau and Koningsgratz. Hostilitieswere commenced on the thirteenth day of September, by a detachmentof Prussian hussars, who attacked an Austrian escort to a convoy ofprovisions, designed for the Saxon camp; and having routed them, carriedoff a considerable number of loaded waggons. The magazines at Dresdenwere filled with an immense quantity of provisions and forage for thePrussian army, and the bakers were ordered to prepare a vast quantity ofbread, for which purpose thirty new ovens were erected. When the king ofPrussia first arrived at Dresden, he lodged at the house of the countessMoczinska, and gave orders that the queen and royal family of Polandshould be treated with all due veneration and respect: [387] _[See note3 C, at the end of this Vol. ]_ even while the Saxon camp was blockedup on every side, he sometimes permitted a waggon, loaded with freshprovisions and game, to pass unmolested, for the use of his Polishmajesty. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} PRUSSIANS PENETRATE INTO BOHEMIA. During these transactions, the greatest part of the Prussian armyadvanced into Bohemia, under the command of veldt-maresehal Keith, *who reduced the town and palace of Tetchen, took possession of all thepasses, and encamped near Aussig, a small town in Bohemia, at no greatdistance from the imperial army, amounting to fifty thousand men, commanded by count Brown, an officer of Irish extract, who had oftendistinguished himself in the field by his courage, vigilance, andconduct. * 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 theblockade of Pirna, assumed in person the command of mareschal Keith'scorps, and advanced to give battle to the enemy. On the twenty-ninthday of September he formed his troops in two columns, and in the eveningarrived with his van at Welmina, from whence he saw the Austrian armyposted with his right at Lowoschutz, and its left towards the Egra. Having occupied with six battalions a hollow way, and some risinggrounds which commanded the town of Lowoschutz, he remained all nightunder arms at Welmina; and on the first day of October, early in themorning, formed his whole army in order of battle; the first line, consisting of the infantry, occupying two hills, and a bottom betwixtthem; the second line being formed of some battalions, and the thirdcomposed of the whole cavalry. The Austrian general had taken possessionof Lowoschutz, with a great body of infantry, and placed a battery ofcannon in front of the town; he had formed his cavalry chequerwise, ina line between Lowoschutz and the village of Sanschitz; and posted abouttwo thousand Croats and irregulars in the vineyards and avenues on hisright. The morning was darkened with a thick fog, which vanished aboutseven: then the Prussian cavalry advanced to attack the enemy's horse;but received such a fire from the irregulars, posted in vineyards andditches, as well as from a numerous artillery, that they were obliged toretire for protection to the rear of the Prussian infantry and cannon. There, being formed, and led back to the charge, they made an impressionon the Austrian cavalry, and drove the irregulars, and other bodies ofinfantry, from the ditches, defiles, and vineyards which they possessed;but they suffered so severely in this dangerous service, that theking ordered them to reascend the hill, and take post again behind theinfantry, from whence they no more advanced. In the meantime, a furiouscannonading was maintained on both sides with considerable effect. Atlength the left of the Prussian infantry was ordered to attack the townof Lowoschutz in flank; but met with a very warm reception, and in alllikelihood would have miscarried, had not veldt-mareschal Keith headedthem in person: when he drew his sword, and told them he would leadthem on, he was given to understand that all their powder and shot wereexhausted: he turned immediately to them with a cheerful countenance, said he was very glad they had no more ammunition, being well assuredthe enemy could not withstand them at push of bayonet; so saying, headvanced at their head, and driving the Austrians from Lowoschutz, setthe suburbs on fire. The infantry had been already obliged to quit theeminence on the right; and now their whole army retired to Budin, on theother side of the Egra. Some prisoners, colours, and pieces of cannon, were taken on both sides; and the loss of each might amount to twothousand five hundred killed and wounded; so that, on the whole, it wasa drawn battle, though both generals claimed the victory. The detail ofthe action, published at Berlin, declares, that the king of Prussia notonly gained the battle, but that same day established his head quartersat Lowoschutz; whereas the Austrian gazette affirms, that the mareschalcount Brown obliged his Prussian majesty to retire, and remained allnight on the field of battle; but next day, finding his troops in wantof water, he repaired to the camp of Budin. If the battle was atall decisive, the advantage certainly fell to the Austrians; for hisPrussian majesty, who in all probability had hoped to winter at Prague, was obliged by the opposition he met with, to resign his plan, andretreat before winter into the electorate of Saxony. SAXON ARMY SURRENDERS. The Prussian army having rejoined that body which had been left to blockup the Saxons at Pirna, his Polish majesty and his troops were reducedto such extremity of want, that it became indispensably necessary eitherto attempt an escape, or surrender to the king of Prussia. The formerpart of the alternative was chosen, and the plan concerted with countBrown, 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 Octoberthe Saxons threw a bridge of boats over the Elbe, near Konigstein, towhich castle they removed all their artillery; then striking their tentsin the night, passed the river undiscovered by the enemy. They continuedto retreat with all possible expedition; but the roads were so bad, theymade little progress. Next day, when part of them had advanced abouthalf way up a hill opposite to Konigstein, and the rest were entangledin a narrow plain, where there was no room to act, they perceived thatthe Prussians were in possession of all the passes, and found themselvessurrounded on every side, fainting with hunger and fatigue, anddestitute of every convenience. In this deplorable condition theyremained, when the king of Poland, from the fortress of Konigstein, senta letter to his general, the veldt-mareschal count Rutow-ski, vestinghim with full and discretionary power to surrender, or take such othermeasures as he should judge most conducive to the preservation of theofficers 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 nochoice left. A capitulation was demanded; but, in effect, the wholeSaxon army was obliged to surrender at discretion; and the soldiers wereafterwards, by compulsion, incorporated with the troops of Prussia. The king of Poland being thus deprived of his electoral dominions, histroops, arms, artillery, and ammunition, thought it high time to providefor his own safety, and retired with all expedition to Poland. HisPrussian majesty cantoned his forces in the neighbourhood of Seidlitz, and along the Elbe towards Dresden. His other army, which had enteredBohemia, under the command of the count de Ichwerin, retired to theconfines of the county of Glatz, where they were distributed in quartersof cantonment; so that this short campaign was finished by the beginningof November. KING OF POLAND'S MEMORIAL TO THE STATES-GENERAL. The king of Poland, in his distress, did not fail to implore theassistance and mediation of neutral powers. His minister at the Haguepresented a memorial to the states-general, complaining that theinvasion of Saxony was one of those attacks against the law of nations, which from the great respect due to this law, demanded the assistanceof every power interested in the preservation of its own libertyand independency. He observed, that from the first glimpse ofmisunderstanding between the courts of Vienna and Berlin, he hadexpressly 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 andneutral state had been, in the midst of peace, invaded by an enemy, whodisguised himself under the mask of friendship, without alleging theleast complaint, or any pretension whatsoever; but founding himselfsolely on his own convenience, made himself master, by armed force, of all the cities and towns of the electorate, dismantling some andfortifying others; that he had disarmed the burghers; carried offthe magistrates as hostages for the payment of unjust and enormouscontributions of provisions and forage; seized the coffers; confiscatedthe revenues of the electorate; broke open the arsenals, and transportedthe arms and artillery to his own town of Magdeburgh; abolished theprivy-council, and, instead of the lawful government, established adirectory, which acknowledged no other law but his own arbitrary will. He gave them to understand, that all these proceedings were no otherthan preliminaries to the unheard of treatment which was reserved fora queen, whose virtues ought to have commanded respect, even from herenemies; that, from the hands of that august princess, the archives ofthe state were forced away by menaces and violences, notwithstanding thesecurity which her majesty had promised herself under the protection ofall laws, human and divine; and notwithstanding the repeated assurancesgiven by the king of Prussia, that not only her person, but the placeof her residence, should be absolutely safe, and that even the Prussiangarrison should be under her direction. He observed, that a prince whodeclared himself protector of the protestant religion, had begun thewar by crushing the very state to which that religion owes itsestablishment, and the preservation of its most invaluable rights; thathe had broken through the most respectable laws which constitute theunion of the Germanic body, under colour of a defence which the empirestood 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 sacrificeof his whole electorate; and that the Prussian directory, in thedeclaration of motives, published under the nose of a prince to whomfriendship was pretended, thought it superfluous to allege evenany pretext, to colour the usurpation of his territories andrevenues. --Though this was certainly the case, in his Prussian majesty'sfirst exposition of motives, the omission was afterwards supplied, in asubsequent memorial to the states-general; in which he charged the kingof Poland as an accomplice in, if not an accessary to, the treaty ofPetersburgh; and even taxed him with having agreed to a partition ofsome Prussian territories, when they should be conquered. This treatyof 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, theirrespective ministers were not idle at Ratisbon, where three imperialdecrees were published against his Prussian majesty; the first, summoning that prince to withdraw his troops from the electorate ofSaxony; the second, commanding all the vassals of the empire employedby 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 respectivejurisdictions. The French minister declared to the diet, that theproceedings of his Prussian majesty having disclosed to the world theproject concerted between that prince and tie king of England, toexcite in the empire a religious war which might be favourable to theirparticular views, his most christian majesty, in consequence of hisengagement with the empress-queen, and many other princes of the empire, being resolved to succour them in the most efficacious manner, wouldforthwith send such a number of troops to their aid, as might be thoughtnecessary to preserve the liberty of the Germanic body. On the otherhand, the Prussian minister assured the diet, that his master wouldvery soon produce the proofs that were come to his hands of the planconcerted by the courts of Vienna and Dresden, for the subversion ofhis electoral house, and for imposing upon him a yoke, which seemed tothreaten the whole empire. DECLARATION OF DIFFERENT POWERS. About the same time, the Russian resident at the Hague communicated tothe states-general a declaration from his mistress, importing, that herimperial majesty having seen a memorial presented at the court of Viennaby the king of Prussia's envoy extraordinary, was thereby convinced thathis Prussian majesty's intention was to attack the territories of theempress-queen; in which case, she, the czarina, was inevitably obligedto succour her ally with all her forces; for which end she had orderedall her troops in Livonia to be forthwith assembled on the frontiers, and hold themselves in readiness to march; that, moreover, the Russianadmiralty had been enjoined to provide immediately a sufficient numberof galleys for transporting a large body of troops to Lubeck. Theministers 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 affordthe house of Austria by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; but their highmightinesses kept warily aloof, by dint of evasion, and the king ofGreat Britain was far otherwise engaged. The invasion of Saxony had wellnigh produced tragedies in the royal family of France. The dauphiness, who was far advanced in her pregnancy, no sooner learned the distressfulcircumstances of her parents, the king and queen of Poland, than she wasseized with violent fits, which occasioned a miscarriage, and broughther life into the most imminent danger. The Prussian minister wasimmediately ordered to quit Versailles; and directions were despatchedto the French minister at Berlin, to retire from that court withouttaking leave. Finally, the emperor of Germany concluded a new conventionwith the French king, regulating the succours to be derived from thatquarter; he claimed, in all the usual forms, the assistance of theGermanic body, as guarantee of the pragmatic sanction and treaty ofDresden; 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 werefixed upon his conduct. His minister at the Hague presented a memorial, in answer to that of the Saxon resident, in which he accused the courtof Dresden of having adopted every part of the scheme which his enemieshad formed for his destruction. He affirmed that the Saxon ministershad, in all the courts of Europe, played off every engine ofunwarrantable politics, in order to pave the way for the execution oftheir project; that they had endeavoured to give an odious turn tohis most innocent actions; that they had spared neither maliciousinsinuations, nor even the most atrocious calumnies, to alienate all theworld from his majesty, and raise up enemies against him everywhere. Hesaid, he had received information that the court of Saxony intended tolet his troops pass freely, and afterwards wait for events of whichthey might avail themselves, either by joining his enemies, or making adiversion in his dominions; that in such a situation he could not avoidhaving recourse to the only means which were left him for preventing hisinevitable ruin, by putting it out of the power of Saxony to increasethe number of his enemies. He asserted, that all the measures he hadpursued in that electorate were but the Accessary consequences of thefirst resolution he was forced to take for his own preservation; thathe had done nothing but deprived the court of Saxony of the means ofhurting him; and this had been done with all possible moderation; thatthe country enjoyed all the security and all the quiet which could beexpected in the very midst of peace, the Prussian troops observing themost exact discipline; that all due respect was shown to the queenof Poland, who had been prevailed upon, by the most suitablerepresentations, to suffer some papers to be taken from the paperoffice, of which his Prussian majesty already had copies; and thoughtit necessary, to ascertain the dangerous design of the Saxon ministryagainst him, to secure the originals; the existence and reality of whichmight otherwise have been denied. He observed, that every man has aright to prevent the mischief with which he is threatened, and to retortit upon its author; and that neither the constitutions nor the laws ofthe empire could obstruct the exertion of a right so superior to allothers as that of self-preservation and self-defence; especially whenthe depository of these laws is so closely united to the enemy, asmanifestly to abuse his power in her favour. But the most important step which his Prussian majesty took in his ownjustification, was that of publishing another memorial, specifying theconduct of the courts of Vienna and Saxony, and their dangerous designsagainst his person and interest, together with the original documentsadduced as proofs of these sinister intentions. As a knowledge ofthese pieces is requisite to form a distinct idea of the motives whichproduced the dreadful war upon the continent, it will not be amiss tousher the substance of them to the reader's acquaintance. His Prussianmajesty affirms, that to arrive at the source of the vast plan uponwhich the courts of Vienna and Saxony had been employed against himever since the peace of Dresden, we must trace it as far back as thewar which preceded this peace; that the fond hopes which the two alliedcourts had conceived upon the success of the campaign in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-four, gave occasion to a treaty ofeventual partition, stipulating that the court of Vienna should possessthe 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 partof Lusatia; that after the peace of Dresden, concluded in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-five, there was no further room fora treaty of this nature; yet the court of Vienna proposed to that ofSaxony a new alliance, in which the treaty of eventual partition shouldbe renewed; but this last thought it necessary, in the first place, to give a greater consistency to their plan, by grounding it upon analliance between the empress-queen and the czarina. Accordingly, thesetwo powers did, in fact, conclude a defensive alliance at Petersburgh inthe course of the ensuing year; but the body, or ostensible part of thistreaty, was composed merely with a view to conceal from the knowledge ofthe public six secret articles, the fourth of which was levelled singlyagainst Prussia, according to the exact copy of it which appeared amongthe documents. In this article, the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemiasets out with a protestation, that she will religiously observe thetreaty of Dresden; but explains her real way of thinking upon thesubject, a little lower, in the following terms: "If the king ofPrussia should be the first to depart from this peace, by attackingeither her majesty the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemia, or hermajesty the empress of Russia, or even the republic of Poland; in allthese cases, the rights of the empress-queen to Silesia and the countyof Glatz would again take place, and recover their full effect; thetwo contracting parties should mutually assist each other with sixtythousand men to achieve these conquests. " The king observes upon thisarticle, that every war which can arise between him and Russia, or therepublic of Poland, would be looked upon as a manifest infraction of thepeace of Dresden, and a revival of the rights of the house of Austriato Silesia; though neither Russia nor the republic of Poland is at allconcerned in the treaty of Dresden; and though the latter, with whichthe king lived in the most intimate friendship, was not even in alliancewith the court of Vienna; that, according to the principles of the lawof nature, received among all civilized nations, the most the court ofVienna could be authorized to do in such cases, would be to send thosesuccours to her allies which are due to them by treaties, without herhaving the least pretence on that account, to free herself from theparticular engagements subsisting between her and the king: he appealed, therefore, to the judgment of the impartial world, whether in thissecret article the contracting powers had kept within the bounds of adefensive alliance; or whether this article did not rather contain aplan of an offensive alliance against the king of Prussia. He affirmedit was obvious, from this article, that the court of Vienna had preparedthree pretences for the recovery of Silesia; and that she thought toattain her end, either by provoking the king to commence hostilitiesagainst her, or to kindle a war between his majesty and Russia, by hersecret intrigues and machinations. He alleged that the court ofSaxony, being invited to accede to this alliance, eagerly accepted theinvitation; furnished its ministers at Petersburgh with full powers forthat purpose; and ordered them to declare that their master was not onlyready to accede to the treaty itself, but also to the secret articleagainst Prussia; and to join in the regulations made by the two courts, provided effectual measures should be taken, as well for the security ofSaxony, as for its indemnification and recompence, in proportion tothe efforts and progress that might be made; that the court of Dresdendeclared, if upon any fresh attack from the king of Prussia, theempress-queen should, by their assistance, not only reconquer Silesiaand the county of Gratz, but also reduce him within narrow bounds, the king of Poland, as elector of Saxony, would abide by the partitionformerly stipulated between him and the empress-queen. He also declaredthat count Loss, the Saxon minister at Vienna, was charged to open aprivate negotiation for Settling an eventual partition of the conquestwhich might be made on Prussia, by laying down, as the basis of it, thetreaty of Leipsic, signed on the eighteenth day of May, in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-five, as would appear by the documentsaffixed. He owned it had been supposed, through the whole of thisnegotiation, that the king of Prussia should be the aggressor againstthe court of Vienna; but he insisted, that even in this case the king ofPoland could have no right to make conquests on his Prussian majesty. Helikewise acknowledged, that the court of Saxony had not yet accededin form to the treaty of Petersburgh; but he observed, its allies weregiven to understand again and again, that it was ready to accedewithout restriction, whenever this could be done without risk; and theadvantages to be gained should be secured in its favour. Circumstancesproved by divers authentic documents, particularly by a letter fromcount Fleming to count de Bruhl, informing him that count Uhlefield hadcharged him to represent afresh to his court, that they could not taketoo secure measures against the ambitious views of the king of Prussia;that Saxony in particular ought to be cautious, as being the mostexposed; that it was of the highest importance to strengthen their oldengagements, upon the footing proposed by the late count de Harrach, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five; a step which mightbe taken on occasion of his Polish majesty's accession to the treaty ofPetersburgh. The answer of count Bruhl to this despatch imported, thatthe king of Poland was not averse to treat in the utmost secrecywith the court of Vienna about succours, by private and confidentialdeclarations relating to the fourth secret article of the treaty ofPetersburgh, on condition of reasonable terms and advantages, which inthis case ought to be granted to his majesty. He quoted other despatchesto prove the unwillingness of his Polish majesty to declare himselfuntil the king of Prussia should be attacked, and his forces divided;and that this scruple was admitted by the allies of Saxony. From thesepremises he deduced this inference, that the court of Dresden, withouthaving acceded in form to the treaty of Petersburgh, was not lessan accomplice in the dangerous designs which the court of Vienna hadgrounded upon this treaty; and that having been dispensed with from aformal concurrence, it had only waited for that moment when it might, without running any great risk, conquer in effect, and share the spoilsof its neighbour. In expectation of this period, he said, the Austrianand Saxon ministers laboured in concert and underhand with the moreardour to bring the _casus fæderus_ into existence; for it being laiddown as a principle in the treaty, that any war whatever between himand Russia would authorise the empress-queen to take Silesia, there wasnothing more to be done but to kindle such a war; for which purpose nomethod was found more proper than that of embroiling the king with theempress of Russia; and to provoke that princess with all sorts of falseinsinuations, impostures, and the most atrocious calumnies, in laying tohis majesty's charge a variety of designs, sometimes against Russia, and even the person of the czarina; sometimes views upon Poland, andsometimes intrigues in Sweden. By these and other such contrivances, heaffirmed 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 thousandseven hundred and fifty-three, she had resolved to attack the king ofPrussia, without any further discussion, whether he should fall uponany of the allies of Russia, or one of them should begin with him; aresolution which for that time was frustrated by their want of seamenand magazines; but the preparations were continued under pretenceof keeping themselves in a condition to fulfil their engagements, contracted in the last subsidiary convention with England; and when allwere finished, the storm would fall on the king of Prussia. This is the substance of that famous memorial published by his Prussianmajesty, to which the justifying pieces or authentic documents wereannexed; and to which a circumstantial answer was exhibited by thepartisans of her imperial majesty. Specious reasons may, doubtless, beadduced on either side of almost any dispute, by writers of ingenuity;but, in examining this contest, it must be allowed that both sidesadopted illicit practices. The empress-queen and the elector ofSaxony had certainly a right to form defensive treaties for their ownpreservation; and without all doubt, it was their interest and theirduty to secure themselves from the enterprises of such a formidableneighbour; but at the same time, the contracting parties seem to havecarried their views much farther than defensive measures. Perhaps thecourt of Vienna considered the cession of Silesia as a circumstancealtogether compulsive, and therefore not binding against the rights ofnatural equity. She did not at all doubt that the king of Prussia wouldbe tempted by his ambition and great warlike power, to take some stepwhich might be justly interpreted into an infraction of the treaty ofDresden; and in that case she was determined to avail herself of theconfederacy she had formed, that she might retrieve the countries shehad lost by the unfortunate events of the last war, as well as bridlethe dangerous power and disposition of the Prussian monarch; and in allprobability the king of Poland, over and above the same consideration, was desirous of some indemnification for the last irruption into hiselectoral dominions, and the great sums he had paid for the subsequentpeace. Whether they were authorised by the law of nature and nationsto make reprisals by an actual partition of the countries they mightconquer, supposing him to be the aggressor, we shall not pretend todetermine; but it does not at all appear, that his Prussian majesty'sdanger was such as entitled him to take those violent steps which henow attempted to justify. By this time the flame of war was kindled upto a blaze that soon filled the empire with ruin and desolation; andthe king of Prussia had drawn upon himself the resentment of the threegreatest powers of Europe, who laid aside their former animosities, and every consideration of that balance which it had cost such bloodand treasure to preserve, in order to conspire his destruction. The kinghimself could not but foresee this confederacy, and know the power itmight 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 ownconduct and activity; that he hoped to crush the house of Austria by onerapid endeavour at the latter end of the season, or at least establishhimself in Bohemia, before her allies could move to her assistance. Inthis hope, however, he was disappointed by the vigilance of the Austriancouncils. He found the empress-queen in a condition to make headagainst him in every avenue to her dominions; and in a fair way of beingassisted by the circles of the empire. He saw himself threatened withthe vengeance of the Russian empress, and the sword of France gleamingover his head, without any prospect of assistance but that which hemight derive from his alliance with Great Britain. Thus the king ofEngland exchanged the alliance of Russia, who was his subsidiary, andthe friendship of the empress queen, his old and natural ally, for anew connexion with his Prussian majesty, who could neither act as anauxiliary to Great Britain, nor as a protector to Hanover; and for thisconnexion, the advantage of which was merely negative, such a pricewas paid by England as had never been given by any other potentate ofEurope, even for services of the greatest importance. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DISPUTES BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS AND THE CLERGY. About the latter end of November, the Saxon minister at Ratisbondelivered to the diet a new and ample memorial, explaining thelamentable state of that electorate, and imploring afresh the assistanceof the empire. The king of Prussia had also addressed a letter tothe diet, demanding succour of the several states, agreeable to theirguarantees of the treaties of Westphalia and Dresden; but the ministerof Mentz, as director of the diet, having refused to lay it before thatassembly, the minister of Brandenburgh ordered it to be printed, andsent to his court for further instructions. In the meantime his Prussianmajesty thought proper to intimate to the king and senate of Poland, that should the Russian troops be permitted to march through thatkingdom, they might expect to see their country made a scene of war anddesolation. In France, the prospect of a general and sanguinary wardid not at all allay the disturbance which sprang from the dissensionbetween the clergy and parliament, touching the bull Unigenitus. Theking 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 wayof damnation; and certain cases are specified, in which the sacramentsare to be denied. The parliament of Paris, considering this brief orbull as a direct attack upon the rights of the Gallican church, issuedan _arret_ or decree, suppressing the said bull; reserving to themselvesthe right of providing against the inconveniences with which it might beattended, as well as the privilege to maintain in their full force theprerogatives of the crown, the power and jurisdiction of the bishops, the liberties of the Gallican church, and the customs of the realm. Theking, dissatisfied with their interposition, declared his design to holda bed of justice in person at the palace. Accordingly, on the twelfthday of November, the whole body of his guards, amounting to ten thousandmen, took post in the city of Paris; and next day the king repaired withthe usual ceremony to the palace, where the bed of justice was held:among other regulations, an edict was issued for suppressing the fourthand fifth chambers of inquests, the members of which had remarkablydistinguished 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 theiniquitous practice of engrossing, was so severely felt by the commonpeople, that insurrections were raised in Shropshire and Warwickshire bythe populace, in conjunction with the colliers, who seized by violenceall the provisions they could find; pillaging without distinction themillers, farmers, grocers, and butchers, until they were dispersedby the gentlemen of the country, at the head of their tenants anddependants. Disorders of the same nature were excited by the colliers onthe forest of Dean, and those employed in the works in Cumberland. The corporations, noblemen, and gentlemen, in different parts of thekingdom, exerted themselves for the relief of the poor, who were greatlydistressed; and a grand council being assembled at St. James' on thesame subject, a proclamation was published, for putting the laws inspeedy and effectual execution against the forestallers and engrossersof corn. The fear of an invasion having now subsided, and Hanover being supposedin greater danger than Great Britain, the auxiliaries of that electoratewere transported from England to their own country. At the latter end ofthe season, when the weather became severe, the inn-keepers of Englandrefused to admit the Hessian soldiers into winter-quarters, as noprovision had been made for that purpose by act of parliament; so thatthey were obliged to hut their camp, and remain in the open fields tillJanuary; but the rigour of this uncomfortable situation was softenedby the hand of generous charity, which liberally supplied them with allmanner of refreshment, and other conveniences; a humane interposition, which rescued the national character from the imputation of cruelty andingratitude. SESSION OPENED. On the second day of December, his majesty opened the session ofparliament with a speech that seemed to be dictated by the genius ofEngland. He expressed his confidence, that, under the guidance of DivineProvidence, the union, fortitude, and affection of his people wouldenable him to surmount all difficulties, and vindicate the dignity ofhis crown against the ancient enemy of Great Britain. He declared, thatthe succour and preservation of America constituted a main object ofhis attention and solicitude; and observed, that the growing dangers towhich the British colonies might stand exposed, from late losses inthat country, demanded resolutions of vigour and despatch. He said, anadequate and firm defence at home should maintain the chief place in histhoughts; and in this great view he had nothing so much at heart as toremove all grounds of dissatisfaction from his people; for this end, herecommended to the care and diligence of the parliament the framing ofa national militia, planned and regulated with equal regard to the justrights of his crown and people; an institution which might becomeone good resource in time of general danger. He took notice that theunnatural union of councils abroad, the calamities which, in consequenceof this unhappy conjunction, might, by irruptions of foreign armies intothe empire, shake its constitution, overturn its system, and threatenoppression to the protestant interest on the continent, were eventswhich must sensibly affect the minds of the British nation, and hadfixed the eyes of Europe on this new and dangerous crisis. He gave themto understand that the body of his electoral troops, which were broughthither at the desire of his parliament, he had now directed to return tohis dominions in Germany, relying with pleasure on the spirit and zealof his people, in defence of his person and realm. He told the commonsthat he confided in their wisdom, for preferring more vigorous efforts, though more expensive, to a less effectual, and therefore less frugalplan of war; that he had placed before them the dangers and necessitiesof the public; and it was their duty to lay the burdens they shouldjudge unavoidable in such a manner as would least disturb and exhausthis people. He expressed his concern for the sufferings of the poor, arising from the present dearth of corn, and for the disturbances towhich it had given rise; and exhorted his parliament to consider ofproper provisions for preventing the like mischiefs hereafter. Heconcluded with remarking, that unprosperous events of war in theMediterranean, had drawn from his subjects signal proofs how dearlythey tendered the honour of his crown; therefore, they could not, on hispart, fail to meet with just returns of unwearied care, and unceasingendeavours 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 bylord Sandys, appointed to act as speaker to that house; then earl Gowermoved for an address, which, however, was not carried without objection. In one part of it his majesty was thanked for having caused a body ofelectoral troops to come into England at the request of his parliament;and this article was disagreeable to those who had disapproved of therequest in the last session. They said they wished to see the presentaddress unanimously agreed to by the lords; a satisfaction they couldnot have, if such a paragraph should be inserted; for they still thoughtthe bringing over Hanoverian troops a preposterous measure; becauseit had not only loaded the nation with an enormous expense, but alsofurnished the court of France with a plausible pretence for invading theelectorate, which otherwise it would have no shadow of reason to attack;besides, the expedient was held in reprobation by the subjects ingeneral, and such a paragraph might be considered as an insult on thepeople. Notwithstanding these exceptions, which did not seem to be veryimportant, the address, including this paragraph, was approved by agreat majority. BILL PASSED FOr PROHIBITING THE EXPORTATION OF CORN. In the address of the commons no such paragraph was inserted. As soonas the speaker had recited his majesty's speech, Mr. Charles Townshendproposed the heads of an address, to which the house unanimously agreed;and it was presented accordingly. This necessary form was no soonerdiscussed, than the house, with a warmth of humanity and benevolencesuitable to such an assembly, resolved itself into a committee, todeliberate on that part of his majesty's speech which related to thedearth of corn that so much distressed the poorer class of people. A bill was immediately framed to prohibit, for a time limited, theexportation of corn, malt, meal, flour, bread, biscuit, and starch; anda resolution unanimously taken to address the sovereign, than an embargomight be forthwith laid upon all ships laden or to be laden with thesecommodities, 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 dissatisfiedwith the conduct of admiral Byng, in a late action with the French fleetin the Mediterranean, and for the appearance of his not having actedagreeably to his instructions for the relief of Minorca, he was thenin custody of the marshal of the admiralty, in order to be tried by acourt-martial; that although this was no more than what was usual inlike cases, yet as admiral Byng was then a member of the house, andas his confinement might detain him some time from his duty there, theboard of admiralty thought it a respect due to the house to inform themof the commitment and detainer of the said admiral. This message beingdelivered, 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, tookinto consideration the necessities of the state, and made very ampleprovision for enabling his majesty to maintain the war with vigour. {1757} They granted fifty-five thousand men for the sea-service, includingeleven thousand four hundred and nineteen marines; and for theland-service, forty-nine thousand seven hundred and forty-nine effectivemen, comprehending four thousand and eight invalids. The supply wasgranted for the maintenance of these forces, as well as for the troopsof Hesse and Hanover; for the ordnance; the levy of new regiments; forassisting his majesty in forming and maintaining an army of observation, for the just and necessary defence and preservation of his electoraldominions, and those of his allies; and towards enabling him to fulfilhis engagements with the king of Prussia; for the security of the empireagainst the irruption of foreign armies, * as well as for the support ofthe common cause; for building and repairs of ships, hiring transports, payment of half-pay officers, and the pensions of widows; for enablinghis majesty to discharge the like sum, raised in pursuance of an actpassed in the last session of parliament, and charged upon the firstaids or supplies to be granted in this session; for enabling thegovernors and guardians of the hospital for the maintenance andeducation of exposed and deserted young children, to receive all suchchildren, under a certain age, as should be brought to the said hospitalwithin the compass of one year;** for maintaining and supporting the newsettlement of Nova Scotia; for repairing and finishing militaryroads; for making good his majesty's engagement with the landgrave ofHesse-Cassel; for the expense of marching, recruiting, and remountingGerman troops in the pay of Great Britain; for empowering his majestyto defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, or to beincurred, for the service of the ensuing year, and to take all suchmeasures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprisesor designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs should require;for the payment of such persons, in such a manner as his majesty shoulddirect; for the use and relief of his subjects in the several provincesof North and South Carolina and Virginia, in recompence for suchservices as, with the approbation of his majesty's commander-in-chief inAmerica, they respectively had performed, or should perform, either byputting these provinces in a state of defence, or by acting with vigouragainst the enemy; for enabling the East India company to defray theexpense of a military force in their settlements, to be maintained inthem, in lieu of a battalion of his majesty's forces withdrawn fromthose forts and factories; for the maintenance and support of the fortson the coast of Africa; for widening the avenues, and rendering moresafe and commodious the streets and passages leading from Charing Crossto the two houses of parliament, the court of justice, and the newbridge 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 thisyear, on the whole amounting to eight millions three hundred and fiftythousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds, nine shillings and threepence. It must be acknowledged, for the honour of the administration, that the house of commons could not have exhibited stronger marks oftheir attachment to the crown and person of their sovereign, as wellas of their desire to see the force of the nation exerted with becomingspirit. The sums granted by the committee of supply did not exceed eightmillions three hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and twenty-fivepounds, nine shillings and three pence; the funds established amountedto eight millions six hundred and eighty-nine thousand and fifty-onepounds, nineteen shillings and seven-pence; so that there was anoverplus of three hundred and thirty-eight thousand seven hundred andtwenty-six pounds, ten shillings and four pence; an excess which wasthought 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 uponwhom they immediately fell; and many friends of their countryexclaimed against the projected army of observation in Germany, as thecommencement of a ruinous continental war, which it was neither theinterest of the nation to undertake, nor in their power to maintain, without starving the operations by sea, and in America, founded onBritish principles; without contracting such an additional load of debtsand taxes, as could not fail to terminate in bankruptcy and distress. To those dependents of the ministry, who observed that as Hanover wasthreatened by France for its connexion with Great Britain, it ought, incommon gratitude, to be protected, they replied, that every state, inassisting any ally, ought to have a regard to its own preservation:that, if the king of England enjoyed by inheritance, or succession, aprovince in the heart of France, it would be equally absurd and unjust, in case of a rupture with that kingdom, to exhaust the treasures ofGreat Britain in the defence of such a province; and yet the inhabitantsof it would have the same right to complain that they suffered for theirconnexion with England. They observed, that other dominions, electorates, and principalities in Germany, were secured by the constitutions of theempire, 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 shieldof Great Britain: that the reluctance expressed by the German princes toundertake 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, butconcentrate her chief strength in that object, and waste her treasuresin purchasing their concurrence; that exclusive of an ample revenuedrained from the sweat of the people, great part of which had beenexpended in continental efforts, the whole national debt incurred, sincethe accession of the late king, had been contracted in pursuance ofmeasures totally foreign to the interest of these kingdoms: that, sinceHanover was the favourite object, England would save money, and greatquantities of British blood, by allowing France to take possession ofthe electorate, paying its ransom at the peace, and indemnifying theinhabitants for the damage they might sustain; an expedient that wouldbe productive of another good consequence, it would rouse the Germanprinces from their affected indifference, and oblige them to exertthemselves with vigour, in order to avoid the detested neighbourhood ofsuch an enterprising invader. MESSAGES FROM THE KING TO THE PARLIAMENT. The article of the supply relating to the army of observation, took risefrom a message signed by his majesty, and presented by Mr. Pitt, nowpromoted to the office of principal secretary of state; a gentleman whohad, upon sundry occasions, combated the gigantic plan of continentalconnexions with all the strength of reason, and all the powers ofeloquence. He now imparted to the house an intimation, importing, it wasalways with reluctance that his majesty asked extraordinary supplies ofhis people; but as the united councils, and formidable preparationsof France and her allies threatened Europe in general with the mostalarming consequence; and as these unjust and vindictive designs wereparticularly and immediately bent against his majesty's electoraldominions, and those of his good ally the king of Prussia, his majestyconfided in the experienced zeal and affection of his faithful commons, that they would cheerfully assist him in forming and maintaining an armyof observation, for the just and necessary defence and preservation ofthose territories, and enable him to fulfil his engagements with hisPrussian majesty, for the security of the empire against the irruptionof foreign armies, and for the support of the common cause. Posteritywill hardly believe, that the emperor and all the princes of Germanywere in a conspiracy against their country, except the king of Prussia, the elector of Hanover, and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and theywill, no doubt, be surprised, that Great Britain, after all the treatiesshe had made, and the numberless subsidies she had granted, should nothave an ally left, except one prince, so embarrassed in his own affairs, that he could grant lier no succour, whatever assistance he mightdemand. The king's message met with as favourable a reception as hecould have desired. It was read in the house of commons, togetherwith, a copy of the treaty between his majesty and the king of Prussia, including the secret and separate article, and the declaration signedon each side by the plenipotentiaries at Westminster: the request wasgranted, and the convention approved. With equal readiness did theygratify 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 utmostimportance, and be attended with the most pernicious consequences, ifproper means should not be immediately applied to prevent or defeatthem; his majesty was, therefore, desirous that the house would enablehim to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred or tobe incurred for the service of the current year; and to take all suchmeasures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprisesor designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs might require. The committee of supply forthwith granted a very large sum for thesepurposes, including the charge of German mercenaries. A like messagebeing at the same time communicated to the upper house, their lordshipsvoted a very loyal address upon the occasion; and when the articleof supply, which it produced among the commons, fell under theirinspection, they unanimously agreed to it, by way of a clause ofappropriation. MEASURES TAKEN TO REMOVE THE SCARCITY OF CORN. We have already observed, that the first bill which the commons passedin this session, was for the relief of the poor, by prohibiting theexportation of corn; but this remedy not being judged adequate to theevil, another bill was framed, removing, for a limited time, the dutythen 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 landedand expended in the kingdom duty free. In order still more to reduce thehigh price of corn, and to prevent any supply of provisions frombeing 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 othervictual, from any of the British plantations, unless to Great Britainor Ireland, or from one colony to another. To this act two clauses wereadded, for allowing those necessaries, mentioned above, to be importedin foreign built ships, and from any state in amity with his majesty, either into Great Britain or Ireland; and for exporting from Southamptonor Exeter to the Isle of Man, for the use of the inhabitants, a quantityof wheat, barley, oats, meal, or flour, not exceeding two thousand fivehundred quarters. The commons would have still improved their humanity, had they contrived and established some effectual method to punish thoseunfeeling villains, who, by engrossing and hoarding up great quantitiesof grain, had created this artificial scarcity, and deprived theirfellow-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 bedistilled from wheat for a limited time. While the bill, formed on thisresolution, was in embryo, a petition was presented to the house bythe 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 thepetitioners found themselves utterly incapable of carrying on businessat the price malt then bore, occasioned, as they conceived, from anapprehension of the necessity the distillers would be under to make useof the best pale malt, and substitute the best barley in lieu ofwheat: that, in such a case, the markets would not be able to supplya sufficient quantity of barley for the demands of both professions, besides other necesssary uses: they therefore prayed, that, in regardto the public revenue, to which the trade of the petitioners so largelycontributed, proper measures might be taken for preventing the publicloss, and relieving their particular distress. The house would not lenda deaf ear to a remonstrance in which the revenue was concerned. Themembers appointed to prepare the bill, immediately received instructionsto make provision in it to restrain, for a limited time, the distillingof barley, malt, and all grain whatsoever. The bill was framedaccordingly, but did not pass without strenuous opposition. To thisprohibition it was objected, that there are always large quantities ofwheat and barley in the kingdom so much damaged, as to be unfit for anyuse but the distillery, consequently a restriction of this naturewould ruin many farmers, and others employed in the trade of malting. Particular interests, however, must often be sacrificed to the welfareof the community; and the present distress prevailed over the prospectof this disadvantage. If they had allowed any sort of grain to bedistilled, it would have been impossible to prevent the distillingof every kind. The prohibition was limited to two months; but atthe expiration of that term, the scarcity still continuing, it wasprotracted by a new bill to the eleventh day of December, with aproviso, empowering his majesty to put an end to it at any time afterthe eleventh day of May, if such a step should be judged for theadvantage of the kingdom. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MILITIA BILL. The next bill that engaged the attention of the commons, was a measureof the utmost national importance, though secretly disliked by manyindividuals of the legislature, who, nevertheless, did not venture toavow their disapprobation. The establishment of a militia was a verypopular 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 thecrown and the commons; but now both apparently concurred in rendering itserviceable 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 sonof lord viscount Townshend, a gentleman of courage, sense, and probity;endued with penetration to discern, and honesty to pursue, the realinterest of his country, in defiance of power, in contempt of privateadvantages. Leave being given to bring in a bill for the better orderingof the militia forces in the several counties of England, the task ofpreparing it was allotted to Mr. Townshend, and a considerable number ofthe most able members in the house, comprehending his own brother, Mr. Charles Townshend, whose genius shone with distinguished lustre: hewas keen, discerning, eloquent, and accurate; possessed a remarkablevivacity of parts, with a surprising solidity of understanding; wasa wit without arrogance, a patriot without prejudice, and a courtierwithout dependance. While the militia bill remained under consideration in the house, apetition for a constitutional and well-regulated militia was presentedby the mayor, jurats, and commonalty of the king's town and parishof Maidstone, in Kent, in common-council assembled. At the same timeremonstrances were offered by the protestant dissenting ministers of thethree denominations in and about the cities of London and Westminster;by the protestant dissenters of Shrewsbury; the dissenting ministers ofDevonshire; the protestant dissenters, being freeholders and burgessesof the town and county of the town of Nottingham, joined with otherinhabitants of the church of England, expressing their apprehension, that, in the bill then depending, it might be proposed to enact, thatthe said militia should be exercised on the Lord's day, commonly calledSunday, and praying that no clause for such purpose might pass into alaw. Though nothing could be more ridiculously fanatic and impertinentthan a declaration of such a scruple against a practice so laudable andnecesssary, in a country where that day of the week is generally spentin merry-making, riot, and debauchery, the house paid so much regard tothe squeamish consciences of those puritanical petitioners, that Mondaywas pitched upon for the day of exercise to the militia, though onsuch working days they might be much more profitably employed, both forthemselves and their country; and that no religious pretence should beleft for opposing the progress and execution of the bill, proper clauseswere inserted for the relief of the quakers. Another petition andcounter-petition were delivered by the magistrates, freeholders, andburgesses of the town of Nottingham, in relation to their particularfranchises, which were accordingly considered in framing the bill. After mature deliberation, and divers alterations, it passed thelower house, and was sent to the lords for their concurrence: here itunderwent several amendments, one of which was the reduction of thenumber of militia-men to one half of what the commons had proposed;namely, to thirty-two thousand three hundred and forty men for the wholekingdom of England and Wales. The amendments being canvassed in thelower house, met with some opposition, and divers conferences with theirlordships ensued; at length, however, the two houses agreed to everyarticle, and the bill soon received the royal sanction. No provision, however, was made for clothes, arms, accoutrements, and pay: hadregulations been made for these purposes, the act would have become amoney-bill, in which the lords could have made no amendment: in order, therefore, to prevent any difference between the two houses, on adispute of privileges not yet determined, and that the house of peersmight make what amendments they should think expedient, the commons leftthe expense of the militia to be regulated in a subsequent bill, duringthe following session, when they could, with more certainty, computewhat sum would be necessary for these purposes. After all, the billseemed to be crude, imperfect, and ineffectual, and the promoters of itwere well aware of its defects; but they were apprehensive that it wouldhave been dropped altogether, had they insisted upon the scheme beingexecuted in its full extent. They were eager to seize this opportunityof trying an experiment, which might afterwards be improved to a greaternational advantage; and, therefore, they acquiesced in many restrictionsand 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, wasrendered necessary by the inhospitable perseverance of the publicans andinn-holders, who conceived themselves not obliged by law to receive orgive quarters in their houses to any foreign troops, and accordinglyrefused admittance to the Hessian auxiliaries, who began to bedreadfully incommoded by the severity of the weather. This objectionimplying an attack upon the prerogative, the government did not thinkfit, at this juncture, to dispute any other way, than by procuring anew law in favour of those foreigners. It was intituled, "A bill tomake provision for quartering the foreign troops now in this kingdom, "prepared by lord Barrington, the chancellor of the exchequer, and thesolicitor-general, and immediately passed without opposition. This stepbeing taken, another bill was brought in, for the regulation of themarine forces while on shore. This was almost a transcript of the mutinyact, with this material difference: it empowered the admiralty to grantcommissions for holding general courts-martial, and to do every thing, and in the same manner, as his majesty is empowered to do by the usualmutiny 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 speedyand effectual recruiting his majesty's land-forces and marines; a lawwhich threw into the hands of many worthless magistrates an additionalpower of oppressing their fellow-creatures: all justices of the peace, commissioners of the land-tax, magistrates of corporations andboroughs, 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 wererequired 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 suchmilitary officer, as, by notice from the secretary at war, should bedirected to attend that service. The annual bill for preventing mutinyand desertion met with no objections, and indeed contained nothingessentially different from that which had passed in the last session. The next law enacted, was, for further preventing embezzlement of goodsand apparel, by those with whom they are intrusted, and putting a stopto the practice of gaming in public houses. By this bill a penalty wasinflicted on pawnbrokers, in a summary way, for receiving goods, knowingthem not to be the property of the pledger, and pawned without theauthority of the owner. [395] _[See note 3 F, at the end of this Vol. ]_With respect to gaming, the act ordained that all publicans sufferingjourneymen, 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, andfor every subsequent offence, ten pounds shall be levied by distress. Divers inconveniences having resulted from the interposition ofjustices, who, in pursuance of an act of parliament passed in thepresent reign, assumed the right of establishing rates for the paymentof wages to weavers, several petitions wore offered to the house ofcommons, representing the evil consequences of such an establishment;and although these arguments were answered and opposed incounter-petitions, the commons, actuated by a laudable concern for theinterest of the woolen manufacture, after due deliberation, removedthe grievance by a new bill, repealing so much of the former act asempowered 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 notmore forward to provide supplies for prosecuting the war with vigour, than ready to adopt new regulations for the advantage of trade andmanufactures. The society of the free British fishery presented apetition, alleging, that they had employed the sum of one hundred andthirty thousand three hundred and five pounds, eight shillings andsixpence, together with the entire produce of their fish, and all themonies arising from the several branches allowed on the tonnage of theirshipping, and on the exportation of their fish, in carrying on thesaid fishery; and that, from their being obliged, in the infancy ofthe undertaking, to incur a much larger expense than was at that timeforeseen, they now found themselves so far reduced in their capital, asto be utterly incapable of further prosecuting the fisheries withany hope of success, unless indulged with the further assistance ofparliament. They prayed, therefore, that, towards enabling them to carryon the said fisheries, they might have liberty to make use of suchnets 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 thebounty of thirty shillings per ton, allowed by the said acts on thevessels employed in the fishery, might be increased; and forasmuch asmany of the stock proprietors were unable to advance any further sum forprosecuting this branch of commerce; and others unwilling in the presentsituation, and under the present restraints, to risk any further sum inthe undertaking; that the stock of the society, by the said acts madeunalienable, except in case of death or bankruptcy, for a term of years, might forthwith be made transferable; and that the petitioners might beat liberty, between the intervals of the fishing seasons, to employ thebusses in such a manner as they should find for the advantage ofthe society. While the committee was employed in deliberating on theparticulars of this remonstrance, another was delivered from the freeBritish fishery chamber of Whitehaven in Cumberland, representing, thatas the law then stood, they went to Shetland, and returned at a greatexpense and loss of time; and while the war continued, durst not staythere to fish, besides being obliged to run the most imminent risks, bygoing and returning without convoy: that, ever since the institution ofthe present fishery, experience had fully shown the fishery of Shetlandnot worth following, as thereby the petitioners had lost two months ofa much better fishery in St. George's channel, within one day's sail ofWhitehaven: they took notice, that the free British fishery society hadapplied to the house for further assistance and relief; and prayed thatCampbelton, in Argyleshire, might be appointed the place of rendezvousfor the busses belonging to Whitehaven, for the summer as well asthe winter fishery, that they might be enabled to fish with greateradvantage. The committee having considered the matter of both petitions, were of opinion that the petitioners should be at liberty to use suchnets as they should find best adapted to the white herring fishery: thatthe bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be augmented to fifty:that the petitioners should be allowed, during the intervals of thefishing seasons, to employ their vessels in any other lawful business, provided they should have been employed in the herring fishery duringthe proper seasons: that they might use such barrels for packing thefish as they then used, or might hereafter find best adapted for thatpurpose: that they should have liberty to make use of any waste oruncultivated land, one hundred yards at the least above high water mark, for the purpose of drying their nets; and that Campbelton would bethe most proper and convenient place for the rendezvous of the bussesbelonging to Whitehaven. This last resolution, however, was not insertedin the bill which contained the other five, and in a little timereceived the royal assent. ACT FOR IMPORTING AMERICAN IRON DUTY FREE. Such are the connexions, dependencies, and relations subsisting betweenthe mechanical arts, agriculture, and manufactures of Great Britain, that it requires study, deliberation, and inquiry in the legislatureto discern and distinguish the whole scope and consequences of manyprojects offered for the benefit of the commonwealth. The society ofmerchant adventurers in the city of Bristol, alleged, in a petition tothe house of commons, that great quantities of bar-iron were importedinto Great Britain from Sweden, Russia, and other parts, chieflypurchased with ready money, some of which iron was exported again toAfrica and other places: and the rest wrought up by the manufacturers. They affirmed that bar-iron, imported from North America, would answerthe same purposes; and the importation of it tend not only to the greatadvantage of the kingdom, by increasing its shipping and navigation, butalso to the benefit of the British colonies: that by an act passed inthe twenty-third year of his present majesty's reign, the importation ofbar-iron from America into the port of London, duty free, was permitted;but being carried coastwise, or farther by land than ten miles, had beenprohibited; so that several very considerable manufacturing towns weredeprived of the use of American iron, and the out-ports prevented fromemploying it in their export commerce: they requested, therefore, thatbar-iron might be imported from North America into Great Britain, dutyfree, by all his majesty's subjects. This request being reinforced bymany other petitions from different parts of the kingdom, other classesof men, who thought their several interests would be affected by sucha measure, took the alarm; and, in divers counter-petitions, specifiedmany ill consequences which they alleged would arise from its beingenacted into a law. Pamphlets were published on both sides of thequestion, and violent disputes were kindled upon this subject, which wasjustly deemed a matter of national importance. The opposers of the billobserved, that large quantities of iron were yearly produced at home, and employed multitudes of poor people, there being no less than onehundred and nine forges in England and Wales, besides those erected inScotland, the whole producing eighteen thousand tons of iron: that asthe mines in Great Britain are inexhaustible, the produce would of lateyears have been considerably increased, had not the people been keptunder continual apprehension of seeing American iron admitted dutyfree: a supposition which had prevented the traders from extending theirworks, 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 cordsof wood, produced in coppices that grow upon barren lands, which couldnot otherwise be turned to any good account: that as the coppicesafford shade, and preserve a moisture in the ground, the pasture is morevaluable with the wood, than it would be if the coppices were grubbedup; consequently all the estates, where these now grow, would sink intheir yearly value; that these coppices, now cultivated and preservedfor the use of the iron works, are likewise absolutely necessary for themanufacture of leather, as they furnish bark for the tanners, and that, according to the management of these coppices, they produced a greatnumber of timber trees, so necessary for the purposes of building. Theyasserted, that neither the American iron, nor any that had yet beenfound in Great Britain, was so proper for converting into steel as thatwhich conies from Sweden, particularly that sort called ore ground; butas there are mines in the northern parts of Britain, nearly in the samelatitude with those of Sweden, furnished with sufficient quantities ofwood, and rivers for mills and engines, it was hardly to be doubted butthat 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 orRussia. They inferred that American iron could never interfere with thatwhich Great Britain imported from Sweden, because it was not fit foredged-tools, anchors, chain plates, and other particulars necessary inship building; nor diminish the importation of Russian iron, whichwas not only harder than the American and British, but also could beafforded cheaper than that brought from our own plantations, even thoughthe duty of this last should be removed. The importation of Americaniron, therefore, duty free, could interfere with no other sort but thatproduced in Britain, with which, by means of this advantage, it wouldclash so much, as to put a stop in a little time to all the iron worksnow carried on in the kingdom, and reduce to beggary a great number offamilies whom they support. To these objections the favourers of thebill solicited replied, that when a manufacture is much more valuablethan the rough materials, and these cannot be produced at home insufficient quantities, and at such a price as is consistent with thepreservation of the manufacture, it is the interest of the legislature, to admit a free importation of these materials, even from foreigncountries, although it should put an end to the production of thatmaterial in this island: that as the neighbours of Great Britain are nowmore attentive than ever to their commercial interests, and endeavouringto manufacture their rough materials at home, this nation must takeevery method for lowering the price of materials, otherwise in a fewyears it will lose the manufacture; and, instead of supplying othercountries, be furnished by them with all the fine toys and utensilsmade of steel and iron; that being in danger of losing not only themanufacture but the produce of iron, unless it can be procured at acheaper rate than that for which it is sold at present, the only wayof attaining this end is by diminishing the duty payable upon theimportation of foreign iron, or by rendering it necessary for theundertakers of the iron mines in Great Britain to sell their producecheaper than it has been for some years afforded; that the mosteffectual method for this purpose is to raise up a rival, by permittinga 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 beafforded; for, in the colonies, labour of all kinds is much dearerthan in England: if a man employs his own slaves, he must reckon inhis charge a great deal more than the common interest of their purchasemoney, because, when one of them dies, or escapes from his master, helosses both interest and principal; that the common interest of money inthe plantations is considerably higher than in England, consequentlyno man in that country will employ his money in any branch of trade bywhich he cannot gain considerably more per cent, than is expectedin Great Britain, where the interest is low, and profit moderate; acircumstance which will always give a great advantage to the Britishminer, 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 fortillage, and improved the pasturage, no proprietor would be at theexpense of grubbing up the wood to spoil the pasture, as he could makeno other use of the land on which it was produced. This wood must bealways worth something, especially in counties where there is not plentyof coal, and the timber trees would produce considerable advantage;therefore, if there was not one iron mine in Great Britain, no coppicewould be grubbed up, unless it grew on a rich soil, which would producecorn instead of cord-wood; consequently, the tanners have nothing tofear, especially as planting hath become a prevailing taste among thelandholders of the island. The committee appointed to prepare the bill, seriously weighed and canvassed these arguments, examined disputedfacts, and inspected papers and accounts relating to the produce, importation, and manufactory of iron. At length Mr. John Pitt reportedto the house their opinion, implying that the liberty granted by an actpassed in the twenty-third year of his majesty's reign, of importingbar-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 somuch of that act as related to this clause should be repealed. Thehouse having agreed to these resolutions, and the bill being-broughtin accordingly, another petition was presented by several noblemen, gentlemen, freeholders, and other proprietors, owners, and possessors ofcoppices and woodlands, in the West Biding of Yorkshire, alleging, thata permission to import American bar-iron, duty-free, would be attendedwith numberless ill consequences both of a public and private nature;specifying certain hardships to which they in particular would beexposed; and praying, that, if the bill should pass, they might berelieved from the pressure of an act passed in the reign of Henry VIII. Obliging the owners of coppice woods to preserve them, under severepenalties; and be permitted to fell and grub up their coppice woods, inorder to a more proper cultivation of the soil, without being restrainedby the fear of malicious and interested prosecutions. In consequence ofthis remonstrance, a clause was added to the bill, repealing so muchof the act of Henry VIII. As prohibited the conversion of coppice orunder-woods into pasture or tillage; then it passed through both houses, and received the royal sanction. As there was not time, after thisaffair came upon the carpet, to obtain any new accounts from America, and as it was thought necessary to know the quantities of iron made inthat country, the house presented an address to his majesty, desiringhe would be pleased to give directions that there should be laid beforethem, in the next session of parliament, an account of the quantityof iron made in the American colonies, from Christmas, in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-nine, to the fifth day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, each year beingdistinguished. REGULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPORTATION OF SILK. From this important object, the parliament converted its attention to aregulation of a much more private nature. In consequence of a petitionby the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, a billwas brought in, and passed into a law without opposition, for the moreeffectual preservation and improvement of the fry and spawn of fish inthe river Thames, and waters of Medway, and for the better regulatingthe fishery in those rivers. The two next measures taken for the benefitof the public were, first, a bill to render more effectual the severallaws then in being, for the amendment and preservation of the highwaysand turnpike-roads of the kingdom; the other for the more effectuallypreventing the spreading of the contagious distemper which, at thattime, raged among the horned cattle. A third arose from the distress ofpoor silk manufacturers, who were destitute of employment, and deprivedof all means of subsisting, through the interruption of the Levanttrade; occasioned by the war, and the delay of the merchant ships fromItaly. In order to remedy this inconvenience, a bill was prepared, enacting, that any person might import from any place, in any ship orvessel whatsoever, till the first day of December, one thousandseven hundred and fifty-seven, organzine thrown silk of the growthor production of Italy, to be brought to the custom-house of London, wheresoever landed; but that no Italian thrown silk, coarser thanBologna, nor any tram of the growth of Italy, nor any other thrown silkof the growth or production of Turkey, Persia, East Indies, or China, should be imported by this act, under the penalty of the forfeiturethereof. Notwithstanding several petitions, presented by the merchants, owners, and commanders of ships, and others trading to Leghorn, andother ports of Italy, as well as by the importers and manufacturers ofraw silks, representing the evil consequences that would probably attendthe passing of such a bill, the parliament agreed to this temporarydeviation from the famous act of navigation, for a present supply to thepoor manufacturers. The next civil regulation established in this session of parliament wasin itself judicious, and, had it been more earnestly suggested, mighthave been more beneficial to the public. In order to discourage thepractice of smuggling, and prevent the desperadoes concerned thereinfrom 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 presentyear, guilty of illegally running, concealing, receiving, or carryingany wool, or prohibited goods, or any foreign commodities liable toduties, 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 aidingto such offenders; or had been guilty of receiving such goods afterseizure; or of any act whatsoever, whereby persons might be deemedrunners of foreign goods; or of hindering, wounding, or beating anyofficer in the execution of his duty, or assisting therein, --should beindemnified from all such offences, concerning which no suit should thenhave been commenced, or composition made, on condition that he should, before being apprehended or prosecuted, and before the first day ofDecember, enter himself with some commissioned officer of his majesty'sfleet, to serve as a common sailor; and should, for three years fromsuch entry, unless sooner duly discharged, actually serve and do duty inthat station, and register his name, &c, with the clerk of the peace ofthe county where he resided, as the act prescribes. An attempt wasmade in favour of the seamen employed in the navy, who had been veryirregularly paid, and subject to grievous hardships in consequence ofthis irregularity. Mr. Grenville, brother to earl Temple, moved forleave to bring in a bill for the encouragement of seamen employed in hismajesty's navy, and for establishing a regular method for the punctual, speedy, and certain payment of their wages, as well as for rescuing themfrom the arts and frauds of imposition. The proposal was corroboratedby divers petitions: the bill was prepared, read, printed, and, after ithad undergone some amendment, passed into the house of lords, where itwas encountered with several objections, and dropped for this session ofparliament. INQUIRY INTO THE SCARCITY OF CORN. The house of commons being desirous of preventing, for the future, suchdistresses as the poor had lately undergone, appointed a committee toconsider of proper provisions to restrain the price of corn and breadwithin due bounds for the future. For this purpose they were empoweredto send for persons, papers, and records; and it was resolved, that allwho attended the committee should have voices. Having inquired into thecauses of the late scarcity, they agreed to several resolutions, anda bill was brought in to explain and amend the laws against regraters, forestalled, and engrossers of corn. The committee also receivedinstructions to inquire into the abuses of millers, mealmen, and bakers, with regard to bread, and to consider of proper methods to preventthem in the sequel; but no further progress was made in this importantaffair, which was the more interesting, as the lives of individuals, ina great measure, depended upon a speedy reformation; for the millers andbakers were said to have adulterated their flour with common whiting, lime, bone ashes, alum, and other ingredients pernicious to the humanconstitution; a consummation of villany for which no adequate punishmentcould be inflicted. Among the measures proposed in parliament which didnot succeed, one of the most remarkable was a bill prepared by Mr. RoseFuller, Mr. Charles Townshend, and Mr. Banks, to explain, amend, andrender more effectual a law passed in the reign of king William theThird, intituled, "An act to punish governors of plantations, in this kingdom, forcrimes committed by them in the plantation. " This bill was proposed inconsequence of some complaints, specifying acts of cruelty, folly, and oppression, by which some British governors had been latelydistinguished; but, before the bill could be brought in, the parliamentwas prorogued. INVESTIGATION OF THE LOSS OF MINORCA. But no step taken by the house of commons, in the course of thissession, was more interesting to the body of the people than the inquiryinto the loss of Minorca, which had excited such loud and universalclamour. By addresses to the king, unanimously voted, the commonsrequested that his majesty would give directions for laying beforethem copies of all the letters and papers containing any intelligencereceived by the secretaries of state, the commissioners of theadmiralty, or any others of his majesty's ministers, in relation to theequipment of the French fleet at Toulon, or the designs of the French onMinorca, or any other of his majesty's possessions in Europe, sincethe first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-five, to the first day of August, one thousand seven hundred andfifty-six. They likewise desired to peruse a list of the ships of warthat were equipped and made ready for sea, from the first of August, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the thirtieth dayof April in the following year; with the copies of all sailing orderssent to the commanders during that period; as also the state andcondition of his majesty's ships in the several ports of Great Britainat the time of admiral Byng's departure, with the squadron under hiscommand, for the relief of fort St. Philip, during the period of timeabove-mentioned, according to the monthly returns made by the admiralty, with the number of seamen mustered and borne aboard the respectiveships. They demanded copies of all orders and instructions given to thatadmiral, and of letters written to and received from him, during hiscontinuance in that command, either by the secretaries of state, orlords of the admiralty, relating to the condition of his squadron, andto the execution of his orders. In a word, they required the inspectionof all papers which could, in any manner, tend to explain the lossof Minorca, and the miscarriage of Mr. Byng's squadron. His majestycomplied with every article of their request: the papers were presentedto the house, ordered to lie upon the table for the perusal of themembers, and finally referred to the consideration of a committee ofthe whole house. In the course of their deliberations they addressedhis majesty for more information, till at length the truth seemed to besmothered under such an enormous burden of papers, as the efforts of awhole session could not have properly removed. Indeed, many discerningpersons 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 suspiciousnature, 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 thesatisfaction of the people, who could have judged, with some certainty, whether the inquiry would be carried on with such impartiality as thenational misfortune required. They suspected that this reference to acommittee of the whole house was a mal-contrivance, to prevent a regularand 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 andperfunctory manner; and the ministry, from this anarchy and confusion ofmaterials, half explored and undigested, derive a general parliamentaryapprobation, to which they might appeal from the accusations of thepeople. A select committee would have probably examined some of theclerks of the respective offices, that they might certainly know whetherany letters or papers had been suppressed, whether the extracts had beenfaithfully 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 communicatedto a committee of the whole house. Indeed, it does not appear that theministers had any foreign intelligence or correspondence that could bemuch depended upon in any matter of national importance, and no evidencewas examined on the occasion; a circumstance the less to be regretted, as, in times past, evil ministers have generally found means to rendersuch inquiries ineffectual; and the same arts would, at any rate, haveoperated with the same efficacy, had a secret committee been employed atthis juncture. Be that as it may, several resolutions were reportedfrom the committee, though some of them were not carried by the majoritywithout violent dispute and severe altercation. The first and last oftheir resolutions require particular notice. By the former, it appearedto the committee, that his majesty, from the twenty-seventh day ofAugust, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to thetwentieth day of April in the succeeding year, received such repeatedand concurrent intelligence, as gave just reason to believe thatthe French king intended to invade his dominions of Great Britain orIreland. In the latter they declared their opinion, that no greaternumber of ships of war could be sent into the Mediterranean, than wereactually sent thither under the command of admiral Byng; nor any greaterreinforcement 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 variousservices essential to the safety of his majesty's dominions, and theinterest of his subjects. It must have been something more powerfulthan ordinary conviction that suggested these opinions. Whatever reportsmight have been circulated by the French ministry, in order to amuse, intimidate, and detach the attention of the English government fromAmerica and the Mediterranean, where they really intended to exertthemselves, yet, the circumstances of the two nations being considered, one would think there could have been no just grounds to fear aninvasion of Great Britain or Ireland, especially when other intelligenceseemed to point out much more probable scenes of action. But the lastresolution is still more incomprehensible to those who know not exactlythe basis on which it was raised. The number of ships of war in actualcommission amounted to two hundred and fifty, having on board fiftythousand seamen and marines. Intelligence and repeated information ofthe French design upon Minorca had been conveyed to the ministryof England, about six months before it was put in execution. Is itcredible, that in all this time the nation could not equip or spareabove eleven ships of the line and six frigates, to save the importantisland of Minorca? Is it easy to conceive, that from a standing army offifty thousand men, one regiment of troops could not have been detachedto reinforce a garrison, well known to be insufficient for the worksit was destined to defend? To persons of common intellects it appeared, that intelligence of the armament at Toulon was conveyed to theadmiralty as early as the month of September, in the year one thousandseven hundred and fifty-five, with express notice that it would consistof twelve ships of the line: that the design against Minorca wascommunicated as early as the twenty-seventh day of August, by consulBanks, of Carthagena; confirmed by letters from consul Bertes, at Genoa, dated on the seventeenth and twenty-sixth of January, and received byMr. Fox, secretary of state, on the fourth and eleventh of February, as well as by many subsequent intimations; that, notwithstanding theserepeated advices, even after hostilities had commenced in Europe, when the garrison of Minorca amounted to no more than four incompleteregiments, and one company of artillery, forty-two officers beingabsent, and the place otherwise unprovided for a siege, when theMediterranean squadron, commanded by Mr. Edgecumbe, consisted of twoships of the line, and five frigates; neither stores, ammunition, orprovisions, the absent officers belonging to the garrison, recruits forthe regiments, though ready raised, miners, nor any additional troops, were sent to the island, nor the squadron augmented, till admiral Byngsailed from Spithead on the sixth day of April, with no more shipsof the line than, by the most early and authentic intelligence, thegovernment were informed would sail from Toulon, even when Mr. Byngshould have been joined by commodore Edgecumbe; a junction upon whichno dependence ought to have been laid; that this squadron contained notroops but such as belonged to the four regiments in garrison, exceptone battalion to serve in the fleet as marines, unless we include theorder for another to be embarked at Gibraltar; which order was neitherobeyed nor understood: that, considering the danger to which Minorcawas exposed, and the forwardness of the enemy's preparations at Toulon, admiral Osborne, with thirteen ships of the line and one frigate, whoreturned on the sixteenth of February, after having convoyed a fleet ofmerchant ships, might have been detached to Minorca, without hazardingthe coast of Great Britain; for at that time, exclusive of thissquadron, there were eight ships of the line and thirty-two frigatesready manned, and thirty-two ships of the line and five frigates almostequipped; that admiral Hawke was sent with fourteen ships of theline and one frigate to cruise in the bay of Biscay, after repeatedintelligence had been received that the French fleet had sailed for theWest Indies, and the eleven ships remaining at Brest and Rochefort werein want of hands and cannon, so that they could never serve to coverany embarkation or descent, consequently Mr. Hawke's squadron might havebeen spared for the relief of Minorca; that, instead of attending tothis important object, the admiralty, on the eighth day of March, senttwo ships of the line and three frigates to intercept a coasting convoyoff Cape Barfleur: on the eleventh of the same month they detached twoships of the line to the West Indies, and on the nineteenth two more toNorth America, where they could be of little immediate service; on thetwenty-third, two of the line and three frigates a convoy-hunting offCherbourg; and on the first of April five ships of the line, includingthree returned from this last service, to reinforce sir Edward Hawke, already too strong for the French fleet bound to Canada; that all theseships might have been added to Mr. Byng's squadron, without exposingGreat Britain or Ireland to any hazard of invasion: that at length Mr. Byng was detached with ten great ships only, and even denied a frigateto repeat signals, for which he petitioned; although at that very timethere were in port, exclusive of his squadron, seventeen ships of theline and thirteen frigates ready for sea, besides eleven of the line andnineteen frigates almost equipped. From these and other circumstances, particularized and urged with great vivacity, many individualsinferred, that a greater number of ships might have been detached to theMediterranean than were actually sent with admiral Byng; that the notsending an earlier and stronger force was one great cause of Minorca'sbeing lost, and co-operated with the delay of the ministry in sendingthither reinforcements of troops, their neglect in suffering theofficers of the garrison to continue absent from their duty, and theiromitting to give orders for raising miners to serve in the fortress ofMahon. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} EXAMINATION of the AMERICAN CONTRACT. The next inquiry in which the house of commons engaged, related to thecontracts for victualling the forces in America, which were supposed bysome patriots to be fraudulent and unconscionable. This suspicion arosefrom an ambiguous expression, on which the contractor being interrogatedby the committee appointed to examine the particulars, he prudentlyinterpreted it in such a manner, as to screen himself from theresentment of the legislature. The house, therefore, resolved that thecontract entered into on the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year onethousand seven hundred and fifty-six, by the commissioners of thetreasury, with William Baker, Christopher Kilby, and Richard Baker, ofLondon, merchants, for furnishing provisions to the forces under thecommand of the earl of Loudon, was prudent and necessary, and properlyadapted to the securing a constant and effectual supply for those forcesin America. INQUIRY INTO THE CONDUCT OF ADMIRAL KNOWLES, &c. The preceding session an address had been presented to the king by thehouse of commons, desiring his majesty would give orders for layingbefore them several papers relating to disputes which had latelyhappened between his excellency Charles Knowles, esq. , and some ofthe principal inhabitants of the island of Jamaica. This governor wasaccused of many illegal, cruel, and arbitrary acts, during the course ofhis administration; but these imputations he incurred by an exertionof power, which was in itself laudable, and well intended for thecommercial interest of the island. This was his changing the seat ofgovernment, and procuring an act of assembly for removing the severallaws, records, books, papers, and writings belonging to several officesin that island, from Spanish Town to Kingston; and for obliging theseveral officers to keep their offices, and hold a supreme court ofjudicature, at this last place, to which he had moved the seat ofgovernment. Spanish Town, otherwise called St. Jago de la Vega, the oldcapital, was an inconsiderable inland place, of no security, trade, orimportance; whereas Kingston was the centre of commerce, situated on theside of a fine harbour filled with ships, well secured from the insultsof 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 theirclearances at Spanish Town, which stands at a considerable distance;and the same inconvenience and expense being felt by the rest of theinhabitants, who had occasion to prosecute suits at law, or attend theassembly of the island, they joined in representations to the governor, requesting, that, in consideration of these inconveniences, added tothat of the weakness of Spanish Town and the importance of Kingston, theseat of government might be removed. He complied with their request, andin so doing entailed upon himself the hatred and resentment of certainpowerful planters, who possessed estates in and about the old town ofSt. Jago de la Vega, thus deserted. This seems to have been the realsource of the animosity and clamour incurred by Mr. Knowles, againstwhom a petition, signed by nineteen members of the assembly, had beensent to England, and presented to his majesty. --In the two sessionspreceding this year, the affair had been brought into the house ofcommons, where this governor's character was painted in frightfulcolours, and divers papers relating to the dispute were examined. Mr. Knowles having by this time returned to England, the subject of hisadministration was revived, and referred to a committee of the wholehouse. In the meantime, petitions were presented by several merchants ofLondon and Liverpool, concerned in the trade to Jamaica, alleging, thatthe removal of the public courts, offices, and records of the island ofJamaica to Kingston, and fixing the seat of government there, had beenproductive of many important advantages, by rendering the strength ofthe island more formidable, the property of the traders and inhabitantsmore secure, and the prosecution of all commercial business moreexpeditious and less expensive than formerly; therefore, praying thatthe purposes of the act passed in Jamaica for that end might be carriedinto effectual execution, in such manner as the house should thinkproper. The committee, having examined a great number of papers, agreed to some resolutions, importing, that a certain resolution of theassembly of Jamaica, dated on the twenty-ninth day of October, in theyear one thousand seven hundred and fifty-three, implying a claim ofright in that assembly to raise and apply public money without theconsent of the governor and council, was illegal, repugnant to the termsof his majesty's commission to his governor of the said island, andderogatory of the rights of the crown and people of Great Britain;that the six last resolutions taken in the assembly of Jamaica, on thetwenty-ninth day of October, in the year one thousand seven hundredand fifty-three, proceeded on a manifest misapprehension of the king'sinstruction to his governor, requiring him not to give his assent to anybill of an unusual or extraordinary nature and importance, whereinhis majesty's prerogative, or the property of his subjects, might beprejudiced, or the trade or shipping of the kingdom any-ways affected, unless there should be a clause inserted, suspending the executionof such bill until his majesty's pleasure should be known; thatsuch instruction was just and necessary, and no alteration of theconstitution of the island, nor any way derogatory to the rights of thesubjects in Jamaica. From these resolutions the reader may perceive thenature of the dispute which had arisen between the people of Jamaicaand their governor, vice-admiral Knowles, whose conduct on this occasionseems to have been justified by the legislature. The parliament, however, forebore to determine the question, whether the removal ofthe courts of judicature from Spanish Town to Kingston was a measurecalculated for the interest of the island in general. RESOLUTIONS concerning MILFORD-HAVEN. The last object which we shall mention, as having fallen under thecognizance of the commons during this session of parliament, was thestate of Milford-haven on the coast of Wales, one of the most capacious, safe, and commodious harbours in Great Britain. Here the country affordsmany conveniences for building ships of war, and erecting forts, docks, quays, and magazines. It might be fortified at a very small expense, soas to be quite secure from any attempts of the enemy, and rendered byfar the most useful harbour in the kingdom for fleets, cruisers, tradingships, and packet boats, bound to and from the westward; for from hencethey may put sea almost with any wind, and even at low water; they mayweather Scilly and Cape Clear when no vessel can stir from the Britishchannel, or out of the French ports of Brest and Rochefort, and as apost can travel from hence in three days to London, it might becomethe centre of very useful sea intelligence. A petition from severalmerchants in London was presented, and recommended to the house in amessage from the king, specifying the advantages of this harbour, andthe small expense at which it might be fortified, and praying that thehouse would take this important subject into consideration. Accordingly, a committee was appointed for this purpose, with power to send forpersons, papers, and records and every circumstance relating to it wasexamined with accuracy and deliberation. At length the report being madeto the house by Mr. Charles Townshend, they unanimously agreed to anaddress, representing to his majesty, that many great losses had beensustained by the trade of the kingdom, in time of war, from the want ofa safe harbour on the western coast of the island, for the receptionand protection of merchants' ships, and sending out cruisers; thatthe harbour of Milford-haven, in the county of Pembroke, is mostadvantageously situated, and if properly defended and secured, inevery respect adapted to the answering those important purposes; they, therefore, humbly besought his majesty, that he would give immediatedirections for erecting batteries, with proper cover, on the sidesof the said harbour, in the most convenient places for guarding theentrance called Hubber-stone-road, and also such other fortificationsas might be necessary to secure the interior parts of the harbour, andthat, until such batteries and fortifications could be completed, sometemporary defence might be provided for the immediate protection of theships and vessels lying in the said harbour; finally, they assured himthe house would make good to his majesty all such expenses as should beincurred for these purposes. The address met with a gracious reception, and a promise that such directions should be given. The harbour wasactually surveyed, the places were pitched upon for batteries, and theestimates prepared, but no further progress hath since been made. SESSION CLOSED. We have now finished the detail of all the material transactions ofthis session, except what relates to the fate of admiral Byng, whichnow claims our attention. In the meantime, we may observe, that on thefourth day of July the session was closed with his majesty's harangue, the most remarkable and pleasing paragraph of which turned upon hisroyal assurance, that the succour and preservation of his dominions inAmerica had been his constant care, and, next to the security of hiskingdoms, should continue to be his great and principal object. He toldthem 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 hiscrown and subjects from the most injurious encroachments; to preservetranquillity, as far as the circumstances of things might admit; toprevent the true friends of Britain, and the liberties of Europe, from being oppressed and endangered by any unprovoked and unnaturalconjunction. [Illustration: 400. Jpg PORTSMOUTH HARBOUR] TRIAL OF ADMIRAL BYNG. Of all the transactions that distinguished this year, the mostextraordinary was the sentence executed on admiral Byng, the son of thatgreat officer who had acquired such honour by his naval exploits in thepreceding reign, and was ennobled for his services by the title of lordviscount Torrington. His second son, John Byng, had from his earliestyouth been trained to his father's profession; and was generallyesteemed one of the best officers in the navy, when he embarked in thatexpedition to Minorca, which covered his character with disgrace, andeven exposed him to all the horrors of an ignominious death. On thetwenty-eighth day of December his trial began before a court-martial, held on board the ship St. George, in the harbour of Portsmouth, towhich place Mr. Byng had been conveyed from Greenwich by a party ofhorse-guards, and insulted by the populace in every town and villagethrough which he passed. The court having proceeded to examine theevidences for the crown and the prisoner, from day to day, in the courseof a long sitting, agreed unanimously to thirty-seven resolutions, implying their opinion, that admiral Byng, during the engagement betweenthe British and French fleets, on the twentieth day of May last, didnot do his utmost endeavour to take, seize, and destroy the ships of theFrench king, which it was his duty to have engaged, and to assist suchof his majesty's ships as were engaged, which it was his duty to haveassisted; and that he did not exert his utmost-power for the relief ofSt. Philip's castle. They, therefore, unanimously agreed that he fellunder part of the twelfth article of an act of parliament passed in thetwenty-second year of the present reign, for amending, explaining, andreducing into one act of parliament, the laws relating to the governmentof his majesty's ships, vessels, and forces by sea; and as that articlepositively prescribed death, without any alternative left to thediscretion of the court under any variation of circumstances, theyunanimously adjudged the said admiral John Byng to be shot to death, atsuch time, and on board of such ship, as the lords commissioners of theadmiralty should please to direct. But as it appeared, by the evidenceof the officers who were near the admiral's person, that no backwardnesswas perceivable in him during the action, nor any mark of fear orconfusion either in his countenance or behaviour; but that he deliveredhis orders coolly and distinctly, without seeming deficient in personalcourage; and, from other circumstances, they believed his misconduct didnot arise either from cowardice or disaffection, they unanimously andearnestly recommended him as a proper object of mercy. The admiralhimself behaved through the whole trial with the most cheerfulcomposure, seemingly the effect of conscious innocence, upon which, perhaps, he too much relied. Even after he heard the evidence examinedagainst him, and finished his own defence, he laid his account in beinghonourably acquitted; and ordered his coach to be ready for conveyinghim directly from the tribunal to London. A gentleman, his friend, bywhom he was attended, having received intimation of the sentence to bepronounced, thought it his duty to prepare him for the occasion, that hemight summon all his fortitude to his assistance, and accordingly madehim acquainted with the information he had received. The admiral gavetokens of surprise and resentment, but betrayed no marks of fear ordisorder, either then or in the court when the sentence was pronounced. On the contrary, while divers members of the court-martial manifestedgrief, anxiety, and trepidation, shedding tears, and sighing withextraordinary emotion, he heard his doom denounced without undergoingthe least alteration of feature, and made a low obeisance to thepresident and the other members of the court, as he retired. The officers who composed this tribunal were so sensible of the law'sseverity, that they unanimously subscribed a letter to the board ofadmiralty containing this remarkable paragraph:--"We cannot help layingthe distresses of our minds before your lordships on this occasion, infinding ourselves under necessity of condemning a man to death, fromthe great severity of the twelfth article of war, part of which he fallsunder, which admits of no mitigation if the crime should be committed byan error in judgment; and, therefore, for our own consciences' sake, aswell as in justice to the prisoner, we pray your lordships, in the mostearnest manner, to recommend him to his majesty's clemency. " Thelords of the admiralty, instead of complying with the request of thecourt-martial, transmitted their letter to the king, with copiesof their proceedings, and a letter from themselves to his majesty, specifying a doubt with regard to the legality of the sentence, as thecrime of negligence, for which the admiral had been condemned, was notexpressed in any part of the proceedings. At the same time, copies oftwo petitions from George lord viscount Torrington, in behalf of hiskinsman admiral Byng, were submitted to his majesty's royal wisdom anddetermination. All the friends and relations of the unhappy convictemployed and exerted their influence and interest for his pardon;and, as the circumstances had appeared so strong in his favour, itwas supposed that the sceptre of royal mercy would be extended for hispreservation; but infamous arts were used to whet the savage appetiteof the populace for blood. The cry of vengeance was loud throughout theland: sullen clouds of suspicion and malevolence interposing, were saidto obstruct the genial beams of the best virtue that adorns the throne;and the sovereign was given to understand, that the execution of admiralByng was a victim absolutely necessary to appease the fury of thepeople. His majesty, in consequence of the representation made by thelords of the admiralty, referred the sentence to the consideration ofthe twelve judges, who were unanimously of opinion that the sentencewas legal. This report being transmitted from the privy-council to theadmiralty, their lordships issued a warrant for executing the sentenceof death on the twenty-eighth day of February. One gentleman at theboard, however, refused to subscribe the warrant, assigning for hisrefusal the reasons which we have inserted by way of note, for thesatisfaction of the reader. [401] _[See note 3 H, at the end of thisVol. ]_ Though mercy was denied to the criminal, the crown seemed determinedto do nothing that should be thought inconsistent with law. A member ofparliament, who had sat upon the court-martial at Portsmouth, rose upin his place, and made application to the house of commons in behalf ofhimself and several other members of that tribunal, praying the aidof the legislature to be released from the oath of secrecy imposed oncourts-martial, that they might disclose the grounds on which sentenceof death had passed on admiral Byng, and, perhaps, discover suchcircumstances as might show the sentence to be improper. Althoughthis application produced no resolution in the house, the king, onthe twenty-sixth day of February, sent a message to the commons by Mr. Secretary Pitt, importing, that, though he had determined to let thelaw take its course with relation to admiral Byng, and resisted allsolicitations to the contrary, yet, as a member of the house hadexpressed some scruples about the sentence, his majesty had thought fitto respite the execution of it, that there might be an opportunityof knowing, by the separate examination of the members of thecourt-martial, upon oath, what grounds there were for such scruples, andthat his majesty was resolved still to let the sentence be carriedinto execution, unless it should appear from the said examination, thatadmiral Byng was unjustly condemned. The sentence might be strictlylegal, and, at the same time very severe, according to the maxim, _summum jus, summa injuria_. In such cases, and perhaps in such casesonly, the rigour of the law ought to be softened by the lenient hand ofthe royal prerogative. That this was the case of admiral Byng appearsfrom the warm and eager intercession of his jury, a species ofintercession which hath generally, if not always, prevailed at the footof the throne, when any thing favourable for the criminal had appearedin the course of the trial. How much more then might it have beenexpected to succeed, when earnestly urged as a case of conscience, inbehalf of a man whom his judges had expressly acquitted of cowardice andtreachery, the only two imputations that rendered him criminal in theeyes of the nation! Such an interposition of the crown in parliamentarytransactions was irregular, unnecessary, and at another juncture mighthave been productive of violent heats and declamation. At present, however, it passed without censure, as the effect of inattention, ratherthan 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, torelease the members of the court-martial from the obligation of secrecy, and passed through the lower house without opposition; but in the houseof lords it appeared to be destitute of a proper foundation. They senta message to the commons, desiring them to give leave that such of themembers of the court-martial as were members of that house might attendtheir lordships, in order to be examined on the second reading of thebill; accordingly they, and the rest of the court-martial, attended, andanswered all questions without hesitation. As they did not insist uponany excuse, nor produce any satisfactory reason for showing that the manthey had condemned was a proper object of mercy, their lordships wereof opinion that there was no occasion for passing any such bill, which, therefore, they almost unanimously rejected. It is not easy to conceivewhat stronger reasons could be given for proving Mr. Byng an object ofmercy, than those mentioned in the letter sent to the board of admiraltyby the members of the court-martial, who were empowered to try theimputed offence, consequently must have been deemed well qualified tojudge 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. Hemaintained a surprising cheerfulness to the last; nor did he, from hiscondemnation to his execution, exhibit the least sign of impatienceor apprehension. During that interval he had remained on board ofthe Monarque, a third-rate ship of war, anchored in the harbour ofPortsmouth, under a strong guard, in custody of the marshal of theadmiralty. 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 aninfinite number of other boats and vessels filled with spectators. Aboutnoon, the admiral having taken leave of a clergyman, and two friendswho 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 resolutecountenance, and resolved to suffer with his face uncovered, untilhis friends, representing that his looks would possibly intimidate thesoldiers, and prevent their taking aim properly, he submitted to theirrequest, threw his hat on the deck, kneeled on a cushion, tied one whitehandkerchief over his eyes, and dropped the other as a signal for hisexecutioners, who fired a volley so decisive, that five balls passedthrough his body, and he dropped down dead in an instant. The time inwhich this tragedy was acted, from his walking out of the cabin to hisbeing 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 havebeen rashly condemned, meanly given up, and cruelly sacrificed to vileconsiderations. The sentiments of his own fate he avowed on the vergeof eternity, when there was no longer any cause of dissimulation, in thefollowing declaration, which, immediately before his death, he deliveredto the marshal of the admiralty: "A few moments will now deliver mefrom the virulent persecution, and frustrate the further malice ofmy enemies: nor need I envy them a life subject to the sensations myinjuries, and the injustice done me, must create. Persuaded I am, thatjustice will be done to my reputation hereafter: the manner and causeof 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 injuredand deluded people from the proper objects. My enemies themselves mustnow think me innocent. Happy for me, at this my last moment, that Iknow my own innocence, and am conscious that no part of my country'smisfortunes can be owing to me. I heartily wish the shedding my bloodmay contribute to the happiness and service of my country; but cannotresign my just claim to a faithful discharge of my duty according tothe best of my judgment, and the utmost exertion of my ability forhis majesty's honour, and my country's service. I am sorry that myendeavours were not attended with more success, and that the armamentunder my command proved too weak to succeed in an expedition of suchmoment. Truth has prevailed over calumny and falsehood, and justice haswiped off the ignominious stain of my supposed want of personal courage, and the charge of disaffection. My heart acquits me of these crimes; butwho can be presumptuously sure of his own judgment? If my crime is anerror in judgment, or differing in opinion from my judges, and if yetthe error in judgment should be on their side, God forgive them, asI do; and may the distress of their minds, and uneasiness of theirconsciences, which in justice to me they have represented, be relieved, and subside as my resentment has done. The supreme judge sees all heartsand motives, and to him I must submit the justice of my cause. " {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} REMARKS ON ADMIRAL BYNG'S FATE. Notwithstanding all that has been said in his favour, notwithstandingthe infamous arts that were practised to keep up the cry against him, notwithstanding this solemn appeal to heaven in his last moments, andeven self-conviction of innocence, the character of admiral Byng, in point of personal courage, will still, with many people, remainproblematical. They will still be of opinion, that if the spirit of aBritish admiral had been properly exerted, the French fleet would havebeen defeated, and Minorca relieved. A man's opinion of danger varies atdifferent times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits, and he is actuated by considerations which he dares not avow. After anofficer, thus influenced, has hesitated or kept aloof in the hourof trial, the mind, eager for its own justification, assembles, withsurprising industry, every favourable circumstance of excuse, and broodsover them with parental partiality, until it becomes not only satisfied, but even enamoured of their beauty and complexion, like a doatingmother, blind to the deformity of her own offspring. Whatever Mr. Byng'sinternal feelings might have been, whatever consequences might haveattended his behaviour on that occasion; as the tribunal before whichhe was tried acquitted him expressly of cowardice and treachery, he was, without all doubt, a proper object for royal clemency; and so impartialposterity will judge him, after all those dishonourable motives offaction and of fear, by which his fate was influenced, shall be lostin oblivion, or remembered with disdain. The people of Great Britain, naturally fierce, impatient, and clamorous, have been too muchindulged, upon every petty miscarriage, with trials, courts-martial, anddismissions, which tend only to render their military commanders rashand precipitate, the populace more licentious and intractable, and todisgrace the national character in the opinion of mankind. [Illustration: 403. Jpg PORTRAIT OF WILLIAM PITT] 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_ {1757} MR. PITT AND MR. LEGGE TAKEN INTO THE ADMINISTRATION. Though the parliament of Great Britain unanimously concurred instrengthening the hands of government for a vigorous prosecution of thewar, those liberal supplies had like to have proved ineffectual througha want of harmony in her councils. In the course of the last yearthe clamorous voice of dissatisfaction had been raised by a seriesof disappointments and miscarriages, which were imputed to want ofintelligence, sagacity, and vigour in the administration. The defeat ofBraddock, the reduction of Oswego, and other forts in America, the delayof armaments, the neglect of opportunities, ineffectual cruises, absurddispositions of fleets and squadrons, the disgrace in the Mediterranean, and the loss of Minorca, were numbered among the misfortunes that flowedfrom the crude designs of a weak dispirited ministry; and the prospectof their acquiescing in a continental war brought them still fartherin contempt and detestation with the body of the people. In order toconciliate the good-will of those whom their conduct had disobliged, toacquire a fresh stock of credit with their fellow-subjects, and removefrom their own shoulders part of what future censure might ensue, theyadmitted into a share of the administration a certain set of gentlemen, remarkable for their talents and popularity, headed by Mr. Pitt andMr. Legge, esteemed the two most illustrious patriots of Great Britain, alike distinguished and admired for their unconquerable spirit anduntainted integrity. The former of these was appointed secretary ofstate, and the other chancellor of the exchequer; and their friends werevested with other honourable though subordinate offices. So far the people were charmed with the promotion of individuals, uponwhose virtues and abilities they had the most perfect reliance; butthese new ingredients would never thoroughly mix with the old leaven. The administration became an emblem of the image that Nebuchadnezzarsaw in his dream, the leg was of iron, and the foot was of clay. Theold junta found their new associates very unfit for their purposes. Theycould neither persuade, cajole, nor intimidate them into measures whichthey thought repugnant to the true interest of their country. The newministers combated in council every such plan, however patronised; theyopenly opposed in parliament every design which they deemed unworthy ofthe crown, or prejudicial to the people, even though distinguished bythe predilection of the sovereign. Far from bargaining for their places, and surrendering their principles by capitulation, they maintainedin office their independency and candour with the most vigilantcircumspection, and seemed determined to show, that he is the bestminister to the sovereign who acts with the greatest probity towards thesubject. Those who immediately surrounded the throne were supposed tohave concealed the true characters of these faithful servants from theknowledge of their royal master; to have represented them as obstinate, imperious, ignorant, and even lukewarm in their loyalty; and to havedeclared, that with such colleagues it would be impossible to move themachine of government according to his majesty's inclination. Thesesuggestions, artfully inculcated, produced the desired effect: on theninth day of April, Mr. Pitt, by his majesty's command, resigned theseals of secretary of state for the southern department. In the room ofMr. Legge, the king was pleased to grant the office of chancellor of theexchequer to the right honourable lord Mansfield, chief-justice of thecourt of king's bench, the same personage whom we have mentioned beforeunder the name of Mr. Murray, solicitor-general, now promoted andennobled for his extraordinary merit and important services. The fateof Mr. Pitt was extended to some of his principal friends: the board ofadmiralty was changed, and some other removals were made with the sameintention. What was intended as a disgrace to Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge turned out oneof the most shining circumstances of their characters. The whole nationseemed to rise up, as one man, in the vindication of their fame; everymouth was opened in their praise; and a great number of respectablecities and corporations presented them with the freedom of theirrespective societies, enclosed in gold boxes of curious workmanship, astestimonies of their peculiar veneration. What the people highlyesteem, they in a manner idolize. Not contented with making offeringsso flattering and grateful to conscious virtue, they conceived themost violent prejudices against those gentlemen who succeeded in theadministration; fully convinced, that the same persons who had sunk thenation in the present distressful circumstances, who had brought on herdishonour, and reduced her to the verge of destruction, were by no meansthe fit instruments of her delivery and redemption. The whole kingdomcaught fire at the late changes; nor could the power, the cunning, andthe artifice of a faction, long support itself against the united voiceof Great Britain, which soon pierced the ears of the sovereign. It wasnot possible to persuade the people that salutary measures could besuggested or pursued, except by the few, whose zeal for the honour oftheir country, and steady adherence to an upright disinterested conduct, had secured their confidence, and claimed their veneration. A greatnumber of addresses, dutifully and loyally expressed, solicited theking, ever ready to meet half-way the wishes of his faithful people, torestore Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge to their former employments. Upon thisthey rested the security and honour of the nation, as well as thepublic expectation of the speedy and successful issue of a war, hithertoattended with disgraces and misfortunes. Accordingly, his majesty wasgraciously pleased to redeliver the seals to Mr. Pitt, appointing himsecretary of state for the southern department, on the twenty-ninth dayof June; and, five days after, the office of chancellor of theexchequer was restored to Mr. Legge; promotions that afforded universalsatisfaction. COALITION OF PARTIES. It would not, perhaps, be possible to exclude, from a share in theadministration, all who were not perfectly agreeable to the people:however unpopular the late ministry might appear, still they possessedsufficient influence in the privy-council, and credit in the houseof commons, to thwart every measure in which they did not themselvespartake. This consideration, and very recent experience, probablydictated the necessity I of a coalition, salutary in itself, andprudent, because it was the only means of assuaging the rage of faction, and healing those divisions, more pernicious to the public than the mostmistaken and blundering councils. Sir Robert Henley was made lord-keeperof the great seal, and sworn of his majesty's privy-council, on thethirteenth day of June; the custody of the privy-seal was committed toearl Temple; his grace the duke of Newcastle, Mr. Legge, Mr. Nugent, lord viscount Dun-cannon, and Mr. Grenville, were appointedcommissioners for executing the office of treasurer to his majesty'sexchequer. 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 ofall his majesty's guards, garrisons, and land-forces; and the earl ofThomond was made treasurer of the king's household, and sworn of hismajesty's privy-council. Other promotions likewise took place, with adesign to gratify the adherents of either party; and so equally wasthe royal favour distributed, that the utmost harmony for a long timesubsisted. Ingredients, seemingly heterogeneous, consolidated into oneuniform mass, so as to produce effects far exceeding the most sanguineexpectations; and this prudent arrangement proved displeasing onlyto those whom violent party attachment had inspired with a narrow andexclusive spirit. DESCENT ON THE COAST OF FRANCE MEDITATED. The accumulated losses and disappointments of the preceding year, madeit absolutely necessary to retrieve the credit of the British arms andcouncils by some vigorous and spirited enterprise, which should, atthe same time, produce some change in the circumstances of his Prussianmajesty, already depressed by the repulse at Kolin, and in danger ofbeing attacked by the whole power of France, now ready to fall uponhim, like a torrent, which had so lately swept before it the army ofobservation, now on the brink of disgrace. A well-planned and vigorousdescent on the coast of France, it was thought, would probably give adecisive blow to the marine of that kingdom, and at the same time effecta powerful diversion in favour of the Prussian monarch and the duke ofCumberland, driven from all his posts in the electorate of Hanover, bydrawing a part of the French forces to the defence and protection oftheir own coasts. Both were objects of great concern, upon which thesovereign and ministry were sedulously bent. His royal highness theduke, in a particular manner, urged the necessity of some enterprise ofthis nature, as the only expedient to obviate the shameful conventionnow in agitation. The ministry foresaw, that, by destroying the enemy'sshipping, all succours would be cut off from America, whither they weredaily transporting troops; the British commerce secured, without thoseconvoys so inconvenient to the board of admiralty, and to the merchants;and those ideal fears of an invasion, that had in some measure affectedthe 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 inreadiness to put to sea on the shortest notice, and ten regiments offoot were marched to the Isle of Wight. The naval armament, consistingof eighteen ships of the line, besides frigates, fireships, bomb-ketches, and transports, was put under the command of sir EdwardHawke, an officer whose faithful services recommended him, above allothers, to this command; and rear-admiral Knowles was appointed hissubaltern. Sir John Mordaunt was preferred to take the command of theland-forces: and both strictly enjoined to act with the utmost unanimityand harmony. Europe beheld with astonishment these mighty preparations. The destination of the armament was wrapped in the most profoundsecrecy: it exercised the penetration of politicians, and filled Francewith very serious alarms. Various were the impediments which obstructedthe embarkation of the troops for several weeks, while Mr. Pittexpressed the greatest uneasiness at the delay, and repeatedly urged thecommander-in-chief to expedite his departure; but a sufficient numberof transports, owing to some blunder in the contractors, had notyet arrived. The troops expressed an eager impatience to signalizethemselves against the enemies of the liberties of Europe; but thesuperstitious drew unfavourable presages from the dilatoriness of theembarkation. At last the transports arrived, the troops were put onboard with all expedition, and the fleet got under sail on the eighthday of September, attended with the prayers of every man warmed with thelove of his country, and solicitous for her honour. The public, big withexpectation, dubious where the stroke would fall, but confident of itssuccess, were impatient for tidings from the fleet; but it was not tillthe fourteenth, that even the troops on board began to conjecture thata descent was meditated on the coast of France, near Rochefort orRochelle. ADMIRAL KNOWLES SENT TO TAKE AIX. On the twentieth, the fleet made the isle of Oleron, and then sir EdwardHawke sent an order to vice-admiral Knowles, requiring him, if the windpermitted the fleet, to proceed to Basque road, to stand in as near tothe isle of Aix as the pilot would carry him, with such ships of hisdivision as he thought necessary for the service, and to batter thefort till the garrison should either abandon or surrender it. But theimmediate execution of this order was frustrated by a French ship ofwar standing in to the very middle of the fleet, and continuing in thatstation for some time before she discovered her mistake, or any of thecaptains had a signal thrown out to give chase. Admiral Knowles, whentoo late, ordered the Magnanime, captain Howe, and Torbay, captainKeppel, on that service, and thereby retarded the attack upon which hewas immediately sent. A stroke of policy greatly to be admired, asfrom hence he gained time to assure himself of the strength of thefortifications 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, wereattending the French ship of war safe into the river Garonne, theremainder of the fleet was beating to windward off the isle of Oleron;and the commander-in-chief publishing orders and regulations which didcredit to his judgment, and would have been highly useful, had thereever been occasion to put them in execution. On the twenty-third the vanof the fleet, led by captain Howe in the Magnanime, stood towards Aix, asmall island situated in the mouth of the river Charente, leading upto Rochefort, the fortifications half finished, and mounted with aboutthirty cannon and mortars, the garrison composed of six hundred men, and the whole island about five miles in circumference. As the Magnanimeapproached, the enemy fired briskly upon her; but captain Howe, regardless of their faint endeavours, kept on his course withoutflinching, dropping his anchors close to the walls, and poured in soincessant a fire as soon silenced their artillery. It was, however, nearan hour before the fort struck, when some forces were landed to takepossession of so important a conquest, with orders to demolish thefortifications, the care of which was intrusted to vice-admiral Knowles. Inconsiderable as this success might appear, it greatly elated thetroops, and was deemed a happy omen of further advantages; but, insteadof embarking the troops that night, as was universally expected, severalsuccessive days were spent in councils of war, soundings of the coast, and deliberations whether the king's express orders were practicable, orto be complied with. Eight days were elapsed since the first appearanceof the fleet on the coast, and the alarm was given to the enemy. SirEdward Hawke, indeed, proposed laying a sixty gun ship against Fouras, and battering that fort, which it was thought would help to secure thelanding of the troops, and facilitate the enterprise on Rochefort. Thisa French pilot on board, Thierry, undertook; but after a ship hadbeen lighted for the purpose, vice-admiral Knowles reported, that abomb-ketch had run a-ground at above the distance of two miles from thefort; upon which the project of battering or bombarding the fort wasabandoned. The admiral likewise proposed to bombard Koch elle; but thisoverture was over-ruled, for reasons which we need not mention. It wasat length determined, in a council of war held on the eighth, to make adescent, and attack the forts leading to and upon the mouth of the riverCharente. An order, in consequence of this resolution, was immediatelyissued for the troops to be ready to embark from the transports in theboats precisely at twelve o'clock at night. Accordingly the boats wereprepared and filled with the men at the time appointed, and now theyremained beating against each other, and the sides of the ships, for thespace of four hours, while the council were determining whether, afterall the trouble given, they should land; when at length an order waspublished for the troops to return to their respective transports, andall thoughts of a descent, to appearance, were wholly abandoned. The succeeding days were employed in blowing up and demolishing thefortifications of Aix; after which, the land officers, in a councilof war, took the final resolution of returning to England without anyfurther attempts, fully satisfied they had done all in their power toexecute the designs of the ministry, and choosing rather to oppose thefrowns of an angry sovereign, the murmurs of an incensed nation, and thecontempt of mankind, than fight a handful of dastardly militia. Such wasthe issue of an expedition that raised the expectations of all Europe, threw the coasts of France into the utmost confusion, and cost thepeople 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 nowthe disappointment was proportioned to the sanguine hopes conceived, that the pride of France would have been humbled by so formidable anarmament. The ministry, and with them the national voice, exclaimedagainst the commanding officers, and the military men retorted thecalumny by laying the blame on the projectors of the enterprise, who hadput the nation to great expense before they had obtained the necessaryinformation. Certain it was, that blame must fall somewhere, and theministry resolved to acquit themselves and fix the accusation, byrequesting his majesty to appoint a board of officers of character andability, to inquire into the causes of the late miscarriage. Thisalone it was that could appease the public clamours, and affordgeneral satisfaction. The enemies of Mr. Pitt endeavoured to wrest themiscarriage of the expedition to his prejudice, but the whispers offaction were soon drowned in the voice of the whole people of England, who never could persuade themselves that a gentleman raised tothe height of power and popularity by mere dint of superior merit, integrity, and disinterestedness, would now sacrifice his reputationby a mock armament, or hazard incurring the derision of Europe, byneglecting to obtain all the necessary previous information, or doingwhatever might contribute to the success of the expedition. It wasasked, Whether reason or justice dictated, that a late unfortunateadmiral should be capitally punished for not trying and exerting hisutmost ability to relieve fort St. Philip, invested by a powerful army, and surrounded with a numerous fleet, while no charge of negligence orcowardice was brought against those who occasioned the miscarriage ofa well-concerted and well-appointed expedition? The people, theysaid, were not to be quieted with the resolutions of a council of war, composed of men whose inactivity might frame excuses for decliningto expose themselves to danger. It was publicly mentioned, that suchbackwardness appeared among the general officers before the fleetreached the isle of Oleron, as occasioned the admiral to declare, withwarmth, that he would comply with his orders, and go into Basque-road, whatever might be the consequence. It was asked, Why the army did notland on the night of the twenty-third or twenty-fourth, and whether theofficers sent out to reconnoitre, had returned with such intelligenceas seemed to render a descent impracticable? It was asked, Whether thecommander-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 noless necessary to the reputation of the officers on the expedition, thanto the minister who had projected it. Accordingly, a board consistingof three officers of rank, reputation, and ability, was appointed byhis majesty, to inquire into the reasons why the fleet returned withouthaving executed his majesty's orders. The three general officers, who met on the twenty-first of thesame month, were, Charles duke of Marlborough, lieutenant-general, major-generals lord George Sackville and John Waldegrave. To judge ofthe practicability of executing his majesty's orders, it was necessaryto inquire into the nature of the intelligence upon which the expeditionwas projected. The first and most important was a letter sent to sirJohn, afterwards lord Ligonier, by lieutenant-colonel Clark.. Thisletter had been frequently examined in the privy-council, and contained, in substance, that colonel Clark, in returning from Gibraltar, in theyear one thousand-seven hundred and fifty four, had travelled along thewestern coast of France, to observe the condition of the fortifications, and judge how far a descent would be practicable, in case of a rupturebetween Great Britain and France. On his coming to Rochefort, where hewas attended by an engineer, he was surprised to find the greatestpart of a good rampart, with a revetment, flanked only with redans;no outworks, no covered-way, and in many places no ditch, so that thebottom of the wall was seen at a distance. He remembered, that in otherplaces, where the earth had been taken out to form the rampart, therewas left around them a considerable height of ground, whence an enemymight draw a great advantage; that for above the length of a front, ortwo 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 muddyand slimy. Towards the river, no rampart, no batteries, no parapet, oneither side appeared, and on the land-side he observed some high groundwithin the distance of one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards ofthe town; in which condition, the colonel was told by the engineer, theplace had remained for above seventy years. To prevent giving umbrage, he drew no plan of the place, and even burnt the few sketches he hadby him: however, as to utility, the colonel declared himself as muchsatisfied as if he had taken a plan. He could not ascertain the directheight of the rampart, but thought it could not exceed twenty-five feet, including the parapet. The river might be about one hundred and thirtyfeet broad, and the entrance defended by two or three small redoubts. Asto forces, none are ever garrisoned at Eochefort, except marines, whichat the time the colonel was on the spot amounted to about one thousand. This was the first intelligence the ministry received of the state ofRochefort, which afforded sufficient room to believe, that an attackby surprise might be attended with happy consequences. It was truethat colonel Clark made his observations in time of peace; but it waslikewise probable that no great alterations were made on account of thewar, as the place had remained in the same condition during the two orthree last wars with France, when they had the same reasons as now toexpect their coasts would be insulted. The next information was obtainedfrom Joseph Thierry, a French pilot, of the protestant religion, whopassed several examinations before the privy-council. This persondeclared, that he had followed the business of a pilot on the coastof France for the space of twenty years, and served as first pilot inseveral of the king's ships; that he had, in particular, piloted theMagnanime, before she was taken by the English, for about twenty-twomonths, and had often conducted her into the road of the isle of Aix;and that he was perfectly acquainted with the entrance, which indeed isso easy as to render a pilot almost unnecessary. The road, he said, afforded good anchorage in twelve or fourteen fathoms water, as far asBayonne; the channel between the islands of Oleron and Rhé was threeleagues 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 ofAix, which he would undertake the Magnanime alone should destroy; thatthe largest ships might come up to the Vigerot, two miles distant fromthe mouth of the river, with all their cannon and stores; that men mightbe landed to the north of fort Fouras, out of sight of the fort, upon ameadow where the ground is firm and level, under cover of the cannonof the fleet. This landing-place he reckoned at about five miles fromRochefort, the way dry, and no way intercepted by ditches and morasses. He said, great part of the city was encompassed by a wall; but towardsthe river, on both sides, for about sixty paces, it was enclosed onlywith pallisadoes, without a fosse. To the intelligence of colonelClark and Thierry, the minister added a secret account obtained ofthe strength and distribution of the French forces, whence it appearedhighly probable that no more than ten thousand men could be allowedfor the defence of the whole coast, from St. Valéry to Bourdeaux. Inconsequence of the above information the secret expedition was planned;instructions were given to sir John Mordaunt and admiral Hawke to makea vigorous impression on the French coast, and all the other measuresprojected, 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 strengthand resources of their navy, disconcert their extensive and dangerousoperations of war, and, finally, give life, strength, and lustre to thecommon cause and his majesty's arms. The board of inquiry took next intoconsideration the several letters and explanatory instructions sentto sir John Mordaunt, in consequence of some difficulties which mightpossibly occur, stated by that general in letters to the minister, previous to his sailing. Then they examined the report made to sirEdward Hawke by admiral Broderick, and the captains of the men of warsent to sound the French shore from Rochelle to fort Fouras, datedSeptember the twenty-ninth; the result of the councils af war on thetwenty-fifth and twenty-eighth; sir Edward Hawke's letter to sirJohn Mordaunt on the twenty-seventh, and the general's answer on thetwenty-ninth: after which sir John Mordaunt was called upon to givehis reasons for not putting his majesty's instructions and ordersinto execution. This he did in substance as follows: the attempt onRochefort, he understood, was to have been on the footing of a _coup demain_ or surprise, which it would be impossible to execute if the designwas discovered, or the alarm taken. He also understood that an attemptcould not be made, nay that his majesty did not require it should, unless a proper place for debarking, and a safe retreat for the troopswas discovered, particularly where the ships could protect them; and asafe communication with the fleet, and conveyance of supplies from it, were found. His sentiments, he said, were confirmed by a paper to thispurpose, delivered to him by sir John Ligonier, on his first beingappointed to command the expedition. It was likewise probable, hethought, that although Rochefort should have remained in the situationin which colonel Clark and the pilot Thierry had seen it three yearsbefore, yet that a few days' preparation could make it sufficientlydefensible against a _coup de main_. Judging therefore the dependenceon such an operation alone improper, he applied to the ministry for twomore old battalions, and artillery for a regular attack to force theplace, which, from its construction, appeared as difficult to be madedefensible against the latter, as easily secured against the former. But this request being refused, he still thought it his duty to obey hisorders on the footing on which the expedition was planned, especiallyas he understood his instructions were discretionary, regarding thecircumstances of the time, the condition of the place, and the nature ofthe service. He recited the positive and credible intelligence received, as well before the embarkation as during the voyage, of the alarm givento France, and the preparations made along the French coasts from Brestand St. Maloes to Rochefort; the accidents that kept the fleet hoveringalong the coasts, and prevented the possibility of an attempt bysurprise; the reports of all the gentlemen employed in sounding thecoasts, so contrary to the intelligence given by Thierry the pilot; theopinion of the council of war, by which he was enjoined to act, andwith which his own judgment concurred; the endeavours used, after thetwenty-sixth, to find out some expedient for annoying the enemy andexecuting his majesty's instructions; the attempt made to land, inconsequence of the resolution of the second council of war, which wasprevented by boisterous and stormy weather; and lastly, the reasons thatdetermined him, in concert with the other land officers, to return toEngland. Having considered all these circumstances, and examined several officerswho served in the expedition, the court of inquiry gave in the followingreport to his majesty:--"It appears to us, that one cause of theexpedition having failed is, the not attacking fort Fouras by sea, atthe same time that it could have been attacked by land, agreeably tothe first design, which certainly must have been of the greatest utilitytowards carrying your majesty's instructions into execution. It was atfirst resolved by admiral Hawke; (Thierry, the pilot, having undertakenthe safe conduct of a ship to fort Fouras for that purpose), butafterwards 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; butas neither sir Edward Hawke nor the pilot could attend to give anyinformation upon that head, we cannot presume to offer any certainopinion thereupon. We conceive another cause of the failure of theexpedition to have been, that, instead of attempting to land whenthe report was received, on the twenty-fourth of September, fromrear-admiral Broderick, and the captains who had been out to sound andreconnoitre, a council of war was summoned and held on the twenty-fifth, in which it was unanimously resolved not to land, as the attempt onRochefort was neither advisable nor practicable; but it does not appearto us that there were then or at any time afterwards, either a body oftroops or batteries on shore sufficient to have prevented the attemptinga descent, in pursuance of the instructions signed by your majesty;neither does it appear to us that there were any reasons sufficient toinduce the council of war to believe that Rochefort was so changed inrespect to its strength, or posture of defence, since the expedition wasfirst resolved on in England, as to prevent all attempts of an attackupon the place, in order to burn and destroy the docks, magazines, arsenals, and shipping, in obedience to your majesty's command. Andwe think ourselves obliged to remark, in the council of war on thetwenty-eighth of September, that no reason could have existed sufficientto prevent the attempt of landing the troops, as the council thenunanimously resolved to land with all possible despatch. We beg leavealso to remark, that after its being unanimously resolved to land, inthe council of war of the twenty-eighth of September, the resolution wastaken of returning to England, without any regular or general meeting ofthe said council; but as the whole operation was of so inconsiderable anature, we do not offer this to your majesty as a cause of the failureof the expedition; since we cannot but look upon the expedition tohave failed from the time the great object of it was laid aside in thecouncil of war of the twenty-fifth. " {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SIR JOHN MORDAUNT TRIED BY A COURT-MARTIAL. This report, signed by the general officers, Marlborough, Sackville, andWaldegrave, probably laid the foundation for the court-martial which satsoon after upon the conduct of the commander-in-chief of the expedition. The enemies of the minister made a handle of the miscarriage to lessenhim in the esteem of the public, by laying the whole blame on hisforming a project so expensive to the nation, on intelligence not onlyslight at the first view, but false upon further examination. But thepeople were still his advocates; they discerned something mysterious inthe whole conduct of the commander-in-chief. They plainly perceived thatcaution took the place of vigour, and that the hours for action werespent in deliberations and councils of war. Had he debarked the troops, and made such an attack as would have distinguished his courage, thevoice of the people would have acquitted him, however unsuccessful, though prudence perhaps might have condemned him. Even Braddock'srashness they deemed preferable to Mor-daunt's inactivity: the loss ofso many brave lives was thought less injurious and disgraceful tothe nation, than the too safe return of the present armament. The onedemonstrated that the British spirit still existed; the other seemed toindicate the too powerful influence of wealth, luxury, and those mannerswhich tend to debauch and emasculate the mind. A public trial of thecommander-in-chief was expected by the people, and it was graciouslygranted by his majesty. It is even thought that Sir John Mordaunthimself demanded to have his conduct scrutinized, by which method alonehe was sensible his character could be re-established. His majesty'swarrant for holding a court-martial was accordingly signed on the thirdday of December. The court was composed of nine lieutenant-generals, nine major-generals, and three colonels, who sat on the fourteenth, andcontinued by several adjournments to the twentieth. Lieutenant-generalSir John Mordaunt came prisoner before the court, and the followingcharge was exhibited against him; namely, that he being appointed, by the king, commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces sent on anexpedition to the coast of France, and having received orders andinstructions relative thereto, from his majesty, under his royalsign-manual, and also by one of his principal secretaries of state, haddisobeyed his majesty's said orders and instructions. The proceedingsof this court were nearly similar to those of the court of inquiry. Thesame evidences were examined, with the addition of sir Edward Hawke'sdeposition; and a defence, differing in no essential point from theformer, made by the prisoner; but the judgment given was clear andexplicit. Sir John Mordaunt was unanimously found Not Guilty, andtherefore acquitted, while the public opinion remained unaltered, andmany persons inveighed as bitterly against the lenity of the presentcourt-martial, as they had formerly against the severity of the sentencepassed upon a late unfortunate admiral. The evidence of one gentlemanin particular drew attention: he was accused of tergiversation, andof showing that partial indulgence which his own conduct required. He publicly defended his character: his performance was censured, andhimself 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 asto protect the trade of the kingdom, secure our colonies in the WestIndies, and ensure the continuance of the extraordinary success whichhad lately blessed his majesty's arms in the East Indies; but these wecould not mention before without breaking the thread of our narration. On the ninth of February, admiral West sailed with a squadron of menof war to the westward, as did admiral Coates with the fleet under hisconvoy to the West Indies, and commodore Stevens with the trade tothe East Indies, in the month of March. Admiral Holbourn and commodoreHolmes, with eleven ships of the line, a fire-ship, bomb-ketch, andfifty transports, sailed from St. Helen's for America in April. Theadmiral had on board six thousand two hundred effective men, exclusiveof officers, under the command of general Hopson, assisted by lordCharles Hay. In May, admiral Osborne, who had been forced back toPlymouth with his squadron by stress of weather, set sail for theMediterranean, as did two ships of war sent to convoy the Americantrade. In the meantime, the privateers fitted out by private merchants andsocieties, greatly annoyed the French commerce. The Antigallican, aprivate ship of war, equipped by a society of men who assumed thatname, took the duke de Penthievre Indiaman, off the part of Corunna, and carried her into Cadiz. The prize was estimated worth two hundredthousand pounds, and immediate application was made by France tothe court of Spain for restitution, while the proprietors of theAnti-gallican were squandering in mirth, festivity, and riot, theimaginary wealth so easily and unexpectedly acquired. Such werethe remonstrances made to his catholic majesty with respect to theillegality of the prize, which the French East India company assertedwas taken within shot of a neutral port, that the Penthievre was firstviolently wrested out of the hands of the captors, then detained as adeposit, with sealed hatches, and a Spanish guard on board, till theclaims of both parties could be examined, and at last adjudged to be anillegal capture, and consequently restored to the French, to the greatdisappointment of the owners of the privateer. Besides the success whichattended a great number of other privateers, the lords of the admiraltypublished a list of above thirty ships of war and privateers taken fromthe enemy in the space of four mouths, by the English sloops and shipsof war, exclusive of the duke de Aquitaine Indiaman, now fitted out asa ship of war, taken by the Eagle and Medway; the Pondicherry Indiaman, valued at one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, taken by the Dovermanof war; and above six privateers brought into port by the diligent andbrave captain Lockhart, for which he was honoured with a variety ofpresents of plate by several corporations, in testimony of their esteemand regard. This run of good fortune was not, however, without someretribution on the side of the enemy, who, out of twenty-one shipshomeward bound from Carolina, made prize of nineteen, whence themerchants sustained considerable damage, and a great quantity ofvaluable 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 ofEurope and America, the artifice of engrossers still kept up the priceof corn. So incensed were the populace at the iniquitous combinationsentered into to frustrate the endeavours of the legislature, and tooppress the poor, that they rose in a tumultuous manner in severalcounties, sometimes to the number of five or six thousand, and seizedupon the grain brought to market. Nor was it indeed to be wonderedat, considering the distress to which many persons were reduced. Thedifficulty of obtaining the necessaries of life, raised the priceof labour at the most unseasonable time, when all manufacturers wereoverstocked for want of a proper market, which obliged them to dismissabove half the hands before employed. Hence arose the most pitiablecondition of several thousands of useful industrious subjects; acalamity attended only with one advantage to the public, namely, thefacility with which recruits were raised for his majesty's service. Atlast the plentiful crops with which it pleased Providence to blessthese kingdoms, the prodigious quantities of corn imported from foreigncountries, and the wise measures of the legislature, broke all thevillanous schemes set on foot by the forestallers and engrossers, andreduced the price of corn to the usual standard. The public joy on thisoccasion was greatly augmented by the safe arrival of the fleet fromthe Leeward islands, consisting of ninety-two sail, and of the Straitsfleet, estimated worth three millions sterling, whereby the silkmanufacturers in particular were again employed, and their distressesrelieved. About the same time the India company was highly elated withthe joyful account of the safe arrival and spirited conduct of three oftheir captains, attacked in their passage homewards by two French menof war, one of sixty-four, the other of twenty-six guns. After a warmengagement, which continued for three hours, they obliged the Frenchships to sheer of, with scarce any loss on their own side. When theengagement began, the captains had promised a reward of a thousandpounds to the crews, by way of incitement to their valour; and thecompany doubled the sum, in recompence of their fidelity and courage. His majesty having taken into consideration the incredible damagesustained by the commerce of these kingdoms, for want of proper harboursand forts on the western coast to receive and protect merchantmen, was graciously pleased to order, that a temporary security should beprovided for the shipping which might touch at Milford-haven, untilthe fortifications voted in parliament could be erected. How far hismajesty's directions were complied with, the number of merchant shipstaken by the enemy's privateers upon that coast sufficiently indicated. OPERATIONS IN AMERICA. Whatever reasons the government had to expect the Campaign should bevigorously pushed in America, almost every circumstance turned outcontrary to expectation. Not all the endeavours of the earl of Loudonto quiet the dissensions among the different provinces, and to establishunanimity and harmony, could prevail. Circumstances required that heshould act the part of a mediator, in order to raise the necessarysupplies for prosecuting the war, without which it was impossible hecould appear in the character of a general. The enemy, in the meantime, were pursuing the blow given at Oswego, and taking advantage of thedistraction that appeared in the British councils. By their successesin the preceding campaign, they remained masters of all the lakes. Hencethey were furnished with the means of practising on the Indians, in allthe different districts, and obliging them, by rewards, promises, andmenaces, to act in their favour. Every accession to their strength, was a real diminution of that of the British commander; but then theignorance or pusillanimity of some of the inferior officers in our backsettlements was, in effect, more beneficial to the enemy than all thevigilance and activity of Montcalm. In consequence of the shameful lossof Oswego, they voluntarily abandoned to the mercy of the French generalthe whole country of the Five Nations, the only body of Indians who hadinviolably performed their engagements, or indeed who had preserved anysincere regard for the British government. The communication with thesefaithful allies was now cut off, by the imprudent demolition of theforts we possessed at the great Carrying-place. A strong fort indeedwas built at Winchester, and called fort Loudon, after thecommander-in-chief, and four hundred Cherokee Indians joined theEnglish forces at fort Cumberland; but this reinforcement by no meanscounterbalanced the losses sustained in consequence of our havingimprudently stopped up Wood-creek, and filled it with logs. Every personthe least acquainted with the country, readily perceived the weakness ofthese measures, by which our whole frontier was left open and exposed tothe irruptions of the savages in the French interest, who would not failto profit by our blunders, too notorious to escape them. By the removalof these barriers, a path was opened to our fine settlements on thosegrounds called the German Flats, and along the Mohawk's river, which theenemy 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 stepsto unite the provinces, and raise a force sufficient to strike somedecisive blow. The attack on Crown-Point, which had been so longmeditated, was laid aside as of less importance than the intendedexpedition to Louisbourg, now substituted in its place, and undoubtedlya more considerable object in itself. Admiral Holbourn arrived atHalifax, with the squadron and transports under his command, on theninth day of July; and it was his lordship's intention to repair thitherwith all possible diligence, in order to take upon him the command ofthe expedition; but a variety of accidents interposed. It was with theutmost difficulty he at length assembled a body of six thousand men, with which he instantly began his march to join the troops latelyarrived from England. When the junction was effected, the whole forcesamounted to twelve thousand men; an army that raised great expectations. Immediately some small vessels were sent out to examine and reconnoitrethe condition of the enemy, and the intermediate time was employed inembarking the troops as soon as the transports arrived. The returnof the scouts totally altered the face of affairs: they brought theunwelcome news, that M. De Bois de la Mothe, who sailed in the month ofMay from Brest, with a large fleet of ships of war and transports, wasnow safe at anchor in the harbour of Louisbourg. Their intelligenceAAras supported by the testimony of several deserters; yet still itwanted confirmation, and many persons believed their account of theenemy's strength greatly magnified. Such advices, however, could not butoccasion extraordinary fluctuations in the councils of war at Halifax. Some were for setting aside all thoughts of the expedition for thatseason; while others, more warm in their dispositions, and sanguine intheir expectations, were for prosecuting it with vigour, in spite ofall dangers and difficulties. Their disputes were carried on with greatvehemence, when a packet bound from Louisbourg for France, was taken byone of the English ships stationed at Newfoundland. She had letters onboard, which put the enemy's superiority beyond all doubt, at leastby sea. It clearly appeared, there were at that time in Louisbourg sixthousand regular troops, three thousand natives, and one thousand threehundred Indians, with seventeen ships of the line and three frigatesmoored in the harbour; that the place was well supplied with ammunition, provisions, and every kind of military stores; and that the enemy wishedfor nothing more than an attack, which it was probable would terminateto the disgrace of the assailants, and ruin of the British affairsin America. The commanders at Halifax were fully apprized of theconsequences of an unsuccessful attempt; it was, therefore, almostunanimously resolved to postpone the expedition to some more convenientopportunity, especially as the season was now far advanced, whichalone would be sufficient to frustrate their endeavours, and render theenterprise abortive. This resolution seems, indeed, to have been themost eligible in their circumstances, whatever construction mightafterwards be given, with intention to prejudice the public against thecommander-in-chief. FORT WILLIAM-HENRY TAKEN by the FRENCH. Lord Loudon's departure from New-York, with all the forces he was ableto collect, afforded the marquis de Montcalm the fairest occasion ofimproving the successes of the former campaign. That general had, in thevery commencement of the season, made three different attacks onfort William-Henry, in all of which he was repulsed by the vigour andresolution of the garrison. But his disappointment here was balanced byan advantage gained by a party of regulars and Indians at Ticonderoga. Colonel John Parker, with a detachment of near four hundred men, went bywater, in whale and bay boats, to attack the enemy's advanced guard atthat place. Landing at night on an island, he sent before dawn threeboats to the main land, which the enemy waylaid and took. Havingprocured the necessary intelligence from the prisoners of the colonel'sdesigns, they contrived their measures, placed three hundred men inambush behind the point where he proposed landing, and sent threebatteaux to the place of rendezvous. Colonel Parker mistaking thesefor 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 privatemen escaped. Flushed with this advantage, animated by the absence of theBritish commander-in-chief, then at Halifax, and fired with a desire torevenge the disgrace he had lately sustained before fort Henry, Montcalmdrew together all his forces, with intention to lay siege to that place. Fort William-Henry stands on the southern coast of Lake George; it wasbuilt with a view to protect and cover the frontiers of the Englishcolonies, as well as to command the lake; the fortifications were good, defended by a garrison of near three thousand men, and covered by anarmy of four thousand, under the conduct of general Webb, posted atno great distance. When the marquis de Montcalm had assembled all theforces at Crown-Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent posts, togetherwith a considerable body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in thewhole to near ten thousand men, he marched directly to the fort, made his approaches, and began to batter it with a numerous train ofartillery. On the very day he invested the place he sent a letter tocolonel Monro the governor, telling him, he thought himself obliged, in humanity, to desire he would surrender the fort, and not provokethe great number of savages in the French army by a vain resistance. "A detachment of your garrison has lately, " say she, "experienced theircruelty; I have it yet in my power to restrain them, and oblige themto observe a capitulation, as none of them hitherto are killed. Yourpersisting in the defence of your fort can only retard its fate a fewdays, and must of necessity expose an unfortunate garrison, who canpossibly receive no relief, considering the precautions taken to preventit. I demand a decisive answer, for which purpose I have sent the sieurFuntbrane, one of my aids-de-camp. You may credit what he will informyou of, from Montcalm. " General Webb beheld his preparations with anindifference and security bordering on infatuation. It is crediblyreported, that he had private-intelligence of all the French general'sdesigns and motions; yet, either despising his strength, or discreditingthe information, he neglected collecting the militia in time; which, inconjunction with his own forces, would probably have obliged Montcalmto relinquish the attempt, or at least have rendered his success verydoubtful and hazardous. The enemy meeting with no disturbance from thequarter they most dreaded, prosecuted the siege with vigour, and werewarmly received by the garrison, who fired with great spirit tillthey had burst almost all their cannon, and expended their ammunition. Neither Montcalm's promises or threats could prevail upon them tosurrender, while they were in a condition to defend themselves, or couldreasonably expect assistance from general Webb. They even persisted tohold out after prudence dictated they ought to surrender. Colonel Monrowas sensible of the importance of his charge, and imagined that generalWebb, though slow in his motions, would surely make some vigorousefforts either to raise the siege, or force a supply of ammunition, provisions, and other necessaries, into the garrison. At lengthnecessity obliged him, after sustaining a siege from the third to theninth day of August, to hang out a flag of truce, which was immediatelyanswered by the French commander. Hostages were exchanged, and articlesof capitulation signed by both parties. It was stipulated, that thegarrison of fort William-Henry, and the troops in the intrenched camp, should march out with their arms, the baggage of the officers andsoldiers, and all the usual necessaries of war, escorted by a detachmentof French troops, and interpreters attached to the savages; that thegate of the fort should be delivered to the troops of the most christainking, immediately after signing the capitulation; and the retrenchedcamp, on the departure of the British forces; that the artillery, warlike stores, provisions, and in general every thing, except theeffects of soldiers and officers, should, upon honour, be deliveredto the French troops; for which purpose it was agreed there should bedelivered, with the capitulation, an exact inventory of the stores andother particulars specified; that the garrison of the fort, and thetroops in the retrenchment and dependencies, should not serve for thespace of eighteen months, from the date of the capitulation, against hismost christian majesty, or his allies; that with the capitulation thereshould be delivered an exact state of the troops, specifying thenames of the officers, engineers, artillery-men, commissaries, and allemployed; that the officers and soldiers, Canadians, women, and savages, made prisoners by land since the commencement of the war in NorthAmerica, should be delivered in the space of three months at Carillon;in return for whom an equal number of the garrison of fort William-Henryshould be capacitated to serve agreeably to the return given by theEnglish officer, and the receipt of the French commanding officers, ofthe prisoners so delivered: that an officer should remain as an hostage, till the safe return of the escort sent with the troops of his Britannicmajesty; that the sick and wounded, not in a condition to be transportedto fort Edward, should remain under the protection of the marquis deMontcalm; who engaged to use them with tenderness and humanity, and toreturn them as soon as recovered: that provisions for two days should beissued out for the British troops: that in testimony of his esteem andrespect for colonel Monro and his garrison, on account of theirgallant defence, the marquis do Montcalm should return one cannon, asix-pounder. Whether the marquis de Montcalm was really assiduous tohave these articles punctually executed we cannot pretend to determine;but certain it is, they were perfidiously broke in almost everyinstance. The savages in the French interest either paid no regard tothe capitulation, or were permitted, from views of policy, to actthe most treacherous, inhuman, and insidiuous part. They fell uponthe British troops as they marched out, despoiled them of their fewremaining effects, dragged the Indians in the English service out oftheir ranks, and assassinated them with circumstances of unheard-ofbarbarity. Some British soldiers, with their wives and children, aresaid to have been savagely murdered by those brutal Indians, whoseferocity the French commander could not effectually restrain. Thegreater part of the English garrison, however, arrived at fort Edward, under the protection of the French escort. The enemy demolished thefort, carried off the effects, provisions, artillery, and every thingelse left by the garrison, together with the vessels preserved in thelake, and departed, without pursuing their success by any other attempt. Thus ended the third campaign in America, where, with an evidentsuperiority over the enemy, an army of twenty thousand regular troops, a great number of provincial forces, and a prodigious naval power, notless than twenty ships of the line, we abandoned our allies, exposed ourpeople, suffered them to be cruelly massacred in sight of our troops, and relinquished a large and valuable tract of country, to the eternalreproach and disgrace of the British name. NAVAL TRANSACTIONS IN AMERICA. As to the naval transactions in this country, though less infamous, theywere not less unfortunate. Immediately on lord Loudon's departure fromHalifax, admiral Holbourn, now freed from the care of the transports, set sail for Louisbourg, with fifteen ships of the line, one ship offifty guns, three small frigates, and a fire-ship. What the objectof this cruise might have been can only be conjectured. Some imaginecuriosity was the admiral's sole motive, and the desire of informinghimself with certainty of the enemy's strength, while others persuadethemselves that he was in hopes of drawing M. De la Mothe to anengagement, notwithstanding his superiority in number of ships andweight of metal. Be this as it may, the British squadron appeared offLouisbourg on the twentieth day of August, and approaching withintwo miles of the batteries, saw the French admiral make the signal tounmoor. Mr. Holbourn was greatly inferior in strength, and it is obviousthat his design was not to fight the enemy, as he immediately madethe best of his way to Halifax. About the middle of September, being reinforced with four ships of the line, he again proceeded toLouisbourg, probably with intention, if possible, to draw the enemyto an engagement; but he found de la Mothe too prudent to hazard anunnecessary battle, the loss of which would have greatly exposed all theFrench colonies. Here the English squadron continued cruising untilthe twenty-fifth, when they were overtaken by a terrible storm from thesouthward. When the hurricane began, the fleet were about forty leaguesdistant from Louisbourg; but were driven in twelve hours withintwo miles of the rocks and breakers on that coast, when the windprovidentially shifted. The ship Tilbury was wrecked upon the rocks, andhalf her crew drowned. Eleven ships were dismasted, others threw theirguns overboard; and all returned in a very shattered condition toEngland, at a very unfavourable season of the year. In this manner endedthe expedition to Louisbourg, more unfortunate to the nation than thepreceding 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, theinstability of the administration, and the frequent revolutions in ourcouncils, were strongly manifested by that langour infused into all ourmilitary operations, and general unsteadiness in our pursuits. Faction, in the mother-country, produced divisions and misconduct in thecolonies. No ambition to signalize themselves appeared among theofficers, from the uncertainty whether their services were to berewarded or condemned. Their attachment to particular persons weakenedthe love they ought to have entertained for their country in general, and destroyed that spirit of enterprise, that firmness and resolutionwhich 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, wherehe 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 wasto 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 thatM. De Kersin was a few leagues to windward, and certainly intended toattack Cape-coast, his whole garrison did not exceed thirty white men, exclusive of a few mulatto soldiers: his stock of ammunition was reducedto half a barrel of gunpowder; and his fortifications were so crazy andinconsiderable, that, in the opinion of the best engineers, they couldnot have sustained for twenty minutes the fire of one great ship, hadit been properly directed and maintained. In these circumstances, fewpeople would have dreamed of making any preparation for defence; butMr. Bell entertained other sentiments, and acquitted himself with equalcourage and discretion. He forthwith procured a supply of gunpowder, anda reinforcement of about fifty men, from certain trading vessels thathappened to be upon that part of the coast. He mounted some spare cannonupon an occasional battery, and assembling a body of twelve hundrednegroes, well armed, under the command of their chief, on whoseattachment he could depend, and ordered them to take post at theplace where he apprehended the enemy would attempt a landing. Theseprecautions were hardly taken, when the French squadron, consisting oftwo ships of the line and a large frigate, appeared, and in a littletime their attack began; but they met with such a warm reception, thatin less than two hours they desisted, leaving the castle very littledamaged, and immediately made sail for the West Indies, very much to thedisappointment and mortification of the Dutch officers belonging tothe fort of Elmina, in the same neighbourhood, who made no scruple ofexpressing their wishes publicly in favour of the French commodore, andat a distance viewed the engagement with the most partial eagerness andimpatience. M. De Kersin was generally blamed for his want of conductand resolution in this attempt; but he is said to have been deceived inhis opinion of the real state of Capecoast castle, by the vigorous andresolute exertions of the governor, and was apprehensive of losing amast in the engagement; a loss which he could not have repaired on thewhole coast of Africa. Had the fort of Cape-coast been reduced onthis occasion, in all probability every petty republic of the negroes, settled under the protection of the forts on the Gold-coast, would haverevolted from the British interest; for while the French squadron, intheir progress along-shore, hovered in the offing at Annamaboe, an English settlement a few leauges to leeward of Cape-coast, JohnCorrantee, the caboceiro, chief magistrate and general of the blacks onthat part of the coast, whose adopted son had a few years before beencaressed, and even treated as a prince in England, taking it for grantedthat this enterprise of the French would be attended with success, actually sent some of his dependants, with a present of refreshments fortheir commodore; the delivery of which, however, was prevented by Mr. Brew, the English chief of the fort, who shattered in pieces the canoebefore it could be launched, and threatened with his cannon to level theblack town with the dust. The caboceiro, though thus anticipated inhis design, resolved to be among the first who should compliment M. DeKersin on his victory at Cape-coast; and, with this view, prepared anembassy or deputation to go there by land; but understanding that theFrench had failed in their attempt, he shifted his design, without theleast hesitation, and despatched the same embassy to Mr. Bell, whom hecongratulated on his victory, assuring him he had kept his men readyarmed, to march at the first summons to his assistance. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE EAST INDIES. In the East Indies the scene was changed greatly to the honour andadvantage of Great Britain. There the commanders acted with thatharmony, spirit, and unanimity becoming Britons, zealous for the creditof their king and the interest of their country. We left admiral Watsonand colonel Clive advancing to Calcutta, to revenge the cruel tragedyacted upon their countrymen the preceding year. On the twenty-eighthof December, the fleet proceeded up the river: next day colonel Clivelanded, and with the assistance of the squadron, in twenty-four hoursmade himself master of Busbudgia, a place of great strength, thoughvery ill defended. On the first of January the admiral, with two ships, appeared before the town of Calcutta, and was received by a brisk firefrom the batteries. This salute was returned so warmly, that the enemy'sguns were soon silenced, and in less than two hours the place and fortwere abandoned. Colonel Clive, on the other side, had invested thetown, and made his attack with that vigour and intrepidity peculiarto himself, which greatly contributed to the sudden reduction of thesettlement. As soon as the fort was surrendered, the brave and activecaptain Coote, with his majesty's troops, took possession, and foundninety-one pieces of cannon, four mortars, abundance of ammunition, stores, and provisions, with every requisite for sustaining an obstinatesiege. Thus the English were re-established in the two strongestfortresses in the Ganges, with the inconsiderable loss of nine seamenkilled, and three soldiers. A few days after, Hughley, a city ofgreat trade, situated higher up the river, was reduced with as littledifficulty, but infinitely greater prejudice to the nabob, as here hisstorehouses of salt, and vast granaries for the support of his army, were burnt and destroyed. Incensed at the almost instantaneous loss ofall his conquests, and demolition of the city of Hughley, the viceroy ofBengal discouraged all advances to an accommodation which was proposedby the admiral and chiefs of the company, and assembled an army oftwenty thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot, fully resolved toexpel the English out of his dominions, and take ample vengeance for thedisgraces he had lately sustained. He was seen marching by the Englishcamp in his way to Calcutta on the second of February, where heencamped, about a mile from the town. Colonel Clive immediately madeapplication to the admiral for a reinforcement; and six hundred men, under the command of captain Warwick, were accordingly drafted from thedifferent ships, and sent to assist his little army. Clive drew outhis forces, advanced in three columns towards the enemy, and beganthe attack so vigorously, that the viceroy retreated, after a feebleresistance, with the loss of a thousand men killed, wounded, and takenprisoners, five hundred horses, great numbers of draft bullocks, andfour elephants. Though this advantage was less decisive than could bewished, yet it sufficiently intimidated the nabob into concessions muchto the honour and advantage of the company. Admiral Watson gave him tounderstand in a letter, that this was no more than a specimen of whatthe British arms, when provoked, could perform. The suba desiredthe negotiation might be renewed, and in a few days the treaty wasconcluded. He promised not to disturb the English in any of thoseprivileges or possessions specified in the firm, and granted by theMogul; that all merchandise belonging to the company should pass andrepass, in every part of the province of Bengal, free of duty; that allthe English factories seized the preceding year, or since, should berestored, with the money, goods, and effects appertaining; that alldamages sustained by the English should be repaired, and their lossesrepaid: that the English should have liberty to fortify Calcutta inwhatever manner they thought proper without interruption: that theyshould have the liberty of coining all the gold and bullion theyimported, which should pass current in the province: that he wouldremain in strict friendship and alliance with the English, use hisutmost endeavours to heal up the late divisions, and restore the formergood understanding between them. All which several articles were solemnly signed and sealed with thenabob's own hand. SEDUCTION OF CHANDERNAGORE. Such were the terms obtained for the company, by the spirited andgallant conduct of the two English commanders. They had, however, toomuch discernment to rely on the promises of a barbarian, who had soprefidiously broken former engagements; but they prudently dissembledtheir sentiments, until they had thoroughly reinstated the affairs ofthe company, and reduced the French power in this province. In order toadjust the points that required discussion, the select committee for thecompany's affairs appointed Mr. Watts, who had been released from hisformer imprisonment, as their commissary at the court of the suba, towhom he was personally known, as well as to his ministers, among whom hehad acquired a considerable influence. Nothing less could have balancedthe interest which the French, by their art of intriguing, had raisedamong the favourites of the viceroy. While Mr. Watts was employed atMuxadavad in counter-working those intrigues, and keeping the subasteady to his engagements, the admiral and Mr. Clive resolved to availthemselves of their armament in attacking the French settlementsin Bengal. The chief object of their designs was the reductionof Chandernagore, situated higher up the river than Calcutta, ofconsiderable strength, and the chief in importance of any possessed bythat nation in the bay. Colonel Clive being reinforced by three hundredmen from Bombay, began his march to Chandernagore, at the head of sevenhundred Europeans and one thousand six hundred Indians, where, onhis first arrival, he took possession of all the out-posts exceptone redoubt mounted with eight pieces of cannon, which he left to besilenced by the admiral. On the eighteenth day of March, the admiralsWatson and Pocoke arrived within two miles of the French settlement, with the Kent, Tiger, and Salisbury men of war, and found their passageobstructed by booms laid across the river, and several vessels sunk inthe channel. These difficulties being removed, they advanced early onthe twenty-fourth, and drew up in a line before the fort, which theybattered with great fury for three hours; while colonel Clive wasmaking his approaches on the land side, and playing vigorously from thebatteries he had raised. Their united efforts soon obliged the enemyto submission. A flag of truce was waved over the walls, and the placesurrendered by capitulation. The keys were delivered to captain Lathamof the Tiger; and in the afternoon colonel Clive, with the king'stroops, took possession. Thus the reduction of a strong fortress, garrisoned by five hundred Europeans, and one thousand two hundredIndians, defended by one hundred and twenty-three pieces of cannon, andthree mortars, well provided with all kinds of stores and necessaries, and of very great importance to the enemy's commerce in India, wasaccomplished with a loss not exceeding forty men on the side of theconquerors. By the treaty of capitulation the director; counsellors, andinferior servants of the settlement, were allowed to depart with theirwearing apparel: the Jesuits were permitted to take away their churchornaments, and the natives to remain in the full exertion of theirliberties; but the garrison were to continue prisoners of war. Thegoods and money found in the place were considerable; but the principaladvantage arose from the ruin of the head settlement of the enemy on theGanges, which could not but interfere with the English commerce in theseparts. COLONEL CLIVE DEFEATS THE SUBA AT PLAISSEY, &c. Success had hitherto attended all the operations of the Britishcommanders, because they were concerted with foresight and unanimity;and executed with that vigour and spirit which deservedly raisedthem high in the esteem of their country. They reduced the nabob toreasonable terms of accommodation before they alarmed the French; andnow the power of the latter was destroyed, they entered upon measures tooblige the treacherous viceroy to a strict performance of the treaty hehad so lately signed. However specious his promises were, they found himextremely dilatory in the execution of several articles of the treaty, which, in effect, was the same to the English commerce as if none hadbeen concluded. The company's goods were loaded with high duties, andseveral other infractions of the peace committed, upon such frivolouspretences, as evidently demonstrated that he sought to come to an openrupture as soon as his projects were ripe for execution. In a word, he discovered all along a manifest partiality to the French, whoseemissaries cajoled him with promises that he should be joined by such abody of their European troops, under M. De Bussy, as would enable him tocrush the power of the English, whom they had taught him to fear and tohate. As recommencing hostilities against so powerful a prince was initself dangerous, and if possible to be avoided, the affair waslaid before the council of Culcutta, and canvassed with all thecircumspection and caution that a measure required, on which dependedthe fate of the whole trade of Bengal. Mr. Watts, from time to time, sent them intelligence of every transaction in the suba's cabinet; andalthough that prince publicly declared he would cause him to be impaledas soon as the English troops should be put in motion within the kingdomof Bengal, he bravely sacrificed his own safety to the interest of thecompany, and exhorted them to proceed with vigour in their militaryoperations. During these deliberations a most fortunate incidentoccurred, that soon determined the council to come to an open rupture. The leading persons in the viceroy's court found themselves oppressedby his haughtiness and insolence. The same spirit of discontent appearedamong the principal officers of his army; they were well acquainted withhis prefidy, saw his preparations for war, and were sensible that thepeace of the country could never be restored, unless either theEnglish were expelled, or the nabob deposed. In consequence, a plan wasconcerted for divesting him of all his power; and the conspiracy wasconducted by Jaffier Ali Khan, his prime minister and chief commander, a nobleman of great influence and authority in the province. The projectwas communicated by Ali Khan to Mr. Watts, and so improved by theaddress of that gentleman, as in a manner to ensure success. A treatywas actually concluded between this Meer Jaffier Ali Khan and theEnglish company; and a plan concerted with this nobleman and theother malcontents for their defection from the viceroy. These previousmeasures being-taken, colonel Clive was ordered to take the field withhis little army. Admiral Watson undertook the defence of Chandernagore, and the garrison was detached to reinforce the colonel, together withfifty 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 fortand town, situated on that branch of the river forming the island ofCassimbuzzar. This place surrendered at the first summons; and here thecolonel halted with the army for three days, expecting advices from AliKhan. Disappointed of the hoped for intelligence, he crossed the river, and marched to Plaissey, where he encamped. On the twenty-third, at daybreak, the suba advanced to attack him, at the head of fifteen thousandhorse, and near thirty thousand infantry, with about forty pieces ofheavy cannon, conducted and managed by French gunners, on whose courageand dexterity he placed great dependence. They began to cannonade theEnglish camp about six in the morning; but a severe shower fallingat noon they withdrew their artillery. Colonel Clive seized thisopportunity to take possession of a tank and two other posts ofconsequence, which they in vain endeavored to retake. Then he stormed anangle of their camp, covered with a double breastwork, together with aneminence which they occupied. At the beginning of this attack, some oftheir chiefs being slain, the men were so dispirited, that they soongave way; but still Meer Jaffier Ali Khan, who commanded their leftwing, forbore declaring himself openly. After a short contest the enemywere put to flight, the nabob's camp, baggage, and fifty pieces ofcannon taken, and a most complete victory obtained. The colonel, pursuing his advantage, marched to Muxadavad, the capital of theprovince, and was there joined by Ali Khan and the malcontents. It wasbefore concerted that this nobleman should be invested with the dignityof nabob; accordingly, the colonel proceeded solemnly to depose SurajahDowlat, and, with the same ceremony, to substitute Ali Khan in his room, who was publicly acknowledged by the people as suba, or viceroy, of theprovinces of Bengal, Banar, and Orixa. Soon after, the late viceroy wastaken, and put to death by his successor, who readily complied with allthe conditions of his elevation. He conferred on his allies very liberalrewards, and granted the company such extraordinary privileges, as fullydemonstrated how justly he merited their assistance. By this alliance, and the reduction of Chandernagore, the French were entirely excludedthe commerce of Bengal and its dependencies; the trade of the Englishcompany was restored, and increased beyond their most sanguine hopes; anew ally was acquired, whose interest obliged him to remain firm to hisengagements: a vast sum was paid to the company and the sufferers atCalcutta, to indemnify them for their losses: the soldiers and seamenwere gratified with six hundred thousand pounds, as a reward for thecourage and intrepidity they exerted; and a variety of other advantagesgained, which it would be unnecessary to enumerate. In a word, inthe space of fourteen days a great revolution was effected, and thegovernment of a vast country superior in wealth, fertility, extent, and number of inhabitants to most European kingdoms, transferred by ahandful of troops, conducted by an officer untutored in the art of war, and a general rather by intuition, than instruction and experience. Butthe public joy at these signal successes was considerably diminishedby the death of admiral Watson, and the loss of Vizagapatam, an Englishsettlement on the Coromandel coast. The admiral fell a victim to theunwholesomeness of the climate, on the sixteenth of August, universallyesteemed and regretted; and the factory and fort at Vizagapatam weresurrendered to the French, a few days after colonel Clive had defeatedthe nabob. ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE KING OF FRANCE. We now turn our eyes to the continent of Europe, where we see thebeginning of the year marked with a striking instance of the dreadfuleffects of frantic enthusiasm. France had long enjoyed a monarch, easy, complying, good-natured, and averse to all that wore the appearance ofbusiness or of war. Contented with the pleasures of indolence, he soughtno greatness beyond what he enjoyed, nor pursued any ambitious aimthrough the dictates of his own disposition. Of all men on earth such aprince had the greatest reason to expect an exemption from plots againsthis person, and cabals among his subjects; yet was an attempt made uponhis life by a man, who though placed in the lowest sphere of fortune, had resolution to face the greatest dangers, and enthusiasm sufficientto sustain, without shrinking, all the tortures which the cruelty of mancould invent, or his crimes render necessary. The name of this fanaticwas Robert Francis Damien, born in the suburb of St. Catharine, in thecity of Arras. He had lived in the service of several families, whencehe was generally dismissed on account of the impatience, the melancholy, and sullenness of his disposition. So humble was the station of aperson, who was resolved to step forth from obscurity, and, by onedesperate effort, draw upon himself the attention of all Europe. On thefifth day of January, as the king was stepping into his coach to returnto Trianon, whence he had that day come to Versailles, Damien, minglingamong his attendants, stabbed him with a knife on the right side, between the fourth and fifth ribs. His majesty applying his handimmediately to his side, cried out, "I am wounded! Seize him; but do nothurt him. " Happily the wound was not dangerous; as the knife taking anoblique direction, missed the vital parts. As for the assassin, he madeno attempts to escape; but suffering himself quietly to be seized, wasconveyed to the guard-room, where, being interrogated if he committedthe horrid action, he boldly answered in the affirmative. A processagainst him was instantly commenced at Versailles: many persons, supposed accessaries to the design upon the king's life, were sent tothe Bastile; the assassin himself was put to the torture, and themost excruciating torments were applied, with intention to extort aconfession of the reasons that could induce him to so execrable anattempt upon his sovereign. Incisions were made into the muscular partsof his legs, arms, and thighs, into which boiling oil was poured. Everyrefinement on cruelty, that human invention could suggest, was practisedwithout effect; nothing could overcome his obstinacy; and his silencewas construed into a presumption, that he must have accomplices inthe plot. To render his punishment more public and conspicuous, hewas removed to Paris, there to undergo a repetition of all his formertortures, with such additional circumstances as the most fertile andcruel dispositions could devise for increasing his misery and torment. Being conducted to the Concergerie, an iron bed, which likewise servedfor a chair, was prepared for him, and to this he was fastened withchains. The torture was again applied, and a physician ordered toattend, to see what degree of pain he could support. Nothing, however, material was extorted; for what he one moment confessed, he recanted thenext. 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 thathuman nature could invent, or man support, his judges thought proper toterminate his misery by a death shocking to imagination, and shameful tohumanity. On the twenty-eighth day of March he was conducted, amidsta vast concourse of the populace, to the Grève, the common place ofexecution, 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, meltedlead, resin, and sulphur, were poured into the wounds; tight ligaturestied round his limbs to prepare him for dismemberment; young andvigorous horses applied to the draft, and the unhappy criminal pulled, with all their force, to the utmost extension of his sinews, for thespace of an hour; during all which time he preserved his senses andconstancy. At length the physician and surgeon attending declared, itwould be impossible to accomplish the dismemberment, unless the tendonswere separated; upon which orders were given to the executioner to cutthe sinews at the joints of the arms and legs. The horses drew afresh;a thigh and an arm were separated, and, after several pulls, theunfortunate wretch expired under the extremity of pain. His body andlimbs were reduced to ashes under the scaffold; his father, wife, daughter, and family banished the kingdom for ever; the name of Damieneffaced and obliterated, and the innocent involved in the punishment ofthe guilty. Thus ended the procedure against Damien and his family, ina manner not very favourable to the avowed clemency of Louis, or theacknowledged humanity of the French nation. It appeared from undoubtedevidence, that the attempt on the king's life was the result ofinsanity, and a disturbed imagination. Several instances of a disorderedmind had before been observed in his conduct, and the detestation justlydue to the enormity of his crime ought now to have been absorbed inthe consideration of his misfortune, the greatest that can befal humannature. 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. DeMachault, keeper of the seals, from the post of secretary of state forthe marine; and of M. D'Argenson from that of secretary at war. Theirdismission was sudden and unexpected; nor was any particular reasonassigned for this very unexpected alteration. The French king, toshow the queen of Hungary how judiciously she had acted in forming analliance with the house of Bourbon, raised two great armies; the firstof which, composed of near eighty thousand men, the flower of the Frenchtroops, 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 marchedby Westphalia, in order to invade the king of Prussia's dominions, inquality of allies to the empress-queen, and guardians of the libertiesof the empire. But their real view was to invade Hanover, a scheme whichthey knew would make a powerful diversion of the British force from theprosecution of the war in other parts of the world, where the strengthof France could not be fully exerted, and where their most valuableinterests were at stake. They flattered themselves, moreover, thatthe same blow, by which they hoped to crush the king of Prussia, mightlikewise force his Britannic majesty into some concessions with regardto America. The other army of the French, commanded by the prince deSoubise, 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 placesbelonging to the king of Prussia, upon the borders of the lowCountries;* whilst a detachment from d'Etrées's army seized upon thetown of Embden, and whatever else belonged to the same monarch in EastFriesland. * 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. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} STATE OF THE CONFEDERACY. At the close of the last campaign, the king of Prussia, having gaineda petty advantage over the Imperialists under the command of mareschalBrown, and incorporated into his own troops a great part of the Saxonarmy taken prisoners at Pima, as was observed before, retired intowinter-quarters, until the season should permit him to improve theseadvantages. His majesty and mareschal Keith wintered in Saxony, havingtheir cantonments between Pirna and the frontier along the Elbe; andmareschal Schwerin, returning into Silesia, took up his quarters in thecountry of Glatz. In the meantime, the empress-queen, finding the forcewhich she had sent out against the king of Prussia, was not sufficientto prevent his designs, made the necessary requisitions to her allies, for the auxiliaries they had engaged to furnish. In consequence of theserequisitions, the czarina, true to her engagements, despatched above anhundred thousand of her troops, who began their march in the monthof November, and proceeded to the borders of Lithuania, with designparticularly to invade Ducal Prussia, whilst a strong fleet was equippedin the Baltic, to aid the operations of this numerous army. The Austrianarmy, assembled in Bohemia, amounted to upwards of fourscore thousandmen, commanded by prince Charles of Lorraine and mareschal Brown. TheSwedes had not yet openly declared themselves; but it was well known, that though their king was allied in blood and inclination tohis Prussian majesty, yet the jealousy which the senate of Swedenentertained of their sovereign, and the hope of recovering their ancientpossessions in Pomerania, by means of the present troubles, togetherwith their old attachment to France, newly cemented by intrigues andsubsidies, would certainly induce them to join the general confederacy. The duke of Mecklenburgh took the same party, and agreed to join theSwedish army, when it should be assembled, with six thousand men. Besides all these preparations against the king of Prussia, he was, inhis quality of elector of Brandenburgh, put under the ban of the empireby the Aulic council; declared deprived of all his rights, privileges, and prerogatives; his fiefs were escheated into the exchequer ofthe empire; and all the circles accordingly ordered to furnish theirrespective contingencies for putting this sentence in execution. In this dangerous situation, thus menaced on all sides, and seemingly onthe very brink of inevitable destruction, the Prussian monarch owed hispreservation to his own courage and activity. The Russians, knowing thatthe country they were to pass through in their way to Lithuania wouldnot be able to subsist their prodigious numbers, had taken care tofurnish themselves with provisions for their march, depending upon theresources they expected to find in Lithuania after their arrival in thatcountry. These provisions were exhausted by the time they reached theborders of that province, where they found themselves suddenly andunexpectedly destitute of subsistence, either to return back or toproceed forward. The king of Prussia had, with great prudence andforesight, secured plenty to himself, and distress and famine to hisenemies, by buying up all the corn and forage of the country which theselast were entering. Notwithstanding these precautions, his Prussianmajesty, to guard as much as could be against every possible event, senta great number of gunners and matrasses from Pomerania to Memel, withthree regiments of his troops, to reinforce the garrison of that place. He visited all the posts which his troops possessed in Silesia, and gavethe necessary orders for their security. He repaired to Neiss, where hesettled with mareschal Schwerin the general plan of the operations ofthe approaching campaign. There it was agreed, that the mareschal'sarmy in Silesia, which consisted of fifty thousand men, should have inconstant view the motions of the royal army, by which its own were to beregulated, that they might both act in concert, as circumstances shouldrequire. At the same time, other armies were assembled by the king ofPrussia in Lusatia and Voigt-land; twenty thousand men were collected atZwickaw, on the frontiers of Bohemia, towards Egra, under the command ofprince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau; and sixty thousand chosen troopsbegan their march towards Great Seidlitz, where their head quarterswere settled. In the meanwhile, the Austrian troops began to form on thefrontiers of Saxony, where some of their detachments appeared, towatch the motions of the Prussians, who still continued to pursue theiroperations with great activity and resolution. All possible care wastaken by the Prussians at Dresden to secure a retreat in case of adefeat. As only one regiment of Prussians could be spared to remainthere in garrison, the burghers were disarmed, their arms deposited inthe arsenal, and a detachment was posted at Konigstein, to oblige thatfortress to observe a strict neutrality. All correspondence with theenemy was strictly prohibited; and it having been discovered that thecountess of Ogilvie, one of the queen's maids of honour, haddisobeyed his majesty's commands, she was arrested; but on the queen'sintercession afterwards released. The countess of Bruhl, lady of theSaxon prime minister, was also arrested by his Prussian majesty'sorder; and on her making light of her confinement, and resolving to seecompany, she was ordered to quit the court, and retire from Saxony. M. Henwin, the French minister, was told that his presence was unnecessaryat Dresden; and on his replying, that his master had commanded him tostay, he was again desired to depart; on which he thought proper toobey. The count de Wackerbath, minister of the cabinet, and grandmaster of the household to the prince royal of Poland, was arrested, andconducted to Custrin, by the express command of his majesty. The king ofPrussia, having thrown two bridges over the Elbe, early in the spring, ordered the several districts of the electorate of Saxony to supply himwith a great number of waggons, each drawn by four horses. The circlesof Misnia and Leipsic were enjoined to furnish four hundred each, andthe other circles in proportion. SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE PRUSSIANS AND AUSTRIANS. While the king of Prussia was taking these measures in Saxony, twoskirmishes happened on the frontiers of Bohemia, between his troopsand the Austrians. On the twentieth of February, a body of six thousandAustrians surrounded the little town of Hirschfeld, in Upper Lusatia, garrisoned by a battalion of Prussian foot. The first attack was madeat four in the morning, on two redoubts without the gates, each of whichwas defended by two field pieces: and though the Austrians were severaltimes repulsed, they at last made themselves masters of one of theredoubts, and carried off the two pieces of cannon. In their retreatthey were pursued by the Prussians, who fell upon their rear, killedsome, and took many prisoners: this affair cost the Austrians at leastfive hundred men. About a fortnight after, the prince of Bevern marchedout of Zittau, with a body of near nine thousand men, in order todestroy the remaining strongholds possessed by the Austrians on thefrontiers. In this expedition he took the Austrian magazine at Friedlandin Bohemia, consisting of nine thousand sacks of meal, and great storeof ammunition; and after making himself master of Reichenberg, hereturned to Zittau. The van of his troops, consisting of an hundredand fifty hussars of the regiment of Putkammer, met with a body of sixhundred 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 madebut a slight resistance. NEUTRALITY OF THE EMPEROR, AND BEHAVIOUR OF THE DUTCH. Whatever the conduct of the court of Vienna might have been to theallies of Great Britain, still, however, proper regard was shown to thesubjects of this crown: for an edict was published at Florence on thethirteenth of February, wherein his imperial majesty, as grand dukeof Tuscany, declared his intention of observing the most scrupulousneutrality in the then situation of affairs. All the ports in that duchywere accordingly enjoined to pay a strict regard to this declaration, inall cases relating to the French or English ships in the Mediterranean. The good effects of this injunction soon appeared; for two prizes takenby the English having put into Porto Ferraro, the captains of two Frenchprivateers addressed themselves to the governor, alleging, that theywere captures of a pirate, and requesting that they might be obligedto put to sea; but the governor prudently replied, that as they came inunder English colours he would protect them, and forbade the privateers, at their peril, to commit any violence. They, however, little regardingthe governor's orders, prepared for sailing, and sent their boats to cutout one of the prizes, The captain, firing at their boats, killed oneof their men, which, alarming the sentinels, notice was sent to thegovernor; and he, in consequence, ordered the two privateers immediatelyto depart. --The conduct of the Dutch was rather cautious than spirited. Whilst his Prussian majesty was employed on the side of Bohemiaand Saxony, the French auxiliaries began their march to harass hisdefenceless territories in the neighbourhood of the Low Countries. A free passage was demanded of the states-general through Namur andMaastricht, for the provisions, ammunition, and artillery belonging tothis new army; and though the English ambassador remonstrated againsttheir compliance, and represented it as a breach of the neutralitytheir high mightinesses declared they would observe, yet, after somehesitation, the demand was granted; and their inability to prevent thepassage of the French troops, should it be attempted by force, pleadedin excuse of their conduct. Scarce had the French army, commanded by the prince de Soubise, set footin the territories of Juliers and Cologn, when they found themselves inpossession of the duchy of Cloves and the country of Marck, where allthings were left open to them, the Prussians, who evacuated theirposts, taking their route along the river Lippe, in order to join someregiments from Magdeburgh, who were sent to facilitate their retreat. The distressed inhabitants, thus exposed to the calamities of war froman unprovoked enemy, were instantly ordered to furnish contributions, forage, and provisions for the use of their invaders; and what was stillmore terrifying to them, the partisan Fischer, whose cruelties the lastwar they still remembered with horror, was again let loose upon them bythe inhumanity of the empress-queen. Wesel was immediately occupied bythe French; Emmerick and Maseyk soon shared the same fate; and the cityof Gueldres was besieged, the Prussians seeming resolved to defend thislast place; to which end they opened the sluices, and laid the countryunder water. Those who retreated, filing off to the north-west ofPaderborn, entered the county of Ritberg, the property of count CaunitzRitberg, great chancellor to the empress-queen. After taking his castle, in which they found thirty pieces of cannon, they raised contributionsin the district to the amount of forty thousand crowns. As the Prussiansretired, the French took possession of the country they quitted inthe name of the empress-queen, whose commissary attended them for thatpurpose. The general rendezvous of these troops, under prince Soubise, was appointed at Neuss, in the electorate of Cologn, where a large bodyof French was assembled by the first of April. The Austrians, in theirturn, were not idle. Mareschal Brown visited the fortifications of Brinnand Koninsgratz; reviewed the army of the late prince Picolomini, nowunder the command of general Serbelloni; and put his own army inmarch for Kostlitz on the Elbe, where he proposed to establish hisheadquarters. DECLARATION OF THE CZARINA AGAINST THE KING OF PRUSSIA. During the recess of the armies, while the rigours of winter forced themto suspend their hostile operations, and the greatest preparations weremaking 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, "Thatthe empress of Russia was extremely affected with the king of Poland'sdistress, which she thought could not but excite the compassion ofall other powers, but more especially of his allies: that the fatalconsequences which might result from the rash step by the king ofPrussia, not only with respect to the tranquillity of Europe ingeneral, but of each power in particular, and more especially of theneighbouring countries, were so evident, that the interest and safety ofthe several princes rendered it absolutely necessary they should make ita common cause; not only to obtain proper satisfaction for those courtswhose dominions had been so unjustly attacked, but likewise to prescribesuch bounds to the king of Prussia as might secure them from any futureapprehensions from so enterprising and restless a neighbour: that withthis view the empress was determined to assist the king of Poland witha considerable body of troops, which were actually upon their march, *under the command of general Apraxin; and that, as there would be anabsolute necessity for their marching through part of the territoriesof Poland, her imperial majesty hoped the republic would not fail tofacilitate 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 measuresfor frustrating the designs of the king of Prussia, and restoringharmony among themselves, as the most conducive measure to these goodpurposes. In this, however, the Poles were so far from following heradvice, that, though sure of being sacrificed in this contest, whichside soever prevailed, they divided into parties with no less zeal thanif they had as much to hope from the prevalence of one side, as to fearfrom that of the other. Some of the Palatines were for denying apassage to the Russians, and others were for affording them the utmostassistance in their power. With this cause of contention, others of amore private nature fatally concurred, by means of a misunderstandingbetween the prince Czartorinski and count Muisnec. Almost everyinhabitant of Warsaw was involved in the quarrel; and the violenceof these factions was so great that scarce a night passed withoutbloodshed, many dead bodies, chiefly Saxons, being found in the streetsevery morning. In the meantime, Great Britain, unsettled in her ministry and councilsat home, unsuccessful in her attempts abroad, judging peace, if itcould be obtained on just and honourable terms, more eligible than acontinental war, proposed several expedients to the empress-queenfor restoring the tranquillity of Germany; but her answer was, "Thatwhenever she perceived that the expedients proposed would indemnifyher for the extraordinary expenses she had incurred in her own defence, repair the heavy losses sustained by her ally the king of Poland, andafford a proper security for their future safety, she would be readyto give the same proofs she had always given of her desire to restorepeace; but it could not be expected she should listen to expedients ofwhich the king of Prussia was to reap the whole ad vantage, after havingbegun the war, and wasted the dominions of a prince, who relied forhis security upon the faith of treaties, and the appearance of harmonybetween them. " Upon the receipt of this answer, the court of London madeseveral proposals to the czarina, to interpose as mediatrix betweenthe courts of Vienna and Berlin, but they were rejected with marksof displeasure and resentment. When sir Charles Hanbury Williams, theBritish 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 wasastonished at his demand, after he had already been made acquainted withthe measures she had taken to effect a reconciliation between the courtsof Vienna and Berlin. He might easily conceive, as matters werethen situated, that the earnestness with which he now urged the samepropositions, must necessarily surprise her imperial majesty, asit showed but little regard to her former declaration. The empress, therefore, commanded his excellency to be told, that as her intentionscontained in her first answer remained absolutely invariable, noulterior propositions for a mediation would be listened to; and that asfor the menaces made use of by his excellency, and particularly that theking of Prussia himself would soon attack the Russian army, such threatsserved only to weaken the ambassador's proposals; to confirm still more, were it possible, the empress in her resolutions; to justify them to thewhole 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 powerswould be able to take the field, and the alarming progress of theRussians being happily stopped, his Prussian majesty, whose maxim ithas always been to keep the seat of war as far as possible from his owndominions, resolved to carry it into Bohemia, and there to attack theAustrians on all sides. To this end he ordered his armies in Saxony, Misnia, Lusatia, and Silesia, to enter Bohemia in four different andop-opposite places, nearly at the same time. The first of these hecommanded in person, assisted by mareschal Keith; the second was ledby prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau, the third by prince Ferdinand ofBrunswick-Bevern, and the fourth by mareschal Schwerin. In consequenceof this plan, mareschal Schwerin's army entered Bohemia on theeighteenth of April, in five columns, at as many different places. The design was so well concerted, that the Austrians had not the leastsuspicion of their approach until they were past the frontiers, andthen they filled the dangerous defile of Guelder-Oesle with pandours, to dispute that passage; but they were no sooner discovered than twobattalions of Prussian grenadiers attacked them with their bayonetsfixed, and routed them. The prince of Anhault passed the frontiersfrom Misnia, and penetrated into Bohemia on the twenty-first of April, without any resistance. The prince of Bevern, on the twentieth of thesame month, having marched at the head of a body of the army, whichwas in Lusatia, from the quarters of cantonment near Zittau, possessedhimself immediately of the first post on the frontier of Bohemia, atKrouttau and Grasenstein, without the loss of a single man; drove awaythe enemy the same day from Kratzen, and proceeded to Machendorf, nearReichenberg. The same morning Putkammer's hussars, who formed part ofa corps, commanded by a colonel and major, routed some hundreds of theenemy's cuirassiers, posted before Kolin, under the conduct of princeLichenstein, took three officers and upwards of sixty horse prisoners, and so dispersed the rest, that they were scarcely able to rally nearKratzen. Night coming on obliged the troops to remain in the open airtill the next morning, when, at break of day, the Prussians marchedin two columns by Habendorf, towards the enemy's army, amounting totwenty-eight thousand men, commanded by count Konigsegg, and posted nearRoichenberg. As soon as the troops were formed, they advanced towardsthe enemy's cavalry, drawn up in three lines of about thirty squadrons. The two wings were sustained by the infantry, which was posted amongfelled trees and intrenchments. The Prussians immediately cannonaded theenemy's cavalry, who received it with resolution, having on their righthand a village, and on their left a wood whore they had intrenchedthemselves. But the prince of Bevern having caused fifteen squadrons ofdragoons of the second line to advance, and the wood on his right to beattacked at the same time by the battalions of grenadiers of Kahldenand of Moellendorf, and by the regiment of the prince of Prussia, hisdragoons, who, by clearing the ground and possessing the intrenchment, had their flanks covered, entirely routed the enemy's cavalry. In themeantime colonel Putkammer and major Schenfield, with their hussars, though flanked by the enemy's artillery, gave the Austrian horsegrenadiers a very warm reception, whilst general Lestewitz, withthe left wing of the Prussians, attacked the redoubts that coveredReichenberg. Though there were many defiles and rising grounds to pass, all occupied by the Austrians, yet the regiment of Darmstadt forced theredoubt, and put to flight and pursued the enemy, after some dischargeof their artillery and small arms, from one eminence to another, for thedistance of a mile, when they left off the pursuit. The action began athalf an hour after six, and continued till eleven. About one thousandof the Austrians were killed and wounded; among the former were generalPorporati and count Hohenfelds, and among the latter prince Lichtensteinand count Mansfeld. Twenty of their officers, and four hundred soldiers, were taken prisoners, and they also lost three standards. On the side ofthe Prussians seven subalterns and about an hundred men were killed, andsixteen officers and an hundred and fifty men wounded. After this battlemareschal Schwerin joined the prince of Bevern, made himself master ofthe greatest part of the circle of Buntzlau, and took a considerablemagazine from the Austrians, whom he dislodged. The princeAnhault-Dessau, with his corps, drew near the king of Prussia's army;then the latter advanced as far as Budin, from whence the Austrians whohad an advantageous camp there, retired to Westwarn, half way betweenBudin and Prague; and his Prussian majesty having passed the Egra, hisarmy, and that of mareschal Schwerin, were so situated, as to be able toact jointly. These advantages were but a prelude to a much more decisive victory, which the king himself gained a few days after. Preparing to enterBohemia, 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. Theenemy, deceived by this feint, and imagining he wras going to executesome design, distinct from the object of the other armies, detacheda body of twenty thousand men to observe his motions; then he madea sudden and masterly movement to the left, by which he cut offall communication between that detachment and the main army of theAustrians, which, having been reinforced by the army of Moravia, by theremains of the corps lately defeated by the prince of Bevern, and byseveral regiments of the garrison of Prague, amounted to near a hundredthousand men. They were strongly intrenched on the banks of the Moldaw, to the north of Prague, in a camp so fortified by every advantageof nature, and every contrivance of art, as to be deemed almostimpregnable. The left wing of the Austrians, thus situated, was guardedby 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 ofPrussia overlooked all difficulties. Having thrown several bridges overthe Moldaw on the fifth of May, he passed that river in the morning ofthe sixth, with thirty thousand men, leaving the rest of the army underthe command of the prince of Anhault-Dessau; and being immediatelyjoined by the troops under mareschal Schwerin and the prince of Bevern, resolved to attack the enemy on the same day. In consequence of thisresolution, his army filed off on the left by Potschernitz; and at thesame time count Brown wheeled to the right, to avoid being flanked. ThePrussians continued their march to Richwitz, traversing several defilesand morasses, which for a little time separated the infantry from therest of the army. The foot began the attack too precipitately, and wereat first repulsed, but they soon recovered themselves. While the king ofPrussia took the enemy in flank, mareschal Schwerin advanced to a marshyground, which suddenly stopping his army, threatened to disconcert thewhole plan of operation. In this emergency, he immediately dismounted, and taking the standard of the regiment in his hand, boldly entered themorass, crying out, "Let all brave Prussians follow me. " Inspired by theexample of this great commander, now eighty-two years of age, all thetroops pressed forward, and though he was unfortunately killed by thefirst fire, their ardour abated not till they had totally defeated theenemy. Thus fell mareschal Schwerin, loaded with years and glory, anofficer whose superior talents in the military art had been displayedin a long course of faithful service. In the meantime, the Prussianinfantry, which had been separated in the march, forming themselvesafresh, renewed the attack on the enemy's right, and entirely broke it, while their cavalry, after three charges, obliged that of the Austriansto retire in great confusion, the centre being at the same time totallyrouted. The left wing of the Prussians then marched immediately towardsMichely, and being there joined by the horse, renewed their attack, while the enemy were retreating hastily towards Saszawar. Meanwhile thetroops on the right of the Prussian army attacked the remains of theleft wing of the Aus-trians, and made themselves masters of threebatteries. But the behaviour of the infantry in the last attack was sosuccessful, as to leave little room for this part of the cavalry to act. Prince Henry of Prussia, and the prince of Bevern, signalized themselveson this occasion in storming two batteries; prince Ferdinand ofBrunswick took the left wing of the Austrians in flank, while the kingwith his left, and a body of cavalry, secured the passage of the Moldaw. In short, after a very long and obstinate engagement, and many signalexamples of valour on both sides, the Austrians were forced to abandonthe field of battle, leaving behind sixty pieces of cannon, all theirtents, baggage, military chest, and, in a word, their whole camp. Theweight of the battle fell upon the right wing of the Austrians, theremains of which, to the amount of ten or twelve thousand men, fledtowards Beneschau, where they afterwards assembled under M. Pretlach, general of horse. The infantry retired towards Prague, and threwthemselves into that city with their commanders, prince Charles ofLorraine, and mareschal Brown; but they were much harassed in theirretreat by a detachment of the Prussians under mareschal Keith. ThePrussians took, on this occasion, ten standards, and upwards of fourthousand prisoners, thirty of whom were officers of rank. Their lossamounted to about two thousand five hundred killed, and about threethousand wounded. Among the former were general d'Amstel, the prince ofHolstein-Beck, the colonels Goltze and Manstein, and lieutenant-colonelBoke. Among the latter, the generals Wenterfield, De la Mothe, Feuque, Hautcharmoy, Blankensee and Plettenberg. The number of the killed andwounded on the side of the Austrians was much greater. Among these lastwas mareschal Brown, who received a wound, which, from the chagrin hesuffered, rather than from its own nature, proved mortal. The clay afterthe battle, colonel Meyer was detached with a battalion of Prussianpandours, and four hundred hussars, to destroy a very considerableand valuable magazine of the Austrians at Pilsen, and this service lieperformed. He also completed the destruction of several others ofless importance; by the loss of which, however, all possibility ofsubsistence was cut off from any succours the Austrians might haveexpected from the empire. PRAGUE INVESTED. The Prussians, following their blow, immediately invested Prague on bothsides of the river, the king commanding on one side, and mareschal Keithon the other. In four days the whole city was surrounded with lines andintrenchments, by which all communication from without was entirely cutoff: prince Charles of Lorraine and mareschal Brown, the two princesof Saxony, the prince of Modena, the duke d'Aremberg, count Lascy, andseveral other persons of great distinction, were shut up within thewalls, together with above twenty thousand of the Austrian army, who hadtaken refuge in Prague after their defeat. Every thing continued quieton both sides, scarce a cannon-shot being fired by either for some timeafter this blockade was formed; and in the meanwhile the Prussians madethemselves masters of Cziscaberg, an eminence which commands thetown, where the Austrians had a strong redoubt, continuing likewise tostrengthen their works. Already they had made a sally, and taken someother ineffectual steps to recover this post; but a more decisivestroke was necessary. Accordingly, a design was formed of attacking thePrussian army in the night with a body of twelve thousand men, to besustained by all the grenadiers, volunteers, pandours, and Hungarianinfantry. 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 thebesiegers, and to ease Prague of the multitude of forces locked upuseless within the walls, serving only to consume the provisions of thegarrison, and hasten the surrender of the place. Happily a deserter gavethe prince of Prussia intelligence of the enemy's design about eleveno'clock at night. Proper measures were immediately taken for theirreception, and, in less than a quarter of an hour, the whole army wasunder arms. This design was conducted with so much silence, that thoughthe Prussians were warned of it, they could, discover nothing before theenemy had charged their advanced posts. Their attack was begun on theside of the little town, against mareschal Keith's camp, and the leftwing of the Prussian army encamped on the Moldaw. From hence it isprobable the Austrians proposed not only to destroy the batteries thatwere raising, but to attack the bridges of communication which thePrussians threw over the Moldaw, at about a quarter of a German mileabove and below Prague, at Branig and Podbaba. The greatest alarmbegan about two o'clock, when the enemy hoped to have come silently andunexpectedly upon the miners, but they had left work about a quarter ofan hour before. At the report of the first piece which they fired, thepiquet of the third battalion of Prussian guards, to the number ofan hundred men, who marched out of the camp to sustain the body whichcovered the works, was thrown into some confusion, from the darkness ofthe night, which prevented their distinguishing the Austrian troops fromtheir own. Lieutenant Jork, detached with two platoons to reconnoitrethe enemy, attempting to discover their disposition by kindling afire, captain Rodig, by the light of this fire, perceived the enemy'ssituation, 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 fledwith the greater precipitation, as they were ignorant of the weaknessof the piquet, and as the shouting of the Prussian soldiers made themmistake it for a numerous body. Many of them deserted, many took shelterin Prague, and many more were driven into the river and drowned. At thesame time this attack began, a regiment of horse-grenadiers fell upona redoubt which the Prussians had thrown up, supported by the Hungarianinfantry: they returned three times to the assault, and were as oftenbeat back by the Prussians, whom they found it impossible to dislodge;though prince Ferdinand of Brunswick's battalion, which guarded thispost, suffered extremely. During this attack the enemy kept an incessantfire with their musquetry upon the whole front of the Prussians, fromthe convent of St. Margaret to the river. At three in the morning thePrussians quitted their camp to engage the enemy. The battalion ofPannewitz attacked a building called the Red-house, situated at thebottom of a declivity, before Wellastowitz. The pandours who had takenpossession of this house, fired upon them incessantly from all the doorsand windows until they were dislodged; and the Prussian battalions wereobliged to sustain the fire both of cannon and musquetry for above twohours, when the enemy retired to the city, except the pandours, whoagain took possession of the Red-house, which the Prussians were forcedto abandon, because the artillery of Prague kept a continual fire uponit from the moment it was known to be in their hands. The Austrians leftbehind them many dead and wounded, besides deserters; and the Prussians, notwithstanding the loss of several officers and private men, made someprisoners. Prince Ferdinand, the king of Prussia's youngest brother, hada horse killed under Mm, and was slightly wounded in the face. The Prussian works being completed, and heavy artillery arrived, fourbatteries, erected on the banks of the Moldaw, began to play with greatfury. Near three hundred bombs, besides an infinity of ignited balls, were thrown into the city in the space of twenty-four hours. The scenewas lamentable, houses, men, and horses wrapped in flames and reduced toashes. The confusion within, together with the want of proper artilleryand ammunition, obliged the Austrians to cease firing, and furnishedhis Prussian majesty with all the opportunity he could wish of pouringdestruction upon this unfortunate city. The horrors of war seemed tohave extinguished the principles of humanity. No regard was paid tothe distress of the inhabitants; the Austrians obstinately maintainedpossession, and the Prussians practised every stratagem, every barbarousrefinement, that constitutes the military art, to oblige them tocapitulate. After the conflagration had lasted three days, and consumeda prodigious number of buildings, the principal inhabitants, burghers, and clergy, perceiving their city on the point of being reduced to aheap 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 withtheir supplications, drove out twelve thousand persons, the least usefulin defending the city. These, by order of his Prussian majesty, wereagain forced back, which soon produced so great a scarcity of provisionswithin the walls, that the Austrians were reduced to the necessity ofeating 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 werefar from being brought to the last extremity. Two vigorous andwell-conducted sallies were made, but they proved unsuccessful. The onlyadvantage resulting from them, was the perpetual alarm in which theykept the Prussian camp, and the vigilance required to guard against theattacks of a numerous, resolute, and desperate garrison. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 mostcritical and desperate situation. Her grand army dispersed in parties, and dying for subsistence in small corps; their princes and commanderscooped up in Prague; that capital in imminent danger of being taken, the flourishing kingdom of Bohemia ready to fall into the hands of theconqueror; a considerable army on the point of surrendering prisonersof war; all the queen's hereditary dominions open and exposed, the wholefertile tract of country from Egra to the Moldaw in actual possessionof the Prussians, the distance to the archduchy of Austria not veryconsiderable, and secured only by the Danube; Vienna under the utmostapprehensions of a siege, and the imperial family ready to take refugein Hungary; the Prussian forces deemed invincible, and the sanguinefriends of that monarch already sharing with him, in imagination, thespoils of the ancient and illustrious house of Austria. Such was theaspect of affairs, and such the difficulties to be combated, whenLeopold, count Daun, was appointed to the command of the Austrianforces, to stem the torrent of disgrace, and turn the fortune of thewar. This general, tutored by long experience under the best officers ofEurope, 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 noblefamily, he relied solely upon his own merit, without soliciting courtfavour; he aspired after the highest preferment, and succeeded by meredint of superior worth. His progress from the station of a subaltern wasslow and silent; his promotion to the chief command was received withuniversal esteem and applause. Cautious, steady, penetrating, andsagacious, he was opposed as another Fabius to the modern Hannibal, tocheck the fire and vigour of that monarch by prudent foresight and warycircumspection. Arriving at Romischbrod, within a few miles of Prague, the day after the late defeat, he halted to collect the fugitive corpsand broken remains of the Austrian army, and soon drew together a forceso considerable as to attract the notice of his Prussian majesty, who detached the prince of Bevern, with twenty battalions, and thirtysquadrons, to attack him before numbers should render him formidable. Daun was too prudent to give battle, with dispirited troops, to an armyflushed with victory. He retired on the first advice that the Prussianswere advancing, and took post at Kolin, where he intrenched himselfstrongly, opened the way for the daily supply of recruits sent tohis army, and inspired the garrison of Prague with fresh courage, inexpectation of being soon relieved. Here he kept close within his camp, divided the Prussian force, by obliging the king to employ near halfhis army in watching his designs, weakened his efforts against Prague, harassed the enemy by cutting off their convoys, and restored by degreesthe languishing and almost desponding spirits of his troops. Perfectlyacquainted with the ardour and discipline of the Prussian forces, withthe enterprising and impetuous disposition of that monarch, and sensiblethat his situation would prove irksome and embarrassing to the enemy, he improved it to the best advantage, seemed to foresee all theconsequences, and directed every measure to produce them. Thus heretarded the enemy's operations, and assiduously avoided precipitatingan action until the Prussian vigour should be exhausted, their strengthimpaired by losses and desertion, the first fire and ardour of theirgenius extinguished by continual fatigue and incessant alarms, and untilthe impression made on his own men, by the late defeat, should in somedegree be effaced. The event justified Daun's conduct. His army grewevery day more numerous, while his Prussian majesty began to express theutmost impatience at the length of the siege. When that monarch firstinvested Prague, it was on the presumption that the numerous forceswithin the walls would, by consuming all the provisions, oblige it tosurrender in a few days; but perceiving that the Austrians had stilla considerable quantity of corn, that count Daun's army was dailyincreasing, and would soon be powerful enough not only to cope with thedetachment under the prince of Bevern, but in a condition to raise thesiege, he determined to give the count battle with one part of his army, while he kept Prague blocked up with the other. The Austrians, amountingnow to sixty thousand men, were deeply intrenched, and defended by anumerous train of artillery, placed on redoubts and batteries erectedon the most advantageous posts. Every accessible part of the camp wasfortified with lines and heavy pieces of battering cannon, and the footof the hills secured by difficult defiles. Yet, strong as this situationmight appear, formidable as the Austrian forces certainly were, hisPrussian majesty undertook to dislodge them with a body of horse andfoot not exceeding thirty-two thousand men. KING OF PRUSSIA DEFEATED AT KOLIN. On the thirteenth day of June, the king of Prussia quitted the campbefore Prague, escorted by a few battalions and squadrons, with which hejoined the prince of Bevern at Milkowitz, Mareschal Keith, it is said, strenuously opposed this measure, and advised either raising the siegeentirely, and attacking the Austrians with the united forces of Prussia, or postponing the attack on the camp at Kolin, until his majesty shouldeither gain possession of the city, or some attempts should be made tooblige him to quit his posts. From either measure an advantage wouldhave resulted. With his whole army he might probably have defeated countDaun, or at least have obliged him to retreat. Had he continued withinhis lines at Prague, the Austrian general could not have constrained himto raise the siege without losing his own advantageous situation, and giving battle upon terms nearly equal. But the king, elated withsuccess, impetuous in his valour, and confident of the superiority ofhis own troops in point of discipline, thought all resistance must sinkunder the weight of his victorious arm, and yield to that courage whichhad already surmounted such difficulties, disregarded the mareschal'ssage counsel, and inarched up to the attack undaunted, and even assuredof success. By the eighteenth the two armies were in sight, and hismajesty found that count Daun had not only fortified his camp with allthe heavy cannon of Olmutz, but was strongly reinforced with troops fromMoravia and Austria, which had joined him after the king's departurefrom Prague. He found the Austrians drawn up in three lines upon thehigh grounds between Gen-litz, and St. John the Baptist. Difficult as itwas to approach their situation, the Prussian infantry marched up withfirmness, while shot was poured like hail from the enemy's batteries, and began the attack about three in the afternoon. They drove theAustrians with irresistible intrepidity from two eminences secured withheavy cannon, and two villages defended by several battalions; but, inattacking the third eminence, were flanked by the Austrian cavalry, bygrape-shot poured from the batteries; and, after a violent conflict, andprodigious loss of men, thrown into disorder. Animated with the king'spresence, they rallied, and returned with double ardour to the charge, but were a second time repulsed. Seven times successively did princeFerdinand renew the attack, performing every duty of a great general andvaliant soldier, though always with the same fortune. The inferiorityof the Prussian infantry, the disadvantages of ground, where the cavalrycould not act, the advantageous situation of the enemy, their numerousartillery, their intrenchments, numbers, and obstinacy, joined to theskill and conduct of their general, all conspired to defeat the hopes ofthe Prussians, to surmount their valour, and oblige them to retreat. Theking 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 formerattacks. Every effort was made, and every attempt was productive onlyof greater losses and misfortunes. At last, after exposing his person inthe most perilous situations, his Prussian majesty drew off his forcesfrom the field of battle, retiring in such good order, in sight of theenemy, 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 lossesof both armies were very considerable; on that of the Prussians, thekilled and wounded amounted to eight thousand; less pernicious, however, to his majesty's cause than the frequent desertion, and otherinnumerable ill consequences that ensued. When the Prussian army arrived at Nimburgh, his majesty, leaving thecommand with the prince of Be-vern, took horse, and, escorted by twelveor fourteen hussars, set out for Prague, where he arrived next morningwithout halting, after having been the whole preceding day onhorseback. 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 thegarrison were informed of the king's defeat. Thus terminated the battleof Kolin and siege of Prague, in which the acknowledged errors of hisPrussian majesty were, in some measure, atoned by the candour with whichhe 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 withseveral of his general officers. Most people, indeed, imagined the kinghighly blameable for checking the ardour of his troops to stop and laysiege to Prague. They thought he should have pursued his conquests, over-run Austria, Moravia, and all the hereditary dominions, from whichalone the empress-queen could draw speedy succours. A body of twenty orthirty thousand men would have blocked up Prague, while the remainderof the Prussian forces might have obliged the imperial family to retirefrom Vienna, and effectually prevented count Daun from assemblinganother army. It was universally expected he would have bent his marchstraight to this capital; but he dreaded leaving the numerous army inPrague behind, and it was of great importance to complete the conquestof Bohemia. The prince of Prussia marched all night with his corps toNimburgh, where he joined the prince of Bevern, and mareschal Keithretreated next day. Count Brown having died before, of the wounds hereceived on the sixth of May, prince Charles of Lorraine sallied outwith 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 receivedtheir deliverer, count Daun, with inexpressible joy, and their unitedforces became greatly superior to those of the king of Prussia, who wasin a short time obliged to evacuate Bohemia, and take refuge in Saxony. The Austrians harassed him as much as possible in his retreat; but theirarmies, though superior in numbers, were not in a condition, from theirlate sufferings, to make any decisive attempt upon him, as the frontiersof Saxony abound with situations easily defended. PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEFENCE OF HANOVER. Having thus described the progress of the Prussians in Bohemia, we mustcast our eyes on the transactions which distinguished the campaignin Westphalia. To guard against the storm which menaced Hanover inparticular, orders were transmitted thither to recruit the troops thathad been sent back from England, to augment each company, to remountthe cavalry with the utmost expedition; not to suffer any horses to beconveyed out of the electorate; to furnish the magazines in that countrywith all things necessary for fifty thousand men. Of these, twenty-sixthousand were to be Hanoverians, and, in consequence of engagementsentered into for that purpose, twelve thousand Hessians, six thousandBrunswickers, two thousand Saxe-Gothans, and a thousand Lunenburghers, to be joined by a considerable body of Prussians, the whole commandedby his royal highness the duke of Cumberland. The king of England havingpublished a manifesto, dated at Hanover, specifying his motives fortaking the field in Westphalia, the troops of the confederated statesthat were to compose the allied army, under the name of an armyof observation, began to assemble with all possible diligence nearBielefeldt. Thither the generals, appointed to command the severaldivisions, repaired to settle the plan of operations with theircommander, the duke of Cumberland, who having left London on the ninthof April, arrived on the sixteenth at Hanover, and from thence repairedto the army, which, having been joined by three Prussian regiments thatretired from Wesel, consisted of thirty-seven battalions and thirty-foursquadrons. Of these, six battalions and six squadrons were posted atBielefeldt, under the command of lieutenant-general baron de Sporcken;six battalions, under lieutenant-general de Block, at Hervorden; sixbattalions and four squadrons, under major-general Ledebour, betweenHervorden and Minden; seven battalions and ten squadrons, underlieutenant-general d'Oberg, in the neighbourhood of Hamelen; and fivebattalions and four squadrons, under major-general de Hauss, nearNienburgh. 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 offincessantly. The siege of Gueldres was converted into a blockade, occasioned by the difficulties the enemy found in raising batteries; anda party of Hanoverians having passed the Weser, as well to ravage thecountry of Paderborn as to reconnoitre the French, carried off severalwaggons loaded with wheat and oats, destined for the territories ofthe elector of Cologn. On the other hand, colonel Fischer having hadan engagement with a small body of Hanoverians, in the county ofTecklenburgh, routed them, and made some prisoners. After several otherpetty skirmishes between the French and the Hanoverians, the duke ofCumberland altered the position of his camp, by placing it betweenBielefeldt and Hervorden, in hopes of frustrating the design of theenemy; who, declining to attack him on the side of Bracwede, afterhaving reconnoitred his situation several days, made a motion on theirleft, as if they meant to get between him and the Weser. This stepwas 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 orderedhis 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 Schulenbergcovered the left of the march with a battalion of grenadiers, a regimentof horse, and the light troops of Buckenburgh. The whole army marchedin two columns. The right, composed of horse, and followed by twobattalions, 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 armyattacked the rear guard of the allies, commanded by major-generalEinsiedel, very briskly, and at first put them into some confusion, butthey immediately recovered themselves. This was in the beginning ofthe night. At break of day the enemy's reinforcements returned to thecharge, but were again repulsed, nor could they once break throughlieutenant-colonel Al-feldt's Hanoverian guards, which closed the army'smarch with a detachment of regular troops and a new raised corps ofhunters. DUKE OF CUMBERLAND PASSES THE WESER. The allies encamped at Cofeldt on the fourteenth, and remained thereall the next day, when the enemy's detachments advanced to the gatesof Hervorden, and made a feint as if they would attack the town, afterhaving summoned it to surrender; but they retired without attemptingany thing further; and, in the meantime, the troops that were posted atHervorden, and formed the rear guard, passed the Weser on the side ofRemen, without any molestation, and encamped at Holtzuysen. A body oftroops which had been left at Bielefeldt, to cover the duke's retreat, after some skirmishes with the French, rejoined the army in theneighbourhood of Herfort; and a few days after, his royal highness drewnear his bridges on the Weser, and sent over his artillery, baggage, andammunition. At the same time some detachments passed the river onthe right, between Minden and Oldendorp, and marked out a new campadvantageously situated, having the Weser in front, and the right andleft covered with eminences and marshes. There the army under his royalhighness re-assembled, and the French fixed their head-quarters atBielefeldt, which the Hanoverians had quitted, leaving in it only a partof a magazine, which had been set on fire. By this time the French werein such want of forage, that M. D'Etrées himself, the princes of theblood, and all the officers without exception, were obliged to send backpart of their horses. However, on the tenth of June, their whole army, consisting of seventy battalions and forty squadrons, with fifty-twopieces of cannon, besides a body of cavalry left at Ruremonde for theconveniency of forage, was put in motion. In spite of almost impassableforests, famine, and every other obstacle that could be thrown in theirway by a vigilant and experienced general, they at length surmountedall difficulties, and advanced into a country abounding with plenty, andunused to the ravages of war. It was imagined that the passage of theWeser, which defends Hanover from foreign attacks, would have beenvigorously opposed by the army of the allies; but whether, in thepresent situation of affairs, it was thought advisable to act only uponthe defensive, and not to begin the attack in a country that was notconcerned as a principal in the war, or the duke of Cumberland foundhimself too weak to make head against the enemy, is a question we shallnot pretend to determine. However that may have been, the whole Frencharmy passed the Weser on the tenth and eleventh of July, without theloss of a man. The manner of effecting this passage is thus related:mareschal d'Etrées, being informed that his magazines of provisions werewell furnished, his ovens established, and the artillery and pontoonsarrived at the destined places, ordered lieutenant-general Broglio, withten battalions, twelve squadrons, and ten pieces of cannon, to marchto Engheren; lieutenant-general M. De Chevert, with sixteen battalions, three brigades of carabineers, the royal hunters, and six hundredhussars, to march to Hervorden, and lieutenant-general marquisd'Armentieres, with twelve battalions, and ten squadrons, to march toUlrickhausen. All these troops being arrived in their camp on the fourthof July, halted the fifth. On the sixth, twenty-two battalions, andthirty-two squadrons, under the command of the duke of Orleans, whowas now arrived at the army, inarched to Ulrickhausen, from whence M. D'Armentieres had set out early in the morning, with the troops underhis command, and by hasty marches got on the seventh, by eleven atnight, to Blankenhoven, where he found the boats which had gonefrom Ahrensberg. The bridges were built, the cannon planted, and theintrenchments at the head of the bridges completed in the night betweenthe seventh and eighth. The mareschal having sent away part of hisbaggage from Bielefeldt on the sixth, went in person on the seventh ateleven o'clock to Horn, and on the eighth to Braket. On advice that M. D'Armentieres had thrown his bridges across without opposition, and wasat work on his intrenchments, he went on the ninth to Blankenhoven, tosee the bridges and intrenchments; and afterwards advanced to examinethe first position he intended for this army, and came down to the rightside 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 themorning he got on horseback by four o'clock, to see the duke of Orlean'sdivision file off, which arrived at Corvey at ten o'clock; as also thatof M. D'Armentieres, which arrived at eleven, and that of M. Souvre, which arrived at noon. The mareschal having examined the course of theriver, caused the bridges of pontoons to be laid within gunshot of theabbey, where the viscount de Turenne passed that river in the year onethousand six hundred and seventy-three, and where the divisions underBroglio and Chevert now passed, it on the twelfth and thirteenth. Thesetwo generals being informed of what was to be done upon the Upper Weser, attacked Minden, and carried it, whilst a detachment of the Frenchentered the country of East Friesland, under the command of the marquisd'Auvel; and, after taking possession of Lier, inarched on the rightside 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 inhabitantswere not agreed upon the methods to be taken for that purpose. Theytherefore met to deliberate, but in the meantime, their gates beingshut, M. D'Auvel caused some cannon to be brought to beat them down;and the garrison, composed of four hundred Prussians, not being strongenough to defend the town, the soldiers mutinied against their officers, whereupon a capitulation was agreed on, and the gates were opened to theFrench commander, who made his troops enter with a great deal of order, assured the magistrates that care should be taken to make them observea good discipline, and published two ordinances, one for the security ofthe religion and commerce of the city, and the other for prohibiting theexportation of corn and forage out of that principality. The inhabitantswere; 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 laidpart of the electorate of Hanover under contribution, marched in threecolumns, with their artillery, towards the village of Latford, whenmajor-general Furstenburgh, who commanded the out-ports in the village, sent an officer to inform the duke of Cumberland of their approach. Hisroyal highness immediately reinforced those posts with a body oftroops, under the command of lieutenant-general Sporcken; but findingit impossible to support the village, as it was commanded by the heightsopposite to it, which were possessed by the enemy, and being sensiblethat it would be always in his power to retake it, from its situationin a bottom between two hills, he withdrew his post from Latford. TheFrench then made two attacks, one at the point of the wood, and theother higher up in the same wood, opposite to the grenadiers commandedby major-general Hardenberg, but they failed in both; and though thefire of their artillery was very hot, they were obliged to retire. The French army encamping on the heights opposite to the duke ofCumberland's posts, the intelligence received, that M. D'Etrées hadassembled all his troops, and was furnished with a very considerabletrain of artillery, left his royal highness no room to doubt of hisintending to attack him. He, therefore, resolved to change his camp fora more advantageous situation, by drawing up his army on the eminencebetween 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 thewood, at the point of which his royal highness had a battery of twelvepounders and haubitzers. There was a hollow way from the left of thevillage to the battery, and a morass on the other side of Hastenbeckto his right. Major-general Schulenberg, with the hunters, and twobattalions of grenadiers, was posted in the corner of the wood uponthe left of the battery; his royal highness ordered the village ofHastenbeck to be cleared to his front, to prevent it being in the powerof the enemy to keep possession of it, and the ways by which the allieshad a communication with that village during their encampment to berendered impassable. In the evening-he withdrew all his outposts, andin this position the army lay upon their arms all night. On thetwenty-fifth, in the morning, the French army marched forwards incolumns, and began to cannonade the allies very severely, marching andcounter-marching continually, and seeming to intend three attacks, onthe right, the left, and the centre. In the evening their artilleryappeared much superior to that of the allies. The army was again orderedto lie all night on their arms; his royal highness caused a battery atthe end of the wood to be repaired; count Schulenberg to be reinforcedwith a battalion of grenadiers, and two field pieces of cannon; andthat battery to be also supported by four more battalions of grenadiers, under the command of major-general Hardenberg. He likewise caused abattery to be erected of twelve six-pounders, behind the village ofHastenbeck, and took all the precautions he could think of to givethe enemy a warm reception. As soon as it was day light, he mounted onhorseback to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, whom he found in thesame situation as the day before. At a little after five a very smartcannonading began against the battery behind the village, which wassupported by the Hessian infantry and cavalry, who stood a most severefire with surprising steadiness and resolution. Between seven and eightthe firing of small arms began on the left of the allies, when his royalhighness ordered major-general Behr, with three battalions of Brunswick, to sustain the grenadiers in the wood, if their assistance should bewanted; The cannonading continued above six hours, during which thetroops, that were exposed to it, never once abated of their firmness. The fire of the small arms on the left increasing, and the Frenchseeming to gain ground, his royal highness detached the colonelsDarkenhausen and Bredenbach, with three Hanoverian battalions and sixsquadrons, round the wood by Afferde, who, towards the close of the day, drove several squadrons of the enemy back to their army, without givingthem any opportunity to charge. At length the grenadiers in the wood, apprehensive of being surrounded, from the great numbers of the enemythat appeared there, and were marching round on that side, though theyrepulsed every thing that appeared in their front, thought it advisableto retire nearer the left of the army, a motion which gave the enemy anopportunity of possessing themselves of that battery without opposition. Here the hereditary prince of Brunswick distinguished himself at thehead of a battalion of Wolfenbuttle guards, and another of Hanoverians, who attacked and repulsed, with their bayonets, a superior force of theenemy, and retook the battery. But the French being in possession of aneminence which commanded and flanked both the lines of the infantry andthe battery of the allies, and where they were able to support theirattack under the cover of a hill, his royal highness, considering thesuperior numbers of the enemy, near double to his, and the impossibilityof dislodging them from their post, without exposing his own troops toomuch, ordered a retreat; in consequence of which his army retired, firstto Hamelen, where he left a garrison, then to Nienburgh, and afterwardsto Hoya; in the neighbourhood of which town, after sending away all themagazines, sick, and wounded, he encamped, in order to cover Bremen andVerden, and to preserve a communication with Stade, to which place thearchives, and most valuable effects of Hanover had been removed. Inthis engagement, colonel Bredenbach attacked four brigades very stronglyposted, with a battery of fourteen pieces of cannon, repulsed, and drovethem down a precipice, and took all their artillery and ammunition; butpreferring the care of his wounded to the glory of carrying away thecannon, he brought off only six, nailing up and destroying the rest. Theloss of the allies in all the skirmishes, which lasted three days, was three hundred and twenty-seven men killed, nine hundred and sevenwounded, and two hundred and twenty missing, or taken prisoners; whilstthat of the French, according to their own accounts, amounted to fifteenhundred men. The French, being left masters of the field, soon reduced Hamelen, whichwas far from being well fortified, obliged the garrison to capitulate, and took out of the town sixty brass cannon, several mortars, fortyovens, part of the equipage of the duke's army, and large quantities ofprovisions and ammunition, which they found in it, together with a greatmany sick and wounded, who, not being included in the capitulation, weremade prisoners of war. Whether the court of France had any reason tofind fault with the conduct of the mareschal d'Etrées, or whetherits monarch was blindly guided by the counsels of his favourite themarquese de Pompadour, who, desirous to testify her gratitude to theman who had been one of the chief instruments of her high promotion, wasglad of an opportunity to retrieve his shattered fortunes, and, at thesame time, to add to her own already immense treasures, we shall notpretend to determine; though the event seems plainly to speak the last. Even at the time, no comparison was made between the military skill ofthe mareschal d'Etrées, and that of the duke de Richelieu; but, howeverthat may have been, this last, who, if he had not shone in the characterof a soldier, excelled all, or at least most of his contemporaries inthe more refined arts of a courtier, was, just before the battle we havebeen speaking of, appointed to supersede the former in the commandof the French army in Lower Saxony, where he arrived on the sixthof August, with the title of mareschal of France; and M. D'Etreesimmediately resigned the command. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE FRENCH TAKE POSSESSION OF HANOVER AND HESSE-CASSEL. Immediately after the battle of Hastenbeck, the French sent a detachmentof four thousand men to lay under contribution the countries of Hanoverand Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, as well as the duchies of Bremen and Verden;and two days after the arrival of this new commander, the duke deChevreuse was detached with two thousand men to take possession ofHanover itself, with the title of governor of that city. He accordinglymarched thither; and upon his arrival the Hanoverian garrison wasdisarmed, and left at liberty to retire where they pleased. About thesame time M. De Con-tades, with a detachment from the French army, wassent to make himself master of the territories of Hesse-Cassel, wherehe found no opposition. He was met at Warberg by that prince's master ofthe horse, who declared, that they were ready to furnish the Frencharmy with all the succours the country could afford; and accordingly themagistrates of Cassel presented him with the keys as soon as he enteredtheir city. Gottingen was ordered by M. D'Armentieres to prepare for himwithin a limited time, upon pain of military execution, four thousandpounds of white bread, two thousand bushels of oats, a greater quantitythan could be found in the whole country, an hundred loads of hay, andother provisions. THE FRENCH REDUCE VERDEN and BREMEN. The duke of Cumberland remained encamped in the neighbourhood of Hoyatill the twenty-fourth of August, when, upon advice that the enemy hadlaid two bridges over the Aller in the night, and had passed that riverwith a large body of troops, he ordered his army to march, to secure theimportant post and passage of Rothenbourg, lest they should attemptto march round on his left. He encamped that night at Hausen, havingdetached lieutenant-general Oberg, with eight battalions and sixsquadrons, to Ottersberg, to which place he marched next day, andencamped behind the Wummer, in a very strong situation, betweenOttersberg and Eothenbourg. The French took possession of Verden onthe twenty-sixth of August, and one of their detachments went on thetwenty-ninth to Bremen, where the gates were immediately opened to them. The duke of Cumberland, now closely pressed on all sides, and in dangerof having his communication with the Stade cut off, which the enemy wasendeavouring to effect, by seizing upon all the posts round him, foundit necessary to decamp again; to abandon Eothenbourg, of which theFrench immediately took possession; to retreat to Selsingen, where hishead-quarters were, on the first of September; and from thence, on thethird of the same month, to retire under the cannon of Stade. Here itwas imagined that his army would have been able to maintain their groundbetween the Aller and the Elbe, till the severity of the season shouldput an end to the campaign. Accordingly, his royal highness, upon histaking this position, sent a detachment of his forces to Buck-Schantz, with some artillery, and orders to defend that place to the utmost; butas it could not possibly have held out many days, and as the French, whonow hemmed him in on all sides, by making themselves masters of alittle fort at the mouth of the river Swinga, would have cut off hiscommunication with the Elbe, so that four English men of war, thenin that river, could have been of no service to him, he was forced toaccept of a mediation offered by the king of Denmark, by his ministerthe 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-eightthousand Hanoverians laid down their arms, and were dispersed intodifferent 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 theFrench let loose against the king of Prussia by this treaty, mareschalRichelieu immediately ordered lieutenant-general Berchini to march withall possible expedition, with the troops under his command, to join theprince de Soubise: the gens-d'-arms, and other troops that were inthe landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, received the same order; and sixtybattalions of foot, and the greatest part of the horse belonging to theFrench army, were directed to attack the Prussian territories. MareschalRichelieu himself arrived at Brunswick on the fifteenth of September;and having, in a few days after, assembled an hundred and tenbattalions, and an hundred and fifty squadrons, with an hundred piecesof cannon, near Wolfenbuttel, he entered the king of Prussia's dominionswith his army on the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth ofthe same month, in three columns, which penetrated into Halberstadtand Brandenburgh, plundering the towns, exacting contributions, andcommitting many enormities, at which their general is said to haveconnived. In the meantime the duke of Cumberland returned to England, where he arrived on the eleventh of October, and shortly after resignedall his military commands. Had the allied army, after the battle of Hastenbeck, marched directlyto the Leine, as it might easily have done, and then taken post on theother side of Wolfenbuttel, Halberstadt, and Magdeburgh, it might havewaited securely under the cannon of the latter place for the junction ofthe Prussian forces; instead of which, they injudiciously turned offto the Lower Weser, retiring successively from Hamelen to Nienburgh, Verden, Rothenburgh, Buxtehude, and lastly to Stade, where, for want ofsubsistence and elbow-room, the troops were all made prisoners of war atlarge. They made a march of an hundred and fifty miles to be cooped upin a nook, instead of taking the other route, which was only about anhundred miles, and would have led them to a place of safety. By thisunaccountable conduct, the king of Prussia was not only deprived of theassistance of near forty thousand good troops, which, in the close ofthe campaign, might have put him upon an equality with the French andthe army of the empire; but also exposed to, and actually invaded by, his numerous enemies on all sides, insomuch that his situation becamenow more dangerous than ever; and the fate which seemed to havethreatened 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 hiscomplicated distress; for, besides the invasion of his territories bythe French under the duke de Richelieu, the Russians, who had made fora long time a dilatory march, and seemed uncertain of their ownresolutions, all at once quickened their motions, and entered DucalPrussia, under mareschal Apraxin and general Fermor, marking theirprogress by every inhumanity that unbridled cruelty, lust, and rapine, can be imagined capable of committing. A large body of Austrians enteredSilesia, and penetrated as far as Breslau; then, turning back, they laidseige to the important fortress of Schweidnitz, the key of thatcountry. A second body entered Lusa-tia, another quarter of the Prussianterritories, and made themselves masters of Zittau. Twenty-two thousandSwedes penetrated into Prussian Pomerania, took the towns of Anclam andDemmin, and laid the whole country under contribution. The army of theempire, reinforced by that of prince Soubise, after many delays, was atlast in full march to enter Saxony; and this motion left the Austriansat liberty to turn the greatest part of their forces to the reduction ofSilesia. An Austrian general penetrating through Lusatia, passed by thePrussian armies, and suddenly presenting himself before the gates ofBerlin, laid the whole country under contribution; and though he retiredon the approach of a body of Prussians, yet he still found means tointerrupt the communication of these last with Silesia. The Prussians, it is true, exerted themselves bravely on all sides, and their enemiesfled before them; but whilst one body was pursuing, another gained uponthem in some other part. The winter approached, their strength decayed, and their adversaries multiplied daily. Their king harassed, and almostspent with incessant fatigue both of body and of mind, was in a mannerexcluded from the empire. The greatest part of his dominions wereeither taken from him, or laid under contribution, and possessed byhis enemies, who collected the public revenues, fattened on thecontributions, and with the riches which they drew from the electorateof Hanover, and other conquests, defrayed the expenses of the war; andby the convention of Closter-Seven he was deprived of his allies, and left without any assistance whatever, excepting what the Britishparliament might think fit to supply. How different is this picturefrom that which the king of Prussia exhibited when he took arms toenter Saxony! But, in order to form a clear idea of these events, of thesituation of his Prussian majesty, and of the steps he took to defeatthe designs of his antagonists, and extricate himself from his great andnumerous distresses, it will be proper now to take a view of the severaltransactions of his enemies, as well during his stay in Bohemia, as fromthe 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 orderednotice to be given to all masters of ships, that if any of themwere 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 twobomb-ketches, was sent to block up the Prussian ports in the Baltic, where it took several ships of that nation, which were employed incarrying provisions and merchandise from one port to another. One ofthese ships of war appearing before Memel, a town of Poland, but subjectto Prussia, the commandant sent an officer to the captain, to knowwhether he came as a friend or an enemy? to which interrogation theRussian captain replied, that, notwithstanding the dispositions ofthe empress of both the Russias were sufficiently known, yet he wouldfurther explain them, by declaring that his orders, and those of theother Russian commanders, were, in conformity to the laws of war, toseize on all the Prussian vessels they met with on their cruise. Uponwhich the commandant of Memel immediately gave orders for pointing thecannon to fire upon all Russian ships that should approach that place. The land-forces of the Russians had now lingered on their march upwardsof six months; and it was pretty generally doubted, by those who weresupposed to have the best intelligence, whether they ever were designedreally to pass into the Prussian territories, not only on account oftheir long stay on the borders of Lithuania, but also because several oftheir cossacks had been severely punished for plundering the waggons ofsome Prussian peasants upon the frontiers of Courland, and the damage ofthe peasants compensated with money, though general Apraxin's army wasat the same time greatly distressed by the want of provisions; when, ona sudden, they quickened their motions, and showed they were in earnest, determined to accomplish the ruin of Prussia. Their first act ofhostility was the attack of Memel, which surrendered: and, by thearticles of capitulation, it was agreed that the garrison should marchout with all the honours of war, after having engaged not to serveagainst the empress, or any of her allies, for the space of one year. His Prussian majesty, justly foreseeing the great enormities that wereto be expected from these savage enemies, who were unaccustomed to makewar, except upon nations as barbarous as themselves, who looked upon waronly as an opportunity for plunder, and every country through whichthey happened to march as theirs by right of conquest, published thefollowing declaration: "It is sufficiently known, that the king ofPrussia, after the example of his glorious predecessors, has, eversince his accession to the crown, laid it down as a maxim to seek thefriendship of the imperial court of Russia, and cultivate it by everymethod. His Prussian majesty hath had the satisfaction to live, forseveral successive years, in the strictest harmony with the reigningempress: and this happy union would be still subsisting, if evil-mindedpotentates had not broke it by their secret machinations, and carriedthings to such a height, that the ministers on both sides have beenrecalled, and the correspondence broken off. However melancholy thesecircumstances might be for the king, his majesty was nevertheless mostattentive to prevent any thing that might increase the alienation ofthe Russian court. He hath been particularly careful, during thedisturbances of the war that now unhappily rages, to avoid whatevermight involve him in a difference with that court, notwithstanding thegreat grievances he hath to allege against it; and that it was publiclyknown the court of Vienna had at last drawn that of Russia into itsdestructive views, and made it serve as an instrument for favouring theschemes of Austria. His majesty hath given the whole world incontestibleproofs, that he was under an indispensable necessity of having recourseto 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 hathoffered to lay down his arms, if proper securities should be granted tohim. His majesty hath not neglected to expose the artifices by which theimperial court of Russia hath been drawn into measures so opposite tothe empress's sentiments, and which would excite the utmost indignationof that great princess, if the truth could be placed before her withoutdisguise. The king did more: he suggested to her imperial majestysufficient means either to excuse her not taking any part in the presentwar, or to avoid, upon the justest grounds, the execution of thoseengagements which the court of Vienna claimed by a manifest abuse ofobligations, which they employed to palliate their unlawful views. Itwholly depended upon the empress of Russia to extinguish the flames ofthe war, without unsheathing the sword, by pursuing the measuressuggested by the king. This conduct would have immortalized her reignthroughout all Europe. It would have gained her more lasting glory thancan be acquired by the greatest triumphs. The king finds with regret, that all his precautions and care to maintain peace with the Russianempire are fruitless, and that the intrigues of his enemies haveprevailed. His majesty sees all the considerations of friendship andgood neighbourhood set aside by the imperial court of Russia, as well asthe observance of its engagements with his majesty. He sees that courtmarching its troops through the territories of a foreign power, and, contrary to the tenor of treaties, in order to attack the king in hisdominions; and thus taking part in a war, in which his enemies haveinvolved the Russian empire. In such circumstances, the king hath noother part to take, but to employ the power which God hath intrusted tohim in defending himself, protecting his subjects, and repelling everyunjust attack. His majesty will never lose sight of the rules which areobserved, even in the midst of war, among civilized nations. But if, contrary to all hope and expectation, these rules should be violated bythe troops of Russia, if they commit in the king's territories disordersand excesses disallowed by the law of arms, his majesty must not beblamed if he makes reprisals in Saxony; and if, instead of that goodorder and rigorous discipline which have hitherto been observed by hisarmy, avoiding all sorts of violence, he finds himself forced, contraryto his inclination, to suffer the provinces and subjects of Saxony to betreated in the same manner as his own territories shall be treated. Asto the rest, the king will soon publish to the whole world the futilityof the reasons alleged by the imperial court of Russia to justify itsaggression; and as his majesty is forced upon making his defence, hehas room to hope, with confidence, that the Lord of Hosts will bless hisrighteous arms: that he will disappoint the unjust enterprises of hisenemies, and grant him his powerful assistance to enable him to makehead against them. " ARMY OF THE EMPIRE RAISED. When the king of Prussia was put under the ban of the empire, theseveral princes who compose that body were required, by the decree ofthe Aulic council, as we observed before, to furnish their respectivecontingents against him. Those who feared him looked upon this as a fairopportunity of reducing him; and those who stood in awe of the house ofAustria were, through necessity, compelled to support that power whichthey dreaded. Besides, they were accustomed to the influence of a familyin which the empire had, for a long time, been in a manner hereditary;and were also intimidated by the appearance of a confederacy the mostformidable, perhaps, that the world had ever seen. Yet, notwithstandingall this, the contingents, both of men and money, were collected slowly;the troops were badly composed; and many of those, not only of theprotestant princes, but also of the catholics, showed the utmostreluctance to act against his Prussian majesty, which, indeed, none ofthem would have been able to do had it not been for the assistance ofthe French under the prince de Soubise. The elector palatine lost abovea thousand men by desertion. Four thousand of the troops belonging tothe duke of Wirtemberg being delivered to the French commissary on thetwenty-fourth of June, were immediately reviewed; but the review wasscarcely finished, when they began to cry aloud that they were sold. Next morning thirty of them deserted at once, and were soon followedby parties of twenty and thirty each, who forced their way through thedetachments that guarded the gates of Stutgard, and in the evening themutiny became general. They fired upon the officers in their barracks, and let their general know that if he did not immediately withdraw, theywould put him to death. Meanwhile, some of the officers having pursuedthe deserters, brought back a part of them prisoners, when the rest ofthe soldiers declared, that if they were not immediately released, theywould set fire to the stadthouse and barracks; upon which the prisonerswere set at liberty late in the evening. Next morning the soldiersassembled, and having seized some of the officers, three or four hundredof them marched out of the town at that time, with the music of theregiments playing before them; and in this manner near-three thousand ofthem 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 heavyartillery and mortars up the Elbe to Dresden, fixed his camp on thebanks of the river, at Leitmeritz, where his main army was stronglyintrenched, whilst mareschal Keith, with the troops under his command, encamped on the opposite shore; a free communication being kept open bymeans of a bridge. At the same time detachments were ordered tosecure the passes into Saxony. As this position of the king of Prussiaprevented the Austrians from being able to penetrate into Saxony bythe way of the Elbe, they moved, by slow marches, into the circleof Buntzla, and, at last, with a detachment commanded by the duked'Aremberg and M. Macguire, on the eighteenth! of June fell suddenlyupon, and took the important post at Gabel, situated between BoemishLeypa and Zittau, after an obstinate defence made by the Prussiangarrison, under major-general Putkammer, consisting of four battalions, who were obliged to surrender prisoners of war. The Austrians having bythis motion gained a march towards Lusatia, upon a corps which had beendetached under the command of the prince of Prussia to watch them, hisPrussian majesty thought proper to leave Leitmeritz on the twentiethin the morning, and lay that night at Lickowitz, a village opposite toLeitmeritz, of which a battalion of his troops still kept possession, while the rest of his army remained encamped in the plain before thatplace. Next morning, at break of day, prince Henry decamped, and made sogood 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. Hepassed the bridge at Leitmeritz, after withdrawing the battalion thatwas in the town, and having burnt the bridge, the whole army united, andmade a small movement towards the passes of the mountains; the king thenlying at Sulowitz, near the field where the battle of Lowoschutz wasfought on the first of October of the preceding year. The heavy baggagewas sent on in the afternoon, with a proper escort; and in the morningof the twenty-second the army marched in two columns, and encamped onthe high grounds at Lusechitz, a little beyond Lenai, where it halted onthe twenty-third. No attack was made upon the rear-guard, though greatnumbers of Austrian hussars, and other irregulars, had appearedthe evening before within cannon-shot of the Prussian camp. On thetwenty-fourth the army marched to Nellendorf; on the twenty-fifth, itencamped near Cotta, on the twenty-sixth near Pirna, where it halted thenext 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 atBautzen. The king's army made this retreat with all the success that could bewished; but the corps under the prince of Prussia had not the same goodfortune. For the Austrians, immediately after their taking Gabel, sent astrong detachment against Zittau, a trading town in the circle of UpperSaxony, where the Prussians had large magazines, and a garrison of sixbattalions, and, in his sight, attacked it with uncommon rage. Paying noregard to the inhabitants as being friends or allies, but determined toreduce the place before the king of Prussia could have time to march toits relief, they no sooner arrived before it, than they bombardedand cannonaded it with such fury, that most of the garrison, findingthemselves unable to resist, made their escape, and carried off as muchas they could of the magazines, leaving only three or four hundred menin the town, under colonel Diricke, to hold it out as long as possible;which he accordingly did, till the whole place was almost destroyed. Thecannonading 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 thousandballs, many of them red hot, were fired into this unfortunate city, withso little intermission, that it was soon set on fire in several places. In the confusion which the conflagration produced, the Austrians enteredthe town, and the inhabitants imagined that they had then nothingfurther to fear; and that their friends the Austrians would assistthem in extinguishing the flames, and saving the place; but in thisparticular their expectations were disappointed. The pan-dours andSclavonians, who rushed in with regular troops, made no distinctionbetween the Prussians and the inhabitants of Zittau: instead of helpingto quench the flames, they began to plunder the warehouses whichthe fire had not readied: so that all the valuable merchandise theycontained was either carried off, or reduced to ashes. Upwards of sixhundred houses, and almost all the public buildings, the cathedrals ofSt. John and St. James, the orphan house, eight parsonage-houses, eightschools, the town-house and every thing contained in it, the publicweigh-house, the prison, the archives, and all the other documents ofthe town-council, the plate and other things of value presented to thetown, from time to time, by the emperors, kings, and other princes andnoblemen, were entirely destroyed, and more than four hundred citizenswere killed in this assault. Of the whole town there was left standingonly one hundred and thirty-eight houses, two churches, the council, library, and the salt-work. The queen of Poland was so affected by thismelancholy account, that she is said to have fainted away upon hearingit. As this city belonged to their friend the king of Poland, theAustrians thought proper to publish an excuse for their conduct, ascribing it entirely to the necessity they were under, and theobstinate defence made by the Prussian garrison. But what excuses canatone for such barbarity? {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE PRINCE OF PRUSSIA LEAVES THE ARMY. The corps under the prince of Prussia, which had been witnesses to thedestruction of this unhappy place, was by the king's march to Bautzen, fortunately extricated from the danger of being surrounded by theAustrians, who, upon his majesty's approach, retired from their postson the right. Soon after this event, the prince of Prussia, finding hishealth 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 frontierto guard the passes of the mountains of Bohemia, arrived at Pima, havingbeen much harassed in his march by the enemy's irregular troops, andlost some waggons of provisions and baggage. After resting a day atPirna, he pursued his march through Dresden with twenty battalions andforty squadrons, and encamped on the right of the Elbe, before the gateof the new city, from whence he joined the king between Bautzen andCoerlitz. The Prussian array, now re-assembled at this place, amountedto about sixty thousand men, besides twelve battalions and ten squadronswhich remained in the famous camp at Pirna, under the prince ofAnhault-Dessau, to cover Dresden, secure the gorges of the mountains, and check the incursions of the Austrian irregulars, with whom, as theywere continually flying about the skirts of the Prussian army, aswell in their encampments as on their marches, almost daily skirmisheshappened, with various success. Though some of these encounters werevery bloody, they cost the Prussians much fewer men than they lost bydesertion since the battle of Kolin. The reason seems obvious:--thePrussian army had been recruited, in times of peace, from all parts ofGermany; and though this way of recruiting may be very proper in suchtimes, yet it cannot be expected to answer in a state of actual war, especially an unfortunate war: because the fidelity of such soldiers cannever be so much depended on as that of natives, who serve their naturalsovereign from principle, and not merely for pay, and who must deserttheir country, their parents, and their friends, at the same time thatthey desert their prince. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND OSTEND BROKE OFF. It will be proper here to take notice of some events which could noteasily be mentioned before, without breaking through the order wehave proposed to ourselves in the writing of this history. --Theempress-queen, more embittered than ever against the king of Prussia andhis allies, recalled her ministers, count Coloredo and monsieur Zohern, from London, towards the beginning of July; and about the same timecount Kaunitz, great chancellor of the empire, informed Mr. Keith, theBritish minister at Vienna, that the court of London, by the succours ithad given, and still continued to give, the king of Prussia, as well asby other circumstances relating to the present state of affairs, havingbroken the solemn engagements which united this crown with the house ofAustria, her majesty the empress-queen had thought proper to recall herminister from England, and consequently to break off all correspondence. Mr. Keith, in pursuance of this notice, set out from Vienna on thetwenty-ninth of July; as did also Mr. Desrolles, his Britannic majesty'sminister at the court of Brussels, from this last place, about thesame time. On the seventh of July, general Pisa, commandant of Ostend, Nieuport, and the maritime ports of Flanders, sent his adjutant to theEnglish vice-consul at Ostend, at six o'clock in the morning, to tellhim, that by orders from his court all communication with England wasbroke off; and desired the vice-consul to intimate to the packet-boatsand British shipping at Ostend, Bruges, and Nieuport, to depart intwenty-four hours, and not to return into any of the ports of theempress-queen till further disposition should be made. The reasonsalleged by the court of Vienna for debarring the subjects of hisBritannic majesty from the use of these ports, obtained for the houseof Austria by the arms and treasures of Great Britain, were, "That herimperial majesty the empress-queen, could not, with indifference, seeEngland, instead of giving the succours due to her by the most solemntreaties, enter into an alliance with her enemy the king of Prussia, and actually afford him all manner of assistance, assembling armies tooppose those which the most christian king, her ally, had sent to heraid, and suffering privateers to exercise open violence in her roads, under the cannon of her ports and coasts, without giving the leastsatisfaction or answer to the complaints made on that account; and theking of Great Britain himself, at the very time she was offering him aneutrality for Hanover, publishing, by a message to his parliament, thatshe had formed, with the most christian king, dangerous designs againstthat electorate; therefore, her majesty, desirous of providing for thesecurity of her ports, judged it expedient to give the forementionedorders; and at the same time to declare, that she could no longer permita free communication between her subjects and the English, which hadhitherto been founded upon treaties that Great Britain had, withoutscruple, openly violated. " Notwithstanding these orders, the Englishpacket-boats, with letters, were allowed to pass as usual to and fromOstend; the ministers of her imperial majesty wisely consideringhow good a revenue the postage of English letters brings in to thepost-office of the Austrian Netherlands. Ostend and Nieuport, by orderof her imperial majesty, received each of them a French garrison; theformer on the nineteenth of July, and the latter next day, under thecommand of M. De la Motte, upon whose arrival the Austrian troopsevacuated those places; though the empress-queen still reserved toherself, in both of them, the full and free exercise of all her rightsof sovereignty; to which purpose an oath was administered to the Frenchcommandant by her majesty's minister-plenipotentiary for the governmentof the Low-Countries. At the same time, their imperial and mostchristian majesties notified to the magistracy of Hamburgh, that theymust not admit any English men of war, or transports, into theirport, on pain of having a French garrison imposed on them. The cityof Gueldres, which had been blocked up by the French ever sincethe beginning of summer, was forced by famine to capitulate on thetwenty-fourth of August, and the garrison marched out with all thehonours of war, in order to be conducted to Berlin; but so many of themdeserted, that when they passed by Cologn, the whole garrison consistedonly of the commandant and forty-seven men. By the surrender of thisplace the whole country lay open to the French and their allies quiteup to Magdeburgh; and the empress-queen immediately received two hundredthousand crowns from the revenues of Cleves and la Marcke alone. Toreturn to the affairs more immediately relating to the king of Prussia. The advanced posts of the prince of Anhault-Dessau at Pirna wereattacked, on the tenth of August, by a body of hussars and otherirregular troops of the Austrians; but the Prussians soon obliged themto retire, with the loss of several men and two pieces of cannon. On thenineteenth of the same month, early in the morning, a great number ofAustrian pan-dours surrounded a little town called Gotliebe, in which aPrussian garrison was quartered, with a design to take it by surprise. The pandours attacked it on all sides, and in the beginning killedtwenty-three Prussians, and wounded many; but the Prussians havingrallied, repulsed the assailants with great loss. These, however, werebut a sort of preludes to much more decisive actions which happened soonafter. Silesia, which had hitherto been undisturbed this year, began nowto feel the effects of war. Baron Jahnus, an Austrian colonel, enteringthat country with only an handful of men, made himself master ofHirschberg, Waldenberg, Gottesberg, Frankenstein, and Landshut. Theywere, indeed, but open places; and he was repulsed in an attempt uponStrigau. On the side of Franconia the army of the empire was assemblingwith all speed, under the prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen; the French weremarching a second army from their interior provinces into Alsace, inorder to join the Imperialists: the first division of their troopshad already entered the empire, and were advanced as far as Hanau. The Swedes were now preparing, with the utmost expedition, to send anumerous army into Pomerania; and the Russians, who since the takingof Memel had not done the king of Prussia much damage, besides that ofobliging him to keep an army in Prussia to oppose them, and interruptingthe trade of Konigsberg by their squadrons, were again advancingwith hasty strides towards Prussia, marking their steps with horriddesolation. Field-mareschal Lehwald, who had been left in Prussia withan army of thirty thousand men, to guard that kingdom during the absenceof his master, was encamped near Velau, when the Russians, to the numberof eighty thousand, after taking Memel, advanced against the territoriesof the Prussian king, whose situation now drew upon him the attentionof all Europe. In the night between the seventh and eighth of August, colonel Malachowsti, one of mareschal Lehwald's officers, marched toreconnoitre the position of the enemy, when a skirmish happened, which lasted near two hours, between his advanced ranks and a Russiandetachment three times stronger than the Prussians. The Russians wererepulsed, and fled into the woods, after having fifty men killed and agreat number wounded. The Prussians lost but one man, and had fourteenwounded. MARESCHAL LEHWALD ATTACKS THE RUSSIANS NEAR NORKITTEN. Several other little skirmishes happened between straggling partiesof the two armies; and the Russians went on pillaging and laying wasteevery thing before them, till at length the two armies having approachedone another in Brandenburgh-Prussia, mareschal Lehwald, finding itimpossible to spare detachments from so small a number as his was, compared to that of the enemy, to cover the wretched inhabitants fromthe outrages committed on them by the Russian cossacks, and otherbarbarians belonging to them, judged it absolutely necessary to attacktheir main army; and accordingly, notwithstanding his great disadvantagein almost every respect, he resolved to hazard a battle on the thirtiethof August. The Russians, consisting, as we before observed, of eightythousand regulars, under the command of mareschal Apraxin, avoiding theopen field, were intrenched in a most advantageous camp near Norkittenin Prussia. Their army was composed of four lines, each of which wasguarded by an intrenchment, and the whole was defended by two hundredpieces 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 muchvigour, that the Prussians entirely broke the whole first line of theenemy, 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 ofgrenadiers, which was cut to pieces; but when the Prussians came to thesecond intrenchment, mareschal Lehwald, seeing that he could not attemptto carry it without exposing his army too much, took the resolution toretire. The Prussians returned to their former camp at Velau, and theRussians remained in their present situation. The loss of the Prussianslittle exceeding two thousand killed and wounded, was immediatelyreplaced out of the disciplined militia. The Russians lost a muchgreater number. General Lapuchin was wounded and taken prisoner, witha colonel of the Russian artillery; but the former was sent back on hisparole. The Prussia*: Army had, at first, made themselves masters ofabove eighty pieces of cannon; but were afterwards obliged to abandonthem, with eleven of their own, for want of carriages. Three Russiangenerals were killed; but the Prussians lost no general or officerof distinction, of which rank count Dohna was the only one that waswounded. HASTY RETREAT OF THE RUSSIANS OUT OF PRUSSIA. After this engagement, mareschal Lehwald changed the position of hisarmy, by drawing towards Peters-wald; and the Russians, after remainingquite inactive till the thirteenth of September, on a sudden, tothe great surprise of every one, retreated out of Prussia with suchprecipitation, that they left all their sick and wounded behind them, to the amount of fifteen or sixteen thousand men, together with eightypieces of cannon, and a considerable part of their military stores. Mareschal Apraxin masked his design by advancing all his irregularstowards the Prussian army; so that mareschal Lehwald was not informed ofit till the third day, when he detached prince George of Plolstein withten thousand horse to pursue them but with little hopes of coming upwith them as they made forced marches, in order to be the sooner intheir own country. However, the Prussians took some of them prisoners, and many stragglers were killed by the country people in their flighttowards Tilsit, which they abandoned, though they still kept Memel, andshortly after added some new fortifications to that place. They madetheir retreat in two columns, one of which directed its course towardsMemel; while the other took the nearest way through the bailiwick ofAbsternen, and threw bridges over the river Jura. Both columns burntevery village they passed through without distinction. The Prussianswere obliged to desist from the pursuit of these barbarians, because thebridges, thrown over the river Memel, had been destroyed by the violenceof the stream. The Russian army suffered greatly for want of bread, as all the countries were ruined through which it passed, so that theycould procure no sort of subsistence but herbage and rye-bread. All theroads were strewed with dead bodies of men and horses. The real cause ofthis sudden retreat is as great a mystery as the reason of stopping solong, the year before, on the borders of Lithuania; though the occasionof it is said to have been the illness of the czarina, who was seizedwith a kind of apoplectic fit, and had made some new regulations in caseof a vacancy of the throne, which rendered it expedient that theregular forces should be at hand to support the measures taken by thegovernment. FRENCH AND IMPERIALISTS TAKE GOTHA. The king of Prussia, after remaining for some time encamped betweenBautzen and Goerlitz, removed his head-quarters to Bernstedel; and onthe fifteenth of August his army came in sight of the Austrian camp, andwithin cannon-shot of it: upon which the Austrians struck their tents, and drew up in order of battle before their camp. The king formed hisarmy over against them, and immediately went to reconnoitre the groundbetween the armies; but, as it was then late, he deferred the moreexact examination of that circumstance till the next day. The two armiescontinued under arms all night. Next morning at break of day, the kingfound the Austrians encamped with their right at the river Weisle; therest of their army extended along a rising ground, at the foot of amountain covered with wood, which protected their left; and before theirfront, at the bottom of the hill on which they were drawn up, was asmall brook, passable only in three places, and for no more than four orfive men a-breast. Towards the left of their army was an opening, wherethree or four battalions might have marched in front; but behind it theyhad placed three lines of infantry, and on a hill which flanked thisopening, within musket-shot, were placed four thousand foot, with fortyor fifty pieces of cannon; so that, in reality, this was the strongestpart of their camp. The king left nothing undone to bring the Austriansto battle; but finding them absolutely bent on avoiding it, afterlying four days before them, he and his army returned to their campat Bernstedel. They were followed by some of the enemy's hussars andpan-dours, who, however, had not the satisfaction to take the smallestbooty in this retreat. The Austrian army, which thus declined engaging, was, by their own account, an hundred and thirty thousand strong, morethan double the number of the king of Prussia, who, the day he returnedto Bernstedel, after he had retired about two thousand yards, again drewup 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 Frenchunder the prince de Soubise, making together about fifty thousand men, half of which were French, had by this time joined, and advanced as faras Erfurth in Saxony; upon which his Prussian majesty, finding that allhis endeavours could not bring the Austrians to an engagement, set outfrom Lusatia, accompanied by mareschal Keith, with sixteen battalionsand forty squadrons of his troops, and arrived at Dresden on thetwenty-ninth of August, leaving the rest of the army in a strong camp, under the prince of Bevern. With this detachment, which, by the junctionof several bodies of troops, amounted to about forty thousand men, he made a quick march, by the way of Leipsic towards Erfurth, to givebattle to the united army of the French and the empire. But by the timehe arrived at Erfurth, which was on the fourteenth of September, theenemy had retreated towards Gotha; and upon his further approach, theyretired to Eyesenach, where they intrenched themselves in a very strongcamp. His majesty's headquarters were at Kirschlaben, near Erfurth. While the two armies were thus situated, major-general Seydelitz, whooccupied the town of Gotha, being informed, on the nineteenth, that alarge body of the enemy was coming towards him, and that it consisted oftwo regiments of Austrian hussars, one regiment of French hussars, anda detachment made up of French grenadiers, troops of the army of theempire, and a great number of croats and pandours, retired, and postedhimself at some distance. The enemy immediately took possession of thetown and castle; but general Seydelitz, having been reinforced, attackedthe enemy with such vigour, that he soon obliged them to abandon thisnew conquest, and to retire with great precipitation; a report havingbeen spread, that the Prussian army was advancing against them, with theking himself in person. The Prussian hussars took a considerable bootyon this occasion, and general Seydelitz sent prisoners to the camp, one lieutenant-colonel, three majors, four lieutenants, and sixty-twosoldiers of the enemy, who had also about an hundred and thirty killed. After this action his Prussian majesty advanced near Eyesenach, witha design to attack the combined army; but they were so stronglyintrenched, that he found it impracticable. His provisions fallingshort, he was obliged to retire towards Erfurth, and soon after toNaumburgh, on the river Sala; whereupon the combined army inarched, andagain 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 tookpossession of it on the sixth of September, and made prisoners aPrussian battalion which had been left there. The next day fifteenthousand Austrians attacked two battalions of general Winterfield'stroops, being part of the prince of Bevern's army, who were posted ona high ground on the other side of the Neiss, near Hennersdorff, in theneighbourhood of Goerlitz; and, after being repulsed several times, atlast 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 thatof 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 youngcount of Groesbeck and the marquis d'Asque killed, on the side of theAustrians, who took six pieces of the Prussian cannon, six pair of theircolours, and made general Kemeke, the count d'Anhalt, and some otherofficers, prisoners. After this skirmish, the prince of Bevern, with thePrussian army under his command, retreated from Goerlitz to Rothen-berg, then passed the Queiss at Sygersdorff, from whence he marched toBuntzlau, in Silesia, and on the first of October reached Breslau, without suffering any loss, though the numerous army of the Austriansfollowed him for some days. Upon his arrival there, he chose a verystrong camp on the other side of the Oder, in order to cover the city ofBreslau, to the fortifications of which he immediately added severalnew works. Though neither side had any very signal advantage in thisengagement, more than that the Austrians remained masters of the field, yet great rejoicings were made at Vienna on account of it. The death ofgeneral Win-terfield was, indeed, an irreparable loss to his Prussianmajesty, who received at the same time the news of this misfortune, andof 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 theever-memorable and shameful convention of Closter-Seven, had entered theterritories of Halberstadt and Magdeburgh, were worsted at Eglen by aparty of six hundred men, under the command of count Horn, whom princeFerdinand of Brunswick had detached from a body of troops with which hisPrussian majesty had sent him to defend those countries. The Prussianstook prisoners the count de Lusignan, colonel, eighteen other Frenchofficers, and four hundred soldiers, and made themselves masters of aconsiderable booty in baggage, &c, with the loss of only two men;and, moreover, a French officer and forty men were made prisonersat Halberstadt. Upon this check the French evacuated the country ofHalberstadt for a little while, but returning again on the twenty-ninthof September, with a considerable reinforcement from mareschalRichelieu's army, which he now could easily spare, prince Ferdinand wasobliged to retire to Winsleben, near the city of Magdeburgh. The dangerswhich had been hitherto kept at a distance from the Prussian dominions, by the surprising activity of their king, now drew nearer, and menacedthem on all sides. Mareschal Richelieu, with eighty battalions andan hundred squadrons, entered the country of Halberstadt, and leviedimmense contributions; whilst the allied army of the French andImperialists, 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. TheSwedes had actually taken some towns in Pomerania, and were advancing tobesiege Stetin, and the Austrians, who had made themselves mastersof Lignitz, and a considerable part of Silesia, had now laid siege toSchweidnitz, and were preparing to pass the Oder, in order to attackthe prince of Bevern in his camp near Breslau. In the meantime they madefrequent and always destructive incursions into Brandenburgh; to opposewhich his Prussian majesty ordered detachments from all his regiments inthose parts to join the militia of the country, and sent the prince ofAnhault-Dessau from Leipsic, with a body of ten thousand men, to guardBerlin, whilst he himself marched with the troops under his command toInterbeck, on the frontier of the Lower Lusatia, to be the more at handto cover Brandenburgh, and to preserve the communication with Silesia. While these precautions were taking, general Had-dick, with fifteen orsixteen thousand Austrians, entered Brandenburgh on the sixteenthof October, and the next day arrived before Berlin, of which city hedemanded a contribution of six hundred thousand crowns; but contentedhimself with two hundred and ten thousand. The Austrians pillaged twoof the suburbs; but before they could do any further mischief, theywere obliged to retire in great haste, at the approach of the prince ofAnhault-Dessau, whose vanguard entered the city in the evening of theirdeparture. This alarm, however, obliged the queen and the royal familyof Prussia to remove to Magdeburgh on the twenty-third; and the mostvaluable records were sent to the fort of Spandau, at the conflux of theHavel and the Sphre. On the other hand, the unfortunate inhabitants ofLeipsic now felt most severely the cruel effects of the power of theirnew master. The Prussian commandant in that city had, by order of theking, demanded of them three hundred thousand crowns, a sum far greaterthan it was in their power to raise. This truth they represented, butin vain. The short time allowed them to furnish their contingents beingexpired, and all their efforts to comply with this demand having provedineffectual, they were subjected to the rigours of military execution;in consequence of which their houses were occupied by the soldiery, whoseized upon the best apartments, and lived at discretion; but the sumdemanded could not be found. Such was the situation of this distressedcity, when, on the fifteenth of October, an express arrived, withadvice that his Prussian majesty would soon be there; and accordinglyhe arrived a few minutes after, attended by his life-guards. At thesame time, a rumour was spread that the city would be delivered up topillage, which threw the inhabitants into the utmost consternation. Their fears, however, in that respect were soon abated, by his majesty'sdeclaring, that he was willing to spare the place, upon condition thathalf the sum required should be immediately paid. All that could be donewas to collect among the merchants, traders, and others, fifty thousandcrowns; bills of exchange were drawn upon Amsterdam and London forseventy thousand crowns, and hostages were given, by way of security, for the payment of thirty thousand more within a time which wasagreed on. But still, notwithstanding this, the military execution wascontinued, even with greater rigour than before, and all the comfortthe wretched inhabitants could obtain was, that it should cease wheneveradvice should be received that their bills were accepted. BATTLE OF ROSBACH. The king of Prussia had tried several times to bring the combined armyunder the princes Saxe-Hilburghausen and Soubise to an engagement uponfair ground, but finding them bent on declining it, notwithstanding thesuperiority of their numbers, he had recourse to one of those strokes inwar, 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 intendednothing more than to secure his own dominions, and march his army intowinter-quarters back to Berlin, leaving mareschal Keith, with onlyseven or eight thousand men, to defend Leipsic. Upon this the enemy tookcourage, passed the Sala, and having marched up to the city, summonedthe mareschal to surrender; to which he answered, that the king, hismaster, had ordered him to defend the place to the last extremity, andhe would obey his orders. The enemy then thought of besieging the city;but, before they could prepare any one implement for that purpose, theywere alarmed by the approach of the king of Prussia, who, judging thathis feint would probably induce them to take the step they did, had, by previous and private orders, collected together all his distantdetachments, some of which were twenty leagues asunder, and wasadvancing, by long marches, to Leipsic; upon notice of which theenemy repassed the Sala. The Prussian army was re-assembled on thetwenty-seventh of October, and remained at Leipsic the twenty-eighth andtwenty-ninth, when everybody expected a battle would be fought in theplains of Lutzen. On the thirtieth, the king drew nigh that place, andon the thirty-first, in his way through Weissenfells and Meresbourg, hemade five hundred men prisoners of war. The combined army had repassedthe Sala at Weissenfells, Meresbourg, and Halle, where they broke downthe 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, joinedagain on the third of November, in the evening, over against theenemy, whose forces consisted of forty thousand French, and twenty-fivethousand Imperialists. On the fifth, about nine o'clock in the morning, the Prussians received intelligence that the enemy were every where inmotion. They likewise heard the drums beating the march, and, so nearwere the two armies to each other, plainly perceived from their campthat their whole infantry, which had drawn nearer upon the risinggrounds over against them, was filing off towards their right. Nocertain judgment could, however, yet be formed of the enemy's realdesign, and as they were in want of bread, it wras thought probable thatthey intended to repass the Un-strut; but it was soon perceived thattheir several motions were contradictory to each other. At the same timethat some of their infantry were filing off towards their right, a largebody of cavalry wheeled round towards their left, directing its marchall along to the rising grounds with which the whole Prussian camp, that lay in a bottom between the villages of Eederow and Rosbach, wassurrounded within the reach of large cannon. Soon after that the cavalrywere seen to halt, and afterwards to fall back to the right; though someof 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, andthat their dispositions were made with a view to surround them, and toopen the action by attacking them in the rear. A body of reserve wasposted over against Eederow, to fall upon their routed troops, in casethey should be defeated, and to prevent their retiring to Meresbourg, the only retreat which could then have been left them. In thisssituation the king of Prussia resolved to attack them. His majesty haddetermined to make the attack with one wing only, and the dispositionof the enemy made it necessary that it should be the left wing. The veryinstant the battle was going to begin, his majesty ordered the generalwho commanded the right wing to decline engaging, to take a properposition in consequence thereof, and, above all, to prevent his beingsurrounded. All the cavalry of the right wing of the Prussians, excepttwo or three squadrons, had already marched to the left at full gallop;and being arrived at the place assigned them, they formed over againstthat of the enemy. They then moved on immediately, the enemy advancedto meet them, and the charge was very fierce, several regiments of theFrench coming on with great resolution. The advantage, however, wasentirely on the side of the Prussians. The enemy's cavalry being routed, were pursued for a considerable time with great spirit, but havingafterwards reached an eminence, which gave them an opportunity ofrallying, the Prussian cavalry fell upon them afresh, and gave them sototal a defeat, that they fled in the utmost disorder. This happenedat four in the afternoon. Whilst the cavalry of the Prussians charged, their infantry opened. The enemy cannonaded them briskly during thisinterval, and did some execution, but the Prussian artillery was notidle. After this cannonading had continued on both sides a full quarterof an hour, without the least intermission, the fire of the infantrybegan. The enemy could not stand it, nor resist the valour of thePrussian foot, who gallantly marched up to their batteries. Thebatteries were carried one after another, and the enemy were forced togive way, which they did in great confusion. As the left wing of thePrussians advanced, the right changed its position, and having soon metwith a small rising ground, they availed themselves of it, by plantingit with sixteen pieces of heavy artillery. The fire from thence waspartly pointed at the enemy's right, to increase the disorder there, andtook their left wing in front, which was excessively galled thereby. Atfive the victory was decided, the cannonading ceased, and the enemyfled on all sides. They were pursued as long as there was any lightto distinguish them, and it may be said, that night alone was thepreservation of this army, which had been so formidable in the morning. They took the benefit of the darkness to hurry into Fribourg, and thereto repass the Unstrut, which they did on the morning of the sixth, aftera whole night's inarch. The king of Prussia set out early in the morningto pursue them with all his cavalry, supported by four battalions ofgrenadiers, the infantry following them in two columns. The enemy hadpassed 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 couldnot come up with the enemy till five in the evening, upon the hills ofEckersberg. It was then too late to force them there, for which reasonthe king thought proper to canton his army in the nearest villages, andto be satisfied with the success his hussars had in taking near threehundred baggage waggons, and every thing they contained. The wholeloss of the Prussians in this important engagement, did not exceed fivehundred men killed and wounded. Among the former was general Meincke, and among the latter prince Henry and general Seydelitz. The enemy lostsixty-four pieces of cannon, a great many standards and colours, nearthree thousand men killed on the field of battle, and upwards of eightthousand taken prisoners, among whom were several generals, and otherofficers of distinction. Three hundred waggons were sent to Leipsic, laden with wounded French and Swiss. Upon the approach of the Prussianstowards Eckersberg, the enemy retreated with great precipitation; and, after marching all night, arrived the next day at Erfurth, in the utmostwant of every necessary of life, not having had a morsel of bread fortwo 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 putthemselves in motion, and a large detachment of them advanced as far asDuderstadt, to favour the retreat of their countrymen under the princede Soubise, who, with great precipitancy, made the best of their wayfrom Erfurth to the county of Hohenstein, and from thence bent theirmarch towards Halberstadt. Of the remains of the imperial army, whichwas now almost entirely dispersed, whole bodies deserted, and went overto the king of Prussia soon after the battle. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE AUSTRIANS TAKE SCHWEIDNITZ. Whilst his Prussian majesty was thus successful against the French andImperialists, the Austrians, who had carefully avoided coming to an openengagement with him, gained ground apace in Silesia. A detachment oftheir army, under the command of count Nadasti, had already investedSchweidnitz, and opened the trenches before it on the twenty-sixthof October. The Prussian garrison, commanded by general de la MotteFouquet, determined to defend the place as long as possible; andaccordingly on the thirtieth they made a sally, in which they killed, wounded, and took prisoners, eight hundred of the besiegers, and didsome damage to their works; but on the sixth of November the Austriansbegan to cannonade the city furiously, and on the eleventh madethemselves masters of the ramparts by assault. The garrison, however, having taken care, during the siege, to throw up a strong in-trenchmentin the market-place, retreated thither, and held out till the next day, when they surrendered themselves prisoners of war. After the reductionof this place, general Nadasti, leaving in it a sufficient garrison, marched with the remainder of his troops, and joined the main armyof the Austrians, under the command of prince Charles of Lorraine andmareschal Daun, who, whilst he was busied in the siege of Schweidnitz, had invested Breslau on the left of the Oder; the prince of Beverndefending it on the right, where he was strongly encamped, with hislittle army, under the cannon of the city. The whole army of theAustrians being now re-assembled, and intelligence having been broughtnot only of the king of Prussia's late victory near Leipsic, but alsothat he was advancing to the relief of the prince of Bevern, itwas resolved immediately to attack the last in his intrenchments. Accordingly, on the twenty-second of November, about nine in themorning, the Austrians began a most furious discharge of their cannon, forty of which were twenty-four pounders, and this continued withoutceasing till one, when it was succeeded by a severe fire of theirsmall arms, which lasted till five in the evening. The Prussians, withundaunted resolution, stood two of the most violent attacks that wereever made; but at the third, overpowered by numbers, and assailed onboth sides, they began to lose ground, and were forced to retire fromone intrenchment to another. In this extremity, night coming on, thePrussian generals fearing their intrenchments would be entirely forced, and that they should then be totally defeated, thought proper toretreat. 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 thetroops threw themselves into Breslau, which they might have defended, in all probability, till the king had come to its relief. But, on thetwenty-fourth, their commander-in-chief, the prince of Bevern, going toreconnoitre the enemy, with only a single groom to attend him, fell inamong 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 thatnight, 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 twoyears. All the magazines, chests, artillery, &c, remained in the handsof the Austrians. The garrison marched out with all military honours, conducted by general Leswitz, governor of Breslau. Though the Austrianssung _Te Deum_ for this victory, they owned that such another would putan end to their army, for it cost them the lives of twelve thousandmen; a number almost equal to the whole of the Prussian army beforethe battle. They had four almost inaccessible intrenchments to force, planted thick with cannon, which fired cartridge shot from nine in themorning till the evening, and the Prussians, when attacked, were neveronce put into the least confusion. Among the slain on the side ofthe Austrians, were general Wurben, and several other officers ofdistinction. The loss of the Prussians did not much exceed threethousand men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, of which last therewere about sixteen hundred. Their general Kleist was found dead on thefield of battle. MARESCHAL KEITH LAYS BOHEMIA UNDER CONTRIBUTION. The king of Prussia, who, like Caesar, thought nothing was done whileany thing was left undone, stayed no longer at Rosbach than till therouted forces of the French and Imperialists, whom he had defeatedthere on the fifth of November, were totally dispersed. Then he marcheddirectly with the greatest part of his army for Silesia, and on thetwenty-fourth of that month arrived at Naumburgh on the Queiss, a littleriver which runs into the Bobber, having in his route detached mareschalKeith, with the rest of his army, to clear Saxony from all the Austrianparties, and then to make an irruption into Bohemia, a service which heperformed so effectually, as to raise large contributions in the circlesof Satz and Leitmeritz, and even to give an alarm to Prague itself. Hismajesty reserved for himself only fifteen thousand men, with whom headvanced, with his usual rapidity, to Barchweitz, where, notwithstandingall that had happened at Schweidnitz and at Breslau, he was joined bytwenty-four thousand more; part of them troops which he had ordered fromSaxony, part the remains of the army lately commanded by the prince ofBevern, and part the late garrison of Schweidnitz, which had found meansto escape from the Austrians, and accidentally joined their king uponhis 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 atNeu-marck, and upon a considerable magazine, guarded by two regimentsof croats, who retired to a rising ground, where his majesty ordered hishussars to surround them, and send a trumpet to summon them to surrenderthemselves prisoners of war. Upon their refusal, the hussars of Ziethenfell upon them sabre in hand, and some hundreds of them having been cutin pieces, the rest threw down their arms, begging for quarter on theirknees. After this seizure, and after having distributed to his armythe bread prepared for his enemies, he began again the next morninghis march towards Lissa. General Ziethen, who led the vanguard oflight-horse, about seven in the morning fell in with a body of Austrianhussars, and three regiments of Saxon dragoons, which were the very bestcavalry the enemy had left after the battle of the twenty-second. Theyhad 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 theirintrenchments. The Austrian cavalry having been vigorously repulsed toa considerable distance, general Ziethen perceived that their wholearmy was forming. He immediately acquainted the king with what hehad discovered, and his majesty, after having himself observed thedisposition of the enemy, made his own with that sagacity and despatchfor which he has always been remarkable. The action began by attacking abattery of forty pieces of large cannon, which covered the right wingof the enemy. The two battalions of guards, with the regiments of themargrave Charles and of Itzenplitz, marched up amidst a most terriblefire to the very mouths of the cannon, with their bayonets screwed. In this attack the Prussians sustained their greatest loss, though thebattery was carried as soon almost as they could reach it; then theenemy's artillery, now turned against themselves, played furiously uponthem with their own powder. From that instant the two wings and thecentre of the Prussians continued to drive the enemy before them, advancing all the time with that firm and regular pace for which theyhave always been renowned, without ever halting or giving way. Theground which the Austrians occupied was very advantageous, and everycircumstance that could render it more so had been improved to theutmost by the diligence and skill of count Daun, who, remembering hisformer success, was emboldened to enter the lists again with his royalantagonist. The Prussians, however, no way terrified by the enemy'ssituation nor their numbers, went calmly and dreadfully forward. It wasalmost impossible in the beginning for the Prussian cavalry to act, onaccount of the impediments of fallen trees, which the enemy had cutdown and laid in the field of battle, to retard their approach; but ajudicious disposition which the king made overcame that disadvantage. When he first formed his army, he had placed four battalions behindthe cavalry of his right wing, foreseeing that general Nadasti, who wasplaced with a corps of reserve on the enemy's left, designed to take himin flank. It happened as he had foreseen, this general's horse attackedthe king's right wing with great fury; but he was received with sosevere a fire from the four battalions, that he was obliged to retirein disorder. The enemy gave way on all sides; out at some distancerecovered themselves, and rallied three times, animated by theirofficers, and by the superiority of their numbers. Every time they madea stand, the Prussians attacked them with redoubled vigour, andwith success equal to their bravery. Towards night, the enemy, stillretreating, fell into disorder. Their two wings fled in confusion;one of them, closely pressed by the king, retired towards Breslau, andtook shelter under the cannon of that city; the other, pursued by thegreatest part of the light cavalry, took their flight towards Canth andSchweidnitz. Six thousand Austrians fell in this engagement, and thePrussians, who had only five hundred men killed, and two thousand threehundred wounded, made upwards of ten thousand of the enemy prisoners, among whom were two hundred and ninety-one officers. They took also anhundred and sixteen cannon, fifty-one colours and standards, and fourthousand waggons of ammunition and baggage. The consequences thatfollowed this victory declared its importance. Future ages will readwith astonishment, that the same prince, who but a few months beforeseemed on the verge of inevitable ruin, merely by the dint of his ownabilities, without the assistance of any friend whatever, with troopsperpetually harassed by long and painful marches, and by continualskirmishes and battles, not only retrieved his affairs, which almostevery one, except himself, thought past redress; but, in the midst ofwinter, in countries where it was judged next to impossible for anytroops to keep the field at that season, conquered the united force ofFrance and the empire at Rosbach, on the fifth of November; and on thesame day of the very next month, with a great part of the same army, wasat Lissa, where he again triumphed over all the power of the house ofAustria. Pursuing his advantage, he immediately invested Breslau, andwithin two days after this great victory every thing was in readiness tobesiege it in form. His troops, flushed with success, were at first forstorming it, but the king, knowing the strength of the garrison, whichconsisted of upwards of thirteen thousand men, and considering boththe fatigues which his own soldiers had lately undergone, and the fatalconsequences that might ensue, should they fail of success in thisattempt, ordered the approaches to be carried on in the usual form. Hiscommands were obeyed, and Breslau surrendered to him on the twentieth ofDecember in the morning. The garrison, of which ten thousand bore arms, and between three and four thousand lay sick or wounded, were madeprisoners of war. Fourteen of these prisoners were officers of highrank. The military chest, a vast treasure, with eighty pieces of cannon, fell into the hands of the victors, who lost only about twenty men intheir approaches. During the siege, a magazine of powder was set onfire by a bomb, which occasioned great confusion among the besieged, anddamaged one of the bastions. The strong fortress of Schweidnitz stillremained 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 soldiersstood in need of repose, his majesty resolved, if possible, to becomemaster of that place before the end of the year; but as a close siegewas impracticable, a blockade was formed, as strictly as the rigour ofthe 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 thatthis place was taken. The Prussians opened their trenches before iton the third of April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight, anderected two large batteries, which kept a continual fire upon the town. The artillery of the besiegers consisted of three hundred piecesof cannon, of different dimensions, and eighty mortars; an amazingartillery, and such as we have never heard of in former campaigns. Onthe night of the fourteenth, the Prussians carried one of the chiefworks by assault, and lodged themselves therein: the commandantcapitulated the next day, with the garrison, which was now greatlyreduced in number, being not half of what it amounted to at thebeginning of the blockade. Thus, all the parts of Silesia which theking of Prussia had lost by one unfortunate blow, fell again intohis possession; and his affairs, which but a few months before seemedirretrievable, were now re-established upon a firmer basis than ever. The Prussian parties not only re-possessed themselves of those parts ofSilesia which belonged to their king, but penetrated into the Austriandivision, reduced Jagerndorf, Troppau, Tretchen, and several otherplaces, and left the empress-queen scarce any footing in that country, in which, a few days before, she reckoned her dominion perfectlyestablished. HOSTILITIES of the SWEDES in POMERANIA. The Swedes, after many debates between their king and senate, had atlength resolved upon an open declaration against the king of Prussia, and, in consequence of that resolution, sent so many troops intoPomerania, that by the end of August, their army in that countryamounted to twenty-five thousand men. Their first act of hostility wasthe seizure of Anclam and Dem-min, two towns that lay in the way toStetin, against which their principal design was levelled. But beforethey proceeded farther, general Hamilton, their commander, by way ofjustifying the conduct of his master, published a declaration, setting forth, "That the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty ofWestphalia, could not help sending his troops into the upper part ofthe duchy of Pomerania belonging to the king of Prussia; and that, therefore, all the officers appointed to receive the public revenue inthat country must pay what money they had in their hands to him, who wascommissioned to receive it for his Swedish majesty; that, moreover, anexact account was required, within eight days, of the revenues of thecountry; but that no more than ordinary contributions would be demandedof the inhabitants, who might rest assured that the Swedish troopsshould observe the strictest discipline. " After this declaration, theyattacked the little fortress of Penemunde, upon the river Pene, and onthe twenty-third of September, after a siege of nine days, obligedthe garrison, which consisted only of militia, to surrender themselvesprisoners of war. This alternative the commanding officer chose, rather than engage not to serve for two years, observing, that such anengagement was inconsistent with his honour, whilst his prince had somuch occasion for his service; and the Swedish general, touched withthis noble way of thinking, was, on his part, so generous as to give himhis liberty. On the other hand, general Manteuffel, who commanded thePrussian forces then in Pomerania, amounting to twelve thousand men, with whom he was encamped before Stetin, to cover that place, publishedin answer to this a declaration, enjoining the inhabitants of Pomeraniato remain faithful to the king of Prussia, their lawful sovereign, underpain of incurring his just indignation, and absolutely forbidding themto pay any regard to the Swedish manifesto. In the meantime, maresehal Lehwald, immediately after the battle ofNorkitten, when the Russians began their retreat, detached prince Georgeof Holstein-Got-torp, with a considerable body of forces, to the reliefof Pomerania; and, shortly after, the Russian forces having totallyevacuated every part of Prussia, except Memel, and most of thembeing actually gone into winter-quarters, he himself followed with anadditional reinforcement of sixteen thousand men. Upon his approach, theSwedes, who were then encamped at Ferdinandshoff, and had begun to fillup the harbour of Swinnemunde, by way of previous preparation for thesiege of Stetin, retired with such precipitation, that they did notallow 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 tocapitulate. As, in order to ease the troops, it was not thought properto continue the siege in so sharp a season, their request was granted, and they had leave to retire with two pieces of cannon. The Prussianstook possession of the town on the second day of January, after theSwedes had, on the thirtieth of December, likewise given up Anclam, where the conquerors took an hundred and fifty prisoners, and found aconsiderable magazine of provisions and ammunition. Maresehal Lehwaldthen passed the Pene, entered Swedish Pomerania, and reduced Gutzkow, Loitz, Tripsus, and Nebringen. At the same time, lieutenant-generalSchorlemmer passed with his corps from the isle of Wollin into the isleof Usedom, and from thence to Wolgast, the Swedes having abandoned thistown, as well as Schwinemunde, and the fort of Penemunde. The princeof Holstein advanced as far as Grimm and Grieffwalde, and the Swedes, losing one town after another, till they had nothing left in Pomeraniabut the port of Stralsund, continued retreating till they had reachedthis last place. The French party in Sweden, to comfort the people, called this retreat, or rather flight, going into winter-quarters. ThePrussian hussars were not idle wherever they penetrated; for, besidesplundering and pillaging, they raised a contribution of an hundred andsixty thousand crowns in Swedish Pomerania. The Mecklenburghers, who hadjoined the Swedes with six thousand of their troops, now found cause torepent of their forwardness, being left quite exposed to the resentmentof the victors, who chastised them with the most severe exactions. The army of the Swedes, though they did not fight a battle, was, bysickness, desertion, and other accidents, reduced to half the number itconsisted of when they took the field. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, soon after his territories were invaded by the French, in consequence oftheir advantage in the affair of Hastenbeck, had applied to the king ofSweden, as one of the guarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, desiringhim to employ his good offices with the court of France, to obtain amore favourable treatment for his dominions; but his Swedish majesty, bythe advice of the senate, thought proper to refuse complying with thisrequest, alleging, that as the crown of Sweden was one of the principalguarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, it would be highly improper totake such a step in favour of a prince who had not only broke the lawsand constitution of the empire, in refusing to furnish his contingent, but had even assisted, with his troops, a power known to be itsdeclared enemy. The Aulic council too, seeing, or pretending to see, thebehaviour of the landgrave in the same light, issued a decree againsthis serene highness towards the end of this year. MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE DUTCH. The court of Great Britain, justly displeased with the Dutch, on accountof the extreme facility with which they had granted the French a freepassage through Namur and Maestricht for their provisions, ammunition, and artillery, in the beginning of this campaign, had very properlyremonstrated against that step, before it-was absolutely resolved on, or at least declared to be so; but in vain; a pusillanimous answer beingall the satisfaction that was obtained. The tameness and indifferencewith which the states-general has since seen Os-tend and Nieuportput into the hands of the French, drew upon their high mightinesses afurther remonstrance, which was delivered to them on the twenty-eighthof November of this year by colonel Yorke, his Britannic majesty'splenipotentiary at the Hague, in the following terms, well calculated toawaken in them a due sense of their own danger, as well as to evince theinjustice of the proceedings of the house of Austria:--Considering thecritical situation which Europe has been in during the course of thisyear, in consequence of measures concerted to embroil all Europe, theking of Great Britain was willing to flatter himself that the courts ofVienna and Versailles, out of regard to the circumspect conduct observedby your high mightinesses, would have at least informed you of thechanges they have thought proper to make in the Austrian Netherlands. Itwas with the utmost surprise the king heard, that without any previousconsent of yours, and almost without giving you any notice, the court ofVienna had thought proper to put the towns of Ostend and Nieuport intothe hands of the French troops, and to withdraw her own, as well asher artillery and stores, whilst France continues to send thither aformidable quantity of both. The conduct of the court of Vienna towardshis majesty is indeed so unmerited and so extraordinary, that it isdifficult to find words to express it; but whatever fallacious pretextsshe 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 theinfringement, in concert with France, of the most solemn treatiesbetween her and your high mightinesses. The king never doubted thatyour high mightinesses would have made proper representations to the twocourts newly allied, to demonstrate the injustice of such a proceeding, and the danger that might afterwards result from it. Your highmightinesses will have perceived that your silence on the first stepencouraged the two courts, newly allied, to attempt others, and who cansay where they will stop? The pretext at first was, the need which theempress-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 andmighty lords, it is but too evident that the two powers who have takenthese measures in concert, have other projects in view, and have madenew regulations with regard to that country, which cannot but alarm theneighbouring states. The late demand made to your high mightinesses, ofa passage for a large train of warlike implements through some of thebarrier towns, in order to be sent to Ostend and Nieuport, could notfail to awaken the king's attention. The sincere friendship, and parityof interests, of Great Britain and Holland, require that they shouldno longer keep silence, lest in the issue it should be considered asa tacit consent, and as a relinquishment of all our rights. The kingcommands me, therefore, to recall to your high mightinesses the two-foldright you have acquired to keep the Austrian Netherlands under thegovernment of the house of Austria; and that no other has a title tomake the least alteration therein, without the consent of your highmightinesses; unless the new allies have resolved to set aside all priortreaties, and to dispose at pleasure of everything that may suit theirprivate interest. In the treaty between your high mightinesses andthe crown of France, signed at Utrecht on the eleventh of April, onethousand seven hundred and thirteen, in the fifteenth article are thesewords: "It is also agreed, that no province, fort, town, or city ofthe said Netherlands, or of those which are given up by his catholicmajesty, shall ever be ceded, transferred, or given, or shall everdevolve to the crown of France, or any prince or princess of the houseor line of France, either by virtue of any gift, exchange, marriagecontract, succession by will, or by any other title whatever, to thepower and authority of the most christian king, or of any prince orprincess of the house or line of France. " In the barrier-treaty thesevery stipulations are repeated in the first article: "His imperial andcatholic 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 thesuccessor of the German dominions of the house of Austria, either bydonation, sale, exchange, marriage-contract, heritage, testamentarysuccession, nor under any other pretext whatsoever; so that no province, town, fortress, or territory of the said Netherlands shall ever besubject to any other prince, but to the successor of the states of thehouse of Austria alone, excepting what has been yielded by the presenttreaty to the said lords the states-general. A bare reading of thesetwo articles is sufficient to evince all that I have just representedto your high mightinesses: and whatever pretext the courts of Vienna andVersailles may allege, to cover the infraction of these treaties, thething remains nevertheless evident, whilst these two courts are unableto prove that the towns of Ostend and Nieuport are not actually inthe power of France. If their designs are just, or agreeable to thosetreaties, they will doubtless not scruple, in the least, to make yourhigh mightinesses easy on that head, by openly explaining themselves toa quiet and pacific neighbour, and by giving you indisputable proofsof their intentions to fulfil the stipulations of the said two treatieswith regard to the Netherlands. The king hath so much confidence in thegood sense, prudence, and friendship of your high mightinesses, that hemakes not the least doubt of your taking the most efficacious measuresto 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 whosesituations and independence have, for more than a century, been regardedas one of the principal supports of your liberty and commerce. " Itdoes not appear that this remonstrance had the desired effect upon thestates-general, who were apprehensive of embroiling themselves with anenemy so remarkably alert in taking all advantages. The truth is, they were not only unprepared for a rupture with France, but extremelyunwilling to forego the commercial profits which they derived from theirneutrality. The king of Prussia, about this period, began to harbour a suspicionthat certain other powers longed eagerly to enjoy the same respite fromthe dangers and inconveniences of war, and that he ran the risk of beingabandoned by his sole patron and ally, who seemed greatly alarmed at hisdefeat in Bohemia, and desirous of detaching himself from a connexionwhich might be productive of the most disagreeable consequences to hiscontinental interest. Stimulated by this opinion, his Prussian majestyis 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 hevery plainly taxes that monarch with having instigated him to commencehostilities; and insists upon his remembering the engagements by whichhe was so solemnly bound. From the strain of this letter, and thePrussian king's declaration to the British minister when he firstset out for Saxony, importing that he was going to fight the king ofEngland's battles, a notion was generally conceived that thosetwo powers had agreed to certain private pacts or conventions, the particulars of which have not yet transpired. Certain it is, adeclaration was delivered to the Prussian resident at London, whichappears to have been calculated as an answer to the letter. In thatpaper the king of Great Britain declared, that the overtures made by hismajesty's electoral ministers in Germany, touching the checks receivedon the continent, should have no influence on his majesty as king; thathe saw, in the same light as before, the pernicious effects of the unionbetween the courts of Vienna and Versailles, threatning a subversionof the whole system of public liberty, and of the independence of theEuropean powers; that he considered as a fatal consequence of thisdangerous connexion, the cession made by the court of Vienna of theports in the Netherlands to France, in such a critical situation, andcontrary to the faith of the most solemn treaties; that, whatevermight be the success of his arms, his majesty was determined to actin constant concert with the king of Prussia in employing the mostefficacious means to frustrate the unjust and oppressive designs oftheir common enemies. He concluded with assuring the king of Prussia, that the British crown would continue to fulfil, with the greatestpunctuality, its engagements with his Prussian majesty, and to supporthim with firmness and vigour. Such a representation could not fail ofbeing agreeable to a prince, who, at this juncture, stood in need of anextraordinary cordial. He knew he could securely depend, not only on thegood faith of an English ministry, but also on the good plight of theBritish nation, which, like an indulgent nurse, hath always presentedthe nipple to her meagre German allies. Those, however, who pretended toconsider and canvas events, without prejudice and prepossession, couldnot help owning their surprise at hearing an alliance stigmatizedas pernicious to the system of public liberty, and subversive of theindependence of the European powers, as they remembered that thisalliance was the effect of necessity, to which the house of Austria wasreduced for its own preservation; reduced, as its friends and partisansaffirm, by those very potentates that now reproached her with theseconnexions. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DISPUTES CONCERNING THE CONVENTION OF CLOSTER-SEVEN. His Britannic majesty was resolved that the king of Prussia should haveno cause to complain of his indifference, whatever reasons he hadto exclaim against the convention of Closter-Seven, which he did notscruple to condemn as a very scandalous capitulation, as much as hedisapproved of the conduct, in consequence of which near fortythousand men were so shamefully disarmed, and lost to his cause. Thosestipulations 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 ridiculeand contempt of the public. This event, so singular in itself, andso important in its consequences, attracted the attention of theprivy-council, where it is said to have been canvassed with greatwarmth and animosity of altercation. The general complained that he wasrestricted by peremptory orders from the regency of Hanover; and theywere reported to have used recriminations in their defence. In allprobability, every circumstance of the dispute was not explained to thesatisfaction of all parties, inasmuch as that great commander quittedthe harvest of military glory, and, like another Cincinnatus, retired tohis plough. The convention of Closter-Seven was equally disagreeable tothe courts of London and Versailles. The former saw the electorate ofHanover left, by this capitulation, at the mercy of the enemy, who hadtaken possession of the whole country, seized the revenues, exactedcontributions, and changed the whole form of government, in the nameof his most christian majesty; whilst the French army, which had beenemployed in opposing the Hanoverian, was now at liberty to throw theiradditional force into the scale against the king of Prussia, who, atthat period, seemed to totter on the verge of destruction. On theother hand, the French ministry thought their general had granted toofavourable terms to a body of forces, whom he had cooped up in such amanner that, in a little time, they must have surrendered at discretion. They, therefore, determined either to provoke the Hanoverians byill usage to an infraction of the treaty, or, should that be foundimpracticable, renounce it as an imperfect convention, establishedwithout proper authority. Both expedients were used without reserve. They were no sooner informed of the capitulation, than they refused toacknowledge its validity, except on condition that the Hanoverian troopsshould formally engage to desist from all service against France and herallies during the present war, and be disarmed on their return totheir own country. At the same time her general, who commanded in theelectorate, exhausted the country by levying exorbitant contributions, and connived at such outrages as degraded his own dignity, and reflecteddisgrace on the character of his nation. The court of London, to makea merit of necessity, affected to consider the conventional act as aprovisional armistice, to pave the way for a negotiation that mightterminate in a general peace, and proposals were offered for thatpurpose; but the French ministry kept aloof, and seemed resolved thatthe 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, wouldcounterbalance any advantage that Great Britain might obtain in otherparts of the world. Had they been allowed to keep this deposit, thekingdom of Great Britain would have saved about twenty millions ofmoney, together with the lives of her best soldiers; and Westphaliawould have continued to enjoy all the blessings of security and peace. But the king of England's tenderness for Hanover was one of the chiefsources of the misfortunes which befel the electorate. He could not bearthe thoughts of seeing it, even for a season, in the hands of theenemy; and his own sentiments in this particular were reinforced by thepressing remonstrances of the Prussian monarch, whom, at this juncture, he thought it dangerous to disoblige. Actuated by these motives, he waspleased to see the articles of the convention so palpably contravened, because the violation unbound his hands, and enabled him, consistentlywith good faith, to take effectual steps for the assistance of his ally, and the recovery of his own dominions. He, therefore, in quality ofelector 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 dukede Richelieu demanded that the troops should enter into an engagementspecified above, and lay down their arms; although it was expresslystipulated in the convention, that they should not be regarded asprisoners of war, under which quality alone they could be disarmed:that the French court pretended to treat the convention as a militaryregulation only; and, indeed, it was originally nothing more; but asthey had expressly disowned its validity, and a negotiation had beenactually begun for disarming the auxiliaries, upon certain conditions, though the French general would never answer categorically, but waitedalways for fresh instructions from Versailles, the nature of that actwas totally changed, and what was at first an agreement between generaland general, was now become a matter of state between the two courtsof London and Versailles: that, however hard the conditions of theconvention appeared to be for the troops of Hanover, his Britannicmajesty would have acquiesced in them, had not the French glaringlydiscovered their design of totally ruining his army and his dominions;and, by the most outrageous conduct, freed his Britannic majesty fromevery obligation under which he had been laid by the contention: that, in the midst of the armistice, the most open hostilities had beencommitted; the castle of Schartzfels had been forcibly seized andpillaged, and the garrison made prisoners of war; the prisoners made bythe French before the convention had not been restored, according toan express article stipulated between the generals, though it had beenfulfilled on the part of the electorate, by the immediate release of theFrench prisoners; the bailies of those districts, from which the Frenchtroops were excluded by mutual agreement, had been summoned, on painof military execution, to appear before the French commissary, andcompelled to deliver into his hands the public revenue: the French hadappropriated to themselves part of those magazines, which, by expressagreement, were destined for the use of the electoral troops; and theyhad seized the houses, revenue, and corn, belonging to the king ofEngland in the city of Bremen, in violation of their engagement toconsider that city as a place absolutely free and neutral. Pie tooknotice, that they had proceeded to menaces unheard of among civilizedpeople, of burning, sacking, and destroying every thing that fellin their way, should the least hesitation be made in executing theconvention according to their interpretation. "--Such were the professedconsiderations that determined his Britannic majesty to renounce theagreement which they had violated, and have recourse to arms forthe relief of his subjects and allies. It was in consequence of thisdetermination that he conferred the command of his electoral army onprince Ferdinand of Brunswick, brother to the duke of that name, whohad distinguished himself in the Prussian army by his great militarytalents, and was, by blood and inclination, as well as interest, supposed warmly attached to his Britannic majesty. The truth is, theking of Prussia recommended him to this command, because he knew hecould depend upon his concurring with all his measures, in conductingthe operations of the British army. The duke de Richelieu was nosooner informed of these particulars, than he sent a letter to princeFerdinand, specifying, "That although for some days he had perceivedthe Hanoverian troops in motion, in order to form themselves into abody, he could not imagine the object of these movements was to infringethe convention of neutrality which had been established between theduke of Cumberland and himself, as French general; that he was blindedso far by his confidence in the good faith of the elector of Hanover, who had signed that convention, as to believe the troops were assembledfor no other purpose than to be distributed into winter-quarters, whichhad been assigned them by the agreement; but his eyes were at lastopened by repeated advices which he had received from all quarters, importing, that the Hanoverians intended to infringe those articleswhich ought to be sacred and inviolable; he affirmed, the king hismaster was still willing to give fresh proofs of his moderation, and hisdesire to spare the effusion of human blood: with that view he declaredto his serene highness, in the name of his most christian majesty, thathe persisted in his resolution of fulfilling exactly all the points ofthe convention, provided that they should be equally observed by theHanoverian 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 thelast extremity, looking upon himself as authorized so to do by the rulesof war: that he would set fire to all palaces, houses, and gardens;sack all the towns and villages, without sparing the most inconsiderablecottage, and subject the country to all the horrors of war anddevastation. He conjured his serene highness to reflect on theseparticulars, and begged he would not lay him under the necessity oftaking steps so contrary to his own personal character, as well as tothe natural humanity of the French nation. " To this letter, which wasseconded by the count de Lynar, the Danish ambassador, who had mediatedthe convention, prince Ferdinand returned a very laconic answer, intimating, that he would give the duke de Richelieu his answer inperson at the head of his army. At this particular juncture, theFrench general was disposed to abide by the original articles of theconvention, rather than draw upon himself the hostilities of an armywhich he knew to be brave, resolute, and well appointed, and which hesaw at present animated with an eager desire of wiping out the disgracethey had sustained by the capitulation, as well as of relieving theircountry from the grievous oppression wider which it groaned. PROGRESS OF THE HANOVERIAN ARMY. About the latter end of November, the Hanoverian army was whollyassembled at Stade, under the auspices of prince Ferdinand, who resolvedwithout delay to drive the French from the electorate, whither they nowbegan their march. Part of the enemy's rear, consisting of two thousandmen, was, in their march back to Zell, attacked in the bailiwick ofEbstorff, and entirely defeated by general Schuylenbourg; and, in a fewdays after this action, another happened upon the river Aller, betweentwo considerable bodies of each army, in which the Hanoverians, commanded by general Zastrow, remained masters of the field. These pettyadvantages served to encourage the allies, and put them in possession ofLunen-burgh, Zell, and part of the Brunswick dominions, which the enemywere obliged to abandon. The operations of prince Ferdinand, however, were retarded by the resolution and obstinate perseverance of the Frenchofficer who commanded the garrison of Harbourg. When the Hanoveriantroops 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 beingentirely demolished, he surrendered upon capitulation. On the sixth dayof December, prince Ferdinand began his march towards Zell, where theFrench 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 buildingsbelonging to the sheep-walks of his Britannic majesty, without payingthe least regard to the representations made by prince Ferdinand on thissubject; reduced the suburbs of Zell to ashes, after having allowed hismen to plunder the houses, and even set fire to the orphan hospital, inwhich a great number of helpless children are said to have perished. Onecannot, without horror, reflect upon such brutal acts of inhumanity. TheFrench troops on divers occasions, and in different parts of the empire, acted tragedies of the same nature, which are not easily reconcileableto the character of a nation famed for sentiment and civility. TheHanoverians having advanced within a league of Zell, the two armiesbegan to cannonade each other; the French troops, posted on the right ofthe Aller, burned their magazines, and retired into the town, where theywere so strongly intrenched, that prince Ferdinand could not attempt theriver, the passes of which were strongly guarded by the enemy. At thesame time, his troops were exposed to great hardships from the severityof the weather; he, therefore, retreated to Ultzen and Lunenburgh, where his army was put into winter-quarters, and executed severalsmall enterprises by detachment, while the French general fixed hisheadquarters in the city of Hanover, his cantonments extending as faras Zell, in the neighbourhood of which many sharp skirmishes were foughtfrom the out-parties with various success. Their imperial majestieswere no sooner apprized of these transactions, which they considered asinfractions of the convention, than they sent an intimation to the baronde Steinberg, minister from the king of Great Britain as elector ofHanover, that he should appear no more at court, or confer with theirministers; 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. Thechagrin occasioned at the court of Vienna by the Hanoverian army'shaving recourse to their arms again, was, in some measure, alleviatedby the certain tidings received from Petersburgh, that the czarina hadsigned 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, wemay observe, that on the sixteenth day of November the queen of Polanddied at Berlin of an apoplexy, supposed to be occasioned by the shockshe received on hearing that the French were totally defeatedat Rosbach. She was a lady of exemplary virtue and piety; whoseconstitution had been broke by grief and anxiety conceived from thedistress of her own family, as well as from the misery to which she sawher people exposed. With respect to the European powers that were notactually engaged as principals in the war, they seemed industriouslyto avoid every step that might be construed as a deviation from themost scrupulous neutrality. The states-general proceeded with greatcircumspection, in the middle course between two powerful neighbours, equally jealous and formidable; and the king of Spain was gratifiedfor his forbearance with a convention settled between him and thebelligerent powers, implying, that his subjects should per-sue theircommerce at sea without molestation, provided they should not transportthose articles of merchandise which were deemed contraband by allnations. The operations at sea, during the course of this year, eitherin Europe or America, were far from being decisive or important. The commerce of Great Britain sustained considerable damage from theactivity and success of French privateers, of which a great number hadbeen equipped in the islands of Martinique and Gaudaloupe. The Greenwichship of war, mounted with fifty guns, and a frigate of twenty, fellinto the hands of the enemy, together with a very considerable number oftrading vessels. On the other hand, the English cruisers and privateersacquitted themselves with equal vigilance and valour. The ducd'Aquitaine, a large ship of fifty guns, was taken in the month of Juneby two British ships of war, after a severe engagement; and, about thesame time, the Aquilon, of nearly the same force, was driven ashore anddestroyed near Brest by the Antelope, one of the British cruisers. AFrench frigate of twenty-six guns, called the Emeraude, was taken in thechannel, 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 veryextraordinary acts of valour. All the sea officers seemed to be animatedwith a noble emulation to distinguish themselves in the service of theircountry, and the spirit descended even to the captains of privateers, who, instead of imitating the former commanders of that class, inavoiding ships of force, and centering their whole attention inadvantageous prizes, now encountered the armed ships of the enemy, andfought with the most obstinate valour in the pursuit of national glory. FATE OF CAPTAIN DEATH. Perhaps history cannot afford a more remarkable instance of desperatecourage 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-sixcarriage guns, and manned with two hundred sailors. On the twenty-thirdday of the month he engaged and made prize of a large French ship fromSt. Domingo, after an obstinate battle, in which he lost his own brotherand sixteen seamen; then he secured with forty men his prize, whichcontained a valuable cargo, and directed his course to England; but ina few days he had the misfortune to fall in with the Vengeance, aprivateer of St. Maloes, carrying thirty-six large cannon, with acomplement of three hundred and sixty men. Their first step was toattack the prize, which was easily retaken; then the two ships bore downupon the Terrible, whose main-mast was shot away by the first broadside. Notwithstanding this disaster, the Terrible maintained such a furiousengagement against both as can hardly be paralleled in the annals ofBritain. The French commander and his second was killed, with two-thirdsof his company; but the gallant Captain Death, with the greater part ofhis 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-sixpersons 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 ascene of blood, horror, and desolation. The victor itself lay likea wreck on the surface; and in this condition made shift, with greatdifficulty, to tow the Terrible* into St. Maloes, where she was notbeheld 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 liberalsubscription was raised for the support of Death's widow, and thatpart of the crew which survived the engagement. In this, and every seareincounter that happened within the present year, the superiority inskill and resolution was ascertained to the British mariners; for evenwhen they fought against great odds, their courage was generally crownedwith success. In the month of November, captain Lockhart, a younggentleman who had already rendered himself a terror to the enemy ascommander of a small frigate, now added considerably to his reputationby reducing the Melampe, a French privateer of Bayonne, greatly superiorto his own ship in number of men and weight of metal. This exploitwas seconded by another of the same nature, in his conquest of anotherFrench adventurer, called the Countess of Gramont; and a third largeprivateer of Bayonne was taken by captain Saumarez, commander of theAntelope. In a word, the narrow seas were so well guarded, that in alittle 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 thesession of parliament with a speech from the throne, which seemedcalculated to prepare the nation for the expense of maintaining a newwar on the continent of Europe. His majesty graciously declared that itwould have given him a most sensible pleasure to acquaint them, at theopening of the session, that his success in carrying on the war hadbeen equal to the justice of his cause, and the extent and vigour of themeasures 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 beabated by a few disappointments, which, he trusted, might be retrievedby the blessing of God, and the zeal and ardour of his parliament forhis majesty's honour and the advantage of their country. He said it washis determined resolution to apply his utmost efforts for the securityof his kingdoms, and for the recovery and protection of the possessionsand rights of his crown and subjects in America and elsewhere, as wellby the strongest exertion of his naval force, as by all other methods. He signified, that another great object which he had at heart, was thepreservation of the protestant religion and the liberties of Europe;and, in that case, to encourage and adhere to his allies. For thiscause, he assured them, he would decline no inconveniencies, and inthis cause he earnestly solicited their hearty concurrence and vigorousassistance. He observed, that the late signal success in Germanyhad given a happy turn to affairs, which it was incumbent on them toimprove; and that, in such a critical conjuncture, the eyes of allEurope were upon them. He particularly recommended to them, that hisgood brother and ally the king of Prussia might be supported in such amanner as his magnanimity and active zeal for the common cause appearedto deserve. To the commons he expressed his concern that the largesupplies they had already granted did not produce all the good fruitsthey had reason to expect; but he had so great a reliance on theirwisdom, as not to doubt of their perseverance. He only desired sucksupplies as should be necessary for the public service, and told themthey might depend upon it, that the best and most faithful economyshould be used. He took notice of that spirit of disorder which hadshown itself among the common people in some parts of the kingdom; helaid injunctions upon them to use their endeavours for discouragingand suppressing such abuses, and for maintaining the laws andlawful authority. He concluded with observing, that nothing would soeffectually 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 harmonyamong themselves. The time was, when every paragraph of this harangue, which the reader will perceive is not remarkable for its elegance andpropriety, would have been canvassed and impugned by the country partyin the house of commons. They would have imputed the bad success ofthe war to the indiscretion of the ministry, in taking preposterousmeasures, and appointing commanders unequal to the service. They wouldhave inquired in what manner the protestant religion was endangered;and, if it was, how it could be preserved or promoted by adhering toallies, who, without provocation, had well nigh ruined the first andprincipal protestant country of the empire. They would have starteddoubts 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, anddrawn this consequence, that it therefore behoved them to act with themore delicacy and caution in discharge of the sacred trust reposed inthem by their constituents: a trust which their consciences would notallow to be faithfully discharged, should they rush precipitately intothe destructive measures of a rash and prodigal ministry; squander awaythe wealth of the nation, and add to the grievous incumbrances underwhich it groaned, in support of connexions and alliances that wereequally foreign to her consideration, and pernicious to her interest. They would have investigated that cause which was so warmly recommendedfor support, and pretended to discover that it was a cause in whichGreat Britain ought to have had no concern, because it produced acertainty of loss without the least prospect of advantage. They wouldhave varied essentially in their opinions of the necessary supplies, from the sentiments of those who prepared the estimates, and evendeclared some doubts about the economy to be used in managing thenational expense: finally, they would have represented the impossibilityof union between the two parties, one of which seemed bent upon reducingthe other to beggary and contempt. Such was the strain that used toflow from an opposition, said to consist of disloyalty and disappointedambition. But that malignant spirit was now happily extinguished. Thevoice of the sovereign was adored as the oracle of a divinity, and thosehappy days were now approaching that saw the commons of England pourtheir treasures, in support of a German prince, with such a generoushand, that posterity will be amazed at their liberality. {1758} To the speech of his majesty the house of lords returned an address, in such terms of complacency as had long distinguished that illustriousassembly. The commons expressed their approbation and confidence withequal ardour, and not one objection was made to the form or the natureof the address, though one gentleman, equally independent in his mindand fortune, took exceptions to some of the measures which had beenlately pursued. Their complaisance was more substantially specified inthe resolutions of the house, as soon as the two great committees ofsupply were appointed They granted for the sea-service of the ensuingyear sixty thousand men, including fourteen thousand eight hundred andforty-five marines; and the standing army, comprehending fourthousand invalids, was fixed at fifty-three thousand seven hundred andseventy-seven effective men, commission and non-commission officersincluded. For the maintenance of these forces, by sea and land, thecharge of guards and garrisons at home and abroad, the expense of theordnance, and in order to make good the sum which had been issued by hismajesty's orders, in pursuance of the address from the commons, theynow allotted four millions twenty-two thousand eight hundred and sevenpounds, seven shillings and three-pence. They unanimously granted, asa present supply in the then critical exigency, towards enabling hismajesty to maintain and keep together the army formed last year in hiselectoral dominions, and then again put in motion, and actually employedagainst the common enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, the sumof one hundred thousand pounds; for the ordinary of the navy, includinghalf pay to the sea-officers, they allowed two hundred and twenty-fourthousand four hundred and twenty-one pounds, five shillings andeight-pence; towards the building and support of the three hospitals forseamen at Gosport, Plymouth, and Greenwich, thirty thousand pounds; forthe reduced officers of the land-forces and marines, pensions tothe widows of officers, and other such military contingencies, fortythousand nine hundred and twenty-six pounds, seventeen shillings andeleven-pence; towards building, rebuilding, and repairs of his majesty'sships for the ensuing year, the sum of two hundred thousand pounds; fordefraying the charge of two thousand nine hundred and twenty horse, and nine thousand nine hundred infantry, together with the general andstaff-officers, the officers of the hospital and the train of artillery, being the troops of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel in the pay of GreatBritain, for sixty days, together with the subsidy for the said time, pursuant to treaty, they assigned thirty-eight thousand three hundredand sixty pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence three farthings. To the Foundling hospital they gave forty thousand pounds, for themaintenance and education of deserted young children, as well as for thereception of all such as should be presented under a certain age, to belimited by the governors and guardians of that charity. Three hundredthousand pounds were given towards discharging the debt of the navy, andtwo hundred and eighty-four thousand eight hundred and two pounds formaking up the deficiency of the grants for the service of the precedingyear. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel was, moreover, gratified withthe further sum of two hundred and three thousand five hundred andthirty-six pounds, four shillings and nine-pence farthing, for themaintenance of his forces, and the remainder of his subsidy. Theygranted six hundred and seventy thousand pounds for enabling his majestyto make good his engagements with the king of Prussia, pursuant toa convention lately concluded with that potentate. For defrayingthe charge of thirty-eight thousand men of the troops of Hanover, Wolfenbuttel, Saxe-Gotha, and the count of Buckebourg, together withthat of general and staff-officers actually employed against the commonenemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, from the twenty-eighth dayof November in the last, to the twenty-fourth of December in the presentyear, inclusive, to be issued in advance every two months, they allottedthe sum of four hundred and sixty-three thousand and eighty-four pounds, six shillings and ten-pence; and furthermore, they granted three hundredand eighty-six thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds, thirteenshillings and two-pence, to defray the charges of forage, bread-waggons, train of artillery, provisions, wood, straw, and all other extraordinaryexpenses, contingencies, and losses whatsoever, incurred, or to beincurred, on account of his majesty's army, consisting of thirty-eightthousand men, actually employed against the common enemy, in concertwith 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 byparliament, they allowed one hundred and forty-five thousand fourhundred and fifty-four pounds, fifteen shillings and one farthing. Theyprovided eight hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty to defraythe like sum raised in pursuance of an act made in the last session ofparliament, and charged upon the first aids and supplies to be grantedin the current session. Twenty-six thousand pounds were bestowed onthe out-pensioners of Chelsea hospital; above twenty thousand for theexpense of maintaining the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia; forreimbursing to the province of Massachusett's-bay, and the colony ofConnecticut, their expense in furnishing provisions and stores to thetroops raised by them for his majesty's service, in the campaign ofthe year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, the sum of forty-onethousand one hundred and seventeen pounds, seventeen shillings andsixpence halfpenny; to be applied towards the rebuilding of Londonbridge, carrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbourof Milford, and repairing the parish church of St. Margaret, inWestminster, they allotted twenty-nine thousand pounds. The East Indiacompany were indulged with twenty thousand pounds on account, towardsenabling them to defray the expense of a military force in theirsettlements, to be maintained by them in lieu of the battalion ofhis majesty's forces withdrawn from those settlements; the sum of tenthousand pounds was given, as usual, for maintaining and supportingthe British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa; and eleventhousand four hundred and fifty pounds were granted as an augmentationto the salaries of the judges in the superior courts of judicature. Theylikewise provided one hundred thousand pounds for defraying the chargeof pay and clothing to the militia, and advanced eight hundred thousandpounds to enable his majesty to defray any extraordinary expenses of thewar, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the current year;and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint ordefeat any enterprise or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of hisaffairs might require. The whole supplies of thig session amounted tothe enormous sum of ten millions four hundred and eighty-six thousandfour hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and one penny. Nothing could soplainly demonstrate the implicit confidence which the parliament, atthis juncture, reposed in the sovereign and the ministry, as theirconduct in granting such liberal supplies, great part of which werebestowed in favour of our German allies, whom the British nation thusgenerously paid for fighting their own battles. Besides the sum ofone million eight hundred and sixty-one thousand eight hundred andninety-seven pounds, four shillings and eight-pence, expressly assignedfor the support of these continental connexions, a sum considerablyexceeding the whole of the revenue raised in the reign of Charles theSecond, and what part of the sum granted to the king for extraordinaryexpenses might be applied to the same use, the article might notimproperly be swelled with the vast expense incurred by expeditions tothe coast of France; the chief, if not sole, design of which seemedto be a diversion in favour of the nation's allies in Germany, bypreventing France from sending such numerous armies into that countryas it could have spared, had not its sea-coasts required a considerablebody of forces for its defence against the attempts of the English. Indeed, the partisans of the ministry were at great pains to suggest andinculcate a belief, that the war in Germany was chiefly supported asa necessary diversion in favour of Great Britain and her plantations, which would have been exposed to insult and invasion had not the enemy'sforces been otherwise employed. But the absurdity of this notion will atonce appear to those who consider, that by this time Great Britain wassole mistress of the sea; that the navy of France was almost ruined, andher commerce on the ocean quite extinguished; that she could not, withthe least prospect of success, hazard any expedition of consequenceagainst Great Britain, or any part of her dominions, while the ocean wascovered with such powerful navies belonging to that nation; and that ifone-third part of the money, annually engulphed in the German vortex, had been employed in augmenting the naval forces of England, and thoseforces properly exerted, not a single cruiser would have been able tostir from the harbours of France; all her colonies in the West Indieswould have fallen an easy prey to the arms of Great Britain; and, thuscut off from the resources of commerce, she must have been content toembrace such terms of peace as the victor should have thought proper toprescribe. The funds established by the committee of ways and means, in orderto realize those articles of supply, consisted of the malt-tax, theland-tax at four shillings in the pound, sums remaining in the exchequerproduced from the sinking fund, four millions five hundred thousandpounds to be raised by annuities at three pounds ten shillings per cent, per annum, and five hundred thousand pounds by a lottery, attended withannuities redeemable by parliament, after the rate of three pounds percent, per annum; these several annuities to be transferable at the bankof England, and charged upon a fund to be established in this session ofparliament for payment thereof, and for which the sinking fund shouldbe a collateral security--[438] _[See note 3 M, at the end of thisVol. ]_--one million six hundred and six thousand and seventy-six pounds, five shillings and one penny farthing, issued and applied out of suchmonies as should or might arise from the surpluses, excesses, and otherrevenues composing the sinking fund--a tax of one shilling in the poundto be annually paid from all salaries, fees, and perquisites of officesand employments in Great Britain, and from all pensions and othergratuities payable out of any revenues belonging to his majesty in GreatBritain, exceeding the yearly value of one hundred pounds--an impositionof one shilling annually upon every dwelling-house inhabited withinthe kingdom of Great Britain, over and above all other duties alreadychargeable upon them, to commence from the fifth day of April--anadditional tax of sixpence yearly for every window or light in everydwelling-house inhabited in Britain which shall contain fifteen windowsor upwards; a continuation of certain acts near expiring, with respectto the duties payable on foreign sailcloth imported into Great Britain, the exportation of British gunpowder, the securing and encouraging thetrade of his majesty's sugar colonies in America, and the empowering theimporters and proprietors of spirits from the British sugar plantations, to land them before payment of the duties of excise, and to lodge themin warehouses at their own expense--an annual tax of forty shillingsfor a license to be taken out by every person trading in, selling, orvending gold or silver plate, in lieu of the duty of sixpence per ounceon all silver plate, made or wrought, or which ought to be touched, assayed, or marked in this kingdom, which duty now ceased anddetermined--a cessation of all drawbacks payable on the exportation ofsilver plate--a law prohibiting all persons from selling, by retail, any sweet or made wine, without having first procured a license forthat purpose--and a loan, by exchequer bills, for eight hundred thousandpounds, to be charged on the first aids to be granted in the nextsession of parliament. These provisions amounted to the sum of elevenmillions and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two pounds, six shillings and ten-pence, exceeding the grants in the sum of fivehundred and ninety-three thousand two hundred and sixty-five pounds, six shillings and nine-pence, so that the nation had reason to hopethat this surplus of above half a million would prevent any demand fordeficiencies in the next session. By these copious grants of a house ofcommons, whose complaisance knew no bounds, the national debt was, atthis juncture, swelled to the astonishing sum of eighty-seven millionsthree hundred and sixty-seven thousand two hundred and ten pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence farthing; a load that would havecrushed 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 ofthe Hanoverian army, was, in pursuance of a message from his majesty, communicated to the house by Mr. Secretary Pitt, signifying, that theking had ordered his electoral army to be put again in motion, that itmight act with vigour against the common enemy, in concert with hisgood brother and ally the king of Prussia; that the exhausted and ruinedstate of the electorate having rendered it incapable of maintaining thatarmy, until the further necessary charge thereof, as well as the moreparticular measures then concerting for the effectual support of hisPrussian majesty, could be laid before the house; the king, relyingon the constant zeal of his faithful commons for the support ofthe protestant religion and of the liberties of Europe, against thedangerous designs of France and her confederates, found himself, in themeantime, under the absolute necessity of recommending to the housethe speedy consideration of such a present supply as might enable hismajesty, in this critical conjuncture, to subsist and keep together thesaid army. This address was no sooner recited by the speaker, than itwas unanimously referred to the committee of supply, who gratified hismajesty's wish with an immediate resolution; and, considering theirgenerous 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 concernin the present dispute between the belligerent powers, although formerministers had often violently introduced it into messages and speechesfrom the throne, in order to dazzle the eyes of the populace, even whilethey insulted the understanding of those who were capable of exercisingtheir own reason. This pretext was worn so threadbare, that, among thesensible part of mankind, it could no longer be used without incurringcontempt and ridicule. In order to persuade mankind that the protestantreligion was in danger, it would have been necessary to specify thedesigns that were formed against it, as well as the nature of theconspiracy, and to descend to particulars properly authenticated. Inthat case, great part of Europe would have been justly alarmed. Thestates-general of the United Provinces, who have made such gloriousand indefatigable efforts in support of the protestant religion, wouldsurely have lent a helping hand towards its preservation. The Daneswould not have stood, tamely neutral, and seen the religion they professexposed to the rage of such a powerful confederacy. It is not to beimagined that the Swedes, who have so zealously maintained the purityof the protestant faith, would now join an association whose aim was theruin of that religion. It is not credible that even the Hungarians, whoprofess the same faith, and other protestant states of the empire, wouldenter so heartily into the interests of those who were bent upon itsdestruction; or that the Russians would contribute to the aggrandizementof the catholic faith and discipline, so opposite to that of the Greekchurch, which they espouse. As, therefore, no particular of such adesign was explained, no act of oppression towards any protestantstate or society pointed out, except those that were exercised by theprotestants themselves; and as the court of Vienna repeatedly disavowedany such design, in the most solemn manner, the unprejudiced part ofmankind will be 'apt to conclude that the cry of religion was used, asin former times, to arouse, alarm, and inflame; nor did the artificeprove altogether unsuccessful. Notwithstanding the general lukewarmthof the age in matters of religion, it produced considerable effect amongthe fanatic sectaries that swarm through the kingdom of England. Theleaders of those blind enthusiasts, either actuated by the spirit ofdelusion, or desirous of recommending themselves to the protection ofthe higher powers, immediately seized the hint, expatiating vehementlyon the danger that impended over God's people; and exerting all theirfaculties to impress the belief of a religious war, which never failsto exasperate and impel the minds of men to such deeds of cruelty andrevenge as must discredit all religion, and even disgrace humanity. Thesignal trust and confidence which the parliament of England reposedin the king, at this juncture, was in nothing more conspicuous than inleaving to the crown the unlimited application of the sum granted foraugmenting the salaries of the judges. In the reign of king William, when the act of settlement was passed, the parliament, jealous of theinfluence which the crown might acquire over the judges, provided, byan express clause of that act, that the commissions of the judges shouldsubsist _quamdiu se bene gesserint_, and that their salaries should beestablished; but now we find a sum of money granted for the augmentationof their salaries, and the crown vested with a discretionary powerto proportion and apply this augmentation; a stretch of complaisance, which, how safe soever it may appear during the reign of a prince famedfor integrity and moderation, will perhaps one day be considered as avery dangerous accession to the prerogative. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SECOND TREATY WITH PRUSSIA. So fully persuaded were the ministry that the commons would cheerfullyenable them to pay what subsidies they might promise to their Germanallies, that on the eleventh of April they concluded a new treaty ofconvention with his Prussian majesty, which, that it might have thefirmer consistence and the greater authority, was, on the part of GreatBritain, transacted and signed by almost all the privy-counsellors whohad 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 thecontracting powers having mutually resolved to continue their effortsfor their reciprocal defence and security, for the recovery of theirpossessions, the protection of their allies, and the support of theliberties of the Germanic body, his Britannic majesty had, from theseconsiderations, determined to grant to his Prussian majesty an immediatesuccour in money, as being the most ready and the most efficacious;and their majesties having judged it proper that thereupon a conventionshould be made, for declaring and fixing their intentions upon thishead, they had nominated and authorized their respective ministers, who, after having communicated their full powers to one another, agreed tothe following stipulations:--The king of Great Britain engaged to pay inthe city of London, to such persons as should be authorized to receiveit by his Prussian majesty, the sum of four millions of German crowns, amounting to six hundred and seventy thousand pounds sterling, to bepaid at once, and in one whole sum, immediately after the exchange ofratification, upon being demanded by his Prussian majesty. This prince, on his part, obliged himself to apply that sum to the maintaining andaugmenting his forces, which should act in the best manner for thegood of the common cause, and for the purpose of reciprocal defence andmutual security proposed by their said majesties. Moreover, the highcontracting parties engage not to conclude any treaty of peace, truce, or neutrality, nor any other sort of convention or agreement, withthe powers engaged in the present war, but in concert and by mutualagreement, wherein both should be nominally comprehended. Finally, it was stipulated that this convention should be ratified, and theratifications exchanged on both sides, within the term of six weeks, tobe 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 wereexecuted by bills, or clauses in bills, which afterwards receivedthe royal sanction. The militia still continued to be an object ofparliamentary care and attention; but the institution was not yetheartily embraced, because seemingly discountenanced by the remnant ofthe old ministry, which still maintained a capital place in the latecoalition, and indeed almost wholly engrossed the distribution ofpensions and places. The commons having presented an address to hismajesty, with respect to the harbour of Milford-haven, a book of plansand estimates for fortifying that harbour was laid before the house, anda committee appointed to examine the particulars. They were ofopinion that the mouth of the harbour was too wide to admit of anyfortification, or effectual defence; but that the passage calledNailand-point, lying higher than Hubberstone-road, might be fortified, so as to afford safe riding and protection to the trade and navyof Great Britain; that if it should be thought proper hereafter toestablish a yard and dock for building and equipping fleets at Milford, no place could, from the situation, nature, soil, and a generalconcurrence of all necessary local circumstances, be more fitted forsuch a design; that if a proper use were made of this valuable, thoughlong-neglected harbour, the distressful delays too often embarrassingand disappointing the nation in her naval operations, might be in agreat measure happily removed, to the infinite relief and enlargementof the kingdom in the means of improving its naval force; the necessaryprogress and free execution of which was now so unhappily and frequentlyrestrained and frustrated, by the want of a harbour like that ofMilford-haven, framed by nature with such local advantages. This reportappeared to be so well supported by evidence, that a bill was framed, and passed into an act, for granting ten thousand pounds towardscarrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbour of Milfordin the county of Pembroke. Other laws of national consequence wereenacted, in the course of this session, with little or no opposition. On the very first day of their sitting, the commons received a petitionfrom the mayor, magistrates, merchants, and inhabitants of Liverpool, complaining of the high price of wheat and other grain; expressing theirapprehension that it would continue to rise, unless the time for theimportation of foreign corn, duty free, should be prolonged, or someother salutary measure taken by parliament, to prevent dealersfrom engrossing corn; submitting to the wisdom of the house a totalprohibition of distilling and exporting grain while the highprice should continue; praying they would take the premises intoconsideration, and grant a seasonable relief to the petitioners, by acontinuance of a free importation, and taking such other effectual meansto reduce the growing price of corn as to them should seem necessaryand expedient. This being an urgent case, that equally interested thehumanity of the legislature and the manufacturers of the kingdom, it wasdeliberated upon, and discussed with remarkable despatch. In a few daysa 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 ofcorn; for prohibiting the distillation of spirits; and for allowing theimportation of corn, duty free. A second law was established, regulatingthe price and assize of bread, and subjecting to severe penalties thosewho should be concerned in its adulteration. In consequence of certainresolutions taken in a committee of the whole house, a bill waspresented for prohibiting the payment of the bounty upon the exportationof corn, unless sold at a lower price than is allowed in an act passedin the first year of the reign of William and Mary; but this bill, afterhaving been read a second time and committed, was neglected, and provedabortive. BILLS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF SEAMEN, &c. In consequence of a motion made by Mr. Grenville, a humane bill wasprepared and brought in for the encouragement of seamen employed in theroyal navy, establishing a regular method for the punctual, frequent, and certain payment of their wages; enabling them more easily andreadily 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 theattention of the lords, who, by divers messages to the house of commons, desired the attendance of several members. These messages being takeninto consideration, several precedents were recited; a debate aroseabout their formality, and the house unanimously resolved that a messageshould be sent to the lords, acquainting them that the house of commons, not being sufficiently informed by their messages upon what grounds, orfor what purposes, their lordships desired the house would give leave tosuch of their members as were named in the said messages to attend thehouse of lords, in order to be examined upon the second reading of thebill, the commons hoped their lordships would make them acquaintedwith their intention. The lords, in answer to this intimation, gave thecommons to understand, that they desired the attendance of the membersmentioned in their messages, that they might be examined as witnessesupon the second reading of the bill. This explanation being deemedsatisfactory, the members attended the house of lords, where they werecarefully and fully examined, as persons conversant in sea affairs, touching the inconveniencies which had formerly attended thesea-service, as well as the remedies now proposed; and the bill havingpassed through their house, though not without warm opposition, wasenacted into a law by his majesty's assent. The militia act, as itpassed in the last session, being found upon trial defective, Mr. Townshend moved for leave to bring in a new bill, to explain, amend, andenforce it; this was accordingly allowed, prepared, and passed into alaw, though it did not seem altogether free from material objections, some of which were of an alarming nature. The power vested by law inthe crown over the militia, is even more independent than that which itexercises over the standing army; for this last expires at the endof the year, if not continued by a new act of parliament; whereas themilitia is subjected to the power of the crown for the term of fiveyears, during which it may be called out into actual service withoutconsent of parliament, and consequently employed for sinister purposes. A commission-officer in the militia may be detained, as subject to thearticles of war, until the crown shall allow the militia to return totheir respective parishes; and thus engaged, he is liable to death as amutineer, or deserter, should he refuse to appear in arms, and fight insupport of the worst measures of the worst minister. Several merchantsand manufacturers of silk offered a petition, representing, thatin consequence of the act passed in the last session, allowing theimportation of fine organzine Italian thrown silk till the first day ofDecember, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, theyhad given orders to their correspondents abroad to send large quantitiesof such silk through Germany to Hamburgh and Holland, which, in thecommon course of things, might probably have arrived in London beforethe act expired, if their carriage had not been protracted by the greatrains and inundations in Italy and Germany, in the months of August andSeptember last, which rendered the roads for many weeks impassable; thatfrom unlucky accidents on shore, and storms and contrary winds after thesilk was shipped, it could not possibly arrive within the time limitedby the act; and unless it should be admitted to an entry, they, thepetitioners, would be great sufferers, the manufacturers greatlyprejudiced, and the good end and purpose of the act in a great measurefrustrated; they, therefore, prayed leave to bring in a bill forallowing the introduction of all such fine Italian organized silk asshould appear to have been shipped in Holland and Hamburgh for London, on or before the first day of December. The petition being referred toa committee, which reported that these allegations were true, the housecomplied with their request, and the bill having passed, was enactedinto a law in the usual form. A speedy passage was likewise granted tothe mutiny bill, and the other annual measure for regulating the marineforces, which contained nothing new or extraordinary. A committee beingappointed to inquire what laws were already expired, or near expiring, they performed this difficult task with indefatigable patience andperseverance; and, in pursuance of their resolutions, three bills wereprepared and passed into laws, continuing some acts for a certain time, and rendering others perpetual. [440] _[See note 3N, at the end of thisVol. ]_ The lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, in commoncouncil assembled, having drawn up a petition to the house of commons, alleging that the toll upon loaded vessels or other craft, passingthrough the arches of London bridge, granted by a former act, passed inthe year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for improving, widening, and enlarging the passage both under and over the said bridge, wasaltogether precarious, and insufficient to defray the expense, includingthat of a temporary wooden bridge already erected; and praying that abill might be prepared, for explaining and rendering that act effectual;a committee was appointed to examine the contents, and a bill broughtin according to their request. This, however, was opposed by a petitionfrom several persons, owners of barges, and other craft navigating theriver Thames, who affirmed, that if the bill should pass into a law asit then stood, it would be extremely injurious to the petitioners inparticular, and to the public in general. These were heard by theircounsel before the committee, but no report was yet given, when thetemporary bridge was reduced to ashes. Then the mayor, aldermen, and commons of London presented another petition, alleging that, inpursuance of the powers vested in them by act of parliament, they hadalready demolished a good number of the houses on London bridge, and directed the rest that were standing to be taken down with allconvenient expedition; that two of the arches might be laid into onefor the improvement of the navigation; that they had, at a very greatexpense, erected a temporary wooden bridge, to preserve a public passageto and from the city, until the great arch could be finished, whichtemporary bridge being consumed by fire, they must rebuild it with thegreatest expedition, at a further considerable expense; that the sumnecessary for carrying on and completing this great and useful work, including the rebuilding of the said temporary bridge, was estimated atfourscore thousand pounds; and as the improving, widening, and enlargingLondon bridge was calculated for the general good of the public, for theadvancement of trade and commerce, and for making the navigation uponthe river Thames more safe and secure; they, therefore, prayed the houseto take the premises into consideration. This petition being recommendedby his majesty to the consideration of the house, was referred to thecommittee of supply, and produced the resolution of granting fifteenthousand pounds towards the rebuilding of London bridge. A bill wasprepared, under the title of an act to improve, widen, and enlarge thepassage over and through London bridge, enforcing the payment ofthe toll imposed upon loaded vessels, which had been found extremelyburdensome to trade; but this incumbrance was prevented by anotherpetition of several merchants, tradesmen, and other inhabitants ofthe borough of Southwark, taking notice of the fifteen thousand poundsgranted 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 afterwardshearing that the bill then depending was confined to the tolls formerlygranted for repairing the said bridge, they represented the hardshipswhich they and all traders would continue to labour under; they alleged, that the surveyors and workmen then employed upon this work, haddiscovered the true principles on which the bridge was built; that thefoundation of the piers consisted of hard durable stone, well cementedtogether, and now as strong and firm as when first built; that when thebridge should be finished, great savings would be made in keeping it inrepair, from the sums formerly expended, on a mistaken opinion, thatthe foundation was of wood: that there were very considerable estatesappointed solely for the repairs of the bridge, which they apprehendedwould be sufficient to maintain it without any toll; or if they shouldnot be thought adequate to that purpose, they hoped the deficiencywould not be made up by a toll upon trade and commerce, but rather byan imposition on coaches, chariots, chaises, and saddle-horses. Thisremonstrance made no impression on the house. The bill being, on amotion of sir John Philips, read a third time, passed through bothhouses, and obtained the royal assent. ACT FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALIFICATION OF VOTING. The interest of the manufacturers was also consulted in an actencouraging the growth of madder, a plant essentially necessary in dyingand printing calicoes, which may be raised in England without the leastinconvenience. It was judged, upon inquiry, that the most effectualmeans to encourage the growth of this commodity would be to ascertainthe tithe of it; and a bill was brought in for that purpose. The rate ofthe tithe was established at five shillings an acre; and it was enacted, that this law should continue in force for fourteen years, and to theend of the next session of parliament; but wherefore this encouragementwas made temporary it is not easy to determine. --The laws relating tothe poor, though equally numerous and oppressive to the subject, havingbeen found defective, a new clause, relating to the settlement ofservants and apprentices, was now added to an act passed in thetwentieth year of the present reign, intituled, "An act for the betteradjusting and more easily recovering of the wages of certain servants, and of certain apprentices. " No country in the universe can produceso many laws made in behalf of the poor as those that are dailyaccumulating in England: in no other country is there so much moneyraised for their support, by private charity, as well as publictaxation; yet this, as much as any country, swarms with vagrant beggars, and teems with objects of misery and distress; a sure sign either ofmisconduct in the legislature, or a shameful relaxation in the executivepart of the civil administration. --The scenes of corruption, perjury, riot, and intemperance, which every election for a member of parliamenthad lately produced, were now grown so infamously open and intolerable, and the right of voting was rendered so obscure and perplexed by thepretensions and proceedings of all the candidates for Oxfordshire inthe last election, that the fundamentals of the constitution seemed toshake, and the very essence of parliaments to bo in danger. Actuatedby these apprehensions, sir John Philips, a gentleman of Wales, whohad long distinguished himself in the opposition by his courage andindependent spirit, moved for leave to bring in a bill that shouldobviate any doubts which might arise concerning the electors of knightsof the shire to serve in parliament for England, and further regulatethe proceedings of such elections. He was accordingly permitted to bringin such a bill, in conjunction with Mr. Townshend, Mr. Cornwall, andlords North and Craysfort; and in the usual course, the bill beingprepared, was enacted into a law, under the title of, "An act forfurther explaining the laws touching the electors of knights of theshire to serve in parliament for that part of Great Britain calledEngland. " The preamble specified, that though, by an act passed in theeighteenth year of the present reign, it was provided, that no personmight vote at the election of a knight or knights of a shire withinEngland and Wales, without having a freehold estate in the county forwhich he votes, of the clear yearly value of forty shillings, over andabove all rents and charges, payable out of or in respect to thesame; nevertheless, certain persons, who hold their estates by copyof court-roll, pretend to a right of voting, and have at certain timespresumed to vote at such elections; this act, therefore, ordained, thatfrom and after the twenty-ninth day of June in the present year, noperson who holds his estate by copy of court-roll should be entitledthereby to vote at the election of any knight or knights of a shirewithin England or Wales; but every such vote should be void, and theperson so voting should forfeit fifty pounds to any candidate for whomsuch vote should not have been given, and who should first sue for thesame, to be recovered with full costs, by action of debt, in any courtof 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 salutaryconsequences; but, in all probability, the intention of its first moversand patrons was not fully answered; inasmuch as no provision wasmade for putting a stop to that spirit of license, drunkenness, anddebauchery, which prevails at almost every election, and has a verypernicious effect upon the morals of the people. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BILL FOR MORE EFFECTUALLY MANNING THE NAVY. Among the bills that miscarried in the course of this session, someturned on points of great consequence to the community. Lord Barrington, Mr. Thomas Gore, and Mr. Charles Townshend, were ordered by the houseto prepare a bill for the speedy and effectual recruiting his majesty'sland-forces and marines, which was no more than a transcript of thetemporary act passed in the preceding session under the same title; butthe majority were averse to its being continued for another year, asit was attended with some prejudice to the liberty of the subject. Objections of the same nature might have been as justly started againstanother bill, for the more effectually manning of his majesty's navy, for preventing desertion, and for the relief and encouragement of seamenbelonging to ships and vessels in the service of the merchants. Thepurport of this project was to establish registers or muster-rolls ofall seamen, fishermen, lightermen, and watermen; obliging ship-mastersto leave subscribed lists of their respective crews at officesmaintained for that purpose, that a certain number of them might bechosen by lot for his majesty's service, in any case of emergency. Thisexpedient, however, was rejected, as an unnecessary and ineffectualincumbrance on commerce, which would hamper navigation, and, in a littletime, diminish the number of seamen, of consequence act diametricallyopposite to the purpose for which it was contrived. --Numberless fraudshaving been committed, and incessant law-suits produced, by private andclandestine conveyances, a motion was made, and leave given, to form abill 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, whereinpublic registers were not already appointed by act of parliament;but this measure, so necessary to the ascertainment and possession ofproperty, met with a violent opposition; and was finally dropped, assome people imagine, through the influence of those who, perhaps, hadparticular reasons for countenancing the present mysterious formsof conveyancing. Such a bill must also have been disagreeable andmortifying to the pride of those landholders whose estates wereincumbered, because, in consequence of such a register, every mortgageunder which they laboured would be exactly known. --The next objectto which the house converted its attention, was a bill explainingand amending a late act for establishing a fish-market in the city ofWestminster, and preventing scandalous monopolies of a few engrossingfishmongers, who imposed exorbitant prices on their fish, and, in thisparticular branch of traffic, gave law to above six hundred thousand oftheir fellow-citizens. Abundance of pains were taken to render this billeffectual, for putting an end to such flagrant impositions. Inquirieswere made, petitions read, counsel heard, and alterations proposed; atlength the bill, having passed through the lower house, was conveyed tothe lords, among whom it was suffered to expire, on pretence that therewas not time sufficient to deliberate maturely on the subject. HABEAS-CORPUS ACT AMENDED. The occasion that produced the next bill which miscarried we shallexplain, as an incident equally extraordinary and interesting. By anact passed in the preceding session, for recruiting his majesty'sland-forces and marines, we have already observed, that thecommissioners thereby appointed were vested with a power of judgingultimately, 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 thosecommissioners, should be taken out of his majesty's service by anyprocess, other than for some criminal accusation. During the recess ofparliament, 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 indeedan insurmountable difficulty; for, according to the writ of_habeas-corpus_, passed in the reign of Charles the Second, thisprivilege relates only to persons committed for criminal or supposedcriminal matters, and the gentleman did not stand in that predicament. Before the question could be determined he was discharged, inconsequence of an application to the secretary at war; but the nature ofthe case plainly pointed out a defect in the act, seemingly of the mostdangerous consequence to the liberty of the subject. In order to remedythis defect, a bill for giving a more speedy relief to the subject, uponthe writ of _habeas-corpus_, was prepared, and presented to the houseof commons, which formed itself into a committee, and made severalamendments. It imported, that the several provisions made in theaforesaid act, passed in the reign of Charles II. For the awarding ofwrits of _habeas-corpus_, in cases of commitment or detainer for anycriminal or supposed criminal matter, should, in like manner, extendto all cases where any person, not being committed or detained for anycriminal or supposed criminal matter, should-be confined, or restrainedof his or her liberty, under any colour or pretence whatsoever; that, upon oath made by such person so confined or arrested, or by any otheron his or her behalf, of any actual confinement or restraint, and thatsuch confinement or restraint, to the best of the knowledge and beliefof the person so applying, was not by virtue of any commitmentor detainer for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, an_habeas-corpus_, directed to the person or persons so confining orrestraining the party, as aforesaid, should be awarded and granted, in the same manner as is directed, and under the same penalties as areprovided by the said act, in the case of persons committed and detainedfor any criminal or supposed criminal matter; that the person or personsbefore whom the party so confined or restrained should be brought, byvirtue of any _habeas-corpus_ granted in the vacation time, under theauthority of this act, might and should, within three days after thereturn made, proceed to examine into the facts contained in such return, and into the cause of such confinement and restraint; and thereuponeither discharge, or bail, or remand the parties so brought, as the caseshould require, and as to justice should appertain. The rest of thebill related to the return of the writ in three days, and the penaltiesincurred by those who should neglect or refuse to make the due return, or to comply with any other clause of this regulation. The commonsseemed hearty in rearing up this additional buttress to the libertyof their fellow-subjects, and passed the bill with the most laudablealacrity; but in the house of lords such a great number of objectionswere started, that it sunk at the second reading, and the judges wereordered to prepare a bill for the same purpose, to be laid before thathouse in the next session. SCHEME IN FAVOUR OF THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL. His majesty having recommended the care of the Foundling hospital to thehouse of commons, which cheerfully granted forty thousand pounds forthe support of that charity, the growing annual expense of it appearedworthy of further consideration, and leave was granted to bring ina bill for obliging all the parishes of England and Wales to keepregisters of all their deaths, births, and marriages, that from these afund might be raised towards the support of the said hospital. The billwas accordingly prepared by a committee appointed for the purpose;but before the house could take the report into consideration, theparliament was prorogued. --The proprietors of the privateer called theAntigallican, which had taken a rich French ship homeward bound fromChina, and carried her into Cadiz, where the Spanish government hadwrested her by violence from the captors, and delivered her to theFrench 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 thepetitioners had sustained, and imploring such relief as the house shouldthink requisite. Though these allegations were supported by a speciesof evidence that seemed strong and convincing, and it might be thoughtincumbent on the parliament to vindicate the honour of the nation, whenthus insulted by a foreign power, the house, upon this occasion, treatedthe petition with the most mortifying neglect, either giving littlecredit to the assertions it contained, or unwilling to take any stepwhich might at this juncture embroil the nation with the court of Spainon such a frivolous subject. True it is, the Spanish government alleged, in their own justification, that the prize was taken under the gunsof Corunna, insomuch that the shot fired by the privateer entered thatplace, and damaged some houses; but this allegation was never properlysustained, and the prize was certainly condemned as legal by the courtof admiralty at Gibraltar. PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE AFRICAN COMPANY. As we have already given a detail of the trial of sir John Mordaunt, itwill be unnecessary to recapitulate any circumstances of that affair, except such as relate to its connexion with the proceedings ofparliament. In the beginning of this session, lord Barrington, assecretary at war, informed the house, by his majesty's command, thatlieutenant-general sir John Mordaunt, a member of that house, was inarrest for disobedience of his majesty's orders, while employed onthe late expedition to the coast of France. The commons immediatelyresolved, that an address should be presented to his majesty, returninghim the thanks of this house for his gracious message of that day, inthe communication he had been pleased to make of the reason for puttinglieutenant-general sir, John Mordaunt in arrest. --Among the variousobjects of commerce that employed the attention of the house, one ofthe most considerable was the trade to the coast of Africa, for theprotection of which an annual sum had been granted for some years, to beexpended in the maintenance and repairs of castles and factories. Whilea committee was employed in perusing the accounts relating to the sumgranted in the preceding session for this purpose, a petition from thecommittee of the African company, recommended in a message from hismajesty, was presented to the house, soliciting further assistance forthe ensuing year. In the meantime, a remonstrance was offered by certainplanters and merchants, interested in trading to the British sugarcolonies in America, alleging, that the price of negroes was greatlyadvanced since the forts and settlements on the coast of Africa had beenunder the direction of the committee of the company of merchants tradingto that coast; a circumstance that greatly distressed and alarmed thepetitioners, prevented the cultivation of the British colonies, and wasa great detriment to the trade and navigation of the kingdom; thatthis misfortune, they believed, was in some measure owing to theruinous state and condition of the forts and settlements; that, in theiropinion, the most effectual method for maintaining the interest ofthat trade on a respectable footing, next to that of an incorporatedjoint-stock company, would be putting those forts and settlements underthe sole direction of the commissioners for trade and plantations; thatthe preservation or ruin of the American sugar colonies went hand inhand with that of the slave trade to Africa; that, by an act passedin the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for extending andimproving this trade, the British subjects were debarred from lodgingtheir 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, andall other his majesty's subjects, who were settled, or might at any timethereafter settle in Africa, should have free liberty, from sunrise tosunset, to enter the forts and settlements, and to deposit their goodsand merchandise in the warehouses thereunto belonging; to secure theirslaves or other purchases without paying any consideration for the same;but the slaves to be victualled at the proper cost and charge oftheir respective owners. The house having taken this petition intoconsideration, inquired into the proceedings of the company, and revisedthe act for extending and improving the trade to Africa, resolved, thatthe committee of the African company had faithfully discharged the trustreposed in them, and granted ten thousand pounds for maintaining theBritish forts and settlements in that part of the world. The enemy wereperfectly well acquainted with the weakness of the British castles onthe coast of Africa; and had they known as well how to execute withspirit, as to plan with sagacity, the attempt which, in the course ofthe preceding year, they made upon the principal British fort in Guinea, would have succeeded, and all the other settlements would have falleninto 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 ofthis session, arose from a motion for leave to bring in a bill forshortening the term and duration of future parliaments; a measure trulypatriotic, against which no substantial argument could be produced, although the motion was rejected by the majority, on pretence, thatwhilst the nation was engaged in such a dangerous and expensive war, itwould be improper to think of introducing such an alteration in theform of government. Reasons of equal strength and solidity will neverbe wanting to the patrons and ministers of corruption and venality. The alteration proposed was nothing less than removing and annulling anencroachment which had been made on the constitution; it might havebeen effected without the least pang or convulsion, to the generalsatisfaction of the nation; far from being unreasonable at thisjuncture, it would have enhanced the national reputation abroad, andrendered the war more formidable to the enemies of Great Britain, byconvincing them that it was supported by a ministry and parliament whostood upon such good terms with the people. Indeed, a quick successionof parliaments might have disconcerted, and perhaps expelled thatspirit of confidence and generosity which now so remarkably espousedand gratified the sovereign's predilection for the interest ofHanover. --Other committees were established, to enquire into the expenseincurred by new lines and fortifications raised at Gibraltar; to examinethe original standards of weights and measures used in England; considerthe laws relating to them, and report their observations, together withtheir opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining and enforcinguniform standards to be used for the future. The commons were perfectlysatisfied with the new works which had been raised at Gibraltar; andwith respect to the weights and measures, the committee agreed tocertain 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 lockedup by the clerk of the house, in all probability their intention was toproceed on this subject in some future session. On the ninth day of Junesundry bills received the royal assent by commission, his majestybeing indisposed; and on the twentieth day of the same month, thelords 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 honourand real interest in all parts, in their earnestness to surmount everydifficulty, in their ardour to maintain the war with the utmost vigour;proofs which must convince mankind that the ancient spirit of theBritish nation still subsisted in its full force. They were given tounderstand that the king had taken all such measures as appeared themost conducive to the accomplishment of their public-spirited views andwishes; that with their assistance, crowned by the blessing of Godupon the conduct and bravery of the combined army, his majesty hadbeen enabled, not only to deliver his dominions in Germany from theoppressions and devastations of the French, but also to push hisadvantages on this side the Rhine; that he had cemented the unionbetween him and his good brother the king of Prussia, by newengagements; that the British fleets and armies were now actuallyemployed in such expeditions as appeared likely to annoy the enemy inthe most sensible manner, and to promote the welfare and prosperityof these kingdoms; in particular, to preserve the British rights andpossessions in America, and to make France feel, in those parts, thereal strength and importance of Great Britain. The commons were thankedfor the ample supplies which they had so freely and unanimously given, and assured on the part of his majesty that they should be managed withthe most frugal economy. They were desired, in consequence of the king'searnest recommendation, to promote harmony and good agreement amongsthis faithful subjects; to make the people acquainted with the rectitudeand purity of his intentions and measures, and to exert themselvesin maintaining the peace and good order of the country, by enforcingobedience to the laws and Lawful authority. VIGOROUS PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, &c. Never, surely, had any sovereign more reason to be pleased with theconduct of his ministers, and the spirit of his people. The whole nationreposed the most unbounded confidence in the courage and discretion, as well as in the integrity of the minister, who seemed eager uponprosecuting the war with such vigour and activity as appeared almostunexampled in the annals of Great Britain. New levies were made, new ships put in commission, fresh expeditions undertaken, and freshconquests projected. Such was the credit of the administration, thatpeople subscribed to the government loans with surprising eagerness. Anunusual spirit of enterprise and resolution seemed to inspire all theindividuals that constituted the army and navy; and the passion formilitary fame diffused itself through all ranks in the civil departmentsof life, even to the very dregs of the populace; such a remarkablechange from indolence to activity, from indifference to zeal, fromtimorous caution to fearless execution, was effected by the influenceand example of an intelligent and intrepid minister, who, chagrined atthe inactivity and disgraces of the preceding campaign, had on a verysolemn occasion, lately declared his belief that there was a determinedresolution, both in the naval and military commanders, against anyvigorous exertion of the national power in the service of the country. He affirmed, that though his majesty appeared ready to embrace everymeasure proposed by his ministers for the honour and interest ofhis British dominions, yet scarce a man could be found with whom theexecution of any one plan in which there was the least appearance ofany danger could with confidence be trusted. He particularised theinactivity of one general in North America, from whose abilitiesand personal bravery the nation had conceived great expectations;he complained, that this noble commander had expressed the mostcontemptuous disregard for the civil power, from which he derived hisauthority, by neglecting to transmit, for a considerable length of time, any other advice of his proceedings but what appeared on a written scrapof paper; he observed, that with a force by land and sea greater thanever the nation had heretofore maintained, with a king and ministryardently desirous of redeeming her glory, succouring her allies, and promoting her true interest, a shameful dislike to the serviceeverywhere prevailed, and few seemed affected with any other zealthan that of aspiring to the highest posts, and grasping the largestsalaries. The censure levelled at the commander in America was foundedon mistake; the inactivity of that noble lord was not more disappointingto the ministry than disagreeable to his own inclination. He used hisutmost endeavours to answer the expectation of the public, but his handswere effectually tied by an absolute impossibility of success, and hisconduct stood justified in the eyes of his sovereign. A particular andaccurate detail of his proceedings he transmitted through a channel, which he imagined would have directly conveyed it to the foot of thethrone; but the packet was said to have been purposely interceptedand suppressed. Perhaps he was not altogether excusable for havingcorresponded so slightly with the secretary of state; but he was said tohave gone abroad in full persuasion that the ministry would be changed, and therefore his assiduities were principally directed to the greatpersonage, who, in that case, would have superintended and directedall the operations of the army. All sorts of military preparationsin founderies, docks, arsenals, raising and exercising troops, andvictualling transports, were now carried on with such diligence anddespatch as seemed to promise an exertion that would soon obliteratethe disagreeable remembrance of past disgrace. The beginning of the yearwas, however, a little clouded by a general concern for the death ofhis majesty's third daughter, the princess Caroline, a lady of themost exemplary virtue and amiable character, who died at the age offorty-five, sincerely regretted as a pattern of unaffected piety, andunbounded 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 theenemy. They exerted themselves with such activity, and their vigilancewas attended with such success, that a great number of prizes weretaken, and the trade of France almost totally extinguished. A verygallant exploit was achieved by one captain Bray, commander of theAdventure, a small armed vessel in the government's service: falling inwith the Machault, a large privateer of Dunkirk, near Dungenness, heran her aboard, fastened her boltsprit to his capstan, and, after awarm engagement, compelled her commander to submit. A French frigateof thirty-six guns was taken by captain Parker, in a new fire-ship ofinferior force. Divers privateers of the enemy were sunk, burned, ortaken, and a great number of merchant ships fell into the hands of theEnglish. Nor was the success of the British ships of war confined tothe English channel. At this period the board of admiralty receivedinformation from admiral Coats, in Jamaica, of an action which happenedoff the island of Hispaniola, in the month of October of the precedingyear, between three English ships of war and a French squadron. CaptainForrest, an officer of distinguished merit in the service, had, in theship Augusta, sailed from Port Eoyal in Jamaica, accompanied by theDreadnought and Edinburgh, under the command of the captains Sucklingand Langdon. He was ordered to cruise off Cape François, and thisservice he literally performed in the face of the French squadron underKersin, lately arrived at that place from the coast of Africa. Thiscommander, piqued at seeing himself thus insulted by an inferiorarmament, resolved to come forth and give them battle; and that hemight either take them, or at least drive them out of the seas, so as toafford a free passage to a great number of merchant ships then lying atthe Cape, bound for Europe, he took every precaution which he thoughtnecessary to ensure success. He reinforced his squadron with some storeships, mounted with guns, and armed for the occasion, and suppliedthe deficiency in his complements, by taking on board seamen fromthe merchant ships, and soldiers from the garrison. Thus prepared, heweighed anchor, and stood out to sea, having under his command fourlarge ships of the line, and three stout frigates. They were no soonerperceived advancing, than captain Forrest held a short council with histwo captains. "Gentlemen, " said he, "you know your own strength, andsee that of the enemy; shall we give them battle?" They replying in theaffirmative, he added, "Then fight them we will: there is no time to belost; return to your ships, and get them ready for engaging. " After thislaconic consultation among these three gallant officers, they bore downupon the French squadron without further hesitation, and between threeand four in tire afternoon the action began with great impetuosity. The enemy exerted themselves with uncommon spirit, conscious that theirhonour was peculiarly at stake, and that they fought in sight, as itwere, of their own coast, which was lined with people, expecting to seethem return in triumph. But, notwithstanding all their endeavours, theircommodore, after having sustained a severe engagement, that lasted twohours and a half, found his ship in such a shattered condition, that hemade 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 thisassistance, with the favour of the land breeze and the approach ofnight, made shift to accomplish their escape from the three Britishships, which were too much disabled in their masts and rigging toprosecute their victory. One of the French squadron was renderedaltogether unserviceable for action. Their loss in men amounted to threehundred killed, and as many wounded; whereas that of the English did notmuch exceed one-third of this number. Nevertheless, they were so muchdamaged, that, being unable to keep the sea, they returned to Jamaica, and the French commodore seized the opportunity of sailing with agreat convoy for Europe. The courage of captain Forrest was not moreconspicuous in this engagement with the French squadron near CapeFrancois, than his conduct and sagacity in a subsequent adventure nearPort-au-Prince, a French harbour, situated at the bottom of a bay on thewestern part of Hispaniola, behind the small island of Gonave. After M. De Kersin had taken his departure from Cape François for Europe, admiralCoats, beating up to windward from Port-Royal in Jamaica with threeships of the line, received intelligence that there was a French fleetat Port-au-Prince, ready to sail on their return to Europe. CaptainForrest then presented the admiral with a plan for an attack on thisplace, and urged it earnestly. This, however, was declined, and captainForrest directed to cruise off the island Gonave for two days only, the admiral enjoining him to return at the expiration of the time, andrejoin the squadron at Cape Nicholas. Accordingly captain Forrest, in the Augusta, proceeded up the bay, between the island Gonaveand Hispaniola, with a view to execute a plan which he had himselfprojected. Next day, in the afternoon, though he perceived two sloops, he forbore chasing, that he might not risk a discovery; for thesame purpose he hoisted Dutch colours, and disguised his ship withtarpaulins. At five in the afternoon he discovered seven sail of shipssteering to the westward, and hauled from them to avoid suspicion; butat 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 othermade the best of her way for Leoganne, another harbour in the bay. Atthis period captain Forrest reckoned eight sail to leeward, near anotherport called Petit Goave. Coming up with the ship which had fired thegun, she submitted without opposition, after he had hailed and told hercaptain what he was, produced two of his largest cannon, and threatenedto sink her if she should give the least alarm. He forthwith shifted theprisoners from this prize, and placed on board of her five-and-thirty ofhis own crew, with orders to stand for Petit Goave, and intercept anyof the fleet that might attempt to reach that harbour. Then he made sailafter the rest, and in the dawn of the morning, finding himself in themiddle of their fleet, he began to fire at them all in their turns, ashe could bring his guns to bear. They returned the fire for sometime;at length the Marguerite, the Solide, and the Theodore struck theircolours. These being secured, were afterwards used in taking theMaurice, Le Grand, and La Flore; the Brilliant also submitted, and theMars made sail, in hopes of escaping, but the Augusta coming up with herabout noon, she likewise fell into the hands of the victor. Thus, bya well-conducted stratagem, a whole fleet of nine sail were taken by asingle ship, in the neighbourhood of four or five harbours, in anyone of which they would have found immediate shelter and security. The prizes, which happened to be richly laden, were safely conveyedto Jamaica, and there sold at public auction, for the benefit of thecaptors, who may safely challenge history to produce such anotherinstance of success. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE FRENCH EVACUATE EMBDEN. The ministry having determined to make vigorous efforts against theenemy in North America, admiral Boscawen was vested with the command ofthe fleet destined for that service, and sailed from St. Helen's on thenineteenth day of February, when the Invincible, of seventy-four guns, one of the best ships that constituted his squadron, ran aground, andperished; but her men, stores, and artillery were saved. In the courseof the succeeding month, sir Edward Hawke steered into the bay of Biscaywith another squadron, in order to intercept any supplies from Francedesigned for Cape Breton or Canada; and about the same time the townof Embden, belonging to his Prussian majesty, which had fallen into thehands of the enemy, was suddenly retrieved by the conduct of commodoreHolmes, stationed on that coast, who sent up two of his small ships toanchor in the river between Knok and the city. The garrison, amountingto three thousand seven hundred men, finding themselves thus cut offfrom all communication with the country below, abandoned the place withgreat precipitation, and some of their baggage being sent off by water, was taken by the boats which the commodore armed for that purpose. Itwas in the same month that the admiralty received advice of anotheradvantage by sea, which had been gained by admiral Osborne, while hecruised 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, theOriflamme, of fifty, and the Pléiade frigate, of twenty-four, in theirpassage from Toulon to reinforce M. De la Clue, who had for some timebeen blocked up by admiral Osborne in the harbour of Carthagena. Theenemy no sooner perceived the English squadron than they dispersed, andsteered different courses: then Mr. Osborne detached divers ships inpursuit of each, while he himself, with the body of his fleet, stood offfor the bay of Carthagena, to watch the motions of the French squadronwhich lay there at anchor. About seven in the evening, the Orphée, having on board five hundred men, struck to captain Storr, in theRevenge, who lost the calf of one leg in the engagement, during whichhe wras sustained by the ships Berwick and Preston. The Monmouth, ofsixty-four guns, commanded by captain Gardener, engaged the Foudroyant, one of the largest ships in the French navy, mounted with fourscorecannon, and containing eight hundred men, under the direction of themarquis du Quesne. The action was maintained with great fury on bothsides, 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 hercommander struck, as soon as the other English ships, the Swiftsure andthe Hampton-court, appeared. This mortifying step, however, he did nottake until he saw his ship lie like a wreck upon the water, and thedecks covered with carnage. The Oriflamme was driven on shore under thecastle of Aiglos, by the ships Montague and Monarque, commanded by thecaptains Rowley and Montague, who could not complete their destructionwithout violating the neutrality of Spain. As for the Pléiade frigate, she made her escape by being a prime sailer. This was a severe strokeupon the enemy, who not only lost two of her capital ships, but saw themadded to the navy of Great Britain; and the disaster was followed closeby another, which they could not help feeling with equal sensibility ofmortification 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 offive ships of the line, with six frigates, and forty transports, havingon board three thousand troops, and a large quantity of stores andprovisions intended as a supply for their settlements in North America. They no sooner saw the English Admiral advancing, than they began toslip their cables, and fly in the utmost confusion. Some of them escapedby sea, but a great number ran into shoal water, where they could notbe pursued; and next morning they appeared aground, lying on theirbroadsides. Sir Edward Hawke, who had rode all night at anchor abreastof the isle of Aix, furnished the ships Intrepid and Medway with trustypilots, and sent them farther in when the flood began to make, withorders to sound ahead, that he might know whether there was anypossibility of attacking the enemy; but the want of a sufficient depthof water rendered the scheme impracticable. In the meantime, theFrench threw overboard their cannon, stores, and ballast; and boats andlaunches from Rochefort were employed in carrying out warps, to dragtheir ships through the soft mud, as soon as they should be water-borneby the flowing tide. By these means their large ships of war, and manyof their transports, escaped into the river Charente; but their loadingwas lost, and the end of their equipment totally defeated. Anotherconvoy of merchant ships under the protection of three frigates, sirEdward Hawke, a few days before, had chased into the harbour of SaintMartin's, in the isle of Rhé, where they still remained, waiting anopportunity for hazarding a second departure. A third, consisting oftwelve sail, bound from Bourdeaux to Quebec, under convoy of a frigateand armed vessel, was encountered at sea by one British ship of the lineand two fire-ships, which took the frigate and armed vessel, and twoof the convoy afterwards met with the same fate; but this advantage wasoverbalanced by the loss of captain James Hume, commander of the Plutofire-ship, a brave accomplished officer, who, in an unequal combat withthe enemy, refused to quit the deck even when he was disabled, and fellgloriously, covered with wounds, exhorting the people, with his latestbreath, to continue the engagement while the ship could swim, and acquitthemselves 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 theline, mounted with sixty-four cannon, having on board six hundred andthirty men, commanded by the prince de Mombazon, chevalier de Rohan, was, in her passage from Port l'Orient to Brest, attacked by captainDennis, in the Dorsetshire, of seventy guns, and taken after anobstinate engagement, in which one hundred and sixty men of the prince'scomplement were killed or wounded, and he sustained great damage in hishull, sails, and rigging. These successes were, moreover, chequered bythe tidings of a lamentable disaster that befel the ship Prince George, of eighty guns, commanded by rear-admiral Broderick, in his passage tothe Mediterranean. On the thirteenth day of April, between one and twoin the afternoon, a dreadful fire broke out in the fore part of theship, and raged with such fury, that notwithstanding all the efforts ofthe officers and men for several hours, the flames increased, and theship being consumed to the water's edge, the remnant sunk about sixo'clock in the evening. The horror and consternation of such a scene arenot easily described. When all endeavours proved fruitless, and nohope of preserving the ship remained, the barge was hoisted out forthe preservation of the admiral, who entered it accordingly; but alldistinction of persons being now abolished, the seamen rushed into it insuch crowds, that in a few moments it overset. The admiral, foreseeingthat this would be the case, stripped off his clothes, and committinghimself to the mercy of the waves, was saved by the boat of a merchantship, after he had sustained himself in the sea a full hour by swimming. Captain Payton, who was the second in command, remained upon thequarter-deck as long as it was possible to keep that station, and thendescending by the stern ladder, had the good fortune to be taken into aboat belonging to the Aklerney sloop. The hull of the ship, masts, andrigging, were now in a blaze, bursting tremendously in several partsthrough horrid clouds of smoke; nothing was heard but the crackling ofthe flames, mingled with the dismal cries of terror and distraction;nothing was seen but acts of frenzy and desperation. The miserablewretches, affrighted at the horrors of such a conflagration, sought afate less dreadful by plunging into the sea, and about three hundred menwere preserved by the boats belonging to some ships that accompanied theadmiral 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 thecoast of France, ordered a very formidable armament to be equippedfor that purpose. Two powerful squadrons by sea were destined for theservice of this expedition: the first, consisting of eleven great ships, was commanded by lord Anson and sir Edward Hawke; the other, composed offour ships of the line, seven frigates, six sloops, two fire-ships, twobombs, ten cutters, twenty tenders, ten store-ships, and one hundredtransports, was put under the direction of commodore Howe, who hadsignalized himself by his gallantry and conduct in the course of thelast fruitless expedition. The plan of a descent upon France havingbeen adopted by the ministry, a body of troops, consisting of sixteenregiments, nine troops of light horse, and six thousand marines, wasassembled for the execution of this design, and embarked under thecommand of the duke of Marlborough; a nobleman, who though he did notinherit all the military genius of his grandfather, yet far excelled himin the amiable and social qualities of the heart: he was brave beyondall question, generous to profusion, and good-natured to excess. Onthis occasion he was assisted by the councils of lord George Sackville, second in command, son to the duke of Dorset; an officer of experienceand reputation, who had, in the civil departments of government, exhibited proofs of extraordinary genius and uncommon application. Thetroops, having been encamped for some time upon the Isle of Wight, wereembarked in the latter end of May, and the two fleets sailed in thebeginning of June for the coast of Bretagne, leaving the people ofEngland flushed with the gayest hopes of victory and conquest. The twofleets parted at sea: lord Anson, with his squadron, proceeded to thebay of Biscay, in order to watch the motions of the enemy's ships, andharass their navigation; while commodore Howe, with the land-forces, steered directly towards St. Maloes, a strong place of considerablecommerce, situated on the coast of Bretagne, against which the purposedinvasion seemed to be chiefly intended. The town, however, was found toowell fortified, both by art and nature, to admit of an attempt by seawith any prospect of success; and, therefore, it was resolved to makea descent in the neighbourhood. After the fleet had been, by contrarywinds, detained several days in sight of the French coast, it arrivedin the bay of Cancalle, about two leagues to the eastward of St. Maloes; and Mr. Howe having silenced a small battery which the enemyhad occasionally raised upon the beach, the troops were landed withoutfurther opposition on the sixth day of June. The duke of Marlboroughimmediately began his march towards St. Servan, with a view to destroysuch shipping and magazines as might be in any accessible parts of theriver; and this scheme was executed with success. A great quantity ofnaval stores, two ships of war, several privateers, and about fourscorevessels of different sorts, were set on fire and reduced to ashes, almost under the cannon of the place, which, however, they could notpretend to besiege in form. His grace having received repeated advicesthat the enemy were busily employed in assembling forces to marchagainst him, returned to Cancalle, where Mr. Howe had made sucha masterly disposition of the boats and transports, that there-embarkation of the troops was performed with surprising ease andexpedition. The forces, while they remained on shore were restrainedfrom all outrage by the most severe discipline; and the French houses, which their inhabitants had abandoned, were left untouched. Immediatelyafter their landing, the duke of Marlborough, as commander-in-chief, published and distributed a manifesto, addressed to the people ofBretagne, giving them to understand, that his descent upon the coast wasnot effected with a design to make war on the inhabitants of the opencountry, except such as should be found in arms, or otherwise opposingthe operations of his Britannic majesty; that all who were willingto continue in peaceable possession of their effects, might remainunmolested in their respective dwellings, and follow their usualoccupations; that, besides the customs and taxes they used to payto their own king, nothing should be required of them but what wasabsolutely necessary for the subsistence of the army; and that, for allprovisions brought in, they should be paid in ready money. He concludedthis notice with declaring, that if, notwithstanding these assurancesof protection, they should carry off their effects and provisions, andabandon 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 inhabitantsof the towns and villages between Dinant, Rennes, and Doll, now inhis possession, had deserted their habitations, probably to avoid thepayment of the usual contributions; and he being informed that themagistrates had compelled the people of the country to retire intothe town of St. Maloes; he now gave them notice, that if they did notimmediately send them back to their houses, and come themselves to hishead-quarters, to settle the contributions, he should think himselfobliged to proceed to military execution. These threats, however, werenot put in force, although the magistrates of St. Maloes did not thinkproper to comply with his injunction. But it was found altogetherimpossible to prevent irregularities among troops that were naturallylicentious. Some houses were pillaged, and not without acts ofbarbarity; but the offenders were brought to immediate justice; and itmust be owned, as an incontestable proof of the general's humanity, thatin destroying the magazines of the enemy at St. Servan, which may betermed the suburbs of St. Maloes, he ordered one small-store house tobe spared, because it could not be set on fire without endangering thewhole district. The British forces being re-embarked, including aboutfive hundred light-horse, which had been disciplined and carried overwith a view to scour the country, the fleet was detained by contrarywinds in the bay of Cancalle for several days, during which a designseems to have been formed for attacking Granville, which had beenreconnoitred by some of the engineers; but, in consequence of theirreport, the scheme was laid aside, and the fleet stood out to sea, whereit was exposed to some rough weather. In a few days, the wind blowing ina northern direction, they steered again towards the French coast, andran in with the land near Havre-de-Grace, where the flat-bottomed boats, provided for landing, were hoisted out, and a second disembarkationexpected. But the wind blowing violently towards the evening, the boatswere re-shipped, and the fleet obliged to quit the land in order toavoid the dangers of a lee-shore. Next day, the weather being moremoderate, they returned to the same station, and orders were given toprepare for a descent; but the duke of Marlborough having taken a viewof the coast in an open cutter, accompanied by commodore Howe, thoughtproper to waive the attempt. Their next step was to bear away before thewind for Cherbourg, in the neighbourhood of which place the fleetcame to anchor. Here some of the transports received the fire of sixdifferent batteries; and a considerable body of troops appeared in armsto dispute the landing; nevertheless, the general resolved that theforts Querqueville, l'Hommet, and Gallet, should be attacked in thenight by the first regiment of guards. The soldiers were actuallydistributed in the flat-bottomed boats, and every preparation made forthis enterprise, when the wind began to blow with such violence, thatthe troops could not be landed without the most imminent danger anddifficulty, nor properly sustained in case of a repulse, even if thedisembarkation could have been effected. This attempt, therefore, waslaid aside, but at the same time a resolution taken to stand intowards the shore with the whole fleet, to cover a general landing. A disposition was made accordingly; but the storm increasing, thetransports ran foul of each other, and the ships were exposed to allthe 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 wasalmost consumed. These concurring reasons induced the commanders topostpone the disembarkation to a more favourable opportunity. The fleetstood out to sea, and the tempest abating, they steered for the Isle ofWight, and next day anchored at St. Helen's. Such was the issue of anenterprise achieved with considerable success, if we consider the damagedone to the enemy's shipping, and the other objects which the ministerhad in view; namely, to secure the navigation of the channel, and makea diversion in favour of the German allies, by alarming the French king, and obliging him to employ a great number of troops to defend hiscoast from insult and invasion; but whether such a mighty armament wasnecessary for the accomplishment of these petty aims, and whether thesame armament might not have been employed in executing schemes ofinfinitely greater advantage to the nation, we shall leave to thejudicious reader's own reflection. EXPEDITION AGAINST CHERBOURG. The designs upon the coast of France, though interrupted by tempestuousweather, were not as yet laid aside for the whole season; but, in themeantime, the troops were disembarked on the Isle of Wight; and onebrigade marched to the northward, to join a body of troops, with whichthe government resolved to augment the army of the allies in Germany, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. The duke of Marlborough andlord George Sackville being appointed to conduct this British corpsupon the continent, the command of the marine expeditions devolved tolieutenant-general Bligh, an old experienced officer, who had servedwith reputation; and his royal highness prince Edward, afterwardscreated duke of York, entered as a volunteer with commodore Howe, inorder to learn the rudiments of the sea-service. The remainder ofthe troops being re-embarked, and everything prepared for the secondexpedition, the fleet sailed from St. Helen's on the first of August;and after a tedious passage, from calms and contrary winds, anchoredon the seventh in the bay of Cherbourg. By this time the enemyhad intrenched themselves within a line, extending from the fortEcoeurdeville, which stands about two miles to the westward ofCherbourg, along the coast for the space of four miles, fortified withseveral batteries at proper distances. Behind this retrenchment a bodyof horse and infantry appeared in red and blue uniforms; but as theydid not advance to the open beach, the less risk was run in landing theBritish forces. At first a bomb-ketch had been sent to anchor near thetown, and throw some shells into the place, as a feint to amuse theenemy, and deceive them with regard to the place of disembarkation, while the general had determined to land about a league to thewestward of Querqueville, the most western fort in the bay. The otherbomb-ketches, being posted along shore, did considerable execution uponthe intrench-ments, not only by throwing shells in the usual way, butalso by using ball-mortars, filled with great quantities of balls, whichmay be thrown to a great distance, and, by scattering as they fly, doabundance of mischief. While the ketches fired without ceasing, thegrenadiers and guards were rowed regularly ashore in the flat-bottomedboats, and, landing without opposition, instantly formed on a small openportion of the beach, with a natural breast-work in their front, havingon the other side a hollow way, and a village rising beyond it with asudden ascent; on the left, the ground was intersected by hedges, andcovered with orchards, and from this quarter the enemy advanced inorder. The British troops immediately quitted the breast-work, in orderto meet them half way, and a straggling fire began; but the Frenchedging to the left, took possession of the hill, from whence theypiqueered with the advanced posts of the English. In the meantime, therest of the infantry were disembarked, and the enemy at night retired. As the light troops were not yet landed, general Bligh encamped thatnight at the village of Erville, on a piece of ground that did notextend above four hundred paces; so that the tents were pitched in acrowded and irregular manner. Next morning, the general having receivedintelligence 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 advancedparty took immediate possession of Querqueville; and the lines andbatteries along the shore were now deserted by the enemy. The Britishforces marching behind St. Aulne, Ecoeurdeville, Hommet, and La Galet, found the town of Cherbourg likewise abandoned, and the gates beingopen, entered it without opposition. The citizens, encouraged by amanifesto containing a promise of protection, which had been publishedand distributed in order to quiet their apprehensions, received theirnew guests with a good grace, overwhelming them with civilities, forwhich they met with a very ungrateful return; for as the bulk of thearmy was not regularly encamped and superintended, the soldiers were atliberty to indulge themselves in riot and licentiousness. All night longthey ravaged the adjacent country without restraint; and as no guardshad been regularly placed in the streets and avenues of Cherbourg, toprevent disorders, the town itself was not exempted from pillage andbrutality. These outrages, however, were no sooner known, than thegeneral took immediate steps for putting a stop to them for the present, and preventing all irregularities for the future. Next morning, theplace being reconnoitred, he determined to destroy, without delay, allthe forts and the basin; and the execution of this design was left tothe engineers, assisted by the officers of the fleet and artillery. Great sums of money had been expended upon the harbour and basin ofCherbourg, which at one time was considered by the French court as anobject of great importance, from its situation respecting the riverSeine, as well as the opposite coast of England; but as the workswere left unfinished, in all appearance the plan had grown intodisreputation. The enemy had raised several unconnected batteries alongthe bay; but the town itself was quite open and defenceless Whilethe engineers were employed in demolishing the works, the light horsescoured the country, and detachments were every day sent out towardsWalloign, at the distance of four leagues from Cherbourg, where theenemy were encamped, and every hour received reinforcements. Severalskirmishes were fought by the out-parties of each army, in one ofwhich captain Lindsay, a gallant young officer, who had been veryinstrumental in training the light horse, was mortally wounded. Theharbour and basin of Cherbourg being destroyed, together with all theforts in the neighbourhood, and about twenty pieces of brass cannonsecured on board the English ships, a contribution, amounting to aboutthree thousand pounds sterling, was exacted upon the town, and a planof re-embarkation concerted; as it appeared from the reports of peasantsand deserters, that the enemy were already increased to a formidablenumber. A slight intrench-ment being raised, sufficient to defend thelast division that should be re-embarked, the stores and artillerywere shipped, and the light horses conveyed on board their respectivetransports, by means of platforms laid in the flat-bottomed vessels. Onthe sixteenth day of August, at three o'clock in the morning, the forcesmarched 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 coastof England, and anchored in the road of Weymouth, under the high land ofPortland. In two days it weighed and stood again to the southward; butwas obliged by contrary winds to return to the same riding. The secondeffort, however, was more effectual. The fleet with some difficulty keptthe sea, and steering to the French coast, came to anchor in the bay ofSt. Lunaire, two leagues to the westward of St. Maloes, against whichit was determined to make another attempt. The sloops and ketches beingranged along shore to cover the disembarkation, the troops landed on afair open beach, and a detachment of grenadiers was sent to the harbourof St. Briac, above the town of St. Maloes, where they destroyed aboutfifteen small vessels; but St. Maloes itself being properly surveyed, appeared to be above insult, either from the land-forces or theshipping. The mouth of the river that forms its basin extends above twomiles in breadth at its narrowest part, so as to be out of the reach ofland batteries, and the entrance is defended by such forts and batteriesas the ships of war could not pretend to silence, considering thedifficult navigation of the channels; besides fifty pieces of largecannon planted on these forts and batteries, the enemy had mounted fortyon the west side of the town; and the basin was, moreover, strengthenedby seven frigates or armed vessels, whose guns might have been broughtto bear upon any batteries that could be raised on shore, as well asupon ships entering by the usual channel. For these substantial reasonsthe design against St. Maloes was dropped; but the general beingunwilling to re-embark, without having taken some step for the furtherannoyance of the enemy, resolved to penetrate into the country;conducting his motions, however, so as to be near the fleet, which hadby this time quitted the bay of St. Lunaire, where it could not ridewith any safety, and anchored in the bay of St. Cas, about three leaguesto the westward. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 hereached in the evening; next day he crossed a little gut or inlet of thesea, at low water, and his troops being incommoded by the peasants, whofired at them from hedges and houses, he sent a priest with a message, intimating, that if they would not desist, he would reduce their housesto ashes. No regard being paid to this intimation, the houses wereactually set on fire as soon as the troops had formed their camp abouttwo miles on the other side of the inlet. Next morning he proceeded tothe village of Matignon, where, after some smart skirmishing, the Frenchpiquets appeared, drawn up in order, to the number of two battalions;but having sustained a few shots from the English field-pieces, andseeing the grenadiers advance, they suddenly dispersed. General Blighcontinuing his route through the village, encamped in the openground, about three miles from the bay of St. Cas, which was thisday reconnoitred for re-embarkation; for he now received undoubtedintelligence, that the duke d'Aiguillon had advanced from Brest toLambale, within six miles of the English camp, at the head of twelveregular battalions, six squadrons, two regiments of militia, eightmortars, and ten pieces of cannon. The bay of St. Cas was covered byan intrenchment which the enemy had thrown up, to prevent or oppose anydisembarkation; and on the outside of this work there was a range ofsand hills extending along shore, which could have served as a coverto the enemy, from whence they might have annoyed the troops inre-embarking; for this reason a proposal was made to the general, thatthe 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 blindsecurity and rash presumption. Had the troops decamped in the nightwithout noise, in all probability they would have arrived at the beachbefore 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 insteadof this cautious manner of proceeding, the drums were beaten at twoo'clock in the morning, as if with intention to give notice to theenemy, who forthwith repeated the same signal. The troops were in motionbefore three, and though the length of the march did not exceed threemiles, the halts and interruptions were so numerous and frequent, that they did not arrive on the beach of St. Cas till nine. Then theembarkation was begun, and might have been happily finished, had thetransports lain near the shore and received the men as fast as the boatscould have conveyed them on board, without distinction; but many shipsrode at a considerable distance, and every boat carried the men onboard the respective transports to which they belonged; a punctilio ofdisposition by which a great deal of time was unnecessarily consumed. The small ships and bomb-ketches were brought near the shore, tocover the embarkation; and a considerable number of sea-officers werestationed on the beach, to superintend the boats' crews, and regulatethe service; but notwithstanding all their attention and authority, some of the boats were otherwise employed than in conveying the unhappysoldiers. Had all the cutters and small craft belonging to the fleetbeen properly occupied in this service, the disgrace and disaster ofthe day would scarce have happened. The British forces had skirmisheda little on the march, but no considerable body of the enemy appeareduntil the embarkation was begun; then they took possession of aneminence by a windmill, and forthwith opened a battery of ten cannon andeight mortars, from whence they fired with considerable effect uponthe soldiers on the beach, and on the boats in their passage. Theyafterwards began to march down the hill, partly covered by a hollow wayon their left, with a design to gain a wood, where they might form andextend themselves along the front of the English, and advance againstthem under shelter of the sand-hills: but in their descent they sufferedextremely from the cannon and mortars of the shipping, which made greathavock and threw them into confusion. Their line of march down the hillwas staggered, and for some time continued in suspense; then they turnedoff to one side, extended themselves along a hill to their left, andadvanced in a hollow way, from whence they suddenly rushed out to theattack. Though the greater part of the British troops were alreadyembarked, the rear-guard, consisting of all the grenadiers and half ofthe first regiment of guards, remained on the shore, to the number offifteen hundred, under the command of major-general Dury. Thisofficer, seeing the French advance, ordered his troops to form in granddivisions, and march from behind the bank that covered them, in order tocharge the enemy before they could be formed on the plain. Had this stepbeen taken when it was first suggested to Mr. Dury, before the Frenchwere disengaged from the hollow way, perhaps it might have so farsucceeded as to disconcert and throw them into confusion; but by thistime they had extended themselves into a very formidable front, and nohope remained of being able to withstand such a superior number. Insteadof 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 thein-trenchment; and the enemy could not have pursued them along theshore, without being exposed to such a fire from the shipping, as inall probability they could not have sustained. This scheme was likewiseproposed to Mr. Dury; but he seemed to be actuated by a spirit ofinfatuation. The English line being drawn up in uneven ground, beganthe action with an irregular fire from right to left, which the enemyreturned; but their usual fortitude and resolution seemed to forsakethem on this occasion. They saw themselves in danger of being surroundedand cut in pieces; their officers dropped on every side; and all hopeof retreat was now intercepted. In this cruel dilemma, their spiritsfailed; they were seized with a panic; they faultered, they broke; andin less than five minutes after the engagement began, they fled in theutmost confusion, pursued by the enemy, who no sooner saw them give waythan they fell in among them with their bayonets fixed, and made a greatcarnage. General Dury being dangerously wounded, ran into the sea, wherehe perished; and this was the fate of a great number, officers as wellas soldiers. Many swam towards the boats and vessels, which were orderedto give them all manner of assistance; but by far the greater numberwere either butchered on the beach, or drowned in the water: a smallbody, however, instead of throwing themselves into the sea, retired tothe rock on the left, where they made a stand, until they had exhaustedtheir ammunition, and then surrendered at discretion The havock wasmoreover increased by the shot and shells discharged from the batterywhich the enemy had raised on the hill. The slaughter would not havebeen so great, had not the French soldiers been exasperated by the firefrom the frigates, which was still maintained even after the Englishtroops were routed; but this was no sooner silenced by a signal from thecommodore, than the enemy exhibited a noble example of moderationand humanity, in granting immediate quarter and protection to thevanquished. About one thousand chosen men of the English army werekilled and taken prisoners on this occasion: nor was the advantagecheaply purchased by the French troops, among whom the shot and shellsfrom the frigates and ketches had done great execution. The clemencyof the victors was the more remarkable, as the British troops in thisexpedition had been shamefully guilty of marauding, pillaging, burning, and other excesses. War is so dreadful in itself, and so severe in itsconsequences, that the exercise of generosity and compassion, by whichits horrors are mitigated, ought ever to be applauded, encouraged, and imitated. We ought also to use our best endeavours to deserve thistreatment at the hands of a civilised enemy. Let us be humane in ourturn to those whom the fate of war has subjected to our power: letus, in prosecuting our military operations, maintain the most rigiddiscipline among the troops, and religiously abstain from all acts ofviolence and oppression. Thus a laudable emulation will undoubtedlyensue, and the powers at war vie with each other in humanity andpoliteness. In other respects the commander of an invading armamentwill always find his account in being well with the common people of thecountry in which the descent is made. By civil treatment and seasonablegratifications, they will be encouraged to bring into the camp regularsupplies of provision and refreshment; they will mingle with thesoldiers, and even form friendships among them; serve as guides, messengers, and interpreters; let out their cattle for hire asdraft-horses; work with their own persons as day-labourers; discoverproper fords, bridges, roads, passes, and defiles; and, if artfullymanaged, communicate many useful hints of intelligence. If greatcare and circumspection be not exerted in maintaining discipline, andbridling the licentious dispositions of the soldiers, such invasionswill be productive of nothing but miscarriage and disgrace: for this atbest is but a piratical way of carrying on war; and the troops engagedin it are, in some measure, debauched by the nature of the service. They are crowded together in transports, where the minute particulars ofmilitary order cannot be observed, even though the good of the servicegreatly depends upon a due observance of these forms. The soldiers grownegligent, and inattentive to cleanness and the exterior ornaments ofdress: they become slovenly, slothful, and altogether unfit for a returnof duty: they are tumbled about occasionally in ships and boats, landedand re-embarked in a tumultuous manner, under a divided and disorderlycommand: they are accustomed to retire at the first report of anapproaching enemy, and to take shelter on another element; nay, their small pillaging parties are often obliged to fly before unarmedpeasants. Their duty on such occasions is the most unmanly part of asoldier's office; namely, to ruin, ravage, and destroy. They soon yieldto the temptation of pillage, and are habituated to rapine: theygive loose to intemperance, riot, and intoxication; commit a thousandexcesses; and, when the enemy appears, run on board the ships with theirbooty. Thus the dignity of the service is debased; they lose all senseof honour and of shame; they are no longer restricted by military laws, nor overawed by the authority of officers; in a word, they degenerateinto a species of lawless buccaneers. From such a total relaxation ofmorals and discipline, what can ensue but riot, confusion, dishonour, and defeat? All the advantage that can be expected from these suddenstarts of invasion, will scarce overbalance the evils we have mentioned, together with the extraordinary expense of equipping armaments of thisnature. True it is, these descents oblige the French king to employa considerable number of his troops for the defence of his maritimeplaces: they serve to ruin the trade of his subjects, protect thenavigation of Great Britain, and secure its coast from invasion; butthese purposes might be as effectually answered, at a much smallerexpense, by the shipping alone. Should it be judged expedient, however, to prosecute this desultory kind of war, the commanders employed in itwill do well to consider, that a descent ought never to be hazarded inan enemy's country, without having taken proper precautions to secure aretreat; that the severest discipline ought to be preserved during allthe operations of the campaign; that a general ought never to disembarkbut upon a well-concerted plan, nor commence his military transactionswithout some immediate point or object in view; that a re-embarkationought never to be attempted, except from a clear open beach, where theapproaches of an enemy may be seen, and the troops covered by the fireof their shipping. Those who presume to reflect upon the particularsof this last expedition, owned themselves at a loss to account for theconduct of the general, in remaining on shore after the design upon St. Maloes was laid aside; in penetrating so far into the country withoutany visible object; neglecting the repeated intelligence which hereceived; communicating, by beat of drum, his midnight motions to anenemy of double his force; loitering near seven hours in a march ofthree miles; and, lastly, attempting the re-embarkation of the troopsat a place where no proper measures had been taken for their coverand defence. After the action of St. Cas, some civilities, by message, passed between the duke d'Aiguillon and the English commanders, who werefavoured with a list of the prisoners, including four sea captains;and assured that the wounded should receive all possible comfort andassistance. These matters being adjusted, commodore Howe returned withthe fleet to Spithead, and the soldiers were disembarked. The success of the attempt upon Cherbourg had elevated the people to adegree of childish triumph; and the government thought proper to indulgethis petulant spirit of exultation, by exposing twenty-one pieces ofFrench cannon in Hyde-park, from whence they were drawn in procession tothe Tower, amidst the acclamations of the populace. From this pinnacleof elation and pride they were precipitated to the abyss of despondenceor dejection, by the account of the miscarriage at St. Cas, which buoyedup the spirits of the French in the same proportion. The people of thatnation began to stand in need of some such cordial after the losses theyhad sustained, and the ministry of Versailles did not fail to make themost of this advantage: they published a pompous narrative of the battleof St. Cas, and magnified into a mighty victory the puny check whichthey had given to the rear-guard of an inconsiderable detachment. Thepeople received it with implicit belief, because it was agreeable totheir passions, and congratulated themselves upon their success inhyperboles, dictated by that vivacity so peculiar to the French nation. Indeed, these are artifices which the ministers of every nation find itnecessary to use at certain conjunctures, in governing the turbulent andcapricious multitude. After the misfortune at St. Cas, nothing furtherwas attempted by that armament; nor was any enterprise of importanceachieved by the British ships in Europe during the course of thissummer. The cruisers, however, still continued active and alert. CaptainHervey, in the ship Monmouth, destroyed a French ship of forty guns inthe island of Malta; an exploit of which the Maltese loudly complained, as a violation of their neutrality. About twenty sail of small Frenchvessels were driven ashore on the rocks of Bretagne, by some cruisersbelonging to the fleet commanded by lord Anson, after a smart engagementwith two frigates, under whose convoy they sailed. In the month ofNovember, the Belliqueux, a French ship of war mounted with sixty-fourguns, having by mistake run up St. George's channel, and anchored inLundy-road, captain Saumarez of the Antelope, then lying in King-road, immediately weighed and went in quest of her, according to the advice hehad received. When he appeared, the French captain heaved up his anchor, and made a show of preparing for an engagement; but soon hauled down hiscolours, and, without firing a shot, surrendered, with a complementof four hundred and seventeen men, to a ship of inferior force both innumber of hands and weight of metal. By this time the English privateersswarmed to such a degree in the channel, that scarce a French vesseldurst quit the harbour, and consequently there was little or no bootyto be obtained. In this dearth of legal prizes, some of the adventurerswere tempted to commit acts of piracy, and actually rifled the shipsof neutral nations. A Dutch vessel, having on board the baggage anddomestics belonging to the marquis de Pignatelli, ambassador fromthe court of Spain to the king of Denmark, was boarded three timessuccessively by the crews of three different privateers, who forced thehatches, rummaged the hold, broke open and rifled the trunks and boxesof the ambassador, insulted and even cruelly bruised his officers, stripped his domestics, and carried off his effects, together withletters of credit, and a bill of exchange. Complaints of these outragesbeing made to the court of London, the lords of the admiralty promised, in the gazette, a reward of five hundred pounds, without deduction, toany person who should discover the offenders concerned in these acts ofpiracy. Some of them were detected accordingly, and brought to condignpunishment. 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 insupplying the French with naval stores, and transporting the produceof the French sugar-colonies to Europe, as carriers hired by theproprietors. The English government, incensed at this unfair commerce, prosecuted with such flagrant partiality for their enemies, issuedorders for the cruisers to arrest all ships of neutral powers thatshould have French property on board; and these orders were executedwith rigour and severity. A great number of Dutch ships were taken andcondemned as legal prizes, both in England and Jamaica: sometimesthe owners met with hard measures, and some crews were treated withinsolence and barbarity. The subjects of the United Provinces raiseda loud clamour against the English, for having, by these captures, violated the law of nations and the particular treaty of commercesubsisting between Great Britain and the republic. Remonstrances weremade to the English ministry, who expostulated, in their turn, withthe deputies of the states-general; and the two nations were inflamedagainst each other with the most bitter animosity. The British residentat the Hague, in a conference with the states, represented that the kinghis master could not hope to see peace speedily re-established, if theneutral princes should assume a right of carrying on the trade of hisenemies; that he expected, from their known justice, and the allianceby which they were so nearly connected with his subjects, they wouldhonestly abandon this fraudulent commerce, and agree that naval storesshould be comprehended in the class of contraband commodities. He answered some articles of the complaints they had made with anappearance of candour and moderation; declared his majesty's abhorrenceof the violences which had been committed upon the subjects of theUnited Provinces; explained the steps which had been taken by theEnglish government to bring the offenders to justice, as well asto prevent such outrages for the future; and assured them that hisBritannic majesty had nothing more at heart, than to renew and maintain, in full force, the mutual confidence and friendship by which themaritime powers of England and Holland had been so long united. These professions of esteem and affection were not sufficient to quietthe minds and appease the resentment of the Dutch merchants; and theFrench party, which was both numerous and powerful, employed all theirart and influence to exasperate their passions, and widen the breachbetween the two nations. The court of Versailles did not fail to seizethis opportunity of insinuation: while, on one hand, their ministers andemissaries in Holland exaggerated the indignities and injuries whichthe states had sustained from the insolence and rapacity of theEnglish; they, on the other hand, flattered and cajoled them with littleadvantages in trade, and formal professions of respect. --Such wasthe memorial delivered by the count d'Affry, intimating that theempress-queen being under an absolute necessity of employing all herforces to defend her hereditary dominions in Germany, she had beenobliged to withdraw her troops from Ostend and Nieuport, and appliedto the French king, as her ally nearest at hand, to garrison these twoplaces; which, however, should be restored at the peace, or sooner, should her imperial majesty think proper. The spirit of the Dutchmerchants, at this juncture, and their sentiments with respect toEngland, appeared with very high colouring in a memorial to thestates-general, subscribed by two hundred and sixty-nine traders, composed and presented with equal secrecy and circumspection. In thisfamous remonstrance they complained, that the violences and unjustdepredations committed by the English ships of war and privateers, onthe vessels and effects of them and their fellow-subjects, were not onlycontinued, but daily multiplied; and cruelty and excess carried to sucha pitch of wanton barbarity, that the petitioners were forced to implorethe assistance of their high mightinesses to protect, in the mostefficacious manner, the commerce and navigation, which were the twosinews of the republic. For this necessary purpose they offered tocontribute each his contingent, and to arm at their own charge; andother propositions were made for an immediate augmentation of themarine. While this party industriously exerted all their power andcredit to effect a rupture with England, the princess-gouvernanteemployed all her interest and address to divert them from this object, and alarm them with respect to the power and designs of France; againstwhich she earnestly exhorted them to augment their military forcesby land, that they might be prepared to defend themselves against allinvasion. At the same time she spared no pains to adjust the differencesbetween her husband's country and her father's kingdom; and withoutdoubt, her healing councils were of great efficacy in preventing mattersfrom 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 notexhausted in petty descents upon the coast of France. The continent ofAmerica was the great theatre on which her chief vigour was displayed;nor did she fail to exert herself in successful efforts against theFrench settlements on the coast of Africa. The whole gum trade, fromCape Blanco to the river Gambia, an extent of five hundred miles, hadbeen engrossed by the French, who built Fort Louis within the mouth ofthe Senegal, extending their factories near three hundred leagues upthat river, and on the same coast had fortified the island of Goree, inwhich they maintained a considerable garrison. The gum senega, of whicha great quantity is used by the manufacturers of England, being whollyin the hands of the enemy, the English dealers were obliged to buy it atsecond-hand from the Dutch, who purchased it of the French, and exactedan exorbitant price for that commodity. This consideration forwarded theplan for annexing the country to the possession of Great Britain. Theproject was first conceived by Mr. Thomas Gumming, a sensible quaker, who, as a private merchant, had made a voyage to Portenderrick, anadjoining part of the coast, and contracted a personal acquaintance withAmir, 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 thesubjects of Great Britain, whom he publicly preferred to all otherEuropeans, and so exasperated against the French, that he declared heshould never be easy till they were exterminated from the river Senegal. At that very time he had commenced hostilities against them, andearnestly desired that the king of England would send out an armamentto reduce Fort Louis and Goree, with some ships of force to protectthe traders. In that case, he promised to join his Britannic majesty'sforces, and grant an exclusive trade to his subjects. Mr. Gumming notonly perceived the advantages that would result from such an exclusiveprivilege with regard to the gum, but foresaw many other importantconsequences of an extensive trade in a country, which, over and abovethe 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 acquisitionso valuable to his country, this honest quaker was equally minute andindefatigable in his inquiries touching the commerce of the coast, aswell as the strength and situation of the French settlements on theriver Senegal; and, at his return to England, actually formed the planof an expedition for the conquest of Fort Louis. This was presented tothe board of trade, by whom it was approved, after a severe examination;but it required the patriotic zeal, and invincible perseverance ofCumming, to surmount a variety of obstacles before it was adopted by theministry; and even then it was not executed in its full extent. He wasabridged of one large ship, and in lieu of six hundred land-forces, tobe drafted from different regiments, which he in vain demanded, firstfrom the duke of Cumberland, and afterwards from lord Ligonier, thelords of the admiralty allotted two hundred marines only for thisservice. After repeated solicitation, he, in the year one thousand sevenhundred and fifty-seven, obtained an order, that the two annual shipsbound 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 seasonwas too far advanced to admit a probability of success, and thereforethe design was postponed. In the beginning of the present year, Mr. Cumming being reinforced with the interest of a considerable merchant inthe city, to whom he had communicated the plan, renewed his applicationto the ministry, and they resolved to hazard the enterprise. A smallsquadron was equipped for this expedition, under the command of captainMarsh, having on board a body of marines, commanded by major Mason, witha detachment of artillery, ten pieces of cannon, eight mortars, and aconsiderable quantity of warlike stores and ammunition. Captain Walkerwas appointed engineer; and Mr. Cumming was concerned as a principaldirector 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 theirpassage touched at the island of Teneriffe, where, while the shipssupplied themselves with wine and water, Mr. Cumming proceeded in theSwan sloop to Portenderrick, being charged with a letter of credenceto his old friend the king of that country, who had favoured him in hislast 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;* andthe queen-dowager, who remained at Portenderrick, gave Mr. Cumming tounderstand, that she could not at present spare any troops to join theEnglish in their expedition against Senegal; but she assured him, that, should the French be exterminated, she and their subjects would gothither 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, despatcheda messenger to the king, with advice of their arrival and design. Hedeclared that he would, with all possible diligence, assemble threehundred warriors to join the English troops, and that, in his opinion, the king would reinforce them with a detachment from his army. By thistime, captain Marsh, with the rest of the armament, had arrived atPortenderrick, and fearing that the enemy might receive intimation ofhis design, resolved to proceed on the expedition without waiting forthe promised auxiliaries. On the twenty-second clay of April he weighedanchor, and next day, at four o'clock, discovered the French flag flyingupon Fort Louis, situated in the midst of a pretty considerable town, which exhibited a very agreeable appearance. The commodore havingmade prize of a Dutch ship, richly laden with gum, which lay at anchorwithout the bar, came to anchor in Senegal-road at the mouth of theriver; and here he perceived several armed sloops which the enemy haddetached to defend the passage of the bar, which is extremely dangerous. All the boats were employed in conveying the stores into the smallcraft, while three of the sloops continued exchanging fire over a narrowtongue of land with the vessels of the enemy, consisting of one brigand six armed sloops, mounted with great guns and swivels. At length thechannel being discovered, and the wind, which generally blows down theriver, chopping about, captain Millar, of the London buss, seized thatopportunity; and, passing the bar with a flowing sheet, dropped anchoron the inside, where he lay till night exposed to the whole fire of theenemy. Next day he was joined by the other small vessels, and a regularengagement ensued. This was warmly maintained on both sides, until thebusses and one dogger running aground, immediately bulged, and werefilled 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 thatnow the whole amounted to three hundred and ninety marines, besides thedetachment of artillery. As they laid their account with beingattacked by the natives who lined the shore at some distance, seemingly determined to oppose the descent, they forthwith threw up anintrench-ment, and began to disembark the stores, great part of whichlay under water. While they were employed in raising this occasionaldefence, the negroes came in great numbers and submitted; and on thesucceeding day they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty seamen, who passed the bar in sloops, with their ensigns and colours flying. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} FORT LOUIS AND SENEGAL TAKEN. They had made no further progress in their operations, when two Frenchdeputies arrived at the intrench-ment, with proposals for a capitulationfrom the governor of Fort Louis. After some hesitation, captain Marshand major Mason agreed, that all the white people belonging to theFrench company at Senegal should be safely conducted to France inan English vessel, without being deprived of their private effects, provided all the merchandise and uncoined treasure should be deliveredup 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 thecapitulation could be signed. They promised that the free natives livingat Fort Louis should remain in quiet possession of their effects, andin the free exercise of their religion; and that all negroes, mulattoes, and others, who could prove themselves free, should have it in theiroption either to remain in the place, or remove to any other part of thecountry. * * 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 witha flag of truce, to see the articles signed and executed; but they wereso retarded by the rapidity of the stream, that they did not approachthe fort till three in the morning. As soon as the day broke theyhoisted their flag, and rowed up towards a battery on a point of theisland, where they lay upon their oars very near a full hour, beatingthe chamade; but no notice was taken of their approach. Thisreserve appearing mysterious, they retired down the river to theirin-trenchment, where they understood that the negroes on the islandwere in arms, and had blocked up the French in Fort Louis, resolving todefend the place to the last extremity, unless they should be includedin the capitulation. This intelligence was communicated in a secondletter from the governor, who likewise informed the English commander, that unless the French director-general should be permitted to remainwith the natives, as a surety for that article of the capitulation inwhich they were concerned, they would allow themselves to be cut inpieces rather than submit. This request being granted, the Englishforces began their march to Fort Louis, accompanied by a number of longboats, in which the artillery and stores had been embarked. The Frenchseeing them advance, immediately struck their flag; and major Mason tookpossession of the castle, where he found ninety-two pieces of cannon, with treasure and merchandise to a considerable value. The corporationand burghers of the town of Senegal submitted, and swore allegiance tohis Britannic majesty: the neighbouring princes, attended by numerousretinues, visited the commander, and concluded treaties with the Englishnation; and the king of Portenderrick, or Legibelli, sent anambassador from his camp to major Mason, with presents, complimentsof congratulation, and assurances of friendship. The number of freeindependent negroes and mulattoes, settled at Senegal, amounted to threethousand; and many of these enjoyed slaves and possessions of their own. The two French factories of Podore and Galam, the latter situated ninehundred miles farther up the river, were included in the capitulation;so that Great Britain, almost without striking a blow, found herselfpossessed of a conquest, from which, with proper management, she mayderive inconceivable riches. This important acquisition was in a greatmeasure, if not entirely, owing to the sagacity, zeal, and indefatigableefforts of Mr. Cumming, who not only formed the plan, and solicited thearmament, but also attended the execution of it in person, at the hazardof his life, and to the interruption of his private concerns. Fort Louis being secured with an English garrison, and some armedvessels 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 theFrench company had considerable magazines and warehouses, and lodgedthe negro slaves until they could be shipped for the West Indies. Ifthe additional force which Mr. Cumming proposed for the conquest of thisisland had been added to the armament, in all probability the islandwould have been reduced, and in that case the nation would have savedthe considerable expense of a subsequent expedition against it, underthe conduct of commodore Keppel. At present, the ships by which Goreewas attacked were found unequal to the attempt, and the expeditionmiscarried accordingly, though the miscarriage was attended with littleor 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 aboutfifty thousand men, including two-and-twenty thousand regular troops. The earl of Loudoun having returned to England, the chief command inAmerica devolved on major-general Abercrombie; but as the objects ofoperation were various, the forces were divided into three detachedbodies, under as many different commanders. About twelve thousandwere destined to undertake the siege of Louisbourg, on the island ofCape-Breton. The general himself reserved near sixteen thousand forthe reduction of Crown-Point, a fort situated on lake Champlain; eightthousand under the conduct of brigadier-general Forbes, were allottedfor the conquest of Fort du Quesne, which stood a great way to thesouthward, near the river Ohio; and a considerable garrison was left atAnnapolis, in Nova-Scotia. The reduction of Louisbourg and the island ofCape-Breton being an object of immediate consideration, was undertakenwith all possible despatch. Major-general Amherst being joined byadmiral Boscawen with the fleet and forces from England, the wholearmament, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, tooktheir departure from the harbour of Halifax, in Nova-Scotia, on thetwenty-eighth of May; and on the second of June part of the transportsanchored in the bay of Gabarus, about seven miles to the westward ofLouisbourg. The garrison of this place, commanded by the chevalierDru-cour, consisted of two thousand five hundred regular troops, threehundred militia, formed of the burghers, and towards the end of thesiege they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty Canadians, including threescore Indians. The harbour was secured by six ships ofthe line, and five frigates, * three of which the enemy sunk acrossthe harbour's mouth, in order to render it inaccessible to the Englishshipping. * 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 downthe covered way, and several bastions exposed in such a manner as tobe enfiladed by the besiegers, and no part of the town secure from theeffects of cannonading and bombardment. The governor had taken all theprecautions in his power to prevent a landing, by establishing achain of posts, that extended two leagues and a half along the mostinaccessible part of the beach; intrench-ments were thrown up, andbatteries erected; but there were some intermediate places, which couldnot be properly secured, and in one of these the English troops weredisembarked. The disposition being made for landing, a detachment, inseveral sloops under convoy, passed by the mouth of the harbour towardsLorembec, in order to draw the enemy's attention that way, while thelanding should really be effected on the other side of the town. Onthe eighth day of June, the troops being assembled in the boats beforeday-break, in three divisions, several sloops and frigates, that werestationed along shore in the bay of Gabarus, began to scour the beachwith their shot; and after the fire had continued about a quarter of anhour, the boats, containing the division on the left, were rowed towardthe shore, under the command of brigadier-general Wolfe, an accomplishedofficer, who, in the sequel, displayed very extraordinary proofs ofmilitary genius. At the same time the two other divisions, on the rightand 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, anda very severe fire of cannon and musketry from the enemy's batteries, which did considerable execution, brigadier Wolfe pursued his point withadmirable courage and deliberation. The soldiers leaped into the waterwith the most eager alacrity, and, gaining the shore, attacked the enemyin such a manner, that in a few minutes they abandoned their works andartillery, and fled in the utmost confusion. The other divisions landedalso, but not without an obstinate opposition; and the stores, with theartillery, being brought on shore, the town of Louisbourg was formallyinvested. The difficulty of landing stores and implements in boisterousweather, and the nature of the ground, which being marshy, was unfit forthe conveyance of heavy cannon, retarded the operations of the siege. Mr. Amherst made his approaches with great circumspection, securing hiscamp with redoubts and epaulements from any attacks of Canadians, of which he imagined there was a considerable body behind him on theisland, as well as from the fire of the French shipping in the harbourwhich would otherwise have annoyed him extremely in his advances. LOUISBOURG TAKEN. The governor of Louisbourg having destroyed the grand battery, whichwas detached from the body of the place, and recalled his out-posts, prepared for making a vigorous defence. A very severe fire, welldirected, was maintained against the besiegers and their works, fromthe town, the island battery, and the ships in the harbour; and diverssallies were made, though without much effect. In the meantime brigadierWolfe, with a strong detachment, had marched round the north-east partof the harbour, and taken possession of the Lighthouse-point, wherehe erected several batteries against the ships and the islandfortification, which last was soon silenced. On the nineteenth day ofJune, the Echo, a French frigate, was taken by the English cruisers, after having escaped from the harbour. From the officers on board ofthis ship the admiral learned that the Bizarre, another frigate, hadsailed from thence on the day of the disembarkation, and the Comète hadsuccessfully followed her example. Besides the regular approaches tothe town, conducted by the engineers under the immediate command andinspection of general Amherst, divers batteries were raised by thedetached corps under brigadier Wolfe, who exerted himself with amazingactivity, and grievously incommoded the enemy, both of the town andshipping. On the twenty-first day of July the three great ships, theEntreprenant, Capricieux, and Célèbre, were set on fire by a bomb-shell, and burned to ashes, so that none remained but the Prudent andBienfaisant, which the admiral undertook to destroy. For this purpose, in the night between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth days of themonth, the boats of the squadron were in two divisions detached into theharbour, under the command of two young captains, Laforey and Balfour. They accordingly penetrated in the dark through a terrible fire ofcannon and musketry, and boarded the enemy sword in hand. The Prudent, being aground, was set on fire and destroyed, but the Bienfaisant wastowed out of the harbour in triumph. In the prosecution of the siege, the admiral and general co-operated with remarkable harmony; the formercheerfully assisting the latter with cannon and other implements; withdetachments of marines to maintain posts on shore, with parties ofseamen 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 keptup with great perseverance; until, at length, their shipping being alltaken and destroyed, the caserns ruined in two principal bastions, *forty out of fifty-two pieces of cannon dismounted, broke, or renderedunserviceable, and divers practicable breaches effected, the governor, in a letter to Mr. Amherst, proposed a capitulation on the same articlesthat 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 hisgarrison must surrender themselves prisoners of war, otherwise he mightnext morning expect a general assault by the shipping under admiralBoscawen. 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 apetition from the traders and inhabitants of the place, in consequenceof which he submitted. On the twenty-seventh day of July, threecompanies of grenadiers, commanded by major Farquhar, took possessionof the western gate; and brigadier Whitmore was detached into the town, to see the garrison lay down their arms, and deliver up their colourson the esplanade, and to post the necessary guards on the stores, magazines, and ramparts. Thus, at the expense of about four hundred menkilled and wounded, the English obtained possession of the importantisland of Cape-Breton, and the strong town of Louisbourg, in which thevictors found two hundred and twenty-one pieces of cannon, with eighteenmortars, and a considerable quantity of stores and ammunition. Themerchants and inhabitants were sent to France in English bottoms; butthe garrison, together with the sea-officers, marines, and mariners, amounting in all to five thousand six hundred and thirty-sevenprisoners, were transported to England. The loss of Louisbourg was themore severely felt by the French king, as it had been attended by thedestruction of so many considerable ships and frigates. The particularsof this transaction were immediately brought to England in a vesseldespatched for that purpose, with captain Amherst, brother to thecommander, who was also intrusted with eleven pair of colours takenat Louisbourg; these were, by his majesty's order, carried in pompousparade, escorted by detachments of horse and foot-guards, withkettle-drums and trumpets, from the palace of Kensington to St. Paul'scathedral, where they were deposited as trophies, under a discharge ofcannon, and other noisy expressions of triumph and exultation. Indeed, the public rejoicings for the conquest of Louisbourg were diffusedthrough every part of the British dominions, and addresses ofcongratulation were presented to the king, by a great number offlourishing towns and corporations. After the reduction of Cape-Breton, some ships were detached, with abody of troops under the command of lieutenant-colonel lord Rollo, totake possession of the island of St. John, which also lies in the gulfof St. Laurence, and by its fertility in corn and cattle, had, since thebeginning of the war, supplied Quebec with considerable quantities ofprovisions. It was likewise the asylum to which the French neutrals ofAnnapolis fled for shelter from the English government; and the retreatfrom whence they and the Indians used to make their sudden irruptionsinto Nova-Scotia, where they perpetrated the most inhuman barbaritieson the defenceless subjects of Great Britain. The number of inhabitantsamounted to four thousand one hundred, who submitted and brought intheir arms; then lord Rollo took possession of the governor's quarters, where he found several scalps of Englishmen, whom the savages hadassassinated, in consequence of the encouragement they received fromtheir French patrons and allies, who gratified them with a certainpremium for every scalp they produced. The island was stocked with aboveten thousand head of black cattle, and some of the farmers raised eachtwelve 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 bodyof the British forces in America, under the immediate conduct ofgeneral Abercrombie, who, as we have already observed, had proposed thereduction of the French forts on the lakes George and Champlain, as thechief objects of his enterprise, with a view to secure the frontierof the British colonies, and open a passage for the future conquest ofCanada. In the beginning of July his forces, amounting to near seventhousand regular troops, and ten thousand provincials, embarked on thelake George, in the neighbourhood of lake Champlain, on board of ninehundred batteaux, and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, withprovisions, artillery, and ammunition; several pieces of cannon beingmounted on rafts to cover the purposed landing, which was next dayeffected without opposition. The general's design was to invest:Ticonderoga, a fort situated on a tongue of land, extending betweenlake George and a narrow gut that communicates with lake Champlain. Thisfortification was on three sides surrounded with water, and infront nature had secured it with a morass. The English troops beingdisembarked, were immediately formed into three columns, and begantheir march to the enemy's advanced post, consisting of one battalion, encamped behind a breast-work of logs, which they now abandoned withprecipitation, after having set them on fire, and burned their tents andimplements. The British forces continued their march in the same order;but the route lying through a thick wood that did not admit of anyregular progression or passage, and the guides proving extremelyignorant, the troops were bewildered, and the columns broken by fallingin one upon another. Lord Howe being advanced at the head of the rightcentre column, encountered a French detachment who had likewise losttheir way in the retreat from the advanced post, and a warm skirmishensuing, the enemy were routed with considerable loss, a good numberwere killed, and one hundred and forty-eight were taken prisoners, including five officers. This petty advantage was dearly boughtwith 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 acquiredthe esteem and affection of the soldiery by his generosity, sweetnessof manners, and engaging address. The general perceiving the troopswere greatly fatigued and disordered, from want of rest and refreshment, thought it advisable to march back to the landing-place, which theyreached about eight in the morning. Then he detached lieutenant-colonelBradstreet, with one regular regiment, six companies of the RoyalAmericans, with the batteaux-men, and a body of rangers, to takepossession of a saw-mill in the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, which theenemy had abandoned. This post being secured, the general advanced againtowards Ticonderoga, where, he understood from the prisoners, the enemyhad assembled eight battalions, with a body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in all to six thousand. These, they said, being encampedbefore the fort, were employed in making a formidable intrenchment, where they intended to wait for a reinforcement of three thousandmen, who had been detached under the command of M. De Levi, to make adiversion on the side of the Mohawk river;* but, upon intelligenceof Mr. Abercrombie's approach, were now recalled for the defence ofTiconderoga. * 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 oppositeside of the fort, to reconnoitre the enemy's intrenchments; and hereported that the works being still unfinished, might be attempted witha good prospect of success. A disposition was made accordingly for theattack, and, after proper guards had been left at the saw-mill and thelanding-place, the whole army was put in motion. They advanced withgreat alacrity towards the intrenchment, which, however, they foundaltogether impracticable. The breastwork was raised eight feet high, and the ground before it covered with an abbatis, of felled trees, withtheir boughs pointing outwards, and projecting in such a manner asto render the intrenchment almost inaccessible. Notwithstanding thesediscouraging difficulties, the British troops marched up to the assaultwith an undaunted resolution, and sustained a terrible firewithout flinching. They endeavoured to cut their way through theseembarrassments with their swords, and some of them even mountedthe parapet; but the enemy were so well covered, that they coulddeliberately direct their fire without the least danger to themselves:the carnage was therefore considerable, and the troops began to fallinto confusion, after several repeated attacks, which lasted above fourhours, under the most disadvantageous circumstances. The general, bythis time, saw plainly that no hope of success remained; and, in orderto prevent a total defeat, took measures for the retreat of the army, which retired unmolested to their former camp, with the loss of abouteighteen hundred men killed or wounded, including a great number ofofficers. Every corps of regular troops behaved, on this unfortunateoccasion, with remarkable intrepidity; but the greatest loss wassustained by lord John Murray's Highland regiment, of which above onehalf of the private men, and twenty-five officers, were either slainupon the spot, or desperately wounded. Mr. Abercrombie, unwilling tostay in the neighbourhood of the enemy with forces which had receivedsuch a dispiriting check, retired to his batteaux, and re-embarking thetroops, returned to the camp at lake George, from whence he had takenhis departure. Censure, which always attends miscarriage, did not sparethe character of this commander; his attack was condemned as rash, andhis retreat as pusillanimous. In such a case allowances must be made forthe peevishness of disappointment, and the clamour of connexion. How farMr. Abercrombie acquitted himself in the duty of a general we shallnot pretend to determine; but if he could depend upon the courage anddiscipline of his forces, he surely had nothing to fear, after theaction, from the attempts of the enemy, to whom he would have beensuperior in number, even though they had been joined by the expectedreinforcement; he might therefore have remained on the spot, in order toexecute some other enterprise when he should be reinforced in his turn;for general Amherst no sooner heard of his disaster, than he returnedwith the troops from Cape-Breton to New England, after having left astrong garrison in Louis-bourg. At the head of six regiments he beganhis march to Albany about the middle of September, in order to join theforces on the lake, that they might undertake some other service beforethe season should be exhausted. FORT FRONTENAC TAKEN AND DESTROYED BY THE ENGLISH. In the meantime, general Abercrombie had detached lieutenant-colonelBradstreet, with a body of three thousand men, chiefly provincials, toexecute a plan which this officer had formed against Cadaraqui, or fortFrontenac, situated on the north side of the river St. Laurence, justwhere it takes its origin from the lake Ontario. To the side of thislake he penetrated with his detachment, and embarking in some sloopsand batteaux, provided for the purpose, landed within a mile of fortFrontenac, the garrison of which, consisting of one hun dred andten men, with a few Indians, immediately surrendered at discretion. Considering the importance of this post, which in a great measurecommanded the mouth of the river St. Laurence, and served as a magazineto the more southern castles, the French general was inexcusable forleaving it in such a defenceless condition. The fortification itselfwas inconsiderable and ill-contrived; nevertheless, it contained sixtypieces of cannon, sixteen small mortars, with an immense quantity ofmerchandise and provisions, deposited for the use of the French forcesdetached against brigadier Forbes, their western garrisons, and Indianallies, as well as for the subsistence of the corps commanded by M. DeLevi, on his enterprise against the Mohawk river. Mr. Bradstreet notonly reduced the fort without bloodshed, but also made himself master ofall the enemy's shipping on the lake, amounting to nine armed vessels, some of which carried eighteen guns. Two of these Mr. Bradstreetconveyed to Oswego, whither he returned with his troops, after he haddestroyed fort Frontenac, with all the artillery, stores, provisions, and merchandise, which it contained. In consequence of this exploit, theFrench troops to the southward were exposed to the hazard of starving;hut it is not easy to conceive the general's reason for giving ordersto abandon and destroy a fort, which, if properly strengthened andsustained, might have rendered the English masters of the lake Ontario, and grievously harassed the enemy both in their commerce and expeditionsto the westward. Indeed, great part of the Indian trade centered atFrontenac, to which place the Indians annually repaired from all partsof America, some of them at the distance of a thousand miles, and hereexchanged their furs for European commodities. So much did the Frenchtraders excel the English in the art of conciliating the affection ofthose savage tribes, that great part of them, in their yearly progressto this remote market, actually passed by the British settlement ofAlbany, in New York, where they might have been supplied with whatarticles they wanted, much cheaper than they could purchase themat Frontenac or Montreal; nay, the French traders used to furnishthemselves with those very commodities from the merchants of New York, and found this traffic much more profitable than that of procuring thesame articles from France, loaded with the expense of a tedious anddangerous navigation, from the sea to the source of the river St. Laurence. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BRIGADIER FORBES TAKES FORT DU QUESNE. In all probability, the destruction of Frontenac facilitated theexpedition against Fort du Quesne, intrusted to the conduct of brigadierForbes, who, with his little army, began his march in the beginningof July from Philadelphia for the river Ohio, a prodigious tract ofcountry very little known, destitute of military roads, incumbered withmountains, morasses, and woods, that were almost impenetrable. It wasnot without incredible exertion of industry, that he procured provisionsand carriages for this expedition, formed new roads, extended scoutingparties, secured camps, and surmounted many other difficulties in thecourse of his tedious march, during which he was also harassed by smalldetachments of the enemy's Indians. Having penetrated with the mainbody as far as Ray's-Town, at the distance of ninety miles from Fort duQuesne, and advanced colonel Bouquet with two thousand men, about fiftymiles farther, to a place called Lyal-Henning, this officer detachedmajor Grant at the head of eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fortand its out-works. The enemy perceiving him approach, sent a body oftroops against him, sufficient to surround his whole detachment; avery severe action began, which the English maintained with theirusual courage for three hours, against cruel odds; but at length, beingoverpowered by numbers, they were obliged to give way, and retiredin disorder to Lyal-Henning, with the loss of about three hundred menkilled or taken, including major Grant, who was carried prisoner to Fortdu Quesne, and nineteen officers. Notwithstanding this mortifying check, brigadier Forbes advanced with the army, resolved to prosecute hisoperations 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 thetwenty-fourth day of November, and next clay it was possessed by theBritish forces. As for the Indians of this country, they seemed heartilyto renounce their connexions with France, and be perfectly reconciledto the government of his Britannic majesty. Brigadier Forbes havingrepaired the fort, changed its name from du Quesne to Pittsburgh, secured it with a garrison of provincials, and concluded treaties offriendship and alliance with the Indian tribes. Then he marched back toPhiladelphia, and in his retreat built a block-house, near Lyal-Henning, for the defence of Pennsylvania; but he himself did not long survivethese transactions, his Constitution having been exhausted by theincredible fatigues of the service. --Thus have we given a particulardetail of all the remarkable operations by which this campaign wasdistinguished on the continent of America; the reader will be convinced, that, notwithstanding the defeat of Ticonderoga, and the disaster of theadvanced party in the neighbourhood of Fort du Quesne, the arms of GreatBritain acquired many important advantages; and indeed paved the wayfor the reduction of Quebec, and the conquest of all Canada. In themeantime, the admirals Boscawen and Hardy, having left a considerablesquadron at Halifax in Nova-Scotia, returned with four ships of theline to England, where they arrived in the beginning of November, afterhaving given chase to six large French ships, which they descried to thewestward of Scilly, but could not overtake or bring to an engagement. The conquest of the French settlement in the river Senegal being deemedimperfect and incomplete, whilst France still kept possession of theisland of Goree, the ministry of Great Britain resolved to crown thecampaign in Africa with the reduction of that fortress. For this purposecommodore Keppel, brother to the earl of Albemarle, was vested with thecommand of a squadron, consisting of four ships of the line, severalfrigates, two bomb-ketches, and some transports, having on board sevenhundred men of the regular troops, commanded by colonel Worge, andembarked in the harbour of Cork in Ireland, from whence this wholearmament took its departure on the eleventh day of November. After atempestuous passage, in which they touched at the isle of Teneriffe, they arrived at Goree in the latter end of December, and the commodoremade a disposition for attacking this island, which was remarkablystrong by nature, but very indifferently fortified. Goree is a smallbarren island, extending about three quarters of a mile in length, of atriangular form; and on the south-west side rising into a rocky hill, onwhich the paltry fort of St. Michael is situated. There is another stillmore inconsiderable, called St. Francis, towards the other extremity ofthe island; and several batteries were raised around its sweep, mountedwith about one hundred pieces of cannon, and four mortars. The Frenchgovernor, M. De St. Jean, had great plenty of ammunition, and hisgarrison amounted to about three hundred men, exclusive of as many negroinhabitants. The flat-bottomed boats, for disembarking the troops, beinghoisted out, and disposed alongside of the different transports, thecommodore stationed his ships on the west side of the island, and theengagement began with a shell from one of the ketches. This was asignal for the great ships, which poured in their broadsides withoutintermission, and the fire was returned with equal vivacity from allthe batteries of the island. In the course of the action the cannonadingfrom the ships became so severe and terrible, that the French garrisondeserted their quarters, in spite of all the efforts of the governor, who acquitted himself like a man of honour; but he was obliged tostrike his colours, and surrender at discretion, after a short but warmdispute, in which the loss of the British commodore did not exceed onehundred men killed and wounded. The success of the day was the moreextraordinary, as the French garrison had not lost a man, except onenegro killed by the bursting of a bomb-shell, and the number of theirwounded was very inconsiderable. While the attack lasted, the oppositeshore of the continent was lined with a concourse of negroes, assembledto view the combat, who expressed their sentiments and surprise in loudclamour and tin-couth gesticulations, and seemed to be impressed withawe and astonishment at the power and execution of the British squadron. The French colours being struck, as a signal of submission, thecommodore sent a detachment of marines on shore, who disarmed thegarrison, and hoisted the British flag upon the castle of St. Michael. In the meantime, the governor and the rest of the prisoners were securedamong the shipping. Thus the important island of Goree fell into thehands of the English, together with two trading vessels that chancedto be at anchor in the road; and stores, money, and merchandise, tothe value of twenty thousand pounds. Part of the troops being left ingarrison at Goree, under the command of major Newton, together withthree sloops for his service, the squadron, being watered and refreshedfrom the continent, that part of which is governed by one of the Jalofkings, and the prisoners, with their baggage, being dismissed inthree cartel ships to France, the commodore set sail for Senegal, andreinforced 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 goodhumour, or maintain the disposition he professed to favour the commerceof Great Britain. True it is, he was desirous of engaging the English inhis quarrels with some neighbouring nations; and such engagements werecautiously and politically avoided, because it was the interest ofGreat Britain to be upon good terms with every African prince who couldpromote and extend the commerce of her subjects. SHIPWRECK OF CAPTAIN BARTON. Commodore Keppel having reduced Goree, and reinforced the garrison ofSenegal, returned to England, where all his ships arrived, after avery tempestuous voyage, in which the squadron had been dispersed. This expedition, however successful in the main, was attended with onemisfortune, the loss of the Lichfield ship of war, commanded by captainBarton, which, together with one transport and a bomb-tender, waswrecked on the coast of Barbary, about nine leagues to the northwardof Saffy, in the dominions of Morocco. One hundred and thirty men, including several officers, perished on this occasion; but the captainand 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, andwere cruelly used by the natives, although a treaty of peace at thattime subsisted between Great Britain and Morocco; nay, they were evenenslaved by the emperor, who detained them in captivity until they wereransomed by the British government: so little dependence can be placedon the faith of such barbarian princes, with whom it is even a disgracefor any civilized nation to be in alliance, whatever commercialadvantages may arise from the connexion. GALLANT EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN TYRREL. The incidents of the war that happened in the West Indies, during theseoccurrences, may be reduced to a small compass. Nothing extraordinarywas achieved in the neighbourhood of Jamaica, where admiral Coatscommanded a small squadron, from which he detached cruisers occasionallyfor the protection of the British commerce; and at Antigua the trade waseffectually secured by the vigilance of captain Tyrrel, whose courageand activity were equal to his conduct and circumspection. In the monthof March, this gentleman, with his own ship the Buckingham, and theCambridge, another of the line, demolished a fort on the island ofMartinique, and destroyed four privateers riding under its protection;but his valour appeared much more conspicuous in a subsequentengagement, which happened in the month of November. Being detached ona cruise in his own ship, the Buckingham, by commodore Moore, whocommanded at the Leeward Islands, he fell in with the Weazle sloop, commanded by captain Boles, between the islands of Montserrat andGaudaloupe, and immediately discovered a fleet of nineteen sail, underconvoy of a French ship of war carrying seventy-four cannon, and twolarge frigates. Captain Tyrrel immediately gave chase with all the sailhe could carry, and the Weazle running close to the enemy, receiveda whole broadside from the large ship, which, however, she sustainedwithout much damage; nevertheless, Mr. Tyrrel ordered her commander tokeep aloof, as he could not be supposed able to bear the shock of largemetal, and he himself prepared for the engagement. The enemy's largeship, the Florissant, though of much greater force than the Buckingham, instead of lying-to for his coming up, made a running fight with herstern-chase, while the two frigates annoyed him in his course, sometimesraking him fore and aft, and sometimes lying on his quarter. At lengthhe came alongside of the Florissant, within pistol shot, and poured ina whole broadside, which did considerable execution. The salutation wasreturned with equal vivacity, and a furious engagement ensued. CaptainTyrrel was wounded in the face, and lost three fingers of his righthand; so that, being entirely disabled, he was obliged to delegate thecommand of the ship to his first lieutenant, Mr. Marshal, who continuedthe battle with great gallantry until he lost his life; then the chargedevolved to the second lieutenant, who acquitted himself with equalhonour, and sustained a desperate fight against three ships of theenemy. The officers and crew of the Buckingham exerted themselveswith equal vigour and deliberation, and captain Troy, who commanded adetachment 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 firingceased, and her colours were hauled down about twilight; but hercommander perceiving that the Buckingham was too much damaged in herrigging to pursue in any hope of success, ordered all his sails tobe set, and fled in the dark with his two consorts. Nothing but thiscircumstance could have prevented a British ship of sixty-five guns, indifferently manned in respect to numbers, from taking a French shipof the line, mounted with seventy-four pieces of cannon, providedwith seven hundred men, and assisted by two large frigates, one ofthirty-eight guns, and the other wanting two of this number. The lossof the Buckingham, in this action, did not exceed twenty men killed andwounded; whereas the number of the slain on board the Florissant did notfall short of one hundred and eighty, and that of her wounded is said tohave exceeded three hundred. She was so disabled in her hull, that shecould hardly be kept afloat until she reached Martinique, where she wasrepaired; 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 avariety of success; but, on the whole, the designs of the enemy wereentirely defeated. The French commander, M. De Bussy, had, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, quarrelled with Salabatzing, viceroy of Decan, because this last would not put him in possessionof the fortress of Golconda. In the course of the next year, while theEnglish forces were employed in Bengal, M. De Bussy made himself masterof the British factories of Ingeram, Bandermalanka, and Vizagapatam, and the reduction of this last left the enemy in possession of the wholecoast of Coro-mandel, from Ganjam to Massulapatam. While a body of theEnglish company's forces, under captain Caillaud, endeavoured toreduce the important fortress and town of Madura, the French, underM. D'Anteuil, invested Trichinopoly. Caillaud no sooner receivedintelligence of the danger to which this place was exposed, than hehastened to its relief, and obliged the enemy to abandon the siege. Thenhe returned to Madura, and, after an unsuccessful assault, made himselfmaster of it by capitulation. During these transactions, colonelForde made an attempt upon the fort of Nelloure, a strong place at thedistance of twenty-four miles from Madras, but miscarried; and this wasalso the fate of an expedition against Wandewash, undertaken by colonelAldercron. The first was repulsed in storming the place, the other wasanticipated by the French army, which marched from Pondicherry tothe relief of the garrison. The French king had sent a considerablereinforcement to the East Indies, under the command of general Lally, an officer of Irish extraction, together with such a number of ships asrendered the squadron of M. D'Apché superior to that of admiral Pococke, who had succeeded admiral Watson, lately deceased, in the command ofthe English squadron stationed on the coast of Coromandel, which, in thebeginning of this year, was reinforced from England with severalships, under the direction of commodore Stevens. Immediately after thisjunction, which was effected in the road of Madras on the twenty-fourthday of March, admiral Pococke, who had already signalized himself byhis courage, vigilance, and conduct, sailed to windward, with a view tointercept 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 formedthe line of battle a-head. The admiral took the same precaution, andbearing down upon M. D'Apché, the engagement began about three in theafternoon. The French commodore, having sustained a warm action forabout two hours, bore away with his whole fleet, and being joined by twoships, formed a line of battle again to leeward. Admiral Pococke's ownship, and some others, being greatly damaged in their masts and rigging, two of his captains having misbehaved in the action, and night comingon, he did not think it advisable to pursue them with all the sail hecould 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 thisexpectation, however, he was disappointed; the enemy showed no lights, nor made any signals that could be observed; and in the morning not theleast vestige of them appeared. Mr. Pococke, on the supposition thatthey had weathered him in the night, endeavoured to work up after themto windward; but finding he lost ground considerably, he droppedanchor about three leagues to the northward of Madras, and receivedintelligence from the chief of that settlement, that one of the largestFrench ships, having been disabled in the engagement, was run ashore tothe southward of Alem-parve, where their whole squadron lay at anchor. Such was the issue of the first action between the English and Frenchsquadrons in the East Indies, which, over and above the loss of acapital 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 hisreturn to Madras, appointed a court-martial to inquire into theirconduct; two were dismissed from the service, and the third wassentenced 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, whilethe squadron blocked it up by sea, Two English ships being at anchor inthe road when the enemy arrived, their captains seeing no possibilityof escaping, ran them on shore, set them on fire, and retired with theirmen into the fortress, which, however, was in a few days surrendered. Amuch more resolute defence was expected from the courage and conduct ofmajor Polier, who commanded the garrison. When he arrived at Madras hewas subjected to a court of inquiry, which acquitted him of cowardice, but were of opinion that the place might have held out much longer, andthat the terms on which it surrendered were shameful, as the enemy werenot 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 beenproperly assaulted. Polier, in order to wipe off this disgrace, desiredto serve as a volunteer with colonel Draper, and was mortally woundedin a sally at the siege of Madras. Admiral Pococke having, to the bestof his power, repaired his shattered ships, set sail again on thetenth 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 tobe of any service. On the thirtieth day of the month, he came in sightof Pondicherry, from whence the French squadron stood away early nextmorning, nor was it in his power to come up with them, though he madeall possible efforts for that purpose. Then receiving intelligence thatfort St. David's was surrendered to the enemy, he returned again toMadras, in order to refresh his squadron. On the twenty-fifth day ofJuly, he sailed a third time in quest of M. D'Apché, and in two daysperceived his squadron, consisting of eight ships of the line and afrigate, at anchor in the road of Pondicherry. They no sooner descriedhim advancing than they stood out to sea as before, and he continuedto chase, in hopes of bringing them to an engagement; but all hisendeavours proved fruitless till the third day of August, when, havingobtained the weather-gage, he bore down upon them in order of battle. The engagement began with great impetuosity on both sides; but in littlemore than ten minutes, M. D'Apché set his foresail, and bore away, hiswhole squadron following his example, and maintaining a running fight ina very irregular line. The British admiral then hoisted the signal fora general chase, which the enemy perceiving, thought proper to cut awaytheir boats, and crowd with all the sail they could carry. They escaped, by favour of the night, into the road of Pondicherry, and Mr. Pocockeanchored with his squadron off Cari-cal, a French settlement, havingthus obtained an undisputed victory, with the loss of thirty men killed, and one hundred and sixteen wounded, including commodore Stevens andcaptain Martin, though their wounds were not dangerous. The number ofkilled and wounded on board the French squadron amounted, according toreport, to five hundred and forty; and their fleet was so much damaged, that in the beginning of September their commodore sailed for the islandof Bourbon, in the same latitude with Madagascar, in order to refit;thus leaving the command and sovereignty of the Indian seas to theEnglish admiral, whose fleet, from the beginning of this campaign, hadbeen much inferior to the French squadron in number of ships and men, aswell as in weight of metal. Mr. Lally having reduced Cuddalore and fort St. David's, * resolved toextort a sum of money from the king of Tanjour, on pretence that, inthe last war, he had granted an obligation to the French governor for acertain 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 thedominions of Tanjour, and demanded seventy-two lacs of rupees. Thisextravagant demand being rejected, he plundered Negare, a trading townon the sea-coast, and afterwards invested the capital; but after hehad prosecuted the siege until a breach was made, his provisions andammunition beginning to fail, several vigorous sallies being made by theforces of the king of Tanjour, and the place well defended by Europeangunners, sent from the English garrison at Trichinopoly, he foundhimself obliged to raise the siege, and retreat with precipitation, leaving his cannon behind. He arrived at Carical about the middleof August, and from thence retired to Pondicherry towards the end ofSeptember. He afterwards cantoned his troops in the pre vince of Arcot, entered the city without opposition, and began to make preparations forthe siege of Madras, which shall be recorded among the incidents of thesucceeding year. In the meantime, the land-forces belonging to the EastIndia company were so much out-numbered by the reinforcements whicharrived 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 theycould for the security of fort St. George, and the other settlements inthat part of India. TRANSACTIONS on the CONTINENT of EUROPE. Having particularized the events of the war which distinguished thisyear in America, Africa, and Asia--those remote scenes in which theinterest of Great Britain was immediately and intimately concerned--itnow remains to record the incidents of the military operations inGermany, supported by British subsidies, and enforced by Britishtroops, to favour the abominable designs of an ally, from whose solitaryfriendship the British nation can never reap any solid benefit; and todefend a foreign elector, in whose behalf she had already lavished animmensity of treasure. Notwithstanding the bloodshed and lavages whichhad signalized the former campaign, the mutual losses of the belligerentpowers, the incredible expense of money, the difficulty of recruitingarmies thinned by sword and distemper, the scarcity of forage andprovisions, the distresses of Saxony in particular, and the calamitiesof war, which desolated the greatest part of the empire--no propositionof peace was hinted by either of the parties concerned; but the powersat variance seemed to be exasperated against each other with the mostimplacable resentment. Jarring interests were harmonized, old prejudicesrooted up, inveterate jealousies assuaged, and even inconsistenciesreconciled, in connecting the confederacy which was now formed andestablished against the king of Prussia; and, on the other hand, theking of Great Britain seemed determined to employ the whole power andinfluence of his crown in supporting this monarch. Yet the members ofthe grand confederacy were differently actuated by disagreeing motives, which, in the sequel, operated for the preservation of his Prussianmajesty, by preventing the full exertion of their united strength. Theempress-queen, over and above her desire of retrieving Silesia, whichwas her primary aim, gave way to the suggestions of personal hatredand revenge, to the gratification of which she may be said to havesacrificed, in some measure, the interests of her family, as well as therepose of the empire, by admitting the natural enemies of her house intothe Austrian Netherlands, and inviting them to invade the dominions ofher co-states with a formidable army. France, true to her old politicalmaxims, wished to see the house of Austria weakened by the divisions inthe empire, which she accordingly fomented: for this reason it couldnot be her interest to effect the ruin of the house of Brandenburgh;and therefore she had, no doubt, set bounds to the prosecution of herschemes in concert with the court of Vienna. But her designs againstHanover amounted to absolute conquest. In pursuance of these, she sentan army of one hundred and twenty thousand men across the Rhine, insteadof four and twenty thousand, which she had engaged to furnish by theoriginal treaty with the empress-queen of Hungary, who is said to haveshared in the spoils of the electorate. The czarina, by co-operatingwith the houses of Bourbon and Austria, gratified her personal disgusttowards the Prussian monarch, augmented her finances by considerablesubsidies from both, and perhaps amused herself with the hope ofobtaining an establishment in the German empire; but whether shewaivered in her own sentiments, or her ministry fluctuated between thepromises of France and the presents of Great Britain, certain it is, herforces had not acted with vigour in Pomerania; and her general Apraxin, instead of prosecuting his advantage, had retreated immediately afterthe Prussians miscarried in their attack. He was indeed disgraced, andtried for having thus retired without orders; but in all probability, this trial was no other than a farce, acted to amuse the otherconfederates while the empress of Russia gained time to deliberate uponthe offers that were made, and determine with regard to the advantagesor disadvantages that might accrue to her from persevering in theengagements which she had contracted. As for the Swedes, although theyhad been instigated to hostilities against Prussia by the intriguesof France, and flattered with hopes of retrieving Pomerania, theyprosecuted the war in such a dispirited and ineffectual manner, asplainly proved that either the ancient valour of that people wasextinct, or that the nation was not heartily engaged in the quarrel. When the Russian general Apraxin retreated from Pomerania, mareschalLehwald, who commanded the Prussians in that country, was left atliberty to turn his arms against the Swedes, and accordingly drove thembefore him almost without opposition. By the beginning of Januarythey had evacuated all Prussian Pomerania, and Lehwald invaded theirdominions in his turn. He, in a little time, made himself master of allSwedish Pomerania, except Stralsund and the isle of Rugen, and possessedhimself of several magazines which the enemy had erected. The Austrianarmy, after their defeat at Breslau, had retired into Bohemia, wherethey were cantoned, the head-quarters being fixed at Koningsgratz. Theking of Prussia having cleared all his part of Silesia, except the townof Schweidnitz, which he circumscribed with a blockade, sent detachmentsfrom his army cantoned in the neighbourhood of Breslau, to penetrateinto the Austrian or southern part of Silesia, where they surprisedTroppau and Jaggernsdorf, while he himself remained at Breslau, entertaining his officers with concerts of music. Not that he sufferedthese amusements to divert his attention from subjects of greaterimportance. He laid Swedish Pomerania under contribution, and made afresh demand of five hundred thousand crowns from the electorate ofSaxony. Having received intimation that the duke of Mecklenburgh wasemployed in providing magazines for the French army, he detached a bodyof troops into that country, who not only secured the magazines, butlevied considerable contributions; and the duke retired to Lubeck, attended by the French minister. The states of Saxony having proved alittle dilatory in obeying his Prussian majesty's injunction, received asecond intimation, importing that they should levy and deliver, withina certain time, eighteen thousand recruits for his army, pay into thehands of his commissary one year's revenue of the electorate in advance;and Leipsic was taxed with an extraordinary subsidy of eight hundredthousand crowns, on pain of military execution. The states wereimmediately convoked at Leipsic in order to deliberate on these demands;and the city being unable to pay such a considerable sum, the Prussiantroops began to put their monarch's threats in execution. He justifiedthese proceedings, by declaring that the enemy had practised the sameviolence and oppression on the territories of his allies; but howthe practice of his declared enemies, in the countries which they hadinvaded and subdued in common course of war, should justify him inpillaging and oppressing a people with whom neither he nor his allieswere at war, it is not easy to conceive. As little can we reconcile thisconduct to the character of a prince, assuming the title of protector ofthe protestant religion, which is the established faith among those verySaxons who were subjected to such grievous impositions; impositions themore grievous and unmerited, as they had never taken any share in thepresent war, but cautiously avoided every step that might be construedinto provocation, since the king of Prussia declared they might dependupon his protection. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} STATE of the ARMIES on the CONTINENT. Before we proceed to enumerate the events of the campaign, it may benecessary to inform the reader, that the forces brought into the fieldby the empress-queen of Hungary, and the states of the empire, theczarina, the kings of France and Sweden, fell very little short of threehundred thousand men; and all these were destined to act against theking of Prussia and the elector of Hanover. In opposition to thisformidable confederacy, his Prussian majesty was, by tha subsidy fromEngland, the spoils of Saxony, and the revenues of Brandenbourg, enabledto maintain an army of one hundred and forty thousand men: while theelector of Hanover assembled a body of sixty thousand men, composedof his own electoral troops, with the auxiliary mercenaries ofHesse-Cassel, Buckebourg, Saxe-Gotha, and Brunswick Wolfenbuttel, all ofthem maintained by the pay of Great Britain. At this juncture, indeed, there was no other fund for their subsistence, as the countries ofHanover and Hesse were possessed by the enemy, and in the former thegovernment was entirely changed. THE FRENCH KING CHANGES THE ADMINISTRATION OF HANOVER. In the month of December in the preceding year, a fanner of the revenuesfrom Paris arrived at Hanover, where he established his office, in orderto act by virtue of powers from one John Faidy, to whom the French kinggranted the direction, receipt, and administration of all the dutiesand revenues of the electorate. This director was, by a decree ofthe council of state, empowered to receive the reveiraes, not only ofHanover, but also of all other countries that should be subjected tohis most christian majesty in the course of the campaign; to remove thereceivers who had been employed in any part of the direction, receipt, and administration of the duties and revenues of Hanover, and appointothers 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 theadministration of the revenues, should communicate them to John Faidy, or his attorneys; that the magistrates of the towns, districts, andcommonalties, as well as those who directed the administration ofparticular states and provinces, should deliver to the said John Faidy, or his attorneys, the produce of six years of the duties and revenuesbelonging to the said towns, districts, and provinces, reckoningfrom the first of January in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-one, together with an authentic account of the sums they hadpaid during that term to the preceding sovereign, and of the chargesnecessarily incurred. It appears from the nature of this decree, whichwas dated on the eighteenth day of October, that immediately after theconventions of Closter-Seven and Bremenworden, * the court of Versailleshad determined to change the government and system of the electorate, contrary to an express article of the capitulation granted to the cityof Hanover, when it surrendered on the ninth day of August; and that thecrown of France intended to take advantage of the cessation of arms, in seizing places and provinces which were not yet subdued; for, by thedecree above-mentioned, the administration of John Faidy extended to thecountries 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 chargethe elector of Hanover with the infraction of articles? or what respectto good faith and humanity did the duke de Richelieu observe, in theorder issued from Zell, towards the end of the year, importing, that asthe treaty made with the country of Hanover had been rendered void bythe violation of the articles signed at Closter-Seven, all the effectsbelonging 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 stormfrom his dominions, not only promised to renounce all connexion withthe kings of Great Britain and Prussia, but even solicited the court ofFrance to receive him among the number of its dependents; for, onthe eighteenth day of October, the minister of the duke de Deuxponts, delivered at Versailles, in the name of the landgrave, the plan of atreaty founded on the following conditions: The landgrave, after havingexpressed an ardent desire of attaching himself wholly to France, proposed these articles--That he should enter into no engagement againstthe king and his allies; and give no assistance, directly or indirectly, to the enemies of his majesty and his allies: that he should never givehis vote, in the general or particular assemblies of the empire, againsthis majesty's interest; but, on the contrary, employ his interest, jointly with France, to quiet the troubles of the empire: that, for thisend, his troops, which had served in the Hanoverian army, should engagein the service of France, on condition that they should not act in thepresent war against his Britannic majesty: that, immediately after theratification of the treaty, his most christian majesty should restorethe dominions of the landgrave in the same condition they were in whensubdued by the French forces: that these dominions should be exemptedfrom all further contributions, either in money, corn, forage, wood, orcattle, though already imposed on the subjects of Hesse; and the Frenchtroops 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 throughhis dominions: that the king of France should guarantee all his estates, all the rights of the house of Hesse-Cassel, particularly the act ofassurance signed by his son, the hereditary prince, with regard toreligion; use his interest with the emperor and the empress-queen, that, in consideration of the immense losses and damages his most serenehighness had suffered since the French invaded his country, and of thegreat sums he should lose with England in arrears and subsidies by thisaccommodation, he might be excused from furnishing his contingent to thearmy of the empire, as well as from paying the Roman months granted bythe diet of the empire; and if, in resentment of this convention, thestates of his serene highness should be attacked, his most christianmajesty should afford the most speedy and effectual succours. --Theseproposals will speak for themselves to the reader's apprehension; and ifhe is not blinded by the darkest mists of prejudice, exhibit a clear anddistinct idea of a genuine German ally. The landgrave of Hesse-Casselhad been fed with the good things of England, even in time of peace, when his friendship could not avail, nor his aversion prejudice, theinterests of Great Britain; but he was retained in that season oftranquillity as a friend, on whose services the most implicit dependencemight be placed in any future storm or commotion. How far he meritedthis confidence and favour might have been determined by reflecting onhis conduct during the former war: in the course of which his troopswere hired to the king of Great Britain and his enemies alternately, as the scale of convenience happened to preponderate. Since thecommencement of the present troubles, he had acted as a mercenary toGreat Britain, although he was a principal in the dispute, and stoodconnected with her designs by solemn treaty, as well as by all the tiesof gratitude and honour; but now that the cause of Hanover seemed to beon the decline, and his own dominions had suffered by the fate of thewar, he not only appeared willing to abandon his benefactor and ally, but even sued to be enlisted in the service of his adversary. Thisintended defection was, however, prevented by a sudden turn of fortune, which he could not possibly foresee; and his troops continued to act inconjunction with the Hanoverians. TREATY BETWEEN THE FRENCH KING AND THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel was not singular in making such advancesto the French monarch. The duke of Brunswick, still more nearlyconnected with the king of Great Britain, used such uncommon expeditionin detaching himself from the tottering fortune of Hanover, that in tendays after the convention of Closter-Seven, he had concluded a treatywith the courts of Vienna and Versailles; so that the negotiation musthave been begun before that convention took place. On the twentieth dayof September, his minister at Vienna, by virtue of full powers from theduke of Brunswick, accepted and signed the conditions which the Frenchking and his Austrian ally thought proper to impose. These imported, that his most christian majesty should keep possession of the citiesof Brunswick and Wolfenbuttel during the war, and make use of theartillery, arms, and military stores deposited in their arsenals:that the duke's forces, on their return from the camp of the duke ofCumberland, should be disbanded and disarmed; and take an oath thatthey should not, during the present war, serve against the king or hisallies: that the duke should be permitted to maintain a battalionof foot, and two squadrons of horse, for the guard of his personand castles; but the regulations made by mareschal Richelieu and theintendant of his army, should subsist on their present footing: that theduke should furnish his contingent in money and troops, agreeably to thelaws of the empire: that his forces should immediately join those whichthe Germanic body had assembled; and that he should order his ministerat Ratisbon to vote conformably to the resolutions of the diet, approvedand confirmed by the emperor. In consideration of all these concessions, the duke was restored to the favour of the French king, who graciouslypromised that neither his revenues nor his treasure should be touched, nor the administration of justice invaded; and that nothing furthershould be demanded, but winter-quarters for the regiments which shouldpass that season in the country of Brunswick. How scrupulously soeverthe duke might have intended to observe the articles of this treaty, his intentions were frustrated by the conduct of his brother princeFerdinand, who, being invested with the command of the Hanoverian army, and ordered to resume the operations of war against the enemy, detainedthe troops of Brunswick, as well as his nephew the hereditary prince, notwithstanding the treaty which his brother had signed, and theinjunctions which he had laid upon his son to quit the army, and makea tour to Holland, The duke wrote an expostulatory letter to princeFerdinand, pathetically complaining that he had seduced his troops, decoyed his son, and disgraced his family; insisting upon the prince'spursuing his journey, as well as upon the return of the troops; andthreatening, in case of non-compliance, to use other means that shouldbe more effectual. [461] _[See note 3 O, at the end of this Vol. ]_Notwithstanding this warm remonstrance, prince Ferdinand adhered to hisplan. He detained the troops and the hereditary prince, who, beingfond of the service, in a little time signalized himself by veryextraordinary acts of bravery and conduct; and means were found toreconcile his father to measures that expressly contradicted hisengagements with the courts of Vienna and Versailles. DECREE OF THE AULIC COUNCIL. The defeat of the French army at Rosbach, and the retreat of theRussians from Pomerania, had entirely changed the face of affairs inthe empire. The French king was soon obliged to abandon his conquestson that sida of the Rhine, and his threats sounded no longer terriblein the ears of the Hanoverian and Prussian allies. As little formidablewere the denunciations of the emperor, who had, by a decree of the Auliccouncil, communicated to the diet certain mandates, issued in the monthof August in the preceding year, on pain of the ban of the empire, withavocatory letters annexed against the king of Great Britain, electorof Hanover, and the other princes acting in concert with the king ofPrussia. The French court likewise published a virulent memorial, afterthe convention of Closter-Seven had been violated and set aside, drawingan invidious parallel between the conduct of the French king and theproceedings of his Britannic majesty; in which the latter is taxedwith breach of faith, and almost every meanness that could stain thecharacter of a monarch. In answer to the emperor's decree andthis virulent charge, baron Gimmengen, the electoral minister ofBrunswick-Lunenbourg, presented to the diet, in November, a longmemorial, recapitulating the important services his sovereign had donethe house of Austria, and the ungrateful returns he had reaped, in thequeen's refusing to assist him, when his dominions were threatened withan invasion. He enumerated many instances in which she had assisted, encouraged, and even joined the enemies of the electorate, in contemptof her former engagements, and directly contrary to the constitutionof the empire. He refuted every article of the charge which the Frenchcourt had brought against him in their virulent libel, retorted theimputations 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 theirwinter-quarters, the former at Zell, and the latter at Lemenbourg, divers petty enterprises were executed by detachments with varioussuccess. The Hanoverian general Juncheim, having taken post atHalberstadt and Quedlimbourg, from whence he made excursions even tothe 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 toAchersleben, committed great excesses in the town of Halberstadt andits neighbourhood, and carried off hostages for the payment ofcontributions. General Hardenberg, another Hanoverian officer, havingdislodged the French detachments that occupied Burgh, Vogelsack, andRitterhude, and cleared the whole territory of Bremen, in the month ofJanuary the duke de Broglio assembled a considerable corps of troopsthat were cantoned at Ottersburg, Rothenburg, and the adjacent country, and advancing to Bremen, demanded admittance, threatening that, in caseof a refusal, he would have recourse to extremities, and punish theinhabitants severely, should they make the least opposition. When theirdeputies waited upon him, to desire a short time for deliberation, heanswered, "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 notthe magistrates, at the earnest importunity of the people, resolved tocomply with his demand. A second deputation was immediately despatchedto the duke de Broglio, signifying their compliance; and the gates beingopened, he marched into the city at midnight, after having promised uponhis honour that no attempt should be made to the prejudice of itsrights and prerogatives, and no outrage offered to the privileges of theregency, to the liberty, religion, and commerce of the inhabitants. This conquest, however, was of short duration. Prince Ferdinand ofBrunswick being joined by a body of Prussian horse, under the command ofprince George of Holstein-Gottorp, the whole army was put in motion, and advanced to the country of Bremen about the middle of February. Theenemy were dislodged from Rothenburg, Ottersburg, and Verden, and theyabandoned 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 theconduct of the duke de Richelieu, had recalled that general fromGermany, where his place was supplied by the count de Clermont, to thegeneral satisfaction of the army, as well as the joy of the Hanoveriansubjects, among whom Richelieu had committed many flagrant and inhumanacts of rapine and oppression. The new commander found his master'sforces reduced to a deplorable condition, by the accidents of war, and distempers arising from hard duty, severe weather, and the want ofnecessaries. As he could not pretend, with such a wretched remnant, tooppose the designs of prince Ferdinand in the field, or even maintainthe footing which his predecessor had gained, he found himself under thenecessity of retiring with all possible expedition towards the Rhine. As the allies advanced, his troops retreated from their distant quarterswith such precipitation, as to leave behind all their sick, togetherwith a great part of their baggage and artillery, besides a great numberof officers and soldiers, that fell into the hands of those partiesby whom they were pursued. The inhabitants of Hanover, perceiving theFrench intended to abandon that city, were overwhelmed with the fearof being subjected to every species of violence and abuse; but theirapprehensions were happily disappointed by the honour and integrity ofthe duke de Randan, the French governor, who not only took effectualmeasures for restraining the soldiers within the bounds of the mostrigid discipline and moderation, but likewise exhibited a noble proof ofgenerosity, almost without example. Instead of destroying his magazineof provisions, according to the usual practice of war, he ordered thewhole to be either sold at a low price, or distributed among the poor ofthe city, who had been long exposed to the horrors of famine: an act ofgodlike humanity, which ought to dignify the character of that worthynobleman above all the titles that military fame can deserve, orarbitrary monarchs bestow. The regency of Hanover were so deeplyimpressed with a sense of his heroic behaviour on this occasion, thatthey gratefully acknowledged it, in a letter of thanks to him and thecount de Clermont; and on the day of solemn thanksgiving to heaven fortheir being delivered from their enemies, the clergy, in their sermons, did not fail to celebrate and extol the charity and benevolence of theduke de Randan. Such glorious testimonies, even from enemies, must haveafforded the most exquisite pleasure to a mind endued with sensibility;and this, no doubt, may be termed one of the fairest triumphs ofhumanity. THE FRENCH ABANDON HANOVER. The two grand divisions of the French army, quartered at Zell andHanover, retired in good order to Hamelen, where they collected alltheir troops, except those that were left in Hoya, and about fourthousand men placed in garrison at Minden, to retard the operations ofthe combined army. Towards the latter end of February, prince Ferdinandof Brunswick, having received intelligence that the count de Chabotwas 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 thatneighbourhood. This enterprise was executed with the utmost intrepidity. The hereditary prince passed the Weser at Bremen with part of hisdetachment, while the rest advanced on this side of the river: and theenemy, being attacked in front and rear, were in a little time forced, and thrown into confusion. The bridge being abandoned, and near sevenhundred men taken prisoners, the count de Chabot threw himself, with twobattalions, into the castle, where he resolved to support himself, inhope of being relieved. The regiment of Bretagne, and some detachmentsof dragoons, were actually on the march to his assistance. Thehereditary prince being made acquainted with this circumstance, beingalso destitute of heavy artillery to besiege the place in form, andtaking it for granted he should not be able to maintain the post afterit might be taken, he listened to the terms of capitulation proposed bythe French general, whose garrison was suffered to march out withthe honours of war; but their cannon, stores, and ammunition weresurrendered to the victor. This was the first exploit of the hereditaryprince, whose valour and activity on many subsequent occasions shonewith distinguished lustre. He had no sooner reduced Hoya, than hemarched to the attack of Minden, which he invested on the fifth day ofMarch, and on the fourteenth the garrison surrendered at discretion. After the reduction of this city, the combined army advanced towardsHamelen, where the French general had established his head-quarters; buthe abandoned them at the approach of the allies, and leaving behindall his sick and wounded, with part of his magazines, retired withouthalting to Paderborn, and from thence to the Rhine, recalling in hismarch the troops that were in Embden, Cassel, and the land-graviate ofHesse, all which places were now evacuated. They were terribly harassedin their retreat by the Prussian hussars, and a body of light horse, distinguished by the name of Hanoverian hunters, who took a great numberof prisoners, together with many baggage-waggons, and some artillery. Such was the precipitation of the enemy's retreat, that they could notfind time to destroy all their magazines of provision and forage; andeven forgot to call in the garrison of Vecht, a small fortress in theneighbourhood of Diepholt, who were made prisoners of war, and here wasfound a complete train of battering cannon and mortars. The count deClermont, having reached the banks of the Rhine, distributed his forcesinto quarters of cantonment in Wesel and the adjoining country, whileprince Ferdinand cantoned the allied army in the bishopric of Munster;here, however, he did not long remain inactive. In the latter end ofMay he ordered a detachment to pass the Rhine at Duysbourg, under thecommand 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 bridgeconstructed 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 eitherkilled or taken; and prince Ferdinand began to make preparations forthe siege of Dusseldorp. In the meantime, the count de Clermont, beingunable to stop the rapidity of his progress, was obliged to securehis troops with strong intrenchments, until he should be properlyreinforced. PRINCE FERDINAND DEFEATS THE FRENCH, &c. The court of Versailles, though equally mortified and confounded at theturn of their affairs in Germany, did not sit tamely and behold thisreverse; but exerted their usual spirit and expedition in retrievingthe losses they had sustained. They assembled a body of troops at Hanau, under the direction of the prince de Soubise, who, it was said, hadreceived orders to penetrate, by the way of Donawert, Ingoldstadt, andArnberg, into Bohemia. In the meantime, reinforcements daily arrived inthe camp of the count de Clermont; and, as repeated complaints had beenmade of the want of discipline and subordination in that army, measureswere taken for reforming the troops by severity and example. Themareschal duke de Belleisle, who now acted as secretary at war withuncommon ability, wrote a letter, directed to all the colonels ofinfantry, threatening them, in the king's name, with the loss of theirregiments, should they connive any longer at the scandalous practiceof buying commissions; an abuse which had crept into the service undervarious pretexts, to the discouragement of merit, the relaxation ofdiscipline, and the total extinction of laudable emulation. The princeof Clermont having quitted his strong camp at Rhinefeldt, retired toNuys, 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, whichfronted the town of Meurs. After several motions on both sides, princeFerdinand resolved to attack the enemy, and forthwith made a dispositionfor this purpose. He assigned the command of the whole left wing, consisting of eighteen battalions and twenty-eight squadrons, tolieutenant-general Sporcken; the conduct of the right wing, composedof sixteen battalions and fourteen squadrons, was intrusted to thehereditary prince and major-general Wangenheim; the squadrons, with theaddition of two regiments of Prussian dragoons, were under the immediatedirection of the prince of Holstein, while the hereditary princecommanded the infantry. The light troops, consisting of fivesquadrons of hussars, were divided between the prince of Holstein andlieutenant-general Sporcken. Major Luckner's squadron, together withScheither's corps, were ordered to observe the flank of the enemy'sright, and with this view were posted in the village of Papendeick;and a battalion of the troops of Wolfenbuttel were left in the town ofHulste, to cover the rear of the army. Prince Ferdinand's design wasto attack the enemy on their left flank; but the execution was renderedextremely difficult by the woods and ditches that embarrassed the route, and the numerous ditches that intersected this part of the country. Onthe twenty-third day of June, at four in the morning, the army began tomove; the right advancing in two columns as far as St. Anthony, andthe left marching up within half a league of Crevelt. The prince havingviewed the position of the enemy from the steeple of St. Anthony, procured guides, and having received all the necessary hints ofinformation, proceeded to the right, in order to charge the enemy's leftflank by the villages of Worst and Anrath; but, in order to divide theirattention, and keep them in suspense with respect to the nature of hisprincipal attack, he directed the generals Sporcken and Oberg to advanceagainst them by the way of Crevelt and St. Anthony, and, in particular, to make the most of their artillery, that, being employed in threedifferent places at once, they might be prevented from sending anyreinforcement to the left, where the chief attack was intended. Theseprecautions being taken, prince Ferdinand, putting himself at the headof the grenadiers of the right wing, continued his march in two columnsto the village of Anrath, where he fell in with an advanced party of theFrench, which, after a few discharges of musketry, retired to their campand gave the alarm. In the meantime, both armies were drawn up in orderof battle; the troops of the allies in the plain between the villagesof Anrath and Willich, opposite to the French forces, whose left wascovered with a wood. The action began about one in the afternoon, witha severe cannonading on the part of prince Ferdinand, which, though wellsupported, proved ineffectual in drawing the enemy from their cover;he therefore determined to dislodge them from the wood by dint of smallarms. The hereditary prince immediately advanced with the whole front, and a very obstinate action ensued. Meanwhile, the cavalry on the rightin vain attempted to penetrate the wood on the other side, where theenemy had raised two batteries, which were sustained by forty squadronsof horse. After a terrible fire had been maintained on both sides tillfive in the afternoon, the grenadiers forced the intrenchments inthe wood, which were lined by the French infantry. These giving way, abandoned the wood in the utmost disorder; but the pursuit waschecked 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 onthe left and in the centre, with which the generals Sporcken and Oberghad done great execution, and employed the attention of the enemy onthat side, while prince Ferdinand prosecuted his attack on the otherquarter. It must be owned, however, that their right wing and centreretired in great order to Nuys, though the left was defeated, with theloss of some standards, colours, and pieces of cannon, and six thousandmen 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 hundredmen, was not at all decisive in its consequences; and, indeed, theplan seemed only calculated to display the enterprising genius of theHanoverian general. True it is, the French army took refuge under thecannon of Cologn, where they remained without hazarding any step for therelief of Dusseldorp, which prince Ferdinand immediately invested, andin a few days reduced, the garrison being allowed to march out with thehonours of war, on condition that they should not, for the space of oneyear, carry arms against the allies. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} PRINCE OF YSEMBOURG DEFEATED. It was at this period that count de Clermont resigned his command, whichwas conferred upon M. De Contades, and the French army was considerablyreinforced. He even threatened to attack prince Ferdinand in his turn, and made some motions with that design, but was prevented by the littleriver Erff, behind which the prince resolved to lie quiet, until heshould be joined by the body of the British troops under the command ofthe duke of Marlborough, the first division of which had just landed atEmbden. He flattered himself that the prince of Ysembourg, at the headof the Hessian troops, would find employment for the prince de Soubise, who had marched from Hanau, with a design to penetrate into thelandgraviate of Hesse-Cassel: his vanguard had been already surprisedand defeated by the militia of the country; and the prince Ysembourgwas at the head of a considerable body of regular forces, assembled tooppose his further progress. Prince Ferdinand therefore hoped that theoperations of the French general would be effectually impeded, until hehimself, being joined by the British troops, should be in a condition topass the Maese, transfer the seat of war into the enemy's country, thus make a diversion from the Rhine, and perhaps oblige the prince deSoubise to come to the assistance of the principal French army commandedby M. De Contades. He had formed a plan which would have answered thesepurposes effectually, and, in execution of it, marched to Ruremond onthe Maese, when his measures were totally disconcerted by a variety ofincidents which he could not foresee. The prince of Ysembourg was, onthe twenty-third day of July, defeated at San-garshausen by the dukede Broglio, whom the prince de Soubise had detached against him witha number of troops greatly superior to that which the Hessian generalcommanded. The duke de Broglio, who commanded the corps that formed thevanguard of Soubise's army, having learned at Cassel that the Hessiantroops, under the prince of Ysembourg, were retiring towards Munden, he advanced, on the twenty-third of July, with a body of eight thousandmen, to the village of Sangarshausen, where he found them drawn up inorder of battle, and forthwith made a disposition for the attack. Atfirst his cavalry were repulsed by the Hessian horse, which chargedthe French infantry, and were broke in their turn. The Hessians, though greatly inferior in number to the enemy, made a very obstinateresistance, by favour of a rock in the Fulde that covered theirright, and a wood by which their left was secured. The dispute was soobstinate, that the enemy's left was obliged to give ground; but theduke de Broglio, ordering a fresh corps to advance, changed the fortuneof the day. The Hessians, overpowered by numbers, gave way; part plungedinto the river, where many perished, and part threw themselves into thewood, through which they escaped from the pursuit of the hussars, whotook above two hundred soldiers and fifty officers, including the countde Canitz, who was second in command. They likewise found on the fieldof battle seven pieces of cannon, and eight at Munden; but the carnagewas pretty considerable, and nearly equal on both sides. The numberof the killed and wounded, on the side of the French, exceeded twothousand; the loss of the Hessians was not so great. The prince ofYsembourg, having collected the remains of his little army, took post atEimbeck, where he soon was reinforced, and found himself at the head oftwelve thousand men; but, in consequence of this advantage, the enemybecame masters of the Weser, and opened to themselves a free passageinto Westphalia. GENERAL IMHOFF DEFEATS M. DE CHEVERT. The progress of prince Ferdinand upon the Maese, had been retarded by along succession of heavy rains, which broke up the roads, and renderedthe country impassable; and now the certain information of this unluckycheck left him no alternative but a battle or a retreat across theRhine: the first was carefully avoided by the enemy; the latterresolution, therefore, he found himself under a necessity to embrace. Inhis present position he was hampered by the French army on one wing, onthe other by the fortress of Gueldres, the garrison of which hadbeen lately reinforced, as well as by divers other posts, capable ofobstructing the convoys and subsistence of the combined army; besides, he had reason to apprehend, that the prince de Soubise would endeavourto intercept the British troops in their march from Embden. Induced bythese considerations, he determined to repass the Rhine, after havingoffered battle to the enemy, and made several motions for that purpose. Finding them averse to an engagement, he made his dispositions forforcing the strong pass of Waehtendonck, an island surrounded by Niers, of very difficult approach, and situated exactly in his route to theRhine. This service was performed by the hereditary prince of Brunswick, who, perceiving the enemy had drawn up the bridge, rushed into the riverat 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 passedthe Lippe with fourteen battalions and several squadrons, to jointhe garrison of Wesel, and fall upon lieutenant-general Imhoff, whocommanded a detached corps of the combined army at Meer, that he mightbe at hand to guard the bridge which the prince had thrown over theRhine at Rees. His serene highness was extremely desirous of sendingsuccours to general Imhoff; but the troops were too much fatigued tobegin another march before morning; and the Rhine had overflowed itsbanks in such a manner as to render the bridge at Rees impassable, sothat M. Imhoff was left to the resources of his own conduct and thebravery of his troops, consisting of six battalions and four squadrons, already weakened by the absence of different detachments. This generalhaving received advice, on the fourth of August, that the enemyintended to pass the Lippe the same evening with a considerable train ofartillery, in order to burn the bridge at Rees, decamped with a view tocover this place, and join two battalions which; had passed the Rhinein boats, under the command of general Zastrow, who reinforced himaccordingly; but the enemy not appearing, he concluded the informationwas false, and resolved to resume his advantageous post at Meer. Ofthis he had no sooner repossessed himself, than his advanced guards wereengaged with the enemy, who marched to the attack from Wesel, under thecommand of lieutenant-general de Chevert, consisting of the whole corpsintended for the siege of Dusseldorp. Imhoffs front was covered bycoppices and ditches, there being a rising ground on his right, fromwhence he could plainly discern the whole force that advanced againsthim, together with the manner of their approach. Perceiving them engagedin that difficult ground, he posted one regiment in a coppice, withorders to fall upon the left flank of the enemy, which appeared quiteuncovered; and as soon as their fire began, advanced with the restof his forces to attack them in front. The bayonet was used on thisoccasion, and the charge given with such impetuosity and resolution, that after a short resistance, the enemy fell into confusion, and fledtowards Wesel, leaving on the spot eleven pieces of cannon, with a greatnumber of waggons and other carriages; besides the killed and wounded, who amounted to a pretty considerable number, the victor took threehundred and fifty-four prisoners, including eleven officers; whereas, onhis part the victory was purchased at a very small expense. GENERAL OBERG DEFEATED by the FRENCH. Immediately after this action, general Wangenheim passed the Rhinewith several squadrons and battalions, to reinforce general Imhoff, and enable him to prosecute the advantage he had gained, while princeFerdinand marched with the rest of the army to Santen: from whence heproceeded to Rhinebergen, where he intended to pass; but the river hadoverflowed to such a degree, that here, as well as at Rees, the shorewas inaccessible; so that he found it necessary to march farther downthe river, and lay a bridge at Griethuyzen. The enemy had contrivedfour vessels for the destruction of this bridge; but they were all takenbefore they could put the design in execution, and the whole army passedon the tenth day of August, without any loss or further interruption. Atthe same time the prince withdrew his garrison from Dusseldorp, of whichthe French immediately took possession. Immediately after his passage hereceived a letter from the duke of Marlborough, acquainting him that theBritish troops had arrived at Lingen, in their route to Coesfeldt:to which place general Imhoff was sent to receive them, with a strongdetachment. Notwithstanding this junction, the two armies on the Rhinewere so equally matched, that no stroke of importance was struck oneither side during the remaining part of the campaign. M. De Contades, seeing no prospect of obtaining the least advantage over princeFerdinand, detached prince Xaverius of Saxony with a strongreinforcement to the prince de Soubise, who had taken possession ofGottengen, and seemed determined to attack the prince of Ysembourg atEimbeck. That this officer might be able to give him a proper reception, prince Ferdinand detached general Oberg with ten thousand men toLipstadt, from whence, should occasion require, they might continuetheir march, and join the Hessians. The whole body, when thusreinforced, did not exceed twenty thousand men, of whom general Obergnow assumed the command: whereas the troops of Soubise were increased tothe number of thirty thousand. The allies had taken post upon the riverFulde at Sangarshausen, where they hoped the French would attackthem; but the design of Soubise was first to dislodge them from thatadvantageous situation. With this view, he made a motion, as if he hadintended to turn the camp of the allies by the road of Munden. In orderto prevent the execution of this supposed design, general Oberg decampedon the tenth of October, and, passing by the village of Landwernhagen, advanced towards Lutten-berg, where, understanding the enemy were at hisheels, he forthwith formed his troops in order of battle, his right tothe Fulde, and his left extending to a thicket upon an eminence, wherehe planted five field-pieces. The cavalry supported the wings in a thirdline, the village of Luttenberg was in the rear, and four pieces ofcannon were mounted on a rising ground that flanked this village. TheFrench having likewise passed Landwernhagen, posted their left towardsthe Fulde, their right extending far beyond the left of the allies, andtheir front being strengthened with above thirty pieces of cannon. At four in the afternoon the enemy began the battle with a severecannonading, and at the same time the first line of their infantryattacked major-general Zastrow, who was posted on the left wing of theallies. This body of the French was repulsed; but in the same moment, aconsiderable line of cavalry advancing, charged the allies in front andflank. These were supported by a fresh body of infantry with cannon, which, after a warm dispute, obliged the confederates to give way; andgeneral Oberg, in order to prevent a total defeat, made a dispositionfor a retreat, which was performed in tolerable order; not but thathe suffered greatly, in passing through a defile, from the fire of theenemy's cannon, which was brought up and managed under the directionof the duke de Broglio. Having marched through Munden by midnight, the retiring army lay till morning under arms in the little plain nearGrupen, on the other side of the Weser; but at day-break prosecutedtheir march, after having withdrawn the garrison from Munden, until theyarrived in the neighbourhood of Guntersheim, where they encamped. In this engagement general Oberg lost about fifteen hundred men, hisartillery, baggage, and ammunition. He was obliged to abandon a magazineof hay and straw at Munden, and leave part of his wounded men in thatplace to the humanity of the victor. But, after all, the French generalreaped very little advantage from his victory. DEATH OF THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. By this time prince Ferdinand had retired into Westphalia, and fixed hishead-quarters at Munster, while M. De Contades encamped near Ham uponthe Lippe; so that, although he had obliged the French army to evacuateHanover and Hesse in the beginning of the year, when they were weakenedby death and distemper, and even driven them beyond the Rhine, wherethey sustained a defeat; yet they were soon put in a condition to baffleall his future endeavours, and penetrate again into Westphalia, wherethey established their winter-quarters, extending themselves in such amanner as to command the whole course of the Rhine on both sides, whilethe allies were disposed in the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, and in thebishoprics of Munster, Paderborn, and Hildesheim. The British troopshad joined them so late in the season that they had no opportunity tosignalize themselves in the field; yet the fatigues of the campaign, which they had severely felt, proved fatal to their commander, theduke of Marlborough, who died of a dysentery at Munster, universallylamented. OPERATIONS OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA. Having thus particularized the operations of the allied army since thecommencement of the campaign, we shall now endeavour to trace the stepsof the king of Prussia, from the period to which his army was assembledfor action. Having collected his force as soon as the seasonwould permit, he undertook the siege of Schweidnitz in form on thetwenty-first day of March; and carried on his operations with suchvigour, that in thirteen days the garrison surrendered themselvesprisoners of war, after having lost one half of their number in thedefence of the place. While one part of Lis troops were engaged in thisservice, he himself, at the head of another, advanced to the easternfrontier 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 thissuccess he opened to himself a way into Bohemia, by which he pouredin detachments of light troops, to raise contributions and harass theout-posts of the enemy. At the same time the baron de la Mothe Fouquetmarched with another body against the Austrian general Jahnus, postedin the county of Glatz, whom he obliged to abandon all the posts heoccupied in that country, and pursued as far as Nashod, within twentymiles of Koningsgratz, where the grand Austrian army was encamped, underthe command of mareschal Daun, who had lately arrived from Vienna. Overand above these excursions, the king ordered a body of thirty thousandmen to be assembled, to act under the command of his brother princeHenry, * an accomplished warrior, against the army of the empire, whichthe prince de Deux-ponts, with great difficulty, made a shift to formagain 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 hecared to own, resolved to shift the theatre of the war, and penetrateinto Moravia, a fertile country, which had hitherto been kept sacredfrom ravage and contribution. Having formed an army of fifty thousandchoice troops, near Neiss, in Silesia, he divided them into threecolumns; the first commanded by mareschal Keith, the second by himselfin person, and the third conducted by prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau. In the latter end of April they began their march towards Moravia; andgeneral De la Ville, who commanded a body of troops in that country, retired as they advanced, after having thrown a strong reinforcementinto Olmutz, which the king was determined to besiege. Had he passedby this fortress, which was strongly fortified and well provided for avigorous defence, he might have advanced to the gates of Vienna, andreduced the emperor to the necessity of suing for peace on his ownterms; but it seems he was unwilling to deviate so far from the commonmaxims 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. Forthis purpose it was immediately invested: orders were issued to hastenup the heavy artillery, and mareschal Keith was appointed to superintendand direct the operations of the siege. Meanwhile the Austriancommander, count Daun, being informed of his Prussian majesty's motionsand designs, quitted his camp at Leutomyssel in Bohemia, and enteredMoravia by the way of Billa. Being still too weak to encounter thePrussians in the field, he extended his troops in the neighbourhood ofthe king's army, between Gewitz and Littau, in a mountainous situation, where he ran little or no risk of being attacked. Here he remained forsome time in quiet, with the fertile country of Bohemia in hisrear, from whence he drew plentiful supplies, and received dailyreinforcements. His scheme was to relieve the besieged occasionally, toharass the besiegers, and to intercept their convoys from Silesia; andthis scheme succeeded to his wish. Olmutz is so extensive in its works, and so peculiarly situated on the river Morava, that it could not becompletely 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 themsuddenly, and seldom failed to introduce into the place supplies of men, provisions, and ammunition. The forage in the neighbourhood of the cityhaving been previously destroyed, the Prussian horse were obliged tomake excursions at a great distance, consequently exposed to fatigue, and liable to surprise; and, in a word, the Prussians were not veryexpert in the art of town-taking. Count Daun knew how to take advantage of these circumstances withouthazarding a battle, to which the king provoked him in vain. Whilethe garrison made repeated sallies to retard the operations of thebesiegers, the' Austrian general harassed their foraging parties, fellupon different quarters of their army in the night, and kept them incontinual alarm. Nevertheless, the king finished his first parallel; andproceeded with such vigour as seemed to promise a speedy reductionof the place, when his design was entirely frustrated by an untowardincident. Mareschal Daun, having received intelligence that a largeconvoy had set out from Silesia for the Prussian camp, resolved to seizethis 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 attackthe convoy on different sides; while he himself advanced towards thebesiegers, as if he intended to give them battle. The king of Prussia, far from being deceived by this feint, began, from the motions of theAustrian general, to suspect his real scheme, and immediately despatchedgeneral Ziethen, with a strong reinforcement, to protect the convoy, which was escorted by eight battalions, and about four thousand men, whohad been sick, and were just recovered. Before this officer joined them, the convoy had been attacked on the twenty-eighth day of June; butthe assailants were repulsed with considerable loss. Mareschal Daun, however, took care that they should be immediately reinforced; andnext day the attack was renewed with much greater effect. Four hundredwaggons, guarded by four battalions, and about one thousand troopers, had just passed the defiles of Domstadt, when the Austrians charged themfuriously on every side; the communication between the head and the restof the convoy was cut off; and general Ziethen, after having exerted allhis efforts for its preservation, being obliged to abandon the waggons, retired to Troppau. Thus the whole convoy fell into the hands of theenemy, who took above six hundred prisoners, together with generalPutkammer; and the king of Prussia was obliged to relinquish hisenterprise. This was a mortifying necessity to a prince of his highspirit, at a time when he saw himself on the eve of reducing the place, notwithstanding the gallant defence which had been made by generalMarshal the governor. Nothing now remained but to raise the siege, andretire without loss in the face of a vigilant enemy, prepared to seizeevery opportunity of advantage: a task which, how hard soever it mayappear, he performed with equal dexterity and success. Instead ofretiring into Silesia, he resolved to avert the war from his owndominions, and take the route to Bohemia, the frontiers of which wereleft uncovered by mareschal Daun's last motion, when he advanced hisquarters to Posnitz, in order to succour Olmutz the more effectually. After the king had taken his measures, he carefully concealed his designfrom the enemy, and, notwithstanding the loss of his convoy, prosecutedthe operations of the siege with redoubled vigour till the first day ofJuly, when he decamped in the night, and began his march to Bohemia. Hehimself, with one division, took the road to Konitz; and mareschalKeith having brought away all the artillery, except four mortars and onedisabled cannon, pursued his march by the way of Littau to Muglitz andTribau. Although his Prussian majesty had gained an entire march uponthe Austrians, their light troops, commanded by the generals Buccow andLaudohn, did not fail to attend and harass his army in their retreat;but their endeavours were in a great measure frustrated by the conductand circumspection of the Prussian commanders. After the rear of thearmy had passed the defiles of Krenau, general Lasci, who was postedat Gibau with a large body of Austrian troops, occupied the village ofKrenau with a detachment of grenadiers, who were soon dislodged; andthe Prussians pursued their march by Zwittau to Leutomyssel, where theyseized a magazine of meal and forage. In the meantime general de Ratzow, who conducted the provisions and artillery, found the hills of Hollitzpossessed by the enemy, who cannonaded him as he advanced; but mareschalKeith coming up, ordered them to be attacked in the rear, and they fledinto a wood with precipitation, with the loss of six officers and threehundred men, who were taken prisoners. While' the mareschal was thusemployed, the king proceeded from Leutomyssel to Koningsgratz, wheregeneral Buccow, who had got the start of him, was posted with seventhousand men behind the Elbe, and in the intrenchments which they hadthrown up all around the city. The Prussian troops as they arrivedpassed over the little river Adler, and as the enemy had broken downthe bridges over the Elbe, the king ordered them to be repaired with allexpedition, being determined to attack the Austrian intrenchments;but general Buccow did not wait for his approach: he abandoned hisintrenchments, and retired with his troops to Clumetz; so that theking took possession of the most important post of Koningsgratz withoutfurther opposition. An Austrian corps having taken post between him andHollitz, in order to obstruct the march of the artillery, he advancedagainst them in person, and having driven them from the place, allhis cannon, military stores, provisions, with fifteen hundred sick andwounded men, arrived in safety at Koningsgratz, where the whole armyencamped. His intention was to transfer the seat of war from Moravia toBohemia, where he should be able to maintain a more easy communicationwith his own dominions; but a more powerful motive soon obliged him tochange his resolution. PROGRESS OF THE RUSSIANS. After the Russian troops under Apraxin had retreated from Pomerania inthe course of the preceding year, and the czarina seemed ready tochange her system, the courts of Vienna and Versailles had, by dintof subsidies, promises, presents, and intrigues, attached her, in allappearance, more firmly than ever to the confederacy, and even inducedher to augment the number of troops destined to act against the Prussianmonarch. She not only signed her accession in form to the quadruplealliance with the empress-queen and the kings of France and Sweden; but, in order to manifest her zeal to the common cause, she disgraced herchancellor, count Bestuchef, who was supposed averse to the war: shedivided her forces into separate bodies, under the command of thegenerals Fermer and Browne, and ordered them to put their troops inmotion in the middle of winter. Fermer accordingly began his march inthe beginning of January, and on the twenty-second his light troops tookpossession of Koningsberg, the capital of Prussia, without opposition:for the king's forces had quitted that country in order to prosecute thewar in the western parts of Pomerania. They did not, however, maintainthemselves in this part of the country; but, after having ravaged somedistricts, returned to the main body, which halted on the Vistula, tothe no small disturbance of the city of Dantzic. The resident of theczarina actually demanded that the magistrates should receive a Russiangarrison; a demand which they not only peremptorily refused, but orderedall the citizens to arms, and took every other method to provide fortheir defence. At length, after some negotiation with general Fermer, the affair was compromised: he desisted from the demand, and part of histroops passed the Vistula, seemingly to invade Pomerania, in the easternpart of which count Dohna had assembled an army of Prussians to opposetheir progress. But after they had pillaged the open country, theyrejoined their main body; and general Fermer, turning to the left, advanced to Silesia in order to co-operate with the other Russian armycommanded by Browne, who had taken his route through Poland, and alreadypassed the Posna. By the first of July both bodies had reached thefrontiers of Silesia, and some of their cossacks, penetrating intothat province, had committed dreadful ravages, and overwhelmed theinhabitants with consternation. Count Bohna, with the Prussian armyunder his command, had attended their motions, and even passed the Oderat Frankfort, as if he had intended to give them battle; but he was toomuch inferior in number to hazard such a step, which became an object ofhis sovereign's own personal attention. Mareschal Daun had followed theking into Bohemia, and, on the twenty-second day of July, encampedon the hills of Libischau, a situation almost inaccessible, where heresolved to remain and watch the motions of the Prussian monarch, untilsome opportunity should offer of acting to advantage. Nature seemsto have expressly formed this commander with talents to penetratethe designs, embarrass the genius, and check the impetuosity, ofthe Prussian monarch. He was justly compared to Fabius Maximus, distinguished by the epithet of Cunctator. He possessed all ihevigilance, caution, and sagacity of that celebrated Roman. Like him, hehovered on the skirts of the enemy, harassing their parties, accustomingthe soldiers to strict discipline, hard service, and the face of aformidable foe, and watching for opportunities, which he knew how toseize with equal courage and celerity. THE PRUSSIANS DEFEAT THE RUSSIANS. The king of Prussia, being induced by a concurrence of motives to stopthe progress of the Russians in Silesia, made his dispositions forretreating from Bohemia, and on the twenty-fifth day of July quitted thecamp at Koningsgratz. He was attended in his march by three thousandAustrian light troops, who did not fail to incommode his rear; but, notwithstanding these impediments, he passed the Mittau, proceeded onhis route, and on the ninth day of August arrived at Landshut. Fromthence he hastened with a detachment towards Frankfort on the Oder, andjoined the army commanded by lieutenant-general Dohna at Gorgas. Thenthe whole army passed the Oder by a bridge thrown over at Gatavise, andhaving rested one day, advanced to Dert-mitzel, where he encamped. TheRussians, under general Fermer, were posted on the other side of thelittle river Mitzel, their right extending to the village of Zicker, andtheir left to Quertchem. The king being determined to hazard a battle, passed the Mitzel on the twenty-fifth in the morning, and turning theflank of the enemy, drew up his army in order of battle in the plainbetween the little river and the town of Zorndorf. The Russians, by whomhe was outnumbered, did not decline the dispute; but as the grounddid not permit them to extend themselves, they appeared in fourlines, forming a front on every side, defended by cannon and achevaux-de-frise, their right flank covered by the village of Zwicker. After a warm cannonade, the Prussian infantry were ordered to attackthe village, and a body of grenadiers advanced to the assault; but thisbrigade unexpectedly giving way, occasioned a considerable openingin the line, and left the whole left flank of the infantry uncovered. Before the enemy could take advantage of this incident, the interval wasfilled up by the cavalry under the command of general Seydlitz; and theking, with his usual presence of mind, substituted another choice bodyof troops to carry on the attack. This began about noon, and continuedfor some time, during which both sides fought with equal courage andperseverance: at length general Seydlitz, having routed the Russiancavalry, fell upon the flank of the infantry with great fury, whichbeing also dreadfully annoyed by the Prussian artillery, they abandonedthe village, together with their military chest, and great part of theirbaggage. Notwithstanding this loss, which had greatly disordered theirright wing, they continued to stand their ground, and terrible havoc wasmade among them, not only with the sword and bayonet, but also bythe cannon, which were loaded with grape shot, and, being excellentlyserved, did great execution. Towards evening the confusion among themincreased to such a degree, that in all probability they would have beenentirely 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 turnedagainst him, rallied a select body of troops, and made a vigorousimpression on the right wing of the Prussians. This effort divertedtheir attention so strongly to that quarter, that the right of theRussians enjoyed a respite, during which they retired in tolerableorder, and occupied a new post on the right, where the rest of theirforces were the more easily assembled. In this battle they are saidto have lost above fifteen thousand men, thirty-seven colours, fivestandards, twelve mortars, the greater part of their baggage, and aboveone hundred pieces of cannon. Among the prisoners that fell into thehands of the victor, were several general officers, and a good numberlost their lives on the field of battle. The victory cost the king abovetwo thousand men, including some officers of distinction, particularlytwo aide-de-camps, who attended his own person, which he exposed withoutscruple to all the perils of the day. It would have redounded stillmore to his glory, had he put a stop to the carnage; for, after allresistance was at an end, the wretched Russians were hewn down withoutmercy. It must be owned, indeed, that the Prussian soldiers were, in apeculiar manner, exasperated against this enemy, because they hadlaid waste the country, burned the villages, ruined the peasants, andcommitted many horrid acts of barbarity, which the practice of warcould not authorize. [467] _[See note 3 P, at the end of this Vol. ]_The Prussian army passed the night under arms, and next morning thecannonade was renewed against the enemy, who, nevertheless, maintainedtheir position without flinching. On the twenty-seventh, they seemeddetermined to hazard another action, and even attack the conquerors;instead of advancing, however, they took the route of Lands-berg; butafterwards turned off towards Vietzel, and posted themselves betweenthe rivers Warta and that village. Immediately after the battle, generalFermer, * who had received a slight wound in the action, sent a trumpetwith a letter to lieutenant-general Dohna, desiring a suspension of armsfor two or three days to bury the dead, and take care of the wounded;and presenting to his Prussian majesty the humble request of generalBrowne, who was much weakened with the loss of blood, that he might havea passport, by virtue of which he could be removed to a place where heshould 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 tounderstand, that as his Prussian majesty remained master of the field, he would give the necessary orders for interring the dead, and takingcare of the wounded on both sides: he refused a suspension of arms, but granted the request of general Browne; and concluded his letter bycomplaining of the outrages which the Russian troops still continued tocommit, 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 deDeuxponts, who commanded the forces of the empire, advanced to the Elbe, in order to surround the king's brother, prince Henry, who, withoutimmediate succour, would not have been able to preserve his footing inSaxony. The Prussian monarch, therefore, determined to support him withall possible expedition. In a few days after the battle he began hismarch from Custrin, with a reinforcement of twenty-four battalions andgreat part of his cavalry, and pursued his route with such unwearieddiligence, that by the fifth day of September lie reached Torgau, andon the eleventh joined his brother. Mareschal Daun had posted himselfat Stolpen, to the eastward of the Elbe, in order to preserve an easycommunication with the army of the empire encamped in the neighbourhoodof Koningstein, to favour the operations of general Laudohn, who hadadvanced through the Lower Lusatia to the frontiers of Brandenburgh;to make a diversion from the southern parts of Silesia, where a body ofAustrian troops acted under the command of the generals Harsche and deVille; and to interrupt the communication between prince Henry and thecapital of Saxony. On the fifth day of September, the garrison in thestrong fortress of Koningstein surrendered themselves prisoners ofwar, after a very feeble resistance, to the prince de Detixponts, whoforthwith took possession of the strong camp at Pima. When the king ofPrussia therefore arrived at Dresden, he found the army of the empirein this position, and mareschal Daun in a still stronger situation atStolpen, with bridges of communication thrown over the Elbe, so that hecould not attack them with any prospect of advantage. He had no otherresolution to take but that of endeavouring to cut them off fromsupplies of provisions, and with this view he marched to Bautzen, whichhe occupied. This motion obliged the Austrian general to quit his campat Stolpen, but he chose another of equal strength at Libau; yet heafterwards advanced to Rittlitz, that he might be at hand to seize thefirst favourable occasion of executing the resolution he had formed toattack the Prussians. The king having detached general Ratzow on hisleft, to take possession of Weissenberg, marched forwards with the bodyof his army, and posted himself in the neighbourhood of Hochkirchen, after having dislodged the Austrians from that village. Matters were nowbrought to such a delicate crisis, that a battle seemed inevitable, and equally desired by both parties, as an event that would determinewhether the Austrians should be obliged to retreat for winter-quartersinto Bohemia, or be enabled to maintain their ground in Saxony. Inthis situation mareschal Daun resolved to act offensively; and formed ascheme for attacking the right flank of the Prussians by surprise. Thismeasure was suggested to him by an oversight of the Prussians, whohad neglected to occupy the heights that commanded the village ofHochkirchen, which was only guarded by a few free companies. Hedetermined to take the advantage of a very dark night, and to employ theflower of his whole army on this important service, well knowing, thatshould they penetrate through the flank of the enemy, the whole Prussianarmy would be disconcerted, and in all probability entirely ruined. Having taken his measures with wonderful secrecy and circumspection, thetroops began to move in the night between the thirteenth and fourteenthof October, favoured by a thick fog, which greatly increased thedarkness of the night. Their first care was to take possession of thehill that commanded Hochkirchen, from whence they poured down upon thevillage, of which they took possession, after having cut in pieces thefree companies posted there. The action began in this quarter aboutfour in the morning, and continued several hours with great fury, for, notwithstanding the impetuous efforts of the Austrian troops, and theconfusion occasioned among the Prussians by the surprise, a vigorousstand was made by some general officers, who, with admirable expeditionand presence of mind, assembled and arranged the troops as they couldtake to their arms, and led them up to the attack without distinctionof regiment, place, or precedence. While the action was obstinatelyand desperately maintained in this place, amidst all the horrors ofdarkness, carnage, and confusion, the king being alarmed, exerted allhis personal activity, address, and recollection, in drawing regularityfrom disorder, arranging the different corps, altering positions, reinforcing weak posts, encouraging the soldiery, and opposing theefforts of the enemy; for although they made their chief impression uponthe right, by the village of Hochkirchen, mareschal Daun, in order todivide the attention of the king, made another attack upon the left, which was with difficulty sustained, and effectually prevented him fromsending reinforcements to the right, where mareschal Keith, under thegreatest disadvantages, bore the brunt of the enemy's chief endeavours. Thus the battle raged till nine in the morning, when this gallantofficer was shot through the heart. Prince Francis of Brunswick hadmet with the same fate; prince Maurice of Anhault was wounded and takenprisoner, and many others were either slain or disabled. As the rightwing had been surprised, the tents continued standing, and greatlyembarrassed them in their defence. The soldiers had never been properlydrawn up in order; the enemy still persevered in their attack withsuccessive reinforcements and redoubled resolution; and a considerableslaughter was made by their artillery, which they had brought up to theheights of Hochkirchen. All these circumstances concurring, could notfail to increase the confusion and disaster of the Prussians; so thatabout ten the king was obliged to retire to Dobreschutz, with the lossof seven thousand men, of all his tents, and part of his baggage. Norhad the Austrian general much cause to boast of his victory. His lossof men was pretty nearly equal to that of the Prussian monarch; and, whatever reputation he might have acquired in foiling that enterprisingprince, certainly his design did not take effect in its full extent, for the Prussians were next day in a condition to hazared anotherengagement. The king of Prussia had sustained no damage which he couldnot easily repair, except the death of mareschal Keith, which wasdoubtless an irreparable misfortune. [468] _[See note 3 Q, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ His Prussian majesty remained with his army ten days at Dobreschutz, during which he endeavoured to bring the Austrians to a secondengagement; but count Daun declined the invitation, and kept his forcesadvantageously posted on eminences planted with artillery. His aimhaving been frustrated at Hochkirchen, where he fought with manyadvantages on his side, he would not hazard another battle upon equalterms, with such an enterprising enemy, rendered more vigilant by thecheck he had received, already reinforced from the army of prince Henry, and eager for an opportunity to retrieve the laurel which had beensnatched from him by the wiles of stratagem, rather than by the handof valour. Count Daun, having nothing more to hope from the activeoperations of his own army, contented himself with amusing the Prussianmonarch in Lusatia, while the Austrian generals, Harsche and De Ville, should prosecute the reduction of Neiss and Cosel in Silesia, whichthey now actually invested. As the Prussian monarch could not sparedetachments to oppose every different corps of his enemies that actedagainst him in different parts of his dominions, he resolved to makeup in activity what he wanted in number, and, if possible, to raise thesiege of Neiss in person. With this view he decamped from Dobreschutz, and, in sight of the enemy, marched to Goerlitz without the leastinterruption. From thence he proceeded towards Silesia with his usualexpedition, notwithstanding all the endeavours and activity of generalLaudohn, who harassed the rear of the Prussians, and gained some pettyadvantages over them.. Count Daun not only sent this detached corpsto retard them in their march; but at the same time, by another route, detached a strong reinforcement to the army of the besiegers. In themeantime, having received intelligence that the army of prince Henry inSaxony was considerably weakened, he himself marched thither, in hopesof expelling the prince from that country, and reducing the capital inthe king's absence. Indeed, his designs were still more extensive, forhe proposed to reduce Dresden, Leipsic, and Torgau, at the same time;the first with the main body under his own direction, the second by thearmy of the empire under the prince de Deuxponts, and the third by acorps under general Haddick, while the forces directed by Laudohn shouldexclude the king from Lusatia. In execution of this plan he marcheddirectly to the Elbe, which he passed at Pima, and advanced to Dresden, which he hoped would surrender without putting him to the trouble ofa formal siege. The army of prince Henry had already retired to thewestward of this capital before the prince de Deuxponts, who had foundmeans to cut off his communication with Leipsic, and even invested thatcity. During these transactions general Haddick advanced against Torgau. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SUBURBS OF DRESDEN BURNT. The field-mareschal count Daun appearing on the sixth day of Novemberwithin sight of Dresden, at the head of sixty thousand men, encampednext day at Lockowitz, and on the eighth his advanced troops attackedthe Prussian hussars and independent battalions, which were posted atStriessen and Gruenewiese. Count Schmettau, who commanded the garrison, amounting to ten thousand men, apprehensive that, in the course ofskirmishing, the Austrian troops might enter the suburbs pell-mell, posted colonel Itzenplitz, with seven hundred men, in the redoubts thatsurrounded the suburbs, that in case of emergency they might support theirregulars; at the same time, as the houses that constituted the suburbswere generally so high as to overlook the ramparts and command the city, he prepared combustibles, and gave notice to the magistrates that theywould be set on fire as soon as an Austrian should appear within theplace. This must have been a dreadful declaration to the inhabitants ofthese suburbs, which compose one of the most elegant towns in Europe. In these houses, which were generally lofty and magnificent, thefashionable and wealthy class of people resided, and here a numberof artists carried on a variety of curious manufactures. In vain themagistrates implored the mercy and forbearance of the Prussian governor, and represented, in the most submissive strain, that as they wereunconcerned in the war, they hoped they should be exempted from thehorrors of devastation. In vain the royal family, who remained atDresden, conjured him to spare that last refuge of distressed royalty, and allow them at least a secure residence, since they were deprived ofevery other comfort. He continued inflexible, or rather determined toexecute the orders of his master, which indeed he could not disobey withany regard to his own safety. On the ninth day of November, aboutnoon, 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 thetown. The governor, expecting a vigorous attack next day, recalled histroops within the city after they had set fire to the suburbs. At threein 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 theingenious arts. Every bosom warmed with benevolence must be affected atthe recital of such calamities. It excites not only our compassion forthe unhappy sufferers, but also our resentment against the perpetratorsof such enormity. Next day mareschal Daun sent an officer to countSchmettau, with a message, expressing his surprise at the destruction ofthe suburbs in a royal residence, an act of inhumanity unheard of amongchristians. He desired to know if it was by the governor's order thismeasure was taken; and assured him, that he should be responsible in hisperson for whatever outrages had been or might be committed against aplace in which a royal family resided. Schmettau gave him to understand, that he had orders to defend the town to the last extremity, and thatthe preservation of what remained depended entirely on the conduct ofhis excellency; for, should he think proper to attack the place, he (thegovernor) would defend himself from house to house, and from street tostreet, and even make his last effort in the royal palace, ratherthan abandon the city. He excused the destruction of the suburbs as anecessary measure, authorized by the practice of war; but he would havefound it a difficult task to reconcile this step to the laws of eternaljustice, and far less to the dictates of common humanity. Indeed, if thescene had happened in an enemy's country, or if no other step couldhave saved the lives and liberties of himself and his garrison, such adesperate remedy might have stood excused by the law of nature and ofnations; but on this occasion he occupied a neutral city, over which hecould exercise no other power and authority but that which he derivedfrom illegal force and violence; nor was he at all reduced to thenecessity of sacrificing the place to his own safety, inasmuch as hemight have retired unmolested, by virtue of an honourable capitulation, which, however, he did not demand. Whether the peremptory order ofa superior will, _in foro conscientio_, justify an officer who hathcommitted an illegal or inhuman action, is a question that an Englishreader will scarce leave to the determination of a German casuist withone hundred and fifty thousand armed men in his retinue. Be this as itwill, Mr. Ponickau, the Saxon minister, immediately after this tragedywas acted, without waiting for his master's orders, presented a memorialto the diet of the empire, complaining of it as an action reserved forthe history of the war which the king of Prussia had kindled in Germany, to be transmitted to future ages. He affirmed that, in execution ofSchmettau's orders, the soldiers had dispersed themselves in the streetsof the Pirna and Witchen suburbs, broke open the houses and shops, setfire 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 intothe houses, and along the streets; that the wretched inhabitants, whoforsook their burning houses, were slain by the fire of the cannon andsmall arms; that those who endeavoured to save their persons and effectswere pushed down and destroyed by the bayonets of the Prussian soldiersposted in the streets for that purpose: he enumerated particularinstances of inhuman barbarity, and declared that a great number ofpeople perished, either amidst the flames, or under the ruins of thehouses. The destruction of two hundred and fifty elegant houses, andthe total ruin of the inhabitants, were circumstances in themselvesso deplorable, as to need no aggravation; but the account of the Saxonminister was shamefully exaggerated, and all the particular instancesof cruelty false in every circumstance. Baron Plotho, the ministerof Brandenburgh, did not fail to answer every article of the Saxonmemorial, 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 extraordinarypart of this defence or vindication was the conclusion, in which thebaron solemnly assured the diet, that the king of Prussia, from hisgreat love to mankind, always felt the greatest emotion of soul, andthe most exquisite concern, at the effusion of blood, the devastation ofcities and countries, and the horrors of war, by which so many thousandfellow-creatures were overwhelmed; and that if his sincere and honestinclination to procure peace to Germany, his dear country, had met withthe least regard, the present war, attended with such bloodshed anddesolation, would have been prevented and avoided. He, therefore, declared that those who excited the present troubles, who, instead ofextinguishing, threw oil upon the flames, must answer to God for theseas of blood that had been and would be shed, for the devastation ofso 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 everyconsideration to the motives of rapacity and ambition. It would behappy, however, for mankind, were princes taught to believe that thereis really an omnipotent and all-judging power, that will exact a severeaccount of their conduct, and punish them for their guilt, with out anyrespect to their persons; that pillaging a whole people is more cruelthan robbing a single person; and that the massacre of thousands is, atleast, 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 thecapital of Saxony, the king of Prussia proceeded in his march toNeiss, which was completely invested on the third day of October. The operations of the siege were carried on with great vigour by theAustrian general De Harsche, and the place was as vigorously defended bythe Prussian governor, Theskau, till the first day of November, when thePrussian monarch approached, and obliged the besiegers to abandon theirenterprise. M. De Harsche having raised the siege, the king detachedgeneral Pouquet with a body of troops across the river Neiss, andimmediately the blockade of Cosel was likewise abandoned. De Harscheretired to Bohemia, and De Ville hovered about Jagernsdorf. The fortressof Neiss was no sooner relieved, than the king of Prussia beganhis march on his return to Saxony, where his immediate presence wasrequired. At the same time, the two bodies under the generals Dohna andWedel penetrated by different routes into that country. The former hadbeen left at Custrin, to watch the motions of the Russians, who hadby this time retreated to the Vistula, and even crossed that river atThorn; and the other had, during the campaign, observed the Swedes, whohad now entirely evacuated the Prussian territories, so that Wedel wasat liberty to co-operate with the king in Saxony. He accordingly marchedto Torgau, the siege of which had been undertaken by the Austriangeneral Haddick, who was repulsed by Wedel, and even pursued to theneighbourhood of Eulenbourg. Wedel, being afterwards joined by Dohna, drove him from thence with considerable loss, and then raised the siegeof Leipsic. Meanwhile, the king prosecuted his march towards the capitalof Saxony, driving before him the body of Austrian troops under Laudohn, who retreated to Zittau. On the tenth day of November count Daun retiredfrom Dresden, and with the army of the empire fell back towards Bohemia;and on the twentieth the king arrived in that city, where he approvedof the governor's conduct. The Russian general foreseeing that he shouldnot be able to maintain his ground during the winter in Poinerania, unless he could secure some sea-port on the Baltic, by which he mightbe supplied with provisions, detached general Palmbach, with fifteenthousand men, to besiege the town of Colberg, an inconsiderable place, very meanly fortified. It was accordingly invested on the third dayof October; but the besiegers were either so ill provided with properimplements, or so little acquainted with operations of this nature, that the garrison, though feeble, maintained the place against alltheir attacks for six-and-twenty days; at the expiration of which theyabandoned their enterprise, and cruelly ravaged the open country intheir retreat. Thus, by the activity and valour of the Prussian monarch, his generals and officers, six sieges were raised almost at the sameperiod, namely, those of Colberg, Neiss, Cosel, Torgau, Leipsic, andDresden. INHABITANTS OF SAXONY OPPRESSED. The variety of fortune which the king of Prussia experienced in thecourse of this campaign was very remarkable; but the spirit of hisconduct, and the rapidity of his motions, were altogether withoutexample. In the former campaign we were dazzled with the lustre of hisvictories; in this we admire his fortitude and skill in stemmingthe different torrents of adversity, and rising superior to his evilfortune. One can hardly without astonishment recollect, that in thecourse of a few months he invaded Moravia, invested Olmutz, and wasobliged to relinquish that design, that he marched through an enemy'scountry, in the face of a great army, which, though it harassed himin his retreat, could not, in a route of an hundred miles, obtain anyadvantage over him; that in spite of his disaster at Olmutz, and thedifficulties of such a march, he penetrated into Bohemia, drove theenemy from Koningsgratz, executed another dangerous and fatiguing marchto the Oder, defeated a great army of Russians, and returned by the wayof Saxony, from whence he drove the Austrian and Imperial armies; thatafter his defeat at Hochkirchen, where he lost two of his best generals, and was obliged to leave his tents standing, he baffled the vigilanceand superior number of the victorious army, rushed like a whirlwind tothe relief of Silesia, invaded by an Austrian army, which he compelledto retire with precipitation from that province; that, with the samerapidity of motion, he wheeled about to Saxony, and once more rescuedit from the hands of his adversaries; that in one campaign he made twicethe circuit of his dominions, relieved them all in their turns, andkept all his possessions entire against the united efforts of numerousarmies, conducted by generals of consummate skill and undauntedresolution. His character would have been still more complete, if hismoderation had been equal to his courage; but in this particular wecannot applaud his conduct. Incensed by the persecuting spirit of hisenemies, he wrecked his vengeance on those who had done him no injury;and the cruelties which the Russians had committed in his dominions wereretaliated upon the unfortunate inhabitants of Saxony. In the latter endof September, the president of the Prussian military directory senta letter to the magistrates of Leipsic, requiring them, in the king'sname, to pay a new contribution of six hundred thousand crowns, andto begin immediately with the payment of one-third part, on painof military execution. In answer to this demand, the magistratesrepresented that the city having been exhausted by the enormouscontributions already raised, was absolutely incapable of furnishingfurther supplies; that the trade was stagnated and ruined, and theinhabitants so impoverished, that they could no longer pay the ordinarytaxes. This remonstrance made no impression. At five in the morningthe Prussian soldiers assembled, and were posted in all the streets, squares, market-places, cemeteries, towers, and steeples; then the gatesbeing shut, in order to exclude the populace of the suburbs from thecity, the senators were brought into the town-hall, and accosted bygeneral Hauss, who told them, the king his master would have money; and, if they refused to part with it, the city should be plundered. Tothis peremptory address they replied to this effect:--"We have no moremoney, --we have nothing left but life; and we recommend ourselves tothe king's mercy. " In consequence of this declaration, dispositions weremade for giving up the city to be plundered. Cannon were planted in allthe streets, the inhabitants were ordered to remain within doors, andevery house resounded with dismal cries and lamentations. The dreadedpillage, however, was converted into a regular exaction. A party ofsoldiers, commanded by a subaltern, went from house to house, signifyingto every burgher, that he should produce all his specie, on pain ofimmediate pillage and massacre; and every inhabitant delivered up hisall without further hesitation. About six in the evening, the soldiersreturned to their quarters; but the magistrates were detained inconfinement, and all the citizens were overwhelmed with grief andconsternation. Happy Britain, who knowest such grievances only byreport! When the king of Prussia first entered Saxony, at the beginningof the war, he declared he had no design to make a conquest of thatelectorate, but only to keep it as a depositum for the security ofhis own dominions, until he could oblige his enemies to acquiesce inreasonable terms of peace; but upon his last arrival at Dresden headopted a new resolution. In the beginning of December, the Prussiandirectory of war issued a decree to the deputies of the states of theelectorate, demanding a certain quantity of flour and forage, accordingto the convention formerly settled; at the same time signifying, thatthough the king of Prussia had hitherto treated the electorate as acountry taken under his special protection, the face of affairs was nowchanged in such a manner, that for the future he would consider it in noother light than that of a conquered country. The Russians had seized inPrussia 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 cabinetscontaining papers belonging to the privy-counsellors of his Polishmajesty, and they themselves ordered to depart for Warsaw at avery short warning. Though the city had been impoverished by formerexactions, and very lately subjected to military execution, the king ofPrussia demanded fresh contributions, and even extorted them by dintof severities that shock humanity. He surrounded the exchangewith soldiers, and confining the merchants to straw beds and nakedapartments, obliged them to draw bills for very large sums on theirforeign correspondents: a method of proceeding much more suitable to thedespotism of a Persian sophi towards a conquered people who professeda different faith, than reconcileable to the character of a protestantprince towards a peaceable nation of brethren, with whom he wasconnected by the common ties of neighbourhood and religion. Even ifthey had acted as declared enemies, and been subdued with arms in theirhands, the excesses of war on the side of the conqueror ought to haveceased with the hostilities of the conquered, who, by submitting to hissway, would have become his subjects, and in that capacity had a claimto his protection. To retaliate upon the Saxons, who had espoused noquarrel, the barbarities committed by the Russians, with whom he wasactually at war; and to treat as a conquered province a neutral country, which his enemies had entered by violence, and been obliged to evacuateby force of arms, was a species of conduct founded on pretences whichoverturn all right, and confound all reason. PROGRESS OF THE SWEDES IN POMERANIA. Having recorded all the transactions of the campaign, except thosein which the Swedes were concerned, it now remains that we shouldparticularize the progress which was made in Pomerania by the troopsof that nation, under the command of count Hamilton. We have alreadyobserved, that in the beginning of the year the Prussian general, Lehwald, had compelled them to evacuate the whole province, exceptStralsund, which was likewise invested. This, in all probability, wouldhave been besieged in form, had not Lehwald resigned the command ofthe Prussians, on account of his great age and infirmities; and hissuccessor, count Dohna, been obliged to withdraw his troops in order tooppose the Russian army on the other side of Pomerania. The blockade ofStralsund being consequently raised, and that part of the country beingentirely evacuated by the Prussians, the Swedish troops advanced againfrom the isle of Rugen, to which, they had retired; but the suppliesand reinforcements they expected from Stockholm were delayed in such amanner, either from a deficiency in the subsidies promised by France, orfrom the management of those who were averse to the war, that greatpart of the season was elapsed before they undertook any importantenterprise. Indeed, while they lay encamped under the cannon ofStralsund, waiting for these supplies, their operations were retarded bythe explosion of a whole ship-load of gunpowder intended for their use;an event imputed to the practices of the Prussian party in Sweden, whichat this period seemed to gain ground, and even threatened a change inthe ministry. At length the reinforcement arrived about the latter endof June, and their general seemed determined to act with vigour. In thebeginning of July, his army being put in motion, he sent a detachment todislodge the few Prussian troops that were left at Anclam, Demmin, andother places, to guard that frontier; and they retreated accordingly. Count Hamilton having nothing further to oppose him in the field, ina very little time recovered all Swedish Pomerania, and even made hotincursions into the Prussian territories. Meanwhile, a combined fleetof thirty-three Russian and seven Swedish ships of war appeared in theBaltic, and anchored between the isles of Dragoe and Amagh; but theyneither landed troops nor committed hostilities. The Swedishgeneral advanced as far as Fehrbellin, sent out parties that raisedcontributions within five and twenty miles of Berlin, and threw theinhabitants of that capital into the utmost consternation. The kingof Prussia, alarmed at their progress, despatched general Wedel fromDresden, with a body of troops that were augmented on their march; sothat, on the twentieth of September, he found himself at Berlin witheleven thousand effective men, at the head of whom he proceeded againstcount Hamilton, while the prince of Bevern, with five thousand, advancedon the other side from Stetin. At their approach, the Swedish commanderretired, after having left a garrison of fourteen hundred men atFehrbellin in order to retard the Prussians, and secure the retreatof his army. The place was immediately attacked by general Wedel; andthough the Swedes disputed the ground from house to house with uncommonobstinacy, he at last drove them out of the town, with the loss of onehalf of their number either killed or taken prisoners. The body of theSwedish army, without hazarding any other action, immediately evacuatedthe Prussian territories, and returned to the neighbourhood ofStralsund, intending to take winter-quarters in the isle of Rugen. CountHamilton, either disgusted at the restrictions he had been laid under, or finding himself unable to act in such a manner as might redound tothe advantage of his reputation, threw up his command, retired from thearmy, 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 inSweden, but he had also raised a strong interest in Poland, among suchPalatines as had always opposed the measures of the reigning family. These were now reinforced by many patriots, who dreaded the vicinity andsuspected the designs of the Russian army. The diet of the republicwas opened on the second day of November; and, after warm debates, M. Malachowski was unanimously elected mareschal; but no sooner had thechambers of nuncios begun their deliberations, than a number of voiceswere raised against the encroachments of the Russian troops, who hadtaken up their residence in Poland; and heavy complaints were made ofthe damages sustained from their cruelty and rapine. Great pains weretaken to appease these clamours; and many were prevailed upon to referthese grievances to the king in senate; but when this difficulty seemedalmost surmounted, Padhorski, the nuncio of Volhinia, stood up, anddeclared that he would not permit any other point to be discussed inthe diet while the Russians maintained the least footing within theterritories of the republic. Vain were all the attempts of the courtiersto persuade and mollify this inflexible patriot, he solemnly protestedagainst their proceedings, and hastily withdrew; so that the mareschalwas obliged to dissolve the assembly, and recourse was had to a _senatusconsilium_, to concert proper measures to be taken in the presentconjuncture. The king of Poland was on this occasion likewisedisappointed in his views of providing for his son, prince Charles, inthe duchy of Courland. He had been recommended by the court of Russia, and even approved by the states of that country; but two difficultiesoccurred. The states declared, they could not proceed to a new electionduring the life of their former duke, count Biron, who was still alive, though a prisoner in Siberia, unless their duchy should be declaredvacant by the king and republic of Poland; and, according to the laws ofthat country, no prince could be elected until he should have declaredhimself of the Augsburgh confession. His Polish majesty, however, beingdetermined to surmount all obstacles to his son's interest, orderedcount Malachowski, high chancellor of Poland, to deliver to princeCharles a diploma, by which the king granted permission to the states ofCourland to elect that prince for their duke, and appointed the day forhis election and instalment; which accordingly took place in the monthof January, notwithstanding the clamour of many Polish grandees, who persisted in affirming that the king had no power to grant suchpermission without the consent of the diet. The vicissitudes of thecampaign had produced no revolutions in the several systems adopted bythe different powers in Europe. The czarina, who in the month of Junehad 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 ofthe empress-queen of Hungary, and the unfortunate king of Poland, whostill resided at Warsaw. The court of Vienna distributed among theimperial ministers at the several courts of the empire, copies of arescript explaining the conduct of her generals since the beginning ofthe campaign, and concluded with expressions of self-approbation tothis effect: "Though the issue of the campaign be not as yet entirelysatisfactory, and such as might be desired, the imperial court enjoys, at least, the sincere satisfaction of reflecting, that, according tothe change of circumstances, it instantly took the most vigorousresolutions; that it was never deficient in any thing that mightcontribute to the good of the common cause, and is now employed inmaking preparations, from which the most happy consequences may beexpected. " {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE KING OF ENGLAND'S MEMORIAL. We have already hinted at a decree of the Aulic council of the empire, published in the month of August, enjoining all directors of circles, all imperial towns, and the noblesse of the empire, to transmit toVienna an exact list of all those who had disobeyed the avocatoriaof the empire, and adhered to the rebellion raised by the elector ofBrandenburgh; that their revenues might be sequestered, and themselvespunished in their honours, persons, and effects. As the elector ofHanover was plainly pointed out, and, indeed, expressly mentioned inthis decree, the king of Great Britain, by the hands of baron Gemmegen, his electoral minister, presented a memorial to the diet of the empirein the month of November, enumerating the instances in which heexerted himself, and even exposed his life, for the preservation andaggrandizement of the house of Austria. In return for these importantservices, he observed, that the empress-queen had refused him theassistance stipulated in treaties against an invasion planned byFrance, whose hatred he had drawn upon himself by his friendship tothat princess; and his imperial majesty even denied him the dictatorialletters which he solicited; that the court of Vienna had signed a treatywith the crown of France, in which it was stipulated that the Frenchtroops should pass the Weser, and invade the electorate of Hanover, where they were joined by the troops of the empress-queen, who ravagedhis Britannic majesty's dominions with greater cruelty than even theFrench had practised; and the same duke of Cumberland, who had beenwounded at Dettingen in the defence of her imperial majesty, was obligedto fight at Hastenbeck against the troops of that very princess, in defence of his father's dominions; that she sent commissaries toHanover, who shared with the crown of France the contributions extortedfrom that electorate; rejected all proposals of peace, and dismissedfrom her court the minister of Brunswick-Lunenbourg; that his imperialmajesty, who had sworn to protect the empire, and oppose the entranceof foreign troops destined to oppress any of the states of Germany, afterwards required the king of England to withdraw his troops from thecountries which they occupied, that the French army might again havefree passage into his German dominions; that the emperor had recalledthese troops, released them from their allegiance to their sovereign, enjoined them to abandon their posts, their colours, and the service inwhich they were embarked, on pain of being punished in body, honour, andestate: and that the king of England himself was threatened with the banof the empire. He took notice, that, in quality of elector, he had beenaccused of refusing to concur with the resolutions of the diet taken inthe preceding year; of entering into alliance with the king of Prussia;joining his troops to the armies of that prince; employing auxiliariesbelonging to the states of the empire; sending English forces intoGermany, where they had taken possession of Embden; and exactingcontributions in different parts of Germany. In answer to theseimputations, he alleged that he could not, consistent with his ownsafety or the dictates of common sense, concur with a majority injoining his troops, which were immediately necessary for his owndefence, to those which, from the arbitrary views of the court ofVienna, were led against his friend and ally the king of Prussia, by aprince who did not belong to the generality of the empire, and on whomthe command had been conferred without a previous conclusion of theGermanic body; that, with respect to his alliance with the king ofPrussia, he had a right, when deserted by his former allies, to seekassistance wheresoever it could be procured; and surely no just groundof complaint could be offered against that which his Prussian majestylent, to deliver the electoral states of Brunswick, as well as those ofBrunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Hesse, and Ruckebourg, from the oppressions oftheir common enemy. Posterity, he said, would hardly believe, that ata time when the troops of Austria, the Palatinate, and Wirtemberg, wereengaged to invade the countries of the empire, other members of theGermanic body, who employed auxiliaries in their defence, should bethreatened with outlawry and sequestration. He owned, that, inquality of king, he had sent over English troops to Germany, and takenpossession of Embden; steps for which he was accountable to no powerupon earth, although the constitutions of the empire permit theco-estates to make use of foreign troops, not indeed for the purpose ofinvasion or conquest in Germany, but for their defence and preservation. He also acknowledged that he had resented the conduct, and chastised theinjustice, of those co-estates who had assisted his enemies, and helpedto ravage his dominions; inferring, that if the crown of France was freeto pillage the estates of the duke of Brunswick and the landgraveof Hesse-Cassel, because they had supplied the king of England withauxiliaries; if the empress-queen had a right to appropriate to herselfhalf of the contributions raised by the French king in these countries;surely his Britannic majesty had an equal right to make those feelthe burden of the war who had favoured the unjust enterprises ofhis enemies. He expressed his hope, that the diet, after having dulyconsidered these circumstances, would, by way of advice, propose to hisimperial majesty that he should annul his most inconsistent mandates, and not only take effectual measures to protect the electorate and itsallies, but also give orders for commencing against the empress-queen, as archduchess of Austria, the elector Palatine, and the duke ofWirtemberg, such proceedings as she wanted to enforce against hisBritannic majesty, elector of Brunswick-Lunenbourg. For this purposethe minister now requested their excellencies to ask immediately thenecessary instructions for their principals. The rest of this longmemorial contained a justification of his Britannic majesty's conduct indeviating from the capitulation of Closter-Seven; with a refutationof the arguments adduced, and a retortion of the reproaches levelledagainst the king of England, in the paper or manifesto composed andpublished under the direction of the French ministry, and intituled, "Aparallel of the conduct of the king of France with that of the king ofEngland, relative to the breach of the capitulation of Closter-Seven bythe Hanoverians. " But to this invective a more circumstantial answerwas published; in which, among other curious particulars, the letter ofexpostulation, said to have been written by the Prussian monarch tothe king of Great Britain after the defeat of Kolin is treated as aninfamous piece of forgery, produced by some venal pen employed to imposeupon the public. The author also, in his endeavours to demonstrate hisBritannic majesty's aversion to a continental war, very justly observes, that "none but such as are unacquainted with the maritime force ofEngland, can believe, that, without a diversion on the continent, toemploy part of the enemy's force, she is not in a condition to hope forsuccess, and maintain her superiority at sea. England, therefore, had nointerest 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 envoysdeclared publicly that a war upon the continent was inevitable, andthat the king's dominions in Germany would be its principal object. " Heafterwards, in the course of his argumentation, adds, "That they mustbe very ignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England arenot able to resist those of France, unless the latter be hindered fromturning all her efforts to the sea. In case of a war upon the continent, the two powers must pay subsidies; only with this difference, thatFrance can employ her own land-forces, and aspire at conquests. " Suchwere the professed sentiments of the British ministry, founded uponeternal truth and demonstration, and openly avowed, when the businesswas to prove that it was not the interest of Great Britain to maintaina war upon the continent; but afterwards, when this continental war waseagerly espoused, fostered, and cherished by the blood and treasure ofthe English nation, then the partisans of that very ministry, which hadthus declared that England, without any diversion on the continentof Europe, was an overmatch for France by sea, which maybe termed theBritish element; then their partisans, their champions, declaimers, and dependents, were taught to rise in rebellion against their formerdoctrine, and, in defiance of common sense and reflection, affirm that adiversion in Germany was absolutely necessary to the successful issue ofEngland's operations in Asia, Africa, and America. Notwithstanding allthe facts and arguments assembled in this elaborate memorial, to exposethe ingratitude of the empress-queen, and demonstrate the oppressivemeasures adopted by the imperial power, it remains to be proved, thatthe member of a community is not obliged to yield obedience to theresolutions taken, and the decrees published, by the majority ofthose who compose this community; especially when reinforced withthe authority of the supreme magistrate, and not repugnant to thefundamental constitution on which that community was established. DEATH OF POPE BENEDICT. If the empress-queen was not gratified to the extent of her wishes inthe fortune of the campaign, at least her self-importance was natteredin another point, which could not fail of being interesting to aprincess famed for a glowing zeal and inviolable attachment to thereligion of Rome. In the month of August the pope conferred upon her thetitle of apostolical queen of Hungary, conveyed by a brief, in which heextolled her piety, and launched out into retrospective eulogiums of herpredecessors, the princes of Hungary, who had been always accustomed tofight and overcome for the catholic faith under his holy banner. Thiscompliment, however, she did not derive from the regard of ProsperLambertini, who exercised the papal sway under the assumed name ofBenedict 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 inthe papacy by cardinal Charles Bezzonico, bishop of Padua, by birth aVenetian. He was formerly auditor of the Rota; afterwards promoted tothe purple by pope Clement XII. At the nomination of the republic ofVenice; was distinguished by the title of St. Maria d'Ara Coeli, theprincipal convent of the Cordeliers, and nominated protector of thePandours, or Illyrians. When he ascended the papal chair, he assumed thename of Clement XIII. In gratitude to the last of that name, who was hisbenefactor. Though of a disagreeable person, and even deformed inhis body, he enjoyed good health, and a vigorous constitution. Asan ecclesiastic, his life was exemplary; his morals were pure andunimpeached; in his character he is said to have been learned, diligent, steady, devout; and, in every respect, worthy to succeed such apredecessor as Benedict. KING OF PORTUGAL ASSASSINATED. The king of Spain wisely persisted in reaping the advantages of aneutrality, notwithstanding the intrigues of the French partisans at thecourt of Madrid, who endeavoured to alarm his jealousy by the conquestswhich the English had projected in America. The king of Sardinasagaciously kept aloof, resolving, in imitation of his predecessors, tomaintain his power on a respectable footing, and be ready to seize allopportunities to extend and promote the interest of his crown, and theadvantage of his country. As for the king of Portugal, he had prudentlyembraced the same system of forbearance; but in the latter end of theseason, his attention was engrossed by a domestic incident of a veryextraordinary nature. Whether he had, by particular instances ofseverity, exasperated the minds of certain individuals, and exercisedhis dominion in such acts of arbitrary power as excited a general spiritof disaffection among his nobility; or, lastly, by the vigorousmeasures pursued against the encroaching Jesuits in Paraguay, and theircorrespondents in Portugal, had incurred the resentment of that society, we shall not pretend to determine: perhaps all these motives concurredin giving birth to a conspiracy against his life, which was actuallyexecuted at this juncture with the most desperate resolution. On thethird day of September, the king, according to custom, going out ina carriage to take the air, accompanied by one domestic, was, inthe night, at a solitary place near Belem, attacked by three men onhorseback, armed with musquetoons, one of whom fired his piece at thecoachman without effect. The man, however, terrified both on his ownaccount and that of his sovereign, drove the mules at full speed;a circumstance which, in some measure, disconcerted the other twoconspirators, who pursued him at full gallop, and having no leisureto take aim, discharged their pieces at random through the back of thecarriage. The slugs with which they were loaded happened to pass betweenthe king's right arm and his breast, dilacerating the parts from theshoulder to the elbow, but without damaging the bone, or penetratinginto the cavity of the body. Finding himself grievously wounded, andthe blood flowing apace, he, with such presence of mind as cannot besufficiently admired, instead of proceeding to the palace, which was atsome distance, ordered the coachman to return to Junqueria, wherehis principal surgeon resided, and there his wounds were immediatelydressed. By this resolution he not only prevented the irreparablemischief that might have arisen from an excessive effusion of blood;but, without all doubt, saved his life from the bands of otherassassins, posted on the road to accomplish the regicide, in case heshould escape alive from the first attack. This instance of the king'srecollection was magnified into a miracle, on a supposition that it musthave been the effect of divine inspiration; and, indeed, among a peopleaddicted to superstition, might well pass for a favourable interpositionof Providence. The king being thus disabled in his right arm, issued adecree, investing the queen with the absolute power of government. Inthe meantime, no person had access to his presence but herself, thefirst minister, the cardinal de Saldanha, the physicians, and surgeons. An embargo was immediately laid on all the shipping in the port ofLisbon. Rewards were publicly offered, together with the promise ofpardon to the accomplices, for detecting any of the assassins; and suchother measures used, that in a little time the whole conspiracy wasdiscovered: a conspiracy the more dangerous, as it appeared to have beenformed by persons of the first quality and influence. The duke de Weiro, of the family of Mascarenhas; the marquis de Tavora, who had beenviceroy of Goa, and now actually enjoyed the commission of general ofthe horse; the count de Attougui, the marquis de Alloria, together withtheir wives, children, and whole families, were arrested immediatelyafter the assassination, as principals in the design; and many otheraccomplices, including some Jesuits, were apprehended in the sequel. The further proceedings on this mysterious affair, with the fate ofthe conspirators, will be particularized among the transactions of thefollowing year. At present it will be sufficient to observe, thatthe king's wounds were attended with no bad consequences; nor did theimprisonment of those noblemen produce any disturbance in the kingdom. PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY. The domestic occurrences of France were tissued with a continuationof the disputes between the parliaments and clergy, touching thebull Unigenitus. In vain the king had interposed his authority: firstproposing an accommodation; then commanding the parliament to forbeartaking cognizance of a religious contest, which did not fall under theirjurisdiction; and, thirdly, banishing their persons, and abrogatingtheir power. He afterwards found it necessary to the peace of hisdominions to recall and reinstate those venerable patriots; and beingconvinced of the intolerable insolence and turbulent spirit of thearchbishop of Paris, had exiled that prelate in his turn. He was nosooner re-admitted to his function, than he resumed his formerconduct, touching the denial of the sacraments to those who refusedto 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 wholekingdom. Bishops, curates, and monks, presumed to withhold spiritualconsolation from persons in extremity, and were punished by the civilpower. Other parliaments of the kingdom followed the example exhibitedby that of Paris, in asserting their authority and privileges. The kingcommanded them to desist, on pain of incurring his indignation;they remonstrated, and persevered; while the archbishop repeated hisinjunctions and censures, and continued to inflame the dispute to sucha dangerous degree, that he was given to understand he should be againobliged to quit the capital, if he did not proceed with more moderation. But the chief care of the French ministry was employed in regulatingthe finances, and establishing funds of credit for raising money to paysubsidies, and maintain the war in Europe and America. In the courseof this year they had not only considerably reinforced their armies inGermany, but made surprising efforts to supply the colony of Canada withtroops, artillery, stores, and ammunition, for its defence against theoperations of the British forces, which greatly outnumbered the Frenchupon the continent. The court of Versailles practised every stratagemto elude the vigilance of the English cruisers. The ships destined forAmerica they detached, both single and in convoys, sometimes fromthe Mediterranean, sometimes from their harbours in the channel. Theyassembled transports in one port, in order to withdraw the attention oftheir enemies from another, where their convoys lay ready for sailing;and in boisterous weather, when the English could no longer block uptheir harbours, their store-ships came forth, and hazarded the voyagefor the relief of their American settlements. Those that had the goodfortune to arrive on the coast of that continent, were obliged to haverecourse to different expedients for escaping the British squadronsstationed at Halifax, or cruising in the bay of St. Laurence. Theyeither ventured to navigate the river before it was clear of the ice, soearly in the spring, that the enemy had not yet quitted the harbour ofNova-Scotia; or they waited on the coast of Newfoundland for such thickfogs as might screen them from the notice of the English cruisers, insailing up the gulf; lastly, they penetrated through the straits ofBelleisle, a dangerous passage, which, however, led them directly intothe river St. Laurence, at a considerable distance above the stationof the British squadron. Though the French navy was by this time soreduced, that it could neither face the English at sea nor furnishproper convoys for commerce, her ministry nevertheless attempted toalarm the subjects of Great Britain with the project of an invasion. Flat-bottomed boats were built, transports collected, large ships ofthe line equipped, and troops ordered to assemble on the coastfor embarkation; but this was no more than a feint to arouse theapprehension of the English, disconcert the administration, prejudicethe national credit, and deter the government from sending forces tokeep alive the war in Germany. A much more effectual method they took todistress the trade of England, by laying up their useless ships ofwar, and encouraging the equipment of stout privateers, which didconsiderable damage to the commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, bycruising in the seas of Europe and America. Some of them lay close inthe harbours of the channel, fronting the coast of England, and dartedout occasionally on the trading ships of this nation, as they receivedintelligence from boats employed for that purpose. Some chose theirstation in the North sea, where a great number of captures were madeupon the coast of Scotland; others cruised in the chops of the channel, and even to the westward of Ireland; but the far greater number scouredthe seas in the neighbourhood of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies, where they took a prodigious number of British ships, sailing to andfrom the sugar colonies, and conveyed them to their own settlements inMartinique, Guadeloupe, or St. Domingo. CONDUCT OF THE KING OF DENMARK. With respect to the war that raged in Germany, the king of Denmarkwisely pursued that course, which happily preserved him from beinginvolved in those troubles by which great part of Europe was agitated, and terminated in that point of national advantage which a king oughtever to have in view for the benefit of his people. By observing ascrupulous neutrality, he enhanced his importance among his neighbours:he saw himself courted by all the belligerent powers: he saved theblood and treasure of his subjects: he received large subsidies, inconsideration of his forbearance; and enjoyed, unmolested, a much moreconsiderable share of commerce than he could expect to carry on, evenin times of universal tranquillity. He could not perceive that theprotestant religion had anything to apprehend from the confederacy whichwas formed against the Prussian monarch; nor was he misled into all theexpense, the perils, and disquiets of a sanguinary war, by that _ignisfatuus_ which hath seduced and impoverished other opulent nations, underthe specious title of the balance of power in Germany. Howsoever hemight be swayed by private inclination, he did not think it was a pointof consequence to his kingdom, whether Pomeranians possessed by Swedenor Prussia; whether the French army was driven back beyond the Rhine, or penetrated once more into the electorate of Hanover: whether theempress-queen was stripped of her remaining possessions in Silesia, or the king of Prussia circumscribed within the originalbounds of his dominion. He took it for granted that France, for her ownsake, would prevent the ruin of that enterprising monarch; and thatthe house of Austria would not be so impolitic and blind to itsown interest, as to permit the empress of Russia to make and retainconquests in the empire; but even if these powers should be weak enoughto sacrifice all the maxims of sound policy to caprice or resentment, he did not think himself so deeply concerned in the event, as for thedistant, prospect of what might possibly happen, to plunge headlong intoa war that must be attended with certain and immediate disadvantages. True it is, he had no hereditary electorate in Germany that wasthreatened with invasion; nor, if he had, is it to be supposed thata prince of his sagacity and patriotism would have impoverished hiskingdom of Denmark, for the precarious defence of a distant territory. It was reserved for another nation to adopt the pernicious absurdity ofwasting its blood and treasure, exhausting its revenues, loading its ownback with the most grievous impositions, incurring an enormous debt, bigwith bankruptcy and ruin; in a word, of expending above an hundredand fifty millions sterling in fruitless efforts to defend a distantcountry, the entire property of which was never valued at one twentiethpart of that sum; a country with which it had no natural connexion, buta common alliance arising from accident. The king of Denmark, thoughhimself a prince of the empire, and possessed of dominions in Germanyalmost contiguous to the scenes of the present war, did not yet thinkhimself so nearly concerned in the issue, as to declare himself eitherprincipal or auxiliary in the quarrel; yet he took care to maintain hisforces by sea and land upon a respectable footing; and by this conduct, he not only provided for the security of his own country, but overawedthe belligerent powers, who considered him as a prince capable of makingeither 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 anyparticipation in the war, did not, however, so scrupulously observethe neutrality they professed; at least, the traders of that republic, either from an inordinate thirst of lucre, or a secret bias in favour ofthe enemies of Great Britain, assisted the French commerce with all theappearance of the most flagrant partiality. We have, in the beginning ofthis year's transactions, observed, that a great number of their shipswere taken by the English cruisers, and condemned as legal prizes forhaving French property on board: that the Dutch merchants, exasperatedby their losses, exclaimed against the English as pirates and robbers, petitioned the states for redress in very high terms, and even loudlyclamoured for a war against Great Britain. The charge of violenceand injustice, which they brought against the English for taking andconfiscating the ships that transported to Europe the produce of theFrench islands in the West Indies, they founded on the tenth article ofthe treaty of commerce between Great Britain and the states-general ofthe United Provinces, concluded in the year one thousand six hundredand sixty-eight, stipulating, "That whatever shall be found on boardthe ships of the subjects of the United Provinces, though the lading, orpart thereof, may belong to the enemies of Great Britain, shall be freeand unmolested, except these be prohibited goods, which are to be servedin the manner described by the foregoing articles. " From this articlethe Dutch merchants argued, that, if there be no prohibited goods onboard, the English had no right to stop or molest any of their ships, ormake the least inquiry to whom the merchandise belonged, whence it wasbrought, or whither bound. This plea the English casuists would by nomeans admit, for the following reasons, --a general and perpetual licenseto carry on the whole trade of their enemy would be such a glaringabsurdity, as no convention could authorize: common sense has dictated, and Grotius declared, that no man can be supposed to have consented toan absurdity; therefore, the interpretation given by the Dutch to thisarticle, 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 thisinterpretation be accepted, the article, and the treaty itself, wouldbe superseded and annulled by a subsequent treaty, concluded between thetwo nations in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-five, andoften confirmed since that period, stipulating, in a secret article, that neither of the contracting parties should give, nor consent, thatany of their subjects and inhabitants should give any aid, favour, orcounsel, directly or indirectly, by land or sea, or on the fresh waters;nor should furnish, or permit the subjects or inhabitants of theirrespective territories to furnish, any ships, soldiers, seamen, victuals, monies, instruments of war, gunpowder, or any othernecessaries for making war, to the enemies of either party, of any rankor condition soever. Now, the Dutch have infringed this article in manyinstances during the present war, both in Europe and America; and, asthey have so openly contravened one treaty, the English are notobliged to observe another. They, moreover, forfeited all right to theobservance of the treaty in question, by refusing the succours withwhich they were bound, in the most solemn manner, to furnish the kingof Great Britain, in case any of his territories in Europe shouldbe attacked: for nothing could be more weak and frivolous than theallegation upon which this refusal was founded, namely, that thehostilities in Europe were commenced by the English, when they seizedand confiscated the vessels of France; and they, being the aggressors, had no right to insist upon the succours stipulated in a treaty whichwas purely defensive. If this argument has any weight, the treaty itselfcan have no signification. The French, as in the present case, willalways commence the war in America; and when their ships, containingreinforcements and stores for the maintenance of that war, shall betaken on the European seas, perhaps in consequence of their beingexposed for that purpose, they will exclaim that the English were theaggressors in Europe, consequently deprived of all benefit accruing fromthe defensive treaty subsisting between them and the states-general ofthe United Provinces. It being impossible for the English to terminatethe war, while their enemies derive the sinews of it from their commercecarried on in neutral bottoms, they are obliged to suppress suchcollusions, by that necessity which Grotius himself hath allowed to bea sufficient excuse for deviating from the letter of any treatywhatsoever. In time of peace no Dutch ships were permitted to carrythe produce of any French sugar island, or even to trade in any of theFrench ports in America or the West Indies; consequently, the treatywhich they quote can never justify them in carrying on a commerce, which, as it did not exist, and was not foreseen, could not possiblybe guarded against when that convention was ratified. Grotius, whoseauthority is held in such veneration among the Dutch, has determinedthat every nation has a right to seize and confiscate the goods of anyneutral power, which shall attempt to carry them into any place which isblocked up by that nation, either by land or sea. The French islands inthe West Indies were so blocked up by the English cruisers, that theycould receive no relief from their own government, consequently noneutral power could attempt to supply them without falling under thispredicament. * * 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 mouthof Mr. Yorke, his minister plenipotentiary at the Hague, in a conferenceheld in the mouth of August with the deputies of the states-general, that though he was ready to concur in every measure that should beproposed for giving satisfaction to their high mightinesses, withwhom he had always studied to live in the most perfect union, he wasnevertheless determined not to suffer the trade of the French coloniesin America to be carried on by the subjects of other powers, under thespecious pretext of neutrality: nor to permit words to be interpretedas a license to drive a trade with his enemies, which, though notparticularly specified in the articles of contraband, was neverthelessrendered such in all respects, and in every sense, by the nature of thecircumstances. It is not at all more surprising that the Dutch merchantsshould complain, than that the English government should persist inconfiscating the ships that were found to contain the merchandise oftheir enemies. The individual traders of every mercantile nation willrun considerable risks in extending their particular commerce, evenwhen they know it must be detrimental to the general interest of theircountry. In the war maintained by the confederates against Louis XIV. Of France, the merchant ships of the Dutch carried on an uninterruptedtrade to the French ports; and, notwithstanding the repeatedsolicitations of England, the states-general could never be prevailedupon to prohibit this commerce, which undoubtedly enabled France toprotract the war. The truth is, they gave the British ministry tounderstand, that unless they connived at this traffic, their subjectscould not possibly defray their proportion of the expense at whichthe war was maintained. It is well known through all Europe, that thesubjects of the United Provinces reaped considerable advantage, not onlyfrom this branch of illicit trade, but also by providing for botharmies in Flanders, and by the practice of stock-jobbing in England;consequently, it was not the interest, either of the states-general, orthe English general, between whom there was a very good understanding, to bring that war to a speedy conclusion: nor indeed ought we to fix theimputation of partiality upon a whole nation, for the private conductof individuals, influenced by motives of self-interest, which co-operatewith the same energy in Holland, and among the subjects of GreatBritain. In the course of the former war, such a scandalous appetitefor gain prevailed in different parts of the British dominions, thatthe French islands were actually supplied with provisions, slaves, andlumber, from Ireland and the British colonies in North America; andMartinique, in particular, must have surrendered to the commander of theEnglish squadron stationed in those seas, had it not been thus supportedby English subjects. Certain it is, the Dutch had some reason tocomplain that they were decoyed into this species of traffic by thearticle 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 ofall their vessels employed in this commerce, and condemned them, withoutmitigation, to the entire ruin of many thousand families. Consideringthe intimate connexion of mutual interest subsisting between GreatBritain and the states of the United Provinces, they seem to have hadsome right to an intimation of this nature, which, in all probability, would have induced them to resign all prospect of advantage from theprosecution of such traffic. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} CONFERENCES AT THE HAGUE. Besides the universal clamour excited in Holland, and the famousmemorial presented to the states-general, which we have alreadymentioned in another place, a deputation of merchants waited four timessuccessively on the princess regent to explain their grievances, anddemand her concurrence in augmenting the navy for the preservation oftheir commerce. She promised to interpose her best offices with thecourt of Great Britain; and these co-operating with representationsmade by the states-general, the English minister was empowered to openconferences at the Hague, in order to bring all matters in dispute to anamicable accommodation. These endeavours, however, proved ineffectual. The British cruisers continued to take, and the British courts tocondemn, all Dutch vessels containing the produce of the French sugarislands. The merchants of Holland and Zealand renewed their complaintswith redoubled clamour, and all the trading part of the nation, reinforced by the whole party that opposed the house of Orange, criedaloud for an immediate augmentation of the marine, and reprisals uponthe pirates of England. The princess, in order to avoid extremities, was obliged not only to employ all her personal influence with thestates-general, but also to play off one faction against another, in theway of remonstrance and exclamation As far back as the month of June, she presented a memorial to the states-general, reminding them, that inthe beginning of the war between France and England, she had advisedan augmentation should be made in their land-forces, to strengthenthe garrisons of the frontier towns, and cover the territories of therepublic from invasion. She gave them to understand, that the provincesof Gueldres and Overyssel, intimidated by the proximity of twoformidable armies, had resolved to demand that the augmentation of theirland-forces should be taken into consideration by the other provinces;and requested her to reinforce their solicitations that this measuremight immediately take place. This request, she said, she the morereadily granted, as she could not but be sensible of the imminent dangerthat threatened the republic, especially since the Hanoverian armyhad passed the Rhine; and as it behoved the state to put itself in acondition to hinder either army from retiring into the territories ofthe republic, if it should be defeated; for in that case the conqueror, being authorized to pursue his enemy wherever he can find him, wouldbring the war into the heart of their country. This representation hadno other effect than that of suspending the measure which each partyproposed. The princess, in her answer to the fourth deputation of themerchants, declared that she beheld the present state of their tradewith the most anxious concern; that its want of protection was nother fault, but that of the towns of Dort, Haerlem, Amsterdam, Torgau, Rotterdam, and the Brille, to whose conduct it was owing, that theforces 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, andthe equipment of a fleet, were matters as distinct from each otheras light from darkness; that there was no pressing motive for anaugmentation of the army, whereas, innumerable reasons rendered theequipment of a fleet a matter of the most urgent necessity. In a fewdays after this representation was made, the princess, in an assemblyof the states-general, requested their high mightinesses, that, seeingtheir earnest and repeated efforts to induce the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and West Friesland, to acquiesce in the proposedaugmentation of forces by sea and land, had not hitherto met withsuccess, they would now consider and deliberate upon some expedient forterminating this affair, and the sooner the better, in order on one handto satisfy the strong and well-grounded instances made by the provincesof Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen; and, on the other, tocomply with the ardent and just desires expressed by the commercialinhabitants of the country. She told them, that the deputation whichwaited on her consisted of forty merchants, a number that meritedattention, no less than the speech they pronounced, of which a greatnumber of printed copies were distributed through all parts of thecountry. Without making any particular remarks on the harangue, she onlyobserved, that the drift of it did not tend to facilitate the negotiationbegun with Great Britain, nor to induce the nation to prefer aconvention to a rupture with that crown. From this circumstance sheinferred, it was more than time to finish the deliberations on theproposal for augmenting the forces both by sea and land; a measure, without which, she was convinced in her conscience, the state was, andwould always remain, exposed to all sorts of misfortune and danger bothnow and hereafter. In consequence of this interposition, the states-general that same daysent a letter to the states of Holland and West Friesland, communicatingthe sentiments of the princess-regent, and insisting upon the necessityof complying with her proposal of the double augmentation. Theyobserved, that an augmentation of the land-forces, for the defence ofthe frontiers, was unavoidable, as well as an equipment by sea for thesecurity 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, onthose two points so essential to the public interest. They representedthe danger of delay, and the fatal effects of discord; they proposed, that by a reciprocal indulgence one party should comply with thesentiments of the other, in order to avoid a schism and dangerousdivision among the confederates, the consequences of which would bevery deplorable; while the republic, in the meantime, would remain ina defenceless condition, both by sea and land, and depend upon thearbitrary power of its neighbours. They conjured them, therefore, asthey valued the safety of their country, and all that was dear to them;as they regarded the protection of the good inhabitants, the concordand harmony which at all times but especially at the present criticaljuncture, was of the last necessity, that they would seriously reflectupon the exhortations of her royal highness, as well as on the repeatedinstances of the majority of the confederates, and take a wise andsalutary resolution with regard to the proposed augmentation of theland-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 theirlosses, and stimulated by resentment, endeavoured at this period toinvolve their nation in a war with Great Britain. Had matters beenpushed to this extremity, in a few months the republic would, in allprobability, have been brought to the brink of ruin. The Dutch weredistracted by internal divisions; they were altogether unprovided forhostilities 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 oftheir shipping, but were also in a condition to reduce or demolishall their towns in Zealand, where they would hardly have met with anyopposition. 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 fourquarters of the globe, the island of Great Britain, which may be termedthe centre that gave motion to this vast machine, enjoyed all thetranquillity of the most profound peace, and saw nothing of war but thepreparations and trophies, which served only to animate the nation toa desire of further conquest; for the dejection occasioned by themisfortune at St. Cas soon vanished before the prospect of victory andsuccess. Considering the agitation naturally produced among the commonpeople, by the practice of pressing men into the service of the navy, which, in the beginning of the year, had been carried on with unusualviolence, the levy of so many new corps of soldiers, and the endeavoursused in forming the national militia, very few disturbances happenedto interrupt the internal repose of the nation. From private actsof malice, fraud, violence, and rapine, no community whatsoever isexempted. In the month of April, the temporary wooden bridge over theThames, built for the conveniency of carriages and passengers, while theworkmen should be employed in widening and repairing London bridge, wasmaliciously set on fire in the night, and continued burning till noonnext day, when the ruins of it fell into the river. The destruction ofthis conveniency proved very detrimental to the commerce of the city, notwithstanding the vigilancy and discretion of the magistrates, inapplying remedies for this misfortune. A promise of the king's pardonwas offered in a public advertisement, by the secretary of state, anda reward of two hundred pounds by the city of London, to any person whoshould discover the perpetrator of such wicked outrage; but neverthelesshe escaped detection. No individual, nor any society of men, could havethe least interest in the execution of such a scheme, except the bodyof London watermen; but as no discovery was made to the prejudice of anyperson belonging to that society, the deed was imputed to the malice ofsome secret enemy to the public. Even after a new temporary bridgewas erected, another attempt was made (in all probability by the sameincendiary) to reduce the whole to ashes, but happily miscarried, and aguard was appointed to prevent any such atrocious efforts in the sequel. Dangerous tumults were raised in and about Manchester, by a prodigiousnumber of manufacturers who had left off working, and entered into acombination to raise, by force, the price of their labour. They hadformed a regular plan, and collected large sums for the maintenance ofthe poorer sort, while they refused to work for their families. Theyinsulted and abused all those who would not join in this defection, dispersed incendiary letters; and denounced terrible threats against allsuch as should presume to oppose their proceedings. But these menaceshad no effect upon the magistrates and justices, who did their duty withsuch discretion and courage, that the ringleaders being singled out andpunished 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 nativeof Ireland, who had been apprehended for treasonable practices, wastried 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 asa spy for the French ministry; to which, in consideration of a paltrypension, he sent intelligence of every material occurrence in GreatBritain. The correspondence was managed by his brother, a Jesuit, whoacted as chaplain and secretary to the Spanish ambassador at the Hague. The British resident at that court having learned from the Spanishminister some secrets relating to England, even before they werecommunicated to him from the English ministry, was induced to seton foot an inquiry touching the source of this information, and soonreceived an assurance, that the secretary of the Spanish ambassador hada brother, a physician in London. The suspicion naturally arising fromthis circumstance being imparted to the ministry of England, Hensey wasnarrowly watched, and twenty-nine of his letters were intercepted. Fromthe contents of these he was convicted of having given the French courtthe first notice of the expedition to North America, the capture ofthe two ships, the Alcide and Lys, the sailing and destination of everysquadron and armament, and the difficulties that occurred in raisingmoney for the service of the public. He had even informed them, that thesecret expedition of the foregoing year was intended against Eochefort, and advised a descent upon Great Britain, at a certain time andplace, as the most effectual method of distressing the government, andaffecting the public credit. After a long trial he was found guilty oftreason, and received the sentence of death usually pronounced on suchoccasions; but whether he earned forgiveness by some material discovery, or the minister found him so insensible and insignificant that he wasashamed to take his life, he escaped execution, and was pardoned, oncondition of going into perpetual exile. The severity of the governmentwas much about the same period exercised on Dr. Shebbeare, a publicwriter, who, in a series of printed letters to the people of England, had animadverted on the conduct of the ministry in the most acrimoniousterms, stigmatized some great names with all the virulence of censure, and even assaulted the throne itself with oblique insinuation andironical satire. The ministry, incensed at the boldness, and still moreenraged at the success of this author, whose writings were boughtwith avidity by the public, determined to punish him severely forhis arrogance and abuse, and he was apprehended by a warrant fromthe secretary's office. His sixth letter to the people of England waspitched upon as the foundation of a prosecution. After a short trialin the court of king's bench, he was found guilty of having written thesixth letter to the people of England, adjudged a libellous pamphlet, sentenced to stand in the pillory, to pay a small fine, to be imprisonedthree years, and give security for his future good behaviour; so that, in effect, this good man suffered more for having given vent to theunguarded effusions of mistaken zeal, couched in the language of passionand scurrility, than was inflicted upon Hensey, a convicted traitor, whohad 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 oftemper, unreined passions, luxury, extravagance, and an almost totalwant of police and subordination, the virtues of benevolence are alwaysspringing up to an extraordinary growth in the British soil; and herecharities are often established by the humanity of individuals, whichin any other country would be honoured as national institutions: witnessthe great number of hospitals and infirmaries in London and Westminster, erected and maintained by voluntary contributions, or raised by theprincely donations of private founders. In the course of this year thepublic 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 atinterest, under the management of trustees, until the yearly produceshould amount to two hundred and ten pounds, to be given in marriageportions to two of the maidens educated in his hospital, at the age oftwenty-two, who should be the best recommended for piety and industry bythe masters or mistresses whom they had served. In the month of March, the sum destined for this laudable purpose was completed: when thetrustees, by public advertisement, summoned the maidens educated in thehospital to appear on a certain day, with proper certificates of theirbehaviour and circumstances, that six of the most deserving might beselected to draw lots for the prize of one hundred pounds, to be paidas her marriage portion, provided she married a man of an unblemishedcharacter, a member of the church of England, residing within certainspecified parishes, and approved by the trustees. Accordingly, on thefirst of May the candidates appeared, and the prize being gained by oneyoung woman, in presence of a numerous assembly of all ranks, attractedby curiosity, the other five maidens, with a sixth, added in lieu of herwho had been successsful, were marked for a second chance on the sameday of the following year, when a second prize of the same value wouldbe presented: thus a new candidate will be added every year, thatevery maiden who has been educated in this hospital, and preserved hercharacter without reproach, may have a chance for the noble donation, which is also accompanied with the sum of five pounds to defray theexpense of the wedding entertainment. One scarce knows whether mostto admire the plan, or commend the humanity of this excellentinstitution. --Of equal and perhaps superior merit was another charitableestablishment, which also took effect about this period. A small numberof humane individuals, chiefly citizens of London, deeply affected withthe situation of common prostitutes, who are certainly the most forlornof all human creatures, formed a generous resolution in their favour, such as even the best men of the kingdom had never before the courage toavow. They considered that many of these unhappy creatures, so wretchedin themselves, and so productive of mischief to society, had beenseduced to vice in their tender years by the perfidious artifice of theother sex, or the violence of unruly passion, before they had acquiredexperience to guard against the one, or foresight to perceive thefatal consequences of the other; that the jewel, reputation, being thusirretrievably lost, perhaps in one unguarded moment, they were coveredwith shame and disgrace, abandoned by their families, excluded from allpity, regard, and assistance; that, stung by self-conviction, insultedwith reproach, denied the privilege of penitence and contrition, cut offfrom all hope, impelled by indigence, and maddened by despair, they hadplunged into a life of infamy, in which they were exposed to deplorablevicissitudes of misery, and the most excruciating pangs of reflectionthat any human being could sustain; that whatever remorse they mightfeel, howsoever they might detest their own vice, or long for anopportunity of amendment, they were entirely destitute of all means ofreformation. They were not only deprived of all possibility of profitingby those precious moments of repentance, and becoming again usefulmembers of society; but, in order to earn a miserable subsistence, were obliged to persevere in the paths of prostitution, and act asthe instruments of heaven's vengeance in propagating distemper andprofligacy, in ruining the bodies and debauching the minds oftheir fellow-creatures. Moved to sympathy and compassion by theseconsiderations, this virtuous band of associates determined to providea comfortable asylum for female penitents, to which they might fly forshelter from the receptacles of vice, the miseries of life, and thescorn of mankind; where they might indulge the salutary sentiments ofremorse, make their peace with heaven, accustom themselves to industryand temperance, and be profitably reunited to society, from which theyhad been so unhappily dissevered. The plan of this excellent institutionbeing formed, was put in execution by means of voluntary subscription, and the house opened in Goodman 's-fields, under the name of theMagdalen-hospital, in the month of August, when fifty petitions werepresented by penitent prostitutes, soliciting admittance. Another asylumwas also opened by the hand of private charity, on the Surrey-side ofWestminster-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 byextraordinary talents in any branch of the liberal and useful arts andsciences, though no Maecenas appeared among the ministers, and notthe least ray of patronage glimmered from the throne. The protection, countenance, and gratification secured in other countries by theinstitution of academies, and the liberalities of princes, the ingeniousin England derived from the generosity of a public, endued with tasteand sensibility, eager for improvement, and proud of patronisingextraordinary merit. Several years had already elapsed since a societyof private persons was instituted at London, for the encouragementof 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 certainyearly contribution for the purposes of the institution. In the courseof every year they held eight general meetings in a large assembly-room, built and furnished at the common expense; besides the ordinary meetingsof the society, held every week, from the second Wednesday in Novemberto the last Wednesday in May; and in the intermediate time, on the firstand third Wednesday of every month. At these ordinary meetings, providedthe number then present exceeded ten, the members had a right to proceedon business, and power to appoint such committees as they shouldthink necessary. The money contributed by this association, after thenecessary expense of the society had been deducted, was expended inpremiums for planting and husbandry; for discoveries and improvementsin chemistry, dying, and mineralogy; for promoting the ingenious arts ofdrawing, engraving, casting, painting, statuary, and sculpture; for theimprovement of manufactures and machines, in the various articlesof hats, crapes, druggets, mills, marbled-paper, ship-blocks, spinning-wheels, toys, yarn, knitting, and weaving. They likewiseallotted sums for the advantage of the British colonies in America, and bestowed premiums on those settlers who should excel in curingcochineal, planting logwood-trees, cultivating olive-trees, producingmyrtle-wax, making potash, preserving raisins, curing saffiour, makingsilk and wines, importing sturgeon, preparing isinglass, plantinghemp and cinnamon, extracting opium and the gum of the persimon-tree, collecting stones of the mango, which should be found to vegetate in theWest Indies; raising silk-grass, and laying out provincial gardens. Theymoreover allowed a gold medal in honour of him who should compose thebest treatise on the arts of peace, containing an historical account ofthe progressive improvements of agriculture, manufactures, and commercein the kingdom of England, with the effects of those improvements on themorals and manners of the people, and pointing out the most proper meansfor their future advancement. In a word, the society is so numerous, the contributions so considerable, the plan so judiciously laid, andexecuted with such discretion and spirit, as to promise much moreeffectual and extensive advantage to the public than ever accrued fromall the boasted academies of Christendom. The artists of London had longmaintained a private academy for improvement in the art of drawing fromliving figures; but in order to extend this advantage, which was notattained without difficulty and expense, the duke of Richmond, a youngnobleman of the most amiable character, provided a large apartmentat Whitehall, for the use of those who studied the arts of painting, sculpture, and engraving; and furnished it with a collection of originalplaster casts from the best antique statues and busts at Rome andFlorence. Here any learner had liberty to draw, or make models, underthe eye and instructions of two eminent artists and twice a year themunificent founder bestowed premiums of silver medals on the four pupilswho excelled the rest in drawing from a certain figure, and making thebest model of it in basso-relievo. [479] _[See note 3 R, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ On the twenty-third day of November both houses of parliament met atWestminster, when his majesty being indisposed, the session was openedby commission, and the lord-keeper harangued them to this effect. Hetold them, his majesty had directed the lords of the commission toassure his parliament that he always received the highest satisfactionin being able to lay before them any event that might promote the honourand interests of his kingdoms; that in consequence of their advice, andenabled by the assistance which they unanimously gave, his majesty hadexerted 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 andhonourable peace:* that it had pleased the Divine Providence to blesshis measures and arms with success in several parts, and to make theenemies of the nation feel, that the strength of Great Britain is not tobe provoked with impunity: that the conquest of the strong fortress ofLouisbourg, with the islands of Cape-Breton and St. John; the demolitionof Frontenac, of the highest importance to his operations in America, and the reduction of Senegal, could not fail to bring great distress onthe French commerce and colonies, and, in proportion, to procure greatadvantages 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 whilsther forces are sent forth to invade and ravage the dominions of herneighbours, her own coasts are not inaccessible to his majesty's fleetsand armies--a truth which she had experienced in the demolition of theworks at Cherbourg, erected at a great expense, with a particular viewto annoy England, as well as in the loss of a great number of ships andvessels; but no treatment, however injurious to his majesty, could tempthim to make retaliation on the innocent subjects of that crown. He toldthem, that in Germany his majesty's good brother the king of Prussia, and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, had found full employment forthe enemies of France and her confederates, from which the Englishoperations, both by sea and in America, had derived the most evidentadvantage: their successes owing, under God, to their able conduct, andthe bravery of his majesty's troops, and those of his allies, havingbeen signal and glorious. The king, moreover, commanded them to declare, that the common cause of liberty and independency was still making nobleand 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, flourishedin a manner not to be paralleled during such troubles. In this state ofthings, he said, the king in his wisdom thought it unnecessary touse many words to persuade them to bear up against all difficulties, effectually to stand by and defend his majesty, vigorously to supportthe king of Prussia and the rest of his majesty's allies, and to exertthemselves to reduce their enemies to equitable terms of accommodation. He observed to the house of commons, that the uncommon extent of thiswar, in different parts, occasioned it to be uncommonly expensive: thatthe king had ordered them to declare to the commons, that he sincerelylamented, and deeply felt, for the burdens of his people: that theseveral estimates were ordered to be laid before them: and that hedesired only such supplies as should be requisite to push the war withadvantage, and be adequate to the necessary services. In the last place, he assured them the king took so much satisfaction in that good harmonywhich subsisted among his faithful subjects, that it was more proper forhim 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 suchcritical conjunctures; and his majesty doubted not but the good effectsthe nation had found from it would be the strongest motives to themto pursue it. --The reader will, no doubt, be surprised to find thisharangue abound with harshness of period and inelegancy of expression;he will wonder that, in particularizing the successes of the year inAmerica, no mention is made of the reduction of fort Du Quesne on theriver Ohio; a place of great importance, both from its strength andsituation, the erection of which had been one great motive to the warbetween the two nations; but he will be still more surprised to hearit declared from the throne, that the operations, both by sea and inAmerica, had derived the most evident advantage from the war in Germany. An assertion the more extraordinary, as the British ministry, in theiranswer to the Parallel, which we have already mentioned, had expresslyaffirmed, that "none but such as are unacquainted with the maritimeforce 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 hopefor success and maintain her superiority at sea. That they must be veryignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England are not able toresist those of France unless the latter be hindered from turning allher efforts to the sea. " It is very remarkable that the British ministryshould declare that the war in Germany was favourable to the Englishoperations by sea and in America, and almost in the same breath accusethe French king of having fomented that war. Let us suppose that Francehad no war to maintain in Europe; and ask in what manner she, in thatcase, would have opposed the progress of the British arms by sea and inAmerica? Her navy was reduced to such a condition that it durst not quither harbours; her merchant ships were all taken, her mariners confinedin England, and the sea was covered with British cruisers: in thesecircumstances, what expedients could she have contrived for sendingsupplies and reinforcements to America, or for opposing the navalarmaments 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 desolateisland. But granting that the war in Germany had, in some measure, diverted the attention of the French ministry from the prosecution oftheir operations in America, (and this is granting more than ought tobe allowed, ) the question is not, Whether the hostilities upon thecontinent of Europe prevented France from sending a greater number oftroops to Canada; but whether the war in Germany was either necessary orexpedient for distressing the French more effectually in other parts ofthe world? Surely every intelligent man of candour must answer in thenegative. The expense incurred by England for subsidies and armies inthe empire exceeded three millions sterling annually; and this enormousexpense, without being able to protect Hanover, only served to keep thewar alive in different parts of Germany. Had one half of this sumbeen employed in augmenting and extending the naval armaments of GreatBritain, 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 beingabsolutely cut off from these sources of wealth, would have found itimpracticable either to gratify her subsidiaries, or to maintain suchformidable armies to annoy her neighbours. These are truths, which willappear to the conviction of the public, when the illusive spells ofunsubstantial victory are dissolved, and time shall have dispersedthe thick mists of prejudice which now seem to darken and perplex theunderstanding of the people. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} NEW TREATY WITH THE KING OF PRUSSIA. The conduct of the administration was so agreeable to both houses ofparliament, that in their address to the throne they expressed theirunshaken zeal and loyalty to his majesty's person, congratulated him onthe success of his arms, and promised to support his measures and allieswith 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 treatybetween Great Britain and Prussia was concluded at London on the seventhday of December, importing, That as the burdensome war in which theking of Prussia is engaged, lays him under the necessity of making freshefforts to defend himself against the multitude of enemies who attackhis dominions, he is obliged to take new measures with the king ofEngland, for their reciprocal defence and safety; and his Britannicmajesty hath at the same time signified his earnest desire to strengthenthe friendship subsisting between the two courts; and, in consequencethereof, to conclude a formal convention, for granting to his Prussianmajesty speedy and powerful assistance, their majesties have nominatedand authorized their ministers to concert and settle the followingarticles:--All formal treaties between the two crowns, particularly thatsigned at Westminster on the sixteenth day of January in the year1756, and the convention of the eleventh of April in the year 1758, areconfirmed by the present convention of the eleventh of April in the year1758, in their whole tenor, as if they were herein inserted word forword. The king of Great Britain shall cause to be paid at London, tosuch person or persons as shall be authorized by the king of Prussia forthat end, the sum of four millions of rix-dollars, making six hundredand seventy thousand pounds sterling, at one payment, immediately on theexchange of the ratification, if the king of Prussia should so require. His Prussian majesty shall employ the said sum in supporting andaugmenting his forces, which shall act in such manner as shall be of thegreatest service to the common cause, and contribute most to the mutualdefence and safety of their said majesties. The king of Great Britain, both as king and elector, and the king of Prussia, reciprocally bindthemselves not to conclude with the powers that have taken part in thepresent war, any treaty of peace, truce, or other such like convention, but by common advice and consent, each expressly including therein theother. The ratification of the present convention shall be exchangedwithin six weeks, or sooner, if possible. In effect, this treaty was noother than a renewal of the subsidy from year to year, because it wasnot thought proper to stipulate in the first subsidiary convention anannual supply of such importance until the war should be terminated, lest the people of England should be alarmed at the prospect of suchsuccessive burdens, and the complaisance of the commons be in somefuture session exhausted. On the whole, this was perhaps the mostextraordinary treaty that ever was concluded; for it contains nospecification of articles, except the payment of the subsidy; everyother article was left to the interpretation of his Prussian majesty. {1759} SUPPLIES GRANTED. The parliament, having performed the ceremony of addresses to thethrone, immediately proceeded to the great work of the supply. The twocommittees in the house of commons were immediately established, andcontinued by adjournments to the month of May, by the twenty-third dayof which all their resolutions were taken. They voted sixty thousandmen, 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 andfifty-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 inAmerica and Africa. For the maintenance of the sixty thousand menemployed in the sea-service, they granted three millions one hundred andtwenty thousand pounds; for the land-forces, one million two hundred andfifty-six thousand one hundred and thirty pounds, fifteen shillingsand two-pence; for the charge of the additional five battalions, fortythousand eight hundred and seventy-nine pounds, thirteen shillings andnine-pence; for the pay of the general and staff-officers, and hospitalsof the land-forces, fifty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-fourpounds one shilling and eight-pence; for maintaining the garrisonsin the Plantations, Gibraltar, Nova-Scotia, Newfoundland, Providence, Cape-Breton, and Senegal, the sum of seven hundred and forty-twothousand five hundred and thirty-one pounds, five shillings andseven-pence; for the charge of ordnance for land-service, two hundredand twenty thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine pounds, elevenshillings and nine-pence; for extraordinary service performed by thesame office, and not provided for by parliament in the course of thepreceding year, three hundred and twenty-three thousand nine hundredand eighty-seven pounds, thirteen shillings and three-ponce; for theordinary of the navy, including half-pay to sea-officers, two hundredand thirty-eight thousand four hundred and ninety-one pounds, nineshillings and eight-pence; towards the support of Greenwich-hospital, and for the out-pensioners of Chelsea-college, the sum of thirty-sixthousand pounds. They allotted for one year's expense, incurred by theforeign troops in the pay of Great Britain, one million two hundredthirty-eight thousand one hundred and seventy-seven pounds, nineteenshillings and ten-pence, over and above sixty thousand pounds forenabling his majesty to fulfil his engagements with the landgrave ofHesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a new treaty concludedbetween them in the month of January of this current year, stipulating, that this sum should be paid to his serene highness in order tofacilitate the means by which he might again fix his residence in hisown dominions, and by his presence give fresh courage to his faithfulsubjects. Eighty thousand pounds were granted for enabling his majestyto discharge the like sum raised in pursuance of an act passed in thepreceding session, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to begranted in this session of parliament. The sum of two hundred thousandpounds was voted towards the building and repairing ships of war for theensuing year. Fifteen thousand pounds were allowed for improving Londonbridge; and forty thousand on account, for the Foundling-hospital. Forthe charge of transports to be employed in the course of the year theyassigned six hundred sixty seven thousand seven hundred and twenty-onepounds nineteen shillings and seven-pence: for maintaining the coloniesof Nova-Scotia and Georgia they bestowed twenty-five thousand twohundred and thirty-eight pounds thirteen shillings and five-pence. Toreplace sums taken from the sinking fund, thirty-three thousand twohundred and fifty-two pounds eighteen shillings and ten-pence halfpenny;for maintaining the British forts and settlements en the coast ofAfrica, ten thousand pounds, and for paying off the mortgage on anestate devised for the endowment of a professorship in the university ofCambridge, the sum of twelve hundred and eighty pounds. For the expenceof the militia they voted ninety thousand pounds: for extraordinaryexpenses relating to the land-forces, incurred in the course oflast year, and unprovided for by parliament, the sum of four hundredfifty-six thousand seven hundred and eighty-five pounds ten shillingsand five-pence three farthings. For the purchase of certain landsand hereditaments, in order to secure the king's docks at Portsmouth, Chatham, and Plymouth, they granted thirty-six thousand nine hundredand sixty-six pounds two shillings and ten-pence. They voted two hundredthousand pounds for enabling his majesty to give proper compensationto the respective provinces in North-America, for the expenses that hadbeen incurred in levying and maintaining troops for the service of thepublic. They granted twenty thousand pounds to the East-India company, towards enabling them to defray the expense of a military force intheir settlements: and the same sum was granted for carrying on thefortification to secure the harbour of Milford. To make good severalsums issued by his majesty, for indemnifying the inn-holders andvictuallers of Hampshire for the expenses they had incurred inquartering the Hessian auxiliaries in England; for an addition to thesalaries of judges, and other less considerable purposes, they allowedthe sum of twenty-six thousand one hundred and seventy-eight poundssixteen shillings and six-pence. Finally, they voted one million, uponaccount, for enabling the king to defray any extraordinary expense ofthe war, incurred, or to bo incurred, for the service of the currentyear; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappointor defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, as the exigency ofaffairs should require. The sum of all the grants voted by the committeeof supply, amounted to twelve millions seven hundred sixty-one thousandthree 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 onthe twenty-second day of May, when Mr. Secretary Pitt communicated tothem 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 mayarise, which may be of the utmost importance, and be attended with themost pernicious consequences, if proper means should not immediatelybe applied to prevent or defeat them, is desirous that this house willenable him to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, orto be incurred, for the service of the year one thousand seven hundredand fifty-nine, and to take all such measures as may be necessary todisappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, andas the exigencies of affairs may require. " This message being read, amotion was made, and agreed to _nem. Con. _ that it should be referred tothe committee, who forthwith formed upon it the resolution, wherebyone 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 onemillion, for the uses and purposes therein mentioned, comprehending aclause, allowing the Bank of England to advance on the credit of theloan therein mentioned any sum not exceeding a million, notwithstandingthe act of the fifth and sixth year in the reign of William and Mary, bywhich 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 ofthe community. Petitions having been presented by the cities of Bristoland New-Sarum, alleging, that since the laws prohibiting the making oflow wines and spirits from grain, meal, and flour, had been in force, thecommonalty appeared more sober, healthy, and industrious: representingthe ill consequences which they apprehended would attend the repeal ofthese laws, and therefore praying their continuance. A committee ofthe whole house resolved that the prohibition to export corn should becontinued to the twenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousandseven hundred and fifty nine; subject nevertheless to such provisionsfor shortening the said term of its continuance as should therefore bemade by an act of that session, or by his majesty with the advice ofhis privy-council during the recess of parliament; that the act fordiscontinuing the duties upon corn and flour imported, or brought in asprize, was not proper to be further continued; and that the prohibitionto 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 yearone thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine. Before the bill was formedon these resolutions, petitions arrived from Liverpool and Bath, to thesame purport as those of Bristol and Sarum: while on the other hand, aremonstrance was presented by a great number of the malt-distillers ofthe city and suburbs of London, alleging, that it having been deemedexpedient to prohibit the distilling of spirits from any sort ofgrain, to the twenty-fourth day of December then instant, some of thepetitioners had entirely ceased to carry on the business of distilling, while others, merely with a view to preserve their customers, thecompound distillers, and employ some of their servants, horses, andutensils, had submitted to carry on the distillation of spirits frommolasses and sugars under great disadvantages, in full hope that therestraint would cease at the expiration of the limited time, or at leastwhen the necessity which occasioned that restraint should be removed;that it was with great concern they observed a bill would be brought infor protracting the said prohibition, at a time when the price of allmanner of grain, and particularly of wheat and barley, was considerablyreduced, and, as they humbly conceived, at a reasonable medium. They expatiated on the great loss they, as well as many traders andartificers dependent upon them, must sustain in case the said billshould be passed into a law. They prayed the house to take thesecircumstances into consideration, and either permit them to carry on thedistillation from wheat, malt, and other grain, under such restrictionsas should be judged necessary; or to grant them such other relief, inrespect of their several losses and incumbrances, as to the house shallseem reasonable and expedient. This petition, though strenuously urgedby a powerful and clamorous body without doors, did not meet greatencouragement within. It was ordered to lie upon the table, and aninstruction was given to the committee, empowering them to receive aclause or clauses to allow the transportation of certain quantities ofmeal, flour, bread, and biscuit, to the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, for the sole use of the inhabitants; and another to prohibit the makingof low wines and spirits from bran. Much more attention was paid to apetition of several farmers in the county of Norfolk, representing, that their farms consisted chiefly of arable land, which produced muchgreater quantities of corn than could be consumed within that county;that in the last harvest there was a great and plentiful crop of allsorts of grain, the greatest part of which had by unfavourable weatherbeen rendered unfit for sale at London, or other markets for homeconsumption; that large quantities of malt were then lying at London, arising chiefly from the crops of barley growing in the year onethousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, the sale of which was stagnated;that the petitioners being informed the house had ordered in a bill tocontinue the prohibition of corn exported, they begged leave to observe, that, should it pass into a law, it would be extremely prejudicial toall, and ruin many farmers of that county, as they had offered theircorn for sale at divers ports and markets of the said county: but themerchants refused to buy it at any price, alleging, its being unfit forthe London market, the great quantity of corn with which that market wasalready overstocked, and their not being allowed either to export itor make it into malt for exportation. They therefore prayed thisprohibition might be removed, or they the petitioners indulged with someother kind of relief. Although this remonstrance was duly considered, the bill passed with the amendments because of the proviso, by which hismajesty in council was empowered to shorten the date of the prohibitionwith 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 andmortification of the distillers, who had spared no pains and expenseby private solicitation, and strenuous dispute in the public papers, torecommend their cause to the favour of the community. They urged thatmalt-spirits, when used in moderation, far from being prejudicial to thehealth of individuals, were in many damp and marshy parts of the kingdomabsolutely necessary for preserving the field labourers from agues andother distempers produced by the cold and moisture of the climate; thatif they were debarred the use of malt-spirits, they would have recourseto French brandy, with which, as they generally reside near thesea-coast, the smugglers would provide them almost as cheap as themalt-spirits could be afforded: thus the increased consumption of Frenchspirit 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 anddisposed of their materials; that all of them would probably takethe same resolutions should the bill pass into a law, as no man couldforesee when the prohibition would cease, should it be continued ata time when all sorts of grain abounded in such plenty, that the verywaste of materials by disuse, over and above the lying out of the money, would be of great prejudice to the proprietor: thus the business ofdistilling, by which so many families were supported, would be banishedfrom the kingdom entirely; especially, as the expense of establishinga large distillery was so great, that no man would choose to employhis money for this purpose, judging from experience that some futureaccidental scarcity of corn might induce the legislature to interpose aruinous delay in this branch of business. They affirmed, that from theexcessive use of malt-spirits no good argument could be drawn againstthis branch of traffic, no more than against any other conveniency oflife; that the excessive use of common beer and ale was prejudicialto the health and morals of the people, yet no person ever thought ofputting an end to the practice of brewing, in order to prevent the abuseof brewed liquors. They urged that in all parts of Great Britain thereare some parcels of land that produce nothing to advantage but a coarsekind of barley called big, which, though neither fit for brewing nor forbaking, may nevertheless be used in the distillery, and is accordinglypurchased by those concerned in this branch at such an encouragingprice, as enables many farmers to pay a higher rent to their landlordsthan they could otherwise afford; that there are every year some parcelsof all sorts of grain so damaged by unseasonable weather, or otheraccidents, as to be rendered altogether unfit for bread or brewery, and would prove a very great misfortune to the farmer, if there was nodistillery, for the use of which he could sell his damaged commodity. They asserted, that malt-spirits were absolutely necessary forprosecuting some branches of foreign commerce, particularly the tradeto the coast of Africa, for which traffic no assortment could be madeup 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 considerablequantity, not only for sale, but also for presents to their chiefsand rulers; that the merchants of Great Britain must either have thiscommodity of their own produce, or import it at a great national expensefrom Holland; that the charge of this importation, together with theduties payable upon it, some part of which is not to be drawn back onexportation, will render it impossible for the traders to sell it socheap on the coast of Africa as it might be sold by the Dutch, who arethe great rivals of Great Britain in this branch of commerce. To thesearguments, all of which were plausible, and some of them unanswerable, it was replied, that malt-spirits might be considered as a fatal andbewitching poison which had actually debauched the minds, and enervatedthe bodies, of the common people to a very deplorable degree; that, without entering further into a comparison between the use and abuseof the two liquors, beer and geneva, it would be sufficient to observe, that the use of beer and ale had produced none of those dreadfuleffects which were the consequences of drinking geneva; and since theprohibition of the distilling of malt-spirits had taken place, thecommon people were become apparently more sober, decent, healthy, andindustrious: a circumstance sufficient to induce the legislaturenot only to intermit, but even totally to abolish the practice ofdistillation, which has ever been productive of such intoxication, riot, disorder, and distemper, among the lower class of the people, as mightbe 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 inmaking malt, as well as in making bread: and with respect to damagedcorn, those who understood the nature of grain affirmed, that it wasspoiled to such a degree as to be altogether unfit for either of thesepurposes, the distillers would not purchase it at such a price as wouldindemnify the farmer for the charge of threshing and carriage; for thedistillers are very sensible, that their great profit is derivedfrom their distilling the malt made from the best barley, so that theincrease of the produce far exceeded in proportion the advance ofthe price. It was not, however, an easy matter to prove that thedistillation of malt-spirits was not necessary to an advantageousprosecution of the commerce on the coast of Guinea, as well as among theIndians in some parts of North America. Certain it is, that, in thesebranches of traffic, the want of geneva may be supplied by spiritsdistilled from sugars and molasses. After all, it must be owned, thatthe good and salutary effects of the prohibition were visible in everypart of the kingdom, and no evil consequence ensued, except a diminutionof the revenue in this article: a consideration which, at all times, ought to be sacrificed to the health and morals of the people: nor willthis consideration be found of any great weight, when we reflect thatthe less the malt-spirit is drunk, the greater quantity of beer andale will be consumed, and the produce of the duties and excise upon thebrewery be augmented accordingly. In the meantime, all sorts of grain continuing to fall in price, andgreat plenty appearing in every part of the kingdom, the justices ofthe peace, and of the grand juries, assembled at the general quartersessions of the peace held for the county of Norfolk, composed andpresented to the house of commons, in the beginning of February, apetition, representing, that the weather proving unfavourable inthe harvest, great part of the barley raised in that county was muchdamaged, and rendered unfit for any other use than that of beingmade into malt for exportation; that unless it should be speedilymanufactured for that purpose, it would be entirely spoiled, and perishin the hands of the growers; a loss that must be very sensibly felt bythe land owners: they, therefore, entreated that leave might be givenfor the exportation of malt; and that they might be favoured with suchfurther relief, as to the house should seem just and reasonable. Inconsequence of this petition, the house resolved itself into a committeeto deliberate upon the subject; and as it appeared, upon examination, that the price of grain was reduced very low, and great abundancediffused through the kingdom, they resolved, that the continuance ofthat part of the act, prohibiting the exportation of grain, ought to beabridged and shortened, and the exportation of these commodities allowedunder proper regulations, with respect to the time of such exportationand the allowance of bounties thereupon. A bill being founded on theseresolutions, was discussed, and underwent several amendments: at lengthit was sent with a new title to the lords, who passed it without furtheralteration, and then it obtained the royal sanction. While this affairwas under the deliberation of the committee, the commons unanimouslyissued an order for leave to bring in a bill to continue, for a limitedtime, the act of last session, permitting the importation of salted beeffrom Ireland into Great Britain, with an instruction to receive a clauseextending this permission to all sorts of salted pork, or hog-meat, asthe officers of the customhouse had refused to admit hams from Irelandto 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 porkimported from Ireland, which was found not adequate to the duty payablefor such a quantity of salt as is requisite to be used in curing andsalting thereof; and to prevent as well the expense to the revenue, asthe detriment and loss which would accrue to the owner and importer fromopening the casks in which the provision is generally deposited, with the pickle or brine proper for preserving the same, in order toascertain the net weight of the provision liable to the said duties: forthese reasons it was enacted, That from and after the twenty-fourthday of last December, and during the continuance of this act, a duty ofthree shillings and four-pence should be paid upon importation for everybarrel or cask of salted beef or pork containing thirty-two gallons;and one shilling and three-pence for every hundred weight of salted beefcalled dried beef, dried neats-tongues, or dried hog-meat, and so inproportion for any greater or lesser quantity. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} REGULATIONS with RESPECT to PRIVATEERS. Repeated complaints having been made to the government by neutralnations, especially the Dutch, that their ships had been plundered, and their crews maltreated by some of the English privateers, thelegislature resolved to provide effectually against any such outrageouspractices for the future: and with this view the commons ordered a billto be brought in for amending and explaining an act of the twenty-ninthyear of his late majesty's reign, intituled, "An act for theencouragement of seamen, and more speedy and effectual manning ofhis majesty's navy. " While the committee was employed in perusingcommissions and papers relating to private ships of war, that theymight be fully acquainted with the nature of the subject, a considerablenumber of merchants and others, inhabiting the islands of Guernseyand Jersey, presented a petition to the house, alleging, that theinhabitants of those islands which lie in the British channel withinsight of the French coast, had now, as well as in former wars, embarkedtheir fortunes in equipping small privateers, which used to run in closewith the French shore, and being disguised like fishing boats, had notonly taken a considerable number of prizes, to the great annoyance ofthe enemy, but also obtained material intelligence of their designs onmany important occasions; that these services could not be performed bylarge vessels, which durst not approach so near the coast, and indeedcould not appear without giving the alarm, which was communicated fromplace to place by appointed signals. Being informed that a bill wasdepending, in order to prohibit privateers of small burden, theydeclared that such a law, if extended to privateers equipped in thoseislands, would ruin such as had invested their fortunes in smallprivateers, and not only deprive the kingdom of the before-mentionedadvantages, but expose Great Britain to infinite prejudice from thesmall armed vessels of France, which the enemy, in that case, could pourabroad over the whole channel to the great annoyance of navigation andcommerce. They prayed, therefore, that such privateers as belonged tothe islands of Guernsey and Jersey might be wholly excepted from thepenalties contained in the bill, or that they, the petitioners, mightbe heard by their counsel, and be indulged with such relief as thehouse should judge expedient. This representation being referred to theconsideration of the committee, produced divers amendments to thehill, which at length obtained the royal assent, and contained theseregulations: That, after the first day of January in the present year, no commission should be granted to a privateer in Europe under theburden of one hundred tons, the force of ten carriage guns, beingthree-pounders or above, with forty men at the least, unless the lordsof the admiralty, or persons authorized by them, should think fit togrant the same to any ship of inferior force or burden, the ownersthereof giving such bail or security as should be prescribed: that thelords of the admiralty might at any time revoke, by an order inwriting under their hands, any commission granted to a privateer; thisrevocation being subject to an appeal to his majesty in council, whosedetermination should be final: that, previous to the granting anycommission, the persons proposing to be bound, and give security, shouldseverally make oath of their being respectively worth more money thanthe sum for which they were then to be bound, over and above the paymentof all their just debts: that persons applying for such commissionsshould make application in writing, and therein set forth a particularand exact description of the vessel, specifying the burden, and thenumber and nature of the guns on board, to what place belonging, as wellas the name or names of the principal owner or owners, and the numberof men: these particulars to be inserted in the commission; and everycommander to produce such commission to the custom-house officer whoshould 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 firstday of July, any captain of a privateer should agree for the ransom ofany neutral vessel, or the cargo, or any part thereof, after it shouldhave been taken as prize, and in pursuance of such agreement shouldactually discharge such prize, he should be deemed guilty of piracy; butthat with respect to contraband merchandise, he might take it on boardhis own ship, with the consent of the commander of the neutral vessel, and then set her at liberty; and that no person should purloin orembezzle the said merchandise before condemnation: that no judge, orother person belonging to any court of admiralty, should be concerned inany privateer: that owners of vessels, not being under fifty, or aboveone hundred tons, whose commissions are declared void, should beindemnified for their loss by the public: that a court of oyer andterminer, and gaol delivery, for the trial of offences committed withinthe jurisdiction of the admiralty, should be held twice a-year in theOld Bailey at London, or in such other place within England as the boardof admiralty should appoint: that the judge of any court of admiralty, after an appeal interposed, as well as before, should, at the request ofthe captor or claimant, issue an order for appraising the capture, whenthe 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 bedelivered to the person giving such security; but, should objection bemade to the taking such security, the judge should, at the request ofeither party, order such merchandise to be entered, landed, and sold atpublic auction, and the produce to be deposited at the bank, or in somepublic securities: and in case of security being given, the judge shouldgrant a pass in favour of the capture. Finally, the force of this actwas limited to the duration of the then war with France only. Thisregulation very clearly demonstrated, that whatever violences might havebeen committed on the ships of neutral nations, they were by no meanscountenanced by the legislature, or the body of the people. NEW MILITIA LAWS. Every circumstance relating to the reformation of the marine, must bean important object to a nation whose wealth and power depend uponnavigation and commerce; but a consideration of equal weight was theestablishment of the militia, which, notwithstanding the repeatedendeavours of the parliament, was found still incomplete, and in wantof further assistance from the legislature. His majesty having, bythe chancellor of the exchequer, recommended to the house the makingsuitable provision for defraying the charges of the militia duringthe current year, the accounts of the expense already incurred by thisestablishment were referred to the committee of supply, who, afterhaving duly perused them, resolved, that ninety thousand pounds shouldbe granted on account, towards defraying the charges of pay and clothingfor the militia, from the last day of the last year, to the twenty-fifthday of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, and forrepaying a sum advanced by the king for this service. Leave was givento bring in one bill pursuant to this resolution, and another to enforcethe execution of the laws relating to the militia, remove certaindifficulties, and prevent the incenveniencies by which it might beattended. So intent were the majority on both sides upon this nationalmeasure, that they not only carried both bills to the throne, where theyreceived the royal assent, but they presented an address to the king, desiring that his majesty would give directions to his lieutenantsof the several counties, ridings, and places in England, to use theirutmost diligence and attention for carrying into execution the severalacts of parliament relating to the militia. By this time all theindividuals that constituted the representatives of the people, exceptsuch as actually served in the army, were become very well disposedtowards this institution. Those who really wished well to their countryhad always exerted themselves in its favour; and it was now likewiseespoused by those who foresaw that the establishment of a nationalmilitia would enable the administration to send the greater number ofregular troops to fight the battles of Germany. Yet how zealoussoever the legislature might be in promoting this institution, andnotwithstanding the success with which many patriots exerted theirendeavours through different parts of the kingdom, in raising anddisciplining the militia, it was found not only difficult, but almostimpracticable, to execute the intention of the parliament in someparticular 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 lastcounties in which the militia could be arrayed. In allusion to thisbackwardness, the preamble or first clause in one of the present actsimported, that certain counties, ridings, and places in England had madesome progress in establishing the militia, without completing the same, and that, in certain other counties, little progress had been madetherein, his majesty's lieutenants and the deputy-lieutenants, andall others within such counties or districts, were therefore strictlyrequired speedily and diligently to put these acts in execution. Thetruth is, some of these unwarlike commanders failed through ignoranceand inactivity; others gave, or offered commissions to such peopleas threw a ridicule and contempt upon the whole establishment, andconsequently hindered many gentlemen of worth, spirit, and capacity, from engaging in the service. The mutiny-bill, and that for theregulation of the marine-forces while on shore, passed through the usualforms, 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 touchingthe revival or continuation of these laws, they agreed to severalresolutions; in consequence of which the following bills were broughtin, and enacted into laws; namely, an act for regulating the lastage andballastage of the river Thames; an act for continuing the law relatingto the punishment of persons going armed or disguised; an actfor continuing several laws near expiring; an act concerning theadmeasurement of coals; an act for the relief of debtors, with respectto the imprisonment of their persons. This last was almost totallymetamorphosed by alterations, amendments, and additions, among whichthe most remarkable were these: that where more creditors than one shallcharge any prisoner in execution, and desired to have him detained inprison, they shall only respectively pay him each such weekly sum, notexceeding one shilling and sixpence per week, as the court, at the timeof his being remanded, shall direct; that if any prisoner, described bythe act, shall remain in prison three months after being committed, anycreditor may compel him to give into court, upon oath, an account ofhis real and personal estate, to be disposed of for the benefit of hiscreditors, they consenting to his being discharged. Why the humanityof this law was confined to those prisoners only who are not charged inexecution with any debt exceeding one hundred pounds, cannot easily beconceived. A man who, through unavoidable misfortunes, hath sunk fromaffluence to misery and indigence, is generally a greater object ofcompassion than he who never knew the delicacies of life, nor everenjoyed credit sufficient to contract debts to any considerable amount;yet the latter is by this law entitled to his discharge, or at least toa maintenance in prison; while the former is left to starve in gaol, orundergo perpetual imprisonment amidst all the horrors of misery, if heowes above one hundred pounds to a revengeful and unrelenting creditor. Wherefore, in a country, the people of which justly pique themselvesupon charity and benevolence, an unhappy fellow-citizen, reduced to astate of bankruptcy by unforeseen losses in trade, should be subjectedto a punishment, which of all others must be the most grievous to afreeborn Briton, namely, the entire loss of liberty; a punishment whichthe most flagrant crime can hardly deserve in a nation that disclaimsthe torture; for, doubtless, perpetual imprisonment must be a tortureinfinitely more severe than death, because protracted through a seriesof years spent in misery and despair, without one glimmering ray ofhope, without the most distant prospect of deliverance? Wherefore thelegislature should extend its humanity to those only who are theleast sensible of the benefit, because the most able to struggle undermisfortune? and wherefore many valuable individuals should, for noguilt of their own, be not only ruined to themselves, but lost to thecommunity? are questions which we cannot resolve to the satisfaction ofthe reader. Of all imprisoned debtors, those who are confined for largesums may be deemed the most wretched and forlorn, because theyhave generally fallen from a sphere of life where they had littleacquaintance with necessity, and were altogether ignorant of the artsby which the severities of indigence are alleviated. On the other hand, those of the lower class of mankind, whose debts are small in proportionto the narrowness of their former credit, have not the same delicatefeelings of calamity: they are inured to hardship, and accustomed tothe labour of their hands, by which, even in a prison, they can earna subsistence: their reverse of fortune is not so great, nor thetransition so affecting: their sensations are not delicate; nor arethey, like their betters in misfortune, cut off from hope, which is thewretch's last comfort. It is the man of sentiment and sensibility, who, in this situation, is overwhelmed with a complication of misery andineffable distress: the mortification of his pride, his ambitionblasted, his family undone, himself deprived of liberty, reduced fromopulence to extreme want, from the elegancies of life to the mostsqualid and frightful scenes of poverty and affliction; divested ofcomfort, destitute of hope, and doomed to linger out a wretched being inthe midst of insult, violence, riot, and uproar; these are reflectionsso replete with horror, as to render him, in all respects, the mostmiserable object on the face of the earth. He, alas! though possessedof talents that might have essentially served and even adorned society, while thus restrained in prison, and affected in mind, can exert nofaculty, nor stoop to any condescension, by which the horrors of hisfate might be assuaged: he scorns to execute the lowest offices ofmenial services, particularly in attending those who are the objects ofcontempt or abhorrence; he is incapable of exercising any mechanic art, which might afford a happy though a scanty independence: shrunkwithin his dismal cell, surrounded by haggard poverty, and her gauntattendants, hollow-eyed famine, shivering cold, and wan disease, hewildly casts his eyes around; he sees the tender partner of his heartweeping in silent woe; he hears his helpless babes clamorous forsustenance; he feels himself the importunate cravings of human nature, which he cannot satisfy; and groans with all the complicated pangs ofinternal anguish, horror, and despair. These are not the fictions ofidle fancy, but real pictures, drawn from nature, of which almost everyprison 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 ofIreland, by a bill, permitting the free importation of cattle from thatkingdom for a limited time. This, however, was not carried through bothhouses without considerable opposition, arising from the particularinterests of certain counties and districts in several parts of GreatBritain, from whence petitions against the bill were transmitted to thecommons. Divers artifices were also used within doors to saddle the billwith such clauses as might overcharge the scheme, and render it odiousor alarming to the public; but the promoters of it being aware of thedesign, 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. Thelike success attended another effort in behalf of our fellow-subjectsof Ireland. The bill for the importation of Irish cattle was nosooner ordered to be brought in, than the house proceeded to take intoconsideration the duties then payable on the importation of tallow fromthe same kingdom; and several witnesses being examined, the committeeagreed to a resolution, that these duties should cease and determinefor a limited time. A bill being formed accordingly, passed through bothhouses without opposition, though in the preceding session a bill tothe same purpose had miscarried among the peers: a miscarriage probablyowing to their being unacquainted with the sentiments of his majesty, assome of the duties upon tallow constituted part of one of the branchesappropriated for the civil list revenue. This objection, however, wasobviated in the case of the present bill, by the king's message tothe house of commons, signifying his majesty's consent, as far ashis interest was concerned in the affair. By this new act the freeimportation of Irish tallow was permitted for the term of five years. In the month of February the commons presented an address to hismajesty, requesting that he would give directions for laying beforethe house an account of what had been done, since the beginning oflast year, towards securing the harbour of Milford, in pursuance of anydirections from his majesty. These accounts being perused, and theking having, by the chancellor of the exchequer, exhorted them to makeprovision for fortifying the said harbour, a bill was brought in toexplain, amend, and render more effectual, the act of the last sessionrelating to this subject; and, passing through both houses, receivedthe royal assent without opposition. By this act several engineers wereadded to the commissioners formerly appointed; and it was ordainedthat fortifications should be erected at Peter-church-point, Westlanyon-point, and Neyland-point, as being the most proper and bestsituated places for fortifying the interior parts of the harbour. It wasalso enacted, that the commissioners should appoint proper secretaries, clerks, assistants, and other officers, for carrying the two acts intoexecution, and that an account of the application of the money shouldbe laid before parliament, within twenty days of the opening of everysession. What next attracted the attention of the house was an affairof the utmost importance to the commerce of the kingdom, which equallyaffected 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 seton foot by some merchants of London, of importing French cloths intoseveral ports of the Levant, on account of British subjects. Fivepersons were summoned to attend the house, and the fact was fullyproved, not only by their evidence, but also by some papers submittedto the house by the Turkey company. A bill was immediately contrived forputting a stop to this scandalous practice, reciting in the preamble, that such traffic was not only a manifest discouragement and prejudiceto the woollen manufactures of Great Britain, but also a relief to theenemy, in consequence of which they were enabled to maintain the waragainst these kingdoms. The next object that employed the attention of the commons, was toexplain and amend a law made in the last session for granting tohis majesty several rates and duties upon offices and pensions. Thedirections specified in the former act for levying this impositionhaving been found inconvenient in many respects, new regulations werenow established, importing, that those deductions should be paid intothe hands of receivers appointed by the king for that purpose; that allsums deducted under this act should be accounted for to such receivers, and the accounts audited and passed by them, and not by the auditorsof the impress, or of the exchequer: that all disputes relating tothe collection of this duty should be finally, and in a summary way, determined by the barons of the exchequer in England and Scotlandrespectively: that the commissioners of the land-tax should fix andascertain the sum total or amount of the perquisites of every office andemployment within their respective districts, distinct from the salarythereunto belonging, to be deducted under the said act, independentlyof any former valuation or assessment of the same to the land-tax;and should rate or assess all offices and employments, the perquisiteswhereof should be found to exceed the sum of one hundred pounds perannum, at one shilling for every twenty thence arising; that thereceivers should transmit to the commissioners in every district whereany office or employment is to be assessed, an account of such officersand employments, that, upon being certified of the truth of theiramount, they might be rated and assessed accordingly; that in all futureassessments of the land-tax, the said offices and employments should notbe valued at higher rates than those at which they were assessed towardsthe land-tax of the thirty-first year of the present reign; that theword perquisite should be understood to mean such profits of offices andemployments as arise from fees established by custom or authority, and payable either by the crown or the subjects, in consideration ofbusiness done in the course of executing such offices and employments;and that a commissioner possessed of any office or employment, might notinterfere in the execution of the said act, except in what might relateto his own employment. By the four last clauses, several salaries wereexempted from the payment of this duty. The objections made withoutdoors to this new law, were the accession of pecuniary influence to thecrown by the creation of a new office and officers, whereas this dutymight have been easily collected and received by the commissioners ofthe land-tax already appointed, and the inconsistency that appearedbetween the fifth and seventh clause: in the former of these thecommissioners of the land-tax were vested with the power of assessingthe perquisites of every office within their respective districts, independent of any former valuation or assessment of the same to theland-tax; and by the latter, they are restricted from assessing anyoffice at a higher rate than that of the thirty-first year of the reignof George II. In the beginning of March, petitions were offered to the house by themerchants of Birmingham in Warwickshire, and Sheffield in Yorkshire, specifying that the toy trade of these and many other towns consistedgenerally of articles in which gold and silver might be said to bemanufactured, though in a small proportion, inasmuch as the sale ofthem depended upon slight ornaments of gold and silver: that by a clausepassed in the last session of parliament, obliging every person whoshould sell goods or wares in which any gold or silver was manufacturedto take out an annual license of forty shillings, they the petitionerswere laid under great difficulties and disadvantages; that not only thefirst seller, but every person through whose hands the goods or warespassed to the consumer, was required to take out the said license:they therefore requested that the house should take these hardshipsand inequalities into consideration, and indulge them with reasonablerelief. The committee, to which this affair was referred, havingresolved that this imposition was found detrimental to the toy andcutlery trade of the kingdom, the house agreed to the resolution, and abill being prepared, under the title of "An act to amend the act made inthe last session, for repealing the duty granted by an act of the sixthyear of the reign of his late majesty, on silver plate, and for grantinga duty on licenses to be taken out by all persons dealing in gold andsilver plate, " was enacted into a law by the royal sanction. By this newregulation, small quantities of gold and silver plate were allowed to besold without license. Instead of the duty before payable upon licenses, another was granted, to be taken out by certain dealers in gold andsilver plate, pawnbrokers, and refiners. This affair being discussed, the house took into consideration the claims of the proprietors of landspurchased for the better securing of his majesty's docks, ships, andstores at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth; and for better fortifyingthe town of Portsmouth, and citadel of Plymouth, in pursuance of an actpassed in the last session. We have already specified the sum grantedfor this purpose, in consequence of a resolution of the house, uponwhich 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 effectualpreventing the fraudulent importation of cambrics; and while it wasunder deliberation, several merchants and wholesale drapers of the cityof London presented a petition, representing the grievances to whichthey, and many thousand of other traders, would be subjected, shouldthe bill, as it then stood, be passed into a law. According to theirrequest, they were heard by their counsel on the merits of thisremonstrance, and some amendments were made to the bill in theirfavour. At length it received the royal assent, and became a law to thefollowing effect: It enacted, that no cambrics, French lawns, or linensof this kind usually entered under the denomination of cambrics, shouldbe imported after the first day of next August, but in bales, cases, or boxes, covered with sackcloth or canvas, containing each one hundredwhole pieces, or two hundred half pieces, on penalty of forfeiting thewhole; that cambrics and French lawns should be imported for exportationonly, lodged in the king's warehouses, and delivered out under likesecurity, and restrictions as prohibited East India merchandise, and, on importation, pay only the half subsidy: that all cambrics and Frenchlawns in the custody of any persons should be deposited, by the first ofAugust, in the king's warehouses, the bonds thereupon be deliveredup, and the drawback on exportation paid; yet the goods should not bedelivered out again but for exportation: that cambrics and French lawnsexposed to sale, or found in the possession of private persons, afterthe said day, should be forfeited, and liable to be searched for, andseized, in like manner as other prohibited and uncustomed goods are; andthe offender should forfeit two hundred pounds over and above all otherpenalties and forfeitures inflicted by any former act: that if any doubtshould arise concerning the species or quality of the goods, or theplace where they were manufactured, the proof should lie on the owner:finally, that the penalty of five pounds inflicted by a former act, andpayable to the informer, on any person that should wear any cambricor French lawns, should still remain in force, and be recoverable, on conviction, by oath of one witness, before one justice of thepeace. --The last successful bill which this session produced, wasthat relating to the augmentation of the salaries of the judges in hismajesty's superior courts of justice. A motion having been made foran instruction to the committee of supply, to consider of the saidaugmentation, the chancellor of the exchequer acquainted the house, thatthis 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 certainresolutions, on which a bill was founded. While it remained underdiscussion, a motion was made for an instruction to the committee, thatthey should have power to receive a clause or clauses for restrainingthe judges, comprehended within the provisions of the bill, fromreceiving 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 gratuityfrom any officer or officers of any of the courts of law. Another motionwas made, for a clause restraining such judges, barons, and justices, aswere comprehended within the provisions of the bill, from interfering, otherwise than by giving their own votes, in any election of members toserve in parliament; but both these proposals, being put to the vote, were carried in the negative. These two motions being over-ruled by themajority, the bill underwent some amendments; and having passed throughboth houses in the ordinary course, was enacted into a law by the royalsanction. With respect to the import of this act, it is no otherthan the establishment of the several stamp-duties, applied to theaugmentation, and the appropriation of their produce in such a manner, that the crown cannot alter the application of the sums thus granted inparliament. But on this occasion, no attempt was made in favour of theindependency of the judges, which seems to have been invaded by a lateinterpretation 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 theirsalaries should be fixed, and none of them remove-able but by an addressof both houses of parliament. It was then, without all doubt, theintention of the legislature that every judge should enjoy his officeduring life, unless convicted, by legal trial, of some misbehaviour, orunless both houses of parliament should concur in desiring his removal:but the doctrine now adopted imports, that no commission can continuein force longer than the life of the king by whom it was granted; thattherefore the commissions of the judges must be renewed by a new kingat his accession, who should have it in his power to employ either thosewhom he finds acting as judges at his accession, or confer their officeson others, with no other restraint than that the condition of newcommissions, should be _quamdiu se bene gesserint_. Thus the office ofa judge is more precarious, and the influence of the crown receives aconsiderable reinforcement. Among the bills that miscarried in the course of the session, we maynumber a second attempt to carry into execution the scheme which wasoffered last year for the more effectual manning the navy, preventingdesertion, and relieving and encouraging the seamen of Great Britain. Abill was accordingly brought in, couched in nearly the same termswhich had been rejected in the last session; and it was supported bya considerable number of members, animated with a true spirit ofpatriotism: but to the trading part of the nation it appeared one ofthose plausible projects, which, though agreeable in speculation, cannever be reduced into practice, without a concomitancy of greater evilsthan those they were intended to remove. While the bill remained underthe consideration of the house, petitions were presented against it bythe merchants of Bristol, Scarborough, Whitby, Ivingston-upon-Hull, andLancaster, representing, that by such a law, the trade of the kingdom, which is the nursery and support of seamen at all times, and that spiritof equipping private ships of war, which had been of distinguishedservice to the nation, would be laid under such difficulties as mightcause a great stagnation in the former, and a total suppression of thelatter; the bill, therefore, would be highly prejudicial to the marineof the kingdom, and altogether ineffectual for the purposes intended. Agreat number of books and papers, relating to trading ships and vessels, as well as to seamen and other persons protected or pressed into thenavy, and to expenses occasioned by pressing men into the navy, wereexamined in a committee of the whole house, and the bill was improvedwith many amendments: nay, after it was printed and engrossed, severalclauses were added by way of rider; yet still the experiment seemeddangerous. The motion for its being past was violently opposed; warmdebates ensued; they were adjourned, and resumed; and the argumentsagainst the bill appeared at length in such a striking light, that, when the question was put, the majority declared for the negative. Theregulations which had been made in parliament during the twenty-sixth, the twenty-eighth, and thirtieth years of the present reign, forthe preservation of the public roads, being attended with someinconveniencies in certain parts of the kingdom, petitions werebrought from some counties in Wales, as well as from the freeholdersof Hertfordshire, the farmers of Middlesex, and others, enumerating thedifficulties attending the use of broad wheels, in one case, and thelimitation of horses used in drawing carriages with narrow wheels, in the other. The matter of these remonstrances was considered in acommittee of the whole house, which resolved, that the weight to becarried by all waggons and carts, travelling on the turnpike roads, should be limited. On this resolution a bill was framed, for amendingand reducing into one act of parliament the three acts before mentionedfor the preservation of the public highways; but some objections beingstarted, and a petition interposed by the land-holders of Suffolk andNorfolk, alleging that the bill, if passed into a law, would render itimpossible to bring fresh provisions from those counties to London, asthe supply depended absolutely upon the quickness of conveyance, thefurther consideration of it was postponed to a longer day, and neverresumed in the sequel: so that the attempt miscarried. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} CASE OF THE INSOLVENT DEBTORS. Of all the subjects, which, in the course of this session, fell underthe cognizance of parliament, there was none that more interested thehumanity, or challenged the redress, of the legislature, than didthe case of the poor insolvent debtors, who languished under all themiseries of indigence and imprisonment. In the month of Februarya petition was offered to the commons in behalf of bankrupts, whorepresented, that having scrupulously conformed to the laws madeconcerning bankruptcy, by surrendering their all upon oath, for thebenefit of their creditors, they had nevertheless been refused theircertificates, without any probability of relief; that by this cruelrefusal, many bankrupts have been obliged to abscond, while otherswere immured in prison, and these unhappy sufferers groaned underthe particular hardship of being excluded from the benefit of lawsoccasionally made for the relief of insolvent debtors; that the powervested in creditors of refusing certificates to their bankrupts, was, as the petitioners conceived, founded upon a presumption that such powerwould be tenderly exercised, and never but in notorious cases; but thegreat increase in the number of bankrupts within two years past, andin the small proportion of those who had been able to obtain theircertificates, seemed to demonstrate that the power had been used forcruel 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, theyimplored the compassion of the house, from which they hoped immediatefavour and relief. This petition was accompanied with a printed case, explaining the nature of the laws relating to bankrupts, and pointingout their defects in point of policy as well as humanity; but littleregard was seemingly paid to either remonstrance. Other petitions, however, being presented by insolvent debtors, imprisoned in differentgaols within the kingdom, leave was given to bring in a bill for theirrelief, and a committee appointed to examine the laws relating tobankruptcy. CASE OF CAPTAIN WALKER. Among other petitionary remonstrances on this subject, the members wereseparately presented with the printed case of captain George Walker, a prisoner in the gaol of the king's bench, who had been declared abankrupt, and complained, that he had been subjected to some flagrantacts of injustice and oppression. The case contained such extraordinaryallegations, and the captain's character was so remarkably fair andinteresting, that the committee, which were empowered to send forpersons, papers, and records, resolved to inquire into the particularsof his misfortune. A motion was made and agreed to, that the marshalof the prison should bring the captain before the committee; and thespeaker's warrant was issued accordingly. The prisoner was produced, and examined at several sittings, and some of the members expresseda laudable eagerness to do him justice; but his antagonists were verypowerful, and left no stone unturned to frustrate the purpose of theinquiry, which was dropped of course at the end of the session. Thusthe unfortunate captain Walker, who had, in the late war, remarkablydistinguished himself at sea by his courage and conduct, repeatedlysignalizing himself against the enemies of his country, was sent backwithout redress to the gloomy mansions of a gaol, where he had alreadypined for several years, useless to himself, and lost to the community, while he might have been profitably employed in retrieving his ownfortune, and exerting his talents for the general advantage of thenation. While this affair was in agitation, the bill for the relief ofinsolvent debtors was prepared, printed, and read a second time; but, when the motion was made for its being committed, a debate arose, andthis was adjourned from time to time till the end of the session. In themeantime, the committee continued to deliberate upon the laws relatingto bankruptcy; and in the beginning of June reported their resolution tothe house, that, in their opinion, some amendments might be made to thelaws concerning bankruptcy; to the advantage of creditors, and relief ofinsolvents. Such was the notice vouchsafed to the cries of many Britishsubjects, deprived of liberty, and destitute of the common necessariesof life. REMARKS ON THE BANKRUPT-LAWS. It would engage us in a long digressive discussion were we to inquirehow the spirit of the laws in England, so famed for lenity, has beenexasperated into such severity against insolvent debtors; and why, among a people so distinguished for generosity and compassion, the gaolsshould be more filled with prisoners than they are in any other part ofChristendom. Perhaps both these deviations from a general character areviolent efforts of a wary legislature made in behalf of trade, whichcannot bo too much cherished in a nation that principally depends uponcommerce. The question is, whether this laudable aim may not be moreeffectually accomplished, without subjecting individuals to oppression, arising from the cruelty and revenge of one another. As the laws aremodelled 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 originaland common law of England, no man could be imprisoned for debt. Theplaintiff in any civil action could have no execution upon his judgment, against either the body or the lands of the defendant: even with respectto his goods and chattels, which were subject to execution, he wasobliged to leave him such articles as were necessary for agriculture. But, in process of time, this indulgence being found prejudicialto commerce, a law was enacted, in the reign of Edward I. Allowingexecution on the person of the debtor, provided his goods and chattelswere not sufficient to pay the debt which he had contracted. This lawwas still attended with a very obvious inconvenience: the debtor, who possessed an estate in lands, was tempted to secrete his moveableeffects, and live in concealment on the produce of his lands, whilethe sheriff connived at his retirement. To remove this evil, a secondstatute was enacted in the same reign, granting immediate executionagainst the body, lands, and goods of the debtor; yet his effects couldnot be sold for the benefit of his creditors till the expiration ofthree months, during which he himself could dispose of them for readymoney, in order to discharge his incumbrances. If the creditor was notsatisfied in this manner, he continued in possession of the debtor'slands, and detained the debtor himself in prison, where he was obligedto supply him with bread and water for his support, until the debtwas discharged. Other severe regulations were made in the sequel, particularly in the reign of Edward III. Which gave rise to the writof _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, animprisoned debtor was not left entirely at the mercy of an inexorablecreditor. If he made all the satisfaction in his power, and could showthat his insolvency was owing to real misfortunes, the court of chanceryinterposed on his petition, and actually ordered him to be dischargedfrom prison, when no good reason for detaining him could be assigned. This interposition, which seems naturally to belong to a court ofequity, constituted with a view to mitigate the rigour of the commonlaw, ceased, in all probability after the restoration of Charles theSecond, and of consequence the prisons were filled with debtors. Thenthe legislature charged themselves with the extension of a power, whichperhaps a chancellor no longer thought himself safe in exercising; andin the year one thousand six hundred and seventy, passed the first actfor the relief of insolvent debtors, granting a release to all prisonersfor debt, without distinction or inquiry. By this general indulgence, which has even in a great measure continued in all subsequent acts ofthe same kind, the lenity of the parliament may be sometimes misapplied, inasmuch as insolvency is often criminal, arising from profligacy andextravagance, which deserve to be severely punished. Yet, even forthis species of insolvency, perpetual imprisonment, aggravated by themiseries of extreme indigence, and the danger of perishing throughfamine, may be deemed a punishment too severe. How cruel then must it beto leave the most innocent bankrupt exposed to this punishment, from therevenge or sinister design of a merciless creditor; a creditor, by whosefraud the prisoner became a bankrupt, and by whoso craft he is detainedin gaol, lest by his discharge from prison, he should be enabled to seekthat redress in chancery to which he is entitled on a fair account! Theseverity of the law was certainly intended against fraudulent bankruptsonly; and the statute of bankruptcy is, doubtless, favourable toinsolvents, as it discharges from all former debts those who obtainedtheir certificates. As British subjects, they are surely entitled to thesame indulgence which is granted to other insolvents. They were alwaysincluded in every act passed for the relief of insolvent debtors, tillthe sixth year of George I. When they were first excepted from thisbenefit. By a law enacted in the reign of queen Anne, relating tobankruptcy, any creditor was at liberty to object to the confirmationof the bankrupt's certificate; but the chancellor had power to judgewhether the objection was frivolous or well-founded: yet, by a latteract, the chancellor is obliged to confirm the certificate, if it isagreeable to four-fifths in number and value of the creditors; whereashe cannot confirm it, should he be opposed, even without any reasonassigned, by one creditor to whom the greatest part of the debt isowing. It might, therefore, deserve the consideration of parliament, whether, in extending their clemency to the poor, it should not beequally diffused to bankrupts and other insolvents; whether properdistinction ought not to be made between the innocent bankrupt who failsthrough misfortune in trade, and him who becomes insolvent from fraud orprofligacy: and finally, whether the inquiry and trial of all such caseswould not properly fall within the province of chancery, a tribunalinstituted 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 inthe month of February, that leave should be given to bring in a bill toexplain, amend, and render effectual, so much of an act passed inthe thirteenth year of George II. Against the excessive increase ofhorse-races, and deceitful gaming, as related to that increase. The billwas accordingly presented, read, printed, and ordered to be committed toa committee of the whole house; but the order was delayed from time totime till the end of the session. Some progress was likewise made inanother affair of greater consequence to the community. A committee wasappointed in the month of March, to take into consideration the state ofthe poor in England, as well as the laws enacted for their maintenance. The clerks of the peace belonging to all the counties, cities, and townsin England and Wales, were ordered to transmit, for the perusal of thehouse, an account of the annual expense of passing vagrants throughtheir respective divisions and districts for four years: and thecommittee began to deliberate on this important subject. In the latterend of May the house was made acquainted with their resolutions, importing, that the present methods of relieving the poor in therespective parishes, where no workhouses have been provided for theirreception and employment, are, in general, very burdensome to theinhabitants, and tend to render the poor miserable to themselves, anduseless to the community: that the present method of giving money outof the parochial rates to persons capable of labour, in order to preventthem from claiming an entire subsistence for themselves and theirfamilies, is contrary to the spirit and intention of the laws for therelief of the poor, is a dangerous power in the hands of parochialofficers, a misapplication of the public money, and a greatencouragement to idleness and intemperance; that the employment ofthe poor, under proper direction and management, in such works andmanufactures as are suited to their respective capacities, would be ofgreat utility to the public: that settling the poor in Workhouses, to beprovided in the several counties and ridings in England and Wales, underthe direction and management of governors and trustees to be appointedfor that purpose, would be the most effectual method of relievingsuch poor persons, as, by age, infirmities, or diseases, are renderedincapable of supporting themselves by their labour: of employingthe able and industrious, reforming the idle and profligate, and ofeducating poor children in religion and industry: and that the poor insuch workhouses would be better regulated and maintained, and managedwith more advantage to the public, by guardians, governors, or trustees, to be especially appointed, or chosen for that purpose, and incorporatedwith such powers, and under such restrictions, as the legislatureshould deem proper, than by the annual parochial officers: that erectingworkhouses upon the waste lands, and appropriating a certain quantity ofsuch lands to be cultivated, in order to produce provisions for thepoor in the said houses, would not only be the means of instructing andemploying many of the said poor in agriculture, but lessen theexpense of the public: that controversies and law-suits concerning thesettlements of poor persons, occasioned a very great, and in generalan useless expense to the public, amounting to many thousand poundsper annum; and that often more money is expended in ascertaining suchsettlements by each of the contending parishes than would be sufficientto maintain the paupers: that should workhouses be established for thegeneral reception of the poor, in the respective counties and ridingsof England, the laws relating to the settlements of the poor, and thepassing of vagrants, might be repealed: that while the present lawsrelating to the poor subsist, the compelling parish-officers to grantcertificates to the poor, would in all probability prevent the hardshipsthey now suffer, in being debarred gaining their livelihood, wherethey can do it most usefully to themselves and the public. Fromthese sensible resolutions, the reader may conceive some idea of themisconduct that attends the management of the poor in England, as wellas of the grievous burdens entailed upon the people by the presentlaws which constitute this branch of the legislature. The committee'sresolves being read at the table, an order was made that they should betaken into consideration on a certain day, when the order was againput off, and in the interim the parliament was prorogued. While thecommittee deliberated upon this affair, leave was given to prepare abill for preventing tenants, under a certain yearly rent, from gainingsettlements in any particular parish, by being there rated in anyland-tax assessment, and paying for the landlord the money so charged. This order was afterwards discharged; and another bill brought in toprevent any person from gaining a settlement, by being rated byvirtue of an act of parliament for granting an aid to his majesty by aland-tax, and paying the same. The bill was accordingly presented, read, committed, and passed the lower house; but among the lords itmiscarried. It can never be expected that the poor will be managed witheconomy and integrity, while the execution of the laws relating to theirmaintenance is left in the hands of low tradesmen, who derive privateadvantage from supplying them with necessaries, and often favour theimposition of one another with the most scandalous collusion. This is anevil 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 interestedmiscreants, by taking the poor into their own management and protection. Instead of multiplying laws with respect to the settlement andmanagement of the poor, which serve only to puzzle and perplex theparish and peace officers, it would become the sagacity of thelegislature to take some effectual precautions to prevent the increaseof paupers and vagrants, which is become an intolerable nuisance tothe commonwealth. Towards this salutary end, surely nothing would morecontribute than a reformation of the police, that would abolish thoseinfamous places of entertainment, which swarm in every corner of themetropolis, seducing people of all ranks to extravagance, profligacy, and ruin; and would restrict within due bounds the number ofpublic-houses, which are augmented to an enormous degree, affording somany asylums for riot and debauchery, and corrupting the morals of thecommon people to such a pitch of licentious indecency, as must be areproach to every civilized nation. Let it not be affirmed, to thedisgrace of Great Britain, that such receptacles of vice and impuritysubsist under the connivance of the government, according to the narrowviews and confined speculation of those shallow politicians, who imaginethat the revenue is increased in proportion to the quantity of strongliquors consumed in such infamous recesses of intemperance. Were this inreality the case, that administration would deserve to be branded witheternal infamy, which could sacrifice to such abase consideration thehealth, the lives, and the morals of their fellow-creatures: but nothingcan be more fallacious than the supposition, that the revenue of anygovernment can be increased by the augmented intemperance of the people;for intemperance is the bane of industry, as well as of population; andwhat the government gains in the articles of the duty on malt, and theexcise upon liquors, will always be greatly overbalanced by the loss inother articles, arising from the diminution of hands, and the neglect oflabour. REGULATION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. Exclusive of the bills that were actually prepared, though they didnot pass in the course of the session, the commons deliberated on otherimportant subjects, which, however, were not finally discussed. In thebeginning of the session, a committee being appointed to resume theinquiry touching the regulation of weights and measures, a subject wehave mentioned in the history of the preceding session, the box whichcontained a troy pound weight, locked up by order of the house, wasagain produced by the clerk in whose custody it had been deposited. Thisaffair being carefully investigated, the committee agreed to fourteenresolutions. [490] _[See note 3 T, at the end of this Vol. ]_ In themeantime, 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 andbrought forth occasionally. THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL. The house of commons, among other articles of domestic economy, bestowedsome attention on the hospital for foundlings, which was now, more thanever, become a matter of national consideration. The accounts relatingto this charity having been demanded, and subjected to the inspection ofthe members, were, together with the king's recommendation, referred tothe committee of supply, where they produced the resolutions which wehave already specified among the other grants of the year. The houseafterwards resolved itself into a committee to deliberate on the stateof the hospital, and examine its accounts. On the third day of May, their resolutions were reported to the following effect: that theappointing, by the governors and guardians of the said hospital, placesin the several counties, ridings, or divisions in this kingdom, forthe first reception of exposed and deserted young children, would beattended with many evil consequences; and that the conveying of childrenfrom the country to the said hospital is attended with many evilconsequences, and ought to be prevented. A bill was ordered to bebrought in, founded upon this last resolution, but never presented;therefore the inquiry produced no effect. Notwithstanding theinstitution of this charity, for the support of which great sums areyearly levied on the public, it does not appear that the bills ofmortality, respecting new-born children, are decreased, nor the shockingcrime of infant-murder rendered less frequent than heretofore. It may, therefore, not be improperly styled a heavy additional tax for thepropagation of bastardy, and the encouragement of idleness among thecommon people; besides the tendency it has to extinguish the feelingsof the heart, and dissolve those family ties of blood by which thecharities are connected. In the month of March, leave was given to bringin a bill for the more effectual preventing of the melting down andexporting the gold and silver coin of the kingdom, and the persons werenominated to prepare it; but the bill never appeared, and no furtherinquiry was made about the matter. Perhaps it was supposed that sucha measure might be thought an encroachment on the prerogative of thecrown, which hath always exercised the power of fixing the standard, andregulating the currency of the coin. Perhaps such a step was deferred onaccount of the war, during which a great quantity of gold and silver wasnecessarily exported to the continent, for the support of the allies andarmies in the pay of Great Britain. The legislature, however, would dowell to consider this eternal maxim in computation, that when a greaterquantity of bullion is exported, in waste, than can be replaced bycommerce, the nation must be hastening to a state of insolvency. Overand above these proceedings in this session of parliament, it may not beunnecessary to mention several messages which were sent by the kingto the house of commons. That relating to the vote of credit we havealready specified in our account of the supply. On the twenty-sixth dayof April, the chancellor of the exchequer presented to the house twomessages signed by his majesty, one in favour of his subjects in NorthAmerica, and the other in behalf of the East India company: the formerrecommending to their consideration the zeal and vigour with which hisfaithful subjects in North America had exerted themselves in defence ofhis just rights and possessions; desiring he might be enabled to givethem a proper compensation for the expenses incurred by the respectiveprovinces in levying, clothing, and paying the troops raised in thatcountry, according as the active vigour and strenuous efforts of theseveral colonies should appear to merit: in the latter, he desired thehouse would empower him to assist the East India company in defrayingthe expense of a military force in the East Indies, to be maintained bythem, in lieu of a battalion of regular troops withdrawn from thence, and returned to Ireland. Both these messages were referred to thecommittee of supply, and produced the resolutions upon each subjectwhich we have already explained. The message relating to a projectedinvasion by the enemies of Great Britain, we shall particularize in itsproper place, when we come to record the circumstances and miscarriageof 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 admiralBoscawen and major-general Amherst, for the services they had done theirking and country in North America; and the same compliment was paid toadmiral Osborne, for the success of his cruise in the Mediterranean. The session was closed on the second day of June, with a speech to bothhouses from the commissioners appointed by his majesty for that purpose. In this harangue the parliament was given to understand, that theking approved of their conduct, and returned them his thanks for theircondescension; that the hopes he had conceived of their surmounting thedifficulties which lay in the way, were founded on the wisdom, zeal, andaffection of so good a parliament, and that his expectations werefully answered; that they had considered the war in all its parts, and notwithstanding its long continuance, through the obstinacy of theenemy, had made such provision for the many different operations asought to convince the adversaries of Great Britain, that it would befor their interest, as well as for the ease and relief of all Europe, toembrace equitable and honourable terms of accommodation. They weretold that, by their assistance, the combined army in Germany hadbeen completed; powerful squadrons, as well as numerous bodies ofland-forces, were employed in America, in order to maintain the Britishrights and possessions, and annoy the enemy in the most sensible maimerin that country: that, as France was making considerable preparations inher different ports, he had taken care to put his fleet at home in thebest condition, both of strength and situation, to guard against andrepel any attempts that might be meditated against his kingdoms: thatall his measures had been directed to assert the honour of his crown;to preserve the essential interests of his faithful subjects; to supportthe cause of the protestant religion, and public liberty: he thereforetrusted that the uprightness of his intentions would draw down theblessing of heaven upon his endeavours. He expressed his hope, that theprecautions they had taken to prevent and correct the excesses of theprivateers would produce the desired effect: a consideration which theking had much at heart; for, though sensible of the utility of thatservice, when under proper regulations, he was determined to do hisutmost to prevent any injuries or hardships which might be sustainedby the subjects of neutral powers, as far as might be practicable andconsistent with his majesty's just right to hinder the trade of hisenemies from being collusively and fraudulently covered. He not onlythanked the commons, but applauded the firmness and vigour withwhich they had acted, as well as their prudence in judging, thatnotwithstanding the present burdens, the making ample provision forcarrying on the war was the most probable means to bring it to anhonourable and happy conclusion. He assured them that no attentionshould be wanting, on his part, for the faithful application of what hadbeen granted. They were informed he had nothing further to desire, butthat they would carry down the same good dispositions, and propagatethem in their several counties, which they had shown in theirproceedings during the session. These declarations being pronounced, theparliament was prorogued. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. The people of England, provoked on one hand by the intrigues, thehostilities and menaces of France, and animated on the other by thepride and triumph of success, which never fails to reconcile them todifficulties, howsoever great, and expense, however enormous, at thisperiod breathed nothing but war, and discoursed about nothing but newplans of conquest. We have seen how liberally the parliament bestowedthe nation's money; and the acquiescence of the subjects in generalunder the additional burdens which had been imposed, appeared in theremarkable eagerness with which they embarked in the subscriptionplanned by the legislature; in the vigorous assistance they contributedtowards manning the navy, recruiting the army, and levying additionalforces; and the warlike spirit which began to diffuse itself throughall ranks of the people, This was a spirit which the ministry carefullycherished and cultivated, for the support of the war, which, it mustbo owned, was prosecuted with an ardour and efficacy peculiar to thepresent administration. True it is, the German war had been for sometime adopted as an object of importance by the British councils, and aresolution was taken to maintain it without flinching: at the same time, it must be allowed, that this consideration had not hitherto weakenedthe attention of the ministry to the operations in America, where alonethe war may be said to have been carried on and prosecuted on Britishprinciples, so as to distress the enemy in their most tender part, and at the same time, acquire the most substantial advantages to thesubjects of Britain. For these two purposes, every preparation was madethat sagacity could suggest, or vigour execute. The navy was repairedand augmented; and, in order to man the different squadrons, theexpedient of pressing, that disgrace to a British administration, was practised both by land and water with extraordinary rigour andvivacity. A proclamation was issued, offering a considerable bountyfor every seaman and every landman that should by a certain day entervoluntarily into the service. As an additional encouragement to thisclass of people, the king promised his pardon to all seamen who haddeserted from their respective ships to which they belonged, providedthey should return to their duty by the third day of July; but at thesame 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 ifconvicted, be deemed unfit objects of the royal mercy. All justicesof the peace, mayors, and magistrates of corporations throughout GreatBritain, were commanded to make particular search for straggling seamenfit for the service, and to send all that should be found to the nearestsea-port, that they might be sent on board by the sea-officer therecommanding. Other methods, more gentle and effectual, were taken to levyand recruit the land-forces. New regiments were raised, on his majesty'spromise that every man should be entitled to his discharge at the endof three years, and the premiums for enlisting were increased. Over andabove these indulgences, considerable bounties were offered and givenby cities, towns, corporations, and even by individuals, so universallywere the people possessed with a spirit of chivalry and adventure. Theexample was set by the metropolis, where the common-council resolved, that voluntary subscriptions should be received in the chamber ofLondon, to be appropriated as bounty-money to such persons as shouldengage in his majesty's service. The city subscribed a considerablesum for that purpose; and a committee of aldermen and commonerswas appointed to attend at Guildhall, to receive and apply thesubscriptions. Asa further encouragement to volunteers, they moreoverresolved, that every person so entering should be entitled to thefreedom of the city, at the expiration of three years, or sooner ifthe war should be brought to a conclusion. These resolutions beingcommunicated to the king, he was pleased to signify his approbation, andreturn his thanks to the city, in a letter from the secretary of stateto the lord-mayor. Large sums were immediately subscribed by differentcompanies, and some private persons; and, in imitation of the capital, bounties were offered by many different communities in every quarter ofthe United Kingdom. At the same time, such care and diligence were usedin disciplining the militia, that, before the close of the year, thegreater part of those truly constitutional battalions rivalled theregular troops in the perfection of their exercise, and seemed to be, inall respects, as fit for actual service. DEATH OF THE PRINCESS OF ORANGE, &c. Before we proceed to record the transactions of the campaign thatsucceeded these preparations, we shall take notice of some domesticevents, which, though not very important in themselves, may neverthelessclaim a place in the History of England. In the beginning of the year, the court of London was overwhelmed with affliction at the death ofthe princess dowager of Orange and Nassau, governante of the UnitedProvinces in the minority of her son, the present stadtholder. She wasthe eldest daughter of his Britannic majesty, possessed of many personalaccomplishments and exemplary virtues; pious, moderate, sensible, andcircumspect. She had exercised her authority with equal sagacity andresolution, respected even by those who were no friends to the house ofOrange, 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 dowagerof Orange her mother-in-law, honorary tutors, and prince Louis ofBrunswick acting tutor to her children. In the morning afterher decease, the states-general and the states of Holland wereextraordinarily assembled, and having received notice of this event, proceeded to confirm the regulations which had been made for theminority of the stadtholder. Prince Louis of Brunswick was invitedto assist in the assembly of Holland, where he took the oaths, asrepresenting the captain-general of the union. Then he communicated tothe assembly the act by which the princess had appointed him guardianof her children. He was afterwards invited to the assembly of thestates-general, who agreed to the resolution of Holland, with respectto his guardianship; and in the evening the different colleges of thegovernment sent formal deputations to the young stadtholder, and theprincess Caroline, his sister, in whose names and presence they werereceived, and answered by their guardian and representative. A formalintimation of the death of the princess was communicated to the king herfather, in a pathetic letter, by the states-general; who condoled withhim on the irreparable loss which he as well as they had sustained bythis melancholy event, and assured him they would employ all their careand attention in securing and defending the rights and interest of theyoung stadtholder and the princess his sister, whom they consideredas the children of the republic. The royal family of England sufferedanother disaster in the course of this year, by the decease of theprincess Elizabeth-Caroline, second daughter of his late royal highnessFrederick prince of Wales, a lady of the most amiable character, whodied at Kew in the month of September, before she had attained theeighteenth year of her age. EXAMPLES MADE OF PIRATES. Certain privateers continuing their excesses at sea, and rifling neutralships without distinction or authority, the government resolved tovindicate the honour of the nation, by making examples of those pirates, who, as fast as they could be detected and secured, were brought totrial, and upon conviction sacrificed to justice. While these steps weretaken to rescue the nation from the reproach of violence and rapacity, which her neighbours had urged with such eagerness, equal spirit wasexerted in convincing neutral powers that they should not with impunitycontravene the law of nations, in favouring the enemies of GreatBritain. A great number of causes were tried relating to disputedcaptures, 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 theirregularities of her privateers, armed for rapine, as by the neglectof internal police, and an ingredient of savage ferocity mingled in thenational character; an ingredient that appeared but too conspicuous inthe particulars of several shocking murders brought to light about thisperiod. --One Halsey, who commanded a merchant ship in the voyage fromJamaica to England, having conceived some personal dislike to a poorsailor, insulted him with such abuse, exposed him to such hardships, and punished him with such wantonness of barbarity, that the poor wretchleaped overboard in despair. His inhuman tyrant envying him that death, which would have rescued a miserable object from his brutality, plungedinto the sea after him, and brought him on board, declaring, heshould 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 treatmenthe had sustained. This savage ruffian was likewise indicted for themurder of another mariner, but being convicted on the first trial, thesecond was found unnecessary, and the criminal suffered death accordingto the law, which is perhaps too mild to malefactors convicted of suchaggravated cruelty. --Another barbarous murder was perpetrated in thecountry, near Birmingham, upon a sheriff's officer, by the sons of oneDarby, whose effects the bailiff had seized, on a distress for rent. The two young assassins, encouraged by the father, attacked the unhappywretch with clubs, and mangled him in a terrible manner, so thathe hardly retained any signs of life. Not contented with this cruelexecution, they stripped him naked, and dragging him out of the house, scourged him with a waggoner's whip, until the flesh was cut from thebones. 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 desperateresistance. They were tried, convicted, and executed; the sons werehung in chains, and the body of the father dissected. --The widow of atimber-merchant in Rotherhithe being cruelly murdered in her own house, Mary Edmonson, a young woman, her niece, ran out into the street withher arms cut across, and gave the alarm, declaring her aunt had beenassassinated by four men, who forced their way into the house, and thatshe (the niece) had received those wounds in attempting to defend herrelation. According to the circumstances that appeared, this unnaturalwretch had cut the throat of her aunt and benefactress with acase-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 theblood of her parent. After having acted this horrid tragedy, the barerecital of which the humane reader will not peruse without horror, sheput on another apron, and wounded her own flesh, the better to concealher guilt. Notwithstanding these precautions she was suspected, andcommitted to prison. Being brought to trial, she was convicted andcondemned upon circumstantial evidence, and finally executed onKennington-common, though she denied the fact to the last moment of herlife. At the place of execution she behaved with great composure, and, after having spent some minutes in devotion, protested she was innocentof the crime laid to her charge. What seemed to corroborate thisprotestation, was the condition and character of the young woman, who had been educated in a sphere above the vulgar, and maintaineda reputation without reproach in the country, where she was actuallybetrothed to a clergyman. On the other hand, the circumstances thatappeared against her almost amounted to a certainty; though nothingweaker than proof positive ought to determine a jury in capital casesto give a verdict against the person accused. After all, this is oneof those problematic events which elude the force of all evidence, andserve to confound the pride of Iranian reason. --A miscreant, whosename was Haines, having espoused the daughter of a farmer in theneighbourhood of Gloucester, who possessed a small estate, which heintended to divide among seven children, was so abandoned as to formthe design of poisoning the whole family, that by virtue of his wife hemight enjoy the whole inheritance. For the execution of this infernalscheme, he employed his own father to purchase a quantity of arsenic;part of which he administered to three of the children, who wereimmediately 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 otherchildren, who underwent the same violence of operation which had provedfatal to the eldest brother. The instantaneous effects of the poisoncreated a suspicion of Haines, who, being examined, the whole sceneof villany stood disclosed. Nevertheless, the villain found meansto escape. --The uncommon spirit of assassination which raged at thisperiod, seemed to communicate itself even to foreigners who breathedEnglish air. Five French prisoners confined on board the king's ship theRoyal Oak, were convicted of having murdered one Jean de Manaux, theircountryman and fellow-prisoner, in revenge for his having discoveredthat they had forged passes to facilitate their escape. Exasperated atthis detection, they seized this unfortunate informer in the place oftheir confinement, gagged his mouth, stripped him naked, tied him witha strong cord to a ring-bolt, and scourged his body with the most brutalperseverance. By dint of struggling, the poor wretch disengaged himselffrom the cord with which he had been tied: then they finished thetragedy, by leaping and stamping on his breast, till the chest wasbroke, and he expired. They afterwards severed the body into smallpieces, and these they conveyed at different times into the sea, throughthe funnel of a convenience to which they had access: but one of theother prisoners gave information of the murder; in consequence ofwhich they were secured, brought to trial, condemned, and punished withdeath. --Nor were the instances of cruel assassination which prevailedat this juncture confined to Great Britain. At the latter end of theforegoing year, an atrocious massacre was perpetrated by two Genoesemariners upon the master and crew of an English vessel, among whom theywere enrolled. These monsters of cruelty were in different watches, acircumstance that favoured the execution of the horrid plan they hadconcerted. When one of them retired to rest with his fellows of thewatch, consisting of the mate and two seamen, he waited till they werefast asleep, and then butchered them all with a knife. Having so farsucceeded without discovery, he returned to the deck, and communicatedthe exploit to his associate: then they suddenly attacked the master ofthe vessel, and cleft his head with a hatchet, which they likewiseused in murdering the man that stood at the helm; a third was likewisedespatched, and no Englishman remained alive but the master's son, aboy, who lamented his father's death with incessant tears and criesfor three days, at the expiration of which he was likewise sacrificed, because the assassins were disturbed by his clamour. This barbarousscene was acted within sixty leagues of the rock of Lisbon; but thevessel was taken within the capes Ortugal and Finisterre, by the captainof the French privateer called La Favourite, who seeing the deck stainedwith blood, and finding all the papers of the ship destroyed, began tosuspect that the master and crew had been murdered. He accordingly taxedthem with the murder, and they confessed the particulars. The privateertouched at Vigo, where the captain imparted this detail to the Englishconsul; but the prize, with the two villains on board, was sent toBayonne 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 murderremarkable in all its circumstances, for which a person, called EugeneAram, suffered at York, in the course of this year. This man, whoexercised the profession of a schoolmaster at Knaresborough, had, asfar back as the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five, beenconcerned with one Houseman, in robbing and murdering Daniel Clarke, whom they had previously persuaded to borrow a considerable quantity ofvaluable effects from different persons in the neighbourhood, on falsepretences, that he might retire with the booty. He had accordinglyfilled a sack with these particulars, and began his retreat with his twoperfidious 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, nosuspicion fell on the assassins; and Aram, who was the chief contriverand agent in the murder, moved his habitation to another part of thecountry. In the summer of the present year, Houseman being employed, among other labourers, in repairing the public highway, they, indigging for gravel by the road side, discovered the skeleton of a humancreature, which the majority supposed to be the bones of Daniel Clarke. This opinion was no sooner broached, than Houseman, as it were by somesupernatural impulse which he could not resist, declared that it wasnot the skeleton of Clarke, inasmuch as his body had been interred at aplace called St. Robert's Cave, where they would find it, with the headturned to a certain corner. He was immediately apprehended, examined, admitted as evidence for the crown, and discovered the particulars ofthe murder. The skeleton of Clarke being found exactly in the placeand manner he had described, Eugene Aram, who now acted as usher to agrammar-school in the county of Norfolk, was secured, and broughtto trial at the York assizes. There, his own wife corroborating thetestimony of Houseman, he was found guilty, and received sentence ofdeath; notwithstanding a very artful and learned defence, in which heproved, from argument and example, the danger of convicting a man uponcircumstantial evidence. Finding all his remonstrances ineffectual, herecommended himself in pathetic terms to the king's mercy; and if evermurder was entitled to indulgence, perhaps it might have been extendednot improperly to this man, whose genius, in itself prodigious, mighthave exerted itself in works of general utility. He had, in spite of allthe disadvantages attending low birth and straitened circumstances, bythe dint of his own capacity and inclination, made considerable progressin mathematics and philosophy, acquired all the languages ancient andmodern, and executed part of a Celtic dictionary, which, had he livedto finish it, might have thrown some essential light upon the originand obscurities of the European history. Convinced, at last, that he hadnothing to hope from the clemency of the government, he wrote a shortpoem 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 concealedfor that purpose. Though he was much weakened by the effusion of blood, before this attempt was discovered, yet, as the instrument had missedthe artery, he did not expire until he was carried to the gibbet, and underwent the sentence of the law. His body was conveyed toKnaresborough-forest, and hung in chains, near the place where themurder was perpetrated. --These are some of the most remarkable thatappeared amongst many other instances of homicide: a crime that prevailsto a degree alike deplorable and surprising, even in a nation renownedfor compassion and placability. But this will generally be the caseamong people whose passions, naturally impetuous, are ill restrained bylaws, and the regulations of civil society; which the licentious do notfear, and the wicked hope to evade. MAJORITY OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. The prince of Wales having, in the beginning of June, entered thetwo-and-twentieth year of his age, the anniversary of his birth wascelebrated with great rejoicings at court, and the king receivedcompliments of congratulation on the majority of a prince, who seemedborn 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 thelove of liberty, who, confiding in the Divine Providence, and in hismajesty's experienced wisdom and vigorous councils, were resolved toexert their utmost efforts towards enabling their sovereign to repel theinsults and defeat the attempts made by the ancient enemies of his crownand kingdom. Congratulations of the same kind were offered by othercities, towns, corporations, and communities, who vied with each otherin professions of attachment; and, indeed, there was not the least traceof 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, orincommoded by the operations of the war, that they found leisure toplan, and funds to execute, magnificent works of art, for the ornamentof the metropolis, and the convenience of commerce. They had obtainedan act of parliament, empowering them to build a new bridge over theThames, from Blackfriars to the opposite shore, about midway betweenthose of London and Westminster. Commissioners were appointed toput this act in execution; and, at a court of common-council, it wasresolved that a sum not exceeding one hundred and forty-four thousandpounds should be forthwith raised, within the space of eight years, byinstalments, not exceeding thirty thousand pounds in one year, to bepaid into the chamber of London; that the persons advancing the moneyshould have an interest at the rate of four pounds per cent, perannum, to be paid half-yearly by the chamberlain, yet redeemable at theexpiration of the first ten years; and that the chamberlain should affixthe city's seal to such instruments as the committee might think fit togive for securing the payment of the said annuities. Such were the firsteffectual steps taken towards the execution of a laudable measure, whichmet with the most obstinate opposition in the sequel, from the narrowviews 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 smalldifficulties did not retard, and even considerable losses could notdiscourage. In the month of November the city was exposed to a dangerousconflagration, kindled in the night by accident in the neighbourhood ofthe Royal Exchange, which burned with great fury, and, notwithstandingthe assistance of the firemen and engines, employed under the personaldirection of the magistracy, consumed a great number of houses, anddamaged many more. That whole quarter of the town was filled withconsternation: some individuals were beggared; one or two perished inthe flames, and some were buried in the ruins of the houses that sunkunder the disaster. METHOD CONTRIVED TO FIND OUT THE LONGITUDE. The ferment of mind so peculiar to the natives of Great Britain, excitedby a strange mixture of genius and caprice, passion and philosophy, study and conjecture, produced at this period some flowers ofimprovement, in different arts and sciences, that seemed to promisefruit of public utility. Several persons invented methods fordiscovering the longitude at sea, that great _desideratum_ innavigation, for the ascertainment of which so many nations haveoffered a public recompense, and in the investigation of which so manymathematical heads have been disordered. Some of those who now appearedcandidates for the prize deserved encouragement for the ingenuity oftheir several systems; but he who seemed to enjoy' the pre-eminence inthe 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 onboard a ship, even in a rough sea, can, through a telescope, observethe immersion and emersion of Jupiter's satellites, without beinginterrupted or incommoded by the motion of the vessel. This gentlemanwas favoured with the assistance and protection of commodore lord Howe, in whose presence the experiment was tried in several ships at sea withsuch success, that he granted a certificate, signifying his approbation;and in consequence of this, Mr. Irwin is said to have obtained aconsiderable reward from the board of admiralty. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} INSTALLATION AT OXFORD. The people of England, happy in their situation, felt none of the stormsof war and desolation which ravaged the neighbouring countries; but, enriched by a surprising augmentation of commerce, enjoyed all thesecurity of peace, and all the pleasures of taste and affluence. Theuniversity of Oxford having conferred the office of their chancellor, vacant by the death of the earl of Arran, upon another nobleman of equalhonour and integrity, namely, the earl of Westmoreland, he made a publicentrance into that celebrated seat of learning with great magnificence, and was installed amidst the Encaenia, which were celebrated with suchclassical elegance of pomp, as might have rivalled the chief Romanfestival of the Augustan age. The chancellor elect was attended by asplendid train of the nobility and persons of distinction. The city ofOxford was filled with a vast concourse of strangers. The processionswere contrived with taste, and conducted with decorum. The installationwas performed with the most striking solemnity. The congratulatoryverses and public speeches breathed the spirit of old Rome; and theceremony was closed by Dr. King, that venerable sage of St. Mary Hall, who pronounced an oration in praise of the new chancellor with all theflow of Tully, animated by the fire of Demosthenes. We shall conclude the remarkable incidents of this year:* * 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 ofan 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 firstfifty days were elapsed. The wretched crew had devoured their dog, cat, and all their shoes on board: at length, being reduced to the utmostextremity, they agreed to cast lots for their lives, that the body ofhim upon whom the lot should fall might serve for some time to supportthe survivors. The wretched victim was one Antoni Ga-latia, a Spanishgentleman and passenger. Him they shot with a musket; and having cutoff his head, threw it overboard; but the entrails and the rest of thecarcase they greedily devoured. This horrid banquet having, as it were, fleshed the famished crew, they began to talk of another sacrifice, fromwhich, however, they were diverted by the influence and remonstrances oftheir captain, who prevailed upon them to be satisfied with a miserableallowance to each per diem, cut from a pair of leather breeches foundin the cabin. Upon this calamitous pittance, reinforced with the grasswhich grew plentifully upon the deck, these poor objects made shift tosubsist for twenty days, at the expiration of which they were relieved, and taken on board by one captain Bradshaw, who chanced to fall in withthem at sea. By this time the whole crew, consisting of seven men, wereso squalid and emaciated, as to exhibit an appearance at once piteousand terrible; and so reduced in point of strength, that it was foundnecessary to use ropes and tackle for hoisting them from one ship to theother. The circumstance of the lot falling upon the Spaniard, who wasthe only foreigner on board, encourages a suspicion that foul play wasoffered to this unfortunate stranger; but the most remarkable part ofthis whole incident is, that the master and crew could not contrive somesort of tackle to catch fish, with which the sea every where abounds, and which, no doubt, might be caught with the help of a littleingenuity. If implements of this kind were provided in every ship, they would probably prevent all those tragical events at sea that areoccasioned by famine. CAPTURES MADE BY CRUISERS. Previous to the more capital operations in war, we shall particularizethe most remarkable captures that were made upon the enemy by singleships of war, during the course of this summer and autumn. In the monthof February, a French privateer belonging to Granville, called theMarquis de Marigny, having on board near two hundred men, and mountedwith twenty cannon, was taken by captain Parker, commander of hismajesty's ship the Montague; who likewise made prize of a smaller armedvessel, from Dunkirk, of eight cannon and sixty men. About the sameperiod, captain Graves, of the Unicorn, brought in the Moras privateer, of St. Maloes, carrying two hundred men, and two-and-twenty cannon. Twolarge merchant-ships, laden on the French king's account for Martinique, with provisions, clothing, and arms, for the troops on that island, weretaken by captain Lendrick, commander of the Brilliant; and an Englishtransport from St. John's, having four hundred French prisoners onboard, perished near the Western islands. Within the circle of the samemonth, a large French ship from St. Domingo, richly laden, fell in withthe Favourite ship of war, and was carried into Gibraltar. In the month of February, captain Hood, of his majesty's frigate theVestal, belonging to a small squadron commanded by admiral Holmes, whohad sailed for the West Indies in January, being advanced a considerableway ahead of the fleet, descried and gave chase to a sail, which provedto be a French frigate called the Bellona, of two hundred andtwenty men, and two-and-thirty great guns, commanded by the countde Beauhonoire. Captain Hood, having made a signal to the admiral, continued the chase until he advanced within half musket-shot of theenemy, and then poured in a broadside, which was immediately retorted. The engagement thus begun was maintained with great vigour on both sidesfor the space of four hours; at the expiration of which the Bellonastruck, after having lost all her masts and rigging, together with aboutforty men killed in the action. Nor was the victor in a much bettercondition. Thirty men were killed and wounded on board the Vestal. Immediately after the enemy submitted, all her rigging being destroyedby the shot, the topmasts fell overboard; and she was otherwise somuch damaged, that she could not proceed on her voyage. Captain Hood, therefore, returned with his prize to Spithead; and afterwards met witha gracious reception from his majesty, on account of the valour andconduct he had displayed on this occasion. The Bellona had sailed inJanuary from the island of Martinique, along with the Florissant, and another French frigate, from which she had been separated in thepassage. Immediately after this exploit, captain Elliot, of the AEolusfrigate, accompanied by the Isis, made prize of a French ship, theMignonne, of twenty guns, and one hundred and forty men, one of fourfrigates employed as convoy to a large fleet of merchant-ships, near theisland 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 thenorthward on a cruise, fell in with the Danaë, a French ship of fortycannon, and three hundred and thirty men, which was engaged by captainHotham in a ship of half the force, who maintained the battle aconsiderable time with admirable gallantry, before his consort couldcome to his assistance. As they fought in the dark, captain Gilchristwas obliged to lie by for some time, because he could not distinguishthe one from the other; but no sooner did the day appear, than he boredown upon the Danaë with his usual impetuosity, and soon compelled herto surrender: she did not strike, however, until thirty or forty of hermen were slain; and the gallant captain Gilchrist received a grape-shotin his shoulder, which, though it did not deprive him of life, yetrendered him incapable of future service: a misfortune the more to belamented, 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 himmany other opportunities of signalizing his courage for the honour andadvantage of his country. Another remarkable exploit was achievedabout the same juncture by captain Barrington, commander of the shipAchilles, mounted with sixty cannon; who, to the westward of CapeFinisterre, encountered a French ship of equal force, called theCount de Saint Florintin, bound from Cape François, on the island ofHispaniola, to Rochefort, under the command of the sieur de Montay, whowas obliged to strike, after a close and obstinate engagement, in whichhe himself was mortally wounded, a great number of his men slain, andhis ship so damaged, that she was with difficulty brought into Falmouth. Captain Barrington obtained the victory at the expense of aboutfive-and-twenty men killed and wounded, and all his rigging, which theenemy's shot rendered useless. Two small privateers from Dunkirk werealso taken: one called the Marquis de Bareil, by the Brilliant, whichcarried her into Kin-sale in Ireland; the other called the Carrilloneur, which struck to the Grace cutter, assisted by the boats of the shipRochester, commanded by captain Duff, who sent her into the Downs. About the latter end of March, captain Samuel Falkner, in the shipWindsor, of sixty guns, cruising to the westward, discovered four largeships to leeward, which, when he approached them, formed the line ofbattle ahead, in order to give him a warm reception. He accordinglyclosed 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 tobe the Duc de Chartres, pierced for sixty cannon, though at that timecarrying no more than four-and-twenty, with a complement of threehundred men, about thirty of whom were killed in the action. Shebelonged, with the other three that escaped, to the French East Indiacompany, was laden with gunpowder and naval stores, and bound forPondicherry. Two privateers, called Le Chasseur and Le Conquérant, theone from Dunkirk, and the other from Cherbourg, were taken and carriedinto Plymouth by captain Hughes, of his majesty's frigate the Tamer. Athird, called the Despatch, from Morlaix, was brought into Penzance bythe 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 ofthe Brilliant, who conveyed her into Plymouth. Captain Antrobus of theSurprise, took the Vieux, a privateer of Bourdeaux; and a fifth, fromDunkirk, struck to captain Knight of the Liverpool, off Yarmouth. Inthe month of May, a French frigate called the Arethusa, mounted withtwo-and-thirty cannon, manned with a large complement of hands under thecommand 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 onthe side of the enemy. In the beginning of June, an armed ship belongingto Dunkirk was brought into the Downs by captain Angel, of the Stag; anda privateer of force, called the Countess de la Serre, was subdued andtaken, after an obstinate action, by captain Moore, of his majesty'sship the Adventure. PRIZES TAKEN IN THE WEST INDIES. Several armed ships of the enemy, and rich prizes, were taken in theWest Indies, particularly two French frigates, and two Dutch shipswith French commodities, all richly laden, by some of the ships of thesquadron which vice-admiral Coats commanded on the Jamaica station. Afifth, called the Velour, from St. Domingo, with a valuable cargo onboard, being fortified with twenty cannon, and above one hundred men, fell in with the Favourite sloop of war, under the command of captainEdwards, who, after' art obstinate dispute, carried her in triumphto Gibraltar. At St. Christopher's, in the West Indies, captainCollingwood, commander of the king's ship the Crescent, attackedtwo French frigates, the Améthyste and Berkeley; the former of whichescaped, after a warm engagement, in which the Crescent's rigging wasso much damaged that she could not pursue; but the other was taken, andconveyed into the harbour of Basseterre. Notwithstanding the vigilanceand courage of the English cruisers in those seas, the French privateersswarmed to such a degree, that in the course of this year they tookabove two hundred sail of British ships, valued at six hundred thousandpounds sterling. This their success is the more remarkable, as by thistime the island of Guadaloupe was in possession of the English, andcommodore 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 withseventy-four guns, under the command of captain Porter, cruising in thechops of the channel, descried to windward a large ship, which proved tobe the Florissant, of the same force with the Hercules. Her commander, perceiving the English ship giving chase, did not seem to declinethe action, but bore down upon her in a slanting direction, and theengagement began with great fury. In a little time, the Hercules havinglost her top-mast, and all her rigging being shot away, the enemy tookadvantage of this disaster, made the best of his way, and was pursuedtill eight o'clock next morning, when he escaped behind the isle ofOleron. Captain Porter was wounded in the head with a grape-shot, andlost the use of one leg in the engagement. HAVRE-DE-GRACE BOMBARDED. Having taken notice of all the remarkable captures and exploits thatwere made and achieved by single ships since the commencement of thepresent year, we shall now proceed to describe the actions that wereperformed in this period by the different squadrons that constituted thenaval power of Great Britain. Intelligence having been received that theenemy meditated an invasion upon some of the British territories, andthat a number of flat-bottomed boats were prepared at Havre-de-Grace, for the purpose of disembarking troops, rear-admiral Rodney was, in thebeginning of July, detached with a small squadron of ships and bombsto annoy and overawe that part of the coast of France. He accordinglyanchored in the road of Havre, and made a disposition to execute theinstructions he had received. The bomb vessels, being placed in thenarrow channel of the river leading to Ronfleur, began to throw theirshells, and continued the bombardment for two-and-fifty hours, withoutintermission, during which a numerous body of French troops wereemployed in throwing up intrenchments, erecting new batteries, andfiring both with shot and shells upon the assailants. The town was seton fire in several places, and burned with great fury; some of theboats were overturned, and a few of them reduced to ashes, while theinhabitants forsook the place in the utmost consternation: nevertheless, the damage done to the enemy was too inconsiderable to make amends forthe expense of the armament, and the loss of nineteen hundred shellsand eleven hundred carcasses, which were expended in this expedition. Bombardments of this kind are at best but expensive and unprofitableoperations, and may be deemed a barbarous method of prosecuting war, inasmuch as the damage falls upon the wretched inhabitants, who havegiven no cause of offence, and who are generally spared by a humaneenemy, 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 bythe gallant admiral Boscawen, who, as we have already observed, wasintrusted with the conduct of a squadron in the Mediterranean. It mustbe owned, however, that his first attempt savoured of temerity. Havingin vain displayed the British flag in sight of Toulon, by way ofdefiance to the French fleet that lay there at anchor, he ordered threeships of the line, commanded by the captains Smith, Harland, andBarker, to advance and burn two ships that lay close to the mouth of theharbour. They accordingly approached with great intrepidity, and metwith a very warm reception from divers batteries, which they hadnot before perceived. Two small forts they attempted to destroy, andcannonaded for some time with great fury; but being overmatched bysuperior force, and the wind subsiding into a calm, they sustainedconsiderable damage, and were towed off with great difficulty in avery shattered condition. The admiral seeing three of his best ships soroughly handled in this enterprise, returned to Gibraltar in orderto refit; and M. De la Clue, the French commander of the squadron atToulon, seized this opportunity of sailing, in hopes of passing theStraits' mouth unobserved, his fleet consisting of twelve large shipsand three frigates. Admiral Boscawen, who commanded fourteen sail ofthe line with two frigates, and as many fire-ships, having refittedhis squadron, detached one frigate to cruise off Malaga, and anotherto hover between Estepona and Ceuta-point, with a view to keep a goodlook-out, and give timely notice in case the enemy should approach. Onthe seventeenth day of August, at eight in the evening, the Gibraltarfrigate made a signal that fourteen sail appeared on the Barbary shore, to the eastward of Ceuta; upon which the English admiral immediatelyheaved up his anchors and went to sea. At day-light he descried sevenlarge ships lying-to; but when the English squadron forbore to answertheir signal, they discovered their mistake, set all their sails, andmade the best of their way. This was the greater part of the Frenchsquadron, commanded by M. De la Clue, from whom five of his large shipsand three frigates had separated in the night. Even now, perhaps, hemight 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 heavygale, 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 aftertwo that some of his headmost ships could close with the rear of theenemy, which, though greatly out-numbered, fought with uncommon bravery. The English admiral, without waiting to return the fire of thesternmost, which he received as he passed, used all his endeavours tocome up with the Ocean, which M. De la Clue commanded in person; andabout four o'clock in the afternoon, running athwart her hawse, pouredinto her a furious broadside: thus the engagement began with equalvigour on both sides. This dispute, however, was of short duration. Inabout half an hour admiral Boscawen's mizen-mast and topsail-yards wereshot away, and the enemy hoisted all the sail they could carry. Mr. Boscawen having shifted his flag from the Namur to the Newark, joinedsome other ships in attacking the Centaur, of seventy-four guns, which, being thus overpowered, was obliged to surrender. The British admiralpursued them all night, during which the Souveraine and the Guerrieraltered their course, and deserted their commander. At day-break, M. Dela Clue, whose left leg had been broke in the engagement, perceiving theEnglish squadron crowding all their sails to come up with him, andfinding himself on the coast of Portugal, determined to burn his shipsrather than they should fall into the hands of the victors. The Oceanwas run ashore two leagues from Lagos, near the fort of Almadana, thecommander of which fired three shots at the English; another captain ofthe French squadron followed the example of his commander, and bothendeavoured to disembark their men; but the sea being rough, this proveda very tedious and difficult attempt. The captains of the Téméraire andModeste, instead of destroying their ships, anchored as near as theycould to the forts Xavier and Lagres, in hopes of enjoying theirprotection; but in this hope they were disappointed. M. De la Clue hadbeen landed, and the command of the Ocean was left to the count deCarne, who, having received one broadside from the America, struck hiscolours, and the English took possession of this noble prize, the bestship in the French navy, mounted with eighty cannon. Captain Bentley ofthe Warspite, who had remarkably signalized himself by his courageduring the action of the preceding day, attacked the Téméraire, ofseventy-four guns, and brought her off with little damage. Vice-admiralBroderick, the second in command, advancing with his division, burnedthe Redoubtable, of seventy-four guns, which was bulged, and abandonedby her men and officers; but they made prize of the Modeste, carryingsixty-four guns, which had not been much injured in the engagement. Thisvictory was obtained by the English admiral at a very small expense ofmen; the whole number of the killed and wounded not exceeding twohundred and fifty on board of the British squadron, though the carnageamong 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 boardof his own ship, the Ocean, one hundred men were killed on the spot, andseventy dangerously wounded. But the most severe circumstance of thisdisaster was the loss of four capital ships, two of which weredestroyed, and the other two brought in triumph to England, to benumbered among the best bottoms of the British navy. What augmented thegood fortune of the victors was, that not one officer lost his Life inthe engagement. Captain Bentley, whom the admiral despatched to Englandwith the tidings of his success, met with a gracious reception from theking, who knighted him for his gallantry. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 becomprehended, as it were, in one view, we must now, without regardingthe order of time, postpone many previous events of importance, and record the last action by sea, that in the course of this yeardistinguished the flag of Great Britain. The court of Versailles, inorder to embarrass the British ministry, and divert their attentionfrom all external expeditions, had in the winter projected a plan forinvading some part of the British dominions; and in the beginning of theyear had actually begun to make preparations on different parts of theircoast for carrying this design into execution. Even as far back as thelatter end of May, messages from the king to both houses of parliamentwere delivered by the earl of Holdernesse and Mr. Pitt, the twosecretaries of state, signifying that his majesty had received advicesof preparations making by the French court, with a design to invadeGreat Britain: that though persuaded, by the universal zeal andaffection of his people, any such attempt must, under the blessingof God, end in the destruction of those who engaged in it; yet heapprehended he should not act consistent with that paternal care andconcern which he had always shown for the safety and preservation of hissubjects, if he omitted any means in his power which might be necessaryfor their defence: he, therefore, acquainted the parliament with hishaving received repeated intelligence of the enemy's preparations, tothe end that his majesty might, if he should think proper, in pursuanceof the late act of parliament, cause the militia, or such parts thereofas should be necessary, to be drawn out and embodied, in order to marchas occasion should require. These messages were no sooner read, thaneach house separately resolved to present an address, thanking hismajesty for having communicated this intelligence; assuring him, thatthey would, with their lives and fortunes, support him against allattempts whatever; that, warmed with affection and zeal for his personand government, and animated by indignation at the daring designs of anenemy 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 theattempts of France, but, by the blessing of God, turn them to their ownconfusion. The commons at the same time resolved upon another address, desiring his majesty would give directions to his lieutenants of theseveral counties, ridings, and places within South Britain, to usetheir utmost diligence and attention in executing the several acts ofparliament made for the better ordering the militia. ACCOUNT OF THUROT. These and other precautionary steps were accordingly taken; but theadministration wisely placed their chief dependence upon the strength ofthe navy, part of which was so divided and stationed as to block upall the harbours of France in which the enemy were known to prepare anynaval armament of consequence. We have seen in what manner rear-admiralRodney visited the town and harbour of Havre-de-Grace, and scouredthat part of the coast in successive cruises: we have also recorded theexpedition and victory of admiral Boscawen over the squadron of La Clue, which was equipped at Toulon, with a design to assist in the projectedinvasion. Not withstanding this disaster, the French ministry persistedin their design; towards the execution of which they had preparedanother considerable fleet, in the harbours of Rochefort, Brest, andPort-Louis, to be commanded by M. De Conflans, and reinforced by aconsiderable body of troops, which were actually assembled under theduc d'Aiguillon, at Vannes, in Lower Bretagne. Flat-bottomed boats andtransports to be used in this expedition, were prepared in differentports on the coast of France: and a small squadron was equipped atDunkirk, under the command of an enterprising adventurer called Thurot, who had, in the course of the preceding year, signalized his courage andconduct in a large privateer called the Belleisle, which had scouredthe North Seas, taken a number of ships, and at one time maintained anobstinate battle against two English frigates, which were obliged todesist, after having received considerable damage. This man's namebecame a terror to the merchants of Great Britain; for his valour wasnot more remarkable in battle than his conduct in eluding the pursuitof the British cruisers, who were successively detached in quest ofhim, through every part of the German Ocean and North Sea, as far as theislands of Orkney. It must be likewise owned, for the honour of humannature, that this bold mariner, though destitute of the advantages ofbirth and education, was remarkably distinguished by his generosity andcompassion to those who had the misfortune to fall into his power;and that his deportment in every respect entitled him to a much morehonourable rank in the service of his country. The court of Versailleswas not insensible to his merit. He obtained a commission from theFrench king, and was vested with the command of the small armament nowfitting out in the harbour of Dunkirk. The British government, beingapprized of all these particulars, took such measures to defeat thepurposed invasion, as must have conveyed a very high idea of the powerof Great Britain, to those who considered, that, exclusive of theforce opposed to this design, they at the same time carried on the mostvigorous and important operations of war in Germany, America, the Eastand West Indies. Thurot's armament at Dunkirk was watched by an Englishsquadron in the Downs, commanded by commodore Boys; the port of Havrewas guarded by rear-admiral Rodney; Mr. Boscawen had been stationed offToulon, and the coast of Vannes was scoured by a small squadron detachedfrom sir Edward Hawke, who had, during the summer, blocked up theharbour of Brest, where Conflans lay with his fleet, in order to bejoined by the other divisions of the armament. These different squadronsof the British navy were connected by a chain of separate cruisers;so that the whole coast of France, from Dunkirk to the extremity ofBretagne, was distressed by an actual blockade. FRENCH FLEET SAILS FROM BREST. The French fleet being thus hampered, forbore their attempt uponBritain; and the projected invasion seemed to hang in suspense till themonth of August, in the beginning of which their army in Germany wasdefeated at Minden. Their designs in that country being baffled by thisdisaster, they seemed to convert their chief attention to their seaarmament; the preparations were resumed with redoubled vigour; and, evenafter the defeat of La Clue, they resolved to try their fortune in adescent. 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 mightalarm the coast of Ireland, and make a diversion from that part whereConflans intended to effectuate the disembarkation of his forces. Thetransports and ships of war were assembled at Brest and Rochefort, having on board a train of artillery, with saddles, and otheraccoutrements for cavalry, to be mounted in Ireland; and a bodyof French troops, including part of the Irish brigade, was keptin readiness to embark. The execution of this scheme was, however, prevented by the vigilance of sir Edward Hawke, who blocked up theharbour of Brest with a fleet of twenty-three capital ships; whileanother squadron of smaller ships and frigates, under the command ofcaptain Duff, continued to cruise along the French coast, from PortL'Orient in Bretagne, to the point of St. Gilles in Poitou. At length, however, in the beginning of November, the British squadron, commandedby sir Edward Hawke, sir Charles Hardy, and rear-admiral Geary, weredriven from the coast of France by stress of weather, and on the ninthday of the month anchored in Torbay. The French admiral, Conflans, snatched this opportunity of sailing from Brest, with one-and-twentysail of the line and four frigates, in hopes of being able to destroythe English squadron commanded by captain Duff, before the largefleet could return from the coast of England. Sir Edward Hawke, havingreceived 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 coastthat were thought the most exposed to a descent. The land-forces wereput in motion, and quartered along the shore of Kent and Sussex: all theships of war in the different harbours, even those that had just arrivedfrom America, were ordered to put to sea, and every step was taken todisconcert the designs of the enemy. ADMIRAL HAWKE DEFEATS M. DE CONFLANS. While these measures were taken with equal vigour and deliberation, sirEdward Hawke steered his course directly for Quiberon, on the coastof Bretagne, which he supposed would be the rendezvous of the Frenchsquadron: but, notwithstanding his utmost efforts, he was driven bya hard gale considerably to the westward, where he was joined by twofrigates, the Maidstone and the Coventry. These he directed to keepahead of the squadron. The weather growing more moderate, the formermade 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 hourafterwards discovered them to be the enemy's squadron. They were at thattime in chase of captain Duff's squadron, which now joined the largefleet, 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 allthe sail he could carry, threw out a signal for seven of his ships thatwere nearest the enemy to chase, and endeavour to detain them, untilthey could be reinforced by the rest of the squadron, which were orderedto form into a line-of-battle ahead, as they chased, that no time mightbe lost in the pursuit. Considering the roughness of the weather, whichwas extremely tempestuous; the nature of the coast, which is in thisplace rendered very hazardous by a great number of sand-banks, shoals, rocks, and islands, as entirely unknown to the British sailors as theywere familiar to the French navigators; the dangers of a short day, dark night, and lee-shore--it required extraordinary resolution in theEnglish admiral to attempt hostilities on this occasion: but sir EdwardHawke, steeled with the integrity and fortitude of his own heart, animated by a warm love for his country, and well acquainted with theimportance of the stake on which the safety of that country in agreat measure depended, was resolved to run extraordinary risks in hisendeavours to frustrate, at once, a boasted scheme projected for theannoyance 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 superiorityin men or metal; consequently, M. De Conflans might have hazarded afair battle on the open sea, without any imputation of temerity; buthe thought proper to play a more artful game, though it did not succeedaccording to his expectation. He kept his fleet in a body, and retiredclose in shore, with a view to draw the English squadron among theshoals and islands, on which he hoped they would pay dear for theirrashness and impetuosity, while he and his officers, who were perfectlyacquainted with the navigation, could either stay and take advantage ofthe disaster, or, if hard pressed, retire through channels unknown tothe British pilots. At half an hour after two, the van of theEnglish fleet began the engagement with the rear of the enemy, in theneighbourhood of Belleisle. Every ship, as she advanced, poured in abroadside on the sternmost of the French, and bore down upon their van, leaving the rear to those that came after. Sir Edward Hawke, in theRoyal George, of one hundred and ten guns, reserved his fire in passingthrough the rear of the enemy, and ordered his master to bring himalongside of the French admiral, who commanded in person on board theSoliel Royal, a ship mounted with eighty cannon, and provided with acomplement of twelve hundred men. When the pilot remonstrated that hecould not obey his command without the most imminent risk of runningupon a shoal, the veteran replied, "You have done your duty in showingthe danger; now you are to comply with my order, and lay me alongsidethe Soleil Royal. " His wish was gratified: the Royal George ranged upwith the French admiral. The Thesée, another large ship of the enemy, running up between the two commanders, sustained the fire that wasreserved for the Soliel Royal; but in returning the first broadsidefoundered, in consequence of the high sea that entered her lowerdeck-ports, and filled her with water. Notwithstanding the boisterousweather, a great number of ships on both sides fought with equalfury and dubious success, till about four in the afternoon, when theFormidable struck her colours. The Superb shared the fate of the Théséein going to the bottom. The Hero hauled down her colours in token ofsubmission, and dropped anchor; but the wind was so high that no boatcould 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 thedarkness. Night approaching, the wind blowing with augmented violenceon a lee-shore, and the British squadron being entangled among unknownshoals and islands, sir Edward Hawke made the signal for anchoring tothe westward of the small island Dumet; and here the fleet remained allnight in a very dangerous riding, alarmed by the fury of the storm, andthe incessant firing of guns of distress, without their knowing whetherit proceeded from friend or enemy. The Soliel Royal had, under favourof the night, anchored also in the midst of the British squadron; butat day-break M. De Conflans ordered her cable to be cut, and she droveashore to the westward of Crozie. The English admiral immediately madesignal to the Essex to slip cable and pursue her; and, in obeying thisorder, she ran unfortunately on a sand-bank called Lefour, where theResolution, another ship of the British squadron, was already grounded. Here they were both irrecoverably lost, in spite of all the assistancethat could be given; but all their men, and part of their stores, weresaved, and the wrecks were set on fire by order of the admiral. Helikewise detached the Portland, Chatham, and Vengeance, to destroy theSoleil Royal, which was burned by her own people before the Englishships could approach; but they arrived in time enough to reduce the Heroto 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. Theadmiral, perceiving seven large ships of the enemy riding at anchorbetween Point Penvas and the mouth of the river Vilaine, made the signalto weigh, in order to attack them; but the fury of the storm increasedto such a degree, that he was obliged to remain at anchor, and evenordered the top-gallant masts to be struck. In the meantime, the Frenchships being lightened of their cannon, their officers took advantageof the flood, and a more moderate gale under the land, to enter theVilaine, where they lay within half a mile of the entrance, protectedby some occasional batteries erected on the shore, and by two largefrigates moored across the mouth of the harbour. Thus they wereeffectually secured from any attempts of small vessels; and as for largeships, there was not water sufficient to float them within fightingdistance of the enemy. On the whole, this battle, in which a veryconsiderable number of lives was lost, may be considered as one ofthe most perilous and important actions that ever happened in anywar between the two nations; for it not only defeated the projectedinvasion, which had hung menacing so long over the apprehensions ofGreat Britain; but it gave the finishing blow to the naval powerof France, which was totally disabled from undertaking anything ofconsequence 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 hiscourse to the North Sea, whither he was followed by commodore Boys, who nevertheless was disappointed in his pursuit; but the fate of thatenterprising adventurer falls under the annals of the ensuing year, among the transactions of which it shall be recorded. As for sirEdward Hawke, he continued cruising off the coast of Bretagne for aconsiderable time after the victory he had obtained, taking particularcare to block up the mouth of the river Vilaine, that the seven Frenchships might not escape and join M. Conflans, who made shift to reachRochefort with the shattered remains of his squadron. Indeed, thisservice became such a considerable object in the eyes of the Britishministry, that a large fleet was maintained upon this coast, apparentlyfor no other purpose, during a whole year; and, after all, the enemyeluded their vigilance. Sir Edward Hawke, having undergone a long anddangerous conflict with tempestuous weather, was at length recalled, and presented to his sovereign, who gratified him with a considerablepension, for the courage and conduct he had so often and so longdisplayed in the service of his country; and his extraordinary merit wasafterwards honoured with the approbation of the parliament. The peopleof France were so dispirited by the defeat of their army at Minden, andthe disaster of their squadron at Lagos, that the ministry of Versaillesthought proper to conceal the extent of their last misfortunes under apalliating detail published in the gazette of Paris, as a letter from M. Conflans to the count de St. Florentin, secretary of the marine. In thispartial misrepresentation, their admiral was made to affirm, that theBritish fleet consisted of forty ships of the line of battle, besidesfrigates; that the Soleil Royal had obliged the Royal George to sheeroff; that the seven ships which retreated into the river Vilaine hadreceived very little damage, and would be soon repaired; and that, bythe junction of Bompart's squadron, he should be soon able to give agood account of the English admiral. These tumid assertions, so void oftruth, are not to be imputed to an illiberal spirit of vain glory, somuch as to a political design of extenuating the national calamity, andsupporting 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 itselfto the kingdom of Ireland, where it was productive of some publicdisorder. 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 aletter from the secretary of state, written by his majesty's expresscommand, it appeared that France, far from resigning her plan ofinvasion, on account of the disaster that befel her Toulon squadron, wasmore and more confirmed in her purpose, and even instigated by despairitself to attempt, at all hazards, the only resource she seemed to haveleft for thwarting, by a diversion at home, the measures of Englandabroad in prosecuting a war which hitherto opened, in all parts of theworld, 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, wherealso a sufficient number of transports was prepared, should be able toelude the British squadron, Ireland would, in all probability, be one oftheir chief objects; his grace thought it therefore incumbent upon him, in a matter of such high importance to the welfare of that kingdom, tocommunicate this intelligence to the Irish parliament. He told them, hismajesty would make no doubt but that the zeal of his faithful protestantsubjects in that kingdom had been already sufficiently quickened by therepeated accounts received of the enemy's dangerous designs and actualpreparations, made at a vast expense, in order to invade the severalparts of the British dominions. He gave them to understand he hadreceived his sovereign's commands, to use his utmost endeavours toanimate and excite his loyal people of Ireland to exert their well-knownzeal and spirit in support of his majesty's government, and in defenceof all that was dear to them, by timely preparation to resist andfrustrate any attempts of the enemy to disturb the quiet and shakethe security of this kingdom; he therefore, in the strongest manner, recommended it to them to manifest, upon this occasion, that zeal forthe present happy establishment, and that affection for his majesty'sperson and government, by which the parliament of that nation had beenso often distinguished. Immediately after this message was communicated, the house of commons unanimously resolved to present an address to thelord-lieutenant, thanking his grace for the care and concern he hadshown for the safety of Ireland, in having imparted intelligence ofso great importance; desiring him to make use of such means as shouldappear to him the most effectual for the security and defence of thekingdom; and assuring him, that the house would make good whateverexpense should be necessarily incurred for that purpose. Thisintimation, and the steps that were taken in consequence of it for thedefence of Ireland, produced such apprehensions and distraction amongthe people of that kingdom, as had well nigh proved fatal to the publiccredit. In the first transports of popular fear, there was such anextraordinary run upon the banks of Dublin, that several considerablebankers were obliged to stop payment; and the circulation was in dangerof being suddenly stagnated, when the lord-lieutenant, the members ofboth houses of parliament, the lord-mayor, aldermen, merchants, andprincipal traders of Dublin, engaged in an association to support publiccredit, by taking the notes of bankers in payment: a resolution whicheffectually answered the purpose intended. LOYALTY OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS. Howsoever the court of Versailles might have flattered itself thattheir invading army would in Ireland be joined by a great number ofthe natives, in all probability it would have been disappointed in thishope, had their purposed descent even been carried into execution, for no signs of disaffection to the reigning family appeared at thisjuncture. On the contrary, the wealthy individuals of the Romishpersuasion offered to accommodate the government with large sums ofmoney, in case of necessity, to support the present establishmentagainst all its enemies; and the Roman catholics of the city of Cork, in a body, presented an address to the lord-lieutenant, expressing theirloyalty, in the warmest terms of assurance. After having congratulatedhis grace on the unparalleled success which had attended his majesty'sarms, and expressed their sense of the king's paternal tenderness forhis kingdom of Ireland, they acknowledged, with the deepest sense ofgratitude, that protection and indulgence they had enjoyed underhis majesty's mild and auspicious reign. They professed the warmestindignation at the threatened invasion of the kingdom by an enemy, who, grown desperate from repeated defeats, might possibly make that attemptas a last effort, vainly flattered with the imaginary hope of assistancein Ireland, from the former attachment of their deluded predecessors. They assured his grace, in the most solemn manner, that such schemeswere altogether inconsistent with their principles and intentions: thatthey would, to the utmost exertion of their abilities, with their livesand fortunes, join in the defence and support of his majesty's royalperson and government against all invaders whatsoever: that they shouldbe always ready to concur in such measures, and to act such partsin defence of the kingdom, in common with the rest of his majesty'ssubjects, as his grace in his great wisdom should be pleased to appoint;and think themselves particularly happy to be under the directionand command of so known an assertor of liberty, such an important anddistinguished governor. Finally, they expressed the most earnest wish, that his majesty's arms might be crowned with such a continuance ofsuccess as should enable him to defeat the devices of all his enemies, and obtain a speedy and honourable peace. This cordial address, whichwas transmitted to the earl of Shannon, and by him presented to the dukeof Bedford, must have been very agreeable to the government at such acritical conjuncture. INSURRECTION IN DUBLIN. Although no traces of disaffection to his majesty's family appearedon this trying occasion, it must nevertheless be acknowledged, that aspirit of dissatisfaction broke out with extraordinary violence amongthe populace of Dublin. The present lord-lieutenant was not remarkablypopular in his administration. He had bestowed one place of considerableimportance upon a gentleman whose person was obnoxious to many peoplein that kingdom, and perhaps failed in that affability and condescensionwhich a free and ferocious nation expects to find in the character ofhim to whose rule they are subjected. Whether the offence taken at hisdeportment had created enemies to his person, or the nation in generalbegan to entertain doubts and jealousies of the government's designs, certain it is, great pains were taken to propagate a belief among thelower sort of people, that an union would soon be effected between GreatBritain and Ireland; in which case this last kingdom would be deprivedof its parliament and independency, and be subjected to the same taxesthat are levied upon the people of England. This notion inflamedthe populace to such a degree, that they assembled in a prodigiousmultitude, broke into the house of lords, insulted the peers, seated anold woman on the throne, and searched for the journals, which, had theybeen found, they would have committed to the flames. Not content withthis outrage, they compelled the members of both houses, whom they metin the streets, to take an oath that they never would consent to such anunion, or give any vote contrary to the true interest of Ireland. Diverscoaches belonging to obnoxious persons were destroyed, and their horseskilled; and a gibbet was erected for one gentleman in particular, whonarrowly escaped the ungovernable rage of those riotous insurgents. Abody of horse and infantry were drawn out on this occasion, in orderto overawe the multitude, which at night dispersed of itself. Nextday addresses to the lord-lieutenant were agreed to by both houses ofparliament, and a committee of inquiry appointed, that the ringleadersof the tumult might be discovered and brought to condign punishment. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} ALARM OF A DESCENT IN SCOTLAND. When the ministry of England received the first advice, that M. Thurothad escaped from Dunkirk with a small squadron of armed ships, havingon board a body of land-troops, designed for a private expedition on thecoast of Scotland or Ireland, expresses were immediately despatched tothe commanding officers of the forces in North Britain, with orders toput the forts along the coast of that kingdom in the best posture ofdefence; and to hold every thing in readiness to repel the enemy, in case they should attempt a descent. In consequence of theseinstructions, beacons were erected for the immediate communication ofintelligence; places of rendezvous appointed for the regular troops andmilitia; and strict orders issued that no officer should absent himselffrom his duty, on any pretence whatever. The greatest encomium that canbe given to the character of this partisan, is an account of the alarmwhich the sailing of his puny armament spread through the whole extentof such a powerful kingdom, whose fleets covered the ocean. PerhapsThurot's career would have been sooner stopped, had commodore Boys beenvictualled for a longer cruise; but this commander was obliged to putinto Leith for a supply of provisions, at the very time when Thurotwas seen hovering on the coast near Aberdeen; and, before the Englishsquadron was provided for the prosecution of the cruise, the other hadtaken 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 seasby the naval force of Great Britain, within the compass of the presentyear, we shall now proceed to record the exploits of the British armswithin the tropics, and particularly the expedition to Martinique andGuadaloupe, which is said to have succeeded even beyond the expectationof the ministry. A plan had been formed for improving the success ofthe preceding year in North America, by carrying the British arms upthe river St. Laurence, and besieging Quebec, the capital of Canada. The armament employed against the French islands of Martinique andGuadaloupe constituted part of this design, inasmuch as the troopsembarked on that expedition were, in case of a miscarriage atMartinique, intended to reinforce the British army in North America, which was justly considered as the chief seat of the war. What hope ofsuccess the administration conceived from an attempt upon Martinique, may be guessed from the state of that island, as it appeared in amemorial presented by the French king's lieutenants of its severaldistricts, to the general of the French island, in consequence of anorder issued in November, for holding them in readiness to march anddefend the island from the English, of whose design they were apprized. They represented that the trade with the Dutch was become their soledependence: that they could expect no succour from Europe, by whichthey had been abandoned ever since the commencement of the war: that thetraders vested with the privileges of trafficking among them had abusedthe intention of the general; and, instead of being of service to thecolony, had fixed an arbitrary price for all the provisions which theybrought in, as well as for the commodities which they exported; ofconsequence, the former was valued at as high a price as their avaricecould exact, and the latter sunk as low in value as their own selfishhearts could conceive: that the colony for two months had been destituteof all kinds of provision; the commodities of the planters lay upontheir hands, and their negroes were in danger of perishing throughhunger; a circumstance that excited the apprehension of the mostdreadful consequences; as to slaves, half starved, all kinds of bondagewere equal; and people reduced to such a situation were often drivento despair, seeking in anarchy and confusion a remedy from the evilsby which they were oppressed; that the best provided of the inhabitantslaboured under the want of the common necessaries of life; and othershad not so much as a grain of salt in their houses: that there was anirreparable scarcity of slaves to cultivate their land; and the planterswere reduced to the necessity of killing their own cattle to supportthe lives of those who remained alive; so that the mills were nolonger worked, and the inhabitants consumed beforehand what ought to bereserved for their sustenance, in case of being blocked up by the enemy. They desired, therefore, that the general would suppress the permissiongranted to particular merchants, and admit neutral vessels freely intotheir ports, that they might trade with the colonists unmolested andunrestrained. They observed, that the citadel of Port-Royal seemedthe principal object on which the safety and defence of the countrydepended; as the loss of it would be necessarily attended with thereduction of the whole island: they therefore advised that this fortshould be properly provided with every thing necessary for its safetyand defence; and that magazines of provision, as well as ammunition, should be established in different quarters of the island. --Thisremonstrance plainly proves that the island was wholly unprepared torepel the meditated invasion, and justifies the plan adopted by theministry of Great Britain. The regular troops of Martinique consistedof about twenty independent companies, greatly defective in point ofnumber. The militia was composed of burghers and planters distressed anddissatisfied, mingled with a parcel of wretched negro slaves, groaningunder the most intolerable misery, from whence they could have no hopeof deliverance but by a speedy change of masters; their magazines wereempty, and their fortifications out of repair. EXPEDITION AGAINST THAT ISLAND. Such was the state of Martinique, when the inhabitants every dayexpected a visit from the British armament, whose progress we shall nowrelate. On the twelfth day of November in the preceding year, captainHughes sailed from St. Helen's with eight sail of the line, one frigate, four bomb-ketches, and a fleet of transports, having on board sixregiments of infantry, and a detachment of artillery, besides eighthundred marines distributed among the ships of war; this whole forcebeing under the command of major-general Hopson, an old experiencedofficer, assisted by major-general Barrington, the colonels ArmigerandHaldane, the lieutenant-colonels Trapaud and Clavering, acting in thecapacity of brigadiers. After a voyage of seven weeks and three days, the fleet arrived at Barbadoes, and anchored in Carlisle-bay; where theyjoined commodore Moore, appointed by his majesty to command the unitedsquadron, amounting to ten ships of the line, besides frigates andbomb-ketches. Ten days were employed in supplying the fleet withwood and water, in waiting for the hospital ship, in reviews, re-embarkations, councils of war, assemblies of the council belonging tothe island, in issuing proclamations, and beating up for volunteers. At length, every great ship being reinforced with forty negroes, to beemployed in drawing the artillery; and the troops, which did notexceed five thousand eight hundred men, being joined by two hundredHighlanders, belonging to the second battalion of the regiment commandedby lord John Murray in North America, who were brought as recruits fromScotland under convoy of the ship Ludlow-castle; the whole armamentsailed from Carlisle-bay on the thirteenth day of January; but bythis time the troops, unaccustomed to a hot climate, were considerablyweakened and reduced by fevers, diarrhoeas, the scurvy, and thesmall-pox; which last disease had unhappily broke out amongst thetransports. Next morning the squadron discovered the island ofMartinique, which was the place of its destination. The chieffortification of Martinique was the citadel of Port-Royal, a regularfort, garrisoned by four companies, that did not exceed the number ofone hundred and fifty men, thirty-six bombardiers, eighty Swiss, andfourteen officers. One hundred barrels of beef constituted their wholestore of provisions; and they were destitute of all other necessaries. They were almost wholly unprovided with water in the cisterns, withspare carriages for their cannon, match, wadding, and langrage; they hadbut a small stock of other ammunition; and the walls were in many partsdecayed. The only preparations they had made for receiving the Englishwere some paltry intrenchments thrown up at St, Pierre, and a placecalled Casdenavires, where they imagined the descent would probablybe attempted. On the fifteenth day of the month, the British squadronentered the great bay of Port-Royal, some of the ships being exposed tothe shot of a battery erected on the isle de Ranieres, a little islandabout half way up the bay. At their first appearance, the Florissant, ofseventy-four guns, which had been so roughly handled by captain Tyrrelin the Buckingham, then lying under the guns of Fort-Negro, along withtwo frigates, turned up under the citadel, and came to an anchor inthe Carenage, behind the fortification. One frigate, called the Vestal, under favour of the night, made her escape through the transports, anddirected her course for Europe; where she was taken by captain Hood, aswe have already related. Next day three ships of the line were orderedto attack Fort-Negro, a battery at the distance of three miles from thecitadel, 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 enteredthrough the embrasures with their bayonets fixed. Here, however, they met with no resistance: the enemy had abandoned the fort withprecipitation. The British colours were immediately hoisted, andsentinels of marines posted upon the parapet. The next care was to spikeand disable the cannon, break the carriages, and destroy the powderwhich they found in the magazine: nevertheless, the detachmentwas ordered to keep possession of the battery. This service beingsuccessfully performed, three ships were sent to reduce the otherbattery at Casdenavires, which consisted only of four guns, and thesewere soon rendered unserviceable. The French troops, reinforcedwith militia which had been detached from the citadel to oppose thedisembarkation, perceiving the whole British squadron, and all thetransports, already within the bay, and Fort-Negro occupied by themarines, retired to Port-Royal, leaving the beach open; so that theEnglish troops were landed without opposition; and, being formed, advanced into the country towards Fort-Negro, in the neighbourhood ofwhich they lay all night upon their arms; while the fleet, which hadbeen galled by bomb-shells from the citadel, shifted their station, and stood farther up the bay. By ten next day, the English officers hadbrought up some field-pieces to an eminence, and scoured the woods, from whence the troops had been greatly annoyed by the small shot of theenemy during the best part of the night, and all that morning. At noonthe British forces advanced in order towards the hill that overlookedthe town and citadel of Port-Royal, and sustained a troublesome firefrom enemies they could not see; for the French militia were entirelycovered by the woods and bushes. This eminence, called the MorneTortueson, though the most important post of the whole island, wasneglected by the general of Martinique, who had resolved to blow up thefortifications of the citadel: but, luckily for the islanders, he hadnot prepared the materials for this operation, which must have beenattended with the immediate destruction of the capital, and indeed ofthe whole country. Some of the inferior officers, knowing the importanceof the Morne Tortueson, resolved to defend that post with a body ofthe militia, which was reinforced by the garrisons of Fort-Negro andCasdenavires, as well as by some soldiers detached from the Florissant:but, notwithstanding all their endeavours, as they were entirelyunprovided with cannon, extremely defective in point of discipline, dispirited by the pusillanimity of their governor, and in a greatmeasure disconcerted by the general consternation that prevailed amongthe inhabitants, in all probability they could not have withstood aspirited and well-conducted attack by regular forces. About two o'clockgeneral Hopson thought proper to desist from his attempt. He gave thecommodore to understand that he could not maintain his ground, unlessthe squadron would supply him with heavy cannon, landed near the townof Port-Royal, at a savannah, where the boats must have been greatlyexposed to the fire of the enemy; or assist him in attacking thecitadel by sea, while he should make his approaches by land. Both theseexpedients* being deemed impracticable by a council of war, the troopswere 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 revengefor this loss, they burned the sugar-canes, and desolated the country, in their retreat. The inhabitants of Martinique could hardly credit thetestimony of their own senses, when they saw themselves thus deliveredfrom all their fears, at a time when they were overwhelmed with terrorand confusion; when the principal individuals among them had resignedall thought of further resistance, and were actually assembled at thepublic hall in Port-Royal, to send deputies to the English general, withproposals of capitulation and surrender. ATTEMPT UPON ST. PIERRE. The majority of the British officers, who constituted a council of warheld for this purpose, * having given their opinion, that it might befor his majesty's service to make an attack upon St. Pierre, thefleet proceeded to that part of the island, and entered the bay on thenineteenth. * 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 toreduce the town of St. Pierre; but as the ships might be disabled inthe attack so as not to be in a condition to proceed immediately on anymaterial service; as the troops might be reduced in their numbers, so asto be incapable of future attacks; and as the reduction of the islandof Guadaloupe would be of great benefit to the sugar colonies; Mr. Mooroproposed that the armament should immediately proceed to that island, and the general agreed to the proposal. The reasons produced on thisoccasion are, we apprehend, such as may be urged against every operationof war. Certain it is, no conquest can be attempted, either by sea orland, without exposing' the ships and troops to a possibility of beingdisabled and diminished; and the same possibility militated as stronglyagainst an attempt upon Guadeloupe, as it could possibly discouragethe attack of St. Pierre. Besides, Martinique was an object of greaterimportance than Guadaloupe;* as being the principal place possessedby the French in those seas, and that to which the operations of thearmament were expressly limited by the instructions received from theministry. * 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 veryjuncture, above forty sail of merchant ships lay at anchor in the bay. The town was defended by a citadel regularly fortified, but at that timepoorly garrisoned, and so situated as to be accessible to the fire ofthe whole squadron; for the shore was bold, and the water sufficientto float any ship of the line. Before the resolution of proceeding toGua-daloupe was taken, the commodore had ordered the bay to be sounded;and directed the Rippon to advance, and silence a battery situated amile and a half to the northward of St. Pierre. Accordingly, captainJekyll, who commanded that ship, stood in, and anchoring close to theshore, attacked it with such impetuosity, that in a few minutes it wasabandoned. At the same time the Rippon was exposed to the fire of threeother batteries, from which she received considerable damage both inher hull and rigging; and was in great danger of running aground, whenorders were given to tow her out of danger. DESCENT ON GUADALOUPE. The whole armament having abandoned the design on Martinique, directedtheir course to Guadeloupe, another of the Caribbee islands, lying atthe distance of thirty leagues to the westward, about fifteen leaguesin length, and twelve in breadth; divided into two parts by a smallchannel, which the inhabitants cross in a ferry-boat. The westerndivision is known by the name of Basseterre; and here the metropolisstands, defended by the citadel and other fortifications. The easternpart, called Grandterre, is destitute of fresh water, which abounds inthe other division; and is defended by fort Louis, with a redoubt, whichcommands the road in the district of Gosier. The cut, or canal, thatseparates the two parts, is distinguished by the appellation of theSalt-river, having a road or bay at each end; namely, the great Culde Sac, and the small Cul de Sac. Gua-daloupe is encumbered with highmountains and precipices, to which the inhabitants used to convey theirvaluable effects in time of danger; but here are also beautiful plainswatered by brooks and rivers, which fertilize the soil, enabling it toproduce a great quantity of sugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, and cassia;besides plenty of rice, potatoes, all kinds of pulse, and fruitpeculiar to the island. The country is populous and flourishing, andthe government comprehends two smaller islands called All-Saints andDeseada, which appear at a small distance from the coast, on the easternside of the island. The British squadron having arrived at Bassaterre, it was resolved to make a general attack by sea upon the citadel, thetown, and other batteries by which it was defended. A disposition beingmade for this purpose, the large ships took their respective stationsnext morning, which was the twenty-third day of January. At nine, theLion, commanded by captain Trelawney, began the engagement againsta battery of nine guns; and the rest of the fleet continued to placethemselves abreast of the other batteries and the citadel, which mountedforty-six cannon, besides two mortars. The action in a little timebecame general, and was maintained on both sides for several hours withgreat vivacity; while the commodore, who had shifted his pendant intothe Woolwrch frigate, kept aloof without gun-shot, that he might be themore disengaged to view the state of the battle, * and give his orderswith 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 theaction while his own ship is engaged, however consonant to reason. , wedo not remember to have seen practised upon any occasion, except in oneinstance, 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 withextraordinary spirit and resolution, particularly the captains Leslie, Burnet, Gayton, Jekyll, Trelawney, and Shuldam, who, in the hottesttumult of the action, distinguished themselves equally by their courage, impetuosity, and deliberation. About five in the afternoon the fire ofthe citadel slackened. The Burford and Berwick were driven out tosea: so that captain Shuldam, in the Panther, was unsustained; and twobatteries played upon the Rippon, captain Jekyll, who, by two in theafternoon, silenced the guns of one, called the Morne-rouge; but at thesame time could not prevent his ship from running aground. The enemyperceiving her disaster, assembled in great numbers on the hill, and lined the trenches, from whence they poured in, a severe fire ofmusketry. The militia afterwards brought up a cannon of eighteen poundball, and for two hours raked her fore and aft with considerable effect:nevertheless, captain Jekyll returned the fire with equal courage andperseverance, though his people dropped on every side, until all hisgrape-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, wassoon extinguished. In the meantime, the captain threw out a signalof distress, to which no regard was paid, * till captain Leslie of theBristol, coming from sea, and observing his situation, ran in betweenthe Rippon and the battery, and engaged with such impetuosity, as madean immediate diversion in favour of captain Jekyll, whose ship remainedaground, notwithstanding all the assistance that could be given, till midnight, when she floated, and escaped from the very jaws ofdestruction. * In all probability it was not perceived by the Commodore. At seven in the evening, all the other large ships, having silenced theguns to which they had been respectively opposed, joined the rest of thefleet. The four bombs being anchored near the shore, began to ply thetown with shells and carcasses; so that in a little time the houses werein flames, the magazines of gunpowder blew up with the most terribleexplosion; and about ten o'clock the whole place blazed out in onegeneral conflagration. Next day, at two in the afternoon, the fleet cameto an anchor in the road of Bassaterre, where they found the hulls ofdivers ships which the enemy had set on fire at their approach: severalships turned out and endeavoured to escape, but were intercepted andtaken by the English squadron. At five, the troops landed withoutopposition, and took possession of the town and citadel, which theyfound entirely abandoned. They learned from a Genoese deserter, thatthe regular troops of the island consisted of five companies only, thenumber of the whole not exceeding one hundred men; and that they hadlain a train to blow up the powder magazine in the citadel: but had beenobliged to retreat with such precipitation as did not permit them toexecute this design. The train was immediately cut off, and the magazinesecured. The nails with which they had spiked up their cannon weredrilled out by the matrosses; and in the meantime the British colourswere hoisted on the parapet. Part of the troops took possession of anadvantageous post on an eminence, and part entered the town, Which stillcontinued burning with great violence. In the morning at day-break, theenemy appeared, to the number of two thousand, about four miles from thetown, as if they intended to throw up intrenchments in the neighbourhoodof a house where the governor had fixed his head-quarters, declaringhe would maintain his ground to the last extremity. To this resolution, indeed, he was encouraged by the nature of the ground, and theneighbourhood of a pass called the Dos d'Ane, a cleft through amountainous ridge, opening a communication with Capesterre, a more leveland beautiful part of the island. The ascent from Basseterre to thispass was so very steep, and the way so broken and interrupted by rocksand gullies, that there was no prospect of attacking it with success, except at the first landing, when the inhabitants were under thedominion of a panic. They very soon recovered their spirits andrecollection, assembled and fortified themselves among the hills, armed and arrayed their negroes, and affected to hold the invaders atdefiance. A flag of truce being sent, with offers of terms to theirgovernor, the chevalier d'Etriel, he rejected them in a letter, withwhich his subsequent conduct but ill agreed. [504] _[See note 3 U, atthe end of this Vol. ]_ Indeed, from the beginning his deportment hadbeen such as gave a very unfavourable impression of his character. Whenthe British squadron advanced to the attack, instead of visiting inperson the citadel and the batteries, in order to encourage and animatehis people by his exhortation and example, he retired out of the reachof danger to a distant plantation, where he remained a tame spectator ofthe destruction in which his principal town and citadel were involved. Next morning, when he ought to have exerted himself in preventing thedisembarkation of the English troops, who had a difficult shoreand violent surf to surmount, and when he might have defended theintrenchments and lines which had been made to oppose their landing, he abandoned all these advantages, and took shelter among the mountainsthat were deemed inaccessible. But, howsoever deficient the governor might have been in the article ofcourage, certain it is, the inhabitants behaved with great spirit andactivity in defence of their country. They continually harassedthe scouring detachments, by firing upon them from woods and sugarplantations, which last the English burned about their ears inresentment. Their armed negroes were very expert in this kind of bushfighting. The natives or militia appeared in considerable parties, and even encountered detached bodies of the British army. A lady ofmasculine courage, whose name was Ducharmy, having armed her slaves, they made several bold attempts upon an advanced post occupied by majorMelville, and threw up intrenchments upon a hill opposite to the stationof this officer, who had all along signalized himself by his uncommonintrepidity, vigilance, and conduct. At length the works of this viragowere stormed by a regular detachment, which, after an obstinate anddangerous conflict, entered the intrenchment sword in hand, and burnedthe houses and plantations. Some of the enemy were killed, and a greatnumber taken. Of the English detachment twelve soldiers were slain, andthirty wounded, including three subaltern officers, one of whom lost hisarm. The greatest body of the enemy always appeared at the governor'shead-quarters, where they had raised a redoubt, and thrown upintrenchments. From these a considerable detachment advanced on thesixth day of February, in the morning, towards the citadel, and fell inwith an English party, whom they engaged with great vivacity; but, aftera short though warm dispute, they were obliged to retire with someloss. Without all doubt, the inhabitants of Guadaloupe pursued the mostsensible plan that could possibly have been projected for their ownsafety. Instead of hazarding a general engagement against regulartroops, in which they could have no prospect of success, they resolvedto weary them out by maintaining a kind of petty war in separateparties, to alarm and harass the English with hard duty in a sultryclimate, where they were but indifferently supplied with provisions andrefreshments. 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 socrowded, that it was judged convenient to send five hundred sick men tothe island of Antigua, where they might be properly attended. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} FORT-LOUIS REDUCED, &c. In the meantime, the reduction of the islanders on the side ofGuadaloupe appearing more and more impracticable, the general determinedto transfer the seat of war to the eastern and more fertile part ofthe island, called Grandterre, which, as we have already observed, wasdefended by a strong battery, called Fort-Louis. In pursuance of thisdetermination, the great ships were sent round to Grandterre, in orderto reduce this fortification, which they accordingly attacked on thethirteenth day of February. After a severe cannonading, which lasted sixhours, a body of marines being landed, with the Highlanders, * they drovethe enemy from their intrenchments sword in hand; and, taking possessionof 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 toprosecute the final reduction of the island with vigour and despatch. Asone step towards this conquest, the commodore ordered two ships ofwar to cruise off the island of Saint Eustatia, and prevent the Dutchtraders from assisting the natives of Guadaloupe, whom they had hithertoconstantly supplied with provisions since they retired to the mountains. General Barrington, on the very first day of his command, ordered thetroops who were encamped to strike their tents and huts, that the enemymight imagine he intended to remain in this quarter; but in a few daysthe batteries in and about Basseterre were blown up and destroyed, the detachments recalled from the advanced posts, and the whole armyre-embarked, except one regiment, with a detachment of artillery, leftin garrison at the citadel, the command of which was bestowed on colonelDebrisay, an accomplished officer of great experience. The enemy nosooner perceived the coast clear than they descended from the hills, and endeavoured to take possession of the town, from which, howeverthey were driven by the fire of the citadel. They afterwards erected abattery, from whence they annoyed this fortification both with shotand shells, and even threatened a regular attack; but as often as theyapproached 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 withmajor Trollop, one lieutenant, two bombardiers, and several commonsoldiers, were blown up, and perished, by the explosion of a powdermagazine at the flanked angle of the south-east bastion. The confusionnecessarily produced by such an unfortunate accident, encouraged theenemy to come pouring down from the hills, in order to make theiradvantage of the disaster; but they were soon repulsed by the fireof the garrison. The general, being made acquainted with the fateof colonel Debrisay, conferred the government of the fort upon majorMelville, and sent thither the chief engineer to repair and improve thefortifications. ENGLISH FLEET SAILS TO DOMINIQUE. In the meantime, commodore Moore having received certain intelligencethat monsieur de Bompart had arrived at Martinique, with a squadronconsisting of eight sail of the line and three frigates, having on boarda whole battalion of Swiss, and some other troops, to reinforcethe garrisons of the island, he called in his cruisers, and sailedimmediately to the bay of Dominique, an island to windward, at thedistance of nine leagues from Guadaloupe, whence he could always sailto oppose any design which the French commander might form against theoperations of the British armaments. For what reason Mr. Moore did notsail immediately to the bay of Port-Royal in Martinique, where he knewthe French squadron lay at anchor, we shall not pretend to determine. Had he taken that step, M. Bompart must either have given him battle, orretired into the Carenage, behind the citadel; in which last case, the English commander might have anchored between Pigeon-Islandand Fort-Negro, and thus blocked him up effectually. By retiring toDominique, he left the sea open to French privateers, who rowed alongthe coasts of these islands, and in a very little time carried intoMartinique above fourscore merchant-ships, belonging to the subjects ofGreat Britain. These continual depredations, committed under the noseof the English commodore, irritated the planters of the English islands, some of whom are said to have circulated unfavourable reports of thatgentleman'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 gunsfor the protection of the transports, formed a plan of prosecuting thewar in Guadaloupe by detachments, and the success fully answered hisexpectation. He determined to make a descent on the division of theisland 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, fromwhom 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 garrisoninto the woods, set fire to the place, and demolished the batteryand intrenchment raised for its defence. This service being happilyperformed, the detachment was ordered to force their way to Fort-Louis, while the garrison of that castle was directed to make two sallies inorder to favour their irruption. They accordingly penetrated, withsome loss sustained in forcing a strong pass, and took possession ofa battery which the enemy had raised against the English camp, in theneighbourhood of Fort Louis. The general, having hitherto succeeded inhis designs, formed the scheme of surprising at one time the three townsof Petitbourg, Gonoyave, and St. Mary's situated on the Basseterreside of the little Cul de Sac, and committed the execution of it to thecolonels Crump and Clavering: but the night appointed for the serviceproved exceedingly dark and tempestuous; and the negro conductors wereso frightened, that they ran several of the flat-bottomed boats on theshoals that skirt this part of the island. Colonel Clavering landed withabout eighty men; but found himself so entangled with mangrove trees, and the mud so impassably deep, that he was obliged to re-embark, thoughnot before the enemy had discovered his design. This project havingmiscarried, the general detached the same commanders, whose gallantryand conduct cannot be sufficiently applauded, with a detachment offifteen hundred men, including one hundred and fifty volunteers fromAntigua, to land in a bay not far from the town of Arnonville, at thebottom of the little Cul de Sac, under the protection of his majesty'sship Woolwich. The enemy made no opposition to their landing; butretreated, as the English advanced, to a strong intrenchment thrown upbehind the river Licorne, a post of the utmost importance, as it coveredthe whole country as far as the bay of Ma-haut, where provisions andsupplies of all sorts were landed from St. Eustatia. The river wasrendered inaccessible by a morass covered with mangroves, except attwo narrow passes, which they had fortified with a redoubt, andintrenchments well pallisadoed, mounted with cannon, and defended bya numerous militia: besides, the narrow roads, through which onlythey could be attacked, were intersected with deep and wide ditches. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the English commanders determinedto hazard an assault. While four field-pieces and two howitzersmaintained a constant fire upon the top of the intrenchments, theregiment of Duroure and the Highlanders advanced under this cover, firing by platoons with the utmost regularity. The enemy, intimidatedby their cool and resolute behaviour, began to abandon the firstintrenchment on the left. Then the Highlanders, drawing their swords, and sustained by part of the regiment, threw themselves in with theirusual impetuosity, and followed the fugitives pell-mell into theredoubt, of which they took possession: but they still maintained theirground within the intrenchments on the right, from whence they annoyedthe assailants both with musquetry and cannon. In half an hour, anoccasional bridge being made, the English troops passed the river inorder to attack this post, which the enemy abandoned with precipitation;notwithstanding all their haste, however, about seventy were takenprisoners, and among those some of the most considerable inhabitants ofthe island. This advantage cost the English two officers and thirteenmen killed, and above fifty wounded. The roads being mended for the passage of the artillery, the troopsadvanced towards Petitbourg, harassed in their march by flying bodies ofthe enemy, and arrived late at night on the banks of the riverLizarde, the only ford of which the French had fortified with strongintrenchments, protected by a battery of four cannon erected on a risingground in the rear. Colonel Clavering, while he amused them all nightat this place by a constant fire into their lines, transported in twocanoes, which he launched about a mile and a half farther down theriver, a sufficient number of troops, by day-break, to attack them onthe other side in flank, while he advanced in front at the head of hislittle army; but they did not think proper to sustain the assault. Onthe contrary, they no sooner perceived his intention, than they forsookthe post, and fled without order. Colonel Clavering, having passed theriver, pursued them to Petit bourg, which they had also fortified;and here he found captain Uvedale, of the Grenada bomb-ketch, throwingshells into the redoubt. He forthwith sent detachments to occupy theneighbouring heights; a circumstance which the enemy no sooner observed, than they deserted the place, and retired with great expedition. On thefifteenth day of April, captain Steel destroyed a battery at Gonoyave, astrong post, which, though it might have been defended against anarmy, the French abandoned at his approach, after having made a hastydischarge of their artillery. At the same time colonel Crump wasdetached with seven hundred men to the bay of Mahaut, where he burnedthe town and batteries which he found abandoned, together with a vastquantity 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, thrownup intrenchments, and raised barricadoes; but they had left their rearunguarded. The English commander immediately detached colonel Barlowwith a body of troops to attack them from that quarter, while he himselfadvanced against the front of their intrenchment. They stood but onecannon-shot, and then fled to their lines and batteries at St. Mary's, the flanks of which were covered with woods and precipices. Whenthey perceived the English troops endeavouring to surmount thesedifficulties, and turn their lines, they quitted them in order to opposethe design, and were immediately attacked with such vivacity, in theface of a severe fire of musketry and cannon, that they abandoned theirground, and fled in the utmost confusion, leaving the field and alltheir artillery to the victors, who took up their quarters for thatnight at St. Mary's. Next day they entered the charming country ofCapesterre, where eight hundred and seventy negroes belonging to oneplanter surrendered at discretion. Here colonel Clavering was metby messieurs de Clainvilliers and Duqueruy, deputed by the principalinhabitants of the island to know what capitulation would be granted. These he conducted to Petitbourg, where they were presented to generalBarrington; who, considering the absence of the fleet, the small numberof his forces daily diminishing, the difficulty of the country, and thepossibility of the enemy's being reinforced from Martinique, wisely tookthe advantage of the present panic, and settled terms of capitulationwithout delay. The sanity of this resolution soon appeared. Theinhabitants had just signed the agreement, when a messenger arrived intheir camp with information that M. De Beauharnois, the general ofthe French islands, had landed at St. Anne's, to the windward, with areinforcement from Martinique, consisting of six hundred regulars fromEurope, about fifteen hundred volunteers, besides a great number of themilitia drafted from the companies of Martinique, with a great supply ofarms and ammunition, mortars and artillery, under convoy of the squadroncommanded by M. De Bompart, who no sooner learned that the capitulationwas signed, than he re-embarked the troops and stores with all possibleexpedition, and returned to Martinique. Thus we see the conquest of thisimportant island, which is said to produce a greater quantity of sugarthan is made in any of the English plantations, was as much owing toaccident as to the valour of the troops and the conduct of the general;for, had the reinforcement arrived an hour sooner than it actuallylanded, in all probability the English would have found it impracticableto finish the reduction of Guadaloupe. Be that as it may, the nativescertainly deserved great commendation, not only for persevering sogallantly in defence of their country, but also for their fortitude inbearing every species of distress. They now quitted the Dos d'Ane, andall their other posts, and returned to their respective habitations. The town of Basseterre being reduced to a heap of ashes, the inhabitantsbegan to clear away the rubbish, and erect occasional sheds, where theyresumed their several occupations with that good humour so peculiar tothe French nation; and general Barrington humanely indulged them withall the assistance in his power. ISLAND OF MARIGALANTE TAKEN. The small islands of Deseada, Los Santos, and Petit-terre, werecomprised in the capitulation of Guadaloupe. The inhabitants ofMarigalante, which lies about three leagues to the south-east ofGrandterre, extending twenty miles in length, fifteen in breadth, flatand fertile, but poorly watered and ill fortified, having refused tosubmit when summoned by the squadron to surrender, general Barringtonresolved to reduce them by force. He embarked a body of troops on boardof transports, which sailed thither under convoy of three ships of warand two bomb vessels from Prince Rupert's Bay, and at their appearancethe islanders submitting, received an English garrison. Before thisperiod, commodore Moore having received intelligence that M. De Bomparthad sailed from Martinique, with a design to land a reinforcement onGuadaloupe, and that his squadron was seen seven leagues to windward ofMarigalante, 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 hadreturned to Martinique; upon which information he retired quietly tohis former station in the bay of Dominique, the people of which were soinsolent as to affirm, in derision, that the English squadron sailed onone side of the island, and the French upon the other, that theymight be sure of not meeting; but this, without doubt, was an impudentcalumny. * * 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 thetroops with the transports to England, about the beginning of July. Inconsequence of this intimation, Mr. Moore sailed with his squadron toBasseterre road, where he was next day joined by two ships of the linefrom England, which rendered him greatly superior in strength to thecommander of the French squadron, who had retired to the islandof Grenada, lying about eight leagues from Guadaloupe. Here he wasdiscovered by the ship Rippon, whose captain returned immediately toBasseterre, to make the commodore acquainted with this circumstance: butbefore he could weigh anchor, a frigate arrived with information, thatBompart had quitted Grenada, and was supposed to have directed hiscourse to Hispaniola. The commodore immediately despatched the LudlowCastle with this intelligence to admiral Coats, who commanded thesquadron at Jamaica. General Barrington having made a tour of theisland, in order to visit and repair such fortifications as he thoughtnecessary to be maintained, and the affairs relating to the inhabitantsbeing entirely settled, he sent the Highlanders, with a body of drafts, to North America, under convoy: he garrisoned the principal strengthof the island, and left the chief command to colonel Crump, who had forsome time acted as brigadier-general; colonel Clavering having been senthome to England with the account of the capitulation. Colonel Melville, who had signalized himself in a remarkable manner ever since their firstlanding, continued governor of the citadel at Basseterre; and thecommand at Grandterre was conferred on colonel Delgarno. Three completeregiments were alloted as a sufficient guard for the whole island, andthe other three were embarked for England. General Barrington himselfwent on board the Roebuck in the latter end of June, and took hisdeparture for England. About a month after, the transports, under convoyof captain Hughes, with a small squadron, set sail for Great Britain;while commodore Moore, with his large fleet, directed his course toAntigua. TREATY WITH THE INDIANS. While this armament had been employed in the conquest of Guadaloupe, North America exhibited still more sanguinary scenes of war anddevastation; which, in order properly to introduce, it will be necessaryto explain the steps that were taken on this continent, previous to thiscampaign. In October of the preceding year, a grand assembly was heldat Easton, about ninety miles from Philadelphia; and there, peace wasestablished, by a formal treaty, between Great Britain and the severalnations of Indians inhabiting the country between the Apalachianmountains and the lakes. The Twightwees, however, settled between theriver Ohio and the lakes, did not assist at this treaty, thoughsome steps had been taken towards an alliance with that people. Theconferences were managed by the governors of Pennsylvania and newJersey, accompanied by sir William Johnston's deputy for Indianaffairs, four members of the council of Pennsylvania, six members of theassembly, two agents for the province of New Jersey, a great number ofplanters and citizens of Philadelphia, chiefly Quakers. They were met bythe 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; thewhole number, including their women and children, amounting to fivehundred. Some of the Six Nations, thinking themselves aggrieved bythe British colonists, who had imprisoned certain individuals of theirnation, and had killed a few, and treated others with contempt, did notfail to express their resentment, which had been artfully fomented bythe French emissaries, even into an open rapture. The Delewares andMinisinks, in particular, complained that the English had encroachedupon their lands, and on that account were provoked to hostilities:but their chief, Teedyuscung, had made overtures of peace; and inthe character of ambassador from all the Ten Nations, had been veryinstrumental in forming this assembly. The chiefs of the Six Nations, though very well disposed to peace, took umbrage at the importanceassumed by one of the Delawares, over whom, as their descendants, theyexercise a kind of parental authority; and on this occasion they madeno scruple to disclose their dissatisfaction. The business, therefore, ofthe English governors at this congress, was to ascertain the limits ofthe lands in dispute, reconcile the Six Nations with their nephews theDelawares, remove every cause of misunderstanding between the Englishand the Indians, detach these savages entirely from the French interest, establish a firm peace, and induce them to exert their influence inpersuading 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, inmatters of importance to the community, by the general maxims of reasonand 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 metaphorsand similies, which invest it with an air of dignity and heighten theexpression. They manage their conferences by means of wampum, a kind ofbead formed of a hard shell, either in single strings, or sewed inbroad belts of different dimensions, according to the importance of thesubject. Every proposition is offered, every answer made, every promisecorroborated, every declaration attested, and every treaty confirmed, byproducing and interchanging these belts of wampum. The conferences werecontinued from the eighth to the twenty-sixth day of October, whenevery article was settled to the mutual satisfaction of all parties. TheIndian deputies were gratified with a valuable present, consistingof 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 drankthemselves into a state of brutal intoxication, and next day returned inpeace to their respective places of habitation. PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN. This treaty with the Indians, who had been debauched from the interestof Great Britain, auspiciously paved the way for those operations whichhad been projected against the French settlements in Canada. Insteadof employing the whole strength of the British arms in North Americaagainst one object, the ministry proposed to divide the forces, and makeimpressions on three different parts at once, that the enemy might bedivided, distracted, and weakened, and the conquest of Canada completedin one campaign. That the success might be the more certain, thedifferent expeditions were planned in such a manner as to co-operatewith each other, and even join occasionally; so practicable was itthought for them to maintain such a correspondence as would admit ofa junction of this nature. The project of this campaign imported, thatgeneral Wolfe, who had distinguished himself so eminently in the siegeof Louis-bourg, should proceed up the river St. Laurence, as soon as thenavigation should be clear of ice, with a body of eight thousand men, and a considerable squadron of ships from England, to undertake thesiege of Quebec, the capital of Canada: that general Amherst, whocommanded in chief, should, with another army of regular troops andprovincials, amounting to twelve thousand men, reduce Ticonderoga andCrown Point, cross the lake Champlain, and, proceeding along the riverRichelieu to the banks of the river St. Laurence, join general Wolfe inthe siege of Quebec: that brigadier-general Prideaux, with a third body, reinforced with a considerable number of friendly Indians, assembledby the influence and under the command of sir William Johnston, shouldinvest the French fort erected at the fall or cataract of Niagara, whichwas certainly the most important post of all French America, as it ina manner commanded all the interior parts of that vast continent. Itoverawed the whole country of the Six Nations, who were cajoled into atame acquiescence in its being built on their territory: it secured allthe inland trade, the navigation of the great lakes, the communicationbetween Canada and Louisiana, and opened a passage for inroads intothe colonies of Great Britain. It was proposed that the British forces, having reduced Niagara, should be embarked on the lake Ontario, falldown the river St. Laurence, besiege and take Montreal, and then join orco-operate with Amherst's army. Besides these larger armaments, colonelStanwix commanded a smaller detachment for reducing smaller forts, andscouring the banks of the lake Ontario. How far this project wasfounded on reason and military knowledge may be judged by the followingparticulars, of which the projectors were not ignorant. The navigationof the river St. Laurence is dangerous and uncertain. The city ofQuebec was remarkably strong from situation, and fortification, from thebravery of the inhabitants, and the number of the garrison. Monsieurde Montcalm, an officer of great courage and activity, kept the fieldbetween Montreal and Quebec, with a body of eight or ten thousand men, consisting of regular troops and disciplined militia, reinforced bya considerable number of armed Indians; and another body of reservehovered in the neighbourhood of Montreal, which was the residence ofmonsieur de Vaudreuil, governor-general of Canada. The garrison ofNiagara consisted of above six hundred men; the march to it was tediousand embarrassed; and monsieur de Levi scoured the country with a flyingdetachment, well acquainted with all the woods and passes. With respectto general Amherst's share of the plan, the forts of Ticonderogaand Crown-Point stood in his way. The enemy were masters of the lakeChamplain, and possessed the strong fort of Chambly, by the fall of theriver Richelieu, which defended the pass to the river St. Laurence. Evenhad these obstacles been removed, it was hardly possible that he andMr. Wolfe should arrive at Quebec in the same instant of time. The firstthat reached it, far from being in condition to undertake the siege ofQuebec, would have run the risk of being engaged and defeated by thecovering army; in which case the other body must have been exposed tothe most imminent hazard of destruction, in the midst of an enemy'scountry, 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 Niagarawould in all probability have fallen an easy sacrifice, unless theyhad been so fortunate as to receive intelligence in time enough toaccomplish their retreat before they could be intercepted. The designwould, we apprehend, have been more justifiable, or at least not soliable to objection, had Mr. Amherst left two or three regiments toprotect the frontiers of New-York, and, joining Mr. Wolfe with the rest, sailed by the river St. Laurence to besiege Quebec. Even in that casethe whole number of his troops would not have been sufficient, accordingto the practice of war, to invest the place, and cope with the coveringenemy. Nevertheless, had the enterprise succeeded, Montcalm must eitherhave hazarded an engagement against great odds, or retired farther intothe country; then the route would have been open by land and water toMontreal, which could have made little resistance. The two principaltowns being taken, and the navigation of the river St. Laurence blockedup, all the dependent forts must have surrendered at discretion, except Niagara, which there was a bare possibility of supplying at anincredible trouble and expense, from the distant Mississippi; but eventhen, it might have been besieged in form, and easily reduced. Whateverdefects there might have been in the plan, the execution, though itmiscarried in some essential points, was attended with surprisingsuccess. The same good fortune that prospered the British arms soremarkably in the conquest of Guadaloupe, seemed to interpose still moreastonishingly in their favour at Quebec, the siege of which we shallrecord in its proper place. At present, we must attend the operationsof general Amherst, whose separate army was first in motion, though suchimpediments were thrown in his way as greatly retarded the progressof his operations; impediments said to have arisen from the pride, insolence, and obstinacy of certain individuals, who possessed greatinfluence in that part of the world, and employed it all to thwart theservice of their country. The summer was already far advanced beforegeneral Amherst could pass lake George with his forces, although theymet with no opposition, and reached the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, where, in the preceding year, the British troops had sustained such aterrible disaster. At first the enemy seemed determined to defend thisfortress: but perceiving the English commander resolute, cautious, andwell prepared for undertaking the siege; having, moreover, orders toretreat from place to place, towards the centre of operations at Quebec, rather than run the least risk of being made prisoners of war, they, inthe night of July the twenty-seventh, abandoned the post, after havingin some measure dismantled the fortifications; and retired to Crown-Point, a fort situated on the verge of lake Champlain, General Amhersthaving taken possession of this important post, which effectuallycovered the frontiers of New-York, and secured to himself a safe retreatin case of necessity, ordered the works to be repaired, and allotted astrong garrison for its defence. This acquisition, however, was not madewithout the loss of a brave accomplished young officer, colonelBoger Townshend, who, in reconnoitering the fort, was killed with acannon-shot, and fell near the same spot which, in the former year, hadbeen enriched with the blood of the gallant lord Howe, whom he stronglyresembled in the circumstances of birth, age, qualifications andcharacter. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} GENERAL AMHERST EMBARKS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN. While the general superintended the repairs of Ticonderoga, and themen were employed in preparing batteaux and other vessels, his scoutingparties hovered in the neighbourhood of Crown-Point, in order to watchthe motions of the enemy. From one of these detachments he receivedintelligence, on the first day of August, that the enemy had retiredfrom Crown-Point. He immediately detached a body of rangers before himto take possession of the place: then he embarked with the rest of thearmy, and on the fourth day of the month landed at the fort, wherethe troops were immediately encamped. His next care was to lay thefoundation of a new fort, to be maintained for the further security ofthe British dominions in that part of the country; and particularly forpreventing the inroads of scalping parties, by whom the plantations hadbeen dreadfully infested. Here information was received that theenemy had retired to the Isle aux Noix, at the other end of the lakeChamplain, five leagues on the hither side of St. John's; that theirforce encamped in that place, under the command of M. De Burlemaque, consisted of three battalions and five piquets of regular troops, withCanadians and marines, amounting in the whole to three thousand fivehundred effective men, provided with a numerous artillery; and that thelake was occupied by four large vessels mounted with cannon, and mannedwith piquets of different regiments, under the command and direction ofM. Le Bras, a captain in the French navy, assisted by M. De Rigal, andother sea-officers. In consequence of this intimation, general Amherst, who had for some time employed captain Loring to superintend thebuilding of vessels at Ticonderoga, being resolved to have thesuperiority on the lake, directed the captain to build with all possibleexpedition a sloop of sixteen guns, and a radeau eighty-four feet inlength, capable of carrying six large cannon. These, together with abrigantine, being finished, victualled, and manned by the eleventhday of October, the general embarked with the whole of the troopsin batteaux, in order to attack the enemy; but next day, the weathergrowing tempestuous, was obliged to take shelter in a bay on the westernshore, where the men were landed for refreshment. In the meantime, captain Loring, with his small squadron, sailing down the lake, gavechase 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 owncrew, who escaped; one, however, was repaired and brought away bycaptain Loring, so that now the French had but one schooner remaining. General Amherst, after having been some days wind-bound, re-embarked hisforces, and proceeded down the lake; but the storm, which had abated, beginning to blow with redoubled fury, so as to swell the wavesmountains high, the season for action being elapsed, and wintersetting in with the most rigorous severity, he saw the impossibility ofaccomplishing his design, and was obliged to desist. Returning to thesame bay where he had been sheltered, he landed the troops, and beganhis march for Crown-Point, where he arrived on the twenty-first day ofOctober. Having secured a superiority on the lake, he now employed allhis attention in rearing the new fortress at Crown-Point, togetherwith three small outforts for its better defence; in opening roads ofcommunication with Ticonderoga, and the governments of Massachusetts andNew Hampshire; and in making dispositions for the winter-quarters of histroops, 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 theexchange of prisoners, that came from the French general Montcalm, whogave him to understand that Mr. Wolfe had landed in the neighbourhood ofQuebec, and seemed determined to undertake the siege of that city; thathe had honoured him (the French general) with several notes, sometimescouched in a soothing strain, sometimes filled with threats; that theFrench army intended to give him battle, and a few days would determinethe fate of Quebec. Though Mr. Amherst was ignorant of the proceedingsof the Quebec squadron, his communication continued open with the forceswhich undertook the siege of Niagara; and he received an account oftheir success before he had quitted the lines of Ticonderoga. GeneralPrideaux, with his body of troops, reinforced by the Indian auxiliariesunder sir William Johnston, advanced to the cataract of Niagara, withoutbeing exposed to the least inconvenience on his march; and investing theFrench fortress about the middle of July, carried on his approaches withgreat vigour till the twentieth day of that month, when, visiting thetrenches, he was unfortunately slain by the bursting of a cohorn. Mr. Amherst was no sooner informed of his disaster, than he detachedbrigadier-general Gage from Ticonderoga, to assume the command of thatarmy. In the meantime it devolved on sir William Johnston, who happilyprosecuted the plan of his predecessor with all the success that couldhave been desired. The enemy, alarmed with the apprehension of losinga place of such importance, resolved to exert their endeavours for itsrelief. They assembled a body of regular troops, amounting to twelvehundred men, drawn from Detroit, Venango, and Presque Isle; and these, with a number of Indian auxiliaries, were detached under the command ofmonsieur 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 heordered the light infantry and picquets to post themselves to the left, on the road leading from Niagara Falls to the fortress; thesewere reinforced in the morning with the grenadiers and part of theforty-sixth regiment, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Massey; andanother regiment, under lieutenant-colonel Farquhar, was posted at thetail of the works, in order to support the guard of the trenches. Abouteight in the morning, the enemy being in sight, the Indians in theEnglish army advanced to speak with their countrymen who served underthe French banners; but this conference was declined by the enemy. Then the French Indians having uttered the horrible scream called thewar-whoop, which by this time had lost its effect among the Britishforces, the enemy began the action with impetuosity; but they met withsuch a hot reception in front, while the Indian auxiliaries fell upontheir flanks, that in a little more than half an hour their whole armywas routed, their general, with all his officers, taken, and thepursuit continued through the woods for several miles with considerableslaughter. This battle, which happened on the twenty-fourth day ofJuly, having been fought in sight of the French garrison at Niagara, sir William Johnston sent major Harvey with a trumpet to the commandingofficer, to present him with a list of seventeen officers taken in theengagement, 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 visitthe prisoners, agreed to treat, and in a few hours the capitulation wasratified. The garrison, consisting of six hundred and seven effectivemen, marched out with the honours of war, in order to be embarked invessels on the lake, and conveyed in the most expeditious mannerto New-York. They laid down their arms when they embarked; but werepermitted to keep their baggage, and by proper escort protected fromthe savage insolence and rapacity of the Indians. All the women wereconducted, at their own request, to Montreal; and the sick and wounded, who could not bear the fatigue of travelling, were treated withhumanity. This was the second complete victory obtained on the continentof North America, in the course of the same war, by sir WilliamJohnston, who, without the help of a military education, succeeded sosignally in the field by dint of innate courage and natural sagacity. What remarkably characterizes these battles, is the circumstance of hishaving taken, in both, the commanders of the enemy. Indeed, the war ingeneral may be distinguished by the singular success of this gentlemanand the celebrated lord Clive, two self-taught generals; who, by aseries of shining actions, have demonstrated that uninstructed geniuscan, by its own internal light and efficacy, rival, if not eclipse, theacquired art of discipline and experience. Sir William Johnston was notmore serviceable to his country by his valour and conduct in the field, than by the influence and authority which his justice, benevolence, andintegrity, had acquired among the Indian tribes of the Six Nations, whomhe not only assembled at Niagara to the number of eleven hundred, butalso 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, wereexploits much more easily achieved than the conquest of Quebec, thegreat object to which all these operations were subordinate. Of thatwe now come to give the detail fraught with singular adventures andsurprising events; in the course of which a noble spirit of enterprisewas displayed, and the scenes of war were exhibited in all the varietyof desolation. It was about the middle of February that a considerablesquadron sailed from England for Cape Breton, under the command ofadmirals Saunders and Holmes, two gentlemen of worth and probity, whohad on several occasions signalised their courage and conduct in theservice of their country. By the twenty-first day of April they were insight of Louisbourg; but the harbour was blocked up with ice in such amanner, that they were obliged to bear away for Halifax in Nova-Scotia. From hence rear-admiral Durell was detached with a small squadron tosail up the river St. Laurence as far as the Isle de Coudres, inorder to intercept any supplies from France intended for Quebec: heaccordingly took two store-ships; but he was anticipated by seventeensail, laden with provision, stores, and some recruits, under convoyof three frigates, which had already reached the capital of Canada. Meanwhile admiral Saunders arrived at Louisbourg; and the troops beingembarked, to the number of eight thousand, proceeded up the riverwithout further delay. The operations by land were intrusted to theconduct of major-general James Wolfe, whose talents had shone with suchsuperior lustre at the siege of Louisbourg; and his subordinates incommand were the brigadiers Monckton, Townshend, and Murray; all fourin the flower of their age, who had studied the milifeiry art withequal eagerness and proficiency, and though young in years, were old inexperience. The first was a soldier by descent, the son of major-generalWolfe, a veteran officer of acknowledged capacity: the other threeresembled each other, not only in years, qualifications, and station, but also in family rank, all three being the sons of noblemen. Thesituation of brigadier Townshend was singular; he had served abroad inthe last war with reputation, and resigned his commission duringthe peace, in disdain at some hard usage he had sustained from hissuperiors. That his military talents, however, might not be lost tohis country, he exercised them with equal spirit and perseverancein projecting and promoting the plan of a national militia. Whenthe command and direction of the army devolved to a new leader, sopredominant in his breast was the spirit of patriotism and the love ofglory, that though heir-apparent to a British peerage, possessed ofa very affluent fortune, remarkably dear to his acquaintance, andsolicited 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 perilsof a disagreeable voyage, the rigours of a severe climate, andthe hazard of a campaign peculiarly fraught with toil, danger, anddifficulty. 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 ofthose difficulties and perils with which it had been reported that thenavigation of it was attended. Their good fortune in this particular, indeed, was owing to some excellent charts of the river, which had beenfound in vessels taken from the enemy. About the latter end of June theland-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, andplantations. General Wolfe no sooner landed on the island of Orleans, than he distributed a manifesto among the French colonists, giving themto understand that the king his master, justly exasperated against theFrench monarch, had equipped a considerable armament in order to humblehis pride, and was determined to reduce the most considerable Frenchsettlements in America. He declared it was not against the industriouspeasants, their wives and children, nor against the ministers ofreligion, that he intended to make war; on the contrary, he lamentedthe misfortunes to which they must be exposed by the quarrel; he offeredthem his protection; and promised to maintain them in their temporalpossessions, as well as in the free exercise of their religion, providedthey would remain quiet, and take no part in the difference between thetwo crowns. He observed, that the English were masters of the river St. Laurence, so as to intercept all succours from Europe; and had besides apowerful army on the continent, under the command of general Amherst. Heaffirmed, that the resolution they ought to take was neither difficultnor doubtful; as the utmost exertion of their valour would be useless, and serve only to deprive them of the advantages which they might reapfrom their neutrality. He reminded them that the cruelties exercised bythe French upon the subjects of Great Britain in America, would excusethe most severe reprisals; but Britons were too generous to follow suchbarbarous examples. He again offered to the Canadians the sweets ofpeace, amidst the horrors of war; and left it to themselves to determinetheir own fate by their own conduct. He expressed his hope that theworld would do him justice, should they oblige him, by rejecting thesefavourable terms, to adopt violent measures. He expatiated upon thestrength and power, as well as upon the generosity, of Great Britain, inthus stretching out the hand of humanity; a hand ready to assist them onall occasions, even when France was by her weakness compelled to abandonthem in the most critical conjuncture. This declaration produced noimmediate effect; nor indeed did the Canadians depend on the sincerityand promised faith of a nation, whom their priests had industriouslyrepresented as the most savage and cruel enemy on earth. Possessed ofthese notions, which prevailed even among the better sort, they chose toabandon their habitations, and expose themselves and families to certainruin, in provoking the English by the most cruel hostilities, ratherthan be quiet, and confide in the general's promise of protection. Instead of pursuing this prudent plan of conduct, they joined thescalping parties * of Indians who skulked among the woods; and fallingupon the English stragglers by surprise, butchered them with the mostinhuman 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 perfidiouscruelty, sent a letter to the French general, representing that suchenormities were contrary to the rules of war observed among civilizednations, dishonourable to the service of France, and disgraceful tohuman nature; he therefore desired that the French colonists and Indiansmight be restrained within due bounds, otherwise he would burn theirvillages, desolate their plantations, and retaliate upon the persons ofhis prisoners whatever cruelties should, in the sequel, be committed onthe soldiers or subjects of his master. In all probability the Frenchgeneral's authority was not sufficient to bridle the ferocity ofthe savages, who continued to scalp and murder, with the most brutalappetite for blood and revenge, so that Mr. Wolfe, in order tointimidate the enemy into a cessation of these outrages, found itnecessary to connive at some irregularities in the way of retaliation. M. De Montcalm, who commanded the French troops, though superior innumber to the invaders, very wisely resolved to depend upon the naturalstrength of the country, which appeared almost insurmountable, and hadcarefully taken all his precautions of defence. The city of Quebec wastolerably fortified, secured with a numerous garrison, and plentifullysupplied with provisions and ammunition. Montcalm had reinforced thetroops of the colony with five regular battalions formed of the bestof the inhabitants, completely disciplined all the Canadians of theneighbourhood 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 theFalls of Montmorenci, every accessible part being deeply intrenched. Toundertake the siege of Quebec against such odds and advantages, wasnot only a deviation from the established maxims of war, but a rashenterprise, seemingly urged in diametrical opposition to the dictates ofcommon sense. Mr. Wolfe was well acquainted with all the difficulties ofthe undertaking; but he knew at the same time he should always haveit in his power to retreat, in case of emergency, while the Britishsquadron maintained its station in the river; he was not without hopeof being joined by general Amherst; and he was stimulated by an appetitefor glory, which the prospect of accumulated dangers could not allay. Understanding that there was a body of the enemy posted, with cannon, atthe Point of Levi, on the south shore, opposite the city of Quebec, he detached against them brigadier Monckton, at the head of fourbattalions, who passed the river at night; and next morning, havingskirmished with some of the enemy's irregulars, obliged them to retirefrom that post, which the English immediately occupied. At the same timecolonel Carlton, with another detachment, took possession of the westernpoint of the island of Orleans: and both these posts were fortified, inorder to anticipate the enemy; who, had they kept possession of either, might have rendered it impossible for any ship to lie at anchor withintwo miles of Quebec. Besides, the Point of Levi was within cannonshot of the city, against which a battery of mortars and artillery wasimmediately erected. Montcalm, foreseeing the effect of this manoeuvre, detached a body of sixteen hundred men across the river, to attack anddestroy the works before they were completed; but the detachment fellinto disorder, fired upon each other, and retired in confusion. Thebattery being finished without further interruption, the cannons andmortars began to play with such success, that in a little time the uppertown was considerably damaged, and the lower town reduced to a heap ofrubbish. 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. Anumber of boats and small craft foundered, and divers large ships losttheir anchors. The enemy resolving to take advantage of the confusionwhich they imagined this disaster must have produced, prepared sevenfire ships; and at midnight sent them down from Quebec among thetransports, which lay so thick as to cover the whole surface of theriver. The scheme, though well contrived, and seasonably executed, wasentirely defeated by the deliberation of the British admiral, and thedexterity of his mariners, who resolutely boarded the fire ships, andtowed them fast aground, where they lay burning to the water's edge, without having done the least prejudice to the English squadron. Onthe very same day of the succeeding month they sent down a raft offire-ships, or radeaux, which were likewise consumed without producingany effect. GENERAL WOLFE ENCAMPS NEAR THE FALLS OF THE RIVER MONTMORENCI. The works for the security of the hospital and the stores, on the islandof Orleans, being finished, the British forces crossed the north channelin boats; and, landing under cover of two sloops, encamped on the sideof the river Montmorenci, which divided them from the left of theenemy. Next morning a company of rangers, posted in a wood to coversome workmen, were attacked by the French Indians, and totally defeated;however, the nearest troops advancing, repulsed the Indians in theirturn with considerable loss. The reasons that induced general Wolfeto choose this situation by the Falls of Montmorenci, in which he wasdivided from Quebec by this and another river called St. Charles, heexplained in a letter to the secretary of state. He observed, that theground which he had chosen was high, and in some measure commanded theopposite side on which the enemy was posted: that there was a ford belowthe Falls passable in every tide for some hours, at the latter part ofthe ebb and beginning of the flood; and he hoped that means might befound of passing the river higher up, so as to fight the marquisde Montcalm upon less disadvantageous terms than those of directlyattacking his intrenchments. Accordingly, in reconnoitring the riverMontmorenci, a ford was discovered about three miles above; but theopposite banks, which were naturally steep and covered with woods, the enemy had intrenched in such a manner, as to render it almostinaccessible. The escort was twice attacked by the Indians, who were asoften repulsed; but these rencounters cost the English about forty menkilled and wounded, including some officers. Some shrewd objectionsmight be started to the general's choice of ground on this occasion. He could not act at all without passing the river Montmorenci at avery great disadvantage, and attacking an enemy superior to himself innumber, secured by redoubts and intrenchments. Had he even, by dint ofextraordinary valour, driven them from these strong posts, the successmust have cost him a great number of officers and men: and the enemymight have retreated behind the river St. Charles, which he also musthave passed under the same disadvantages, before he could begin hisoperations against the city of Quebec. Had his good fortune enabled himto surmount all these difficulties, and after all to defeat the enemy ina pitched battle, the garrison of Quebec might have been reinforcedby the wreck of their army; and he could not, with any probability ofsuccess, have undertaken the siege of an extensive fortified place, which he had not troops sufficient to invest, and whose garrison wouldhave been nearly equal in number to the sum total of the troops hecommanded. At any rate, the chance of a fair engagement in the openfield was what he had little reason to expect in that situation, fromthe known experience, and the apparent conduct, of the French general. These objections appeared so obvious and important, that general Wolfewould not determine to risk an attack, until he had surveyed the upperpart of the river St. Laurence, in hopes of finding some place morefavourable for a descent. On the eighteenth day of July, the admiral, at his request, sent twoships of war, two armed sloops, and some transports with troops onboard, up the river; and they passed the city of Quebec, withouthaving sustained any damage. The general, being on board of this littlearmament, carefully observed the banks on the side of the enemy, whichwere extremely difficult from the nature of the ground; and thesedifficulties were redoubled by the foresight and precaution of theFrench commander. Though a descent seemed impracticable between the cityand Cape Rouge, where it was intended, general Wolfe, in order to dividethe enemy's force, and procure intelligence, ordered a detachment, underthe command of colonel Carleton, to land higher up, at the Pointau Tremble, to which place he was informed a great number of theinhabitants of Quebec had retired with their most valuable effects. Thisservice was performed with little loss; and some prisoners were broughtaway, but no magazine was discovered. The general, thus disappointed inhis expectation, returned to Montmorenci, where brigadier Townshend had, by maintaining a superior fire across that river, prevented the enemyfrom 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, seeminglysituated without gunshot of the intrenchment on the hill. Should thisfortification be supported by the enemy, he foresaw that he should beable to bring on a general engagement: on the contrary, should theyremain tame spectators of its reduction, he could afterwards examinetheir situation at leisure, and determine the place at which they couldbe most easily attacked. Preparations were accordingly made for stormingthe redoubt. On the last day of July, in the forenoon, part of brigadierMonckton's brigade was embarked in the boats of the fleet, to betransported from the Point of Levi. The two brigades, commanded by thebrigadiers Townshend and Murray, were drawn out in order to pass theford when it should be necessary. To facilitate their passage, theadmiral had stationed the Centurion ship of war in the channel, tocheck the fire of the lower battery, by which the ford was commanded: anumerous train of artillery was placed upon the eminence, to batter andenfilade the left of the enemy's intrenchment; and two flat-bottomedarmed vessels, prepared for the purpose, were run aground near theredoubt, to favour the descent of the forces. The manifest confusionproduced among the French by these previous measures, and by the fireof the Centurion, which was well-directed and sustained, determinedMr. Wolfe to storm this intrenchment without further delay. Orders wereissued that the three brigadiers should put their troops in motion at acertain 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 offa considerable distance from the shore; and this accident occasioned adisorderly which so much time was lost, that the general was obliged tostop the march of brigadier Townshend's corps, which he perceived to bein motion. In the meantime, the boats were floated, and ranged in properorder, though exposed to a severe fire of shot and shells; and thegeneral in person sounding the shore, pointed out the place where thetroops might disembark with the least difficulty. Thirteen companies ofGrenadiers, and two hundred men of the second American battalion, werethe first who landed. They had received orders to form in four distinctbodies, and begin the attack, supported by the corps of brigadierMonckton, as soon as the other troops should have passed the ford, andbe near enough to contribute to their assistance. These instructions, however, were entirely neglected. Before Mr. Monckton had landed, andwhile 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 utmostdisorder. Their courage served only to increase their misfortune. Thefirst fire they received did such execution among them, that they wereobliged to shelter themselves under the redoubt which the French hadabandoned at their approach. In this uncomfortable situation theyremained some time, unable to form under so hot a fire, notwithstandingthe utmost efforts of many gallant officers, who lavishly exposed, andeven 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 theirefforts abortive, ordered them to retreat, and form behind Monckton'sbrigade, which was by this time landed, and drawn up on the beach inorder. They accordingly retired in confusion, leaving a considerablenumber lying on the field, to the barbarity of the Indian savages, whomassacred the living, and scalped the dead, even in the sight of theirindignant companions. This unhappy accident occasioned a new delay, andthe day was already far advanced. The wind began to blow with uncommonviolence, and the tide to make; so that in case of a second repulse, theretreat of brigadier Townshend might have been rendered hazardous anduncertain; Mr. Wolfe, therefore, thought proper to desist, and returnedwithout further molestation to the other side of the river Montmorenci. The admiral ordered the two vessels which were aground to be seton fire, that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. Theadvantages that favoured an attack in this part, consisted of thefollowing particulars:--All the artillery could be used with goodeffect; 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 ofthe tide. These, however, seemed to be over-balanced by otherconsiderations. The enemy were posted on a commanding eminence; thebeach was covered with deep mud, slippery, and broken into holes andgullies; the hill was steep, and in some places impracticable; theenemy were numerous, and poured in a very severe fire from theirintrenchments. Had the attack succeeded, the loss of the English musthave been very heavy, and that of the French inconsiderable, because theneighbouring woods afforded them immediate shelter. Finally, theriver St. Charles still remained to be passed before the town could beinvested. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BRIGADIER MURRAY DETACHED UP THE RIVER. Immediately after this mortifying check, in which above five hundredmen, and many brave officers, were lost, the general detached brigadierMurray, with twelve hundred men, in transports, above the town, toco-operate with rear-admiral Holmes, whom the admiral had sent up withsome force against the French shipping, which he hoped to destroy. Thebrigadier was likewise instructed to seize every opportunity of fightingthe enemy's detachments, and even of provoking them to battle. Inpursuance of these directions, he twice attempted to land on the northshore; but these attempts were unsuccessful. The third effort wasmore fortunate. He made a sudden descent at Chambaud, and burned aconsiderable magazine, filled with arms, clothing, provisions, andammunition. The enemy's ships being secured in such a manner as not tobe approached, and nothing else occurring that required the brigadier'slonger stay, he returned to the camp, with intelligence obtainedfrom his prisoners, that the fort of Niagara was taken, Crown Pointabandoned, and general Amherst employed in making preparations to attackthe corps at the isle aux Nois, commanded by M. Burlemaque. The disasterat the Falls of Montmorenci made a deep impression on the mind ofgeneral Wolfe, whose spirit was too great to brook the most distantprospect of censure or disgrace. He knew the character of the Englishpeople--rash, impatient, and capricious; elevated to exultation bythe least gleam of success, dejected even to despondency by the mostinconsiderable frown of adverse fortune; sanguine, even to childishhyperbole, in applauding those servants of the public who have prosperedin their undertakings; clamorous, to a degree of prosecution, againstthose who have miscarried in their endeavours, without any investigationof merit, without any consideration of circumstances. A keen senseof these vexatious peculiarities conspiring with the shame ofdisappointment, and eager desire of retrieving the laurel that he mightby some be supposed to have lost at the Falls of Montmorenci, and thedespair of finding such an occasion, excited an internal agitation, which visibly affected his external frame, and disordered his wholeconstitution, which was naturally delicate and tender. Among those whoshared his confidence, he was often seen to sigh; he was often heardto complain; and even in the transports of his chagrin declare, that hewould never return without success, to be exposed, as other unfortunatecommanders had been, to the censure and reproach of an ignorant andungrateful populace. This tumult of the mind, added to the fatigues ofthe body he had undergone, produced a fever and dysentery, by which forsome time he was totally disabled. Before he recovered any degree of strength, he desired the generalofficers to consult together for the public utility. It was theiropinion, that, the Points of Levi and Orleans being left in a properstate of defence, the rest of the troops should be conveyed up theriver, with a view to draw the enemy from their present situation, andbring them if possible to an engagement. This measure, however, wasnot adopted, until the general and admiral had reconnoitred the town ofQuebec, with a view to a general assault; and concluded from their ownobservations, reinforced by the opinion of the chief engineer, who wasperfectly well acquainted with the interior of the place, that such anattack could not be hazarded with any prospect of success. The ships ofwar, indeed, might have silenced the batteries of the lower town, but they could not affect the upper works, from which they must havesustained considerable damage. When we consider the situation of thisplace, and the fortifications with which it was secured; the naturalstrength of the country; the great number of vessels and floatingbatteries they had provided for the defence of the river; the skill, valour, superior force, and uncommon vigilance of the enemy; theirnumerous bodies of savages continually hovering about the posts of theEnglish, to surprise parties, and harass detachments; we must own thatthere was such a combination of difficulties as might have discouragedand 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 Holmesmade a movement with his ships to amuse the enemy posted on the northshore; and the men being much crowded on board, the general orderedone-half of them to be landed for refreshment on the other side of theriver. As no possibility appeared of annoying the enemy above the town, the scheme of operations was totally changed. A plan was formed forconveying the troops farther down in boats, and landing them in thenight within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of ascending the heightsof Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks ofthe river, that they might take possession of the ground on the backof the city, where it was but indifferently fortified. The dangers anddifficulties attending the execution of this design were so peculiarlydiscouraging, that one would imagine it could not have been embraced butby a spirit of enterprise that bordered on desperation. The stream wasrapid; 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 theground so difficult as hardly to be surmounted in the day-time, had noopposition been expected. If the enemy had received the least intimationfrom spy or deserter, or even suspected the scheme; had the embarkationbeen disordered in consequence of the darkness of the night, therapidity of the river, or the shelving nature of the north shore, nearwhich they were obliged to row; had one sentinel been alarmed, or thelanding place much mistaken; the heights of Abraham must havebeen instantly secured by such a force as would, have rendered theundertaking abortive: confusion would necessarily have ensued in thedark; and this would have naturally produced a panic, which might haveproved fatal to the greater part of the detachment. These objectionscould not escape the penetration of the gallant Wolfe, who neverthelessadopted the plan without hesitation, and even executed it in person;though at that time labouring under a severe dysentery and fever, whichhad exhausted his constitution, and reduced him almost to an extremityof weakness. The previous steps being taken, and the time fixed for thishazardous attempt, admiral Holmes moved with his squadron farther upthe river, about three leagues above the place appointed for thedisembarkation, that he might deceive the enemy, and amuse M. DeBougainville, whom Montcalm had detached with fifteen hundred men towatch the motions of that squadron; but the English admiral was directedto sail down the river in the night, so as to protect the landing of theforces; and these orders he punctually fulfilled. On the twelfth day ofSeptember, an hour after midnight, the first embarkation, consisting offour complete regiments, the light infantry commanded by colonel Howe, a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, was madein flat-bottomed boats, under the immediate command of the brigadiersMonck-ton and Murray; though general Wolfe accompanied them in person, and was among the first who landed; and they began to fall down with thetide, to the intended place of disembarkation, rowing close to the northshore in order to find it the more easily. Without any disorder theboats glided gently along: but by the rapidity of the tide, and thedarkness of the night, the boats over-shot the mark, and the troopslanded a little below the place at which the disembarkation wasintended. [513] _[See note 3 Z, at the end of this Vol. ]_ As the troopslanded the boats were sent back for the second embarkation, which wassuperintended by brigadier Townshend. In the meantime, colonel Howe, with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woodyprecipices with admirable courage and activity, and dislodged asergeant's guard which defended a small intrenched narrow path, by whichalone the rest of the forces could reach the summit. Then they mountedwithout further molestation from the enemy, and the general drew them upin order as they arrived. Monsieur de Montcalm no sooner understoodthat the English had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a mannercommanded the town on its weakest part, than he resolved to hazard abattle; and began his march without delay, after having collected hiswhole 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 theLouisbourg grenadiers; the right commanded by brigadier Monckton, andthe left by brigadier Murray: to the rear of the left, colonel Howe wasposted with his light infantry, just returned from a four-gun battery, which they had taken without opposition. M. De Montcalm advancing insuch a manner as to show his intention was to flank the left of theEnglish, brigadier Townshend was sent thither with the regiment ofAmherst, which he formed _en potence_, presenting a double front to theenemy: he was afterwards reinforced by two battalions; and the reserveconsisted of one regiment drawn up in eight sub-divisions, with largeintervals. The right of the enemy was composed of half the colonytroops, two battalions, and a body of Canadians and savages; theircentre consisted of a column formed by two other regular battalions; andon the left one battalion, with the remainder of the colony troops, was posted; the bushes and corn-fields in their front were lined withfifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an irregular gallingfire, which proved fatal to many brave officers, thus singled out fordestruction. This fire, indeed, was in some measure checked by theadvanced posts of the British line, who piqueered with the enemy forsome hours before the battle began. Both armies were destitute ofartillery, except two small pieces on the side of the French, and asingle gun which the English seamen made shift to draw up from thelanding place. This was very well served, and galled their columnseverely. At length, about nine in the morning, the enemy advancedto the charge with great order and vivacity, though their fire wasirregular and ineffectual. On the contrary, the British forces reservedtheir shot until the French had approached within forty yards of theirline: then they poured in a terrible discharge; and continued the firewith such deliberation and spirit, as could not fail to produce a veryconsiderable effect. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, at thehead of Bragg's regiment and the Louisbourg grenadiers, where the attackwas most warm. As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he hadbeen 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 ahandkerchief round his hand, he continued giving orders without theleast emotion; and advanced at the head of the grenadiers with theirbayonets fixed; when another ball unfortunately pierced the breast ofthis young hero, * who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemygave 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. [Illustration 513. Jpg DEATH OF GENERAL WOLFE] At that very instant, every separate regiment of the British army seemedto exert itself for the honour of its own peculiar character. While theright pressed on with their bayonets, brigadier Murray briskly advancedwith the troops under his command, and soon broke the centre of theenemy: then the High landers, drawing their broad-swords, fell in amongthem, with irresistible impetuosity, and drove them with great slaughterinto the town, and the works they had raised at the bridge of the riverSt. Charles. On the left and rear of the English, the action was not soviolent. Some of the light infantry had thrown themselves into houses;where, being attacked, they defended themselves with great courage andresolution. Colonel Howe having taken post with two companies behind asmall copse, sallied out frequently on the flanks of the enemy duringthis attack, and often drove them into heaps; while brigadier Townshendadvanced platoons against their front; so that the right wing of theFrench were totally prevented from executing their first intention. The brigadier himself remained with Amherst's regiment, to support thisdisposition, and to overawe a body of savages posted opposite to thelight infantry, waiting for an opportunity to fall upon the rear ofthe British army. General Wolfe being slain, and at the same time Mr. Monckton dangerously wounded at the head of Lascelles' regiment, wherehe distinguished himself with remarkable gallantry, the command devolvedon brigadier Townshend, who hastened to the centre; and finding thetroops disordered in the pursuit, formed them again with all possibleexpedition. This necessary task was scarce performed, when M. DeBougainville, with a body of two thousand fresh men, appeared in therear of the English. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge, as soon ashe received intelligence that the British troops had gained the heightsof Abraham, but did not come up in time to have any share in the battle. Mr. Townshend immediately ordered two battalions, with two piecesof artillery, to advance against this officer; who retired, at theirapproach, among woods and swamps, where general Townshend very wiselydeclined hazarding a precarious attack. He had already obtained acomplete victory, taken a great number of French officers, and waspossessed of a very advantageous situation, which it would have beenimprudent to forego. The French general, M. De Montcalm, was mortallywounded in the battle, and conveyed into Quebec; from whence, before hedied, he wrote a letter to general Townshend, recommending the prisonersto that generous humanity by which the British nation is distinguished. His second in command was left wounded on the field; and next dayexpired on board an English ship, to which he had been conveyed. Aboutone thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, including a great numberof officers; and about five hundred were slain on the field of battle. The wreck of their army, after they had reinforced the garrison ofQuebec, retired to Point-au-Tremble; from whence they proceeded toJacques Quatiers, where they remained intrenched until they werecompelled by the severity of the weather to make the best of their wayto Trois Rivieres and Montreal. This important victory was obtained atthe expense of fifty men killed, including nine officers; and of aboutfive hundred men wounded: but the death of general Wolfe was a nationalloss, universally lamented. He inherited from nature an animatingfervour of sentiment, an intuitive perception, an extensive capacity, and a passion for glory, which stimulated him to acquire every speciesof military knowledge that study could comprehend, that actual servicecould illustrate and confirm. This noble warmth of disposition, seldomfails to call forth and unfold the liberal virtues of the soul. Braveabove all estimation of danger, he was also generous, gentle, complacentand humane; the pattern of the officer, the darling of the soldier:there was a sublimity in his genius which soared above the pitch ofordinary minds; and had his faculties been exercised to their fullextent by opportunity and action, had his judgment been fully matured byage and experience, he would without doubt have rivalled in reputationthe most celebrated captains of antiquity. QUEBEC TAKEN. Immediately after the battle of Quebec, admiral Saunders, who, togetherwith his subordinates Durell and Holmes, had all along co-operatedheartily with the land-forces for the advantage of the service, sentup all the boats of the fleet with artillery and ammunition; and on theseventeenth day of the month sailed up with all the ships of war, ina disposition to attack the lower town, while the upper part should beassaulted by general Townshend. This gentleman had employed the timefrom the day of action in securing the camp with redoubts, in forminga military road for the cannon, in drawing up the artillery, preparingbatteries, and cutting off the enemy's communication with the country. On the seventeenth, before any battery could be finished, a flag oftruce was sent from the town, with proposals of capitulation; which, being maturely considered by the general and admiral, were accepted, andsigned at eight next morning. They granted the more favourable terms, asthe enemy continued to assemble in the rear of the British army; as theseason was become wet, stormy, and cold, threatening the troops withsickness, and the fleet with accident; and as a considerable advantagewould result from taking possession of the town while the walls were ina state of defence. What rendered the capitulation still more fortunatefor the British general, was the information he afterwards received fromdeserters, that the enemy had rallied, and were reinforced behind capeRouge, under the command of M. De Levy, arrived from Montreal for thatpurpose, with two regular battalions; and that M. De Bougainville, atthe head of eight hundred men, with a convoy of provisions, was actuallyon his march to throw himself into the town on the eighteenth, that verymorning on which it was surrendered. The place was not then completelyinvested, as the enemy had broke the bridge of boats, and posteddetachments in very strong works on the other side of the river St. Charles. The capitulation was no sooner ratified, than the Britishforces took possession of Quebec on the land side; and guards wereposted in different parts of the town, to preserve order and discipline;at the same time captain Palliser, with a body of seamen, entered thelower town and took the same precautions. Next day about a thousandprisoners were embarked on board transports, which proceeded to Francewith the first opportunity. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the countrycame in great numbers, to deliver up their arms, and take the oath offidelity to the English government. The death of Montcalm, which wasindeed an irreparable loss to France, in all probability overwhelmed theenemy with consternation, and confounded all their councils; otherwisewe cannot account for the tame surrender of Quebec to a handful oftroops, even after the victory they had obtained: for although the placewas not regularly fortified on the land-side, and most of the houseswere in ruins, their walls and parapets had not yet sustained theleast damage; the besiegers were hardly sufficient to complete theinvestiture; a fresh army was assembled in the neighbourhood, with whichtheir communication continued open; the season was so far advanced, thatthe British forces in a little time must have been forced to desist bythe severity of the weather, and even retire with their fleet beforethe approach of winter, which never fails to freeze up the river St. Laurence. Immediately after the action at the Falls of Montmorenci, general Wolfehad despatched an officer to England, with a detail of that disaster, written with such elegance and accuracy, as would not have disgraced thepen of a Cæsar. Though the public acquiesced in his conduct, they wereexceedingly mortified at his miscarriage; and this mortification wasthe greater, as he seemed to despair of being able to strike any otherstroke of importance for the accomplishment of their hope, which hadaspired at the absolute conquest of Canada. The first transports oftheir chagrin were not yet subsided, when colonel Hale arrived in theship Alcide, with an account of the victory and surrender of Quebec;which was immediately communicated to the people in an ExtraordinaryGazette. The joy which this excited among the populace rose inproportion to the despondence which the former had produced: all wasrapture and riot; all was triumph and exultation, mingled with thepraise of the all-accomplished Wolfe, which they exalted even to aridiculous degree of hyperbole. The king expressed his satisfaction byconferring the honour of knighthood upon captain Douglas, whose shipbrought the first tidings of this success; and gratified him and colonelHale with considerable presents. A day of solemn thanksgiving wasappointed by proclamation through all the dominions of Great Britain. The city of London, the universities, and many other corporations ofthe kingdom, presented congratulatory addresses to his majesty. Theparliament was no sooner assembled, than the secretary of state, in thehouse of commons, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, thetranscendent merit of the deceased general, the conduct and courage ofthe admirals and officers who assisted in the conquest of Quebec. Inconsequence of this harangue, and the motion by which it was succeeded, the house unanimously resolved to present an address, desiring hismajesty would order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey tothe memory of major-general Wolfe; at the same time they passedanother resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to thesurviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successfulexpedition to Quebec. Testimonies of this kind, while they reflecthonour upon the character of the nation, never fail to animateindividuals to a spirited exertion of their talents in the service ofthe public. The people of England were so elevated by the astonishingsuccess of this campaign, which was also prosperous on the continentof Europe, that, far from expressing the least sense of the enormousburdens which they bore, they, with a spirit peculiar to the Britishnation, voluntarily raised large contributions to purchase warm jackets, stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets, for the soldiers who were exposedto the rigours of an inclement sky in Germany and America. But theydisplayed a more noble proof of unrestrained benevolence, extended evento foes. The French ministry, straitened in their finances, which werefound scarce sufficient to maintain the war, had sacrificed theirduty to their king, and every sentiment of compassion for his unhappysubjects, to a thirst of vengeance, and sanguinary views of ambition. They had withdrawn the usual allowance from their subjects who weredetained prisoners in England; and those wretched creatures, amountingin number to near twenty thousand, were left to the mercy of thoseenemies whom their sovereign had taken such pains to exasperate. Theallowance with which they were indulged by the British governmenteffectually secured them from the horrors of famine; but still theyremained destitute of other conveniences, and particularly exposed tothe miseries of cold and nakedness. The generous English beheld theseforlorn captives with sentiments of sympathy and compassion; theyconsidered them as their fellow-creatures and brethren in humanity, andforgot their country while they beheld their distress. A considerablesubscription was raised in their behalf; and in a few weeks they werecompletely clothed by the charity of their British benefactors. Thisbeneficent exertion was certainly one of the noblest triumphs of thehuman mind, which even the most inveterate enemies of Great Britaincannot but regard with reverence and admiration. --The city of Quebecbeing reduced, together with great part of the circumjacent country, brigadier Townshend, who had accepted his commission with the expressproviso that he should return to England at the end of the campaign, left a garrison of five thousand effective men, victualled from thefleet, under the command of brigadier Murray; and, embarking withadmiral Saunders, arrived in Great Britain about the beginning ofwinter. As for brigadier Monckton, he was conveyed to New York, where hehappily 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, herinterest was not suffered to languish in other parts of the world. This was the season of ambition and activity, in which every separatearmament, every distinct corps, and individual officer, seemed to exertthemselves with the most eager appetite of glory. The East Indies, whichin the course of the preceding year had been the theatre of operationscarried on with various success, exhibited nothing now but a successionof trophies to the English commanders. The Indian transactions of thelast year were interrupted at that period when the French general, Lally, was employed in making preparations for the siege of Madras. Inthe month of October he had marched into Arcot without opposition; andin the beginning of December, he advanced towards Madras. On the twelfthhe marched over Choultry plain, in three divisions, cannonaded by theEnglish artillery with considerable effect, and took post at Egmoreand St. Thome. Colonel Laurence, who commanded the garrison of Madras, retired to the island, in order to prevent the enemy from takingpossession of the island bridge; and at the same time ordered the poststo be occupied in the Blacktown, or suburbs of Madras. In the morning ofthe fourteenth, the enemy marched with their whole force to attack thisplace; the English detachments retreated into the garrison; and withinthe hour a grand sally was made, under the command of colonel Draper, agallant officer, who signalized himself remarkably on this occasion. He attacked the regiment of Lorrain with great impetuosity; and in allprobability would have beat them off, had they not been sustained bythe arrival of a fresh brigade. After a very warm dispute, in which manyofficers and a great number of men were killed on each side, colonelDraper was obliged to retreat, not altogether satisfied with the conductof his grenadiers. As the garrison of Madras was not very numerous, nothing further was attempted on their side without the works. In themeantime, the enemy used all their diligence in erecting batteriesagainst the fort and town; which being opened on the sixth day ofJanuary, they maintained a continual discharge of shot and shells fortwenty days, advancing their trenches all the time under cover of thisfire, until they reached the breast of the glacis. There they erected abattery of four pieces of cannon, and opened it on the last day of themonth; but for five days successively they were obliged to close theirembrasures by the superior fire of the fort, and at length to abandonit entirely: nevertheless, they still maintained a severe fire from thefirst grand battery, which was placed at the distance of four hundredand fifty yards from the defences. This artillery was so well served, as to disable twenty-six pieces of cannon, three mortars, and effectan inconsiderable breach. Perhaps they might have had more success, hadthey battered in breach from the beginning; but M. Lally, in orderto intimidate the inhabitants, had cruelly bombarded the town, anddemolished the houses: he was, however, happily disappointed in hisexpectation by the wise and resolute precautions of governor Pigot; bythe vigilance, conduct, and bravery of the colonels Laurence and Draper, seconded by the valour and activity of major Brereton, and the spiritof the inferior officers. The artillery of the garrison was so wellmanaged, that from the fifth day of February, the fire of the enemygradually decreased from twenty-three to six pieces of cannon:nevertheless, they advanced their sap along the sea-side, so as toembrace entirely the north-east angle of the covered way, from whencetheir musketry drove the besieged. They likewise endeavoured to open apassage into the ditch by a mine; but sprung it so injudiciously, thatthey could make no advantage of it, as it lay exposed to the fire ofseveral cannon. While these preparations were carried on before thetown, major Caillaud and captain Preston, with a body of sepoys, some ofthe country horse, and a few Europeans drawn from the English garrisonsof Trichinopoly and Chingalaput, hovered at the distance of a few miles, blocking up the roads in such a manner that the enemy were obliged, fourseveral times, to send large detachments against them, in order to openthe communication: thus the progress of the siege was in a greatmeasure retarded. On the sixteenth day of February, in the evening, the Queenborough ship of war, commanded by captain Kempenfeldt, andthe company's ship the Revenge, arrived in the road of Madras, with areinforcement of six hundred men belonging to colonel Draper's regiment, and part of them was immediately disembarked. From the beginning ofthe siege the enemy had discovered a backwardness in the service, veryunsuitable to their national character. They were ill supplied by theircommissaries and contractors: they were discouraged by the obstinatedefence of the garrison, and all their hope of success vanished at thearrival of this reinforcement. After a brisk fire, they raised the siegethat very night, abandoning forty pieces of cannon; and having destroyedthe powder-mills at Egmore, retreated to the territory of Arcot. [515]_[See note 4 A, at the end of this Vol. ]_ {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SUCCESS OF COLONEL FORDE. M. Lally having weakened his forces that were at Masalipatam, under theconduct of the marquis de Conflans, in order to strengthen the army withwhich he undertook the siege of Madras, the rajah of Vizanapore drovethe French garrison from Vizagapatam, and hoisted English colours inthe place. The marquis having put his troops in motion to revenge thisinsult, the rajah solicited succour from colonel Clive at Calcutta; and, with the consent of the council, a body of troops was sent under thecommand of colonel Forde to his assistance. They consisted of fivehundred Europeans, including a company of artillery, and sixteen hundredsepoys; with about fifteen pieces of cannon, one howitzer, and threemortars. The forces of Conflans were much more considerable. On thetwentieth day of October colonel Forde arrived at Vizagapatam, and madean agreement with the rajah, who promised to pay the expense of theexpedition, as soon as he should be put in possession of Rajamundry, alarge town and fort possessed by the French. It was stipulated that heshould have all the inland country belonging to the Indian powers in theFrench interest, and at present in arms; and that the Englishcompany should retain all the conquered sea-coast from Vizagapatam toMasulipatam. On the first of November colonel Forde proceeded on hismarch; and on the third joined the rajah's army, consisting of betweenthree and four thousand men. On the third of December, they came insight of the enemy, near the village of Golapool; but the Frenchdeclining battle, the colonel determined to draw them from theiradvantageous situation, or march round and get between them andRajamundry. On the seventh, before day-break, he began his march, leaving the rajah's forces on their ground; but the enemy beginning tocannonade the Indian forces, he, at the request of the rajah, returnedand took them under his protection. Then they marched together to thevillage of Colapool, and halted on a small plain about three miles fromtheir encampment. About nine he formed the line of battle. About ten theenemy were drawn up, and began the cannonade. The firing on both sideshaving continued about forty minutes, the enemy's line advanced to thecharge with great resolution; and were so warmly received, that, afterseveral spirited efforts, at eleven they gave way, and retreated indisorder towards Rajamundry. During this conflict the rajah's forcesstood as idle spectators, nor could their horse be prevailed upon topursue the fugitives. The victory cost the English forty-four Europeanskilled and wounded, including two captains and three lieutenants. TheFrench lost above three times the number, together with their wholecamp-baggage, thirty-two pieces of cannon, and all their ammunition. Agreat number of black forces fell on both sides. The marquis de Conflansdid not remain at Rajamundry, but proceeded to Masulipatam; whilecaptain Knox, with a detachment from the English army, took possessionof the fort of Rajamundry, which is the barrier and key to the countryof Vizagapatam. This was delivered to the rajah on his paying theexpense of the expedition; and captain Knox being detached with abattalion of sepoys, took possession of the French factory at Narsipore. This was also the fate of a small fort at Coucate, which surrenderedto captain Maclean, after having made an obstinate defence. In themeantime, however, the French army of observation made shift to retakeRajamundry, where they found a considerable quantity of money, baggageand effects, belonging to English officers. Colonel Forde advancing to the neighbourhood of Masulipatam, the marquisde Conflans with his forces retired within the place, which on theseventh day of March was invested. By the seventh day of April theammunition of the besiegers being almost expended, colonel Fordedetermined to give the assault, as two breaches were already made, andmade his disposition accordingly. The attack was begun in the night, and the assailants arrived at the ditch before they were discovered. Buthere they underwent a terrible discharge of grape-shot and musquetry;notwithstanding which they entered the breaches and drove the enemy frombastion to bastion. At length, the marquis de Conflans sent an officerto demand quarter for the garrison, which was granted as soon as heordered his men to cease firing. Thus, with about three hundred andforty European soldiers, a handful of seamen, and seven hundred sepoys, colonel Forde took by assault the strong town of Masulipatam, garrisonedby five hundred and twenty-one Europeans, two thousand and thirty-nineCaffres, Topasses, and sepoys; and here he found above one hundredand fifty pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Salabatzing, the suba of De-can, perceiving the success of the Englishhere as well as at Madras, being sick of his French alliance, and indread of his brother Nizam Allée, who had set up a separate interest, and taken the field against him, made advances to the company, withwhich he forthwith concluded a treaty to the following effect:--"Thewhole of the circar of Masulipatam shall be given to the Englishcompany. Salabatzing will not suffer the French to have a settlementin this country, nor keep them in his service, nor give them anyassistance. The English, on their part, will not assist nor giveprotection to the suba's enemies. "--In a few clays after Masulipatamwas reduced, two ships arrived in the road with a reinforcement of fourhundred men to the marquis de Conflans; but, understanding the fate ofthe place, made the best of their way to Ganjam. SURAT TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH. The merchants residing at Surat, finding themselves exposed tonumberless dangers, and every species of oppression, by the sidee whocommanded the castle on one hand, by the governor of the city on theother, and by the Mahrattas, who had a claim to a certain share of therevenue, made application to the English presidency at Bombay, desiringthey would equip an expedition for taking possession of the castle andtanka, and settle the government of the city upon Pharass Cawn, whohad been naib or deputy-governor under Meah Atchund, and regulated thepolice to the satisfaction of the inhabitants. The presidency embracedthe proposal: admiral Pococke spared two of his ships for this service. Eight hundred and fifty men, artillery and infantry, with fifteenhundred sepoys, under the command of captain Richard Maitland, of theroyal regiment of artillery, were embarked on board the company'sarmed vessels commanded by captain Watson, who sailed on the ninthof February. On the fifteenth they were landed at a place calledDentiloury, about nine miles from Surat; and here they were encamped forrefreshment: in two days he advanced against the French garden, in whicha considerable number of the sidee's men were posted, and drove themfrom thence after a very obstinate dispute. Then he erected a battery, from which he battered the wall in breach: but this method appearingtedious, he called a council of war, composed of the land andsea-officers, and laid before them the plan of a general attack, whichwas accordingly executed next morning. The company's grab, and thebomb-ketches, being warped up the river in the night, were ranged ina line of battle opposite to the Bundar, which was the strongestfortification that the enemy possessed; and under the fire of these thetroops being landed, took the Bundar by assault. The outward town beingthus gained, he forthwith began to bombard the inner town and castlewith such fury, that next morning they both surrendered, on conditionof being allowed to inarch out with their effects; and captain Maitlandtook possession without further dispute. Meah Atchund was continuedgovernor of Surat, and Pharass Cawn was appointed naib. The artilleryand ammunition found in the castle were secured for the company, untilthe mogul's pleasure was known; and in a little time a phirmaund, orgrant, arrived from Delhi, appointing the English company admiral to themogul; so that the ships and stores belonged to them of course, as partof the tanka; and they were now declared legal possessors of thecastle. This conquest, which cost about two hundred men, includinga few officers, was achieved with such expedition, that captain Watsonreturned 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 afterthe siege was raised, and possessed themselves of Conjeveram, a placeof great consequence; which, with the fort of Schengelpel, commandedall the adjacent country, and secured the British possessions to thenorthward. M. Lally, sensible of the importance of the post, took thesame route in order to dislodge them; but finding all his attemptsineffectual, he retired towards Wandewash, where his troops were putinto quarters of cantonment. No other operations ensued till the monthof September; when major Brere-ton, who commanded the English forces, being joined by major Gordon with three hundred men of colonel Coote'sbattalion, resolved to attack the enemy in his turn. On the fourteenthday of the month he began his march from Conjeveram for Wandewash, at the head of four hundred Europeans, seven thousand sepoys, seventyEuropean and three hundred black horse, with fourteen pieces ofartillery. In his march he invested and took the fort of Trivitar; fromwhence he proceeded to the village of Wandewash, where the French, tothe number of one thousand, were strongly encamped under the guns of afort, commanded by a rajah, mounting twenty cannon, under the directionof a French gunner. On the thirteenth day of September, at two in themorning, the English attacked the village in three different places, anddrove them from it after a very obstinate dispute; but this advantagethey were not able to maintain. The black pioneers ran away during theattack, so that proper traverses could not be made in the streets; andat day-break the fort poured in upon them a prodigious discharge ofgrape-shot with considerable effect. The enemy had retired to a dryditch, which served as an intrenchment, from whence they made furioussallies; and a body of three hundred European horse were already inmotion, to fall upon and complete their confusion. In this emergency, they retired in disorder; and might have been entirely ruined, had notthe body of reserve effectually covered their retreat: yet this couldnot be effected without the loss of several officers, and above threehundred men killed and wounded. After this mortifying check, theyencamped a few days in sight of the fort, and, the rainy season settingin, returned to Conjeveram. The fort of Wandewash was afterwardsgarrisoned by French and sepoys; and the other forces of the enemy wereassembled by brigadier-general de Bussy, at Arcot. ADMIRAL POCOCKE DEFEATS MONSIEUR D'APCHE. During these transactions by land, the superiority at sea was stilldisputed between the English and French admirals. On the first day ofSeptember, vice-admiral Pococke sailed from Madras to the southward, inquest of the enemy, and next day descried the French fleet, consistingof fifteen sail, standing to the northward. He forthwith threw out thesignal for a general chase, and stood towards them with all the sail hecould carry; but the wind abating, he could not approach near enough toengage. During the three succeeding days, he used his utmost endeavoursto bring them to a battle, which they still declined, and at lastthey disappeared. He then directed his course to Pondicherry, on thesupposition that they were bound to that harbour; and on the eighth dayof the month perceived them standing to the southward: but he could notbring them to an engagement till the tenth, when M. D'Apché, about twoin the afternoon, made the signal for battle, and the cannonading beganwithout further delay. The British squadron did not exceed nine shipsof the line; the enemy's fleet consisted of eleven; but they had still agreater advantage in number of men and artillery. Both squadrons foughtwith great impetuosity till about ten minutes after four, when theenemy's rear began to give way: this example was soon followed bytheir centre; and finally the van, with the whole squadron, bore to thesouth-south-east, with all the canvass they could spread. The Britishsquadron was so much damaged in their masts and rigging, that they couldnot pursue; so that M. D'Apché retreated at his leisure unmolested. Onthe fifteenth, admiral Pococke returned to Madras, where his squadronbeing repaired by the twenty-sixth, he sailed again to Pondicherry, andin the road saw the enemy lying at anchor in line of battle. The windbeing off shore, he made the line of battle a-head, and for some timecontinued in this situation. At length the French admiral weighedanchor, and came forth; but instead of bearing down upon the Englishsquadron, which had fallen to leeward, he kept close to the wind, andstretched away to the southward. Admiral Pococke finding him averseto another engagement, and his own squadron being in no condition topursue, he, with the advice of his captains, desisted, and measured backhis course to Madras. On the side of the English, above three hundredmen were killed in the engagement, including captain Miche, whocommanded the Newcastle, captain Gore of the marines, two lieutenants, a master gunner, and boatswain: the captains Somerset and Brereton, withabout two hundred and fifty men, were wounded; and many of the shipsconsiderably damaged. The loss of the enemy must have been much moreconsiderable, because the English in battle always fire at the body ofthe ship; because the French squadron was crowded with men; because theygave way, and declined a second engagement; and, finally, because theynow made the best of their way to the island of Mauritius, in order tobe refitted, having on board general Lally and some other officers. Thusthey left the English masters of the Indian coast; superiority stillmore confirmed by the arrival of rear-admiral Cornish, with four shipsof 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 copein the East Indies. The great extension of their trade in the kingdomof 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 ofcommerce. They had, without doubt, tampered with the new suba, wholay under such obligations to the English, and probably secured hisconnivance. Their scheme was approved by the governor of Batavia, whocharged himself with the execution of it; and, for that purpose, chosethe opportunity when the British squadron had retired to the coast ofMalabar. On pretence of reinforcing the Dutch garrisons in Bengal, he equipped an armament of seven ships, having on board five hundredEuropean troops, and six hundred Malayese, under the command of colonelRussel. This armament having touched at Negapatam, proceeded up thebay, and arrived in the river of Bengal about the beginning of October. Colonel Clive, who then resided at Calcutta, had received informationof their design, which he was resolved, at all events, to defeat. Hecomplained to the suba; who, upon such application, could not decentlyrefuse an order to the director and council of Hughley, implying thatthis armament should not proceed up the river. The colonel, at the sametime, sent a letter to the Dutch commodore, intimating that, as he hadreceived intimation of their design, he could not allow them to landforces, and march to Chinchura. In answer to this declaration, the Dutchcommodore, whose whole fleet had not yet arrived, assured the Englishcommander that he had no intention to send any forces to Chinchura; andbegged liberty to land some of his troops for refreshment--a favour thatwas granted, on condition that they should not advance. Notwithstandingthe suba's order, and his own engagement to this effect, the rest ofthe ships were no sooner arrived, than he proceeded up the river to theneighbourhood of Tannah-fort, where his forces being disembarked, begantheir march to Chinchura. In the meantime, by way of retaliating theaffront he pretended to have sustained in being denied a passage totheir own factory, he took several small vessels on the river belongingto the English company; and the Calcutta Indiaman, commanded by captainWilson, homeward-bound, sailing down the river, the Dutchman gave himto understand, that if he presumed to pass he would sink him withoutfurther ceremony. The English captain seeing them run out their gunsas if really resolved to put their threats in execution, returned toCalcutta, where two other India ships lay at anchor, and reported hisadventure to colonel Clive, who forthwith ordered the three ships toprepare for battle, and attack the Dutch armament. The ships beingproperly manned, and their sides lined with saltpetre, they fell downthe river, and found the Dutch squadron drawn up in a line of battle, inorder to give them a warm reception, for which indeed they seemed wellprepared; for three of them were mounted with thirty-six guns each, three of them with twenty-six, and the seventh carried sixteen. Theduke of Dorset, commanded by captain Forrester, being the first thatapproached them, dropped anchor close to their line, and began theengagement with a broadside, which was immediately returned. A dead calmunfortunately intervening, this single ship was for a considerable timeexposed 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 severefire was maintained on both sides, till two of the Dutch ships, slippingtheir cables, bore away, and a third was driven ashore. Their commodore, thus weakened, after a few broadsides struck his flag to captainWilson, and the other three followed his example. The victory beingthus obtained, without the loss of one man on the side of the English, captain Wilson took possession of the prizes, the decks of whichwere strewed with carnage, and sent the prisoners to colonel Clive atCalcutta. The detachment of troops which they had landed, to the numberof eleven hundred men, was not more fortunate in their progress. ColonelClive no sooner received intelligence that they were in full march toChinchura, than he detached colonel Forde with five hundred men fromCalcutta, in order to oppose and put a stop to their march at the Frenchgardens. He accordingly advanced to the northward, and entered the townof Chandernagore, where he sustained the fire of a Dutch party sent outfrom Chinchura to join and conduct the expected reinforcement. Thesebeing routed and dispersed, after a short action, colonel Forde in themorning proceeded to a plain in the neighbourhood of Chinchura, where hefound the enemy prepared to give him battle on the twenty-fifth day ofNovember. They even advanced to the charge with great resolution andactivity; but found the fire of the English artillery and battalion sointolerably hot, that they soon gave way, and were totally defeated. A considerable number were killed, and the greater part of those whosurvived the action were taken prisoners. During this contest, thenabob, at the head of a considerable army, observed a suspiciousneutrality; and in all likelihood would have declared for the Dutch hadthey proved victorious, as he had reason to believe they would, fromtheir great superiority in number. But fortune no sooner determinedin favour of the English, than he made a tender of his service to thevictor, and even offered to reduce Chinchura with his own army. In themeantime, proposals of accommodation being sent to him by the directorsand council of the Dutch factory at Chinchura, a negotiation ensued, anda treaty was concluded to the satisfaction of all parties. Above threehundred of the prisoners entered into the service of Great Britain; therest embarked on board their ships, which were restored as soon as thepeace was ratified, and set out on their return for Batavia. After all, perhaps, the Dutch company meant nothing more than to put their factoryof Chinchura on a more respectable footing; and, by acquiring greaterweight and consequence among the people of the country than theyformerly possessed, the more easily extend their commerce in that partof the world. At any rate, it will admit of a dispute among those whoprofess the law of nature and nations, whether the Dutch company couldbe justly debarred the privilege of sending a reinforcement to theirown garrisons. Be that as it will, the ships were not restored until thefactory at Chinchura had given security to indemnify the English for thedamage they had sustained on this occasion. COLONEL COOTE TAKES WANDEWASH. The success of the English army was still more conspicuous on thecoast of Coromandel. The governor and council of Madras having receivedinformation that the French general, Lally, had sent a detachment ofhis army to the southward, taking Syringham, and threatened Trichinopolywith a siege, it was determined that colonel Coote, who had latelyarrived from England, should take the field, and endeavour to make adiversion to the southward. He accordingly began his march at the headof seventeen hundred Europeans, including cavalry, and three thousandblacks, with fourteen pieces of cannon and one howitzer. On thetwenty-seventh day of November, he invested the fort of Wandewash:having made a practicable breach, the garrison, consisting of near ninehundred men, surrendered prisoners of war; and he found in the placeforty-nine pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Thenhe undertook the siege of Carangoly, a fortress commanded by colonelO'Kennely, at the head of one hundred Europeans, and five hundredsepoys. In a few days he dismounted the greater part of their guns; andthey submitted, on condition that the Europeans should be allowed tomarch out with the honours of war, but the sepoys were disarmed anddismissed. General Lally, alarmed at the progress of this brave, vigilant, andenterprising officer, assembled all his forces at Arcot, to the numberof two thousand two hundred Europeans, including horse; three hundredCaffres, and ten thousand black troops, or sepoys; with five-and-twentypieces of cannon. Of these he assumed the command in person; and onthe tenth day of January began his march in order to recover Wandewash. Colonel Coote, having received intelligence on the twelfth that he hadtaken possession of Conjeveram, endeavoured by a forced march tosave the place, which they accordingly abandoned at his approach, andpursuing their march to Wandewash, invested the fort without delay. TheEnglish commander passed the river Palla, in order to follow the sameroute; and, on the twenty-first day of the month, understanding that abreach was already made, resolved to give them battle without furtherdelay. The cavalry being formed, and supported by five companies ofsepoys, he advanced against the enemy's horse, which being at the sametime galled by two pieces of cannon, retired with precipitation. Then colonel Coote, having taken possession of a tank which they hadoccupied, returned to the line, which was by this time formed in orderof battle. Seeing the men in high spirits, and eager to engage, heordered the whole army to advance; and by nine in the morning they werewithin two miles of the enemy's camp, where they halted about half anhour. During this interval, the colonel reconnoitred the situationof the French forces, who were very advantageously posted; and made amovement to the right, which obliged them to alter their disposition. They now advanced, in their turn, within three quarters of a mile of theEnglish line, and the cannonading began with great fury on both sides. About noon their European cavalry coming up with a resolute air tocharge the left of the English, colonel Coote brought up some companiesof sepoys, and two pieces of cannon, to sustain the horse, which wereordered to oppose them; and these advancing on their flank, disturbedthem so much that they broke, and were driven by the English cavalryabove a mile from the left, upon the rear of their own army. Meanwhile, both lines continued advancing to each other; and about one o'clockthe firing with small-arms began with great vivacity. One of the Frenchtumbrils being blown up by an accidental shot, the English commandertook immediate advantage of their confusion. He ordered major Brere-tonto wheel Draper's regiment to the left, and fall upon the enemy's flank. This service was performed with such resolution and success, thatthe left wing of the French was completely routed and fell upon theircentre, now closely engaged with the left of the English. About twoin the afternoon their whole line gave way, and fled towards their owncamp; which, perceiving themselves closely pursued, they precipitatelyabandoned, together with twenty-two pieces of cannon. In this engagementthey lost about eight hundred men killed and wounded, besides aboutfifty prisoners, including brigadier-general de Bussy, the chevalierGodeville, quarter-master-general, lieutenant-colonel Murphy, threecaptains, five lieutenants, and some other officers. On the side of theEnglish two hundred and sixty-two were killed or wounded, and among theformer the gallant and accomplished major Brereton, whose death was areal 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 athousand horse and three hundred sepoys, to ravage and lay waste theFrench territory. In the meantime, the indefatigable colonel Cooteundertook the siege of Chilliput, which in two days was surrendered bythe chevalier de Tilly; himself and his garrison remaining prisoners ofwar. Such also was the fate of fort Timmery; which being reduced, thecolonel prosecuted his march to Arcot, the capital of the province, against the fort of which he opened his batteries on the fifth day ofFebruary. When he had carried on his approaches within sixty yards ofthe crest of the glacis, the garrison, consisting of two hundred andfifty Europeans, and near three hundred sepoys, surrendered as prisonersof war; and here the English commander found two-and-twenty pieces ofcannon, four mortars, and a great quantity of all kinds of militarystores. Thus the campaign was gloriously finished with the conquest ofArcot; after the French army had been routed and ruined by the diligenceof colonel Coote, whose courage, conduct, and activity, cannot besufficiently admired. The reader will perceive, that, rather thaninterrupt the thread of such an interesting narration, we have venturedto encroach upon the annals of the year one thousand seven hundred andsixty. STATE OF THE BELLIGERENT POWERS IN EUROPE. Having thus followed the British banners through the glorious tracksthey pursued in different parts of Asia and America, we must now convertour attention to the continent of Europe, where the English arms, inthe course of this year, triumphed with equal lustre and advantage. But first it may be necessary to sketch out the situation in which thebelligerent powers were found at the close of winter. The vicissitudesof fortune with which the preceding campaign had been chequered, weresufficient to convince every potentate concerned in the war, thatneither side possessed such a superiority in strength or conduct as wasrequisite to impose terms upon the other. Battles had been fought withvarious success; and surprising efforts of military skill had beenexhibited, without producing one event which tended to promote a generalpeace, or even engender the least desire of, accommodation. On thecontrary, the first and most violent transports of animosity had by thistime subsided into a confirmed habit of deliberate hatred; and everycontending power seemed more than ever determined to protract thedispute; while the neutral states kept aloof, without expressingthe least desire of interposing their mediation. Some of them wererestrained by considerations of conveniency; and others waited insuspense for the death of the Spanish monarch, as an event which, theyimagined, would be attended with very important consequences in thesouthern parts of Europe. With respect to the maintenance of the war, whatever difficulties might have arisen in settling funds to support theexpense, and finding men to recruit the different armies, certain itis all these difficulties were surmounted before the opening of thecampaign. The court of Vienna, though hampered by the narrowness of itsfinances, still found resources in the fertility of its provinces, in the number and attachment of its subjects, who more than any otherpeople in Europe acquiesce in the dispositions of their sovereign; and, when pay cannot be afforded, willingly contribute free quarters for thesubsistence of the army. The czarina, though she complained that thestipulated subsidies were ill paid, nevertheless persisted in pursuingthose favourite aims which had for some time influenced her conduct;namely, her personal animosity to the king of Prussia, and her desire ofobtaining a permanent interest in the German empire. Sweden still made ashow of hostility against the Prussian monarch, but continued to slumberover the engagements she had contracted. France, exhausted in herfinances, and abridged of her marine commerce, maintained a resolutecountenance; supplied fresh armies for her operations in Westphalia;projected new schemes of conquest; and cajoled her allies with fairpromises, when she had nothing more solid to bestow. The king ofPrussia's dominions were generally drained, or in the hands of theenemy; but to balance these disadvantages he kept possession of Saxony;and enjoyed his annual subsidy from Great Britain, which effectuallyenabled him to maintain his armies on a respectable footing, and openthe campaign with equal eagerness and confidence. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} FRANCKFORT SEIZED BY THE FRENCH. The Hanoverian army, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, wasstrengthened by fresh reinforcements from England, augmented with Germanrecruits, regularly paid, and well supplied with every comfort andconvenience which foresight could suggest, or money procure; yet, inspite of all the precautions that could be taken, they were cut off fromsome resources which the French, in the beginning of the year, openedto themselves by a flagrant stroke of perfidy, which even the extremenecessities of a campaign can hardly excuse. On the second day ofJanuary, the French regiment of Nassau presented itself before the gatesof Franckfort-on-the-Maine, a neutral imperial city; and, demandinga passage, it was introduced, and conducted by a detachment of thegarrison through the city as far as the gate of Saxenhausen, where itunexpectedly halted, and immediately disarmed the guards. Before theinhabitants could recover from the consternation into which they werethrown by this outrageous insult, five other French regiments enteredthe place; and here their general, the prince de Soubise, establishedhis head-quarters. How deeply soever this violation of the laws of theempire might be resented by all honest Germans, who retained affectionfor the constitution of their country, it was a step from which theFrench army derived a very manifest and important advantage; for itsecured to them the course of the Maine and the Upper Rhine; by whichthey received, without difficulty or danger, every species of supplyfrom Mentz, Spire, Worms, and even the country of Alsace, while itmaintained their communication with the chain formed by the Austrianforces and the army of the empire. PROGRESS OF THE HEREDITARY PRINCE OF BRUNSWICK. The scheme of operation for the ensuing campaign was already formedbetween the king of Prussia and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick; andbefore the armies took the field, several skirmishes were foughtand quarters surprised. In the latter end of February, the prince ofYsembourg detached major-general Urst with four battalions and a body ofhorse; who, assembling in Rhotenbourg, surprised the enemy's quarters inthe night between the first and second day of March, and drove themfrom Hirchfield, Vacha, and all the Hessian bailiwicks of which they hadtaken 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, theythemselves retreated again with great precipitation, though they did notall escape. The hereditary prince of Brunswick, with a body of Prussianhussars, fell upon them suddenly at Molrichstadt, where he routed anddispersed a regiment of Hohenzollern cuirassiers, and a battalion of thetroops of Wurtzburg. He next day, which was the first of April, advanced with a body of horse and foot to Meinungen, where he found aconsiderable magazine, took two battalions prisoners, and surprised athird posted at Wafungen, after having defeated some Austrian troopsthat were on the march to its relief. While the hereditary princewas thus employed, the duke of Holstein, with another body of theconfederates, dislodged the French from the post of Freyingstenau. PRINCE FERDINAND ATTACKS THE FRENCH. But the great object was to drive the enemy from Franckfort, beforethey should receive the expected reinforcements. Prince Ferdinand ofBrunswick being determined upon this enterprise, assembled all hisforces near Fulda, to the amount of forty thousand choice troops, andbegan his march on the tenth day of April. On the thirteenth he came insight of the enemy, whom he found strongly encamped about the villageof Bergen, between Franckfort and Hanau. Their general, the duke deBroglio, counted one of the best officers in France with respect toconduct and intrepidity, having received intelligence of the prince'sdesign, occupied this post on the twelfth; the right of his army beingat Bergen, and his centre and flanks secured in such a manner, that theallies could not make their attack any other way but by the village. Notwithstanding the advantage of their situation, prince Ferdinandresolved to give them battle, and made his dispositions accordingly. About ten in the morning, the grenadiers of the advanced guard beganthe attack on the village of Bergen with great vivacity, and sustaineda most terrible fire from eight German battalions, supported by severalbrigades of French infantry. The grenadiers of the allied army, thoughreinforced by several battalions under the command of the prince ofYsembourg, far from dislodging the enemy from the village, were, after avery obstinate dispute, obliged to retreat in some disorder, but ralliedagain behind a body of Hessian cavalry. The allies being repulsed inthree different attacks, their general made a new disposition, andbrought up his artillery, with which the village, and different partsof the French line, were severely cannonaded. They were not slow inretorting an equal fire, which continued till night, when the alliesretreated to Windekin, with the loss of five pieces of cannon, and abouttwo thousand men, including the prince of Ysembourg, who fell in theaction. The French, by the nature of their situation, could not suffermuch; but they were so effectually amused by the artful disposition ofprince Ferdinand, that instead of taking measures to harass him in hisretreat, they carefully maintained their situation, apprehensive ofanother general attack. Indeed, they had great reason to be satisfiedwith the issue of this battle, without risking in any measure theadvantage which they had gained. It was their business to remain quietuntil their reinforcements should arrive, and this plan they invariablypursued. On the other hand, the allies, in consequence of theirmiscarriage, were reduced to the necessity of acting upon the defensive, and encountering a great number of difficulties and inconveniencesduring great part of the campaign, until the misconduct of the enemyturned the scale in their favour. In the meantime, the prince thoughtproper to begin his retreat in the night towards Fulda, in which hisrear suffered considerably from a body of the enemy's light troops underthe command of M. De Blaisel, who surprised two squadrons of dragoonsand a battalion of grenadiers. The first were taken or dispersed, thelast escaped with the loss of their baggage. The allied army returnedto their cantonments about Munster, and the prince began to makepreparations for taking the field in earnest. While the French enjoyed plenty in the neighbourhood of Dusseldorp andCreveldt, by means of the Rhine, the allies laboured under a dearth andscarcity of every species of provisions, because the country which theyoccupied was already exhausted, and all the supplies were brought froman immense distance. The single article of forage occasioned such anenormous expense, as alarmed the administration of Great Britain, who, in order to prevent mismanagement and fraud for the future, nominated amember of parliament inspector-general of the forage, and sent him overto Germany in the beginning of the year, with the rank and appointmentsof a general officer, that the importance of his character, and thenature of his office, might be a check upon those who were suspected ofiniquitous appropriations. This gentleman is said to have met with sucha cold reception, and so many mortifications in the execution of hisoffice, that he was in a very little time sick of his employment. Aninquiry into the causes of his reception, and of the practices whichrendered it necessary to appoint such a superintendent, may be theprovince of some future historian, when truth may be investigatedfreely, without any apprehension of pains and penalties. RETREAT OF PRINCE FERDINAND. While great part of the allied army remained in cantonments aboutMunster, the French armies on the Upper and Lower Rhine, being put inmotion, joined on the third day of June near Marburgh, under the commandof the mareschal de Contades, who advanced to the northward, and fixedhis head-quarters at Corbach, from whence he detached a body of lighttroops to take possession of Cassel, which, at his approach, wasabandoned by general Imhoff. The French army being encamped atStadtberg, the duke de Broglio, who commanded the right wing, advancedfrom Cassel into the territories of Hanover, where he occupiedGottin-gen without opposition; while the allied army assembled in theneighbourhood of Lipstadt, and encamped about Soest and Werle. PrinceFerdinand, finding himself inferior to the united forces of the enemy, was obliged to retire as they advanced, after having left stronggarrisons in Lipstadt, Retberg, Munster, and Minden. These precautions, however, seemed to produce little effect in his favour. Retberg wassurprised 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 ofan immense magazine of hay and corn, which fell into the hands ofthe enemy. They likewise made themselves masters of Munster, investedLipstadt, and all their operations were hitherto crowned with success. The regency of Hanover, alarmed at their progress, resolved to providefor the worst, by sending their chancery and most valuable effects toStade, from whence, in case of necessity, they might be conveyed by seato England. In the meantime they exerted all their industry in pressing men forrecruiting and reinforcing the army under prince Ferdinand, who stillcontinued to retire; and on the eleventh day of July removed hisheadquarters from Osnabruck to Bompte, near the Weser. Here havingreceived advice that Minden was taken by the French, he sent forward adetachment to secure the post of Soltznau on that river, where on thefifteenth he encamped. ANIMOSITY BETWEEN PRINCE FERDINAND AND THE BRITISH COMMANDER. The general of the allied army had for some time exhibited marks ofanimosity towards lord George Sackville, the second in command, whoseextensive understanding, penetrating eye, and inquisitive spirit, couldneither be deceived, dazzled, nor soothed into tame acquiescence. Hehad opposed, with all his influence, a design of retiring towards thefrontiers of Brunswick in order to cover that country. He supported hisopposition by alleging, that it was the enemy's favourite object to cutoff their communication with the Weser and the Elbe, in which, shouldthey succeed, it would be found impossible to transport the Britishtroops to their own country, which was at that time threatened with aninvasion. He, therefore, insisted on the army's retreating, so as tokeep the communication open with Stade, where, in case of emergency, the English troops might be embarked. By adhering tenaciously to thisopinion, and exhibiting other instances of a prying disposition, he hadrendered himself so disagreeable to the commander-in-chief, that, in allappearance, nothing was so eagerly desired as an opportunity of removinghim from the station he filled. THE FRENCH ENCAMP AT MINDEN. Meanwhile the French general advancing to Minden, encamped in a strongsituation; having that town on his right, a steep hill on his left, amorass in front, and a rivulet in rear. The duke de Broglio commandeda separate body between Hansbergen and Minden, on the other side ofthe Weser; and a third, under the duke de Brissac, consisting of eightthousand men, occupied a strong post by the village of Coveldt, tofacilitate the route of the convoy's from Paderborn. Prince Ferdinandhaving moved his camp from Soltznau to Petershagen, detached thehereditary prince on the twenty-eighth day of July to Lubeck, fromwhence he drove the enemy, and proceeding to Rimsel, was joined bymajor-general Dreves, who had retaken Osnabruck, and cleared allthat neighbourhood of the enemy's parties: then he advanced towardsHervorden, and fixed his quarters at Kirchlinneger, to hamper theenemy's convoys from Paderborn. During these transactions, princeFerdinand marched with the allied army in three columns from Petershagento Hille, where it encamped, having a morass on the right, the villageof Fredewalde on the left, and in front those of Northemmern andHoltzenhausen. Fifteen battalions and nineteen squadrons, with a brigadeof heavy artillery, were left under the command of general Wangenheim, on the left, behind the village of Dodenhausen, which was fortified withsome redoubts, defended by two battalions. Colonel Luckner, with theHanoverian hussars and a brigade of hunters, sustained by two battalionsof grenadiers, was posted between Buckebourg and the Weser, to observethe body of troops commanded by the duke de Broglio on the other side ofthe river. On the last day of July, the mareschal de Contades, resolving to attackthe allied army, ordered the corps of Broglio to repass the river; and, advancing in eight columns, about midnight, passed the rivulet ofBarta, that runs along the morass and falls into the Weser at Minden. Atday-break he formed his army in order of battle: part of it fronting thecorps of general Wangenheim at Dodenhausen, and part of it facing Hille;the two wings consisting of infantry, and the cavalry being stationedin the centre. At three in the morning the enemy began to cannonade theprince's quarters at Hille, from a battery of six cannon, which theyhad raised in the preceding evening on the dike of Rickhorst. Thiswas probably the first intimation he received of their intention. Heforthwith caused two pieces of artillery to be conveyed to Hille; andordered the officer of the piquet-guard posted there to defend himselfto the last extremity; at the same time he sent orders to generalGiesen, 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 thepiquets of the village of Halen, where prince Ferdinand resolved tosupport his right. It was already in the hands of the enemy, but theysoon abandoned it with precipitation. The allied army being put inmotion, advanced in eight columns, and occupied the ground betweenHalen and Hemmern, while general Wangenheim's corps filled up thespace between this last village and Dodenhausen. The enemy made theirprincipal effort on the left, intending to force the infantry ofWangenheim's corps, and penetrate between it and the body of the alliedarmy. For this purpose the duke de Broglio attacked them with greatfury; but was severely checked by a battery of thirty cannon, preparedfor his reception by the count de Buckebourg, grand master of theartillery, and served with admirable effect, under his own eye anddirection. About five in the morning both armies cannonaded each other:at six the fire of musketry began with great vivacity; and the actionbecame very hot towards the right, where six regiments of Englishinfantry, and two battalions of Hanoverian guards, not only bore thewhole brunt of the French carabineers and gendarmerie, but absolutelybroke every body of horse and foot that advanced to attack them on theleft and in the centre. The Hessian cavalry, with some regimentsof Holstein, Prussian, and Hanoverian dragoons, posted on the left, performed good service. The cavalry on the right had no opportunity ofengaging. They were destined to support the infantry of the third line:they consisted of the British and Hanoverian horse, commanded by lordGeorge Sackville, whose second was the marquis of Granby. They wereposted at a considerable distance from the first line of infantry, anddivided from it by a scanty wood that bordered on a heath. Orders weresent, during the action, to bring them up; but whether these orders werecontradictory, unintelligible, or imperfectly excited, they did notarrive in time to have any share in the action [521] _[See note 4 B, atthe end of this Vol. ]_; nor, indeed, were they originally intended forthat purpose; nor was there the least occasion for their service; norcould they have come up in time and condition to perform effectualservice, had the orders been explicit and consistent, and the commanderacted with all possible expedition. Be that as it will, the enemy wererepulsed in all their attacks with considerable loss; at length theygave way in every part, and, about noon, abandoning the field of battle, were pursued to the ramparts of Minden. In this action they lost agreat number of men, with forty-three large cannon, and many colours andstandards; whereas the loss of the allies was very inconsiderable, asit chiefly fell upon a few regiments of British infantry, commanded bythe major-generals Waldegrave and Kingsley. To the extraordinary prowessof these gallant brigades, and the fire of the British artillery, whichwas admirably served by the captains Philips, Macbean, Drummond, andFoy, the victory was in a great measure ascribed. The same night theenemy passed the Weser and burnt the bridges over that river. Next daythe garrison of Minden surrendered at discretion; and here the victorsfound a great number of French officers wounded. DUKE DE BRISSAC ROUTED. At last the mareschal de Contades seemed inclined to retreat through thedefiles of Wittekendstein to Paderborn; but he was fain to change hisresolution, in consequence of his having received advice, that on thevery day of his own defeat the duke de Brissac was vanquished by thehereditary prince in the neighbourhood of Coveldt, so that the passageof the mountains was rendered impracticable. The duke de Brissac hadbeen 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 princeand general de Kilmanseg, with such vivacity and address that his troopswere totally routed, with the loss of six cannon, and a considerablenumber of men killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. After the battle ofMinden, colonel Freytag, at the head of the light troops, took, in theneighbourhood of Detmold, all the equipage of the mareschal de Contades, the prince of Condé, and the duke de Brissac, with part of theirmilitary chest and chancery, containing papers of the utmostconsequence. [522] _[See note 4 C, at the end of this Vol. ]_ GENEEAL IMHOFF TAKES MUNSTER. Prince Ferdinand having garrisoned Minden, marched to Hervorden; and thehereditary prince passed the Weser at Hamelen, in order to pursue theenemy, who retreated to Cassel, and from thence by the way of Marburgas far as Giessen. In a word, they were continually harassed bythat enterprising prince, who seized every opportunity of making animpression upon their army, took the greatest part of their baggage, andcompelled them to abandon every place they possessed in Westphalia. Thenumber of his prisoners amounted to fifteen hundred men, besides thegarrison left at Cassel, which surrendered at discretion. He likewisesurprised a whole battalion, and defeated a considerable detachmentunder the command of M. D'Armentieres. In the meantime, the alliedarmy advanced in regular marches; and prince Ferdinand, having takenpossession of Cassel, detached general Imhoff with a body of troops toreduce the city of Munster, which he accordingly began to bombard andcannonade; but d'Armentieres being joined by a fresh body of troopsfrom the Lower Rhine, advanced to its relief, and compelled Imhoff toraise the siege. It was not long, however, before this general was alsoreinforced; then he measured back his march to Munster, and the Frenchcommander withdrew in his turn. The place was immediately shut up bya close blockade, which, however, did not prevent the introductionof supplies. The city of Munster being an object of importance, wasdisputed with great obstinacy. Armentieres received reinforcements, andthe body commanded by Imhoff was occasionally augmented; But the siegewas not formally undertaken till November, when some heavy artillerybeing brought from England, the place was regularly invested, and theoperations carried on with such vigour, that in a few days the citysurrendered on capitulation. Prince Ferdinand having possessed himself of the town and castle ofMarburg, proceeded with the army to Neidar-Weimar, and there encamped;while Contades remained at Giessen, on the south side of the riverLahn, where he was joined by a colleague in the person of the mareschald'Etrées. By this time he was become very unpopular among the troops, onaccount of the defeat at Minden, which he is said to have charged on themisconduct of Broglio, who recriminated on him in his turn, and seemedto gain credit at the court of Versailles. While the two armieslay encamped in the neighbourhood of each other, nothing passed butskirmishes among the light troops, and little excursive expeditions. The French army was employed in removing their magazines, andfortifying Giessen, as if their intention was to retreat toFranckfort-on-the-Maine, after having consumed all the forage, and madea military desert between the Lahn and that river. In the beginningof November, the duke de Broglio returned from Paris, and assumed thecommand of the army, from whence Contades and d'Etrêes immediatelyretired, with several other general officers that were senior to the newcommander. The duke of Wirtemberg having taken possession of Fulda, the hereditaryprince of Brunswick resolved to beat up his quarters. For this purposehe selected a body of troops, and began his march from Marburg early inthe morning on the twenty-eighth day of November. Next night they layat Augerbauch, where they defeated the volunteers of Nassau; and at oneo'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 sumptuousentertainment. The hereditary prince having reconnoitred the avenuesin person, took such measures, that the troops of Wirtemberg, who werescattered in small bodies, would have been cut off if they had nothastily retired into the town, where however they found no shelter. Theprince forced open the gates, and they retreated to the other side ofthe town, where four battalions of them were defeated and taken; whilethe duke himself, with the rest of his forces, filed off on the otherside of the Fulda. Two pieces of cannon, two pair of colours, and alltheir baggage, fell into the hands of the victors; and the hereditaryprince advanced as far as Rupertenrade, a place situated on the rightflank of the French army. Perhaps this motion hastened the resolutionof the duke de Broglio to abandon Giessen, and fall back to Friedberg, where he established his head-quarters. The allied army immediately tookpossession of his camp at Kleinlinnes and Heuchelam, and seemed to makepreparations for the siege of Giessen. A BODY OF PRUSSIANS MAKE AN INCURSION INTO POLAND. While both armies remained in this position, the duke de Broglioreceived the staff as mareschal of France, and made an attempt to beatup the quarters of the allies. Having called in all his detachments, hemarched up to them on the twenty-fifth day of December; but found themso well disposed to give him a warm reception, that he thought proper tolay aside his design, and nothing but a mutual cannonade ensued; thenhe returned to his former quarters. From. Kleinlinnes the allied armyremoved to Corsdoff, where they were cantoned till the beginning ofJanuary, when they fell back as far as Marburg, where prince Ferdinandestablished his head-quarters. The enemy had by this time retrievedtheir superiority, in consequence of the hereditary prince beingdetached with fifteen thousand men to join the king of Prussia atFribourge, in Saxony. Thus, by the victory at Minden, the dominions ofHanover and Brunswick were preserved, and the enemy obliged to evacuatethat part of Westphalia. Perhaps they might have been driven to theother side of the Ehine, had not the general of the allies been obligedto weaken his army for the support of the Prussian monarch, who had metwith divers disasters in the course of this campaign. It was not to anyrelaxation or abatement of his usual vigilance and activity, that thiswarlike prince owed the several checks he received. Even in the middleof winter, his troops under general Manteuffel acted with great spiritagainst the Swedes in Pomerania. They made themselves masters ofDamgarten, and several other places which the Swedes had garrisoned; andthe frost setting in, those who were quartered in the isle of Useclompassed over the ice to Wolgast, which they reduced without muchdifficulty. They undertook the sieges of Demmen and Anclam at the sametime; 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 largequantity of ammunition. In Anclam there was a considerable magazine, with six-and-thirty cannon, mortars, and howitzers. A large detachmentunder general Knobloch surprised Erfurth, and raised considerablecontributions at Gotha, Isenach, and Fulda; from whence also theyconveyed all the forage and provisions to Saxe-Naumberg. In the latterend of February, the Prussian major-general Wobersnow marched with astrong body of troops from Glogau in Silesia, to Poland; and, advancingby way of Lissa, attacked the castle of the prince Sulkowski, a Polishgrandee, who had been very active against the interest of thePrussian monarch. After some resistance he was obliged to surrender atdiscretion, and was sent prisoner with his whole garrison to Silesia. From hence Wobersnow proceeded to Posna, where he made himself master ofa considerable magazine, guarded by two thousand cossacks, who retiredat his approach; and having destroyed several others, returned toSilesia. In April, the fort of Penamunde, in Pomerania, was surrenderedto Manteuffel; and about the same time a detachment of Prussiantroops bombarded Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh. Meanwhilereinforcements were sent to the Russian army in Poland, which inApril began to assemble upon the Vistula. The court of Petersburgh hadlikewise begun to equip a large fleet, by means of which the army mightbe supplied with military stores and provisions; but this armamentwas retarded by an accidental fire at Revel, which destroyed all themagazines 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 atRhonstock, near Strigau; and advancing to the neighbourhood of Landshut, encamped at Bolchenhayne. On the other hand, the Austrian army, underthe command of mareschal Daun, was assembled at Munchengratz, inBohemia; and the campaign was opened by an exploit of general Beck, whosurprised and made prisoners a battalion of Prussian grenadiers, posted under colonel Duringsheven, at Griefenberg, on the frontiers ofSilesia. This advantage, however, was more than counterbalanced by theactivity and success of prince Henry, brother to the Prussian king, whocommanded the army which wintered in Saxony. About the middle ofApril, he marched in two columns towards Bohemia, forced the pass ofPeterswalde, destroyed the Austrian magazine at Assig, burned theirboats upon the Elbe, seized the forage and provisions which the enemyhad left at Lowositz and Leutmeritz, and demolished a new bridge whichthey had built for their convenience. At the same time general Hulsenattacked the pass of Passberg, guarded by general Reynard, who wastaken, with two thousand men, including fifty officers: then he advancedto Sate, in hopes of securing the Austrian magazines; but these theenemy consumed, that they might not fall into his hands, and retiredtowards Prague with the utmost precipitation. Prince Henry having happily achieved these adventures, and filledall Bohemia with alarm and consternation, returned to Saxony, anddistributed his troops in quarters of refreshment in the neighbourhoodof Dresden. In a few days, however, they were again put in motion, andmarched to Obelgeburgen; from whence he continued his route throughVoightland, in order to attack the army of the empire in Franconia. Heaccordingly entered this country by the way of Hoff, on the seventhof May, and next day sent a detachment to attack general Macguire, whocommanded a body of imperialists at Asch, and sustained the charge withgreat gallantry: but finding himself in danger of being overpowered bynumbers, he retired in the night towards Egra. The army of the empire, commanded by the prince de Deux-Ponts, being unable to cope with thePrussian general in the field, retired from Cullembach to Bamberg, andfrom thence to Nuremberg, where, in all probability, they would not havebeen suffered to remain unmolested, had not prince Homy been recalled toSaxony. He had already taken Cronach and the castle of Rottenberg, andeven advanced as far as Bamberg, when he received advice that a body ofAustrians, under general Gemmingen, had penetrated into Saxony. Thisdiversion effectually saved the army of the empire, as prince Henryimmediately returned to the electorate, after having laid the bishopricof Bamberg and the marquisate of Cullembach under contribution, destroyed all the magazines provided for the imperial army, and sentfifteen hundred prisoners to Leipsic. A party of imperialists, undercount Palfy, endeavoured to harass him in his retreat; but they weredefeated near Hoff, with considerable slaughter: nevertheless, theimperial army, though now reduced to ten thousand men, returned toBamberg; and as the Prussians approached the frontiers of Saxony, theAustrian general, Gemmingen, retired into Bohemia. During all thesetransactions, the mareschal count Daun remained with the grand Austrianarmy at Schurtz, in the circle of Koningsgratz; while the Prussianscommanded by the king in person, continued quietly encamped betweenLandshut and Schweidnitz. General Fouquet commanded a large bodyof troops in the southern part of Silesia; but these being mostlywithdrawn, in order to oppose the Russians, the Austrian general deFille, who hovered on the frontiers of Moravia with a considerabledetachment, took advantage of this circumstance; and advancinginto Silesia, encamped within sight of Neiss. As mutual calumny andrecriminations of all kinds were not spared on either side, during theprogress of this war, the enemies of the Prussian monarch did not failto charge him with cruelties committed at Schwerin, the capital ofMecklenburgh, which his troops had bombarded, plundered of its archives, cannon, and all its youth fit to carry arms, who were pressed into hisservice: he besides taxed the duchy at seven thousand men and a millionof crowns, by way of contribution. He was also accused of barbarity, inissuing an order for removing all the prisoners from Berlin to Spandau;but this step he justified in a letter to his ministers at foreigncourts, declaring that he had provided for all the officers that werehis prisoners the best accommodation, and permitted them to residein his capital; that some of them had grossly abused the liberty theyenjoyed, by maintaining illicit correspondence, and other practicesequally offensive, which had obliged him to remove them to the town ofSpandau: he desired, however, that the town might not be confounded withthe fortress of that name, from which it was entirely separated, and inwhich they would enjoy the same ease they had found at Berlin, thoughunder more vigilant inspection. His conduct on this occasion, he said, was sufficiently authorized, not only by the law of nations, but alsoby the example of his enemies; inasmuch as the empress-queen had neversuffered any of his officers who had fallen into her hands to reside atVienna; and the court of Russia had sent some of them as far asCasan. He concluded with saying, that, as his enemies had let slipno opportunities of blackening his most innocent proceedings, he hadthought proper to acquaint his ministers with his reasons for makingthis alteration with regard to his prisoners, whether French, Austrians, or Russians. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} GENERAL WEDEL DEFEATED BY THE RUSSIANS. In the beginning of June, the king of Prussia, understanding that theRussian army had begun their march from the Vistula, ordered theseveral bodies of his troops, under Hulsen and Wobersnow, reinforced bydetachments from his other armies, to join the forces under count Dohna, as general in chief, and march into Poland. Accordingly, they advancedto Meritz, where the count having published a declaration [523] _[Seenote 4 D, at the end of this Vol. ]_, he continued his march towardsPosna, where he found the Russian army, under count Soltikoff, stronglyencamped, having in their rear that city and the river Warta, and intheir front a formidable intrenchment mounted with a great number ofcannon. Count Dohna, judging it impracticable to attack them in this situationwith any prospect of success, endeavoured to intercept their convoys tothe eastward; but for want of provisions, was in a little time obligedto return towards the Oder: then the Russians advanced to Zullichaw, inSilesia. The king of Prussia thinking count Dohna had been rather toocautious, considering the emergency of his affairs, gave him leave toretire for the benefit of his health, and conferred his command upongeneral Wedel, who resolved to give the Russians battle without delay. Thus determined, he marched against them in two columns, and on thetwenty-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 afew days the Russians made themselves masters of Franckfort upon theOder. By this time the armies of count Daun and the king of Prussia had madeseveral motions. The Austrians having quitted their camp at Schurtz, advanced towards Zittau in Lusatia, where having halted a few days, theyresumed their march, and encamped at Gorlithayn, between Sudenberg andMark-Dissau. His Prussian majesty, in order to observe their motions, marched by the way of Hertzberg to Lahn, and his vanguard skirmishedwith that of the Austrians, commanded by Laudohn, who entered Silesiaby the way of Griffenberg. The Austrian general was obliged to retreatwith loss; while the king penetrated into Silesia, that he might beat hand to act against the Russians, whose progress was now become thechief object of his apprehension. He no sooner received intimationthat Wedel had been worsted, than he marched with a select body of tenthousand men from his camp in Silesia, in order to take upon himthe command of Wedel's army, leaving the rest of his forces stronglyencamped, under the direction of his brother prince Henry, who hadjoined him before this event. Count Daun being apprized of the king'sintention, and knowing the Russians were very defective in cavalry, immediately detached a body of twelve thousand horse to join them, underthe command of Laudohn, and these, penetrating in two columns throughSilesia and Lusatia, with some loss, arrived in the Russian camp at avery critical juncture. Meanwhile the king of Prussia joined generalWedel on the fourth day of August, at Muhlrose, where he assumed thecommand of the army; but finding it greatly inferior to the enemy, herecalled general Finck, whom he had detached some time before, with abody of nine thousand men, to oppose the progress of the imperialists inSaxony; for when prince Henry joined his brother in Silesia, the army ofthe empire had entered that electorate. Thus reinforced, the number ofthe king's army at Muhlrose did not exceed fifty thousand, whereas theRussians were more numerous by thirty thousand. They had chosen a strongcamp at the village of Cunersdorf, almost opposite to Franckfort uponthe Oder, and increased the natural strength of their situation, byintrenchments mounted with a numerous artillery. In other circumstancesit might have been deemed a rash and ridiculous enterprise, to attacksuch an army under such complicated disadvantages; but here was no roomfor 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 onthe twelfth day of August, at two in the morning, his troops were inmotion. The army feeing formed in a wood, advanced towards the enemy, and about eleven the action was begun with a severe cannonade. Thishaving produced the desired effect, he charged the left wing of theRussian army with his best troops formed in columns. After a veryobstinate dispute, the enemy's intrenchments were forced with greatslaughter, and seventy pieces of cannon fell into the hands of thePrussians. A narrow defile was afterwards passed, and several redoubtsthat covered the village of Cunersdorf were taken by assault, one afteranother: one-half of the task was not yet performed; the Russians made afirm stand at the village, but they were overborne by the impetuosity ofthe Prussians, who drove them from post to post up to the last redoubtsthey had to defend. As the Russians kept their ground until they werehewn down in their ranks, this success was not acquired without infinitelabour, and a considerable expense of blood. After a furious contest ofsix hours, fortune seemed to declare so much in favour of thePrussians, that the king despatched the following billet to the queenat Berlin:--"Madam, we have driven the Russians from theirintrenchments. In two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory. " Thisintimation was premature, and subjected the writer to the ridicule ofhis enemies. The Russians were staggered, not routed. General Soltikoffrallied his troops, and reinforced his left wing under cover ofa redoubt, which was erected on an eminence called the Jews'Burying-ground, and here they stood in order of battle, with the mostresolute countenance, favoured by the situation, which was naturallydifficult of access, and now rendered almost impregnable by thefortification, and a numerous artillery, still greatly superior to thatof the Prussians. Had the king contented himself with the advantagealready gained, all the world would have acknowledged he had foughtagainst terrible odds with astonishing prowess, and that he judiciouslydesisted when he could no longer persevere, without incurring theimputation of being actuated by frenzy or despair. His troops hadnot only suffered severely from the enemy's fire, which was close, deliberate, and well directed; but they were fatigued by the hardservice, and fainting with the heat of the day, which was excessive. His general officers are said to have reminded him of all thesecircumstances, and to have dissuaded him from hazarding an attemptattended with such danger and difficulty, as even an army of freshtroops could hardly hope to surmount. He rejected this salutaryadvice, and ordered his infantry to begin a new attack, which beingan enterprise beyond their strength, they were repulsed with greatslaughter. Being afterwards rallied, they returned to the charge; theymiscarried again, and their loss was redoubled. Being thus renderedunfit for further service, the cavalry succeeded to the attack, andrepeated their unsuccessful efforts, until they were almost broke, andentirely exhausted. At this critical juncture, the whole body of theAustrian and Russian cavalry, which had hitherto remained inactive, andwere therefore fresh and in spirits, fell in among the Prussian horsewith great fury, broke their line at the first charge, and forcing themback upon the infantry, threw them into such disorder as could not berepaired. The Prussian army being thus involved in confusion, was seizedwith a panic, and in a few minutes totally defeated and dispersed, notwithstanding the personal efforts of the king, who hazarded his lifein the hottest parts of the battle, led on his troops three times tothe charge, had two horses killed under him, and his clothes in severalparts penetrated with musket-balls. His army being routed, and thegreater 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 tothe queen, couched in these terms: "Remove from Berlin with the royalfamily. Let the archives be carried to Potsdam. The town may makeconditions with the enemy. " The horror and confusion which thisintimation produced at Berlin may be easily conceived: horror themore aggravated, as it seized them in the midst of their rejoicingsoccasioned by the first despatch; and this was still more dreadfullyaugmented, by a subsequent indistinct relation, importing that the armywas totally routed, the king missing, and the enemy in full march toBerlin. The battle of Cunersdorf was by far the most bloody action whichhappened since the commencement of hostilities. The carnage was trulyhorrible: above twenty thousand Prussians lay dead on the field; andamong these general Putkammer. The generals Seydlitz, Itzenplitz, Hulsen, Finck, and Wedel, the prince of Wirtemberg, and fivemajor-generals, were wounded. The loss of the enemy amounted to tenthousand. It must be owned, that if the king was prodigal of his ownperson, he was likewise very free with the lives of his subjects. At notime, since the days of ignorance and barbarity, were the lives of mensquandered away with such profusion as in the course of this German war. They were not only unnecessarily sacrificed in various exploits of noconsequence, but lavishly exposed to all the rigour and distemper ofwinter campaigns, which were introduced on the continent, in despiteof nature, and in contempt of humanity. Such are the improvements ofwarriors without feeling! such the refinements of German discipline! Onthe day that succeeded the defeat at Cunersdorf, the king of Prussia, having lost the best part of his army, together with his whole trainof artillery, repassed the Oder, and encamped at Retwin, from whence headvanced to Fustenwalde, and saw with astonishment the forbearance ofthe enemy. Instead of taking possession of Berlin, and overwhelming thewreck of the king's troops, destitute of cannon, and cut off fromall communication with prince Henry, they took no step to improve thevictory they had gained. Laudohn retired with his horse immediatelyafter the battle; and count Soltikoff marched with part of the Russiansinto Lusatia, where he joined Daun, and held consultations with thatgeneral. Perhaps the safety of the Prussian monarch was owing to thejealousy subsisting among his enemies. In all probability, the court ofVienna would have been chagrined to see the Russians in possession ofBrandenburgh, and therefore thwarted their designs upon that electorate. The king of Prussia had now reason to be convinced, that his situationcould not justify such a desperate attack as that in which he hadmiscarried at Cunersdorf; for if the Russians did not attempt thereduction of his capital, now that he was totally defeated, and theflower of his army cut off, they certainly would not have aspired atthat conquest while he lay encamped in the neighbourhood with fiftythousand veterans, inured to war, accustomed to conquer, confident ofsuccess, and well supplied with provisions, ammunition, and artillery. As the victors allowed him time to breathe, he improved this intervalwith equal spirit and sagacity. He re-assembled and refreshed his brokentroops: he furnished his camp with cannon from the arsenal at Berlin, which likewise supplied him with a considerable number of recruits; herecalled general Kleist, with five thousand men, from Pome-rania, and ina 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 detachedsix thousand men under general Wunch, to check the progress of theimperialists in that electorate; and perceiving the Russians intended tobesiege Great Glogau, he, with the rest of the army, took post betweenthem and that city, so as to frustrate their design. While the fourgreat armies, commanded by the king of Prussia, general Soltikoff, prince Henry, and count Daun, lay encamped in Lusatia, and on theborders of Silesia, watching the motions of each other, the war wascarried on by detachments with great vivacity. General Wunch havingretaken Leipsic, and joined Finck at Rulinbourg, the united body begantheir march towards Dresden; and a detachment from the army of theempire, which had encamped near Dobelia, retired at their approach. As they advanced to Nossin, general Haddick abandoned the advantageousposts he occupied near Roth-Seemberg; and, being joined by the wholearmy of the empire, resolved to attack the Prussian generals, who nowencamped at Corbitz near Meissen. Accordingly, on the twenty-first dayof September, he advanced against them, and endeavoured to dislodge themby a furious cannonade, which was mutually maintained from morning tonight, when he found himself obliged to retire with considerable loss;leaving the field of battle, with about five hundred prisoners, in thehands of the Prussians. GENERAL FINCK SURROUNDED AND TAKEN. This advantage was succeeded by another exploit of prince Henry, who, onthe twenty-third day of the month, quitted his camp at Hornsdorf, nearGorlitz; and, after an incredible march of eleven German miles, by theway of Rothenberg, arrived about five in the afternoon at Hoyerswerda, where he surprised a body of four thousand men, commanded by generalVehla, killed six hundred, and made twice that number prisoners;including the commander himself. After this achievement he joined thecorps of Finck and Wunch; while mareschal Daun likewise abandonedhis camp in Lusatia, and made a forced march to Dresden, in order tofrustrate the prince's supposed design on that capital. The Russians, disappointed in their scheme upon Glogau, had repassed the Oder atNeusalze, and were en? camped at Fraustadt; general Laudohn, with a bodyof Austrians, lay at Sclichtingsheim; and the king of Prussia at Koben;all three on or near the banks of that river. Prince Henry, perceivinghis army almost surrounded by Austrian detachments, ordered generalFinck 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 retiredfrom Duben at the approach of the Austrians. On the twenty-ninth day ofOctober, the duke d'Aremberg, with sixteen thousand Austrians, decampedfrom Dammitch, in order to occupy the heights near Pretsch, and wasencountered by general Wunch; who, being posted on two rising grounds, cannonaded the Austrians on their march with considerable effect; andthe prince took twelve hundred prisoners, including lieutenant-generalGemmington, and twenty inferior officers, with some cannon, great partof their tents, and a large quantity of baggage. The duke was obligedto change his route, while Wunch marched from Duben to Rulenburgh; andgeneral Wassersleben occupied Strehla, where next day the whole armyencamped. In this situation the prince remained till the sixteenth dayof November; when, being in danger of having his communication withTorgau cut off by the enemy, he removed to a strong camp, where his leftflank was covered with that city and the river Elbe; his right beingsecured by a wood, and great part of his front by an impassable morass. Here he was reinforced with about twenty thousand men from Silesia, andjoined by the king himself, who forthwith detached general Finck, withnineteen battalions and thirty-five squadrons, to take possession of thedefiles of Maxen and Ottendorf, with a view to hinder the retreat of theAustrians to Bohemia. This motion obliged Daun to retire to Plauen;and the king advanced to Wilsdurf, imagining that he had effectuallysucceeded in his design. Letters were sent to Berlin and Magdebourg, importing, that count Daun would be forced to hazard a battle, as he hadnow no resource but in victory. Finck had no sooner taken post on thehill near the village of Maxen, than the Austrian general sent officersto reconnoitre his situation, and immediately resolved to attack himwith the corps de reserve, under the baron de Sincere, which wasencamped in the neighbourhood of Dippodeswalda. It was forthwith dividedinto four columns, which filed off through the neighbouring woods; andthe Prussians never dreamed of their approach until they saw themselvesentirely surrounded. In this emergency they defended themselves withtheir cannon and musketry until they were overpowered by numbers, andtheir battery was taken; then they retired to another rising ground, where they rallied, but were driven from eminence to eminence, until, byfavour of the night, they made their last retreat to Falkenhayn. Inthe meantime, count Daun had made such dispositions, that at day-breakgeneral Finck found himself entirely enclosed, without the leastpossibility of escaping, and sent a trumpet to count Daun to demand acapitulation. This was granted in one single article, importing, thathe and eight other Prussian generals, with the whole body of troops theycommanded, should be received as prisoners of war. He was obligedto submit; and his whole corps, amounting to nineteen battalions andthirty-five squadrons, with sixty-four pieces of cannon, fifty pair ofcolours, and twenty-five standards, fell into the hands of the Austriangenerals. This misfortune was the more mortifying to the king ofPrussia, as it implied a censure on his conduct, for having detachedsuch a numerous body of troops to a situation where they could notbe sustained by the rest of the army. On the other hand, the courtof Vienna exulted in this victory, as an infallible proof of Daun'ssuperior talents; and, in point of glory and advantage, much morethan an equivalent for the loss of the Saxon army, which, thoughless numerous, capitulated in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-six, after having held out six weeks against the whole power ofthe Prussian monarch. General Hulsen had been detached, with aboutnine battalions and thirty squadrons, to the assistance of Finck; buthe arrived at Klingenberg too late to be of any service; and, beingrecalled, 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 thePrussians at the close of this campaign. General Diercke, who was postedwith seven battalions of infantry and a thousand horse, on the rightbank of the Elbe, opposite to Meissen, finding it impracticable to lay abridge of pontoons across the river, on account of the floating ice, was obliged to transport his troops in boats; and when all were passedexcept himself, with the rear-guard, consisting of three battalions, hewas, on the third day of December, in the morning, attacked by a strongbody of Austrians, and taken, with all his men, after an obstinatedispute. The king of Prussia, weakened by these two successive defeatsthat happened in the rear of an unfortunate campaign, would hardly havebeen able to maintain his ground at Fribourg, had he not been at thisjuncture reinforced by the body of troops under the command of thehereditary prince of Brunswick. As for Daun, the advantages he hadgained did not elevate his mind above the usual maxims of his cautiousdiscretion. Instead of attacking the king of Prussia, respectable andformidable even in adversity, he quietly occupied the strong camp atPirna, where he might be at hand to succour Dresden in case it should beattacked, and maintain his communication with Bohemia. CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN. By this time the Russians had retired to winter-quarters in Poland; andthe 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 werelost, and great part of Germany was exposed to rapine, murder, famine, desolation, and every species of misery that war could engender. In vainthe confederating powers of Austria, Russia, and Sweden, unitedtheir efforts to crush the Prussian monarch. Though his army had beendefeated, and he himself totally overthrown with great slaughter in theheart of his own dominions; though he appeared in a desperate situation, environed by hostile armies, and two considerable detached bodies of histroops were taken or destroyed; yet he kept all his adversaries at baytill the approach of winter, which proved his best auxiliary, and evenmaintained his footing in the electorate of Saxony, which seemed tobe the prize contested between him and the Austrian general. Yet, longbefore the approach of winter, one would imagine he must have beencrushed between the shock of so many adverse hosts, had they been intentupon closing him in, and heartily concurred for his destruction; but, instead of urging the war with accumulated force, they acted in separatebodies, and with jealous eye seemed to regard the progress of eachother. It was not, therefore, to any compunction, or kind forbearance, in the court of Vienna, that the inactivity of Daun was owing. Theresentment of the house of Austria seemed, on the contrary, to glow withredoubled indignation; and the majority of the Germanic body seemed toenter with warmth into her quarrel. [526] _[See note 4 E, at the end ofthis Vol. ]_ ARRET OF THE EVANGELICAL BODY AT RATISBON. When the protestant states in arms against the court of Vienna were putunder the ban of the empire, the evangelical body, though without theconcurrence of the Swedish and Danish ministers, issued an arrêt atRatisbon, in the month of November of the last year, and to this annexedthe twentieth article of the capitulation signed by the emperor at hiselection, in order to demonstrate that the protestant states claimednothing but what was agreeable to the constitution. They declared, thattheir association was no more than a mutual engagement, by which theyobliged themselves to adhere to the laws without suffering, under anypretext, that the power of putting under the ban of the empire shouldreside wholly in the emperor. They affirmed that this power wasrenounced, in express terms, by the capitulation: they therefore refusedto admit, as legal, any sentence of the ban deficient in the requisiteconditions: and inferred that, according to law, neither the elector ofBrandenburgh, nor the elector of Hanover, nor the duke of Wolfenbuttel, nor the landgrave of Hesse, nor the count of Lippe-Buckebourg, ought tobe proscribed. The imperial protestant cities having acceded to thisarrêt or declaration, the emperor, in a rescript, required them toretract their accession to the resolution of the evangelic body; which, it must be owned, was altogether inconsistent with their formeraccession to the resolutions of the diet against the king of Prussia. This rescript having produced no effect, the arrêt was answered inFebruary by an imperial decree of commission carried to the dictature, importing, that the imperial court could no longer hesitate about theexecution of the ban, without infringing that very article of thecapitulation which they had specified: that the invalidity of the arrêtwas manifest, inasmuch as the electors of Brandenburgh and Brunswick, the dukes of Saxe-Gotha and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, and the landgrave ofHesse-Cassel, were the very persons who disturbed the empire, this, therefore, being an affair in which they themselves were parties, theycould not possibly be qualified to concur in a resolution of thisnature; besides, the number of the other states which had acceded wasvery inconsiderable: for these reasons, the emperor could not butconsider the resolution in question as an act whereby the general peaceof the empire was disturbed, both by the parties that had incurred theban, and by the states which had joined them, in order to support andfavour their frivolous pretensions. His imperial majesty expressed hishope and confidence, that the other electors, princes, and states of theempire, would vote the said resolution to be null and of no force; andnever suffer so small a number of states, who were adherents of, andabettors to, the disturbers of the empire, to prejudice the rights andprerogatives of the whole Germanic body; to abuse the name of theassociated states of the Augsburgh confession, in order forcibly toimpose a _factum_ entirely repugnant to the constitution of the empire;to deprive their co-estates of the right of voting freely, and therebyendeavouring totally to subvert the system of the Germanic body. Theseremarks will speak for themselves to the reflection of the unprejudicedreader. FRENCH MINISTRY STOP PAYMENT. The implacability of the court of Vienna was equalled by nothing but theperseverance of the French ministry. Though their numerous army hadnot gained one inch of ground in Westphalia, the campaign on that sidehaving ended exactly where it had begun; though the chief source oftheir commerce in the West Indies had fallen into the hands of GreatBritain, and they had already laid their account with the loss ofQuebec; though their coffers hung with emptiness, and their confederateswere clamorous for subsidies, --they still resolved to maintain the warin Germany. This was doubtless the most politic resolution to whichthey could adhere; because their enemies, instead of exerting alltheir efforts where there was almost a certainty of success, kindlycondescended to seek them where alone their whole strength couldbe advantageously employed, without any great augmentation of theirordinary expense. Some of the springs of their national wealth wereindeed exhausted, or diverted into other channels; but the subjectsdeclared for a continuation of the war, and the necessities of the statewere supplied by the loyalty and attachment of the people. They not onlyacquiesced in the bankruptcy of public credit, when the court stoppedpayment of the interest on twelve different branches of the nationaldebt, but they likewise sent in large quantities of plate to be melteddown, and coined into specie, for the maintenance of the war. All thebills drawn on the government by the colonies were protested to animmense amount, and a stop was put to all the annuities granted atMarseilles on sums borrowed for the use of the marine. Besides theconsiderable savings occasioned by these acts of state-bankruptcy, theyhad resources of credit among the merchants of Holland, who beheld thesuccess of Great Britain with an eye of jealousy; and were, moreover, inflamed against her with the most rancorous resentment, on accountof the captures which had been made of their West India ships by theEnglish cruisers. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE STATES-GENERAL SEND OVER DEPUTIES TO ENGLAND. In the month of February, the merchants of Amsterdam having receivedadvice that the cargoes of their West India ships detained by theEnglish, would, by the British courts of judicature, be declared lawfulprizes, as being French property, sent a deputation, with a petition tothe states-general, entreating them to use their intercession with thecourt of London, representing the impossibility of furnishing theproofs required, in so short a time as that prescribed by the Britishadmiralty; and that, as the island of St. Eustatia had but one road, andthere 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 thecolony. * 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 thissubject to the ministry of Great Britain, they had no effect upon theproceedings of the court of admiralty, which continued to condemn thecargoes of the Dutch ships as often as they were proved to be Frenchproperty; and this resolute uniformity, in a little time intimidated thesubjects 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 aformal resolution to equip five-and-twenty ships of war; and orders wereimmediately despatched to the officers of the admiralty to completethe armament with all possible expedition. In the month of April, thestates-general sent over to London three ministers-extraordinary, to make representations, and remove if possible the causes ofmisunderstanding that had arisen between Great Britain and the UnitedProvinces. They delivered their credentials to the king with a formalharangue: they said his majesty would see, by the contents of the letterthey had the honour to present, how ardently their high mightinessesdesired to cultivate the sincere friendship which had so long subsistedbetween the two nations, so necessary for their common welfare andpreservation; they expressed an earnest wish that they might be happyenough to remove those difficulties which had for some time struck atthis friendship, and caused so much prejudice to the principal subjectsof the republic; who, by the commerce they carried on, constitutedits greatest strength and chief support. They declared their wholeconfidence was placed in his majesty's equity, for which the republichad the highest regard; and in the good-will he had always expressedtowards a state which on all occasions had interested itself inpromoting his glory--a state which was the guardian of the precioustrust bequeathed by a prince so dear to his affection. "Full of thisconfidence (said they), we presume to flatter ourselves that yourmajesty will be graciously pleased to listen to our just demands, andwe shall endeavour, during the course of our ministry, to merit yourapprobation, in strengthening the bonds by which the two nations oughtto be for ever united. " In answer to this oration, the king assured themthat he had always regarded their high mightinesses as his best friends. He said, if difficulties had arisen concerning trade, they ought to beconsidered as the consequences of a burdensome war which he wasobliged to wage with France. He desired they would assure their highmightinesses, that he should endeavour, on his part, to remove theobstacles in question; and expressed his satisfaction that they thedeputies were come over with the same disposition. --What representationsthese deputies made, further than complaints of some irregularities inthe conduct of the British sea-officers, we cannot pretend to specify;but as the subject in dispute related entirely to the practice of thecourts of judicature, it did not fall properly under the cognizance ofthe government, which hath no right to interfere with the administrationof justice. In all probability, the subjects of Holland were by no meanspleased with the success of this negotiation, for they murmured againstthe English nation without ceasing. They threatened and complainedby turns; and eagerly seized every opportunity of displaying theirpartiality 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 atthe Hague, presented a memorial to the states-general, remonstrating, that the merchants of Holland carried on a contraband trade in favourof France, by transporting cannon and warlike stores from the Baltic toHolland, in Dutch bottoms, under the borrowed names of private persons;and then conveying them by the inland rivers and canals, or through theDutch fortresses, to Dunkirk and other places of France. He desired thatthe king his master might be made easy on that head, by their puttingan immediate stop to such practices, so repugnant to the connexionssubsisting by treaty between Great Britain and the United Provinces, as well as to every idea of neutrality. He observed, that the attentionwhich his majesty had lately given to their representations against theexcesses of the English privateers, by procuring an act of parliament, which laid them under proper restrictions, gave him a good title to thesame regard on the part of their high mightinesses. He reminded themthat their trading towns felt the good effects of these restrictions;and that the freedom of navigation which their subjects enjoyed amidstthe troubles and distractions of Europe, had considerably augmentedtheir commerce. He observed, that some return ought to be made to suchsolid proofs of the king's friendship and moderation; at least, themerchants, who were so ready to complain of England, ought not to becountenanced in excesses which would have justified the most rigorousexamination of their conduct. He recalled to their memories that, duringthe course of the present war, the king had several times appealed totheir high mightinesses, and to their ministers, on the liberty they hadgiven to carry stores through the fortresses of the republic for the useof France, to invade the British dominions; and though his majesty hadpassed over in silence many of these instances of complaisance to hisenemy, he was no less sensible of the injury; but he chose rather to bea sufferer himself, than to increase the embarrassment of his neighboursor extend the flames of war. He took notice that even the court ofVienna had, upon more than one occasion, employed its interest withtheir high mightinesses, and lent its name to obtain passes for warlikestores and provisions for the French troops, under colour of thebarrier-treaty, which it no longer observed; nay, after having putFrance in possession of Ostend and Nieuport, in manifest violation ofthat treaty, and without any regard to the rights which they and theking his master had acquired in that treaty, at the expense of so muchblood 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 theFrench king to be removed from Amsterdam; but these scruples vanishedentirely on the receipt of a counter-memorial presented by the countd'Affrey, the French ambassador, who mingled some effectual threats withhis expostulation. He desired them to remember, that, during the wholecourse of the war, the French king had required nothing from theirfriendship that was inconsistent with the strictest impartiality; and, if he had deviated from the engagements subsisting between him andthe republic, it was only by granting the most essential and lucrativefavours to the subjects of their high mightinesses. He observed, thatthe English, notwithstanding the insolence of their behaviour to therepublic, had derived, on many occasions, assistance from the protectiontheir effects had found in the territories of the United Provinces; thatthe artillery, stores, and ammunition belonging to Wessel were depositedin their territories, which the Hanoverian army in passing the Rhine hadvery little respected; that when they repassed that river, they had noother way of saving their sick and wounded from the hands of the French, than by embarking them in boats, and conveying them to places wherethe French left them unmolested, actuated by their respect for theneutrality of the republic; that part of their magazines was stilldeposited in the towns of the United Provinces, where also the enemiesof France had purchased and contracted for very considerable quantitiesof gunpowder. He told them that, though these and several othercircumstances might have been made the subject of the justestcomplaints, the king of France did not think it proper to require thatthe freedom and independency of the subjects of the republic should berestrained in branches of commerce that were not inconsistent withits neutrality, persuaded that the faith of an engagement ought to beinviolably preserved, though attended with some accidental and transientdisadvantages. He gave them to understand, that the king his master hadordered the generals of his army carefully to avoid encroaching on theterritory of the republic, and transferring thither the theatre of thewar, when h in enemies retreated that way before they were forced topass the Ehine. After such unquestionable marks of regard, he said, his king would have the justest ground of complaint, if, contrary toexpectation, he should hear that the artillery and stores belonging tohim were detained at Amsterdam. Thirdly, he declared that such detentionwould be construed as a violation of the neutrality; and demanded, inthe name of the king his master, that the artillery and stores should, without delay, be forwarded to Flanders by the canals of Amsterdam andthe inland navigation. This last argument was so conclusive, that theyimmediately granted the necessary passports; in consequence of which thecannon were conveyed to the Austrian Netherlands. DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN. The powers in the southern parts of Europe were too much engrossed withtheir own concerns, to interest themselves deeply in the quarrelsthat distracted the German empire. The king of Spain, naturally of amelancholy complexion and delicate constitution, was so deeply affectedwith the loss of his queen, who died in the course of the precedingyear, that he renounced all company, neglected all business, and immuredhimself in a chamber at Villa-Viciosa, where he gave a loose to the mostextravagant sorrow. He abstained from food and rest until his strengthwas quite exhausted. He would neither shift himself, nor allow his beardto be shaved; he rejected all attempts of consolation; and remaineddeaf to the most earnest and respectful remonstrances of those who hada right to render their advice. In this case, the affliction of the mindmust have been reinforced by some peculiarity in the constitution. Heinherited a melancholy taint from his father, and this seems to havebeen dreaded as a family disease; for the infant don Louis, who likewiseresided in the palace of Villa-Viciosa, was fain to amuse himself withhunting and other diversions, to prevent his being infected with theking's disorder, which continued to gain ground notwithstanding all theefforts of medicine. The Spanish nation, naturally superstitious, hadrecourse to saints and relics; but they seemed insensible to all theirdevotion. The king, however, in the midst of all his distress, wasprevailed upon to make his will, which was written by the count deValparaiso, and signed by the duke de Bejar, high-chancellor of thekingdom. The exorbitancy of his grief, and the mortifications heunderwent, soon produced an incurable malady, under which he languishedfrom the month of September in the preceding year till the tenth ofAugust in the present, when he expired. In his will he had appointed hisbrother don Carlos, king of Naples, successor to the crown of Spain; andnominated the queen-dowager as regent of the kingdom until that princeshould arrive. Accordingly, she assumed the reins of government, andgave directions for the funeral of the deceased king, who was interredwith great pomp in the church belonging to the convent of the Visitationat Madrid. DON CARLOS SUCCEEDS TO THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN. As the death of this prince had been long expected, so the politiciansof Europe had universally prognosticated that his demise would beattended with great commotions in Italy. It had been agreed among thesubscribing powers to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, that in case donCarlos should be advanced in the course of succession to the throneof Spain, his brother don Philip should succeed him on the throne ofNaples; and the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, which nowconstituted his establishment, should revert to the house of Austria. The king of Naples had never acceded to this article; therefore he paidno regard to it on the death of his elder brother, but retained bothkingdoms, without minding the claims of the empress-queen, who he knewwas at that time in no condition to support her pretensions. Thus theGerman war proved a circumstance very favourable to his interestand ambition. Before he embarked for Spain, however, he took someextraordinary steps, which evinced him a sound politician and sagaciouslegislator. His eldest son don Philip, who had now attained thethirteenth year of his age, being found in a state of incurableidiotism [529] _[See note 4 F, at the end of this Vol. ]_, he wisely andresolutely removed him from the succession, without any regard to thepretended right of primogeniture, by a solemn act of abdication, and thesettlement of the crown of the two Sicilies in favour of his third sondon Ferdinand. In this extraordinary act he observes, that accordingto the spirit of the treaties of this age, Europe required that thesovereignty of Spain should be separated from that of Italy, when sucha separation could be effected, without transgressing the rules ofjustice: that the unfortunate prince-royal having been destitute ofreason and reflection ever since his infancy, and no hope remaining thathe could ever acquire the use of these faculties, he could not thinkof appointing him to the succession, how agreeable soever such adisposition might be to nature and his paternal affection: he wastherefore constrained, by the Divine will, to set him aside in favourof his third son don Ferdinand, whose minority obliged him to vest themanagement of these realms in a regency, which he accordingly appointed, after having previously declared his son Ferdinand from that timeemancipated and freed, not only from all obedience to his paternalpower, but even from all submission to his supreme and sovereignauthority. He then declared that the minority of the prince succeedingto the kingdom of the Two Sicilies should expire with the fifteenth yearof his age, when he should act as sovereign, and have the entire powerof the administration. He next established and explained the order ofsuccession in the male and female line; on condition that the monarchyof Spain should never be united with the kingdoms of the Two Sicilies. Finally, he transferred and made over to the said don Ferdinand thesekingdoms, with all that he possessed in Italy; and this ordinance, signed and sealed by himself and the infant don Ferdinand, andcountersigned by the counsellors and secretaries of state, in qualityof members of the regency, received all the usual forms of authenticity. Don Carlos having taken these precautions for the benefit of his thirdson, whom he left king of Naples, embarked with the rest of his familyon 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 interioreconomy of his kingdom; by pursuing the plan adopted by his predecessor;by retaining the ministry under whose auspices the happiness andcommerce of his people had been extended; and with respect to thebelligerent powers, by scrupulously adhering to that neutrality fromwhence 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 theking of Portugal was engrossed by a species of employment, which, ofall others, must be the most disagreeable to a prince of sentiment, who loves his people; namely, the trial and punishment of thoseconspirators, by whose atrocious attempt his life had been so muchendangered. Among these were numbered some of the first noblemen of thekingdom, irritated by disappointed ambition, inflamed by bigotry, and exasperated by revenge. The principal conspirator, don JosephMascarenhas and Lencastre, duke de Aveiro, marquis of Torres Novas, and conde of Santa Cruz, was hereditary lord-steward of the king'shousehold, and president of the palace-court, or last tribunal of appealin the kingdom, so that he possessed the first office at the palace, andthe second of the realm. Francisco de Assiz, marquis of Tavora, condeof St. John and Alvor, was general of the horse, and head of the thirdnoble house of the Tavoras, the most illustrious family in the kingdom, deriving their original from the ancient kings of Leon: he married hiskinswoman, who was marchioness of Tavora in her own right, and by thismarriage acquired the marquisate. Louis Bernardo de Tavora was theireldest son, who, by virtue of a dispensation from the pope, had espousedhis own aunt, donna Theresa de Tavora. Joseph Maria de Tavora, hisyoungest brother, was also involved in the guilt of his parents. The third principal concerned was don Jeronymo de Attaide, conde ofAttouguia, himself a relation, and married to the eldest daughter ofthe marquis of Tavora. The characters of all these personages wereunblemished and respectable, until this machination was detected. In thecourse of investigating this dark affair, it appeared that the duke deAveiro had conceived a personal hatred to the king, who had disappointedhim in a projected match between his son and a sister of the duke deCadaval, a minor, and prevented his obtaining some commanderies whichthe late duke de Aveiro had possessed; that this nobleman, beingdetermined to gratify his revenge against the person of his sovereign, had exerted all his art and address in securing the participation of themalecontents; that with this view he reconciled himself to the Jesuits, with whom he had been formerly at variance, knowing they were at thistime implacably incensed against the king, who had dismissed them fromtheir office of penitentiaries at court, and branded them with othermarks of disgrace, on account of their illegal and rebellious practicesin South America: the duke, moreover, insinuated himself into theconfidence of the marchioness of Tavora, notwithstanding an inveteraterivalship of pride and ambition, which had long subsisted betweenthe two families. Her resentment against the king was inflamed by themortification of her pride in repeated repulses, when she solicited thetitle of duke for her husband. Her passions were artfully fomented andmanaged by the Jesuits, to whom she had resigned the government of herconscience; and they are said to have persuaded her, that it would be ameritorious action to take away the life of a prince who was an enemyto the church, and a tyrant to his people. She, being reconciled to thescheme of assassination, exerted her influence in such a manner as toinveigle her husband, her sons and son-in law, into the same infamousdesign: and yet this lady had been always remarkable for her piety, affability, and sweetness of disposition. Many consultations were heldby 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 lastthey resolved that the king should be assassinated, and employedtwo ruffians, called Antonio Alvarez and Joseph Policarpio, for theexecution of this design, the miscarriage of which we have related amongthe transactions of the preceding year. In the beginning of January, before the circumstances of the conspiracy were known, the countsde Oberas and de Ribeira Grande were imprisoned in the castle of St. Julian, on a suspicion arising from their freedom of speech. The duchessde Aveiro, the countess of Attouguia, and the marchioness of Alorna, with their children, were sent to different nunneries; and eight Jesuitswere taken into custody. A council being appointed for the trial of theprisoners, the particulars we have related were brought to light bythe torture; and sentence of death was pronounced and executed upon theconvicted criminals. Eight wheels were fixed upon a scaffold raised inthe 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 theking's equipage, was fixed to a stake at one corner of the scaffold; andat the other was placed the effigy of his accomplice, Joseph Policarpiode Azevedo, who had made his escape. The marchioness of Tavora, beingbrought upon the scaffold between eight and nine in the morning, wasbeheaded at one stroke, and then covered with a linen cloth. Her twosons, and her son-in-law, the count of Attouguia, with three servantsof the duke de Aveiro, were first strangled at one stake, and afterwardsbroke upon wheels, where their bodies remained covered; but the dukeand the marquis, as chiefs of the conspiracy, were broken alive, andunderwent the most excruciating torments. The last that suffered wasthe assassin Alvarez, who being condemned to be burned alive, thecombustibles which had been placed on the scaffold were set on fire, the whole machine with their bodies consumed to ashes, and these ashesthrown into the sea. The estates of the three unfortunate noblemen wereconfiscated, and their dwelling-houses razed to the ground. The nameof Tavora was suppressed for ever by a public decree; but that ofMascarenhas spared, because the duke de Aveiro was a younger branch ofthe family. A reward of ten thousand crowns was offered to any personwho should apprehend the assassin who had escaped: then the embargo wastaken off the shipping. The king and royal family assisted at a public_Te Deum_, sung in the chapel of Nossa Senhoro de Livramento; onwhich occasion the king, for the satisfaction of his people, waved hishandkerchief with both hands, to show he was not maimed by the wounds hehad received. If such an attempt upon the life of a king was infamouslycruel and perfidious, it must be owned that the punishment inflictedupon the criminals was horrible to human nature. The attempt itself wasattended with some circumstances that might have staggered belief, hadit not appeared but too plain that the king was actually wounded. Onewould imagine that the duke de Aveiro, who was charged with designs onthe crown, would have made some preparation for taking advantage ofthe confusion and disorder which must have been produced by the king'sassassination; but we do not find that any thing of this nature waspremeditated. It was no more than a desperate scheme of personalrevenge, conceived without caution, and executed without conduct; acircumstance the more extraordinary, if we suppose the conspirators wereactuated by the councils of the Jesuits, who have been ever famous forfinesse and dexterity. Besides, the discovery of all the particularswas founded upon confession extorted by the rack, which at best is asuspicious evidence. Be that as it will, the Portuguese government, without waiting for a bull from the pope, sequestered all theestates and effects of the Jesuits in that kingdom, which amounted toconsiderable sums, and reduced the individuals of the society to a veryscanty allowance. Complaint of their conduct having been made to thepope, he appointed a congregation to examine into the affairs of theJesuits in Portugal. In the meantime the court of Lisbon ordered aconsiderable number of them to be embarked for Italy, and resolvedthat no Jesuits should hereafter reside within its realms. When thesetransports arrived at Civita-Vecchia, they were, by the pope's order, lodged in the Dominican and Capuchin convents of that city, until properhouses could be prepared for their reception at Tivoli and Frescati. Themost guilty of them, however, were detained in close prison in Portugal;reserved, in all probability, for a punishment more adequate to theirenormities. SESSION OPENED IN ENGLAND. England still continued to enjoy the blessings of peace, even amidst thetriumphs of war. In the month of November the session of parliament wasopened by commission; and, the commons attending in the house of peers, the lord-keeper harangued the parliament to this effect:--He gavethem to understand that his majesty had directed him to assure them, that he thought himself peculiarly happy in being able to convoke themin a situation of affairs so glorious to his crown, and advantageousto his kingdoms: that the king saw and devoutly adored the hand ofProvidence, in the many signal successes, both by sea and land, withwhich his arms had been blessed in the course of the last campaign:that he reflected with great satisfaction on the confidence which theparliament had placed in him, by making such ample provisions, andintrusting him with such extensive powers for carrying on a war, whichthe defence of their valuable rights and possessions, together with thepreservation of the commerce of his people, had rendered both just andnecessary. He enumerated the late successes of the British arms--thereduction of Goree on the coast of Africa; the conquest of so manyimportant places in America; the defeat of the French army in Canada;the reduction of their capital city of Quebec, effected with so muchhonour 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 ofthe French navy in their own harbours: events which must have filled thehearts of all his majesty's faithful subjects with the sincerest joy;and convinced his parliament that there had been no want of vigilanceor vigour on his part, in exerting those means which they, with so muchprudence and public-spirited zeal, had put into his majesty's hands. Heobserved, that the national advantages had extended even as far as theEast-Indies, where, by the Divine blessing, the dangerous designs of hismajesty's enemies had miscarried, and that valuable branch of commercehad received great benefit and protection; that the memorable victorygained over the French at Minden had long made a deep impression on theminds of his majesty's people: that if the crisis in which the battlewas fought, the superior number of the enemy, the great and ableconduct of his majesty's general, prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, wereconsidered, that action must be the subject of lasting admiration andthankfulness: that if any thing could fill the breasts of his majesty'sgood subjects with still further degrees of exultation, it would bethe distinguished and unbroken valour of the British troops, owned andapplauded by those whom they overcame. He said the glory they had gainedwas not merely their own; but, in a national view, was one of themost important circumstances of our success, as it must be a strikingadmonition to our enemies with whom they have to contend. He told themthat his majesty's good brother and ally, the king of Prussia, attackedand surrounded by so many considerable powers, had, by his magnanimityand abilities, and the bravery of his troops, been able, in a surprisingmanner, to prevent the mischiefs concerted with such united forceagainst him. He declared, by the command of his sovereign, that as hismajesty entered into this war not from views of ambition, so he did notwish to continue it from motives of resentment: that the desire ofhis majesty's heart was to see a stop put to the effusion of Christianblood: that whenever such terms of peace could be established as shouldbe just and honourable for his majesty and his allies; and by procuringsuch advantages as, from the successes of his majesty's arms, might inreason and equity be expected should bring along with them full securityfor the future; his majesty would rejoice to see the repose of Europerestored on such solid and durable foundations; and his faithfulsubjects, to whose liberal support and unshaken firmness his majestyowed so much, happy in the enjoyment of the blessings of peace andtranquillity: but, in order to this great and desirable end, he said hismajesty was confident the parliament would agree with him, that it wasnecessary to make ample provision for carrying on the war, in all parts, with the utmost vigour. He assured the commons, that the great suppliesthey had granted in the last session of parliament, had been faithfullyemployed for the purposes for which they were granted; but the uncommonextent of the war, and the various services necessary to be providedfor, in order to secure success to his majesty's measures, hadunavoidably occasioned extraordinary expenses. Finally, he repeated theassurances from the throne, of the high satisfaction his majesty tookin that union and good harmony which was so conspicuous among his goodsubjects; he said, his sovereign was happy in seeing it continued andconfirmed; he observed that experience had shown how much the nationowed to this union, which alone could secure the true happiness of hispeople. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} SUBSTANCE OF THE ADDRESSES. We shall not anticipate the reader's own reflection, by pretending tocomment upon either the matter or form of this harangue, which howeverproduced all the effect which the sovereign could desire. The houses, intheir respective addresses, seemed to vie with each other in expressionsof attachment and complacency. The peers professed their utmostreadiness to concur in the effectual support of such further measuresas his majesty, in his great wisdom, should judge necessary or expedientfor carrying on the war with vigour in all parts, and for disappointingand repelling any desperate attempts which might be made upon thesekingdoms. The commons expressed their admiration of that truegreatness of mind which disposed his majesty's heart, in the midst ofprosperities, to wish a stop put to the effusion of Christian blood, andto see tranquillity restored. They declared their entire reliance onhis majesty's known wisdom and firmness, that this desirable object, whenever it should be obtained, would be upon teems just and honourablefor his majesty and his allies; and, in order to effect that great end, they assured him they would cheerfully grant such supplies as shouldbe found necessary to sustain, and press with effect, all his extensiveoperations against the enemy. They did not fail to re-echo the speech, as usual; enumerating the trophies of the year, and extolling the kingof Prussia for his consummate genius, magnanimity, unwearied activity, and unshaken constancy of mind. Very great reason, indeed, had hismajesty to be satisfied with an address of such a nature, from ahouse of commons in which opposition lay strangled at the foot ofthe minister; in which those demagogues, who had raised themselves toreputation and renown by declaiming against continental measures, were become so perfectly reconciled to the object of their formerreprobation, as to cultivate it even with a degree of enthsiasmunknown to any former administration, and lay the nation under suchcontributions in its behalf, as no other ministry durst ever meditate. Thus disposed, it was no wonder they admired the moderation of theirsovereign in offering to treat of peace, after above a million of menhad perished by the war, and twice that number been reduced to misery;after whole provinces had been depopulated, whole-countries subdued, andthe victors themselves almost crushed by the trophies they had gained. Immediately after the addresses were presented, the commons resolvedthemselves into a committee of the whole house; and having unanimouslyvoted a supply to his majesty, began to take the particulars intoconsideration. This committee was continued till the twelfth of May, when that whole business was accomplished. For the service of theensuing year they voted seventy thousand seamen, including eighteenthousand three hundred and fifty-five marines, and for their maintenanceallotted three millions six hundred and forty thousand pounds. Thenumber of land-forces, including the British troops in Germany, and theinvalids, they fixed at fifty-seven thousand two hundred and ninety-fourmen, and granted for their subsistence one million three hundred andeighty-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-sixthousand one hundred and sixty-eight pounds, nineteen shillings: for theexpense of four regiments on the Irish establishment, serving in NorthAmerica, they voted thirty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-fourpounds, eight shillings and fourpence. For pay to the generaland general staff officers, and officers of the hospital for theland-forces, they assigned fifty-four thousand four hundred andfifty-four pounds, eleven shillings and ninepence. They voted forthe expense of the militia in South and North Britain, the sum of onehundred two thousand and six pounds, four shillings and eightpence. Theygranted for the maintenance of thirty-eight thousand seven hundred andfifty men, being the troops of Hanover, Wolfenbuttle, Saxe-Gotha, andBuckebourg, retained in the service of Great Britain, the sum of fourhundred forty-seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-two pounds, tenshillings and fivepence halfpenny; and for nineteen thousand Hessiantroops, in the same pay, they gave three hundred sixty-six thousandseven hundred and twenty-five pounds, one shilling and sixpence. Theyafterwards bestowed the sum of one hundred eight thousand and twelvepounds, twelve shillings and sevenpence, for defraying the additionalexpense of augmentations in the troops of Hanover and Hesse, and theBritish army serving in the empire. For the ordinary of the navy, including half-pay to sea-officers; for carrying on the building oftwo hospitals, one near Gosport, and the other in the neighbourhood ofPlymouth; for the support of the hospital at Greenwich; for purchasingground, erecting wharfs and other accommodations necessary forrefitting the fleets at Halifax in Nova-Scotia; for the charge of theoffice of ordnance, and defraying the extraordinary expense incurred bythat office in the course of the last year, they allowed seven hundredeighty-one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine pounds, six shillingsand sixpence. Towards paying off the navy debt, buildings, re-buildings, and repairs of the king's ships, together with the charges of transportservice, they granted one million seven hundred and one thousandseventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings and sixpence. For defrayingthe extraordinary expenses of the land-forces and other services notprovided for by parliament, comprehending the pensions for the widowsof reduced officers, they allotted the sum of nine hundred fifty-fivethousand three hundred and forty-four pounds, fifteen shillings andfivepence halfpenny. They voted one million to empower his majesty todischarge the like sum, raised in pursuance of an act made in the lastsession of parliament, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to begranted in this session of parliament. They gave six hundred and seventythousand pounds, for enabling his majesty to make good his engagementswith the king of Prussia, pursuant to a new convention between him andthat monarch, concluded on the ninth day of November in the presentyear. Fifteen thousand pounds they allowed upon account, towardsenabling the principal officers of his majesty's ordnance to defray thenecessary charges and expenses of taking down and removing the presentmagazine for gunpowder, situated in the neighbourhood of Greenwich, andof erecting it in some less dangerous situation. Sixty thousand poundsthey gave to enable his majesty to fulfil his engagements With thelandgrave of Hesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a treatybetween the two powers, renewed in the month of November, the sum tobe paid as his most serene highness should think it most convenient, inorder to facilitate the means by which the landgrave might again fix hisresidence in his own dominions, and by his presence give fresh courageto his faithful subjects. Five hundred thousand pounds they voted uponaccount, 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 ofprince Ferdinand. To the Foundling hospital they granted five thousandpounds; and fifteen thousand for improving, widening, and enlarging thepassage over and through London bridge. To replace divers sums takenfrom the sinking fund, they granted two hundred twenty-five thousand twohundred and eighty-one pounds, nineteen shillings and fourpence. For thesubsistence of reduced officers, including the allowances to the severalofficers and private men of the two troops of horse-guards, and regimentof horse reduced, and to the superannuated gentlemen of the four troopsof horse-guards, they voted thirty-eight thousand five hundred andninety-seven pounds, nine shillings. Upon account, for the supportof the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia, they granted twenty-onethousand six hundred ninety-four pounds, two shillings and twopence. For enabling the king to give a proper compensation to the provincesin North America, for the expenses they might incur in levying andmaintaining troops, according as the vigour and activity of thoserespective provinces should be thought by his majesty to merit, theyadvanced the sum of two hundred thousand pounds. The East India companythey gratified with twenty thousand pounds, towards enabling them todefray the expense of a military force in their settlements, in lieu ofa battalion of the king's troops now returned to Ireland. Twenty-fivethousand pounds were provided for the payment of the out-pensioners ofChelsea hospital. For subsequent augmentation of the British forces, since the first estimate of guards and garrisons for the ensuing yearwas presented, they allowed one hundred thirty-four thousand one hundredand thirty-nine pounds, seventeen shillings and fourpence. They furthervoted, upon account, towards enabling the governors and guardians ofthe Foundling hospital to maintain, educate, and bind apprentice thechildren admitted into the said charity, the sum of forty-seven thousandtwo hundred and eighty-five pounds. For defraying the expense ofmaintaining the militia in South and North Britain, to the twenty-fourthday of December of the ensuing year, they voted an additional grant oftwo hundred ninety thousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds, sixteen shillings and eightpence: and, moreover, they granted four-scorethousand pounds, upon account, towards defraying the charge of payand clothing of the unembodied militia for the year ending on thetwenty-fifth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred andsixty-one. For reimbursing the colony of New-York, their expenses infurnishing provisions and stores to the troops raised by them forhis majesty's service, in the-campaign of the year one thousand sevenhundred and fifty-six, they allowed two thousand nine hundredand seventy-seven pounds, seven shillings and eightpence; and formaintaining the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa, they renewed the grant of ten thousand pounds. For the maintenance andaugmentation of the troops of Brunswick in the pay of Great Britainfor the ensuing year, pursuant to an ulterior convention concluded andsigned at Paderborn on the fifth day of March, in the year one thousandseven hundred and sixty, they granted the sum of ninety thousand sevenhundred and sixty-nine pounds, eight shillings and elevenpence farthing;and for the troops of Hesse-Cassel in the same pay, during the sameperiod, they allotted one hundred and one thousand and ninety-sixpounds, three shillings and twopence. For the extraordinary expenses ofthe land-forces, and other services, incurred from the twenty-fourthday of November in the present year, to the twenty-fourth of Decemberfollowing, and not-provided for, they granted the sum of four hundredtwenty thousand one hundred and twenty pounds, one shilling. To makegood the deficiency of the grants for the service of this present year, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, they assigned the sum ofseventy-five thousand one hundred and seventy pounds, and threepencefarthing. For printing the journals of the house of commons they gavefive thousand pounds; and six hundred and thirty-four pounds, thirteenshillings and seven-pence, as interest at the rate of four per centumper annum, from the twenty-fifth day of August in the present year, tothe same day of April next, for the sum of twenty-three thousand eighthundred pounds, eleven shillings and elevenpence, remaining in theoffice of ordnance, and not paid into the hands of the deputy of theking's remembrancer of the court of exchequer, as directed by an actmade in the last session of parliament, to make compensation for landsand hereditaments purchased for his majesty's service at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, by reason of doubts and difficulties whichhad arisen touching the execution of the said act. For defraying theextraordinary charge of the mint during the present year, they allowedeleven thousand nine hundred and forty pounds, thirteen shillings andten-pence; and two thousand five hundred pounds upon account, forpaying the debts claimed and sustained upon a forfeited estate inNorth Britain. They likewise allowed twelve thousand eight hundred andseventy-four pounds, fifteen shillings and tenpence, for defraying thecharge of a regiment of light-dragoons, and of an additional company tothe corps commanded by lieutenant-colonel Vaughan. Finally, they votedone million upon account, to enable the king to defray any extraordinaryexpenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of theyear one thousand seven hundred and sixty; and to take all such measuresas might be necessary to defeat any enterprise or design of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs might require. On the whole, the sum totalgranted in this session of parliament amounted to fifteen millions fivehundred and three thousand five hundred and sixty-three pounds, fifteenshillings and ninepence halfpenny: a sum so enormous, whether weconsider the nation that raised it, or the purposes for which it wasraised, that every Briton of a sedate mind, attached to the interest andwelfare of his country, must reflect upon it with equal astonishment andconcern: a sum considerably more than double the largest subsidy thatwas granted in the reign of queen Anne, when the nation was in thezenith 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 thebeginning of this century, thought the nation could give without themost imminent hazard of immediate bankruptcy. Of the immense supplywhich we have particularized, the reader will perceive that two millionsthree hundred forty-four thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds, sixteen shillings and sevenpence three farthings, were paid toforeigners for supporting the war in Germany, exclusive of the moneyexpended by the British troops in that country, the number of whichamounted, in the course of the ensuing year, to twenty thousand men: anumber the more extraordinary, if we consider they were all transportedto that continent during the administration of those who declared inparliament (the words still sounding in our ears) that not a man, noreven half a man, should be sent from Great Britain to Germany, to fightthe battles of any foreign elector. Into the expense of the Germanwar sustained by Great Britain, we must also throw the charge oftransporting the English troops; the article of forage, which aloneamounted, in the course of the last campaign, to one million two hundredthousand pounds, besides pontage, waggons, horses, and many othercontingencies. To the German war we may also impute the extraordinaryexpense incurred by the actual service of the militia, which the absenceof the regular troops rendered in a great measure necessary; and theloss of so many hands withdrawn from industry, from husbandry, andmanufacture. The loss sustained by this connexion was equally grievousand apparent; the advantage accruing from it, either to Britain orHanover, we have not discernment sufficient to perceive, consequentlycannot be supposed able to explain. The committee of ways and means, having duly deliberated on the articlesof supply, continued sitting from the twenty-second day of Novemberto the fourteenth of May, during which period they established thenecessary funds to produce the sums which had been granted. The land-taxat four shillings in the pound, and the malt-tax, were continued, asthe standing revenue of Great Britain. The whole provision made by thecommittee of ways and means amounted to sixteen millions one hundredthirty thousand five hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillingsand eightpence, exceeding the grants for the service of the year onethousand seven hundred and sixty, in the sum of six hundred twenty-sixthousand nine hundred ninety-seven pounds, thirteen shillings andtenpence halfpenny. This excess, however, will not appear extraordinary, when we consider that it was destined to make good the premium of twohundred and forty thousand pounds to the subscribers upon the eightmillion loan, as well as the deficiencies in the other grants, whichnever fail to make a considerable article in the supply of everysession. That these gigantic strides towards the ruin of public creditwere such as might alarm every well-wisher to his country, will perhapsmore plainly appear in the sum total of the national debt, which, including the incumbrance of one million charged upon the civil-listrevenue, and provided for by a tax upon salaries and pensions payableout of that revenue, amounted, at this period, to the tremendous sumof one hundred eight millions four hundred ninety-three thousand onehundred and fifty-four pounds, fourteen shillings and elevenpence onefarthing. --A comfortable reflection this to a people involved in themost expensive war that ever was waged, and already burdened with suchtaxes as no other nation ever bore! It is not at all necessary to particularize the acts that were foundedupon the resolutions touching the supply. We shall only observe that, inthe act for the land-tax, and in the act for the malt-tax, there was aclause of credit, empowering the commissioners of the treasury to raisethe money which they produced by loans on exchequer bills, bearing aninterest of four per cent, per annum, that is, one per cent, higherthan the interest usually granted in time of peace. While the houseof commons deliberated on the bill for granting to his majesty severalduties upon malt, and for raising a certain sum of money to be chargedon the said duties, a petition was presented by the maltsters of Ipswichand parts adjacent against an additional duty on the stock of malt inhand: but no regard was paid to this remonstrance; and the bill, withseveral new amendments, passed through both houses, under the title of"An act for granting to his majesty several duties upon malt, and forraising the sum of eight millions by way of annuities and a lottery, tobe charged on the said duties: and to prevent the fraudulent obtainingof allowances in the gauging of corn making into malt; and for makingforth 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 passedin common course, without the least opposition in either house, andreceived the royal assent by commission at the end of the session. Thefirst of these, entituled, "A bill for enabling his majesty to raisea certain sum of money for the uses and purposes therein mentioned, "contained a clause of approbation, added to it by instruction; and theBank was enabled to lend the million which the commissioners of thetreasury were empowered by the act to borrow, at the interest of fourpounds per cent. The second, granting to his majesty a certain sum ofmoney out of the sinking-fund, for the service of the year one thousandseven hundred and sixty, comprehended a clause of credit for borrowingthe money thereby granted; and another clause, empowering the Bank tolend it without any limitation or interest; and the third, enabling hismajesty to raise a certain sum of money towards discharging the debt ofthe navy, and for naval services during the ensuing year, enacted, thatthe exchequer bills thereby to be issued should not be received, or passto any receiver or collector of the public revenue, or at the receiptof the exchequer, before the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year onethousand 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 toconsider of proper methods for laying the malt distillery under suchregulations as might prevent, if possible, its being prejudicial to thehealth and morals of the people, began as early as the month of Novemberto deliberate on this affair; which being under agitation, petitionswere presented to the house by several of the principal inhabitants ofSpital-fields; the mayor and commonalty of New Sarum; the gentlemen, clergy, merchants, manufacturers, tradesmen, and other inhabitants ofColchester; the mayor, aldermen, and common council of King's Lynn inNorfolk; the mayor and bailiffs of Berwick-upon-Tweed; representing theadvantages accruing from the prohibition of the malt distillery, andpraying the continuance of the act by which it was prohibited. On theother hand, counter-petitions were offered by the mayor, magistrates, merchants, manufacturers, and other gentlemen of the city of Norwich; bythe land-owners and holders of the south-west part of Essex; and bythe freeholders of the shires of Ross and Cromartic, in North Britain;alleging, that the scarcity of corn, which had made it necessary toprohibit the malt distillery, had ceased; and that the continuing theprohibition beyond the necessity which had required it would be a greatloss and discouragement to the landed interest: they therefore prayedthat the said distillery might be again opened, under such regulationsand restrictions as the house should think proper. These remonstrancesbeing taken into consideration, and divers accounts perused, the houseunanimously agreed that the prohibition should be continued for alimited time; and a bill being brought in, pursuant to this resolution, passed through both houses, and received the royal assent; by whichmeans the prohibition of the malt distillery was continued till thetwenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundredand sixty, unless such continuation should be abridged by any other actto 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 papersrelating to spirituous liquors, agreed to four resolutions, importing, that the present high price of spirituous liquors is a principal causeof the diminution in the home consumption thereof, and hath greatlycontributed to the health, sobriety, and industry of the common people:that, in order to continue for the future the present high price of allspirits used for home consumption, a large additional duty shouldbe laid upon all spirituous liquors whatsoever, distilled within orimported into Great Britain: that there should be a drawback of thesaid additional duties upon all spirituous liquors distilled in GreatBritain, which should be exported; and that an additional bountyshould be granted under proper regulations, upon the exportation ofall spirituous liquors drawn from corn in Great Britain. A greatmany accounts being perused, and witnesses examined, relating to thedistillery, a bill was brought in to prevent the excessive use ofspirituous liquors, by laying an additional duty thereupon; andto encourage the exportation of British-made spirits. Considerableopposition was made to the bill, on the opinion that the additional dutyproposed was too small; and that, among the resolutions, there wasnot so much as one that looked like a provision or restriction forpreventing the pernicious abuse of such liquors. Nay, many personsaffirmed, that what was proposed looked more like a scheme forincreasing the public revenues, than a salutary measure to preventexcess. The merchants and manufacturers of the town of Birminghampetitioned for such instructions. The lord-mayor, aldermen, andcommon-council of London presented a petition by the hands of the twosheriffs, 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 prohibitionof the malt distillery; that the petitioners, having observed a billwas brought in to allow the distilling of spirits from corn, wereapprehensive that the encouragement given to the distillers thereofwould prove detrimental to the commercial interests of the nation;and they conceived the advantages proposed to be allowed upon theexportation of such spirits, being so much above the value of theircommodity, would lay such a temptation for smuggling and perjury as nolaw could prevent. They expressed their fears, that, should such a billpass into a law, the excessive use of spirituous liquors would not onlydebilitate and enervate the labourers, manufacturers, sailors, soldiers, and all the lower class of people, and thereby extinguish industry, andthat remarkable intrepidity which had lately so eminently appeared inthe British nation, which must always depend on the vigour and industryof its people; but also its liberty and happiness, which cannot besupported without temperance and morality, would run the utmost risk ofbeing destroyed. They declared themselves also apprehensive, that theextraordinary consumption of bread corn by the still would not onlyraise the price, so as to oppress the lower class of people, but wouldraise such a bar to the exportation thereof, as to deprive the nation ofa great influx of money, at that time essential towards the maintainingof an expensive war, and therefore highly injure the landed andcommercial interests: they therefore prayed that the present prohibitionof distilling spirits from corn might be continued, or that the useof wheat might not be allowed in distillation. This remonstrance wascorroborated by another to the same purpose, from several merchants, manufacturers, and traders, residing in and near the city of London; andseemed to have some weight with the commons, who made several amendmentsin the bill, which they now intituled, "A bill for preventing theexcessive use of spirituous liquors, by laying additional dutiesthereon; for shortening the prohibition for making low wines and spiritsfrom wheat; for encouraging the exportation of British-made spirits, and preventing the fraudulent relanding or importation thereof. " Thusaltered and amended, it passed on a division; and, making its waythrough the house of lords, acquired the royal sanction. Whether thelaw be adequate to the purposes for which it was enacted, time willdetermine. The best way of preventing the excess of spirituous liquorswould be to lower the excise on beer and ale, so as to enable the poorerclass of labourers to refresh themselves with a comfortable liquorfor nearly the same expense that will procure a quantity of Genevasufficient for intoxication; for it cannot be supposed that a poorwretch will expend his last penny upon a draught of small beer, withoutstrength or the least satisfactory operation, when for the half of thatsum he can purchase a cordial, that will almost instantaneously allaythe sense of hunger and cold, and regale his imagination with the mostagreeable illusions. Malt was at this time sold cheaper than it was inthe first year of king James I. When the parliament enacted, that noinnkeeper, victualler, or alehouse-keeper, should sell less than afull quart of the best ale or beer, or two quarts of the small, for onepenny, under the penalty of twenty shillings. It appears, then, that inthe reign of king James the subject paid but fourpence for a gallonof strong beer, which now costs one shilling; and as the malt is notincreased in value, the difference in the price must be entirely owingto the taxes on beer, malt, and hops, which are indeed very grievous, though perhaps necessary. The duty on small beer is certainly one ofthe heaviest taxes imposed upon any sort of consumption that cannot beconsidered as an article of luxury. Two bushels of malt, and two poundsof hops, are required to make a barrel of good small beer, which wasformerly sold for six shillings; and the taxes payable on such a barrelamounted to three shillings and sixpence; so that the sum total of theimposition on this commodity was equal to a land-tax of eleven shillingsand eightpence in the pound. Immediately after the resolution relating to the prohibition of spiritsfrom wheat, a motion was made and leave given to bring in a bill tocontinue, for a time limited, the act of the last session, permittingthe importation of salted beef from Ireland. This permission wasaccordingly extended to the twenty-fourth day of December in the yearone thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. In all probability this shortand temporary continuance was proposed by the favourers of the bill, inorder to avoid the clamour and opposition of prejudice and ignorance, which would have been dangerously alarmed, had it been renderedperpetual. Yet as undoubted evidence had proved before the committee, while the bill was depending, that the importation had been of greatservice to England, particularly in reducing the price of saltedbeef for the use of the navy, perhaps no consideration ought to haveprevented the legislature from perpetuating the law; a measure thatwould encourage the graziers of Ireland to breed and fatten hornedcattle, and certainly put a stop to the practice of exporting saltedbeef from that kingdom to France, which undoubtedly furnishes thetraders of that kingdom with opportunities of exporting wool to the samecountry. ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH A MILITIA IN SCOTLAND. As several lieutenants of counties had, for various reasons, suspendedall proceedings in the execution of the laws relating to the militiafor limited times, which suspensions were deemed inconsistent with theintent of the legislature, a bill was now brought in, to enable hismajesty's lieutenants of the several counties of England and Walesto proceed in the execution of the militia laws, notwithstanding anyadjournments. It was enacted, that, as the speedy execution of thelaws for regulating the militia was most essentially necessary at thisjuncture to the peace and security of the kingdom. , every lieutenant ofthe place where such suspension had happened should, within one monthafter the passing of this act, proceed as if there had been no suchsuspension; and summon a meeting for the same purpose once in everysucceeding month until a sufficient number of officers, qualified andwilling to serve, should be found, or until the expiration of theact for the better ordering the militia forces. The establishment of aregular militia in South Britain could not fail to make an impressionupon the patriots of Scotland. They were convinced, from reason andexperience, that nothing could more tend to the peace and securityof their country than such an establishment in North Britain, theinhabitants of which had been peculiarly exposed to insurrections, whicha well-regulated militia might have prevented or stifled in the birth;and their coast had been lately alarmed by a threatened invasion, whichnothing but the want of such an establishment had rendered formidable tothe natives. They thought themselves entitled to the same security whichthe legislature had provided for their fellow-subjects in South Britain, and could not help being uneasy at the prospect of seeing themselvesleft unarmed, and exposed to injuries both foreign and domestic, whilethe sword was put in the hands of their southern neighbours. Some ofthe members who represented North Britain in parliament, moved bythese considerations, as well as by the earnest injunctions of theirconstituents, resolved to make a vigorous effort, in order to obtainthe establishment of a regular militia in Scotland. In the beginning ofMarch it was moved, and resolved, that the house would, on the twelfthday of the month, resolve itself into a committee, to consider thelaws in being which relate to the militia in that part of GreatBritain, called Scotland. The result of that inquiry was, that these lawswere ineffectual. Then a motion was made for leave to bring-in a billfor 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, inconjunction with others, to prepare the bill, which was soon printed, and reinforced by petitions presented by the gentlemen, justices of thepeace, and commissioners of the supply for the shire of Ayr; and by thefreeholders 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 salutarymeasure extended to North Britain. This was an indulgence they had thegreater reason to hope for, as by the articles of the union they wereundoubtedly entitled to be on the same footing with their brethren ofEngland; and as the legislature must now be convinced of the necessityof some such measures, by the consternation lately produced in theirdefenceless country, from the threatened invasion of a handful of Frenchfreebooters. These remonstrances had no weight with the majority inthe house of commons, who, either unable or unwilling to make properdistinctions between the ill and well affected subjects of NorthBritain, rejected the bill, as a very dangerous experiment in favour ofa people among whom so many rebellions had been generated and produced. When the motion was made for the bill's being committed, a warm debateensued, in the course of which many Scottish members spoke in behalf oftheir country with great force of argument, and a very laudable spiritof freedom. Mr. Elliot, in particular, one of the commissioners of theboard of admiralty, distinguished himself by a noble flow of eloquence, adorned with all the graces of oratory, and warmed with the true spiritof patriotism. Mr. Oswald, of the treasury, acquitted himself with greathonour on the occasion; ever nervous, steady, and sagacious, independentthough in office, and invariable in pursuing the interest of hiscountry. It must be owned, for the honour of North Britain, that all herrepresentatives, 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 forthe establishment of the militia in England. Even this institution, though certainly laudable and necessary, wasattended with so many unforeseen difficulties, that every session ofparliament since it was first established has produced new acts forits better regulation. In April, leave was given to prepare a bill forlimiting, confining, and better regulating the payment of the weeklyallowances made by act of parliament, for the maintenance of familiesunable to support themselves during the absence of militia-men embodied, and ordered out into actual service; as well as for amending andimproving the establishment of the militia, and lessening the numberof officers entitled to pay within that part of Great Britain, calledEngland. While this bill was under consideration, the house receiveda petition from the mayor, aldermen, town-clerk, sheriffs, gentlemen, merchants, clergy, tradesmen, and others, inhabitants of the ancientcity of Lincoln, representing, That by an act passed relating to themilitia it was provided, that when any militia-men should be orderedout into actual service, leaving families unable to support themselvesduring their absence, the overseers of the parish where such familiesreside, should allow them such weekly support as should be prescribed byany one justice of the peace, which allowance should be reimbursed outof the county stock. They alleged, that a considerable number of men, inhabitants of the said city, had entered themselves to serve in themilitia of the county of Lincoln, as volunteers, for several parishesand persons; yet their families were, nevertheless, supported by thecounty stock of the city and county of the city of Lincoln. They tooknotice of the bill under deliberation, and prayed that if it should passinto a law, they might have such relief in the premises, as to the houseshould seem meet. Regard was had to this petition in the amendments tothe bill, [535] _[See note 4 G, at the end of this Vol. ]_ which passedthrough both houses, and received the royal assent by commission. Duringthe dependence of this bill another was brought in, to explain so muchof the militia act passed in the thirty-first year of his majesty'sreign, as related to the money to be given to private militia-men, upontheir 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 manof every regiment or company of militia, when ordered out into actualservice, should be paid to every man that shall afterwards be enrolledinto such regiment or company whilst in actual service; that no manshould be entitled to his clothes for his own use, until he should haveserved three years, if unembodied, or one year, if embodied, after thedelivery of the clothes; and that the full pay of the militia shouldcommence from the date of his majesty's warrant for drawing themout. The difficulties which these successive regulations were made toobviate, will be amply recompenced by the good effects of a nationalmilitia, provided it be employed in a national way, and for nationalpurposes: but if the militia are embodied, and the different regimentsthat compose it are marched from the respective counties to whichthey belong; if the men are detained for any length of time in actualservice, at a distance from their families, when they might beemployed at home in works of industry, for the support of their naturaldependents; the militia becomes no other than an addition to, oraugmentation of, a standing army, enlisted for the term of three years;the labour of the men is lost to the community; they contract the idlehabits and dissolute manner of the other troops; their families are leftas incumbrances on the community; and the charge of their subsistenceis, at least, as heavy as that of maintaining an equal number of regularforces. It would not, we apprehend, be very easy to account for thegovernment's ordering the regiments of militia to march from theirrespective counties, and to do duty for a considerable length of timeat a great distance from their own homes, unless we suppose this measurewas taken to create in the people a disgust to the institution of themilitia, which was an establishment extorted from the secretary bythe voice of the nation. We may add, that some of the inconvenienciesattending a militia will never be totally removed, while the personsdrawn by lot for that service are at liberty to hire substitutes; for itcannot be supposed that men of substance will incur the danger, fatigue, and damage of service in person, while they can hire among the lowestclass of people mercenaries of desperate fortune and abandoned morals, who will greedily seize the opportunity of being paid for renouncingthat labour by which they were before obliged to maintain themselves andtheir family connexion: it would, therefore, deserve the considerationof the legislature, whether the privilege of hiring substitutes shouldnot be limited to certain classes of men, who are either raised by theirrank in life above the necessity of serving in person, or engaged insuch occupations as cannot be intermitted without prejudice to thecommonwealth. It must be allowed, that the regulation in this new act, by which the families of substitutes are deprived of any relief from theparish, will not only diminish the burden of the poor's rates; but also, by raising the price of mercenaries, oblige a greater number of thebetter sort to serve in person. Without all doubt, the fewer substitutesthat are employed, the more dependence may be placed upon the militiain the preservation of our rights and privileges, and the more will thenumber of the disciplined men be increased; because at the expirationof every three years the lot-men must be changed, and new militia-menchosen; but the substitutes will, in all probability, continue for lifein the service, provided they can find lot-men to hire them at everyrotation. The reader will forgive our being so circumstantial upon theregulations of an institution, which we cannot help regarding with akind of enthusiastic affection. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} BILL FOR REMOVING THE POWDER MAGAZINE AT GREENWICH. In the latter end of November, the house of commons received a petitionfrom several noblemen, gentlemen, and others, inhabitants of EastGreenwich, and places adjacent, in Kent, representing, that in the saidparish, within a quarter of a mile of the town distinguished by a royalpalace, and royal hospital for seamen, there was a magazine, containinggreat quantities of gunpowder, frequently to the amount of six thousandbarrels: that besides the great danger which must attend all places ofthat kind, the said magazine stood in an open field uninclosed by anyfortification or defence whatsoever, consequently exposed to treacheryand every other accident. They alleged, that if through treachery, lightning, or any other accident, this magazine should take fire, notonly their lives and properties, but the palace and hospital, the king'syards and stores at Deptford and Woolwich, the banks and navigation ofthe Thames, with the ships sailing and at anchor in that river, wouldbe inevitably destroyed, and inconceivable damage would accrue to thecities of London and Westminster. They, moreover, observed, that themagazine was then in a dangerous condition, supported on all sides byprops that were decayed at the foundation; that in case it shouldfall, the powder would, in all probability, take fire, and producethe dreadful calamities above recited: they therefore prayed that themagazine might be removed to some more convenient place, where anyaccident would not be attended with such dismal consequences. Thesubject of this remonstrance was so pressing and important, thata committee was immediately appointed to take the affair intoconsideration, and procure an estimate for purchasing lands, anderecting a powder magazine at Purfleet, in Essex, near the banks of theriver, together with a guard-house, barracks, and all other necessaryconveniences. While the report of the committee lay upon the table forthe perusal of the members, Mr. Chancellor of the exchequer, by hismajesty's command, acquainted the house, that the king, having beeninformed of the subject matter of the petition, recommended it to theconsideration of the commons. Leave was immediately given to preparea bill, founded on the resolutions of the committee; which having beenduly considered, altered, and amended, passed through both houses to thefoot of the throne, where it obtained the royal sanction. The magazinewas accordingly removed to Purfleet, an inconsiderable and solitaryvillage, where there will be little danger of accident, and where nogreat damage would attend an explosion; but in order to render thispossible explosion still less dangerous, it would be necessary to formthe magazine of small distinct apartments, totally independent of eachother, that in case one should be accidentally blown up, the rest mightstand unaffected. The same plan ought to be adopted in the constructionof all combustible stores subject to conflagration. The marine bill andmutiny 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 ameasure relating to the internal economy of the metropolis. The sheriffsof London delivered a petition from the lord mayor, aldermen, andcommons, 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 wellof foot passengers as of coaches, carts, and other carriages, to theprejudice and inconvenience of the owners and inhabitants of houses, andto the great hinderance of business, trade, and commerce. They allegedthat these defects might be remedied, and several new streets openedwithin the said city and liberties, to the great ease, safety, andconvenience of passengers, as well as to the advantage of the public ingeneral, if they, the petitioners, were enabled to widen and enlargethe narrow streets, lanes, and passages, to open and lay out such newstreets and ways, and to purchase the several houses, buildings, andgrounds which might be necessary for these purposes. They took noticethat there were several houses within the city and liberties, partlyerected over the ground of other proprietors; and others, of which theseveral floors or apartments belonged to different persons, so thatdifficulties and disputes frequently arose amongst the said severalowners and proprietors, about pulling down or rebuilding the party wallsand premises; that such rebuilding was often prevented or delayed, tothe great injury and inconvenience of those owners who were desirous torebuild; that it would therefore be of public benefit, and frequentlyprevent the spreading of the fatal effects of fire, if some provisionwere made by law, as well for determining such disputes in a summaryway, as for explaining and amending the laws then in being relating tothe building of party-walls. They therefore prayed that leave mightbe given to bring in a bill for enabling the petitioners to widenand enlarge the several streets, lanes, and passages, and to open newstreets and ways to be therein limited and prescribed, as well as fordetermining, in a summary way, all disputes arising about the rebuildingof houses or tenements within the said city and liberties, whereinseveral persons have an intermixed property; and for explaining andamending the laws in being, relating to these particulars. A committeebeing appointed to examine the matter of this petition, agreed to areport, upon which leave was given to prepare a bill, and this wasbrought in accordingly. Next day a great number of citizens represented, in another petition, that the pavement of the city and liberties wasoften damaged, by being broken up for the purposes of amending ornew-laying water-pipes belonging to the proprietors of water-works, and praying that provision might be made in the bill then depending, tocompel those proprietors to make good any damage that should be done tothe pavement by the leaking or bursting of the water-pipes, or openingthe 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 wideningcertain streets, lanes, and passages, within the city of London andliberties thereof, and for opening certain new streets and ways withinthe same, and for other purposes therein mentioned. " [536] _[See note 4H, 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 afish-market, and complained that the price of this species of provisionwas kept up at an exorbitant rate by the fraudulent combination of a fewdealers, who engrossed the whole market at Billingsgate, and destroyedgreat quantities of fish, in order to enhance the value of those thatremained. An act of parliament had passed, in the twenty-second year ofhis present majesty's reign, for establishing a free market for the saleof fish in Westminster; and, seven years after that period, it was foundnecessary to procure a second, for explaining and amending the first. But neither effectually answered the purposes of the legislature. Inthe month of January, of the present session, the house tookinto consideration a petition of the several fishermen trading toBillingsgate market, representing the hardships to which they wereexposed by the said acts; particularly forfeitures of vessels andcargoes, incurred by the negligence of servants who had omitted to makethe particular entries which the two acts prescribed. This petitionbeing examined by a committee, and the report being made, leave wasgiven to bring in a new bill, which should contain effectual provisionfor the better supplying the cities of London and Westminster with fish, and for preventing the abuses of the fishmongers. It was intituled, "Abill to repeal so much of an act passed in the twenty-ninth of GeorgeII. Concerning a free market for fish at Westminster, as requiresfishermen to enter their fishing vessels at the office of the searcherof the customs at Gravesend, and to regulate the sale of fish at thefirst hand in the fish-markets of London and Westminster; and to preventsalesmen of fish buying fish to sell again on their own account; and toallow bret and turbot, brill and pearl, although under the respectivedimensions mentioned in a former act, to be imported and sold; and topunish 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 offive inches, and for other purposes. " Though this, and the former billrelating to the streets and houses of London, are instances that evincethe care and attention of the legislature, even to minute particularsof the internal economy of the kingdom, we can hardly consider them asobjects of such dignity and importance as to demand the deliberations ofthe parliament, but think they naturally fall within the cognizance ofthe municipal magistracy. After all, perhaps, the most effectual methodfor supplying Westminster with plenty of fish at reasonable rates, wouldbe to execute with rigour the laws already enacted against forestallingand regrating, an expedient that would soon dissolve all monopolies andcombinations among the traders; to increase the number of markets inLondon and Westminster, and to establish two general markets at theNore, one on each side of the river, where the fishing vessels mightunload their cargoes, and return to sea without delay. A number of lightboats might be employed to convey fresh fish from these marts toLondon and Westminster, where all the different fish-markets might beplentifully supplied at a reasonable expense; for it cannot be supposedthat, while the fresh fish are brought up the river in the fishingsmacks themselves, which can hardly save the tides, to Billingsgate, they will ever dream of carrying their cargoes above bridge, or thatthe price of fish can be considerably lowered, while the fishing vesselslose 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 expiredor near expiring, agreed to certain resolutions; upon which a bill wasprepared, and obtained the royal assent, importing a continuation ofseveral laws, namely, the several clauses mentioned of the acts inthe fifth and eighth of George I. Against the clandestine running ofuncustomed goods, except the clauses relating to quarantine; the actpassed in the third of George II. Relating to the carrying rice fromCarolina; the act of the seventh of the same reign, re-fating tocochineal and indigo; and that of the twelfth of George II. So far asit related to the importation of printed books. There was also a lawenacted, to continue to the twenty-ninth day of September in the yearone thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven, an act passed in the twelfthyear of queen Anne, for encouraging the making of sail-cloth, by a dutyof one penny per ell laid upon all foreign-made sails and sail-clothimported; and a bounty in the same proportion granted upon all home-madesail-cloth and canvass fit for or made into sails, and exported; anotheract was passed, for continuing certain laws relating to the additionalnumber of one hundred hackney coaches and chairs, which law was renderedperpetual. The next law we shall mention was intended to be one of themost important that ever fell under the cognizance of the legislature:it was a law that affected the freedom, dignity, and independency ofparliaments. By an act, passed in the ninth year of the reign of queenAnne, it was provided that no person should be chosen a member ofparliament who did not possess in England or Wales an estate, freeholdor copyhold, for life, according to the following qualifications: forevery knight of a shire six hundred pounds per annum, over and abovewhat will satisfy all incumbrances; and three hundred pounds per annum, for every citizen, burgess, and baron of the cinque ports. It was alsodecreed, that the return of any person not thus qualified should bevoid; and that every candidate should, at the reasonable request of anyother candidate at the time of election, or of two or more personswho had a right to vote, take an oath prescribed to establish hisqualifications. This restraint was by no means effectual. So many oathsof different kinds had been prescribed since the revolution, that theybegan 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 nolonger considered as a crime. Subterfuges were discovered, by meansof which this law relating to the qualification of candidates waseffectually eluded. Those who were not actually possessed of suchestates, 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 wasfrustrated, the dignity of parliament prostituted, the example ofperjury and corruption extended, and the vengeance of heaven set atdefiance. Through this infamous channel the ministry had it in theirpower to thrust into parliament a set of venal beggars, who, as theydepended upon their bounty, would always be obsequious to their will, and vote according to direction, without the least regard to thedictates of conscience, or to the advantage of their country. Themischiefs attending such a vile collusion, and in particular the undueinfluence which the crown must have acquired from the practice, wereeither felt or apprehended by some honest patriots, who after diversunsuccessful efforts, at length presented to the house a bill, importingthat 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 thehouse, at the table, while the commons were sitting, and the speaker inthe chair, a paper, or schedule, signed by himself, containing a rentalor particular of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, whereby hemakes out his qualification, specifying the nature of his estate, whether messuage, land, rent, tithe, or what else; and if such estateconsists of messuages, lands, or tithes, then specifying in whoseoccupation they are; and if in rent, then specifying the names of theowners or possessors of the lands and tenements out of which such rentis issuing, and also specifying the parish, township, or precinct andcounty, in which the said estate lies, and the value thereof; andevery such person shall, at the same time, also take and subscribethe following oath, to be fairly written at the bottom of the paper orschedule: "I, A. B. Do swear that the above is a true rental; and that Itruly, and _bona fide_, have such an estate in law or equity, to andfor my own use and benefit, of and in the lands, tenements, orhereditaments, above described, over and above what will satisfy andclear all incumbrances that may affect the same; and that such estatehath not been granted or made over to me fraudulently, on purposeto qualify me to be a member of this house. So help me God!" It wasprovided that the said paper or schedule, with the oath aforesaid, should be carefully kept by the clerk, to be inspected by the members ofthe house of commons, without fee or reward: that if any person electedto serve in any future parliament, should presume to sit or vote as amember of the house of commons before he had delivered in such a paperor schedule, and taken the oath aforesaid, or should not be qualifiedaccording to the true intent or meaning of this act, his election shouldbe void; and every person so sitting and voting should forfeit a certainsum to be recovered, by such persons as should sue for the same byaction of debt, bill, plaint, or information, whereon no essoign, privilege, protection, or wager of law should be allowed, and only oneimparlance: that if any person should have delivered in, and swornto his qualification as aforesaid, and taken his seat in the house ofcommons, yet at any time after should, during the continuance of suchparliament, sell, dispose of, alien, or any otherwise incumber theestate, or any part thereof comprised in the schedule, so as to lessenor reduce the same under the value of the qualification by law directed, every such person, under a certain penalty, must deliver in a new orfurther qualification, according to the true intent and meaning of thisact, and swear to the same, in manner before directed, before he shallagain presume to sit or vote as a member of the house of commons; thatin case any action, suit, or information should be brought, in pursuanceof this act, against any member of the house of commons, the clerk ofthe house, shall, upon demand, forthwith deliver a true and attestedcopy of the paper or schedule so delivered in to him as aforesaid bysuch 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 issuein any such action. Provided always, that nothing contained in this actshall extend to the eldest son or heir apparent of any peer or lord ofparliament, 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 GreatBritain called England, or to the members of that part of Great Britaincalled Scotland. Such was the substance of the bill, as originallypresented to the house of commons; but it was altered in such a manneras we are afraid will fail in answering the salutary purposes for whichit was intended by those who brought it into the house. Notwithstandingthe provisions made in the act as it now stands, any minister or patronmay still introduce his pensioners, clerks, and creatures into thehouse, by means of the old method of temporary conveyance, though thefarce must now be kept up till the member shall have delivered inhis schedule, taken his oath, and his seat in parliament; then he maydeliver up the conveyance, or execute a re-conveyance, without runningany risk of losing his seat, or of being punished for his fraudand perjury. The extensive influence of the crown, the generalcorruptibility of individuals, and the obstacles so industriously thrownin the way of every scheme contrived to vindicate the independencyof parliaments, must have produced very mortifying reflections in thebreast of every Briton warmed with the genuine love of his country. He must have perceived that all the bulwarks of the constitution werelittle better than buttresses of ice, which would infallibly thaw beforethe heat of ministerial influence, when artfully concentrated; thateither a minister's professions of patriotism were insincere; or hiscredit insufficient to effect any essential alteration in the unpopularmeasures of government; and that, after all, the liberties of the nationcould never be so firmly established, as by the power, generosity, andvirtue of a patriot king. This inference could not fail to awake theremembrance of that amiable prince, whom fate untimely snatched from theeager hopes and warm affection of a whole nation, before, he had itin his power to manifest and establish his favourite maxim, "That amonarch's glory was inseparably connected with the happiness of hispeople. " [538] _[See note 4 I, at the end of this Vol. ]_ {1760} ACT FOR CONSOLIDATING ANNUITIES GRANTED IN 1759. On the first day of February, a motion was made, and leave given, tobring in a bill for enabling his majesty to make leases and copies ofoffices, lands, and hereditaments, parcel of his duchy of Cornwall, orannexed to the same; accordingly it passed through both houses withoutopposition; and enacted that all leases and grants made, or to be made, by his majesty, within seven years next ensuing, in or annexed to thesaid duchy, under the limitations therein mentioned, should be good andeffectual in law against his majesty, his heirs, and successors, andagainst all other persons that should hereafter inherit the said duchy, either by an act of parliament, or any limitation whatsoever. This actappears the more extraordinary as the prince of Wales, who has a sortof right by prescription to the duchy of Cornwall, was then of age, andmight have been put in possession of it by the passing of a patent. Thehouse having perused an account of the produce of the fund establishedfor paying annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundred andfifty-nine, with the charge on that fund on the fifth day of Januaryin the succeeding year, it appeared that there had been a considerabledeficiency in the said fund on the fifth day of July preceding, andthis had been made good out of the sinking fund, by a resolution of theseventh of February, already particularized. They therefore instructedthe committee of ways and means to consider so much of the annuity andlottery act passed in the preceding session as related to the three percentum annuities, amounting to the sum of seven millions five hundredand ninety thousand pounds, granted in the year one thousand sevenhundred and fifty-nine; and also to consider so much of the said act asrelated to the subsidy of poundage upon certain goods and merchandise tobe imported into this kingdom, and the additional inland duty oncoffee and chocolate. The committee having taken these points intodeliberation, agreed to the two resolutions we have already mentionedwith respect to the consolidation; and a bill was brought in for addingthose annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundredand fifty-nine, to the joint stock of throe per centum annuitiesconsolidated by the acts of the twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirty-second years of his majesty's reign, and forseveral duties therein mentioned, to the sinking fund. The committeewas afterwards empowered to receive a clause for cancelling suchlottery tickets as were made forth in pursuance of an act passed in thethirtieth year of his majesty's reign, and were not then disposed of: aclause for this purpose was accordingly added to the bill, which passedthrough both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent atthe 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 abill for encouraging the exportation of rum and spirits of the growth, produce, and manufacture of the British sugar-plantations, from GreatBritain, and of British spirits made from molasses; a bill which in alittle time acquired the sanction of the royal assent. Towards the endof April, admiral Town-shend presented a bill for the more effectualsecuring the payment of such prize and bounty-monies as wereappropriated to the use of Greenwich hospital, by an act passed in thetwenty-ninth year of his majesty's reign. As by that law no time waslimited, or particular method prescribed, for giving notificationsof the day appointed for the payment of the shares of the prizesand bounty-money; and many agents had neglected to specify, in thenotification given in the London Gazette for payment of shares of prizescondemned in the courts of admiralty in Groat Britain, the particularday or time when such payments were to commence, whereby it was rendereddifficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the time when the hospital atGreenwich became entitled to the unclaimed shares, of consequence couldnot 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, allnotifications of the payment of the shares of prizes taken by any ofhis majesty's ships of war, and condemned in Great Britain, and from andafter the first day of February, in the year one thousand seven hundredand sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares and prizestaken 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 thetwenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundredand sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares of prizestaken and condemned in any other of his majesty's dominions, shall berespectively given and published in the following manner:--If theprize be condemned in any court of admiralty in Great Britain, suchnotification, under the agent's hand, shall be published in the LondonGazette; and if condemned in any court of admiralty in any other of hismajesty's dominions, such notification shall be published in like mannerin the Gazette, or other newspaper of public authority, of the island orplace where the prize is condemned; and if there shall be no Gazette, or such newspaper, published there, then in some or one of the publicnewspapers of the place; and such agents shall deliver to the collector, customer, or searcher, or his lawful deputy; and if there shall be nosuch officer, then to the principal officer or officers of the placewhere the prize is condemned, or to the lawful deputy of such principalofficers, two of the Gazettes or other newspapers in which suchnotifications are inserted; and if there shall not be any publicnewspapers in any such island or place, the agent shall give two suchnotifications in writing, under his hand; and every such collector, orother officer as aforesaid, shall subscribe his name on both the saidGazettes, newspapers, or written notifications; and, by the firstship which shall sail from thence to any port of Great Britain, shalltransmit to the treasurer or deputy-treasurers of the said royalhospital one of the said notifications, with his name so subscribed, tobe there registered; and shall faithfully preserve and keep the other, with his name thereon subscribed, in his own custody; and in everynotification as aforesaid the agent shall specify his place of abode, and the precise day of the month and year appointed for the payment ofthe respective shares to the captors; and all notifications with respectto prizes condemned in Great Britain, shall be published in the LondonGazette three days at least before any share of such prize shall bepaid; and with respect to prizes condemned in any other part of hismajesty's dominions, such notifications shall be delivered to the saidcollector, or other officers as aforesaid, three days at least beforeany share of such prizes shall be paid. It was likewise enacted, thatthe agents for the distribution of bounty-bills should insert, andpublish under their hands, in the London Gazette, three days at leastbefore payment, public notifications of the day and year appointed forsuch payment, and also insert therein their respective places of abode. The bill, even as it now stands, is liable to several objections. It maybe dangerous to leave the money of the unclaimed shares so long as threeyears in the hands of the agent, who, together with his securities, may prove insolvent before the expiration of that term: then the timeprescribed to the sailors, within which their claim is limited, appearsto be too short, when we consider that they may be so circumstanced, turned over to another ship, and conveyed to a distant part of theglobe, that they shall have no opportunity to claim payment; and shouldthree years elapse before they could make application to the agent, they would find their bounty or prize money appropriated to the use ofGreenwich hospital; nay, should they die in the course of the voyage, itwould be lost to their heirs and executors, who, being ignorant of theirtitle, could not possibly claim within the time limited. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} ACT IN FAVOUR OF GEOEGE KEITH, &c. A committee having been appointed to inquire into the original standardsof weights and measures in the kingdom of England, to consider the lawsrelating thereto, and to report their observations thereupon, togetherwith their opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining andenforcing uniform and certain standards of weights and measures, theyprepared copies, models, patterns, and multiples, and presented them tothe house; then they were locked up by the clerk of the house; and lordGarysfort presented a bill, according to order, for enforcing uniformityof weights and measures to the standards by law to be established; butthis measure, which had been so long in dependence, was not yet fullydiscussed, and the standards and weights were reserved to anotheroccasion. A law was made for reviving and continuing so much of the actpassed in the twenty-first year of his majesty's reign as relates to themore effectual trial and punishment of high-treason in the highlandsof Scotland; and also for continuing two other acts passed in thenineteenth and twenty-first years of his majesty's reign, so far as theyrelate to the more effectual disarming the highlands of Scotland, and securing the peace thereof; and to allow further time for makingaffidavits of the execution of articles or contracts of clerks toattorneys or solicitors, and filing thereof. The king having beenpleased to pardon George Keith, earl-marshal of Scotland, who had beenattainted for rebellion in the year one thousand seven hundred andsixteen, the parliament confirmed this indulgence, by passing an act toenable the said George Keith, late earl-marshal, to sue or entertainany action or suit, notwithstanding his attainder, and to remove anydisability in him, by reason of the said attainder, to take or inheritany real or personal estate that might or should hereafter descendor come to him, or which he was entitled to in reversion or remainderbefore his attainder. This nobleman, universally respected for hisprobity and understanding, had been employed as ambassador to the courtof France by the king of Prussia, and was actually at this juncture inthe service of that monarch, who in all probability interceded with theking 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 wasvery graciously received. SESSION CLOSED. These, and a good number of other bills of less importance, both privateand public, were passed into laws by commission, on the twenty-secondday of May, when the lord-keeper of the great seal closed the sessionwith a speech to both houses. He began with an assurance that hismajesty looked back on their proceedings with entire satisfaction. Hesaid, the duty and affection which they had expressed for the king'sperson and government, the zeal and unanimity they had showed inmaintaining the true interest of their country, could only be equalledby what his majesty had formerly experienced from his parliament. Hetold them it would have given his majesty the most sensible pleasure, had he been able to assure them that his endeavours to promote a generalpeace had met with more suitable returns. He observed that his majesty, in conjunction with his good brother and ally the king of Prussia, hadchosen to give their enemies proofs of this equitable disposition, inthe midst of a series of glorious victories; an opportunity the mostproper to take such a step with dignity, and to manifest to all Europethe purity and moderation of his views. After such a conduct, he said, the king had the comfort to reflect that the further continuance of thecalamities of war could not be imputed to him or his allies; that hetrusted in the blessing of heaven upon the justice of his arms, and uponthose ample means which the zeal of the parliament in so good a causehad wisely put into his hands; that his future successes in carrying onthe war would not fall short of the past; and that, in the event, thepublic tranquillity would be restored on solid and durable foundations. He acquainted them that his majesty had taken the most effectual careto augment the combined army in Germany; and at the same time to keepup such a force at home as might frustrate any attempts of the enemy toinvade these kingdoms; such attempts as had hitherto ended only in theirown confusion. He took notice that the royal navy was never in a moreflourishing and respectable condition; and the signal victory obtainedlast winter over the French fleet on their own coast, had given lustreto his majesty's arms, fresh spirit to his maritime forces, andreduced the naval strength of France to a very low ebb. He gave them tounderstand that his majesty had disposed his squadrons in such a manneras might best conduce to the annoyance of his enemies; to the defenceof his own dominions, both in Europe and America; to the preserving andpursuing his conquests, as well as to the protection of the trade ofhis subjects, which he had extremely at heart. He told the commons, thatnothing could relieve his majesty's royal mind, under the anxiety hefelt for the burdens of his faithful subjects, but the public-spiritedcheerfulness with which their house had granted him such large supplies, and his conviction that they were necessary for the security andessential interest of his kingdoms; he therefore returned them hishearty thanks for these supplies, and assured them they should be dulyapplied to the purposes for which they had been given. Finally, herecommended to both houses the continuance of that union and goodharmony which he had observed with so much pleasure, and from whichhe had derived such important effects. He desired they would study topromote these desirable objects, to support the king's government, andthe good order of their respective counties, and consult their own realhappiness 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 themost elevated hope of future conquest, and the government was enabledto take every step which appeared necessary to realize that sanguineexpectation; but the war became every day more and more Germanised. Notwithstanding the immense sums that were raised for the expensesof the current year; notwithstanding the great number of land-forcesmaintained in the service, and the numerous fleets that filled theharbours of Great Britain; we do not find that one fresh effort was madeto improve the advantages she had gained upon her own clement, or forpushing the war on national principles: for the reduction of Canada wasno more than the consequence of the measures which had been taken in thepreceding campaign. But, before we record the progress of the war, itmay be necessary to specify some domestic occurrences that for a littlewhile engrossed the public attention. In the month of December, in thepreceding year, William Andrew Home, a gentleman of some fortune inDerbyshire, was executed at Nottingham, in the seventy-fourth year ofhis age, for the murder of an infant born of his own sister, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and twenty-four. On the third day afterthe birth, this brutal ruffian thrust the child into a linen bag, andaccompanied 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 hisbrother, whom he had made privy to this affair, far from endeavouringto engage his secrecy by offices of kindness and marks of affection, hetreated him as an alien to his blood; not barely with indifference, buteven with the most barbarous rigour. He not only defrauded him ofhis right, but exacted of him the lowest menial services; beheld himstarving in a cottage, while he lived himself in affluence; and refusedto relieve with a morsel of charity the children of his own brotherbegging at his gate. It was the resentment of this pride and barbaritywhich, in all likelihood, first impelled the other to revenge. Hepretended qualms of conscience, and disclosed the transaction of thechild to several individuals. As the brother was universally hated forthe insolence and brutality of his disposition, information was givenagainst him, and a resolution formed to bring him to condign punishment. Being informed of this design, he tampered with his brother, and desiredthat he would retract upon the trial the evidence he had given beforethe justices. Though the brother rejected this scheme of subornation, he offered to withdraw himself from the kingdom, if he might have fivepounds to defray the expense of his removal. So sordidly avaricious wasthe other, that he refused to advance this miserable pittance, thoughhe knew his own life depended upon his compliance. He was accordinglyapprehended, tried, and convicted on his brother's evidence; and then heconfessed the particulars of his exposing the infant. He denied, indeed, that he had any thought the child would perish, and declared he intendedit as a present to a gentleman at whose gate it was laid; butas heappeared to be a hardened miscreant, devoid of humanity, stained withthe complicated crimes of tyranny, fraud, rapine, incest, and murder, very little credit is due to his declaration. --In the course of thesame month, part of Westminster was grievously alarmed by a dreadfulconflagration, which broke out in the house of a cabinet-maker nearCovent-garden, raged with great fury, and reduced near twenty houses toashes. Many others were damaged, and several persons either burned intheir apartments, or buried under the ruins. The bad consequences ofthis calamity were in a great measure alleviated by the humanity ofthe public, and the generous compassion of the prince of Wales, whocontributed liberally to the relief of the sufferers. CLAMOUR AGAINST LORD SACKVILLE. But no subject so much engrossed the conversations and passions of thepublic as did the case of lord George Sackville, who had by this timeresigned his command in Germany, and returned to England, the countrywhich, of all others, it would have been his interest to avoid at thisjuncture, if he was really conscious of the guilt the imputation ofwhich his character now sustained. With the first tidings of the battlefought at Minden the defamation of this officer arrived. He was accusedof having disobeyed orders, and his conduct represented as infamous inevery particular. These were the suggestions of a vague report, which noperson could trace to its origin; yet this report immediately gave birthto one of the most inflammatory pamphlets that ever was exhibited to thepublic. The first charge had alarmed the people of England, jealous inhonour, sudden and rash in their sentiments, and obstinately adhering tothe prejudices they have espoused. The implied accusation in the ordersof prince Ferdinand, and the combustible matter superadded by thepamphlet-writer, kindled up such a blaze of indignation in the minds ofthe people, as admitted of no temperament or control. An abhorrence anddetestation of lord George Sackville, as a coward and a traitor, becamethe universal passion, which acted by contagion, infecting all degreesof people from the cottage to the throne; and no individual, who had theleast regard for his own character and quiet, would venture to preachup moderation, or even advise a suspension of belief until more certaininformation could be received. Fresh fuel was continually thrown inby obscure authors of pamphlets and newspapers, who stigmatized andinsulted with such virulent perseverance, that no one would haveimagined they were actuated by personal motives, not retained bymercenary booksellers, against that unfortunate nobleman. Not satisfiedwith inventing circumstances to his dishonour, in his conduct on thelast occasion, they pretended to take a retrospective view of hischaracter, and produced a number of anecdotes to his prejudice, whichhad never before seen the light, and but for this occasion had probablynever been known. Not that all the writings which appeared on thissubject contained fresh matters of aggravation against lord GeorgeSackville. Some writers, either animated by the hope of advantage, orhired to betray the cause which they undertook to defend, entered thelists as professed champions of the accused, assumed the pen in hisbehalf, devoid of sense, unfurnished with materials, and producedperformances which could not fail to injure his character among allthose who believed that he countenanced their endeavours, and suppliedthem with the facts and arguments of his defence. Such precisely was thestate of the dispute when lord George arrived in London. While princeFerdinand was crowned with laurel; while the king of Great Britainapproved his conduct, and, as the most glorious mark of thatapprobation, invested him with the order of the garter, while hisname was celebrated through all England, and extolled, in the warmestexpressions of hyperbole, above all the heroes of antiquity; every mouthwas opened in execration of the late commander of the British troops inGermany. He was now made acquainted with the particulars of his imputedguilt, which he had before indistinctly learned. He was accused ofhaving disobeyed three successive orders he had received from thegeneral, during the action at Minden, to advance with the cavalry ofthe right wing, which he commanded, and sustain the infantry that wereengaged; and, after the cavalry were put in motion, of having haltedthem unnecessarily, and marched so slow, that they could not reachthe place of action in time to be of any service, by which conduct theopportunity was lost of attacking the enemy when they gave way, andrendering the victory more glorious and decisive. The first step whichlord George took towards his own vindication with the public, was inprinting a short address, entreating them to suspend their belief withrespect to his character, until the charge brought against him shouldbe legally discussed by a court-martial, a trial which he had alreadysolicited, and was in hopes of obtaining. HE DEMANDS A COURT-MARTIAL. Finding himself unable to stem the tide of popular prejudice, whichflowed against him with irresistible impetuosity, he might have retiredin quiet and safety, and left it to ebb at leisure. This would havebeen generally deemed a prudential step, by all those who consider theunfavourable medium through which every particular of his conduct musthave been viewed at that juncture, even by men who cherished the mostcandid intentions; when they reflected upon the power, influence, andpopularity of his accuser, the clanger of aggravating the resentment ofthe sovereign, already too conspicuous, and the risk of hazarding hislife on the honour and integrity of witnesses, who might think theirfortunes depended upon the nature of the evidence they should give. Notwithstanding those suggestions, lord George, seemingly impatient ofthe imputation under which his character laboured, insisted upon theprivilege of a legal trial, which was granted accordingly, afterthe judges had given it as their opinion that he might be tried bya court-martial, though he no longer retained any commission in theservice. A court of general officers being appointed and assembled toinquire into his conduct, the judge-advocate gave him to understand thathe was charged with having disobeyed the orders of prince Ferdinand, relative to the battle of Minden. That the reader may have the moredistinct idea of the charge, it is necessary to remind him, that lordGeorge Sackville commanded the cavalry of the right wing, consisting ofHanoverian and British horse, disposed in two lines, the British beingat the extremity of the right, extending to the village of Hartum; theHanoverian cavalry forming the left, that reached almost to an openwood or grove, which divided the horse from the line of infantry, particularly from that part of the line of infantry consisting oftwo brigades of British foot, the Hanoverian guards, and Hardenberg'sregiment. This was the body of troops which sustained the brunt of thebattle with the most incredible courage and perseverance. They of theirown accord advanced to attack the left of the enemy's cavalry, througha most dreadful fire of artillery and small arms, to which they wereexposed in front and flank; they withstood the repeated attacks of thewhole French gendarmerie, whom at length they totally routed, togetherwith a body of Saxon troops on their left, and to their valour thevictory was chiefly owing. The ground from which these troops advancedwas a kind of heath or plain, which opened a considerable way to theleft, where the rest of the army was formed in order of battle; but onthe right it was bounded by the wood, on the other side of which thecavalry of the right wing was posted, having in front the village ofHalen, from whence the French had been driven by the piquets in the armythere posted, and in front of them a windmill, situated in the middlespace 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 justdescribed; the village of Hartum with enclosures on the right, a narrowwood on the left, the village of Halen in their front, and a windmillin the middle of an open plain, which led directly to the enemy. In thisposition lord George Sackville was directed to remain, until he shouldreceive further orders; and here it was those orders were given which hewas said to have disobeyed. Indeed he was previously charged with havingneglected the orders of the preceding evening, which imported that thehorses should be saddled at one in the morning, though the tents werenot to be struck, nor the troops under arms, until they should receivefurther orders. He was accused of having disobeyed these orders, and ofhaving come late into the field, after the cavalry was formed. CaptainWinchingrode, aidecamp to prince Ferdinand, declared upon oath, thatwhile the infantry of the right wing were advancing towards the enemyfor the second time, he was sent with orders to lord George Sackvilleto advance with the cavalry of the right wing, and sustain the infantry, which was going to engage, by forming the horse under his command, uponthe heath, in a third line behind the regiments; that he deliveredthese orders to lord George Sackville, giving him to understand, that heshould march the cavalry through the woods or trees on his left to theheath, where they were to be formed; that on his return to the heath, hemet colonel Fitzroy riding at full gallop towards lord George; and thathe (Winchingrode) followed him back, in order to hasten the march of thecavalry. Colonel Ligonier, another of the prince's aidsdecamp, deposed, that he carried orders from the general to lord George to advance withthe cavalry, in order to profit from the disorder which appeared in theenemy's cavalry; that lord George made no answer to these orders, butturning 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 meantimecolonel Fitzroy arriving with orders for the British cavalry only toadvance, lord George said the orders were contradictory; and colonelLigonier replied, they differed only in numbers, but the destination ofhis march was the same, to the left. Colonel Fitzroy, the third aidecampto prince Ferdinand, gave evidence that when he told lord George it wasthe prince's order for the British cavalry to advance towards the left, his lordship observed that it was different from the order brought bycolonel Ligonier, and he could not think the prince intended to breakthe line; that he asked which way the cavalry was to march, and whowas to be their guide; that when he (the aidecamp) offered to leadthe column through the wood on the left, his lordship seemed stilldissatisfied with the order, saying, it did not agree with the orderbrought by colonel Ligonier, and desired to be conducted in person tothe prince, that he might have an explanation from his own mouth; aresolution which was immediately executed. The next evidence, an officerof rank in the army, made oath that, in his opinion, when the orderswere delivered to lord George, his lordship was alarmed to a very greatdegree, and seemed to be in the utmost confusion. A certain nobleman, of high rank and unblemished reputation, declared, that captainWinchingrode having told him it was absolutely necessary that thecavalry should march, and form a line to support the foot, he had givenorders 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 wasmet by colonel Fitzroy, with an order for the cavalry to advance asfast as possible; that in marching to this place, an order came tohalt, until they could be joined by the first line of cavalry; thatafterwards, in advancing, they were again halted by lord GeorgeSackville; that, in his opinion, they might have marched with moreexpedition, and even come up in time enough to act against the enemy:some other officers who were examined on this subject, agreed with themarquis in these sentiments. Lord George, in his defence, proved, by undeniable evidence, that henever received the orders issued on the eve of the battle, nor any sortof intimation or plan of action, although he was certainly entitled tosome such communication, as commander-in-chief of the British forces;that, nevertheless, the orders concerning the horses were obeyed bythose who received them; that lord George, instead of loitering orlosing time while the troops were forming, prepared to put himself atthe 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 hisquarters without even waiting for an aidecamp to attend him, and was inthe field before any general officer of his division. He declared that, when captain Winchingrode delivered the order to form the cavalry in oneline, making a third, to advance and sustain the infantry, he neitherheard him say he was to march by the left, nor saw him point withhis sword to the wood through which he was to pass. Neither of thesedirections were observed by any of the aids-de-camp or officers thenpresent, except one gentleman, the person who bore witness to theconfusion in the looks and deportment of his lordship. It was provedthat the nearest and most practicable way of advancing against the enemywas 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 heshould be ordered to advance; that, in this persuasion, he had sent anofficer to reconnoitre the village of Halen, as an object of importance, as it would have been upon the flank of the cavalry in advancingforwards; that when he received the order from Winchingrode to form theline, and advance, he still imagined this was his route, and on thissupposition immediately detached an aidecamp to remove a regiment ofSaxe-Gotha which was in the front; that he sent a second to observe theplace where the infantry were, and a third to reconnoitre the enemy;that in a few minutes colonel Ligonier coming up with an order fromprince Ferdinand to advance the cavalry, his lordship immediatelydrew his sword, and ordered them to march forward by the windmill. Thecolonel declared that when he delivered the order, he added, "by theleft;" but lord George affirmed that he heard no such direction, nordid it reach the ears of any other person then present, except of thatofficer who witnessed to the same direction given by Winchingrode. Itwas proved that immediately after the troops were put in motion, colonelFitzroy arrived with an order from prince Ferdinand, importing thatthe British cavalry only should advance by the left; that lord Georgedeclared their orders were contradictory, and seemed the more puzzled, as he understood that both these gentlemen came off nearly at the sametime from the prince, and were probably directed to communicate the sameorder. It was therefore natural to suppose there was a mistake, as theremight be danger in breaking the line, as the route by the wood appearedmore difficult and tedious than that by the windmill, which led directlythrough open ground to the enemy: and as he could not think that if abody of horse was immediately wanted, the general would send for theBritish, that were at the farthest extremity of the wing, ratherthan for the Hanoverian cavalry who formed the left of the line, andconsequently were much nearer the scene of action. It was proved thatlord George, in this uncertainty, resolved to apply for an explanationto the prince in person, who he understood was at a small distance;that with this view he set out with all possible expedition; that havingentered the wood, and perceived that the country beyond it openedsooner to the left than he had imagined, and captain Smith, his aidecampadvising, that the British cavalry should be put in motion he sent backthat gentleman, with orders for them to advance by the left with allpossible despatch; that he rode up to the general, who received himwithout any marks of displeasure, and ordered him to bring up the wholecavalry of the right wing in a line upon the heath; an order, as thereader will perceive, quite different from that which was so warmlyespoused by the aidecamp; that as the marquis of Granby had already putthe second line in motion, according to a separate order which he hadreceived, and the head of his column was already in view, coming outof the wood, lord George thought it necessary to halt the troops on theleft until the right should come into the line; and afterwards sent themorders to march slower, that two regiments, which had been thrown outof the line, might have an opportunity to replace themselves in theirproper stations. With respect to the confusion which one officer affirmed was perceivablein the countenance and deportment of this commander, a considerablenumber of other officers then present being interrogated by hislordship, unanimously declared that they saw no such marks of confusion, but that he delivered his orders with all the marks of coolness anddeliberation. The candid reader will of himself determine, whether aman's heart is to be judged by any change of his complexion, grantingsuch a change to have happened; whether the evidence of one witness, in such a case, will weigh against the concurrent testimony of allthe officers whose immediate business it was to attend and observe thecommander: whether it was likely that an officer, who had been more thanonce in actual service, and behaved without reproach so as to attainsuch an eminent rank in the army, should exhibit symptons of fear andconfusion, when there was in reality no appearance of danger; for noneof the orders imported that he should attack the enemy, but only advanceto sustain the infantry. The time which elapsed from the first order hereceived 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, bywhich he proposed to advance. From that period till the cavalry actuallymarched in consequence of an order from lord George, the length of timewas differently estimated in the opinion of different witnesses, but ata medium computed by the judge-advocate at fifteen minutes, duringwhich the following circumstances were transacted: The troops werefirst ordered to advance forwards, then halted; the contradictory ordersarrived and were disputed; the commander desired the two aidsdecampto agree about which was the precise order, and he would obey itimmediately: each insisting upon that which he had delivered, lordGeorge hastened to the general for an explanation; and, as he passed thewood, sent back captain Smith to the right of the cavalry, which was ata considerable distance, to put the British horse in motion. We shallnot pretend to determine whether the commander of such an important bodymay be excusable for hesitating, when he received contradictory ordersat the same time, especially when both orders run counter to his ownjudgment, whether in that case it is allowable for him to suspendthe operation for a few minutes, in order to consult in person thecommander-in-chief about a step of such consequence to the preservationof the whole army. Neither will we venture to decide dogmatically on themerits of the march, after the cavalry were put in motion; whetherthey marched too slow, or were unnecessarily halted in their way to theheath. It was proved, indeed, that lord George was always remarkablyslow in his movements of cavalry, on the supposition that if horses areblown they must be unfit for service, and that the least hurry is apt todisorder the line of horse to such a degree, as would rob them of theirproper effect, and render all their efforts abortive. This being thesystem of lord George Sackville, it may deserve consideration, whetherhe could deviate from it on this delicate occasion, without renouncingthe dictates of his own judgment and discretion; and whether he wasat liberty to use his own judgment, after having received the order toadvance. After all, whether he was intentionally guilty; and what werethe motives by which he was really actuated, are questions which hisown conscience alone can solve. Even granting him to have hesitated fromperplexity, to have lingered from vexation, to have failed through errorof judgment, he will probably find favour with the candid and humanepart of his fellow-subjects, when they reflect upon the nature of hissituation, placed at the head of such a body of cavalry, uninstructedand uninformed of plan or circumstance, divided from the rest of thearmy, unacquainted with the operations of the day, chagrined with doubtand disappointment, and perplexed by contradictory orders, neither ofwhich 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; thatmankind are liable to mistakes; that the cavalry were not originallyintended to act, as appears in the account of the battle published atthe Hague, by the authority of prince Ferdinand, expressly declaringthat the cavalry on the right did not act, because it was destinedto sustain the infantry in a third line; that if it had really beendesigned for action, it ought either to have been posted in anotherplace, or permitted to advance straight forwards by the windmill, according to the idea of its commander; finally, when they recall toview the general confusion that seems to have prevailed through themanouvres of that morning, and remember some particulars of the action;that the brigades of British artillery had no orders until they appliedto lord George Sackville, who directed them to the spot where theyacquitted themselves with so much honour and effect, in contributing tothe success of the day; that the glory and advantage acquired by the fewbrigades of infantry, who may be said to have defeated the whole Frencharmy, was in no respect owing to any general or particular orders orinstructions, but entirely flowing from the native valour of the troops, and the spirited conduct of their immediate commanders; and that a greatnumber of officers in the allied army, even of those who remained onthe open heath, never saw the face of the enemy, or saw them at such adistance that they could not distinguish more than the hats and the armsof the British regiments with which they were engaged. With respect tothe imputation of cowardice levelled at lord George by the unthinkingmultitude, and circulated with such industry and clamour, we ought toconsider it as a mob accusation which the bravest of men, even thegreat duke of Marlborough, could not escape; we ought to receive it asa dangerous suspicion, which strikes at the root of character, and mayblast that honour in a moment which the soldier has acquired in a longcourse of painful service, at the continual hazard of his life; we oughtto distrust it as a malignant charge, altogether inconsistent with theformer conduct of the person accused, as well as with his subsequentimpatience and perseverance in demanding a trial, to which he neverwould have been called; a trial which, though his life was at stake, andhis cause out of countenance, he sustained with such courage, fortitude, and presence of mind, as even his enemies themselves could not helpadmiring. Thus have we given a succinct detail of this remarkableaffair, with that spirit of impartiality, that sacred regard totruth, which the importance of history demands. To the best of ourrecollection, we have forgot no essential article of the accusation, nor suppressed any material circumstance urged in defence of lord GeorgeSackville. Unknown to his person, unconnected with his friends, unmovedby fear, unbiassed by interest, we have candidly obeyed the dictates ofjustice, and the calls of humanity, in our endeavours to dissipate theclouds of prejudice and misapprehension; warmed, perhaps, with an honestdisdain at the ungenerous, and in our opinion, unjust persecution, whichprevious to his trial, an officer of rank, service, and character, thedescendant of an illustrious family, the son of a nobleman universallyrespected, a Briton, a fellow-subject, had undergone. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} 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 thewhole matter before them, is of opinion that lord George Sackville isguilty of having disobeyed the orders of prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, whom he was, by his commission and instructions, directed to obey ascommander-in-chief, according to the rules of war; and it is the furtheropinion of this court, that the said lord George Sackville is, and heis hereby adjudged, unfit to serve his majesty in any military capacitywhatsoever. " His sentence was confirmed by the king, who moreoversignified his pleasure that it should be given out in public orders, notonly in Britain, but in America, and every quarter of the globe whereany English troops happened to be, that officers being convinced thatneither high birth nor great employments can shelter offences of sucha nature, and that seeing they are subject to censures much worse thandeath to a man who has any sense of honour, they may avoid the fatalconsequences arising from disobedience of orders. To complete thedisgrace of this unfortunate general, his majesty in council called forthe council-book, and ordered the name of lord George Sackville to bestruck 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 committedmany outrages, and, in the opinion of all who knew him, given manifoldproofs of insanity, at length perpetrated a murder, which subjected himto the cognizance of justice. His deportment to his lady was so brutal, that application had been made to the house of peers, and a separationeffected by act of parliament. Trustees were nominated; and one Mr. Johnson, who had, during the best part of his life, been employed inthe family, was now appointed receiver of the estates, at the earl's ownrequest. The conduct of this man, in the course of his stewardship, gave umbrage to lord Ferrers, whose disposition was equally jealous andvindictive. He imagined all his own family had conspired against hisinterest, and that Johnson was one of their accomplices; that he hadbeen instrumental in obtaining the act of parliament, which his lordshipconsidered as a grievous hardship; that he had disappointed him inregard to a certain contract about coal-mines; in a word, that there wasa collusion between Johnson and the earl's adversaries. Fired withthese suppositions, he first expressed his resentment, by giving Johnsonnotice to quit the farm which he possessed on the estate; but findingthe trustees had confirmed the lease, he determined to gratify hisrevenge by assassination, and laid his plan accordingly. On Sunday, thethirteenth day of January, he appointed this unhappy man to come tohis house on the Friday following, in order to peruse papers, or settleaccounts; and Johnson went thither without the least suspicion of whatwas prepared for his reception; for although he was no stranger tohis lordship's dangerous disposition, and knew he had some time beforeincurred his displeasure, yet he imagined his resentment had entirelysubsided, as the earl had of late behaved to him with remarkablecomplacency. He therefore, at the time appointed, repaired to hislordship's house at Stanton, in Leicestershire, at the distance of ashort mile from his own habitation, and was admitted by a maid-servant. The earl had dismissed every person in the house, upon variouspretences, 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 fewminutes, and then the door was locked on the inside. After a great dealof warm expostulation, the earl insisted upon his subscribing a paper, acknowledging himself a villain; and on his refusing to comply with thisdemand, declared he would put him to death. In vain the unfortunateman remonstrated against this cruel injustice, and deprecated theindignation of this furious nobleman. He remained deaf to all hisentreaties, drew forth a pistol, which he had loaded for the purpose, and commanding him to implore heaven's mercy on his knees, shot himthrough the body while he remained in that supplicating attitude. Theconsequence of this violence was not immediate death; but his lordship, seeing the wretched victim still alive and sensible, though agonizedwith pain, felt a momentary motion of pity. He ordered his servants toconvey Mr. Johnson up stairs to a bed, to send for a surgeon, and giveimmediate 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 toldher he had shot her father on purpose, and with deliberation. The samedeclaration he made to the surgeon on his arrival. He stood by himwhile he examined the wound, described the manner in which the ball hadpenetrated, and seemed surprised that it should be lodged within thebody. When he demanded the surgeon's opinion of the wound, the operatorthought proper to temporize for his own safety, as well as for the sakeof the public, lest the earl should take some other desperate step, orendeavour to escape. He therefore amused him with hopes of Johnson'srecovery, about which he now seemed extremely anxious. He supportedhis spirits by immoderate drinking, after having retired to anotherapartment with the surgeon, whom he desired to take all possible care ofhis patient. He declared, however, that he did not repent of what he haddone; that Johnson was a villain who deserved to die; that, in case ofhis death, he (the earl) would surrender himself to the house of peersand take his trial. He said he could justify the action to his ownconscience, and owned his intention was to have killed Johnson outright;but as he still survived, and was in pain, he desired that all possiblemeans might be used for his recovery. Nor did he seem altogetherneglectful of his own safety: he endeavoured to tamper with the surgeon, and suggest what evidence he should give when called before a court ofjustice. He continued to drink himself into a state of intoxication, and all the cruelty of his hate seemed to return. He would not allowthe wounded man to be removed to his own house; saying he would keep himunder his own roof that he might plague the villain. He returned tothe chamber where Johnson lay, insulted him with the most opprobriouslanguage, threatened to shoot him through the head, and could hardly berestrained from committing further acts of violence on the poor man, whowas already in extremity. After he retired to bed, the surgeon procureda sufficient number of assistants, who conveyed Mr. Johnson in an easychair to his own house, where he expired that same morning in greatagonies. The same surgeon assembled a number of armed men to seize themurderer, 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, andconducted by the usher of the black rod and his deputy into the houseof lords, where the coroner's inquest, and the affidavits touching themurder, being read, the gaoler delivered up his prisoner to the careof the black rod, and he was immediately committed to the Tower. Heappeared very calm, composed, and unconcerned, from the time of hisbeing 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 theywithdrew from the house of peers, desired he might not be visited byany of his relations or acquaintances. His understanding, which wasnaturally 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 upthe offender to the justice of his country. The lord-keeper Henley wasappointed lord high-steward for the trial of earl Ferrers, and sat instate with all the peers and judges in Westminster-hall, which was forthis purpose converted into a very august tribunal. On the sixteenth dayof April the delinquent was brought from the Tower in a coach, attendedby the major of the Tower, the gentleman-gaoler, the warders, and adetachment of the foot-guards. He was brought into court about ten; andthe lord-steward with the peers taking their places, he was arraignedaloud in the midst of an infinite concourse of people, including manyforeigners, who seemed wonderfully struck with the magnificence andsolemnity of the tribunal. The murder was fully proved by unquestionableevidence; but the earl pleaded insanity of mind; and, in order toestablish this plea, called many witnesses to attest his lunacy in avariety of instances, which seemed too plainly to indicate a disorderedimagination: unfounded jealousy of plots and conspiracies, unconnectedravings, fits of musing, incoherent ejaculations, sudden starts offury, denunciations of unprovoked revenge, frantic gesticulations, and astrange caprice of temper, were proved to have distinguished his conductand deportment. It appeared that lunacy had been a family taint, and affected divers of his lordship's relations; that a solicitor ofreputation had renounced his business on the full persuasion of hisbeing disordered in his brain; that long before this unhappy event, hisnearest relations had deliberated upon the expediency of taking out acommission of lunacy against him, and were prevented by no other reasonthan the apprehension of being convicted of _scandalum magnatum_, shouldthe jury find his lordship _compos mentis_: a circumstance which, in allprobability, would have happened, inasmuch as the earl's madness did notappear 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 personalbehaviour seemed to indicate lunacy. Indeed all his neighbours andacquaintances had long considered him as a madman; and a certain noblelord declared in the house of peers, when the bill of separation was onthe carpet, that he looked upon him in the light of a maniac, and thatif some effectual step was not taken to divest him of the power of doingmischief, he did not doubt but that one day they should have occasion totry him for murder. The lawyers, who managed the prosecution in behalfof the crown, endeavoured to invalidate the proofs of his lunacy, byobserving that his lordship was never so much deprived of his reason butthat he could distinguish between good and evil; that the murder hehad committed was the effect of revenge for a conceived injury ofsome standing; that the malice was deliberate, and the plan artfullyconducted; that immediately after the deed was perpetrated, the earl'sconversation and reasoning were cool and consistent, until he drankhimself into a state of intoxication; that in the opinion of thegreatest lawyers, no criminal can avail himself of the plea of lunacy, provided the crime was committed during a lucid interval; but hislordship, far from exhibiting any marks of insanity, had in the courseof this trial displayed uncommon understanding and sagacity in examiningthe witnesses, and making many shrewd and pertinent observations onthe evidence which was given. These sentiments were conformable to theopinion of the peers, who unanimously declared him guilty. --After all, in examining the vicious actions of a man who has betrayed manifest andmanifold symptoms of insanity, it is not easy to distinguish those whichare committed during the lucid interval. The suggestions of madness areoften momentary and transient: the determinations of a lunatic, thoughgenerally rash and instantaneous, are sometimes the result of artfulcontrivance; but there is always an absurdity which is the criterion ofthe disease, either in the premises or conclusion. The earl, it is true, had formed a deliberate plan for the perpetration of the murder; but hehad taken no precautions for his own safety or escape; and this neglectwill the more plainly appear to have been the criterion of insanity, ifwe reflect that he justified what he had done as a meritorious action;and declared he would, upon Mr. Johnson's death, surrender himself tothe house of lords. Had he been impelled to this violence by a suddengust of passion, it could not be expected that he should have takenany measure for his own preservation; but as it was the execution of adeliberate scheme, and his lordship was by no means defective in pointof ingenuity, he might easily have contrived means for concealingthe murder until he should have accomplished his escape; and, in ouropinion, any other than a madman would either have taken some suchmeasures, or formed some plan for the concealment of his own guilt. Thedesign itself seems to have been rather an intended sacrifice to justicethan a gratification of revenge. Neither do we think that the sanity ofhis mind was ascertained by the accuracy and deliberation with which hemade his remarks, and examined the evidence at his trial. The influenceof his frenzy might be past; though it was no sign of sound reason tosupply the prosecutor with such an argument to his prejudice. Had hisjudgment been really unimpaired, he might have assumed the mask oflunacy for his own preservation. The trial was continued for two days;and on the third the lord-steward, after having made a short speechtouching the heinous nature of the offence, pronounced the same sentenceof death upon the earl which malefactors of the lowest class undergo:that from the Tower, in which he was imprisoned, he should, on theMonday following, be led to the common place of execution, there to behanged 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 greatagitation; but during the remaining part of his life he behavedwith surprising composure, and even unconcern. After he had receivedsentence, the lords, his judges, by virtue of a power vested in them, respited his execution for one month, that he might have time to settlehis temporal and spiritual concerns. Before sentence was passed, theearl read a paper, in which he begged pardon of their lordships forthe trouble he had given, as well as for having, against his owninclination, pleaded lunacy at the request of his friends. He thankedthem for the candid trial with which he had been indulged, and entreatedtheir lordships to recommend him to the king for mercy. He afterwardssent a letter to his majesty, remonstrating, that he was therepresentative of a very ancient and honourable family, which had beenallied to the crown; and requesting that, if he could not be favouredwith the species of death which in cases of treason distinguishes thenobleman from the plebeian, he might at least, out of consideration forhis family, be allowed to suffer in the Tower, rather than at the commonplace of execution; but this indulgence was refused. From his returnto the Tower to the day of his execution, he betrayed no mark ofapprehension 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 theTower-gate, in consequence of a writ under the great seal of England, directed to the lieutenant of the Tower, his lordship desired permissionto go in his own landau; and appeared gaily dressed in a light colouredsuit of clothes, embroidered with silver. He was attended in the landauby one of the sheriffs, and the chaplain of the Tower, followed by thechariots of the sheriffs, a mourning coach and six, filled with hisfriends, and a hearse for the conveyance of his body. He was guarded bya posse of constables, and a party of horse grenadiers, and a detachmentof 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, whoattended him in the landau: he observed that the gaiety of his apparelmight seem odd on such an occasion, but that he had particular reasonsfor wearing that suit of clothes; he took notice of the vast multitudewhich crowded round him, brought thither, he supposed, by curiosity tosee a nobleman hanged: he told the sheriff he had applied to the king byletter, that he might be permitted to die in the Tower, where the earlof Essex, one of his ancestors, had been beheaded in the reign of queenElizabeth; an application which, he said, he had made with the moreconfidence, 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 neverbeen admitted to him before, hinting that some account of his lordship'ssentiments on religion would be expected by the public, he made answerthat he did not think himself accountable to the public for his privatesentiments; that he had always adored one God, the creator of theuniverse; and with respect to any particular opinions of his own, hehad never propagated them, or endeavoured to make proselytes, becausehe thought it was criminal to disturb the established religion ofhis country, as lord Bolingbroke had done by the publication ofhis writings. He added, that the great number of sects, and themultiplication of religious disputes, had almost banished morality. Withregard to the crime for which he suffered, he declared that he hadno malice against Mr. Johnson; and that the murder was owing to aperturbation of mind, occasioned by a variety of crosses and vexations. When he approached the place of execution, he expressed an earnestdesire to see and take leave of a certain person who waited in thecoach, a person for whom he entertained the most sincere regard andaffection; but the sheriff prudently observing that such an interviewmight shock him, at a time when he had occasion for all his fortitudeand recollection, he acquiesced in the justness of the remark, anddelivered to him a pocket-book, a ring, and a purse, desiring they mightbe given to that person, whom he now declined seeing. On his arrival atTyburn he came out of the landau, and ascended the scaffold with a firmstep and undaunted countenance. He refused to join the chaplain in hisdevotions; but kneeling with him on black cushions, he repeated theLord's Prayer, which he said he had always admired; and added, withgreat 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, inLeicestershire. Finally, he gratified the executioner with a purse ofmoney; then, the halter being adjusted to his neck, he stepped upon alittle stage, erected upon springs, on the middle of the scaffold; andthe cap being pulled over his eyes, the sheriff made a signal, at whichthe stage fell from under his feet, and he was left suspended. Hisbody having hung an hour and five minutes, was cut down, placed in thehearse, and conveyed to the public theatre for dissection; where beingopened, and lying for some days as the subject of a public lecture, atlength it was carried off and privately interred. Without all doubt, this unhappy nobleman's disposition was so dangerously mischievous, thatit became necessary, for the good of society, either to confine him forlife as au incorrigible lunatic, or give him up at once as a sacrificeto justice. Perhaps it might be no absurd or unreasonable regulation inthe legislature, to divest all lunatics of the privilege of insanity, and, in cases of enormity, subject them to the common penalties of thelaw; for though, in the eye of casuistry, consciousness must enter intothe constitution of guilt, the consequences of murder committed by amaniac may be as pernicious to society as those of the most criminaland deliberate assassination, and the punishment of death can be hardlydeemed 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 distinctionsabove the level of plebeians, and as they are eminently distinguishedfrom them in suffering punishment for high treason, which the lawconsiders as the most atrocious crime that can be committed, it mightnot be unworthy of the notice of the legislature to deliberate whethersome such pre-eminence ought not to be extended to noblemen convicted ofother crimes, in order to alleviate as much as possible the disgrace ofnoble families which have deserved well of their country; to avoidany circumstance that may tend to diminish the lustre of the Englishnobility in the eyes of foreign nations; or to bring it into contemptwith the common people of our own, already too licentious, and prone toabolish 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 issomething in the climate of this country that not only disposes thenatives to this inhuman outrage, but even infects foreigners who resideamong them. Certain it is, high passions will break out into the mostenormous violence in that country where they are least controlled by therestraint of regulation and discipline; and it is equally certain, thatin no civilized country under the sun there is such a relaxation ofdiscipline, either religious or civil, as in England. The month ofAugust produced a remarkable instance of desperate revenge, perpetratedby one Stirn, a native of Hesse-Cassel, inflamed and exasperated by afalse punctilio of honour. This unhappy young man was descended of agood family, and possessed many accomplishments both of mind and person;but his character was distinguished by such a jealous sensibility, asrendered him unhappy in himself, and disagreeable to his acquaintance. After having for some years performed the office of usher in aboarding-school, he was admitted to the house of one Mr. Matthews, asurgeon, in order to teach him the classics, and instruct his childrenin music, which he perfectly understood. He had not long resided in hisfamily, when the surgeon took umbrage at some part of his conduct, taxedhim roughly with fraud and ingratitude, and insisted upon his removingto another lodging. Whether he rejected this intimation, or founddifficulty in procuring another apartment, the surgeon resolved to expelhim by violence, called in the assistance of a peace-officer, and turnedhim out into the street in the night, after having loaded him with themost provoking reproaches. These injuries and disgraces operating upona mind jealous by nature and galled by adversity, produced a kindof frenzy of resentment, and he took the desperate resolution ofsacrificing Mr. Matthews to his revenge. Next day, having provided acase of pistols, and charged them for the occasion, he reinforcedhis rage by drinking an unusual quantity of wine, and repaired inthe evening to a public house, which Mr. Matthews frequented, in theneighbourhood of Hatton-Garden. There he accordingly found the unhappyvictim sitting with some of his friends; and the surgeon, instead ofpalliating his former conduct, began to insult him afresh with the mostopprobrious invectives. Stirn, exasperated by this additional indignity, pulled his pistols from his bosom; shot the surgeon, who immediatelyexpired; and discharged the other at his own breast, though hisconfusion was such that it did not take effect. He was apprehended onthe spot, and conveyed to prison; where, for some days, he refused allkind of sustenance, but afterwards became more composed. At his trialhe pleaded insanity of mind; but, being found guilty, he resolved toanticipate the execution of the sentence. That same evening hedrank poison; and, notwithstanding all the remedies that could beadministered, died in strong convulsions. His body was publiclydissected, according to the sentence of the law; and afterwards interredwith those marks of indignity which are reserved for the perpetrators ofsuicide. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} NEW BRIDGE BEGUN AT BLACKFRIARS. We shall close the domestic occurrences of this year with an account oftwo incidents, which, though of a very different nature in respect ofeach other, nevertheless concurred in demonstrating that the internalwealth and vigour of the nation were neither drained nor diminishedby the enormous expense and inconveniencies of the war. The committeeappointed to manage the undertaking for a new bridge over the riverThames, at Blackfriars, having received and examined a variety of planspresented by different artists, at length gave the preference to thedesign of one Mr. Mylne, a young architect, a native of North Britain, just returned from the prosecution of his studies at Rome, where he hadgained the prize in the capital, which the academy of that city bestowson him who produces the most beautiful and useful plan on a givensubject of architecture. This young man being in London, on his returnto his own country, was advised to declare himself a candidate for thesuperintendency of the new bridge; and the plan which he presentedwas approved and adopted. The place being already ascertained, thelord-mayor of London, attended by the committee, and a great concourseof people, repaired to Blackfriars, and laid the first stone of thebridge; placing upon it a plate, with an inscription, which does morehonour to the public spirit of the undertakers than to the classicaltaste of the author. [547] _[See note 4 K, at the end of this Vol. ]_ Theother instance that denoted the wealth and spirit of the nation, wasthe indifference and unconcern with which they bore the loss of a vastmagazine 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 allthe endeavours of the workmen in the yard, the sailors in theharbour, and the troops in the town, that before a stop was put to theconflagration it had consumed a variety of stores to an immense value. The damage, however, was so immediately repaired, that it had no sortof effect in disconcerting any plan, or even in retarding any navalpreparation. How important these preparations must have been, may be judged from theprodigious increase of the navy, which, at this juncture, amounted toone hundred and twenty ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships, sloops, bombs, and tenders. Of these capital ships, seventeen werestationed in the East Indies, twenty for the defence of the WestIndia islands, twelve in North America, ten in the Mediterranean, andsixty-one either on the coast of France, in the harbours of England, orcruising 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 smallprivateers and armed vessels, that in the beginning of this year, fromthe first of March to the tenth of June, they had made prize of twohundred vessels belonging to Great Britain and Ireland. The whole numberof British ships taken by them, from the first day of June, in the yearone thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, to the first of June in thepresent year, amounted to two thousand five hundred and thirty-nine; ofthese, seventy-eight were privateers, three hundred and twenty-one wereretaken, and about the same number ransomed. In the same space of time, the British cruisers had made captures of nine hundred and forty-fourvessels, including two hundred and forty-two privateers, many fishingboats and small coasters, the value of which hardly defrayed the expenseof condemnation. That such a small proportion of ships should be takenfrom the enemy is not at all surprising, when we consider the terribleshocks their commerce had previously received, and the great numberof their mariners imprisoned in England; but the prodigious number ofBritish vessels taken by their petty coasting privateers, in the faceof such mighty armaments, numerous cruisers, and convoys, seem toargue that either the English ships of war were inactive or improperlydisposed, or that the merchants hazarded their ships without convoy. Certain it is, in the course of this year we find fewer prizes takenfrom the enemy, and fewer exploits achieved at sea, than we had occasionto record in the annals of the past. Not that the present year isaltogether barren of events which redound to the honour of our marinecommanders. We have, in recounting the transactions of the precedingyear, mentioned a small armament equipped at Dunkirk, under the commandof M. De Thurot, who, in spite of all the vigilance of the Britishcommander stationed in the Downs, found means to escape from the harbourin the month of October last, and arrived at Gottenburgh in Sweden, fromwhence he proceeded to Bergen in Norway. His instructions were to makeoccasional descents upon the coast of Ireland: and, by dividing thetroops, and distracting the attention of the government in that kingdom, to facilitate the enterprise of M. De Confians, the fate of which wehave already narrated. The original armament of Thurot consisted of fiveships, one of which, called the mareschal de Belleisle, was mounted withforty-four guns; the Begon, the Blond, the Terpsichore, had thirty gunseach; and the Marante carried twenty-four. The number of soldiers puton board this little fleet did not exceed one thousand two hundred andseventy, exclusive of mariners, to the number of seven hundred; but twohundred of the troops were sent sick on shore before the armament sailedfrom Dunkirk; and in their voyage between Gottenburgh and Bergen theylost company of the Begon, during a violent storm. The severity of theweather detained them nineteen days at Bergen, at the expiration ofwhich they set sail for the western islands of Scotland, and discoveredthe northern part of Ireland in the latter end of January. The intentionof Thurot was to make a descent about Derry; but before this designcould be executed, the weather growing tempestuous, and the wind blowingoff shore, they were driven out to sea, and in the night lost sight ofthe Marante, which never joined them in the sequel. After having beentempest-beaten for some time, and exposed to a very scanty allowanceof provisions, the officers requested of Thurot that he would return toFrance, lest they should all perish by famine; but he lent a deaf earto 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 tothe island of Islay, where the troops were landed; and here they foundblack cattle, and a small supply of oatmeal, for which they paid areasonable price; and it must be owned, Thurot himself behaved withgreat moderation and generosity. While this spirited adventurer struggled with these wants anddifficulties, his arrival in those seas filled the whole kingdom withalarm. Bodies of regular troops and militia were posted along the coastof Ireland and Scotland; and besides the squadron of commodore Boys, whosailed to the northward on purpose to pursue the enemy, other shipsof war were ordered to scour the British channel, and cruise betweenScotland and Ireland. The weather no sooner permitted Thurot to pursuehis destination, than he sailed from Islay to the bay of Carrickfergus, in Ireland, and made all the necessary preparations for a descent; whichwas accordingly effected with six hundred men, on the twenty-first dayof February. Lieutenant-colonel Jennings, who commanded four companiesof raw undisciplined men at Carrickfergus, having received informationthat three ships had anchored about two miles and a half from thecastle, which was ruinous and defenceless, immediately detached a partyto make observations, and ordered the French prisoners there confined tobe removed to Belfast. Meanwhile, the enemy landing without opposition, advanced towards the town, which they found as well guarded as thenature of the place, which was entirely open, and the circumstances ofthe English commander, would allow. A regular attack was carried on, anda 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, nearfifty feet wide, they found themselves destitute of provisions andammunition. * 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, evenafter the gate was burst open, and supplied the want of shot withstones and rubbish. At length the colonel and his troops were obligedto surrender, on condition that they should not be sent prisoners toFrance, but be ransomed, by sending thither an equal number of Frenchprisoners from Great Britain or Ireland: that the castle should notbe demolished, nor the town of Carrickfergus plundered or burned, oncondition that the mayor and corporation should furnish the Frenchtroops with necessary provisions. The enemy, after this exploit, did notpresume to advance farther into the country; a step which indeed theycould not have taken with any regard to their own safety; for by thistime a considerable body of regular troops was assembled; and the peopleof the country manifested a laudable spirit of loyalty and resolution, crowding in great numbers to Belfast, to offer their service against theinvaders. These circumstances, to which the enemy were no strangers, and the defeat of Conflans, which they had also learned, obliged them toquit their conquest, and re-embark with some precipitation, after havinglaid Carrickfergus under moderate contributions. The fate they escaped on shore they soon met with at sea. Captain JohnElliot, who commanded three frigates at Kinsale, and had in the courseof this war more than once already distinguished himself even in hisearly youth, by extraordinary acts of valour, was informed by a despatchfrom the duke of Bedford, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, that three of theenemy's ships lay at anchor in the bay of Carrickfergus; and thitherhe immediately shaped his course in the ship Æolus, accompanied by thePallas and Brilliant, under the command of the captains Clements andLogic. On the twenty-eighth day of February they descried the enemy, andgave chase in sight of the Isle of Man; and about nine in the morning, captain Elliot, in his own ship, engaged the Belleisle, commanded byThurot, although considerably his superior in strength of men, numberof guns, and weight of metal. In a few minutes his consorts were alsoengaged 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 hercolours with his own hand, the commander submitted: his example wasimmediately followed by the other French captains; and the Englishcommodore, taking possession of his prizes, conveyed them into the bayof 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 havebeen so easily obtained, had not the gallant Thurot fallen during theaction. The victor had not even the consolation to perform the lastoffices to his brave enemy; for his body was thrown into the sea by hisown people in the hurry of the engagement. The loss on the side of theEnglish did not exceed forty men killed and wounded, whereas above threehundred of the enemy were slain and disabled. The service performedon this occasion was deemed so essential to the peace and commerce ofIreland, that the thanks of the house of commons in that kingdom werevoted to the conquerors of Thurot, as well as to lieutenant-colonelJennings, for his spirited behaviour at Carrickfergus; and the freedomof the city of Cork was presented in silver boxes to the captainsElliot, Clements, and Logie. The name of Thurot was become terrible toall the trading seaports of Great Britain and Ireland; and thereforethe defeat and capture of his squadron were celebrated with as heartyrejoicings 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 lesshonourable for the British commanders. Captain Skinner of the Biddeford, and captain Kennedy of the Flamborough, both frigates, sailed on acruise from Lisbon; and on the fourth day of April, fell in with twolarge French frigates, convoy to a fleet of merchant-ships, which theEnglish captains immediately resolved to engage. The enemy did notdecline the battle, which began about half an hour after six in theevening, and raged with great fury till eleven. By this time theFlamborough had lost sight of the Biddeford; and the frigate with whichcaptain 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 farastern, that he lost sight of her, and returned to Lisbon with the lossof fifteen men killed and wounded, including the lieutenant of marines, and considerable damage both in her hull and rigging. In three days hewas joined by the Biddeford, which had also compelled her antagonist togive way, and pursued her till she was out of sight. In about an hourafter the action began, captain Skinner was killed by a cannon-ball; andthe 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 withequal resolution till the enemy made his escape; which he the moreeasily accomplished, as the Biddeford was disabled in her masts andrigging. REMARKABLE ADVENTURE OF FIVE IRISHMEN. The bravery of five Irishmen and a boy, belonging to the crew of a shipfrom Waterford, deserves commemoration. The vessel, in her return fromBilboa, laden with brandy and iron, being taken by a French privateeroff 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 toassist nine Frenchmen in navigating the vessel to France. These stoutHibernians immediately formed a plan of insurrection, and executed itwith success. Four of the French mariners being below deck, three aloftamong 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; butmissing the mark, he knocked him down with the but-end of the piece. At the same time hallooing to his confederates below, they assailed theenemy with their own broadswords; and, soon compelling them to submit, came upon deck, and shut the hatches. Brian being now in possessionof the quarter-deck, those who were aloft called for quarter, andsurrendered without opposition. The Irish having thus obtained acomplete victory, almost without bloodshed, and secured the prisoners, another difficulty occurred: neither Brian nor any of his associatescould read or write, or knew the least principle of navigation; butsupposing his course to be north, he steered at a venture, and the firstland he made was the neighbourhood of Youghall, where he happily arrivedwith 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, amagnificent ship of the second rate, belonging to the squadron whichadmiral Boscawen commanded on the coast of France, in order to watch themotions and distress the commerce of that restless enterprising enemy. In the beginning of February, a series of stormy weather obliged theadmiral to return from the bay of Quiberon to Plymouth, where he arrivedwith much difficulty: but the Ramillies overshot the entrance to thesound; and, being embayed near a point called the Bolthead, about fourleagues higher up the channel, was dashed in pieces among the rocks, after all her anchors and cables had given way. All her officers andmen, amounting to seven hundred, perished on this occasion, except onemidshipman and twenty-five mariners, who had the good fortune to savethemselves by leaping on the rocks as the hull was thrown forwards, and raised up by the succeeding billows. Such were the most materialtransactions of the year, relating to the British empire in the seas ofEurope. 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 theirarts of insinuation with such success among the Cherokees--a numerousand powerful nation of Indians settled on the confines of Virginia andCarolina--that they had infringed the peace with the English towardsthe latter end of the last year, and begun hostilities by plundering, massacring, and scalping several British subjects of the more southernprovinces. Mr. Lyttleton, governor of South Carolina, having receivedinformation of these outrages, obtained the necessary aids from theassembly of the province, for maintaining a considerable body of forces, which was raised with great expedition. He marched in the beginning ofOctober, at the head of eight hundred provincials, reinforced with threehundred regular troops, and penetrated into the heart of the countrypossessed by the Cherokees, who were so much intimidated by his vigourand despatch, that they sent a deputation of their chiefs to sue forpeace, which was re-established by a new treaty, dictated by the Englishgovernor. They obliged themselves to renounce the French interest, todeliver up all the spies and emissaries of that nation then residentamong them; to surrender to justice those of their own people who hadbeen concerned in murdering and scalping the British subjects; and forthe performance of these articles two-and-twenty of their head menwere put as hostages into the hands of the governor. So little regard, however, was paid by these savages to this solemn accommodation, thatMr. Lyttleton had been returned but a few days from their country, whenthey attempted to surprise the English fort Prince George, near thefrontiers of Carolina, by going thither in a body, on pretence ofdelivering up some murderers; but the commanding officer, perceivingsome suspicious circumstances in their behaviour, acted with suchvigilance 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 theircountry, all of whom they butchered without mercy. Not contentedwith this barbarous sacrifice, they made incursions on the Britishsettlements at the Long Lanes, and the forks of the Broad River, andmassacred about forty defenceless colonists, who reposed themselvesin full security on the peace so lately ratified. As views of interestcould not have induced them to act in this manner, and their revengehad not been inflamed by any fresh provocation, these violences mustbe imputed to the instigation of French incendiaries; and too plainlyevinced the necessity of crowning our American conquests with thereduction of Louisiana, from whence these emissaries were undoubtedlydespatched. The cruelty and mischief with which the Cherokees prosecuted theirrenewed hostilities alarmed all the southern colonies of theEnglish, and application was made for assistance to Mr. Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the king's forces in America. He forthwithdetached twelve hundred chosen men to South Carolina, under the commandof colonel Montgomery, brother to the earl of Eglinton, an officer ofapproved conduct and distinguished gallantry. Immediately after hisarrival at Charles-Town, he advanced to Ninety-Six, and proceeded toTwelve-mile river, which he passed in the beginning of June, withoutopposition. He continued his route by forced marches until he arrivedin the neighbourhood of the Indian town called Little Keowee, wherehe encamped in an advantageous situation. Having reason to believe theenemy were not yet apprized of his coming, he resolved to rush upon themin the night by surprise. With this view, leaving his tents standingwith a sufficient guard for the camp and waggons, he marched throughthe woods towards the Cherokee town of Estatoe, at the distance offive-and-twenty miles: and in his route detached a company of lightinfantry to destroy the village of Little Keowee, where they werereceived with a smart fire; but they rushed in with their bayonets, andall the men were put to the sword. The main body proceeded straight toEstatoe, which they reached in the morning; but it had been abandonedabout half an hour before their arrival. Some few of the Indians, whohad not time to escape, were slain; and the town, consisting of twohundred houses, well stored with provisions, ammunition, and all thenecessaries of life, was first plundered, and then reduced to ashes:some of the wretched inhabitants who concealed themselves perished inthe flames. It was necessary to strike a terror into those savagesby some examples of severity; and the soldiers became deaf to all thesuggestions of mercy when they found in one of the Indian towns the bodyof an Englishman, whom they had put to the torture that very morning. Colonel Montgomery followed his blow with surprising rapidity. In thespace of a few hours he destroyed Sugar-Town, which was as large asEstateo, and every village and house in the Lower Nation. The Indianvillages in this part of the world were agreeably situated, generallyconsisting of about one hundred houses, neatly and commodiouslybuilt, and well supplied with provisions. They had in particular largemagazines of corn, which were consumed in the flames. All the men thatwere taken suffered immediate death; but the greater part of the nationhad escaped with the utmost precipitation. In many houses the beds wereyet warm, and the table spread with victuals. Many loaded guns went offwhile the houses were burning. The savages had not time to save theirmost valuable effects. The soldiers found some money, three or fourwatches, a good quantity of wampum, clothes, and peltry. ColonelMontgomery having thus taken vengeance on the perfidious Cherokees, at the expense of five or six men killed or wounded, returned to FortPrince George, with about forty Indian women and children whom he hadmade prisoners. Two of their warriors were set at liberty, and desiredto inform their nation, that, though they were now in the power of theEnglish, they might still, on their submission, enjoy the blessings ofpeace. As the chief called Attakullakulla, alias the Little Carpenter, who had signed the last treaty, disapproved of the proceedings of hiscountrymen, and had done many good offices to the English since therenovation of the war, he was now given to understand that he might comedown with some other chiefs to treat of an accommodation, which would begranted to the Cherokees on his account; but that the negotiation mustbe begun in a few days, otherwise all the towns in the Upper Nationwould be ravaged and reduced to ashes. These intimations having produced little or no effect, colonelMontgomery resolved to make a second irruption into the middlesettlements of the Cherokees, and began his march on the twenty-fourthday of June. On the twenty-seventh, captain Morrison, of the advancedparty, was killed by a shot from a thicket, and the firing became sotroublesome that his men gave way. The grenadiers and light infantrybeing detached to sustain them, continued to advance, notwithstandingthe fire from the woods; until, from a rising ground, they discovereda body of the enemy. These they immediately attacked, and obliged toretire into a Swamp; which, when the rest of the troops came up, theywere after a short resistance compelled to abandon: but, as the countrywas difficult, and the path extremely narrow, the forces suffered ontheir march from the fire of scattered parties who concealed themselvesbehind trees and bushes. At length they arrived at the town of Etchowee, which the inhabitants had forsaken after having removed every thing ofvalue. Here, while the army encamped on a small plain, surrounded byhills, it was incommoded by volleys from the enemy, which wounded somemen, and killed several horses. They were even so daring as to attackthe piquet guard, which repulsed them with difficulty; but, generallyspeaking, their parties declined an open engagement. Colonel Montgomery, sensible that, as many horses were killed or disabled, he could notproceed farther without leaving his provisions behind, or abandoning thewounded 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 disturbedby the Indians. Accordingly, he pursued his route for two days withoutinterruption; but afterwards sustained some straggling fires from thewoods, though the parties of the enemy were put to flight as oftenas they appeared. In the beginning of July he arrived at Fort PrinceGeorge; this expedition having cost him about seventy men killed andwounded, including five officers. FATE OF THE GARRISON AT FORT LOUDOUN. In revenge for these calamities, the Cherokees assembled to aconsiderable number, and formed the blockade of Fort Loudoun, asmall fortification near the confines of Virginia, defended by aninconsiderable garrison, ill supplied with provisions and necessaries. After having sustained a long siege, and being reduced to the utmostdistress, captain Demere, the commander, held a council of war withthe other officers, to deliberate upon their present situation; when itappeared that their provisions were entirely exhausted; that they hadsubsisted a considerable time without bread upon horse-flesh, andsuch supplies of pork and beans as the Indian women could introduce bystealth: that the men were so weakened with famine and fatigue, that ina little time they would not be able to do duty; that, for two nightspast, considerable parties had deserted, and some thrown themselvesupon the mercy of the enemy; but the garrison in general threatened toabandon their officers, and betake themselves to the woods; and thatthere was no prospect of relief, their communication having been longcut off from all the British settlements: for these reasons they wereunanimously of opinion that it was impracticable to prolong theirdefence; and they should accept of an honourable capitulation; andcaptain Stuart should be sent to treat with the warriors and the headmen of the Cherokees, about the conditions of their surrender. Thisofficer, being accordingly despatched with full powers, obtained acapitulation of the Indians, by which the garrison was permitted toretire. The Indians desired that, when they arrived at Keowee, theCherokee prisoners confined at that place should be released, allhostilities cease, a lasting accommodation be re-established, and aregulated trade revived. In consequence of this treaty the garrisonevacuated the fort, and had marched about fifteen miles on their returnto Carolina, when they were surrounded and surprised by a large body ofIndians, who massacred all the officers except captain Stuart, andslew 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 LittleCarpenter, who ransomed him at the price of all he could command, andconducted him safe to Holston River, where he found major Lewis advancedso far with a body of Virginians. The savages, encouraged by theirsuccess at Fort Loudoun, undertook the siege of Ninety-Six, and othersmall fortifications; but retired precipitately on the approach of abody of provincials. BRITISH INTEREST ESTABLISHED ON THE OHIO. In the meantime, the British interest and empire were firmly establishedon the banks of the Ohio, by the prudence and conduct of major-generalStanwix, who had passed the winter at Pittsburgh, formerly Du Quesne, andemployed that time in the most effectual manner for the service of hiscountry. He repaired the old works, established posts of communicationfrom the Ohio to Monongahela, mounted the bastions that cover theisthmus with artillery, erected casemates, store-houses, and barracks, for a numerous garrison, and cultivated with equal diligence and successthe friendship and alliance of the Indians. The happy consequences ofthese measures were soon apparent in the production of a considerabletrade between the natives and the merchants of Pittsburgh, and in theperfect security of about four thousand settlers, who now returned tothe quiet possession of the lands from whence they had been driven bythe enemy on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} THE FRENCH UNDERTAKE THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC. The incidents of the war were much more important and decisive in themore northern parts of this great continent. The reader will rememberthat brigadier-general Murray was left to command the garrison ofQuebec, amounting to about six thousand men; that a strong squadron ofships was stationed at Halifax, in Nova-Scotia, under the direction oflord Colville, an able and experienced officer, who had instructionsto revisit Quebec in the beginning of summer, as soon as the riverSt. Laurence should be navigable; and that general Amherst, thecommander-in-chief of the forces in America, wintered in New-York, that he might be at hand to assemble his troops in the spring, andre-commence his operations for the entire reduction of Canada. GeneralMurray neglected no step that could be taken by the most vigilantofficer for maintaining the important conquest of Quebec, and subduingall the Lower Canada; the inhabitants of which actually submitted, andtook the oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain. [550] _[Seenote 4 M, at the end of this Vol. ]_ The garrison. , however, within thewalls of Quebec, suffered greatly from the excessive cold in the winter, and the want of vegetables and fresh provisions; insomuch that, beforethe end of April, one thousand soldiers were dead of the scurvy, andtwice that number rendered unfit for service. Such was the situation ofthe garrison, when Mr. Murray received undoubted intelligence that theFrench commander, the chevalier de Levis, was employed in assemblinghis army, which had been cantoned in the neighbourhood of Montreal;that from the inhabitants of the country he had completed his eightbattalions, regimented forty companies of the troops de Colonie, anddetermined 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 theriver. The brigadier, considering the city of Quebec as no other than a strongcantonment, had projected a plan of defence, by extending lines, andintrenching his troops on the heights of Abraham, which at the distanceof 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 projectedlines: but the earth was so hardened by the frost, that it wasfound impracticable to proceed. Being informed on the night of thetwenty-sixth, that the enemy had landed at Point-au-Tremble, to thenumber of ten thousand men, with five hundred savages, he ordered allthe bridges over the river Cape Rouge to be broken down, secured thelanding places at Sylleri and the Foulon; and next day, marching inperson with a strong detachment, and two field-pieces, took possessionof an advantageous situation, and thus defeated the scheme which theFrench commander had laid for cutting off the posts which the Englishhad established. These being all withdrawn, the brigadier that sameafternoon marched back to Quebec, with little or no loss, although hisrear was harassed by the enemy. Here he formed a resolution which hathbeen censured by some critics in war, as a measure that savoured moreof youthful impatience and overboiling courage than of that militarydiscretion which ought to distinguish a commander in such a delicatesituation; 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 heconsidered that the English forces were habituated to victory, that theywere provided with a fine train of field-artillery; that, in shuttingthem at once within the walls, he should have risked his whole stake onthe single chance of defending a wretched fortification; a chance whichcould not be much lessened by an action in the field, though suchan action would double the chance of success: for these reasons hedetermined to hazard a battle; should the event prove unprosperous, heresolved to hold out the place to the last extremity; then to retreat tothe Isle of Orleans, or Coudres, with the remainder of the garrison, and there wait for a reinforcement. In pursuance of these resolutionshe gave the necessary orders over night; and on the twenty-eighth dayof April, at half an hour after six in the morning, marched out withhis little army of three thousand men, which he formed on the heightsin order of battle. The right brigade, commanded by colonel Burton, consisted of the regiments of Amherst, Anstruther, Webb, and the secondbattalion of Royal Americans; the left, under colonel Fraser, was formedof 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 lightinfantry covered the right flank; the left was secured by captainHuzzen's company of rangers, and one hundred volunteers, under thecommand of captain Donald Mac-donald; and each battalion was suppliedwith two field-pieces. Brigadier Murray, having reconnoitred the enemy, perceived their van had taken possession of the rising grounds aboutthree quarters of a mile in his front; but that their army was on themarch in one column. Thinking this was the critical moment to attackthem before they were formed, he advanced towards them with equal orderand expedition. They were soon driven from the heights, though notwithout a warm dispute; during which the body of their army advancedat a round pace, and formed in columns. Their van consisted of tencompanies of grenadiers, two of volunteers, and four hundred savages;eight battalions, formed in four columns, with some bodies of Canadiansin the intervals, constituted their main body; their rear was composedof two battalions, and some Canadians in the flanks; and two thousandCanadians formed the reserve. Their whole army amounted to upwards oftwelve thousand men. Major Balling, with great gallantry, dispossessedtheir grenadiers of a house and windmill which they occupied, in orderto cover their left flank; and in this attack the major and some ofhis officers were wounded: nevertheless, the light infantry pursued thefugitives to a corps which was formed to sustain them; then the pursuershalted, and dispersed along the front of the right; a circumstance whichprevented that wing from taking advantage of the first impression theyhad made on the left of the enemy. The light infantry, being ordered toregain the flank, were, in attempting this motion, furiously charged, and thrown into disorder: then they retired to the rear in such ashattered condition, that they could never again be brought up duringthe whole action. Otway's regiment was instantly ordered to advance fromthe body of the reserve, and sustain the right wing, which the enemytwice in vain attempted to penetrate. Meanwhile the left brigade of theBritish forces did not remain inactive: they had dispossessed the Frenchof two redoubts, and sustained with undaunted resolution the wholeefforts of the enemy's right, until they were fairly fought down, overpowered by numbers, and reduced to a handful, notwithstanding theassistance they received from the third battalion of Royal Americans, which had been stationed with the body of the reserve, as well as fromKennedy's regiment, posted in the centre. The French attacked with greatimpetuosity; and at length a fresh column of the regiment de Rousillonpenetrating the left wing of the British army, it gave way; the disorderwas soon communicated to the right; so that after a very obstinatedispute, which lasted an hour and three quarters, brigadier Murray wasobliged to quit the field, with the loss of one thousand men killed orwounded, and the greater part of his artillery. The enemy lost twice thenumber of men and reaped no essential advantage from their victory. QUEBEC BESIEGED. Mr. Murray, far from being dispirited by his defeat, no soonerretired within the walls of Quebec, than he resolved to prosecute thefortifications of the place, which had been interrupted by the severityof the winter; and the soldiers exerted themselves with incrediblealacrity, not only in labouring at the works, but also in the defence ofthe town, before which the enemy had opened trenches on the very eveningof the battle. Three ships anchored at the Foulon below their camp; andfor several days they were employed in landing their cannon, mortars, and ammunition. Meanwhile they worked incessantly at their trenchesbefore the town; and on the eleventh day of May, opened onebomb-battery, and three batteries of cannon. Brigadier Murray made thenecessary dispositions to defend the place to the last extremity: heraised two cavaliers, contrived some out-works, and planted the rampartswith one hundred and thirty-two pieces of artillery, dragged thithermostly by the soldiery. Though the enemy cannonaded the place with greatvivacity the first day, their fire soon slackened; and their batterieswere in a manner silenced by the superior fire of the garrison:nevertheless, Quebec would in all probability have reverted to itsformer owners, had a French fleet from Europe got the start of anEnglish 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 bythick fogs, contrary winds, and great shoals of ice floating down theriver. Commodore Swanton, who had sailed from England with a smallreinforcement, arrived about the beginning of May at the Isle of Bee, inthe river St. Laurence, where, with two ships, he purposed to wait forthe rest of his squadron, which had separated from him in the passage:but one of these, the Lowestoffe, commanded by captain Deane, hadentered the harbour of Quebec on the ninth day of May, and communicatedto the governor the joyful news that the squadron was arrived in theriver. Commodore Swanton no sooner received intimation that Quebec wasbesieged, than he sailed up the river with all possible expedition, andon the fifteenth in the evening anchored above Point Levi. The brigadierexpressing an earnest desire that the French squadron above the townmight be removed, the commodore ordered captain Schomberg of the Diana, and captain Deane of the Lowestoffe, to slip their cables early nextmorning, and attack the enemy's fleet, consisting of two frigates, twoarmed ships, and a great number of smaller vessels. They were no soonerin motion than the French ships fled in the utmost disorder. One oftheir frigates was driven on the rocks above Cape Diamond; the other ranashore, and was burned at Point-au-Tremble, about ten leagues above thetown; and all the other vessels were taken or destroyed. The enemy were so confounded and dispirited by this disaster, and thecertain information that a strong English fleet was already in theriver St. Laurence, that in the following night they raised the siegeof Quebec, and retreated with great precipitation, leaving theirprovisions, implements, and artillery to governor Murray, who hadintended to make a vigorous sally in the morning, and attempt topenetrate into the camp of the besiegers, which, from the information ofprisoners and deserters, he conceived to be a very practicable scheme. For this purpose he had selected a body of troops, who were alreadyunder arms, when a lieutenant, whom he had sent out with a detachmentto amuse the enemy, came and assured him that their trenches wereabandoned. He instantly marched out of Quebec at the head of his forces, in hopes of overtaking and making an impression on their rear, that hemight have ample revenge for his late discomfiture; but they had passedthe river Cape Rouge before he could come up with their army: however, he took some prisoners, and a great quantity of baggage, including theirtents, stores, magazines of provision and ammunition, with thirty-fourpieces of battering cannon, ten field-pieces, six mortars, four petards, a great number of scaling ladders, intrenching tools, and every otherimplement for a siege. They retired to Jaques-Quartiere, where theirammunition began to fail, and they were abandoned by great part of theCanadians; so that they resigned all hope of succeeding against Quebec, and began to take measures for the preservation of Montreal, againstwhich the force under general Amherst was directed. There M. Vaudreuilhad fixed his head-quarters, and there he proposed to make his laststand against the efforts of the British general. He not only leviedforces, collected magazines, and erected new fortifications in theisland of Montreal, but he had even recourse to feigned intelligence, and other arts of delusion, to support the spirits of the Canadians andtheir Indian allies, which had begun to flag in consequence of theirbeing obliged to abandon the siege of Quebec. It must be owned, he actedwith all the spirit and foresight of an experienced general, determinedto exert himself for the preservation of the colony, even though verylittle prospect of success remained. His hopes, slender as they were, depended upon the natural strength of the country, rendered almostinaccessible by woods, mountains, and morasses, which might haveretarded the progress of the English, and protracted the war until ageneral pacification could be effected. In the meantime, major-generalAmherst was diligently employed in taking measures for the execution ofthe plan he had projected, in order to complete the conquest of Canada. He conveyed instructions to general Murray, directing him to advance bywater towards Montreal, with all the troops that could be spared fromthe garrison of Quebec. He detached colonel Haviland, with a body oftroops from Crown-Point, to take possession of the Isle-aux-Noix, in thelake Champlain, and from thence penetrate the shortest way to the bankof the river St. Laurence; while he himself, with the main body of thearmy, amounting to about ten thousand men, including Indians, shouldproceed from the frontiers of New York, by the rivers of the Mohawks andOneidas, to the lake Ontario, and sail down the river St. Laurenceto the island of Montreal. Thus, on the supposition that all theseparticulars could be executed, the enemy must have been hemmed in andentirely surrounded. In pursuance of this plan, general Amherst hadprovided two armed sloops to cruise in the lake Ontario, under thecommand of captain Loring; as well as a great number of bateaux, orsmaller vessels, for the transportation of the troops, artillery, ammunition, implements, and baggage. Several regiments were ordered toproceed from Albany to Oswego: and the general taking his departure fromSchenectady, 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, hedespatched 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 sincethe arrival of the general, who endeavoured to amuse them, by detachingbateaux to different parts of the lake. The army being assembled, andjoined by a considerable body of Indians, under the command of sirWilliam Johnston, the general detached colonel Haviland, with the lightinfantry, the grenadiers, and one battalion of highlanders, to take postat the bottom of the lake, and assist the armed vessels in finding apassage to La Galette. On the tenth day of August the army embarked onboard the bateaux and whale-boats, and proceeded on the lake towards themouth of the river St. Laurence. Understanding that one of the enemy'svessels had run aground and was disabled, and that the other lay offLa Galette, he resolved to make the best of his way down the river toSwegatchie, and attack the French fort at Isle Royale, one of the mostimportant posts on the river St. Laurence, the source of which it in agreat measure commands. On the seventeenth, the row-galleys fell in withthe French sloop commanded by M. De la Broquerie, who surrenderedafter a warm engagement. Mr. Amherst having detached some engineers toreconnoitre the coasts and islands in the neighbourhood of Isle Royale, he made a disposition for the attack of that fortress, which wasaccordingly invested, after he had taken possession of the islands. Someof these the enemy had abandoned with such precipitation, as to leavebehind a few scalps they had taken on the Mohawk river, a number oftools and utensils, two swivels, some barrels of pitch, and a largequantity of iron. The Indians were so incensed at sight of the scalps, that they burned a chapel and all the houses of the enemy. Batteriesbeing raised on the nearest islands, the fort was cannonaded not onlyby them, but likewise by the armed sloops, and a disposition was madefor giving the assault, when M. Pouchart, the governor, thought properto beat a parley, and surrender on capitulation. The general, havingtaken possession of the fort, found it so well situated for commandingthe lake Ontario and the Mohawk river, that he resolved to maintain itwith a garrison, and employed some days in repairing the fortifications. From this place his navigation down the river St. Laurence was renderedextremely difficult and dangerous, by a great number of violent riffsor rapids, and falls; among which he lost above fourscore men, forty-sixbateaux, seventeen whale-boats, one row-galley, with some artillery, stores, and ammunition. On the sixth day of September the troops werelanded on the island of Montreal, without any opposition, except fromsome flying parties, which exchanged a few shot, and then fled withprecipitation. That same day he repaired a bridge which they had brokendown in their retreat; and, after a march of two leagues, formed hisarmy on a plain before Montreal, where they lay all night on theirarms. Montreal is, in point of importance, the second place in Canada, situated in an island of the river St. Laurence, at an equal distancefrom Quebec and the lake Ontario. Its central situation rendered itthe staple of the Indian trade; yet the fortifications of it wereinconsiderable, not at all adequate to the value of the place. GeneralAmherst ordered some pieces of artillery to be brought up immediatelyfrom the landing-place at La Chine, where he had left some regiments forthe 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 marquisde Vaudreuil by two officers, demanding a capitulation; which, aftersome letters had passed between the two generals, was granted upon asfavourable terms as the French had reason to expect, considering thatgeneral Murray, with the troops from Quebec, had by this time landed onthe 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 thedifferent routes they pursued, through an enemy's country, where theyhad no intelligence of the motions of each other. Had any accidentretarded the progress of general Amherst, the reduction of Montrealwould have been attempted by general Murray, who embarked with histroops at Quebec on board of a great number of small vessels, under thecommand of captain Deane in the Diana. This gentleman, with uncommonabilities, surmounted the difficulties of an unknown, dangerous, andintricate navigation; and conducted the voyage with such success, thatnot a single vessel was lost in the expedition. M. De Levis, at the headof his forces, watched the motions of general Murray, who, in advancingup the river, published manifestoes among the Canadians, which producedall the effect he could desire. Almost all the parishes on the southshore, as far as the river Sorrel, submitted, and took the oath ofneutrality; and lord Rolle disarmed all the inhabitants of the northshore, as far as Trois Rivieres, which, though the capital of adistrict, being no more than an open village, was taken withoutresistance. In a word, general Amherst took possession of Montreal, andthus completed the conquest of all Canada; a conquest the most importantof any that ever the British arms achieved, whether we consider thesafety of the English colonies in North America, now secured frominvasion and encroachment; the extent and fertility of the countrysubdued; or the whole Indian commerce thus transferred to the tradersof Great Britain. The terms of the capitulation may perhaps be thoughtrather too favourable, as the enemy were actually enclosed and destituteof all hope of relief: but little points like these ought always to besacrificed to the consideration of great objects; and the finishing theconquest of a great country without bloodshed, redounds as much to thehonour as it argues the humanity of general Amherst, whose conduct hadbeen irreproachable during the whole course of the American operations. At the same time, it must be allowed he was extremely fortunate inhaving subordinate commanders, who perfectly corresponded with hisideas; and a body of troops whom no labours could discourage, whom nodangers could dismay. Sir William Johnston, with a power of authorityand insinuation peculiar to himself, not only maintained a surprisingascendancy over the most ferocious of all the Indian tribes, but keptthem within the bounds of such salutary restraint, that not one singleact of inhumanity was perpetrated by them during the whole course ofthis expedition. The zeal and conduct of brigadier-general Gage, the undaunted spirit and enterprising genius of general Murray, thediligence and activity of colonel Haviland, happily co-operated inpromoting this great event. FRENCH SHIPS DESTROYED, &c. The French ministry had attempted to succour Montreal by equipping aconsiderable number of store ships, and sending them out in the springunder convoy of a frigate; but as their officers understood that theBritish squadron had sailed up the river St. Laurence before theirarrival, they took shelter in the bay of Chaleurs, on the coast ofAcadia, where they did not long remain unmolested. Captain Byron, whocommanded the ships of war that were left at Louisbourg, having receivedintelligence of them from brigadier-general Whitmore, sailed thither withhis squadron, and found them at anchor. The whole fleet consisted of onefrigate, two large store-ships, and nineteen sail of smaller vessels;the greater part of which had been taken from the merchants of GreatBritain; all these were destroyed, together with two batteries whichhad been raised for their protection. The French town, consisting of twohundred houses, was demolished, and the settlement totally ruined. Allthe French subjects inhabiting the territories from the bay of Funda tothe banks of the river St. Laurence, and all the Indians throughthat tract of country, were now subdued, and subjected to the Englishgovernment. In the month of December of the preceding year, the Frenchcolonists at Miramachi, Rickebuctou, and other places lying along thegulf of St. Laurence, made their submission by deputies to colonel Frye, who commanded in Fort Cumberland at Chignecto. They afterwards renewedthis submission in the most formal manner, by subscribing articles, by which they obliged themselves, and the people they represented, torepair 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 Indianchiefs of the nation of the Mickmacks, a powerful and numerous people, now become entirely dependent upon his Britannic majesty. In a word, bythe conquest of Canada, the Indian fur trade, in its full extent, fellinto the hands of the English. The French interest among thesavage tribes, inhabiting an immense tract of country, was totallyextinguished; and their American possessions shrunk within the limits ofLouisiana, an infant colony on the south of the Mississippi, which theBritish arms may at any time easily subdue. DEMOLITION OF LOUISBOURG. The conquest of Canada being achieved, nothing now remained to bedone in North America, except the demolition of the fortifications ofLouisbourg on the island of Cape Breton; for which purpose some ableengineers had been sent from England with the ships commanded by captainByron. By means of mines artfully disposed and well constructed, the fortifications were reduced to a heap of rubbish, the glacis waslevelled, and the ditches were filled. All the artillery, ammunition, and implements of war, were conveyed to Halifax; but the barracks wererepaired, so as to accommodate three hundred men occasionally; thehospital, with the private houses, were left standing. The French stillpossessed, upon the continent of America, the fertile country lying oneach side of the great river Mississippi, which disembogues itself intothe gulf of Florida; but the colony was so thinly peopled, and soill provided, that, far from being formidable, it scarcely could havesubsisted, unless the British traders had been base and treacherousenough to supply it from time to time with provisions and necessaries. The same infamous commerce was carried on with divers French plantationsin the West Indies; insomuch that the governors of provinces, andcommanders of the squadrons stationed in those seas, made formalcomplaints of it to the ministry. The temptation of extraordinary profitexcited 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 provisionfurnished by the British subjects at the Dutch islands of Eustatia andCuraeoa: and those that were settled on the island of Hispaniola weresupplied in the same manner at the Spanish settlement of Monte-Christo. INSURRECTION IN JAMAICA. While the British commanders exerted themselves by sea and land withthe most laudable spirit of vigilance and courage against the foreignadversaries of their country, the colonists of Jamaica ran the mostimminent hazard of being extirpated by a domestic enemy. The negroslaves of that island, grown insolent in the contemplation of theirown formidable numbers, or by observing the supine indolence of theirmasters, or stimulated by that appetite for liberty so natural to themind of man, began, in the course of this year, to entertain thoughts ofshaking off the yoke by means of a general insurrection. Assemblies wereheld and plans resolved for this purpose. At length they concerted ascheme 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 thegovernment. They agreed that this design should be put in executionimmediately after the departure of the fleet for Europe; but theirplan was defeated by their ignorance and impatience. Those of theconspirators that belonged to captain Forest's estate, being impelled bythe fumes of intoxication, fell suddenly upon the overseer, while hesat at supper with some friends, and butchered the whole company. Beingimmediately joined by some of their confederates, they attacked theneighbouring plantations, where they repeated the same barbarities; and, seizing all the arms and ammunition that fell in their way, beganto grow formidable to the colony. The governor no sooner receivedintimation of this disturbance, than he, by proclamation, subjected thecolonists to martial law. All other business was interrupted, andevery man took to his arms. The regular troops, joined by the troop ofmilitia, and a considerable number of volunteers, marched from SpanishTown to Saint Mary's, where the insurrection began, and skirmished withthe insurgents; but as they declined standing any regular engagement, and trusted chiefly to bush-fighting, the governor employed against themthe free blacks, commonly known by the name of the wild negroes, now peaceably settled under the protection of the government. Theseauxiliaries, in consideration of a price set upon the heads of therebels, attacked them in their own way, slew them by surprise, untiltheir strength was broken, and numbers made away with themselves indespair; so that the insurrection was supposed to be quelled about thebeginning of May, but in June it broke out again with redoubled fury, and the rebels were reinforced to a very considerable number. Theregular troops and the militia, joined by a body of sailors, formeda camp under the command of colonel Spragge, who sent out detachmentsagainst the negroes, a great number of whom were killed, and some taken;but the rest, instead of submitting, took shelter in the woods andmountains. The prisoners, being tried and found guilty of rebellion, were put to death by a variety of tortures. Some were hanged, somebeheaded, some burned, and some fixed alive upon gibbets. One of theselast lived eight days and eighteen hours, suspended under a verticalsun, without being refreshed by one drop of water, or receiving anymanner of sustenance. In order to prevent such insurrections for thefuture, the justices assembled at the sessions of the peace establishedregulations, importing, that no negro-slave should be allowed to quithis plantation without a white conductor, or a ticket of leave; thatevery negro playing at any sort of game should be scourged through thepublic streets; that every publican suffering such gaming in his houseshould forfeit forty shillings; that every proprietor suffering hisnegroes to beat a drum, blow a horn, or make any other noise in hisplantation, should be fined ten pounds; and every overseer allowingthese irregularities should pay half that sum, to be demanded, ordistrained for, by any civil or military officer; that every free negro, or mulatto, should wear a blue cross on his right shoulder, on pain ofimprisonment; that no mulatto, Indian, or negro, should hawk or sell anything, except fresh fish or milk, on pain of being scourged; that rumand punch houses should be shut up during divine service on Sundays, under the penalty of twenty shillings; and that those who had petitlicenses 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 rebelliousnegroes still subsisted in places that were deemed inaccessible toregular forces; and from these they made nocturnal irruptions intothe nearest plantations, where they acted with all the wantonnessof barbarity: so that the people of Jamaica were obliged to conductthemselves with the utmost vigilance and circumspection; whilerear-admiral Holmes, who commanded at sea, took every precaution tosecure the island from insult or invasion. He not only took measuresfor the defence of Jamaica, but also contrived and executed schemes forannoying the enemy. Having in the month of October received intelligencethat five French frigates were equipped at Cape François, on the islandof 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 mostlikely to intercept this fleet; and his disposition was attended withsuccess. 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 theHampshire, Lively, and Boreas; which however made small progress, asthere was little wind, and that variable. In the evening the breezefreshened; and about midnight the Boreas came up with the Sirenne, commanded by commodore M'Cartie. They engaged with great vivacity forabout twenty-five minutes, when the Sirenne shot a-head, and made thebest of her way. The Boreas was so damaged in her rigging, that shecould not close with the enemy again till next day, at two in theafternoon, when the action was renewed off the east end of Cuba, andmaintained till forty minutes past four, when Mr. M'Cartie struck. Inthe meantime, the Hampshire and Lively gave chase to the other fourFrench frigates, which steered to the southward with all the sail theycould carry, in order to reach the west end of Tortuga, and shelterthemselves in Port-au-Prince. On the eighteenth, the Lively, by the helpof her oars, came up with the Valeur, at half an hour past seven in themorning; and after a hot action, which continued an hour and a half, compelled the enemy to submit. The Hampshire stood after the threeothers, and about four in the afternoon ran up between the duke deChoiseul and the prince Edward. These she engaged at the same time;but the first, having the advantage of the wind, made her retreat intoPort-au-Paix, the other ran ashore about two leagues to leeward, andstruck her colours; but at the approach of the Hampshire the enemy sether on fire, and she blew up. This was also the fate of the Fleur deLys, which had run into Freshwater Bay, a little farther to leeward ofPort-au-Prince. Thus, by the prudent disposition of admiral Holmes, andthe gallantry of his three captains Norbury, Uvedale, and Maitland, twolarge frigates of the enemy were taken, and three destroyed. The spiritof the officers was happily supported by an uncommon exertion of couragein the men, who cheerfully engaged in the most dangerous enterprises. Immediately after the capture of the French frigates, eight of theenemy's privateers were destroyed or brought into Jamaica. Two of these, namely, the Vainqueur of ten guns, sixteen swivels, and ninety men, andthe Mackau of six swivels, and fifteen men, had run into shoal waterin Cumberland harbour on the island of Cuba. The boats of the Trent andBoreas, manned under the direction of the lieutenants Miller and Stuart, being rowed up to the Vainqueur, boarded and took possession under aclose fire, after having surmounted many other difficulties. The Mackauwas taken without any resistance; then the boats proceeded against theGuespe, of eight guns, and eighty-five men, which laid at anchor fartherup in the Lagoon, but before they came up the enemy had set her on fire, and she was destroyed. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} GALLANT BEHAVIOUR OF CAPTAINS O'BRIEN AND TAYLOR. The same activity and resolution distinguished the captains and officersbelonging to the squadron commanded by sir James Douglas off the Leewardislands. In the month of September, the captains O'Brien and Taylor, ofthe ships Temple and Griffin, being on a joint cruise off the islandsGranadas, received intelligence that the Virgin, formerly a Britishsloop of war, which had been taken by the enemy, then lay at anchor, together with three privateers, under protection of three forts on theisland, sailed thither in order to attack them, and their enterprisewas crowned with success. After a warm engagement which lasted severalhours, the enemy's batteries were silenced, and indeed demolished, andthe English captains took possession of the four prizes. They afterwardsentered another harbour of that island, having first demolished anotherfort; and there they lay four days unmolested, at the expiration ofwhich 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 nineprivateers were taken by the ships which commodore sir James Douglasemployed in cruising round the island of Guadaloupe, so that the Britishcommerce 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. Afterthe reduction of Arcot, the garrisons of Permacoil and Allumparvasurrendered themselves prisoners of war in the beginning of May. TheFalmouth obliged the Haarlem, a French ship from Meguy, to run ashoreto the northward of Pondicherry. The important settlement of Carical wasreduced by the sea and land forces commanded by rear-admiral Cornish andmajor Monson, and the French garrison made prisoners of war; and colonelCoote formed the blockade of Pondicherry by laud, while the harbour wasbeset by the English squadron. ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE BAY OF QUIBERON. No action of importance was in the course of this year achieved by thenaval force of Great Britain in the seas of Europe. A powerful squadronstill remained in the hay of Quiberon, in order to amuse and employa body of French forces on that part of the coast, and interrupt thenavigation of the enemy; though the principal aim of this armament seemsto have been to watch and detain the few French ships which had runinto the river Vil-laine, after the defeat of Confians; an object, the importance of which will doubtless astonish posterity. The fleetemployed in this service was alternately commanded by admiral Boscawenand sir Edward Hawke, officers of distinguished abilities, whose talentsmight have been surely rendered subservient to much greater nationaladvantages. All that Mr. Boscawen could do in this circumscribed sceneof action was, to take possession of a small island near the riverVannes, which he caused to be cultivated, and planted with vegetables, for the use of the men infected with scorbutic disorders arising fromsalt provision, sea air, and want of proper exercise. In the month ofSeptember, sir Edward Hawke, who had by this time relieved Mr. Boscawen, detached the gallant lord Howe, in the Magnanime, with the ships PrinceFrederick and Bedford, to reduce the little island of Dumet, about threemiles in length, and two in breadth, abounding with fresh water. It wasdefended by a small fort, mounted with nine cannon, and manned with onecompany of the regiment of Bourbon, who surrendered in a very shorttime after the ships had begun the attack. By this small conquesta considerable expense was saved to the nation in the article oftransports employed to carry water for the use of the squadron. Admiral Rodney still maintained his former station off the coast ofHavre 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 largeflat bottomed boats, laden with cannon and shot, feet sail from Harfleurin the middle of the day, with their colours flying, as if they had setthe English squadron at defiance; for the walls of Havre de Grace, andeven the adjacent hills, were covered with spectators, assembled tobehold the issue of this adventure. Having reached the river of Caen, they stood backwards and forwards upon the shoals, intending to amuseadmiral Rodney till night, and then proceed under cover of the darkness. He perceived their drift, and gave directions to his small vessels to beready, that, as soon as day-light failed, they should make all the sailthey could for the mouth of the river Orne, in order to cut off theenemy's retreat, while he himself stood with the larger ships to thesteep coast of Port Bassin. The scheme succeeded to his wish. The enemy, seeing their retreat cut off, ran ashore at Port Bassin, where theadmiral destroyed them, together with the small fort which had beenerected for the defence of this harbour. Each of those vessels was onehundred feet in length, and capable of containing four hundred men fora short passage. What their destination was we cannot pretend todetermine; but the French had provided a great number of thesetransports, for ten escaped into the river Orne leading to Caen; andin consequence of this disaster one hundred were unloaded, and sent upagain to Rouen. This was not all the damage that the enemy sustained onthis part of the coast. In the month of November, captain Curry, ofthe Acteon, chased a large privateer, and drove her ashore between CapeBarfleur and La Hogue, where she perished. The cutters belonging toadmiral Rodney's squadron scoured the coast towards Dieppe, where aconsiderable fishery was carried on, and where they took or destroyednear forty vessels of considerable burden. Though the English navysuffered nothing from the French during this period, it sustained somedamage from the weather. The Conqueror, a new ship of the line, was lostin the channel, on the island of St. Nicholas, but the crew and cannonwere saved. The Lyme, of twenty guns, foundered in the Categat, inNorway, and fifty of the men perished; and, in the West Indies, a tenderbelonging to the Dublin, commanded by commodore sir James Douglas, waslost in a single wind, with a hundred chosen mariners. Of the domestic transactions relating to the war, the most considerablewas the equipment of a powerful armament destined for some secretexpedition. A numerous body of forces was assembled, and a great numberof transports collected at Portsmouth. Generals were nominated to thecommand of this enterprise. The troops were actually embarked witha great train of artillery; and the eyes of the whole nation wereattentively fixed upon this armament, which could not have beenprepared without incurring a prodigious expense. Notwithstanding thesepreparations, the whole summer was spent in idleness and inaction; andin the latter end of the season the undertaking was laid aside. Thepeople did not fail to clamour against the inactivity of the summer, andcomplained that, notwithstanding the immense subsidies granted for theprosecution of the war, no stroke of importance was struck in Europe forthe advantage of Great Britain; but that her treasure was lavished uponfruitless parade, or a German alliance still more pernicious. It must beowned indeed, that no new attempt was made to annoy the enemy on Britishprinciples; for the surrender of Montreal was the natural consequenceof the steps which had been taken, and of the measures concerted in thecourse of the preceding year. It will be allowed, we apprehend, that theexpense incurred by the armament at Portsmouth, and the body of troopsthere detained, would have been sufficient, if properly applied, toreduce the island of Mauritius in the Indian ocean, Martinique in theWest Indies, or Minorca in the Mediterranean; and all these three wereobjects of importance. In all probability, the design of the armamentwas either to intimidate the French into proposals of peace; to make adiversion from the Rhine, by alarming the coast of Bretagne; or tothrow over a body of troops into Flanders, to effect a junction with thehereditary prince of Brunswick, who, at the head of twenty thousand men, had made an irruption as far as the Lower Rhine, and even crossed thatriver; 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 improvementsof natural knowledge. The Royal Society having made application to theking, representing that there would be a transit of Venus over the discof the sun, on the sixth day of June; and that there was reason tohope the parallax of that planet might be more accurately determinedby 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 sendingable astronomers to those two places, and ordered a ship of war to beequipped 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 toBencoolen, 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 politicalrevolution 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 ofOctober, in the neighbourhood of Tripoli. A great number of houses wereoverthrown at Seyde, and many people buried under the ruins. It wasfelt through a space of ten thousand square leagues, comprehendingthe mountains of Libanus and Antilibanus, with an infinite number ofvillages, that were reduced to heaps of rubbish. At Acra, or Ptolemais, the sea overflowed its banks, and poured into the streets, though eightfeet above the level of the water. The city of Saphet was entirelydestroyed, and the greatest part of its inhabitants perished. AtDamascus, all the minarets were overthrown, and six thousand people losttheir lives. The shocks diminished gradually till the twenty-fifth dayof November, when they were renewed with redoubled havoc; the earthtrembled with the most dreadful convulsions, and the greater part ofTripoli was destroyed. Balbeck was entirely ruined, and this was thefate of many other towns and castles; so that the people who escapedthe ruins were obliged to sojourn in the open fields, and all Syria wasthreatened with the vengeance of heaven. Such a dangerous ferment aroseat Constantinople, that a revolution was apprehended. Mustapha, thepresent emperor, had no sons; but his brother Bajazet, whose life he hadspared, contrary to the maxims of Turkish policy, produced a son byone of the women with whom he was indulged in his confinement; acircumstance which aroused the jealousy of the emperor to such a degree, that he resolved to despatch his brother. The great officers of thePorte opposed this design, which was so disagreeable to the people, that an insurrection ensued. Several Turks and Armenians, taking it forgranted that a revolution was at hand, bought up great quantities ofgrain; and a dreadful dearth was the consequence of this monopoly. The sultan assembled the troops, quieted the insurgents, ordered theengrossers of corn to be executed, and in a little time the repose ofthe city was reestablished. Notwithstanding the prospect of a rupture in Italy, no new incidentinterrupted the tranquillity which the southern parts of Europe enjoyed. The king of Spain, howsoever solicited by the other branch of the houseof Bourbon to engage in the war as its ally, refused to interpose inany other way than as a mediator between the courts of London andVersailles. He sent the condé de Fuentes, a nobleman of high rank andcharacter, in quality of ambassador-extraordinary to the king of GreatBritain, in order to offer his good offices for effecting a peace; andthe condé, after having conferred with the English minister, made anexcursion to Paris: but his proposal with respect to a cessation ofhostilities, if in reality such a proposal was ever made, did not meetwith a cordial reception. Other differences subsisting betweenthe crowns of Great Britain and Spain, he found no difficulty incompromising. His catholic majesty persisted in the execution of a plantruly worthy of a patriot king. In the first place, he spared no painsand application to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the stateof his kingdom. He remitted to his people all they owed the crown, amounting to threescore millions of reals: he demanded an exact accountof his father's debts, that they might be discharged with the utmostpunctuality: an order was sent to the treasury, that ten millions ofreals should be annually appropriated for this purpose, until the wholeshould be liquidated; and to the first year's payment be added fiftymillions, to be divided equally among the legal claimants. He tookmeasures for the vigorous execution of the laws against offenders;encouraged industry; protected commerce; and felt the exquisite pleasurein being beloved as the father of his people. To give importance to hiscrown, and extend his influence among the powers of Europe, he equippeda powerful squadron of ships at Carthagena; and is said to have declaredhis intention to employ them against Algiers, should the dey refuse torelease the slaves of the Spanish nation. AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL. Portugal still seemed agitated from the shock of the late conspiracywhich was quelled in that kingdom. The pope's nuncio was not only forbidthe court, but even sent under a strong guard to the frontiers; anindignity which induced the pontiff to order the Portuguese minister atRome to evacuate the ecclesiastical dominions. In the meantime, anotherembarkation of Jesuits was sent from Lisbon to Civita Vecchia; yetthe expulsion of these fathers did not restore the internal peace ofPortugal, or put an end to the practice of plotting; for, even sincetheir departure, some persons of rank have either been committed toclose prison, or exiled from the kingdom. The Jesuits were not morefortunate in America; for in the month of October, in the foregoingyear, an obstinate battle was fought between the united forces of Spainand Portugal and the Indians of Paraguay, who were under the dominion ofthe Jesuits: victory at length declared in favour of the two crowns; sothat the vanquished were obliged to capitulate, and lay down their arms. As the court of Portugal had made remonstrances to the British ministryagainst the proceedings of the English squadron under admiral Boscawen, which had attacked and destroyed some French ships under the Portuguesefort in the bay of Lagos, his Britannic majesty thought proper to sendthe earl of Kinnoul as ambassador-extraordinary to Lisbon, where thatnobleman made such excuses for the insult of the English admiral, asentirely removed all the misunderstanding between the two crowns;and could not fail of being agreeable to the Portuguese monarch, thusrespected, soothed, and deprecated by a mighty nation, in the veryzenith of power and prosperity. On the sixth of June, being the birthdayof the king of Portugal, the marriage of his brother don Pedro with theprincess of Brazil was celebrated in the chapel of the palace wherethe king resides, to the universal joy of the people. The nuptials wereannounced to the public by the discharge of cannon, and celebrated withilluminations and all kinds of rejoicing. An accident which happened in the Mediterranean had like to have drawnthe indignation of the Ottoman Porte on the knights of the order ofMalta. A large Turkish ship of the line, mounted with sixty-eight brasscannon, having on board a complement of seven hundred men, besidesseventy christian slaves, under the immediate command of the Turkishadmiral, had, in company with two frigates, five galleys, and othersmaller vessels, sailed in June from the Dardanelles; cruised along thecoast of Smyrna, Scio, and Trio; and at length anchored in the channelof Stangie, where the admiral, with four hundred persons, went on shore, on the nineteenth day of September: the christian slaves, seizing thisopportunity, armed themselves with knives, and fell upon the threehundred that remained with such fury and effect, that a great numberof the Turks were instantly slain; many leaped overboard into the sea, where they perished; and the rest sued for mercy. The christians, havingthus secured possession of the ship, hoisted sail, and bore away forMalta: which, though chased by the two frigates and a Ragusan ship, theyreached by crowding all their canvas, and brought their prize safe intothe harbour of Valette, amidst the acclamations of the people. The orderof 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 whichthe Turkish commander had collected by contribution, amounting to amillion and a half of florins. The grand seignior was so enraged at thisevent, that he disgraced his admiral, and threatened to take vengeanceon the order of Malta, for having detained the ship, and countenancedthe capture. PATRIOTIC SCHEMES OF THE KING OF DENMARK. With respect to the disputes which had so long embroiled the northernparts of Europe, the neutral powers seemed as averse as ever to aparticipation. The king of Denmark continued to perfect those planswhich he had wisely formed for increasing the wealth, and promotingthe happiness of his subjects; nor did he neglect any opportunity ofimproving natural knowledge for the benefit of mankind in general. Heemployed men of ability, at his own expense, to travel into foreigncountries, and to collect the most curious productions, for theadvancement of natural history: he encouraged the liberal and mechanicarts at home, by munificent rewards and peculiar protection: he invitedabove a thousand foreigners from Germany to become his subjects, andsettle in certain districts in Jutland, which had lain waste above threecenturies; and they forthwith began to build villages, and cultivate thelands, in the dioceses of Wibourg, Arhous, and Ripen. Their travellingexpenses from Altona to their new settlement were defrayed by the king, who moreover maintained them until the produce of the lands could afforda comfortable subsistence. He likewise bestowed upon each colonist ahouse, a barn, and a stable, with a certain number of horses and cattle. Finally, this generous patriot having visited these new subjects, whoreceived him with unspeakable emotions of joy and affection, heordered a considerable sum of money to be distributed among them as anadditional mark of his favour. Such conduct in a prince cannot fail tosecure the warmest returns of loyalty and attachment in his people;and the execution of such laudable schemes will endear his name to thecontemplation 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 bythe insinuations of France, or the remonstrances of Great Britain. Theviolation of the peace by their subjects in Bengal was no sooner knownat the court of London, than orders were sent to general Yorke, the English ambassador at the Hague, to demand an explanation. Heaccordingly presented a memorial to the states-general, signifying thattheir high mightinesses must doubtless be greatly astonished to hear, bythe public papers, of the irregularities committed by their subjects inthe East Indies; but that they would be much more amazed on perusing thepiece annexed to his memorial, containing a minute account, specifiedwith the strictest regard to truth, of the irregular conduct observedby the Dutch towards the British subjects in the river Bengal, at a timewhen the factors and traders of Holland enjoyed all the sweets of peaceand all the advantages of unmolested commerce: at a time when hisBritannic majesty, from his great regard to their high mightinesses, carefully avoided giving the least umbrage to the subjects of the UnitedProvinces. He observed that the king his sovereign was deeply affectedby these outrageous doings and mischievous designs of the Dutch in theEast Indies, whose aim was to destroy the British settlements in thatcountry; an aim that would have been accomplished, had not the king'svictorious arms brought them to reason, and obliged them to sue for anaccommodation. He told them his majesty would willingly believe theirhigh mightinesses had given no order for proceeding to such extremities, and that the directors of their India company had no share in thetransaction: nevertheless, he (the ambassador) was ordered to demandsignal satisfaction, in the name of the king his master; that all whoshould be found to have shared in the offence, so manifestly tending tothe destruction of the English settlements in that country, should beexemplarily punished; and that their high mightinesses should confirmthe stipulations agreed upon immediately after the action by thedirectors of the respective companies, in consideration of whichagreement the Dutch ships were restored, after their commandersacknowledged their fault, in owning themselves the aggressors. To thisremonstrance the states-general replied, that nothing of what was laidto the charge of their subjects had yet reached their knowledge: butthey requested his Britannic majesty to suspend his judgment until heshould be made perfectly acquainted with the grounds of those disputes;and they promised he should have reason to be satisfied with theexemplary punishment that would be inflicted upon all who should befound 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 mutualrancour of the contending parties seemed to derive fresh force fromtheir mutual disappointments; at least the house of Austria seemedstill implacable, and obstinately bent upon terminating the war with thedestruction of the Prussian monarch. Her allies, however, seemed lessactuated by the spirit of revenge. The French king had sustained so muchdamage and disgrace in the course of the war, that his resources failed, and his finances fell into disorder; he could no longer afford thesubsidies he had promised to different powers; while his subjectsclamoured aloud at the burden of impositions, the ruin of trade, and therepeated dishonour entailed upon the arms of France. The czarina's zealfor the alliance was evidently cooled by the irregular and defectivepayments of the subsidies she had stipulated. Perhaps she wasdisappointed in her hope of conquest, and chagrined to see her armiesretire from Germany at the approach of every winter; and the Britishministry did not fail to exert all their influence to detach her fromthe confederacy in which she had embarked. Sweden still languished in aneffectual parade of hostilities against the house of Bran-denburgh; butthe French interest began to lose ground in the diet of that kingdom. The king of Prussia, howsoever exhausted in the article of men, betrayedno symptom of apprehension, and made no advance towards a pacificationwith his adversaries. He had employed the winter in recruiting hisarmies by every expedient his fertile genius could devise; in levyingcontributions to reinforce the vast subsidy he received from England, infilling magazines, and making every preparation for a vigorous campaign. In Westphalia, the same foresight and activity were exerted by princeFerdinand of Brunswick, who in the beginning of summer found himselfat the head of a very numerous army, paid by Great Britain, andstrengthened 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 deathof William, landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, who breathed his last, in anadvanced age, on the twenty-eighth day of January, at Rintelen upon theWeser. He was succeeded in the landgraviate by his son Frederick, whoseconsort, the princess Mary, daughter to the king of Great Britain, now, in quality of governess of her children, assumed the regency andadministration of the county of Hanau-Muntzenberg, by virtue of thesettlement made in the lifetime of her father-in-law, and confirmed byher husband. She had for some years been separated from him, and residedwith his father, at whose decease she retired with her children tothe city of Zell. The present landgrave, who lived at Magdebourg asvice-governor under the kin g of Prussia, no sooner learned the news ofhis father's death, than he sent an intimation of it to that prince andthe king of Great Britain; declaring, at the same time, that he wouldscrupulously adhere to the engagements of his predecessor. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} OFFERS MADE BY THE NEUTRAL POWERS, &c. The advances towards a peace, which had been made in the preceding yearby the kings of England and Prussia, in their declaration published atthe Hague by prince Louis of Brunswick, seemed to infuse in the neutralpowers a good opinion of their moderation. We have already seen that theking of Spain offered his best offices in quality of mediator. When acongress was proposed, the states-general made an offer of Breda, asa place proper for the negotiation. The king of Great Britain, by themouth of his ambassador, thanked their high mightinesses for the sinceredesire they expressed to put an end to the ravages of war, which hadextended desolation over the face of Europe: he readily closed withtheir gracious offer; and in consequence of his high regard andinvariable friendship for their high mightinesses, wished earnestlythat it might be acceptable to the other powers at war. The French kingexpressed his sentiments nearly to the same purpose. His ambassadordeclared, that his most christian majesty was highly sensible of theoffer they had made of Breda for holding the congress; that, in orderto give a fresh proof of his sincere desire to increase the good harmonythat subsisted between him and the states-general, he accepted theiroffer with pleasure; butas he could take no step without the concurrenceof his high allies, he was obliged to wait for their answer, which couldnot fail to be favourable, if nothing remained to be settled but theplace for holding the congress. King Stanislaus having written a letterto his Britannic majesty, offering the city of Nancy for the samepurpose, he received a civil answer, expressing the king of England'ssense of his obliging offer, which however he declined, as a place notconveniently situated for all the powers interested in the great worksof pacification. Civilities of the same nature likewise passed betweenthe sovereign of Nancy and the king of Prussia. As the proposals for anaccommodation made by the king of England and his allies might have leftan unfavourable impression of their adversaries had they been altogetherdeclined, the court of Vienna was prevailed upon to concur withher allies in a declaration professing their desire of peace; whichdeclaration was delivered, on the third day of April, by the Austrianminister residing at the Hague, to his serene highness prince Louisof Brunswick; and a paper of the same nature was also delivered to himseparately by the French and Russian ministers. [558] _[See note 4 N, atthe end of this Vol. ]_ These professions, however, did not interrupt theoperations of the campaign. SKIRMISHES IN WESTPHALIA. Though the French army under the mareschal duke de Broglio remained incantonment in the neighbourhood of Friedberg, and prince Ferdinand hadretired from Corsdorff to Marburg, where in the beginning of January heestablished his head-quarters, nevertheless the winter was by no meansinactive. As far back as the twenty-fifth day of December, the duke deBroglio, having called in his detachments, attempted to surprise theallied army by a forced march to Kleinlinnes; but finding them preparedto give him a warm reception, nothing but a cannonade ensued, and heretreated to his former quarters. On the twenty-ninth, colonel Luckner, at the head of the Hanoverian hunters, fell in with a detachment of theenemy, 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, whoescaped. On the third day of January, the marquis de Vogue attacked thetown of Herborn, which he carried, and took a small detachment of theallies who were posted there. At the same time the marquis Dauvet madehimself master of Dillembourg, the garrison of the allied troops beingobliged to retire into the castle, where they were closely besieged. Prince Ferdinand no sooner understood their situation, than he began hismarch with a strong detachment for their relief, on the seventh day ofthe month, when he attacked and totally defeated the besiegers, tookseven hundred prisoners, including forty officers, with seven pair ofcolours, and two pieces of cannon. On that very day, the Highlanders, under major Keith, supported by the hussars of Luckner, who commandedthe whole detachment, attacked the village of Ryebach, whereBeaufremont's regiment of dragoons was posted on the side ofDillembourg, and routed them with great slaughter. The greater part ofthe regiment was killed, and many prisoners were taken, together withtwo hundred horses, and all their baggage. The Highlanders distinguishedthemselves on this occasion by their intrepidity, which was the moreremarkable, as they were no other than raw recruits, just arrived fromtheir own country, and altogether unacquainted with discipline. On theeighth day of January, M. De St. Germain advanced on the left of theallies with the grenadiers of the French army, supported by eightbattalions, and a body of dragoons; but he was encountered by the dukeof Holstein, at the head of a strong detachment, in the neighbourhoodof Ersdorff, who, by dint of a furious cannonade, obliged him to retreatwith precipitation. After this attempt the French parties disappeared, and their army retired into winter-quarters, in and about Franckforton the Maine; while prince Ferdinand quartered the allies at Cassel, Paderborn, Munster, and Osnabruck; this last place being allotted to theBritish troops, as being the nearest to Embden, where the reinforcementsfrom Britain were to be landed. In the beginning of February, thehereditary prince of Brunswick, with the detachment of the alliedarmy under his command, began his march from Chemnitz in Saxony forWestphalia, where he safely arrived, after having assisted at a longconference in Hamelen, with his father the reigning duke, his uncleprince Ferdinand, and some principal members of the regency of Hanover. The French general continued to send out detachments to beat up thequarters of the allies, and lay their towns under contribution. In thebeginning of March, the marquis de Blaisel marched at the head of twothousand four hundred men from Giessen, where he commanded, to Marburg, forced the gates of the town, and compelled the garrison of the alliesto take shelter in the castle. As he could not pretend to undertake thesiege 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 forthe payment of this imposition. He afterwards appeared at Hombourg, Alsfeldt, and Hartzberg, the frontier posts of the allies; but did notthink proper to attack either, because he perceived that measures weretaken for his reception. The French, with all their boasted politenessand humanity, are sometimes found as brutal and rapacious as the mostbarbarous enemy. On pretence of taking umbrage at the town of HanauMuntzenberg, for having without their permission acknowledged theregency of the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, they, in the month ofFebruary, ordered the magistrates of that place to pay, within theterm of twenty-four hours, the sum of seven hundred and fifty thousandlivres, on pain of being subjected to plunder. This order was signifiedby the prince de Robecq; to whom the magistrates represented theimpossibility of raising such a sum, as the country was totallyexhausted, and their credit absolutely destroyed, in consequence oftheir inability to pay the interest of the capitals negotiated in thecourse of the preceding year. He still insisted upon their finding themoney before night; they offered to pay eighty thousand florins, whichthey raised with the utmost difficulty, and begged the payment of therest might be postponed for a few weeks: but their request was rejectedwith disdain. The garrison was reinforced by two battalions, and foursquadrons dispersed in the principal squares and markets of the city, and the gates were shut. They even planted cannon in the streets, andtarred matches were fixed to many houses, in order to intimidate theinhabitants. These expedients proving ineffectual, detachmentsof grenadiers entered the houses of the principal magistrates andmerchants, from whence they removed all their best effects to thetown-hall, where they were kept in deposit, until they were redeemedwith all the money that could possibly be raised. This exaction, solittle to the honour of a civilized nation, the French minister declaredto the diet at Ratisbon was agreeable to the instructions of his mostchristian majesty. By way of retaliation for the cruelty practised at Hanau, a detachmentof the allied army under general Luckner was sent to raise contributionsin Fulda, and actually carried off hostages from that city; but retiredbefore a strong body of the enemy, who took possession of the place. From hence the French marched, in their turn, to plunder the towns ofHirchfeldt and Vacha. Accordingly, they appeared at Vacha, situated onthe frontiers of Hesse, and formed the head of the chain of cantonmentswhich the allies had on the Werra. This place was attacked with suchvigour, that colonel Frey-tag, who commanded the post, was obliged toabandon the town: but he maintained himself on a rising ground inthe neighbourhood, where he amused the enemy until two battalions ofgrenadiers came to his assistance. Thus reinforced, he pursued theFrench for three leagues, and drove them with considerable loss fromGiessa, where they had resolved to fix their quarters. These skirmisheshappened in the beginning of May, when the grand armies were just inmotion to begin the campaign. SITUATION OF THE FRENCH ARMIES. By this time the forces under the mareschal duke de Broglio wereaugmented to one hundred thousand; while the count de St. Germaincommanded a separate army on the Rhine, consisting of thirty thousandmen, assembled from the quarters of Dusseldorp, Cologn, Cleves, andWesel. The second corps was intended to divide the allied army, wrhich, by such a division, would be considerably weakened; and the French courtthreatened to form a third army under the prince de Soubise; but thisdid not appear. The duke de Broglio was in such high favour with theFrench ministry at this juncture, that he was promoted over the heads ofmany old generals, who now demanded and obtained their dismission; andevery step was taken to render the campaign glorious to this admiredcommander: but notwithstanding all their care, and his own exertion, hefound it impossible to take the field early in the season, from wantof forage for his cavalry. While his quarters were established atFranckfort, his troops were plentifully supplied with all sorts ofprovisions from the Upper Rhine; but this convenience depended upon hisbeing master of the course of the river; but he could not move from thisposition without forfeiting the advantage, and providing magazines forthe use of his forces; so that he was obliged to lie inactive untilhe could have the benefit of green forage in his march. The sameinconveniences operated more powerfully on the side of prince Ferdinand, who, being in an exhausted country, was obliged to fall back as far asPaderborn, and draw his supplies from Hamburg and Bremen on the Elbeand the Weser. By this time, however, he had received a reinforcementof British troops from Embden, under the direction of major-generalGriffin; and before the end of the campaign, the forces of that nationin Germany were augmented to five-and-twenty thousand; a greater numberthan had served at one time upon the continent for two centuries. Theallied army marched from their cantonments on the fifth day of May, andproceeded 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 makehead 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 neighbourhoodof Hirchfeldt on the Fulda. The former of these having ordered colonelLuckner to scour the country with a body of hussars, that officer, onthe twenty-fourth of May, fell in with a French patrole, which gave thealarm at Butzbach; when the garrison of that place, amounting to fivehundred piquets, under general Waldemar, fled with great precipitation. Being, however, pursued, and overtaken near a wood, they were routedand dispersed. Colonel Luckner, entering Butzbach, found a considerablequantity of forage, flour, wine, and equipage, belonging to thefugitives. What he could not carry off he distributed among the poorinhabitants, and returned to general Imhoff's camp at Ameneberg, withabout an hundred prisoners. This excursion alarmed the enemy to such adegree, that their whole army was put in motion; and the duke de Broglioin person advanced with a large body of troops as far as Friedberg:but undemanding the allies had not quitted their camp at Fritzlar, hereturned to Franckfort, after having cantoned that part of his army inthe Wetteraw. This alarm was not so mortifying as the secession of theWirtemberg troops, amounting to ten thousand men, commanded by theirduke in person, who left the French army in disgust, and returned to hisown country. The imperial army, under the prince de Deuxponts, quarteredat Bamberg, began their march to Naumberg on the twentieth of May: butone of their detachments of cavalry having received a check from a bodyof Prussians near Lutzen, they fell back; and on the fourth day of Juneencamped at Litchenfels upon the Maine. The small detachments of thegrand armies, as well as those belonging to the bodies commanded bygeneral Sporcken and the count de St. Germain, in the neighbourhood ofDusseldorp, skirmished with various success. The hereditary prince ofBrunswick being detached from the allied army, with some battalionsof grenadiers, and two regiments of English dragoons, advanced tothe country of Fulda, where he was joined by the troops under generalGilsoe, and achieved some inconsiderable exploits, particularly atHosenfeldt and Zielbach, where he surprised and took divers parties ofthe enemy. By the twenty-fourth of June, prince Ferdinand, quitting his situationat Fritzlar, marched to Frillendorf, and encamped on the hills betweenZiegenheim and Freysa; general Imhoff commanding at a small distanceon the right, and the hereditary prince, now returned from Fulda, beingposted 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 thesame time occupied a strong post at Wassenburgh. His intention was topenetrate through the country of Hesse into Hanover, and make himselfentirely master of that electorate. With this view he resolved to effecta junction with the count de St. Germain, whom he directed to advancetowards Brilau and Corbach; while he himself, decamping from Neustadton the eighth day of July, advanced by the way of Frankenburg. PrinceFerdinand, having received intelligence that the count de St. Germainwas in motion, began his march from Ziegenheim, and on the ninth day ofJuly 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, reinforcedwith some battalions and squadrons under major-general Griffin, was sentforward to Sauxenhausen, whither the army followed the next morning. The hereditary prince continuing to advance, found the enemy alreadyformed at Corbach; but judging their whole force did not exceed tenthousand infantry and seventeen squadrons, and being impelled by theimpetuosity of his own courage, he resolved to give them battle. Heaccordingly attacked them about two in the afternoon, and the actionbecame very warm and obstinate; but the enemy being continuallyreinforced with fresh battalions, and having the advantage of a numerousartillery, all the prince's efforts were ineffectual. Prince Ferdinand, being at too great a distance to sustain him, sent him an order torejoin the army which was by this time formed at Sauxenhausen. Heforthwith made dispositions for a retreat, which however was attendedwith great confusion. The enemy observing the disorder of the alliedtroops, plied their artillery with redoubled diligence, while a powerfulbody of their cavalry charged with great vivacity. In all likelihoodthe whole infantry of the allies would have been cut off, had not thehereditary prince made a diversion in their favour, by charging inperson at the head of the British dragoons, who acted with their usualgallantry and effect. This respite enabled the infantry to accomplishtheir retreat to Sauxenhausen; but they lost above five hundred menand fifteen pieces of cannon. General count Kielmansegge, major-generalGriffin, and major Hill, of Bland's dragoons, distinguished themselvesby their conduct and intrepidity on this occasion. The hereditary princeexposed his life in the hottest part of the action, and received aslight wound in the shoulder, which gave him far less disturbance thanhe felt from the chagrin and mortification produced by his defeat. Many days, however, did not pass before he found an opportunity ofretaliating this disgrace. Prince Ferdinand, receiving advice that abody of the enemy, commanded by major-general Glaubitz, had advanced onthe left of the allies to Ziegenheim, detached the hereditary prince tooppose them, at the head of six battalions of Hanoverians and Hessians, with Elliot's regiment of English light-horse, Luckner's hussars, andtwo brigades of chasseurs; on the sixteenth day of the month, he engagedthe enemy near the village of Exdorf, and a very warm action ensued, in which Elliot's regiment signalized themselves remarkably by repeatedcharges. * * 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, andartillery. During these transactions, the mareschal duke de Broglioremained encamped on the heights of Corbach. He had, in advancingfrom Franckfort, left detachments to reduce the castles of Marburg andDillembourg, which were occupied by the allies, and they fell into hishands, the garrison of both being obliged to surrender prisoners of war. These were but inconsiderable conquests; nor did the progress of theFrench general equal the idea which had been formed of his talents andactivity. The count de St. Germain, who was his senior officer, andbelieved by many to be at least his equal in capacity, having now joinedhis corps to the grand army, and conceiving disgust at his being obligedto serve under the duke de Broglio, relinquished his command, in whichhe was succeeded by the chevalier de Muy. At the same time, themarquis de Voyer and the count de Luc, two generals of experience andreputation, quitted the army, and returned to France, actuated by thesame motives. VICTORY OBTAINED BY THE ALLIES. The allied army having moved their camp from Saxenhansen to the villageof Kalle near Cassel, remained in that situation till the thirtieth dayof July, when the troops were again put in motion. The chevalier de Muy, having passed the Dymel at Stradtbergen, with the reserve of the Frencharmy, amounting to thirty-five thousand men, extended this body down thebanks of the river, in order to cut off the communication of the allieswith Westphalia; while the duke de Broglio marched up with his main wingto their camp at Kalle, and prince Xavier of Saxony, who commanded theirreserve on the left, advanced towards Cassel; prince Ferdinand, leavinggeneral Kielmansegge with a body of troops for the defence of the city, decamped in the night of the thirtieth, and passed the Dymel withoutloss between Gibenau and Dringleberg. The hereditary prince, who hadthe preceding day passed the same river, in order to reinforce generalSporcken, who was posted near Corbeke, now reconnoitred the position ofthe enemy, and found them possessed of a very advantageous camp betweenWarbourg and Ochsendorff. Prince Ferdinand having resolved to attackthem, ordered the hereditary prince and general Sporcken to turn theirleft, while he himself advanced against their front, with the main bodyof the army.. The enemy was accordingly attacked almost at the sameinstant, both in flank and in rear, with equal impetuosity and success. As the infantry of the allied army could not march fast enough to chargeat the same time, the marquis of Granby was ordered to advance with thecavalry of the right; and the brigade of English artillery, commandedby captain Phillips, made such expedition, that they were up in timeto second the attack in a most surprising manner. The French cavalry, though very numerous, retired at the approach of the marquis, exceptthree squadrons, who stood the charge and were immediately broken. Then the English horse fell upon the enemy's infantry, which sufferedgreatly, while the town of Warbourg was assaulted by the Britanniclegion. The French, finding themselves hard pressed on both flanks, as well in front as in rear, retired precipitately, with considerabledamage, occasioned chiefly by the British cannon and dragoons, and manywere drowned in attempting to ford the Dymel. The battalion of Maxwell, and a brigade under colonel Beckwith, composed of grenadiers andhighlanders, distinguished themselves remarkably on this occasion. Theenemy left about fifteen hundred men killed or wounded on the field ofbattle; with some colours, and ten pieces of cannon; and about the samenumber were made prisoners. Monsieur de Muy lay all night under arms, on the heights of Volk-Missen, from whence he next day retired towardsWolfshagen. On the evening of the battle, the marquis of Granby receivedorders to pass the river in pursuit of them, with twelve Britishbattalions and ten squadrons, and encamped at Wilda, about four milesfrom Warbourg, the heights of which were possessed by the enemy's grandarmy. [561] _[See note 4 O, at the end of this Vol. ]_ By this success, prince Ferdinand was enabled to maintain his communication withWestphalia, and keep the enemy at a distance from the heart of Hanover;but to these objects he sacrificed the country of Cassel: for princeXavier of Saxony, at the head of a detached body, much more numerousthan that which was left under general Kielmansegge, advanced towardsCassel, and made himself master of that city; then he reduced Munden, Gottengen, and Eimbeck in the electorate of Hanover. All that princeFerdinand could do, considering how much he was out-numbered by theFrench, was to secure posts and passes, with a view to retard theirprogress, and employ detachments to harass and surprise their advancedparties. In a few days after the action at Warbourg, general Lucknerrepulsed a French detachment which had advanced as far as Eimbeck, andsurprised another at Nordheim. At the same period, colonel Donap, witha body of the allied army, attacked a French corps of two thousand men, posted in the wood of Sababourg, to preserve the communication betweentheir grand army and their troops on the other side of the Weser; and, notwithstanding the strength of their situation, drove them fromtheir posts, with the loss of five hundred men, either killed or madeprisoners; but this advantage was overbalanced by the reduction ofZiegenheim, garrisoned by seven hundred men of the allied army, who, after a vigorous resistance, were obliged to surrender themselvesprisoners of war. On the fifth day of August, prince Ferdinand, being encamped at Buhne, received intelligence that a considerable body of the enemy, amountingto upwards of twenty thousand men, were in motion to make a generalforage in the neighbourhood of Geismar. He passed the Dymel early in themorning, with a body of troops and some artillery, and posted them insuch an advantageous manner, as to render the enemy's attempt totallyineffectual, although the foragers were covered with great part oftheir army. On the same morning, the hereditary prince set out onan expedition to beat up the quarters of a French detachment. Beinginformed that the volunteers of Clermont and Dauphiné, to the number ofone thousand, horse and foot, were cantoned at Zierenberg, at a smalldistance from the French camp at Dierenberg, and passed their time inthe most careless security, he advanced towards them from his camp atWarbourg, within a league of their cantonment, without seeing any oftheir posts, or meeting with any of their patrols, a circumstance thatencouraged him to beat up their quarters by surprise; for this servicehe pitched upon five battalions, with a detachment of Highlanders, andeight regiments of dragoons. Leaving their tents standing, they begantheir 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 thedisposition was made both for entering the town, and securing aretreat in case of being repulsed. When they were within two miles ofZierenberg, and in sight of the fires of the enemy's grand guard, thegrenadiers of Maxwell, the regiment of Kinsley, and the Highlanders, advanced by three separate roads, and marched in profound silence: atlength 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 thetown, drove everything before them with incredible impetuosity. Theattack was so sudden, and the surprise so great, that the French had nottime to assemble in any considerable number; but they began to firefrom the windows; and in so doing, exasperated the allied troops, who, bursting into the houses, slaughtered them without mercy. Havingremained in the place from two to three in the morning, they retreatedwith about four hundred prisoners, including forty officers, and broughtoff two pieces of artillery. This nocturnal adventure, in which theBritish troops displayed equal courage and activity, was achieved withvery little loss; but after all, it deserves no other appellationthan that of a partisan exploit; for it was attended with no sort ofadvantage to the allied army. Considering the superiority of the French army, we cannot account forthe little progress made by the duke de Broglio, who, according to ourconception, might either have given battle to the allies with the utmostprobability of success, or penetrated into the heart of Hanover, theconquest of which seemed to be the principal object of the Frenchministry. Instead of striking an important stroke, he retired fromImmenhausen towards Cassel, where he fortified his camp as if he hadthought himself in danger of being attacked; and the war was carried onby small detachments. Major Bulow, being sent with a strong party fromthe camp of the allied army at Buline, surprised the town of Marburg, destroyed the French ovens, and brought off a considerable quantity ofstores and baggage, with some prisoners. He met with the same successat Butzback, where he surprised and took two companies belonging to theregiment of Baugrave, and retired with this body to Franckenberg, wherehe joined colonel Forsen. On the twelfth day of September they made amovement towards Franckenau; and M. De Stainville, who was posted with abody of French troops at Merdenhagen, advanced to check their progress. He came up with their rear in the neighbourhood of Munden, and attackedthem in passing the river Orck with such vigour, that Forsen, with someof his cavalry, was taken, and Bulow obliged to abandon some pieces ofcannon. The action was just determined, when this last was reinforced bythe hereditary prince of Brunswick, who had made a forced march of fiveGerman miles, which had fatigued the troops to such a degree, thathe deferred his attack till next morning; but, in the meantime, M. De Stainville retired towards Franckenberg. The Hanoverian generalWangenheim, at the head of four battalions and six squadrons, had driventhe enemy from the defiles of Soheite, and encamped at Lawenthagen; but, being attacked by a superior number, he was obliged in his turn to giveway, and his retreat was not effected without the loss of two hundredmen, and some pieces of artillery. When the enemy retired, generalWangenheim repassed the Weser, and occupied his former situation atUssar. Meanwhile, general Luckner gained an advantage over a detachmentof French cavalry near Norten. Prince Ferdinand, when mareschal Broglioquitted his camp at Immenhausen, made a motion of his troops, andestablished his head-quarters at Geismer-wells, the residence of thelandgrave of Hesse-Cassel; from thence, however, he transferred them, about the latter end of September, to Ovilgune, on the Westphalian sideof the Dymel. THE HEREDITARY PRINCE MARCHES TO THE LOWER RHINE. Such was the position of the two opposite grand armies, when theworld was surprised by an expedition to the Lower Rhine, made by thehereditary prince of Brunswick. Whether this excursion was intendedto hinder the French from reinforcing their army in Westphalia--or toco-operate in the Low Countries with the armament now ready equippedin the ports of England; or to gratify the ambition of a young prince, overboiling with courage and glowing with the desire of conquest--wecannot explain to the satisfaction of the reader; certain it is, thatthe Austrian Netherlands were at this juncture entirely destitute oftroops, except the French garrisons of Ostend and Nieuport, which wereweak and inconsiderable. Had ten thousand English troops been landed onthe coast of Blankenburg, they might have taken possession of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Antwerp, without resistance, and joined thehereditary prince in the heart of the country; in that case he wouldhave found himself at the head of thirty thousand men, and might havemade such a diversion in favour of Hanover, as to transfer the seat ofwar from Westphalia into Flanders. The empress-queen might, indeed, havecomplained of this invasion, as the formality of declaring war againsther had not been observed by Great Britain; but considering that she wasthe declared enemy of Hanover, and had violated the barrier-treaty, inestablishing which the kingdom of Great Britain had lavished away somuch blood and treasure, a step of this kind, we apprehend, might havebeen taken, without any imputation of perfidy or injustice. Whatever themotives of the prince's expedition might have been, he certainly quittedthe grand army of the allies in the month of September; and traversingWestphalia, with twenty battalions, and as many squadrons, appearedon the Lower Ehine, marching by Schermbeck and Dusseldorp. On thetwenty-ninth day of the month he sent a large detachment over the riverat Rocroot, which surprised part of the French partisan Fischer's corpsat Ehynberg, and scoured the country. Next day, other parties, crossingat Eees and Emmerick, took possession of some redoubts which the Frenchhad raised along the bank of the river; and here they found a number ofboats sufficient to transport the rest of the forces. Then the princeadvanced to Cleves; and at his approach the French garrison, consistingof five hundred men, under the command of M. De Barrai, retired into thecastle, which, however, they did not long defend; for on the third dayof October they capitulated, and surrendered themselves prisonersof war, after having in vain endeavoured to obtain more favourableconditions. A more important object was Wesel, which the prince invested, and beganto 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; andkept his communication open with the other side, by a bridge above, and another below the place. He had hoped to carry it by a vigorousexertion, without the formality of a regular siege; but he met with awarmer reception than he expected; and his operations were retarded byheavy rains, which, by swelling the river, endangered his bridges, andlaid his trenches under water. The difficulties and delays occasioned bythis circumstance entirely frustrated his design. The French, beingmade acquainted with his motions, were not slow in taking measuresto anticipate his success. M. De Castries was detached after him withthirty battalions, and thirty-eight squadrons; and, by forced marches, arrived on the fourteenth day of October at Ehynberg, where the prince'slight troops were posted. These he attacked immediately, and compelledto abandon the post, notwithstanding all the efforts of the prince, whocommanded in person, and appeared in the warmest parts of this shortbut sanguinary affair. The enemy leaving five battalions, with somesquadrons, at Ehynberg, marched by the left, and encamped behind theconvent of Campen. The prince, having received intimation that M. DeCastries was not yet joined by some reinforcements that were on themarch, determined to be beforehand with them, and attempt that verynight to surprise him in his camp. For this purpose he began his marchat ten in the evening, after having left four battalions, and fivesquadrons, 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 underthe necessity of overpowering Fischer's corps of irregulars, whichoccupied the convent of Campen, at the distance of half a league intheir front. This service occasioned some firing, the noise of whichalarmed the French army. Their commander formed them with greatexpedition, and posted them in the wood, where they were immediatelyattacked, and at first obliged to give ground; but they soon retrievedall they had lost, and sustained without flinching an unceasing fire ofmusketry, from five in the morning till nine at night, when they reapedthe fruits of their perseverance. The hereditary prince, whose horse waskilled under him, seeing no prospect of success in prolonging an actionwhich had already cost him a considerable number of men, thought properto give orders for a retreat, which was not effected without confusion, and left the field of battle to the enemy. His loss on this occasiondid not fall short of sixteen hundred choice men, killed, wounded, andtaken; and his loss fell chiefly on the troops of Great Britain, whowere always found in the foremost ranks of danger. All the officers, both of infantry and dragoons, distinguished themselves remarkably, andmany were dangerously wounded. Among these, the nation regretted theloss of lord Downe, whose wounds proved mortal: he was a young noblemanof spirit, who had lately embraced a military life, though he was notregularly trained in the service. Next day, which was the sixteenth of October, the enemy attacked anadvanced body of the allies, which was posted in a wood before Elverick, and extended along the Rhine. The firing of cannon and musketry wasmaintained till night. Meanwhile, a column of the French infantry, commanded by M. De Cabot, marched through Walach, and took post amongthe thickets, at the distance of a quarter of a league, in the frontof the prince's army. By this time the Ehine was so much swelled by therains and the banks of it were overflown in such a manner, that it wasnecessary to repair, and move lower down, the bridge which had beenthrown over that river. This work was accordingly performed in thepresence of the enemy; and the prince passing without molestation, proceeded to Bruymen, where he fixed his head-quarters. His passing theEhine so easily, under the eye of a victorious army so much superior tohim in number, may be counted among the fortunate incidents of his life. Such was the issue of an expedition which exposed the projector of itto the imputation of temerity. Whatever his aim might have been, besidesthe reduction of Wesel, with the strength of which he did not seem tohave been very well acquainted, he certainly miscarried in his design;and his miscarriage was attended with a very considerable loss oftroops, occasioned not only by the action, but also by the diseasesengendered from the wet weather, the fatigue of long marches, and thewant of proper conveniences; not to mention the enormous expense incontingencies incurred by this fruitless undertaking. In the month of November, while he lay encamped in the neighbourhoodof Schermbeck, a body of the enemy attempted to beat up his quarters;having received intimation of their design, he immediately called inhis advanced posts, and made a disposition for giving them a properreception. 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 fetcha compass, and fall upon the back of the enemy. This stratagem succeededto his wish. The French detachment, believing the allies had actuallyabandoned their camp, began to pillage the tents in the utmost dis-order: then the infantry sallied from the place where they wereconcealed, and fell upon them with great impetuosity: the artilleryopened, and the cavalry charged them in flank. In a word, of twelvehundred who marched from Wesel on this expedition, scarcely two hundredescaped. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} ADVANTAGES GAINED by M. DE STAINVILLE. The duke de Broglio endeavoured, by sundry means, to take advantage ofthe allied army on the other side of the Weser, thus weakened by theabsence of the troops under the hereditary prince; but he found princeFerdinand too vigilant to be surprised, and too strongly situated to beattacked with any prospect of success. He therefore contented himselfwith ravaging the country by detachments: he sent M. De Stainville, witha considerable body of forces, to penetrate into the heart of Hanover;and on the fifteenth day of September, that officer, falling in with adetachment of the allies, commanded by major Bulow, attacked them nearthe abbey of Schaken. After a warm and obstinate engagement, theywere defeated, and driven to Bulemont, with the loss of their cannon, baggage, and a good number of men, who fell into the hands of thevictors. After this exploit, M. De Stainville advanced to Halberstadt, and demanded of that capital a contribution of one million fivehundred thousand livres; but the citizens had been so drained by formerexactions, that they could not raise above thirty thousand: for theremainder the French partisan took hostages, with whom he returned tothe grand army encamped at Cassel, from whence they in a little timefell 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 theneighbourhood of Gottengen. Major-general Briedenbach, at the head oftwo regiments of Hanoverian and Brunswick guards, with a detachment ofcavalry, attacked, on the twenty-ninth day of November, the Frenchpost at Heydemunden, upon the river Worrau. This he carried, and tookpossession of the town, which the enemy hastily abandoned. Part of theirdetachment crossed the river in boats; the rest threw themselves into anintrenchment that covered the passage, which the allies endeavoured toforce in several unsuccessful attempts, galled as they were by the fireof 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; fromwhence he retired at midnight, after having sustained considerabledamage. Prince Ferdinand had it very much at heart to drive the Frenchfrom Gottengen, and accordingly invested that city; but the Frenchgarrison, which was numerous and well provided, made such a vigorousdefence, as baffled all the endeavours of the allies, who were moreoverimpeded by the rainy weather, which, added to other considerations, prevented them from undertaking the siege in form. Nevertheless, theykept the place blocked up from the twenty-second day of November to thetwelfth of the following month, when the garrison, in a desperate sally, took one of their principal posts, and compelled them to raise theblockade. About the middle of December, prince Ferdinand retired intowinter-quarters; he himself residing at Uslar, and the English troopsbeing cantoned in the bishopric of Paderborn. Thus the enemy were leftin possession of Hesse, and the whole country to the eastward of theWeser, to the frontiers of the electorate of Hanover. If the alliedarmy had not been weakened for the sake of a rash, ill-concerted, andunsuccessful expedition to the Lower Rhine, in all probability theFrench would have been obliged to abandon the footing they had gainedin the course of this campaign; and, in particular, to retreat fromGottengen, which they now maintained and fortified with great diligenceand 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 greattalents he had displayed, and the incredible efforts he had made, stillfound himself surrounded by his enemies, and in danger of being-crushedby their closing and contracting their circle. Even the Swedes, who hadlanguished so long, seemed to be roused to exertion in Pomerania, duringthe severity of the winter season. The Prussian general Manteuffel had, on the twentieth day of January, passed the river Peene, overthrown theadvanced posts of the enemy at Ziethen, and penetrated as far as theneighbourhood of Griessewalde; but finding the Swedes on their guard, he returned to Anclam, where his head-quarters were established. Thisinsult was soon retaliated with interest. On the twenty-eighth dayof the month, at five in the morning, a body of Swedes attacked thePrussian troops posted in the suburbs of Anclam, on the other side ofthe Peene, and drove them into the city, which they entered pell-mell. General Manteuffel, being alarmed, endeavoured to rally the troops; butwas wounded and taken, with about two hundred men, and three pieces ofcannon. The victors, having achieved this exploit, returned to their ownquarters. As for the Russian army, which had wintered on the other sideof the Vistula, the season was pretty far advanced before it could takethe field; though general Tottleben was detached from it, about thebeginning of June, at the head of ten thousand cossacks, and other lighttroops, with which he made an irruption into Pomerania, and establishedhis 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 wasto take measures for the preservation of Silesia, the conquest of whichseemed to be the principal object with the court of Vienna. While theAustrian army, under mareschal count Daun, lay strongly intrenched inthe neighbourhood of Dresden, the king of Prussia had endeavoured, inthe month of December, to make him quit that advantageous situation, bycutting 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 ofPassberg: but this scheme being found impracticable, he returned to hiscamp at Fribourg, and in January the Prussian and Austrian armies werecantoned so near each other, that daily skirmishes were fought withvarious success. The head of the Prussian camp was formed by a body offour thousand men under general Zettwitz, who, on the twenty-ninth dayof January, was attacked with such impetuosity by the Austrian generalBeck, that he retreated in great confusion to Torgau, with the loss offive hundred men, eight pieces of artillery, and a considerable quantityof new clothing and other baggage. Another advantage of the same naturewas gained by the Austrians at Neustadt, over a small body of Prussianswho occupied that city. In the month of Maroh, general Laudohn advancedwith a strong detachment of horse and foot, in order to surprise thePrussians, who, in attempting to effect a retreat to Steinau, weresurrounded accordingly, and very roughly handled. General Laudohnsummoned them twice by sound of trumpet to lay down their arms; buttheir commanders, the captains Blumenthal and Zettwitz, rejecting theproposal with disdain, the enemy attacked them on all hands with a greatsuperiority of number. In this emergency the Prussian captains formedtheir troops into a square, and by a close continued fire kept the enemyat bay; until, perceiving that the Croats had taken possession of awood between Siebenhausen and Steinau, they, in apprehension of beingintercepted, abandoned their baggage, and forced their way to Steinau, which they reached with great difficulty, having been continuallyharassed by the Austrians, who paid dear for this advantage. Severalother petty exploits of this kind were achieved by detachments on bothsides, 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 theforest of Thurundt to the right of the Elbe. He now took possession of avery strong camp between the Elbe and the Mulda, which he intrenched inevery part that was accessible, and fortified with two hundred and fiftypieces of cannon. By these precautions he was enabled to keep his groundagainst the army of count Daun, and at the same time detach a body oftroops, as a reinforcement to his brother prince Henry, who assembleda separate army near Franckfort upon the Oder, that he might be at handeither to oppose the Russians, or march to the relief of Silesia, whichthe enemy was bent upon invading. It was for this purpose that theAustrian general Laudohn advanced, with a considerable army, intoLusatia about the beginning of May; and general Beck, with another bodyof troops, took possession of Corbus: meanwhile count Daun continuedin his old situation on the Elbe; general Lascy formed a small detachedarmy upon the frontiers of Saxony, to the southward of Dresden; and theprince de Deuxponts marched into the same neighbourhood with the armyof the empire. Prince Henry of Prussia having encamped with his armyfor some time at Sagan, in Silesia, moved from thence to Gorlitz, in Lusatia, to observe the motions of general Laudohn, encamped atKoningsgratz; from whence, in the beginning of June, he marched intothe country of Glatz, and advanced to the neighbourhood of Schweidnitz, which he seemed determined to besiege, having a train of eight pieces ofcannon. With a view to thwart his designs, prince Henry reinforced thebody of troops under general Fouquet; and at the same time he sent adetachment into Pomerania, under colonel Lessow, who defeated the rearguard of general Tottleben, and compelled that officer to evacuatePomerania. By this time, however, mareschal Soltikoff had arrived fromPetersburg, and taken the command of the grand Russian army, whichpassed the Vistula in June, and began its march towards the frontiers ofSilesia. GEN. LAUDOHN DEFEATS GEN. FOUQUET, AND REDUCES GLATZ. In the month of June, general Laudohn made an unsuccessful attempt tocarry 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-generalZeithen and Grant, he resolved to attack him with such a superiorityof number that he should not be able to resist. Accordingly, on thethe twenty-third day of June, at two in the morning, he began theassault with his whole army upon some redoubts which Fouquet occupied;and these were carried one after another, though not without a verydesperate opposition. General Fouquet being summoned to surrender, refused to submit; and having received two wounds, was at length takenprisoner: about three thousand of his men escaped to Breslan; therest were killed or taken: but the loss of the victors is said to haveexceeded that of the vanquished. In July, general Laudohn undertook thesiege of Glatz, which was taken after a very faint resistance; for, onthe very day the batteries were opened against the place, the garrisonabandoned part of the fortifications, which the besiegers immediatelyoccupied. The Prussians made repeated efforts to regain the ground theyhad lost; but they were repulsed in all their attempts. At length thegarrison laid down their arms, and surrendered at discretion. From thistame behaviour of the Prussians, one would imagine the garrison musthave been very weak; a circumstance which we cannot reconcile withthe known sagacity of the Prussian monarch, as the place was of greatimportance, on account of the immense magazine it contained, includingabove one hundred brass cannon, a great number of mortars, and a vastquantity of ammunition. Laudohn, encouraged by this success at Glatz, advanced immediately toBreslau, 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 ofthe most accomplished generals which this age produced, having receivedrepeated intelligence that the Russian army intended to join Laudohn atBreslau, resolved to advance and give them battle before the purposedjunction. 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, wherehe understood that Tottleben's detachment only had passed through theplains of Polnich-Lissa, and that the grand Russian army had marchedthrough Kosten and Gustin. The prince finding it impossible to pursuethem by that route, directed his march to Glogau, where he learned thatBreslau was besieged by general Laudohn, and immediately advanced byforced marches to its relief. Such was his expedition, that in fivedays he marched above one hundred and twenty English miles; and at hisapproach the Austrian general abandoned his enterprise. Thus, by hisprudence and activity, he not only prevented the junction of the Russianand Austrian armies, but also saved the capital of Silesia; and hamperedLaudohn in such a manner as subjected him to a defeat by the Prussianmonarch, 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 purposedto co-operate with his brother prince Henry in Silesia, whichhis adversaries seemed to have pitched upon as the scene of theiroperations, we cannot presume to determine; but certain it is, he, inthe beginning of July, began his march in two columns through Lusatia;and count Daun being informed of his march, ordered his army to be putin motion. Leaving the army of the empire, and the body of troops underLascy, to guard Saxony in his absence, he marched with great expeditiontowards Silesia, in full persuasion that the Prussian monarch hadthither directed his route. On the seventh day of July, the king knowingthat Daun was now removed at a distance, repassed the Polsnitz, whichhe had passed but two days before, and advanced with the van of his armytowards Lichtenberg, in order to attack the forces of general Lascy, whowas posted there; but the Austrians retired at his approach. Then thearmy marched to Marienstern, where the king received intelligence thatcount Daun was in full march for Lauban, having already gained twomarches upon the Prussians. Perhaps it was this intimation thatdetermined the king to change his plan, and return to the Elbe. On theeighth day of the month he repassed the Sprehe, in the neighbourhood ofBautzen, and marched towards Dresden with extraordinary diligence. Onthe thirteenth, his army having passed the Elbe at Kadetz, on a bridgeof boats, encamped between Pirna and Dresden, which last he resolved tobesiege, in hopes of reducing it before count Daun could return to itsrelief. How far this expectation was well grounded, we must leave thereader to judge, after having observed that the place was now much moredefensible than it had been when the last attempt of the Austrians uponit miscarried; that it was secured with a numerous garrison, commandedby general Macguire, an officer of courage and experience. This governorbeing summoned to surrender, answered that, having the honour to beintrusted with the defence of the capital, he would maintain it to thelast extremity. Batteries were immediately raised against the town onboth sides of the Elbe; and the poor inhabitants subjected to a dreadfulvisitation, that their calamities might either drive them to despair, ormove the heart of the governor to embrace articles of capitulation;but these expedients proved ineffectual. Though the suburbs towards thePirna gate were attacked and carried, this advantage made no impressionon general Macguire, who made several vigorous sallies, and took everynecessary precaution for the defence of the city; encouraged moreover bythe vicinity of Lascy's body, and the army of the empire, encamped in anadvantageous position near Gross Seydlitz; and confident that count Daunwould hasten to his relief. In this hope he was not disappointed. TheAustrian general, finding himself duped by the stratagem of the Prussianmonarch, and being made acquainted with his enterprise against Dresden, instantly wheeled about, and marched back with such rapidity, that onthe nineteenth day of the month he reached the neighbourhood of thecapital of Saxony. In consequence of his approach, the king of Prussia, whose heavy artillery was now arrived, redoubled his efforts againstthe city, so as to reduce to ashes the cathedral church, the newsquare, several noble streets, some palaces, together with the curiousmanufactory of porcelain. His vengeance must have been levelled againstthe citizens; for it affected neither the fortifications, nor theAustrian garrison, which count Daun found means to reinforce withsixteen battalions. This supply, and the neighbourhood of three hostilearmies, rendered it altogether impossible to prosecute the siege withany prospect of success; the king therefore abandoned the undertaking, withdrew his troops and artillery, and endeavoured to bring Daun to abattle, which that general cautiously avoided. The fate of this prince seemed now at its crisis. Notwithstandingall the efforts of his brother prince Henry, the Russians were fastadvancing to join Laudohn, who had already blocked up Schweidnitz andNeifs, and their junction seemed to threaten the loss of all Silesia. The king had nothing to oppose to superior numbers but superioractivity, of which he determined to avail himself without delay. Insteadof making a feint towards Silesia, he resolved to march thither inearnest; and for that purpose, crossing the Elbe, encamped at Dallwitz, on the further bank of the river; leaving general Hulsen, with fifteenthousand men, in the intrenched camp of Schlettow, to maintain hisfooting in Saxony. On the third day of August he began his march forSilesia, followed by count Daun with the grand Austrian army; while thedetached body under Lascy took post at Reichenberg, and the imperialarmy encamped at Kesseldorf. Both the Prussians and Austrians marched atthe rate of one hundred miles in five days; on the tenth the king tookpossession of the camp at Lidnitz; and here he seemed in danger of beingquite surrounded by the enemy, who occupied the whole ground betweenParchwitz and Cossendau, an extent of thirty miles. Count Daun's armyformed the centre of this chain, possessing the heights of Wahlstadt andLiochkirk; general Laudohn covered the ground between Jeschkendorfand Coschitz; the rising grounds of Parchwitz were secured by generalNauendorff; and M. De Beck, who formed the left, extended his troopsbeyond Cossendau. The king marched in the night of the eleventh, witha view to turn the enemy and reach Jauer; but at break of day hediscovered a new camp at Prausnitz, which consisted of Lascy'sdetachment, just arrived from Lauban. The Prussians immediately passedthe Katzbach, to attack this general; but he made such a skilfuldisposition for a retreat towards the army of count Daun, that he notonly baffled the endeavours of the king to bring him to action, but, byposting himself on the heights of Hennersdorff, anticipated his march toJauer. In vain the Prussian monarch attempted next day to turn the enemyon the side of the mountains by Pomsen and Jagersdorff, the roads werefound impassable to the ammunition waggons, and the king returned to thecamp at Lignitz. While he remained in this situation, he received advice thatfour-and-twenty thousand Russians, under count Czernichew, had thrownbridges 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, andattack him with their joint forces. Daun had indeed projected a plan forsurprising him in the night, and had actually put his army in motion forthat purpose; but he was anticipated by the vigilance and good fortuneof the Prussian monarch. That prince reflecting, that if he should waitfor his adversaries in his camp, he ran the risk of being attackedat the same time by Lascy on his right, by Daun in his front, and byLaudohn on his left, he altered his disposition, in order to disconcerttheir operations; and, on the fourteenth day of the month, marchedto the heights of Psaffendorff, where he formed his army in order ofbattle. Receiving intimation about two in the morning, that Laudohn wasin full march advancing in columns by Benowitz, he divided his army intotwo separate bodies. One of these remained on the ground, in order tomaintain the post against any attempts that might be made by count Daunto succour Laudohn; and that this service might be the more effectuallyperformed, the heights were fortified with batteries, so judiciouslydisposed, as to impede and overawe the whole Austrian army. The kinghaving taken this precaution, wheeled about with sixteen battalions andthirty squadrons, to fall upon Laudohn as he should advance; but thatgeneral knew nothing of his design, until he himself arrived at thevillage of Psaffendorff, about three in the morning, when the daydawning, and a thick fog gradually dispersing, the whole detachmentof the Prussian army appeared in order of battle, in a well-chosensituation, strengthened with a numerous train of artillery, placed tothe best advantage. Laudohn was not a little mortified to find himselfcaught in his own snare, but he had advanced too far to recede;and therefore, making a virtue of necessity, resolved to stand anengagement. With this view he formed his troops, as well as the time, place, and circumstances would permit; and the Prussians advancing tothe attack, a severe action ensued. The king rode along the lineto animate the troops, and superintended every part of the charge;hazarding his life in the most dangerous scenes of the battle to such adegree, that his horse was killed under him, and his clothes were shotthrough in several places. The Austrians maintained the conflict withgreat obstinacy, until six in the morning, when they gave ground, andwere pursued to the Katzbach; beyond which the king would not allow histroops to prosecute the advantage they had gained, that they might beable to succour the right in case mareschal count Daun should succeedin his attempt to advance against them from Lignitz. That general hadactually begun his march to fall upon the Prussians on one side, while Laudohn should attack them on the other; but he was not a littlesurprised to find they were decamped; and when he perceived a thickcloud of smoke at a distance, he immediately comprehended the nature ofthe king's management. He then attempted to advance by Lignitz; but thetroops and artillery, which had been left on the height of Psaffendorff, to dispute his march, were so advantageously disposed, as to render allhis efforts abortive. Laudohn is said to have lost in the actionabove eight thousand men, killed, wounded, and taken, including eightyofficers, with twenty-three pair of colours, and eighty-two pieces ofcannon; over and above this loss, the Austrian general suffered greatlyby desertion. The Prussians obtained the victory at the expense ofone general, with five hundred men killed, and twelve hundred wounded. Immediately after the action the victor inarched to Parchwitz; whileDaun detached prince Lowenstein and general Beck with the reserve of hisarmy, to join prince Czernichew, who had crossed the Oder at Auras;but he was so intimidated by the defeat at Lignitz, that he forthwithrepassed that river, and prince Lowenstein retired on the side of Jauer. By this bold and well-conducted adventure, the Prussian monarch notonly escaped the most imminent hazard of a total defeat from the jointefforts of two strong armies, but also prevented the dreaded junctionof the Eussian and Austrian forces. His business was now to open thecommunication with Breslau and his brother prince Henry, whom he joinedat Neumarcke. The prince, after Laudohn was obliged to relinquishthe siege of Breslau, had kept a watchful eye over the motions of theEussian army, which had advanced into the neighbourhood of that city;and, without all doubt, would have bombarded it from some commandingheights, had they not been prevented by prince Henry, who tookpossession of these posts, and fortified them with redoubts. The kinghaving freed Breslau from the neighbourhood of his enemies, and beingstrengthened by the junction with his brother, left a considerabledetachment under the command of general Boltze, to protect the countryagainst the Eussian irregulars; and advanced with his whole force to therelief of Schweidnitz, which was blocked up by the Austrian forces underthe command of the mareschal count Daun. In his march he fell upona separate body under general Beck, made two battalions of Croatsprisoners, and dispersed several squadrons. This achievement had such aneffect upon the enemy, that they raised the blockade, and retreated withsome precipitation to the mountains of Landshut. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} ACTION BETWEEN GENEEAL HULSEN AND THE IMPERIAL ARMY IN SAXONY. While the king thus exerted himself, with a spirit altogetherunexampled, in defending Silesia, general Hulsen, who commanded histroops in Saxony, was exposed to the most imminent danger. Understandingthat the army of the empire had formed a design to cut off hiscommunication with Torgau, he quitted his camp at Meissen, and marchedto Strehla. The enemy having divided their forces into two bodies, oneof them, on the twentieth clay of August, attacked an advanced postof the Prussians; while the other was disposed in such a manner, asto overawe Hulsen's camp, and prevent him from taking any step for therelief of his battalions, who maintained their ground with difficultyagainst a superior number of assailants. In this emergency the Prussiangeneral ordered his cavalry to make a circuit round a rising ground, and, if possible, charge the enemy in flank. This order was executedwith equal vigour and success. They fell upon the imperial army withsuch impetuosity, as drove their battalions and horse upon each other inthe utmost confusion. A considerable number of the enemy were slain, and forty-one officers, with twelve hundred men, made prisoners. By thisadvantage, which was obtained at a very small expense, general Hulsenopened for himself a way to Torgau, whither he instantly retreated, perceiving that the whole army of the imperialists was advancing to cutoff his communication with the Elbe. This retreat furnished the enemywith a pretext for claiming the victory. SITUATION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA. After all these heroic endeavours of the Prussian monarch and hisofficers, his affairs remained in such a desperate situation as seemedto presage approaching ruin; for, though in person he commanded anumerous and well-appointed army, he found it absolutely impossible toguard against the different detachments from the three separate armiesof his adversaries. Bodies of Austrian troops scoured the country ofLusatia; the Russians traversed part of Silesia, and made irruptionseven into Brandenburgh; the imperial army domineered in Saxony; theSwedish army, meeting with no opposition, advanced into the heart ofPomerania; so that the king was not only threatened on every side, butall correspondence between him and his hereditary dominions was at thisjuncture intercepted. THE RUSSIANS AND AUSTRIANS POSSESS THEMSELVES OF BERLIN. His adversaries, having been hitherto baffled by his activity andresolution in their designs upon Silesia, now meditated a scheme, theexecution of which he could not but feel in the most sensible manner. The Russian army being on its retreat from Silesia, count Czernichew wassent with a strong detachment into the marche of Brandenburgh; while anumerous body of Austrians, under Lascy and Brentano, penetrated intothe same country from Saxony, with instructions to join the Russians atthe gates of Berlin. The Prussian general Hulsen, finding himself tooweak to cope with the army of the empire in Misnia, had fallen back tothis capital, where he was joined by the troops under general Werner, lately returned from Pomerania; but as their forces, after thisjunction, did not exceed sixteen thousand men, and the allies advancingagainst them amounted to forty thousand, they would not pretend tooppose the enemy in the open field, nor to defend a city of such extent, and so imperfectly fortified. Such an attempt would have only exposedtheir troops to ruin, without being able to save the capital, which, onthe contrary, would have been the more severely handled, in consequenceof their opposition. They therefore resolved to retire, after havingrepulsed the advanced guard of the Russians under Tottleben, whichattacked the gates, and even bombarded the town, before the great armiesappeared. At their approach the Prussian generals retreated, leavingthree weak battalions in the place, in hopes they might be the meansof 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. Infavour of the city, the foreign ministers there residing interposedtheir mediation with such zeal and success, that tolerable conditionswere obtained. The inhabitants were indulged with the free exerciseof their religion, and an immunity from violence to their persons andeffects. The enemy promised that the Russian irregulars should notenter the town; and that the king's palace should not be violated. Thesearticles being ratified, the Austrian and Russian troops enteredthe place, where they totally destroyed the magazines, arsenals, andfoundries, with an immense quantity of military stores, and a greatnumber of cannon and small arms: then they demanded the immediatepayment of eight hundred thousand guilders; and afterwards exacted acontribution of one million nine hundred thousand German crowns. Manyoutrages were committed by the licentious soldiery, in spite of all theprecautions which the officers could take to preserve the most exactdiscipline. The houses of the private inhabitants were tolerablyprotected, but the king's palaces were subjected to the most rigoroustreatment. In the royal palace of Charlottenburg they pillaged andspoiled the rich furniture: they defaced and mutilated the valuablepictures and antique statues collected by cardinal de Polignac, andpurchased by the house of Brandenburgh. The castle of Schonhausen, belonging to the queen, and that of Fredericksfeldt, the property of themargrave 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 desiredleave to take one picture of the king, and two of his German flutes, that he might preserve them as memorials of an illustrious prince, whoseheroic character he admired. The Austrian and Russian troops enteredBerlin on the ninth day of October, and quitted it on the thirteenth, onhearing that the king was in full march to the relief of his capital. Intheir retreat, by different routes, from Brandenburgh, they drove awayall the cattle and horses they could find, ravaged the country, andcommitted brutal outrages on the inhabitants, which the pretence ofretaliation could never excuse. The body of Russians which enteredBerlin marched from thence into Poland, by the way of Furstenwalde;while the Austrians took the route of Saxony, from whence they hadadvanced into Brandenburgh. Meanwhile the town of Wirtem-berg, in thatelectorate, was reduced by the duke de Deux-Ponts, commander of theimperial army, which, in conjunction with the Austrians, made themselvesmasters also of Torgau and Leipsic. KING OF PRUSSIA DEFEATS THE AUSTRIANS AT TORGAU. The king of Prussia, in his march through Lusatia, was still attendedby count Daun, at the head of his grand army, and both passed the Elbeabout the latter end of October. The Prussian crossed the river atCoswick, where he was joined by the troops under prince Eugene ofWirtemberg and general Ilulsen, so that his army now amounted to eightythousand fighting men, with whom he resolved to strike some strokeof importance. Indeed, at this time his situation was truly critical. General Laudohn, with a considerable body of Austrians, remained inSilesia; the Russian army still threatened Breslau, the capital of thatcountry. The Imperialists and Austrians had taken possession of all thegreat towns in Saxony, and were masters on both sides of the Elbe. Inthe eastern part of Pomerania, the Russians had invested Colberg by seaand land, seemingly determined to reduce the place, that they might havea seaport by which they could be supplied with provisions, ammunition, necessaries, and reinforcements, without the trouble and inconvenienceof a long and laborious march from the banks of the Vistula. On thewestern side of Pomerania, the war, which had hitherto languished, wasrenewed by the Swedes with uncommon vivacity. They passed the riverPene 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 theenemy, and took an equal number, with six pieces of cannon; but he wasnot numerous enough to keep the field against their whole army. Thus thePrussian monarch saw himself obliged to abandon Silesia, deprived of allthe places he held in Saxony, which had been his best resource; andin danger of being driven into his hereditary country of Brandenburgh, which was unable either to maintain, or even to recruit, his army. Onthis emergency he resolved to make one desperate effort against thegrand Austrian army under count Daun, who had passed the Elbe at Torgau, and advanced to Eulenbourg, from whence, however, he retreated to hisformer camp at Torgau; and the king chose his situation between thislast place and Schilda, at Lang-Reichenbach, where the hussars attackeda body of horse under general Brentano, and made four hundred prisoners. The right wing of the Austrians being at Groswich, and their left atTorgau, the Prussian king determined to attack them next day, whichwas the third of November. His design was to march through the woodof Torgau by three different routes, with thirty battalions and fiftysquadrons of his left wing: the first line was ordered to advance by theway of Mackrene to Neiden; the second by Peckhutte to Elsnick; and thethird, consisting of cavalry, to penetrate by the wood of Wildenhayn toVogelsand. On the other hand, general Ziethen was directed to take thegreat Leipsic road, with thirty battalions and seventy squadrons of theright; and quitting it at the ponds of Torgau, to attack the villageof Suptitz and Groswich. The king's line, in its march, fell in witha corps of Austrians under general Reid, who retired into the woodof Torgau; and another more considerable body, posted in the wood ofWildenhayn, likewise retreated to Groswich, after having fired somepieces of artillery; but the dragoons of Saint Ignon, being enclosedbetween two columns of Prussian infantry, were either killed or taken. By two in the afternoon the king had penetrated through the wood tothe plain of Neiden, from whence another body of the enemy retired toTorgau, where a continued noise of cannon and small arms declared thatgeneral Ziethen was already engaged. The Prussians immediately advancedat a quicker pace, and passing the morasses near Neiden, inclined to theright in three lines, and soon came to action. Daun had chosen a veryadvantageous position: his right extended to Groswich, and his leftto Zinne: while his infantry occupied some eminences along the road ofLeipsic, and his front was strength-ened with no less than two hundredpieces of cannon. His second line was disposed on an extent of ground, which terminated in hillocks towards the Elbe; and against this the kingdirected his attack. He had already given his troops to understand thathis affairs were in such a situation, that they must either conquer orperish: 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 grenadierswere shattered and repulsed. The second charge, though enforced withincredible vigour, was equally unsuccessful: then the king ordered hiscavalry to advance, and they fell upon some regiments of infantry withsuch fury as obliged them to give way. These, however, were compelled toretire, in their turn, before about seventy battalions of the enemy, whoadvanced towards Torgau, stretching with their right to the Elbe, andtheir left to Zinne. While the prince of Holstein rallied his cavalry, and returned to the charge, the third line of Prussian infantry attackedthe vineyard of Suptitz, and general Ziethen with the right wing tookthe enemy in rear. This disposition threw the Austrians into disorder;which was greatly augmented by the disaster of count Daun, who wasdangerously wounded in the thigh, and carried off the field of battle. But the Prussians could not pursue their victory, because the action hadlasted until nine; and the night being unusually dark, facilitated theretreat of the enemy, who crossed the Elbe on three bridges of boatsthrown over the river at Torgau. The victor possessed the field ofbattle, with seven thousand prisoners, including two hundred officers, twenty-nine pair of colours, one standard, and about forty pieces ofcannon. The carnage was very great on both sides; about three thousandPrussians were killed, and five thousand wounded; and, in the firstattacks, two general officers, with fifteen hundred soldiers, were madeprisoners by the enemy. The king, as usual, exposed his person in everypart of the battle, and a musket-ball grazed upon his breast. In themorning, the king of Prussia entered Torgau; then he secured Meissen, and took possession of Fribourg: so that, in consequence of thiswell-timed victory, his position was nearly the same as at the openingof the campaign. The Austrians, however, notwithstanding this check, maintained theirground in the neighbourhood of Dresden; while the Prussians weredistributed 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 handsof the Prussians, and the Imperial army was obliged to retire intoFranconia. The Swedes having penetrated a great way into Pom-crania, returned again to their winter-quarters at Stralsund; and theRussian generals measured back their way to the Vistula: so that theconfederates gained little else in the course of this campaign butthe contributions which they raised in Berlin, and the open countryof Brandenburgh. Had the allies been heartily bent upon crushing thePrussian monarch, one would imagine the Russians and Swedes might havejoined their forces in Pomerania, and made good their winter-quarters inBrandenburgh, where they could have been supplied with magazines fromthe Baltic, and been at hand to commence their operations in the spring;but, in all probability, such an establishment in the empire would havegiven umbrage to the Germanic body. DIETS of POLAND AND SWEDEN ASSEMBLED. The diet of Poland being assembled in the beginning of October, the kingentertained the most sanguine hope they would take some resolution inhis favour, but the partisans of Prussia frustrated all his endeavours:one of the deputies protesting against holding a diet while there wereforeign troops in the kingdom, the assembly broke up in a tumultuousmanner, even before they had chosen a mareschal. The diet of Sweden, which was convoked about the same period, seemed determined to proceedupon business. They elected count Axel Person their grand mareschal, in opposition to count Horn, by a great majority; which was an unluckycircumstance for the Prussian interest at Stockholm, inasmuch as thesame majority obstinately persisted in opinion, that the war should beprosecuted in the spring with redoubled vigour, and the army in Germanyreinforced to the number of at least thirty thousand fighting men. Thisunfavourable circumstance made but little impression upon the Prussianmonarch, who had maintained his ground with surprising resolution andsuccess since the beginning of the campaign; and now enjoyed inprospect the benefit of winter, which he is said to have termed his bestauxiliary. INTIMATION GIVEN TO THE STATES OF WESTPHALIA BY THE KING OF PRUSSIA. The animosity which inflamed the contending parties was not confined tothe operations in war, but broke out, as usual, in printed declarations, which the belligerent powers diffused all over Europe. In the beginningof the season, the states of the circle of Westphalia had been required, by the Imperial court, to finish their contingent of troops against theking of Prussia, or to commute for this contingent with a sum of money. In consequence of this demand, some of the Westphalian estates had sentdeputies to confer with the assembly of the circle of Cologn; and tothese the king signified, by a declaration dated at Munster, that asthis demand of money, instead of troops, was no less extraordinary thancontrary to the constitutions of the empire, should they comply with it, or even continue to assist his enemies either with troops or money, hewould consider them as having actually taken part in the war againsthim and his allies, and treat them accordingly on all occasions. This intimation produced little effect in his favour. The duke ofMecklenburgh adhered to the opposite cause; and the elector of Colognco-operated with the French in their designs against Hanover. By way ofretaliation for this partiality, the Prussians ravaged the countryof Mecklenburgh, and the Hanoverians levied contributions in theterritories of Cologn. The parties thus aggrieved had recourse tocomplaints and remonstrances. The duke's envoy at Ratisbon communicateda rescript to the Imperial ministers, representing that the Prussiantroops under general Werner and colonel de Belling had distressed hiscountry in the autumn by grievous extortions; that afterwards princeEugene of Wirtemberg, in the service of Prussia, had demanded anexorbitant quantity of provisions, with some millions of money, and agreat number of recruits; or, in lieu of these, that the duke's forcesshould act under the Prussian banner. He therefore declared that, asthe country of Mecklenburgh was impoverished, and almost depopulated, bythese oppressions, the duke would find himself obliged to take measuresfor the future security of his subjects, if not immediately favouredwith such assistance from the court of Vienna as would put a stop tothese violent proceedings. This declaration was by some considered asthe prelude of his renouncing his engagements with the house of Austria. As the Imperial court had threatened to put the elector of Hanoverunder the ban of the empire, in consequence of the hostilities whichhis troops had committed in the electorate of Cologn, his resident atRatisbon delivered to the ministers who assisted at the diet a memorial, remonstrating that the emperor hath no power, singly, to subject anyprince to the ban, or declare him a rebel; and that, by arrogating sucha power, he exposed his authority to the same contempt into which thepope's bulls of excommunication were so justly fallen. With respect tothe elector of Cologn, he observed that this prince was the first whocommenced hostilities, by allowing his troops to co-operate with theFrench in their invasion of Hanover, and by celebrating with rejoicingsthe advantages which they had gained in that electorate; he thereforegave the estates of the empire to understand, that the best way ofscreening their subjects from hostile treatment would be a strictobservance 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 aregenerally actuated by interested motives, than was the repetition ofcomplaints, equally pathetic and unavailing, uttered by the unfortunateking of Poland, elector of Saxony. The damage done to his capital by thelast attempt of the Prussian monarch on that city, affected the oldking in such a manner, that he published at Vienna an appeal to allthe powers of Europe, from the cruelty and unprecedented outrages whichdistinguished the conduct of his adversaries in Saxony. All Europepitied the hard fate of this exiled prince, and sympathized with thedisasters of his country: but in the breasts of his enemies, reasonsof state and convenience overruled the suggestions of humanity; and hisfriends had hitherto exerted themselves in vain for the deliverance ofhis people. REDUCTION OF PONDICHERRY. From this detail of continental affairs, our attention is recalled toGreat Britain, by an incident of a very interesting nature; an accountof which, however, we shall postpone until we have recorded the successthat, in the course of this year, attended the British arms in theEast Indies. We have already observed that colonel Coote, after havingdefeated the French general Lally in the field, and reduced divers ofthe enemy's settlements on the coast of Coromandel, at length coopedthem up within the walls of Pondicherry, the principal seat of theFrench East India company, large, populous, well-fortified, and securedwith a numerous garrison, under the immediate command of their general. In the month of October, admiral Stevens sailed from Trincomalê with allhis squadron, in order to its being refitted, except five sail of theline, which he left under the command of captain Ilaldane, to block upPondicherry 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 ofprovisions, even before the siege could be undertaken in form; for therainy season rendered all regular approaches impracticable. These rainsbeing abated by the twenty-sixth day of November, colonel Coote directedthe engineers to pitch upon proper places for erecting batteries thatshould enfilade or flank the works of the garrison, without exposingtheir own men to any severe fire from the enemy. Accordingly, fourbatteries were constructed in different places, so as to answer thesepurposes, and opened altogether on the eighth day of December atmidnight. Though raised at a considerable distance, they were plied withgood effect, and the besieged returned the fire with great vivacity. This mutual cannonading continued until the twenty-ninth day of themonth, when the engineers were employed in raising another battery, nearenough to effect a breach in the north-west counter-guard and curtain. Though the approaches were retarded some days by a violent storm, whichalmost ruined the works, the damage was soon repaired: a considerablepost was taken from the enemy by assault, and afterwards regained by theFrench grenadiers, through the timidity of the sepoys, by whom it wasoccupied. By the fifteenth clay of January, a second battery beingraised within point-blank, a breach was made in the curtain: the westface and flank of the north-west bastion were ruined, and the guns ofthe enemy entirely silenced. The garrison and inhabitants of Pondicherrywere now reduced to an extremity of famine which would admit of nohesitation. General Lally sent a colonel, attended by the chief of theJesuits, and two civilians, to Mr. Coote, with proposals of surrenderingthe garrison prisoners of war, and demanding a capitulation in behalfof 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 founda great quantity of artillery, ammunition, small arms, and militarystores; then he secured the garrison, amounting to above two thousandEuropeans. Lally made a gallant defence; and had he been properlysupplied with provisions, the conquest of the place would not have beenso easily achieved. He certainly flattered himself with the hope ofbeing supplied; otherwise an officer of his experience would havedemanded a capitulation, before he was reduced to the necessity ofacquiescing in any terms the besieger might have thought proper toimpose. That he spared no pains to procure supplies, appears from anintercepted letter, * written by this commander to monsieur Raymond, French resident at Pullicat...... The billet is no bad sketch of thewriter's character, which seems to have a strong tincture of oddity andextravagance. * "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 onthe coast of Coromandel, and therefore of the utmost importance to theBritish nation. It may be doubted, however, whether colonel Coote, withall his spirit, vigilance, and military talents, could have succeededin this enterprise without the assistance of the squadrons, whichco-operated with him by sea, and effectually excluded all succour fromthe besieged. It must be owned, for the honour of the service, that noincident interrupted the good understanding which was maintained betweenthe land and sea officers, who vied with each other in contributingtheir utmost efforts towards the success of the expedition. On thetwenty-fifth day of December, rear-admiral Stevens arrived with fourships of the line, having parted with rear-admiral Cornish and hisdivision in stormy weather: but he joined them at Pondicherry beforethe place was surrendered. On the first day of January a violent tempestobliged admiral Stevens to slip his cables and to put to sea, where heparted with the rest of the squadron; and when in three days he returnedto the road of Pondicherry, he had the mortification to find that hisdivision had suffered severely from the storm. The ships of war calledthe duke of Aquitaine and the Sunderland foundered in the storm, andtheir crews perished. The Newcastle, the Queenborough, and the Protectorfireship, were driven ashore and destroyed; but the men were saved, together with the cannon, stores, and provisions. Many other shipssustained considerable damage, which however was soon repaired. AdmiralStevens having intercepted the letter from Lally to Raymond, (See-note*), immediately despatched letters to the Dutch and Danish settlementson this coast, intimating that, notwithstanding the insinuations ofgeneral Lally, he had eleven sail of the line, with two frigates, underhis command, all fit for service, in the road of Pondicherry, whichwas closely invested and blockaded both by sea and land: he thereforedeclared, that, as in that case it was contrary to the law of nationsfor any neutral power to relieve or succour the besieged, he wasdetermined to seize any vessel that should attempt to throw provisionsinto the place. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} DEATH and CHARACTER of KING GEORGE II. While the arms of Great Britain still prospered in every effort tendingto the real interest of the nation, an event happened which for amoment obscured the splendour of her triumphs, and could not but bevery alarming to those German allies, whom her liberality had enabled tomaintain an expensive and sanguinary war of humour and ambition. On thetwenty-fifth day of October, George II. King of Great Britain, withoutany previous disorder, was in the morning suddenly seized with the agonyof death, at the palace at Kensington. He had risen at the usual hour, drank his chocolate, and inquired, about the wind, as anxious for thearrival of the foreign mails; then he opened a window of his apartment, and perceiving the weather was serene, declared he would walk in thegarden. In a few minutes after this declaration, while he remainedalone in his chamber, he fell down upon the floor; the noise of his fallbrought his attendants into the room, who lifted him on the bed, wherehe desired, in a faint voice, that the princess Amelia might be called;but before she could reach the apartments he had expired. An attemptwas made to bleed him, but without effect: and indeed his malady was farbeyond the reach of art; for when the cavity of the thorax or chest wasopened, and inspected by the sergeant-surgeons, they found the rightventricle of the heart actually ruptured, and a great quantity of blooddischarged through the aperture into the surrounding pericardium; sothat he must have died instantaneously, in consequence of the effusion. The case, however, was so extraordinary, that we question whether thereis such another instance upon record. A rupture of this natureappears the more remarkable, as it happened to a prince of a healthyconstitution, unaccustomed to excess, and far advanced beyond thatperiod of life, when the blood might be supposed to flow with adangerous impetuosity. Thus died George II. At the age of seventy-seven, after a long reign ofthirty-four years, distinguished by a variety of important events, andchequered with a vicissittide of character and fortune. He was in hisperson rather lower than the middle size, well shaped, erect, witheyes remarkably prominent, a high nose, and fair complexion. In hisdisposition he is said to have been hasty, prone to anger, especially inhis youth, yet soon appeased; otherwise mild, moderate, and humane; inhis way of living temperate, regular, and so methodical in every branchof private economy, that his attention descended to objects which agreat king, perhaps, had better overlook. He was fond of military pompand parade; and personally brave. He loved war as a soldier--he studiedit as a science; and corresponded on this subject with some ofthe greatest officers whom Germany has produced. The extent of hisunderstanding, and the splendour of his virtue, we shall not presume toascertain, or attempt to display; we rather wish for opportunities toexpatiate on his munificence and liberality--his generous regard togenius and learning--his royal encouragement and protection of thosearts by which a nation is at once benefited and adorned. With respect tohis government, it very seldom deviated from the institutions of law, or encroached upon private property, or interfered with the commonadministration of justice. The circumstances that chiefly marked hispublic character, were a predilection for his native country, and aclose attention to the political interests of the Germanic body; pointsand principles to which he adhered with the most invincible fortitude:and if ever the blood and treasure of Great Britain were sacrificedto these considerations, we ought not so much to blame the prince, whoacted from the dictates of natural affection, as we should detest asuccession of venal ministers, all of whom in their turns devotedthemselves, soul and body, to the gratification of his passion, orpartiality, so prejudicial to the true interest of their country. {GEORGE II. , 1727-1760} RECAPITULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF HIS REIGN. The reign of George II. Produced many revolutions, as well in theinternal schemes of economy and administration, as in the externalprojects of political connexions; revolutions that exposed the frailtiesof human nature, and demonstrated the instability of systems foundedupon convenience. In the course of this reign, a standing army was, bydint of ministerial influence, engrafted on the constitution of GreatBritain. A fatal stroke was given to the liberty of the press, by theact subjecting all dramatic writings to the inspection of a licenser. The great machine of corruption, contrived to secure a constant majorityin parliament, was overturned, and the inventor of it obliged to quitthe reins of government. Professed patriots resigned the principles theyhad long endeavoured to establish, and listed themselves for the defenceof that fortress against which their zeal and talents had been levelled. The management of a mighty kingdom was consigned into the hands of amotley administration--ministers without knowledge, and men withoutintegrity, whose councils were timid, weak, and wavering; whose follyand extravagance exposed the nation to ridicule and contempt; by whoseignorance and presumption it was reduced to the verge of ruin. Thekingdom was engaged in a quarrel truly national, and commenced anecessary war on national principles: but that war was starved; and thechief strength of the nation transferred to the continent of Europe, inorder to maintain an unnecessary war, in favour of a family whosepride and ambition can be equalled by nothing but its insolence andingratitude. While the strength of the nation was thus exerted abroadfor the support of worthless allies, and a dangerous rebellion raged inthe bowels of the kingdom, the sovereign was insulted by his ministers, who deserted his service at this critical juncture, and refused toresume their functions, until he had truckled to their petulant humour, and dismissed a favourite servant, of whose superior talents they weremeanly jealous. Such an unprecedented secession at any time wouldhave merited the imputation of insolence; but at that period, when thesovereign was perplexed and embarrassed by a variety of dangers anddifficulties; when his crown, and even his life, were at stake; tothrow up their places, abandon his councils, and, as far as in them lay, detach themselves from his fortune, was a step so likely to aggravatethe disorder of the nation, so big with cruelty, ingratitude, andsedition, that it seems to deserve an appellation which, however, wedo not think proper to bestow. An inglorious war was succeeded by anignominious peace, which proved of short duration; yet in this intervalthe English nation exhibited such a proof of commercial opulence asastonished all Europe. At the close of a war which had drained it of somuch treasure, and increased the public debt to an enormous burden, itacquiesced under such a reduction of interest as one would hardly thinkthe ministry durst have proposed, even before one-half of the nationaldebt was contracted. A much more unpopular step was a law that passedfor 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 ithad been chiefly patronized. An ill-concerted peace was in a littletime productive of fresh hostilities, and another war with France, whichBritain began to prosecute under favourable auspices. Then the wholepolitical system of Germany was inverted. The king of England abandonedthe interest of that house which he had in the former war so warmlyespoused, and took into his bosom a prince whom he had formerlyconsidered as his inveterate enemy. The unpropitious beginning ofthis war against France being imputed to the misconduct of theadministration, excited such a ferment among the people, as seemed tothreaten a dangerous insurrection. Every part of the kingdom resoundedwith the voice of dissatisfaction, which did not even respect thethrone. The king found himself obliged to accept of a minister presentedby the people; and this measure was attended with consequences asfavourable as his wish could form. From that instant all clamour washushed--all opposition ceased. The enterprising spirit of the newminister 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 thoseassertions, by which former ministers had established, and endeavouredto excuse, the practices of corruption. The supposed disaffection, whichhad been insisted on as the source of parliamentary opposition, nowentirely vanished; nor was it found necessary to use any sinistermeans for securing a majority, in order to answer the purposes of theadministration. England for the first time saw a minister of state infull possession of popularity. Under the auspices of this minister, it saw a national militia formed, and trained to discipline by theinvincible spirit of a few patriots, who pursued this salutary measurein the face of unwearied opposition, discouraged by the jealousy ofa 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. Thepeople, confiding in the integrity and abilities of their own minister, and elevated by the repeated sounds of triumph, became enamoured of thewar, and granted such liberal subsidies for its support, as no otherminister would have presumed to ask, as no other nation believed theycould afford. Nor did they murmur at seeing great part of their treasurediverted into foreign channels; nor did they seem to bestow a seriousthought on the accumulating load of the national debt, which alreadyexceeded the immense sum of one hundred millions. In a word, they were intoxicated with victory; and as the king happenedto die in the midst of their transports, occasioned by the finalconquest of Canada, their good humour garnished his character witha prodigality of encomiums. A thousand pens were drawn to paint thebeauties and sublimity of his character, in poetry as well as prose. They extolled him above Alexander in courage and heroism, above Augustusin liberality, Titus in clemency, Antoninus in piety and benevolence, Solomon in wisdom, and Saint Edward in devotion. Such hyperbolicaleulogiums served only to throw a ridicule upon a character which wasotherwise respectable. The two universities vied with each other inlamenting his death; and each published a huge collection of elegieson the subject: nor did they fail to exalt his praise, with the warmestexpressions of affection and regret, in the compliments of condolenceand congratulation which they presented to his successor. The samepanegyric and pathos appeared in all the addresses with which everyother community in the kingdom approached the throne of our presentsovereign: insomuch that we may venture to say, no prince was ever morepopular at the time of his decease. The English are naturally warm andimpetuous; and in generous natures, affection is as apt as any otherpassion to run riot. The sudden death of the king was lamented as anational misfortune by many, who felt a truly filial affection for theircountry; not that they implicitly subscribed to all the exaggeratedpraise which had been so liberally poured forth on his character, butbecause the nation was deprived of him at a critical juncture, whileinvolved in a dangerous and expensive war, of which he had beenpersonally the chief mover and support. They knew the burden of royaltydevolved upon a young prince, who, though heir-apparent to the crown, and already arrived at years of maturity, had never been admitted toany share of the administration, nor made acquainted with any schemesor secrets of state. The real character of the new king was very littleknown to the generality of the nation. They dreaded an abrupt change ofmeasures, which might have rendered useless all the advantages obtainedin the course of the war. As they were ignorant of his connexions, theydreaded a revolution in the ministry, which might fill the kingdom withclamour and confusion. But the greatest shock occasioned by his deceasewas undoubtedly among our allies and fellow-subjects in Germany, who sawthemselves suddenly deprived of their sole prop and patron, at a timewhen they could not pretend of themselves to make head against thenumerous enemies by whom they were surrounded. But all these doubts andapprehensions vanished like mists before the rising sun; and the peopleof Great Britain enjoyed the inexpressible pleasure of seeing theirloss repaired in such a manner, as must have amply fulfilled the mostsanguine wish of every friend to his country. ACCOUNT OF THE COMMERCE OF GREAT BRITAIN. The commerce of Great Britain continued to increase during thewhole course of this reign; but this increase was not the effectof extraordinary encouragement. On the contrary, the necessities ofgovernment, the growing expenses of the nation, and the continualaugmentation of the public debt, obliged the legislature to hamper tradewith manifold and grievous impositions; its increase, therefore, musthave been owing to the | natural progress of industry and adventureextending themselves to that farthest line or limit beyond which theywill not be able to advance: when the tide of traffic has flowed to itshighest mark, it will then begin to recede in a gradual ebb, until itis shrunk within the narrow limits of its original channel. War, whichnaturally impedes the traffic of other nations, had opened new sourcesto the merchants of Great Britain. The superiority of her naval powerhad crushed the navigation of France, her great rival in commerce; sothat she now supplied, on her own terms, all those foreign markets, atwhich, in time of peace, she was undersold by that dangerous competitor. Thus her trade was augmented to a surprising pitch; and this greataugmentation alone enabled her to maintain the war at such an enormousexpense. As this advantage will cease when the French are at liberty tore-establish their commerce, and prosecute it without molestation, itwould be for the interest of Great Britain to be at continual variancewith that restless neighbour, provided the contest could be limitedto the operations of a sea-war, in which England would be alwaysinvincible and victorious. STATE OF RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY. The powers of the human mind were freely and fully exercised in thisreign. Considerable progress was made in mathematics and astronomy bydivers 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 methodswere discovered for rendering sea-water potable and sweet; and diversuseful hints were communicated to the public by the learned doctorStephen Hales, who directed all his researches and experiments to thebenefit of society. The study of alchemy no longer prevailed; but theart of chemistry was perfectly understood, and assiduously appliedto the purposes of sophistication. The clergy of Great Britain weregenerally 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 boldnessof his genius, his extensive capacity and profound erudition, at lengthobtained the mitre. But these promotions were granted to reasons efstate convenience and personal interest, rather than as rewards ofextraordinary merit. Many other ecclesiastics of worth and learningwere totally overlooked. Nor was ecclesiastical merit confined to theestablished church. Many instances of extraordinary genius, unaffectedpiety, and universal moderation, appeared among the dissenting ministersof 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 whichthe kingdom had been formerly so productive. Imposture and fanaticismstill hung upon the skirts of religion. Weak minds were seduced by thedelusion of a superstition styled Methodism, raised upon the affectationof superior sanctity, and maintained by pretensions to divineillumination. Many thousands in the lower ranks of life were infectedwith this species of enthusiasm, by the unwearied endeavours of a fewobscure preachers, such as Whitfield and the two Wesleys, who propagatedtheir doctrine to the most remote corners of the British dominions, andfound means to lay the whole kingdom under contribution. Fanaticismalso formed a league with false philosophy. One Hutchinson, a visionary, intoxicated with the fumes of rabbinical learning, pretended to deduceall demonstration from Hebrew roots, and to confine all human knowledgeto the five books of Moses. His disciples became numerous after hisdeath. With the methodists, they denied the merit of good-works, andbitterly inveighed against Newton as an ignorant pretender, who hadpresumed to set up his own ridiculous chimeras in opposition to thesacred philosophy of the Pentateuch. But the most extraordinarysect which distinguished this reign was that of the Moravians, orHernhutters, imported from Germany by count Zinzendorf, who might havebeen termed the Melchisedec of his followers, inasmuch as he assumedamong them the threefold character of prophet, priest, and king. Theycould not be so properly styled a sect, as the disciples of an original, who had invented a new system of religion. Their chief adoration waspaid to the second person in the Trinity; the first they treated withthe most shocking neglect. Some of their tenets were blasphemous, someindecent, and others ridiculously absurd. Their discipline was a strangemixture of devotion and impurity. Their exterior worship consisted ofhymns, prayers, and sermons; the hymns extremely ludicrous, and oftenindecent, alluding to the side-hole or wound which Christ received froma spear in his side while he remained upon the cross. Their sermonsfrequently contained very gross incentives to the work of propagation. Their private exercises are said to have abounded with such ritesand mysteries, as we cannot explain with any regard to decorum. Theyprofessed a community of goods, and were governed as one family, intemporals as well as spirituals, by a council or kind of presbytery, in which the count, as their ordinary, presided. In cases of doubt, orgreat consequence, these pretended to consult the Saviour, and to decidefrom immediate inspiration; so that they boasted of being under theimmediate direction of a theocracy, though in fact they were slaves tothe most dangerous kind of despotism; for as often as any individual ofthe community pretended to think for himself, or differ in opinion fromthe ordinary and his band of associates, the oracle decreed that heshould be instantly sent upon the mission which they had fixed inGreenland, or to the colony they had established in Pennsylvania. Asthese religionists consisted chiefly of manufacturers who appeared verysober, orderly, and industrious; and their chief declared his intentionof prosecuting works of public emolument; they obtained a settlementunder a parliamentary sanction in England, where they soon made aconsiderable number of proselytes, before their principles were fullydiscovered and explained. METAPHYSICS AND MEDICINE. Many ingenious treatises on metaphysics and morality appeared in thecourse of this reign, and a philosophical spirit of inquiry diffuseditself to the farthest extremities of the united kingdom. Though fewdiscoveries of importance were made in medicine, yet that art was wellunderstood in all its different branches, and many of its professorsdistinguished themselves in other provinces of literature. Besides themedical essays of London and Edinburgh, the physician's library wasenriched with many useful modern productions; with the works of theclassical Freind, the elegant Mead, the accurate Huxham, and thephilosophical Pringle. The art of midwifery was elucidated by science, reduced to fixed principles, and almost wholly consigned into the handsof men practitioners. The researches of anatomy were prosecuted to somecurious discoveries, by the ingenuity and dexterity of a Hunter and aMonro. The numerous hospitals in London contributed to the improvementof surgery, which was brought to perfection under the auspices of aCheselden and a Sharpe. The advantages of agriculture, which had longflourished in England, extended themselves gradually to the most remoteand barren provinces of the island. MECHANICS. The mechanic powers were well understood, and judiciously applied tomany useful machines of necessity and convenience. The mechanicalarts had attained to all that perfection which they were capable ofacquiring; but the avarice and oppressions of contractors obliged thehandicraftsman to exert his ingenuity, not in finishing his work well, but in affording it cheap; in purchasing bad materials, and performinghis task in a hurry; in concealing flaws, substituting show forsolidity, and sacrificing reputation to the thirst of lucre. Thus, manyof the English manufactures, being found slight and unserviceable, grewinto discredit abroad; thus the art of producing them more perfect mayin time be totally lost at home. The cloths now made in England areinferior in texture and fabric to those which were manufactured in thebeginning of the century; and the same judgment may be pronouncedupon 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 themuskets, which are sold for seven or eight shillings a-piece to theexporter, so carelessly and unconscientiously prepared, that they cannotbe used without imminent danger of mutilation: accordingly, one hardlymeets with a negro man upon the coast of Guinea, in the neighbourhoodof the British settlements, who has not been wounded or maimed in somemember by the bursting of the English fire-arms. The advantages ofthis traffic, carried on at the expense of character and humanity, willnaturally cease, whenever those Africans can be supplied more honestlyby the traders of any other nation. GENIUS. Genius in writing spontaneously arose; and, though neglected by thegreat, flourished under the culture of a public which had pretensions totaste, and piqued itself on encouraging literary merit. Swift and Popewe have mentioned on another occasion. Young still survived, a venerablemonument 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 didnot disdain an English dress; but appeared to advantage in the Leonidasof Glover, and the Epigoniad of Wilkie. The public acknowledged aconsiderable share of dramatic merit in the tragedies of Young, Mallet, Home, and some other less distinguished authors. Very few regularcomedies, during this period, were exhibited on the English theatre;which, however, produced many less laboured pieces, abounding withsatire, wit, and humour. The Careless Husband of Gibber, and SuspiciousHusband of Hoadley, are the only comedies of this age that bid fair forreaching posterity. The exhibitions of the stage were improved to themost exquisite entertainment by the talents and management of Garrick, who greatly surpassed all his predecessors of this and perhaps everyother nation, in his genius for acting; in the sweetness and variety ofhis tones, the irresistible magic of his eye, the fire and vivacityof his action, the elegance of attitude, and the whole pathos ofexpression. Quin excelled in dignity and declamation, as well asexhibiting 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 GreatBritain was not barren of poets at this period, appears from thedetached performances of Johnson, Mason, Gray, the two Whiteheads, and the two Whartons; besides a great number of other bards, whohave sported in lyric poetry, and acquired the applause of theirfellow-citizens. Candidates for literary fame appeared even in thehigher sphere of life, embellished by the nervous style, superior sense, and extensive erudition of a Corke; by the delicate taste, the polishedmuse, and tender feelings of a Lyttleton. King shone unrivalled in Romaneloquence. Even the female sex distinguished themselves by their tasteand ingenuity. Miss Carter rivalled the celebrated Dacier in learningand critical knowledge; Mrs. Lennox signalized herself by manysuccessful efforts of genius, both in poetry and prose; and Miss Reidexcelled the celebrated Rosalba in portrait painting, both in miniatureand at large, in oil as well as in crayons. The genius of Cervantes wastransfused into the novels of Fielding, who painted the characters, and ridiculed the follies of life, with equal strength, humour, andpropriety. The field of history and biography was cultivated by manywriters of ability: among whom we distinguish the copious Guthrie, the circumstantial Ralph, the laborious Carte, the learned and elegantRobertson, and above all, the ingenious, penetrating, and comprehensiveHume, whom we rank among the first writers of the age, both as anhistorian and philosopher. Nor let us forget the merit conspicuousin the works of Campbell, remarkable for candour, intelligence, andprecision. Johnson, inferior to none in philosophy, philology, poetry, and classical learning, stands foremost as an essayist, justly admiredfor the dignity, strength, and variety of his style, as well as for theagreeable manner in which he investigates the human heart, tracingevery 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, andGrandison; a species of writing equally new and extraordinary, where, mingled with much superfluity, we find a sublime system of ethics, anamazing knowledge and command of human nature. Many of the Greek andRoman classics made their appearance in English translations, whichwere favourably received as works of merit; among these we place, afterPope's Homer, Virgil by Pitt and Wharton, Horace by Francis, Polybiusby Hampton, and Sophocles by Franklin. The war introduced a variety ofmilitary treatises, chiefly translated from the French language; anda free country, like Great Britain, will always abound with politicaltracts and lucubrations. Every literary production of merit, calculatedfor amusement or instruction, that appeared in any country or languageof Christendom, was immediately imported and naturalized among theEnglish people. Never was the pursuit after knowledge so universal, orliterary merit more regarded, than at this juncture, by the body of theBritish nation; but it was honoured by no attention from the throne, andlittle indulgence from particular patrons. The reign of Queen Anne waspropitious to the fortunes of Swift and Pope, who lived in all the happypride of independence. Young, sequestered from courts and preferment, possessed a moderate benefice in the country, and employed his time ina conscientious discharge of his ecclesiastical functions. Thomson, withthe most benevolent heart that ever warmed the human breast, maintaineda perpetual war with the difficulties of a narrow fortune. He enjoyed aplace in chancery by the bounty of lord Talbot, of which he was divestedby the succeeding chancellor. He afterwards enjoyed a small pension fromFrederick prince of Wales, which was withdrawn in the sequel. About twoyears before his death, he obtained, by the interest of his friendlord Lyttleton, a comfortable place; but he did not live to taste theblessing 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 royalbounty, except W. Whitehead, who succeeded to the place of laureateat the death of Cibber; and some of them whose merit was the mostuniversally acknowledged, remained exposed to all the storms ofindigence, and all the stings of mortification. While the queen lived, some countenance was given to learning. She conversed with Newton, andcorresponded with Leibnitz. She took pains to acquire popularity; theroyal family on certain days dined in public, for the satisfactionof the people: the court was animated with a freedom of spirit andvivacity, which rendered it at once brilliant and agreeable. At herdeath that spirit began to languish, and a total stagnation of gaietyand good humour ensued. It was succeeded by a sudden calm, an ungraciousreserve, 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. {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} MUSIC. England was not defective in other arts that embellish and amuse. Musicbecame a fashionable study, and its professors were generally caressedby the public. An Italian opera was maintained at a great expense, andwell supplied with foreign performers. Private concerts were institutedin every corner of the metropolis. The compositions of Handel wereuniversally admired, and he himself lived in affluence. It must beowned at the same time, that Geminiani was neglected, though his geniuscommanded esteem and veneration. Among the few natives of England whodistinguished 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 ofpainting, now produced some artists of extraordinary merit. Hogarthexcelled all the world in exhibiting the scenes of ordinary life; inhumour, character, and expression. Hayman became eminent for historicaldesigns and conversation pieces. Reynolds and Ramsay distinguishedthemselves by their superior merit in portraits; a branch that wassuccessfully cultivated by many other English painters. Woottonwas famous for representing live animals in general; Seymour forrace-horses; Lambert and the Smiths for landscapes; and Scot forsea-pieces. Several spirited attempts were made on historical subjects, but little progress was made in the sublime parts of painting. Essays ofthis kind were discouraged by a false taste, founded upon a reprobationof British genius. The art of engraving was brought to perfection byStrange, and laudably practised by Grignon, Baron, Ravenet, and severalother masters; great improvements were made in mezzotinto, miniature, and enamel. Many fair monuments of sculpture or statuary were raised byRysbrach, Roubilliac, and Wilton. Architecture, which had been cherishedby the elegant taste of Burlington, soon became a favourite study; andmany magnificent edifices were reared in different parts of the kingdom. Ornaments were carved in wood, and moulded in stucco, with all thedelicacy of execution; but a passion for novelty had introduced intogardening, building, and furniture, an absurd Chinese taste, equallyvoid of beauty and convenience. Improvements in the liberal and usefularts will doubtless be the consequence of that encouragement givento merit by the society instituted for these purposes, which we havedescribed on another occasion. As for the Royal Society, it seems tohave degenerated in its researches, and to have had very littleshare, for half a century at least, in extending the influence of truephilosophy. We shall conclude this reign with a detail of the forces and fleets ofGreat Britain, from whence the reader will conceive a just idea of heropulence and power. [Illustration: 574. Jpg FORCES AND FLEETS OF GREAT BRITAIN] {GEORGE II. 1727-1760} NOTES TO VOLUME II. [Footnote 237: Note 2 K, p. 237 Nothing was heard within doors inparliament, but sarcastic repartee and violent declamation between thetwo parties, who did not confine their altercation to these debates, buttook the field against each other in periodical papers and occasionalpamphlets. The paper called The Craftsman, had already risen into highreputation all over England, for the wit, humour, and solid reasoningit contained. Some of the best writers in the opposition, includinglord Bolingbroke and Mr. P. Made use of this vehicle to convey theiranimadversions upon the minister, who, on his side, employed the mostwretched scribblers to defend his conduct. It was in consequence oftwo political pamphlets, written in opposition to each other, by "lordHervey and Mr. P. , and some recrimination they produced in the house ofcommons, that his lordship challenged the other to single combat, andhad well nigh lost his life in the duel, which was fought in Hyde Park. ] [Footnote 260: Note 2. L, p. 260. Captain Jenkins was master of aScottish merchant-ship. He was boarded by the captain of a Spanishguardacosta, who treated him in the most barbarous manner. TheSpaniards, after having rummaged his vessel for what they calledcontraband commodities, without finding anything to justify theirsearch, insulted him with the most opprobrious invectives. They toreoff one of his ears, bidding him carry it to his king, and tell him theywould serve him in the same manner should an opportunity offer: theytortured him with the most shocking cruelty, and threatened him withimmediate death. This man was examined at the bar of the house ofcommons, and being asked by a member, what he thought when he foundhimself in the hands of such barbarians? "I recommended my soul to God, "said he, "and my cause to my country. " The behaviour of this braveseaman, the sight of his ear, which was produced, with his account ofthe indignities which had been offered to the nation and sovereign ofGreat Britain, filled the whole house with indignation. Jenkins wasafterwards employed in the service of the East India company; heapproved himself worthy of his good fortune, in a long engagement withthe pirate Angria, during which he behaved with extraordinary courageand conduct; and saved his own ship, with three others that were underhis convoy. ] [Footnote 262: Note 2 M, p. 262. Among the laws enacted in the courseof this session was an act against gaming, which had become universalthrough all ranks of people, and likely to prove destructive to allmorals, industry, and sentiment. Another bill passed, for granting areward to Joanna Stevens, on her discovering, for the benefit of thepublic, a nostrum for the cure of persons afflicted with the stone--amedicine which has by no means answered the expectations of thelegislature. In the house of lords, complaint was made by lord Delaware of a satire, entitled Manners, written by Mr. Whitehead, in which some characters ofdistinction were severely lashed in the true spirit of poetry. It wasvoted a libel: a motion was made to take the author into custody; buthe having withdrawn himself, the resentment of the house fell upon E. Dodsley, the publisher of the work, who was committed to the usher ofthe black rod, though lord Carteret, the earl of Abingdon, and lordTalbot, spoke in his behalf. ] [Footnote 283: Note 2 N, p. 283. In May, a dreadful plague broke outat Messina in Sicily. It was imported in cotton and other commoditiesbrought from the Morea; and swept off such a multitude of people, thatthe city was almost depopulated: all the galley slaves who were employedin burying the dead, perished by the contagion; and this was the fate ofmany priests and monks who administered to those who were infected. Thedead bodies lay in heaps in the streets, corrupting the air, and addingfresh fuel to the rage of the pestilence. Numbers died miserably, for want of proper attendance and necessaries; and all was horror anddesolation. At the beginning of winter it ceased, after having destroyednear fifty thousand inhabitants of Messina, and of the garrisons inthe citadel and castle. It was prevented from spreading in Sicily by astrong barricado drawn from Melazzo to Taormina; but it was conveyed toReggio in Calabria by the avarice of a broker of that place, who boughtsome goods at Messina. The king of Naples immediately ordered linesto be formed, together with a chain of troops, which cut off allcommunication between that place and the rest of the continent. ] [Footnote 301: Note 2 O, p. 301. This nobleman, so remarkable for hiscourage and thirst of glory, exhibited a very extraordinary instance ofpresence of mind on the morning that preceded this battle. He and somevolunteers, accompanied by his aidecamp, and attended by two orderlydragoons, the rode out before day to reconnoitre the situation of theenemy; and fell in with one of their advanced guards. The sergeantwho commanded it immediately turned out his men, and their pieces werepresented when the earl first perceived them. Without betraying theleast mark of disorder, he rode up to the sergeant, and assuming thecharacter of a French general, told him, in that language, that therewas no occasion for such ceremony. Then he asked, if they had perceivedany of the enemy's parties; and being answered in the negative, "Verywell, " 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 hiscompany retired, before the sergeant could recollect himself from thesurprise occasioned by this unexpected address. In all probability hewas sensible of his mistake; for the incident was that very day publiclymentioned in the French army. The prince of Tingray, an officer in theAustrian service, having been taken prisoner in the battle that ensued, dined with mares-chal count Saxe, who dismissed him on his parole, anddesired he would charge himself with a facetious compliment to his oldfriend, the earl of Crawford. He wished his lordship joy of being aFrench general, and said he could not help being displeased with thesergeant, as he had not procured him the honour of his lordship'scompany at dinner. ] [Footnote 310: Note 2 P, p. 310. Such an expensive war could not bemaintained 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 extendingitself from its origin to its _acme_, or _ne plus ultra_, or tothe encouragement given by the administration to monied men of alldenominations; or to necessity, impelling those who can no longer liveon small incomes to risk their capitals in traffic, that they may have achance for bettering their fortunes; or lastly, to a concurrence of allthese causes; certain it is, the national exports and imports have beensensibly increasing for these forty years: the yearly medium of woollenexports, from the year 1738 to 1743 inclusive, amounted to about threemillions and a half, which was a yearly increase, on the medium, of fivehundred thousand pounds above the medium from 1718 to 1724. From thisarticle, the reader will conceive the prodigious extent, and importanceof the British commerce. ] [Footnote 321: Note 2 Q, p. 321. The resolutions of the commons on thishead were printed by authority in the London Gazette, signifying, thatthose who were, or should be, proprietors of any part of the publicdebt, redeemable by law, incurred before Michaelmas, in the year onethousand seven hundred and forty-nine, carrying an interest of fourper centum per annum, who should, on or before the twenty-eighth day ofFebruary in that year, subscribe their names, signifying their consentto accept of an interest of three pounds per centum, to commence fromthe twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundredand fifty-seven, subject to the same provisions, notices, and classes ofredemption, to which their respective sums at four per centum were thenliable, should, in lieu of their present interest, be entitled tofour per centum till the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year onethousand seven hundred and fifty; and after that day, to three poundsten shillings per centum per annum, till the twenty-fifth day ofDecember, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven; and no part ofthat debt, except what was due to the East India company, should beredeemable to this period. That if any part of the national debt, incurred before last Michaelmas, redeemable by law, and carrying aninterest of four per centum, should remain unsubscribed on or before thethirtieth day of May, the government should pay off the principal. Forthis purpose Ins majesty was enabled to borrow of any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, any sum or sums of money not exceeding thatpart of the national debt which might remain unsubscribed, to be chargedon the sinking fund, upon any terms not exceeding the rate of interestin the foregoing proposal. All the duties appropriated to the payment of the interest were stillcontinued, and the surplus of these incorporated with the sinkingfund for the discharge of the principal. Books were opened for thesubscription at the Exchequer, the Bank of England, and the South Seahouse; and copies of these resolutions transmitted to the directors ofall the monied corporations. ] [Footnote 322: Note 2 R, p. 322. The most remarkable circumstanceattending the progress of this bill, which made its way through bothhouses, and obtained the royal assent, was the number of contradictorypetitions in favour and in prejudice of it, while it remained underconsideration. The tanners of leather in and about the town of Sheffieldin Yorkshire, represented, That if the bill should pass, the Englishiron would be undersold; consequently, a great number of furnaces andforges would be discontinued; in that case the woods used for fuel wouldstand uncut, and the tanners be deprived of oak bark sufficient for thecontinuance and support of their occupation. They nevertheless owned, that should the duty be removed from pig iron only, no such consequencecould be apprehended; because, should the number of furnaces belessened, that of forges would be increased. This was likewise the pleaurged in divers remonstrances by masters of iron-works, gentlemen, and freeholders, who had tracts of wood-land in their possession. Theowners, proprietors, and farmers of furnaces and iron forges, belongingto Sheffield and its neighbourhood, enlarged upon the great expense theyhad incurred in erecting and supporting iron-works, by means of whichgreat numbers of his majesty's subjects were comfortably supported. Theyexpressed their apprehension, that should the bill pass into a law, itcould not in any degree lessen the consumption of Swedish iron, whichwas used for purposes which neither the American nor British iron wouldanswer; but that the proposed encouragement, considering the plenty andcheapness of wood in America, would enable the colonies to undersell theBritish iron, a branch of traffic which would be totally destroyed, to the ruin of many thousand labourers, who would be compelled to seektheir livelihood in foreign countries. They likewise suggested, that ifall the iron manufacturers of Great Britain should be obliged to dependupon a supply of iron from the plantations, which must ever be renderedprecarious by the hazard of the seas and the enemy, the manufactureswould probably decay for want of materials, and many thousand familiesbe reduced to want and misery. On the other hand, the ironmongers andsmiths belonging to the flourishing town of Birmingham in Warwickshire, presented a petition, declaring, That the bill would be of great benefitto the trade of the nation, as it would enable the colonists to makelarger returns of their own produce, and encourage them to take agreater quantity of the British manufactures. They affirmed, that allthe iron-works in the island of Great Britain did not supply half thequantity of that metal sufficient to carry on the manufacture; thatif this deficiency could be supplied from the colonies in America, theimportation would cease, and considerable sums of money be saved to thenation. They observed, that the importation of iron from America couldno more affect the iron-works and freeholders of the kingdom, than thelike quantity imported from any other country; but they prayed thatthe people of America might be restrained from erecting slitting orrolling-mills, or forges for plating iron, as they would interfere withthe manufacturers of Great Britain. Many remonstrances to the same effect were presented from differentparts of the kingdom, and it appeared, upon the most exact inquiry, thatthe encouragement of American iron would prove extremely beneficial tothe kingdom, as it had been found, upon trial, applicable to all theuses of Swedish iron, and as good in every respect as the produce ofthat country. ] [Footnote 330: Note 2 S, p. 330. One of the most remarkable acts whichpassed in the course of this session, was that for regulating thecommencement of the year, and correcting the calendar, according to theGregorian computation, which had been adopted by all other nations inEurope. By this new law it was decreed that the new year should beginon the 1st day of January, and that eleven intermediate nominal days, between the second and fourteenth days of September, 1752, should forthat time be omitted; so that the day succeeding the second should bedenominated the fourteenth of that month. By this establishment of thenew style, the equinoxes and solstices will happen nearly on the samenominal days on which they fell in the year 325, at the council ofNice; and the correspondence between the English merchants and those offoreign countries will be greatly facilitated, with respect to the datesof letters and accounts. ] [Footnote 331: Note 2 T, p. 330. An indulgent parent was poisoned by hisonly daughter, on whom, besides other marks of tenderness and paternalaffection, he had bestowed a liberal education, which greatly aggravatedher guilt and ingratitude. Another young woman was concerned in theassassination of her own uncle, who had been her constant benefactorand sole guardian. A poor old woman, having, from the ignorance andsuperstition of her neighbours, incurred the suspicion of sorcery andwitchcraft, was murdered in Hertfordshire by the populace, with allthe wantonness of barbarity. Rape and murder were perpetrated upon anunfortunate woman in the neighbourhood of London, and an innocent mansuffered death for this complicated outrage, while the real criminalsassisted at his execution, heard him appeal to heaven for his innocence, and, in the character of friends, embraced him, while he stood on thebrink of eternity. ] [Footnote 348: Note 2 U, p. 348. Several European nations hadsettlements at Surat, which was one of the most frequented cities of theEast, from the great concourse of Mahometan pilgrims, who make it theirroad 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 ofArabia and Persia, the mogul had been at the annual expense of a largeship, fitted out on purpose to carry the pilgrims to Judda, which iswithin a small distance of Mecca. For the security of this ship, aswell as to protect the trade of Surat, he granted to his admiral, _thefiddee_, chief of a colony of caffrees, or blacks, a revenue calledthe tanka, to the value of three lacks of rupees, amounting to abovethirty-seven thousand pounds, arising partly from the adjacent lands, and partly from the revenues of Surat, which were paid him yearly by thegovernor of the castle, who is appointed by the mogul to keep thecity under proper subjection, without, however, interfering with thegovernment of it. ] [Footnote 357: Note 2 X, p. 357. The ministry having resolved to senda body of forces to America, to act in conjunction with the provincialtroops raised on that continent, it became necessary that the mutiny actshould 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, shallat all times, and in all places, when they happen to join or act inconjunction with his majesty's British forces, be liable to martiallaw and discipline, in like manner, to all intents and purposes, as theBritish forces are; and shall be subject to the same trial, penalties, and punishment. "] [Footnote 364: Note 2 Y, p. 364. The king, on his side, promised to payto the landgrave, for these succours, eighty crowns banco, by way oflevy-money, for every trooper or dragoon duly armed and mounted, andthirty crowns banco for every foot soldier; the crown to be reckoned atfifty-three sols of Holland, or at four shillings and ninepence threefarthings English money; and also to pay to his serene highness, for theeight thousand men, an annual subsidy of an hundred and fifty thousandcrowns banco, during the four years, to commence from the day of signingthe treaty; which subsidy was to be increased to three hundred thousandcrowns yearly, from the time of requiring the troops, to the time oftheir entering into British pay; and in case of their being dismissed, the said subsidy of three hundred thousand crowns was then to revive andbe continued during the residue of the term: but, if twelve thousandmen were demanded and furnished, the subsidy was then to be increasedin proportion; and in case the king of Great Britain should at any timethink fit to send back these troops before the expiration of the treaty, notice thereof was to be given to his serene highness three monthsbeforehand: one month's pay was to be allowed them for their return, andthey were to be furnished gratis with the necessary transport vessels. ] [Footnote 372: Note 2 Z, p. 372. It is with pleasure we seize thisopportunity of recording an instance of gallantry and patriotism ina British officer, which would have done honour to the character of aRoman tribune. Captain Cunningham, an accomplished young gentleman, whoacted as engineer in second at Minorca, being preferred to a majorityat home, and recalled to his regiment by an express order, had repairedwith his family to Nice in Italy, where he waited for the opportunity ofa ship bound for England, when he received certain intelligence thatthe French armament was destined for the place he had quitted. His lady, whom he tenderly loved, was just delivered, and two of his children weredangerously ill of the small-pox. He recollected that the chief engineerat Minorca was infirm, and indeed disabled by the gout, and that manythings were wanting for the defence of the fortress. His zeal for thehonour and service of his country immediately triumphed over the callsof tenderness and of nature. He expended a considerable sum of moneyin purchasing timber for the platforms, and other necessaries forthe garrison; hired a ship for transporting them thither; and tearinghimself from his wife and children, thus left among strangers in aforeign country, embarked again for Minorca, where he knew he should bein a peculiar manner exposed to all the dangers of a furious siege. In the course of this desperate service he acquitted himself with thatvigilance, skill, and active courage, which he had on divers formeroccasions displayed, until the assault was given to the queen's bastion;when, mixing with the enemy, sword in hand, he was disabled in his rightarm by the shot of a musket and the thrust of a bayonet. His behaviourwas so acceptable to his sovereign, that when he returned to England hewas preferred to the rank of colonel in the Guards. He afterwards actedas chief engineer in the attempts and descents which were made on theFrench coast. Though grievously maimed, he accepted the same office inthe expedition to Guadaloupe, where he died universally regretted. ] [Footnote 378: Note 3 A, p. 378. When the French ambassador returned toLondon, he proposed that orders should be immediately despatched to theEnglish governors in America, with express orders to desist from any newundertaking, and all acts of hostility; but with regard to the lands onthe Ohio, to put, without delay, matters on the same footing in whichthey stood before the late war, that the respective claims of bothnations might be amicably referred to the commissaries at Paris. TheBritish court agreed to the cessation of hostilities, and the discussionof the disputes by the ministers of the two crowns, on condition thatall the possessions in America should be previously put in thesituation prescribed by the treaty of Utrecht, confirmed by that ofAix-la-Chapelle. The French ministry, instead of complying with thiscondition, produced an evasive draft of a preliminary convention, andthis was answered by a counter-proposal. At length the ambassador ofFrance demanded, as preliminary conditions, that Great Britain wouldrenounce all claim to the south coast of the river St. Laurence, andthe lakes that discharge themselves into that river; cede to theFrench twenty leagues of country lying along the river of Fundy, whichdiscovers Acadia, or Nova Scotia; and all the land between the riversOhio and Ouabache. A memorial was afterwards presented on the samesubject, including the affairs of the neutral islands in the WestIndies; but this was amply refuted in another piece, in which theBritish ministry observed, that even at this very opening of thecommission established in Paris, for terminating amicably the disputesin North America, the French invaded Nova Scotia, erected three fortsin the heart of that province, and would have destroyed the Englishsettlement at Halifax, had they not been prevented: that the likehostilities were committed upon his Britannic majesty's subjects on theOhio and Indian lakes, where the governors appointed by the French king, without any shadow of right, prohibited the English from trading; seizedtheir traders by force, and sent them prisoners to France; invaded theterritories of Virginia, attacked a fort that covered its frontier, and, to secure their usurpations, erected, with an armed force, a chain offorts on the lands which they had invaded; that his Britannic majestyhad complained of these hostilities to the court of Versailles, butwithout effect; so that he found himself obliged to provide for thesecurity of his subjects; and as the encroachments made by Francewere hostile, it could never be unlawful, or irreconcile-able with theassurance of his majesty's peaceable disposition, to repel an aggressor;and that the same motive of self-defence had forced him to seize theFrench ships and sailors, in order to deprive that court of the meansof making an invasion, with which their ministers in all the courts ofEurope had menaced England. ] [Footnote 379: Note 3B, p. 379. _To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in hisabsence, to the Commander-in-Chief in his Majesty's garrison ofGibraltar. _ War-office, March 21, 1756. "Sir, --I am commanded toacquaint you, that it is his majesty's pleasure that you receive intoyour garrison lord Robert Bertie's regiment to do duty there; and incase you should apprehend that the French intend to make any attemptupon his majesty's island of Minorca, it is his majesty's pleasure thatyou make a detachment out of the troops of your garrison equal to abattalion, to be commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major; suchlieutenant-colonel and major to be the eldest in your garrison, to beput on board the fleet for the relief of Minorca, as the admiral shallthink expedient, who is to carry them to the said island. I am, yourhumble servant, B. " _To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-Chiefat Gibraltar. _ War-office, March 26, 1756. "Sir, --I am commanded toacquaint you, that it is his majesty's pleasure, in case the island ofMinorca should be in any likelihood of being attacked, that you makea detachment from the troops in your garrison equal to a battalion, commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major, for the relief of thatplace, 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-chiefin his Majesty's garrison of Gibraltar. War-office, April 1, 1756. "Sir, --It is his majesty's pleasure, that you receive into yourgarrrison the women and children belonging to lord Robert Bertie'sregiment. " _To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or the Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. _War-office, May 12, 1756. "Sir, --I wrote to you by general Steward: ifthat order is not complied with, then you are now to make a detachmentof seven hundred men out of your own regiment and Guise's; and alsoanother detachment out of Pulteney's and Panmure's regiments, and sendthem on board the fleet for the relief of Mahon. But if that order hasbeen complied with, then you are to make only one detachment of sevenhundred men, to be commanded by another lieutenant-colonel and major, and to send it to Mahon; and you are also to detain all such emptyvessels as shall come into your harbour, and keep them in readiness forany further transportation of troops. I have also his royal highnessthe duke of Cumberland's commands, to desire that you will keep yourgarrison as alert as possible during this critical time, and give suchother assistance as may be in your power for the relief of Minorca;taking care, however, not to fatigue or endanger your own garrison. "] [Footnote 387: Note 3 C, p. 387. His majesty seems to have abated ofthis respect in the sequel, if we may believe the assertions of hisPolish majesty's queen and the court of Vienna, who affirmed, thatsentinels were posted within the palace where the queen and royal familyresided; as also at the door of the secret cabinet, where the papersrelating to foreign transactions were deposited. The keys of thiscabinet were seized, and all the writings demanded. The whole Saxonministry were discharged from their respective employments, and a newcommission was established by the king of Prussia for the administrationof affairs in general. When the queen entreated this prince to removethe sentinels posted within the palace and contiguous passages, agreeably to his assurances that all due respect should be observedtowards the royal family, the king ordered the guards to be doubled, andsent an officer to demand of her majesty the keys of the secret cabinet. The queen obtained this officer's consent that the doors should besealed up, but afterwards he returned with orders to break them open:then her majesty, placing herself before the door, said, she trusted somuch to the promise of the king of Prussia, that she could not believehe had given such orders. The officer declaring that his orders werepositive, and that he durst not disobey them, she continued in the sameplace, declaring, that if violence was to be used, he must begin withher. The officer returning to acquaint the king with what had passed, her majesty conjured the ministers of Prussia and England to remindhis majesty of his promise; but her representations had no effect:the officer returned with fresh orders to use force, in spite of theopposition she might make against it in person. The queen, findingherself in danger of her life, at length withdrew: the doors wereforced, the chests broke open, and all the papers seized. ] [Footnote 388: Note 3 D, p. 388. The letter was to the followingeffect:--"Veldt-Mareschal Count Rutowski, It is not without extremesorrow I understand the deplorable situation, which a chain ofmisfortunes has reserved for you, the rest of my generals, and my wholearmy; but we must acquiesce in the dispensations of Providence, andconsole ourselves with the rectitude of our sentiments and intentions. They would force me, it seems, as you gave me to understand bymajor-general the baron de Dyherrn, to submit to conditions the moresevere, in proportion as the circumstances become more necessitous. Icannot hear them mentioned. I am a free monarch: such I will live; suchI will die; and I will both live and die with honour. The fate ofmy army I leave wholly to your discretion. Let your council of wardetermine whether you must surrender prisoners of war, fall by thesword, or die by famine. May your resolutions, if possible, be conductedby 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 haveyou, Mr. Mareschal, in his holy keeping. --Given at Koningstein, the 14thof October, 1756. "AUGUSTUS, Kex. ""To the Veldt-Mareschal the Count Rutowski. " [Footnote 392: Note 3 E, p. 392. Rear-admiral Knowles being, in themonth of December, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, tried atDeptford, before a court-martial, for his behaviour in and relating toan action which happened on the first day of October in the precedingyear, between a British squadron under his command, and a squadron ofSpain, the court was unanimously of opinion, that the said Knowles, while he was standing for the enemy, might, by a different dispositionof his squadron, have begun the attack with six ships as early in theday as four of them were engaged; and that, therefore, by his neglectingso to do, he gave the enemy a manifest advantage; that the said Knowlesremained on board the ship Cornwall with his flag, after she wasdisabled from continuing the action, though he might, upon her beingdisabled, have shifted his flag on board another ship; and the courtwere unanimously of opinion he ought to have done so, in order to haveconducted and directed, during the whole action, the motions of thesquadron intrusted to his care and conduct. Upon consideration of thewhole conduct of the said Knowles, relating to that action, the courtdid unanimously agree that he fell under part of the fourteenth articleof the articles of war, namely, the word negligence, and no other; andalso under the twenty-third article. --The court, therefore, unanimouslyadjudged, that he should be reprimanded for not bringing up the squadronin closer order than he did, and not beginning the attack with as greatforce as he might have done; and also for not shifting his flag, uponthe Cornwall's being disabled. ] [Footnote 395: Note 3 F, p. 395. It was enacted, that persons pawning, exchanging, or disposing of goods, without leave of the owner, shouldsuffer in the penalty of twenty shillings; and, on non-payment, becommitted for fourteen days to hard labour; afterwards, if themoney could not be then paid, to be whipped publicly in the house ofcorrection, or such other place as the justice of the peace shouldappoint, on publication of the prosecutor; that every pawnbroker shouldmake entry of the person's name and place of abode who pledges any goodswith him; and the pledger, if he require it, should have a duplicate ofthat entry; that a pawnbroker receiving linen or apparel intrusted toothers to be washed or mended, should forfeit double the sum lent uponit, and restore the goods; that upon oath of any person whose goods areunlawfully pawned or exchanged, the justice should issue a warrant tosearch the suspected person's house; and upon refusal of admittance theofficer might break open the door; that goods pawned for any sum notexceeding ten pounds might be recovered within two years, the ownermaking oath of the pawning, and tendering the principal, interest, and charges; that goods remaining unredeemed for two years should beforfeited and sold, the overplus to be accounted for to the owner ondemand. ] [Footnote 396: Note 3 G, p. 395. It likewise imported, that allcontracts or agreements made between clothiers and weavers in respect towages, should, from and after the first of May, in the year one thousandseven hundred and fifty-seven, be valid, notwithstanding any rateestablished, or to be established; but that these contracts oragreements should extend only to the actual prices or rates ofworkmanship or wages, and not to the payment thereof in any other mannerthan in money; and that if any clothier should refuse or neglect to paythe weaver the wages or price agreed on, in money, within two days afterthe work should be performed and delivered, the same being demanded, heshould forfeit forty shillings for every such offence. ] [Footnote 401: Note 3 H, p. 401. Admiral F..... S's _reasons for notsigning the warrant for admiral Byng's execution. _ "It may be thought great presumption in me to differ from so greatauthority as that of the twelve judges; but when a man is called uponto sign his name to an act which is to give authority to the sheddingof blood, he ought to be guided by his own conscience, and not by theopinions of other men. "In the case before us, it is not the merit of admiral Byng that Iconsider; whether he deserves death or not, is not a question for me todecide; but whether or not his life can be taken away by the sentencepronounced on him by the court-martial, and after having so clearlyexplained their motives for pronouncing such a sentence, is the pointwhich alone has employed my serious consideration. "The twelfth article of war, on which admiral Byng's sentence isgrounded, says (according to my understanding of its meaning), 'Thatevery person, who, in time of action, shall withdraw, keep back, or notcome into fight, or do his utmost, &c. Through motives of cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall suffer death. ' The court-martialdoes, in express words, acquit admiral Byng of cowardice anddisaffection, and does not name the word negligence. Admiral Byng doesnot, as I conceive, fall under the letter or description of the twelftharticle of war. It may be said that negligence is implied, thoughthe word is not mentioned, otherwise the court-martial would not havebrought his offence under the twelfth article, having acquitted himof cowardice and disaffection. But it must be acknowledged that thenegligence implied cannot be wilful negligence; for wilful negligence inadmiral Byng's situation, must have proceeded either from cowardiceor disaffection, and he is expressly acquitted of both these crimes;besides, these crimes, which are implied only and not named, may indeedjustify suspicion and private opinion, but cannot satisfy the consciencein case of blood. "Admiral Byng's fate was referred to a court-martial, his life and deathwere left to their opinions. The court-martial condemn him to death, because, as they expressly say, they were under a necessity of doingso by reason of the letter of the law, the severity of which theycomplained of, because it admits of no mitigation. The court-martialexpressly say, that for the sake of their consciences, as well asin justice to the prisoner, they most earnestly recommend him tohis majesty for mercy; it is evident, then, that in the opinions andconsciences of the judges he was not deserving of death. "The question then is, shall the opinions or necessities of thecourt-martial determine admiral Byng's fate? If it should be the latter, he will be executed contrary to the intentions and meaning of hisjudges; if the former, his life is not forfeited. His judges declare himnot 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 takenaway by such a sentence? I would not willingly be misunderstood, andhave it believed that I judge admiral Byng's deserts; that was thebusiness of a court-martial, and it is my duty only to act according tomy conscience; which, after deliberate consideration, assisted by thebest light a poor understanding can afford it, remains still in doubt, and therefore I cannot consent to sign a warrant whereby the sentenceof the court-martial may be carried into execution; for I cannot helpthinking, that however criminal admiral Byng may be, his life is notforfeited by that sentence. I do not mean to find fault with other men'sopinions; all I endeavour at is, to give reasons for my own; and all Idesire or wish is, that I may not be misunderstood; I do not pretend tojudge admiral Byng's deserts, nor to give any opinion on the proprietyof the act. "Signed, 6th Feb. 1757, at the Admiralty, " J. F..... S. "] [Footnote 419: 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 hemastered a battery, but could not hold it. The enemy had the advantageof a numerous and well-served artillery. It did honour to Lichtenstein, who had the direction. Only the Prussian army can dispute it withhim. My infantry were too few. All my cavalry were present, and idlespectators, excepting a bold push by my household troops, and somedragoons. Ferdinand attacked without powder; the enemy, in return, werenot sparing of theirs. They had the advantage of a rising ground, ofintrenchments, and of a prodigious artillery. Several of my regimentswere repulsed by their musketry. Henry performed wonders. I tremble formy worthy brothers; they are too brave. Fortune turned her back on methis day. I ought to have expected it; she is a female, and I am nogallant. In fact, I ought to have had more infantry. Success, my dearlord, often occasions destructive confidence. Twenty-four battalionswere not sufficient to dislodge sixty thousand men from an advantageouspost. Another time we will do better. What say you of this league, whichhas only the marquis of Brandenburgh for its object? The great electorwould be surprised to see his grandson at war with the Russians, the Austrians, almost all Germany, and an hundred thousand Frenchauxiliaries. I know not whether it would be disgrace in me to submit, but I am sure there will be no glory in vanquishing me. "] [Footnote 422: Note 3 K, p. 422. This remarkable capitulation, whichwe shall give here at full length, on account of the disputes that roseshortly 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 thecountries of Bremen and Verden, to which he has always granted hisspecial protection; and being desirous, by preventing those countriesfrom being any longer the theatre of war, to spare also the effusionof blood in the armies which are ready to dispute the possessionthereof--hath employed his mediation by the ministry of the count deLynar. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland, general of the armyof the allies, on the one part, and his excellency the mareschal dukede Richelieu, general of the king of France's forces in Germany, on theother, have, in consideration of the intervention of his Danish majesty, respectively engaged their word of honour to the count de Lynar, toabide by the convention hereafter stipulated; and he, the count deLynar, correspondently to the magnanimity of the king his master'sintention, obliges himself to procure the guarantee mentioned in thepresent convention; so that it shall be sent to him, with his fullpowers, which there was no time to make out in the circumstances whichhurried his departure. Article I. Hostilities shall cease on both sides within twenty-fourhours, or sooner, if possible. Orders for this purpose shall beimmediately 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 laLippe Bucke-bourg, shall be sent home; and as it is necessary to settleparticularly their march to their respective countries, a generalofficer of each nation shall be sent from the army of the allies, withwhom shall be settled the route of those troops, the divisions theyshall march in, their subsistence on their march, and their passports tobe granted them by his excellency the duke de Richelieu to go to theirown countries, where they shall be placed and distributed as shall beagreed upon between the court of France and their respective sovereigns. III. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland obliges himself to passthe Elbe, with such part of his army as he shall not be able to placein the city of Stade; that the part of his forces which shall enterinto garrison in the said city, and which it is supposed may amountto between four and six thousand men, shall remain there under theguarantee of his majesty the king of Denmark, without committing any actof hostility; nor, on the other hand, shall they be exposed to any ofthe French troops. In consequence thereof, commissaries, named on eachside, shall agree upon the limits to be fixed round that place, for theconvenieucy of the garrison; which limits shall not extend beyond halfa league or a league from the place, according to the nature ofthe ground or circumstances, which shall be fairly settled by thecommissaries. The rest of the Hanoverian army shall go and take quartersin the country beyond the Elbe; and, to facilitate the march of thosetroops, his excellency the duke de Richelieu shall concert with ageneral officer, sent from the Hanoverian army, the route they shalltake; obliging himself to give the necessary passports and securityfor the free passage of them and their baggage, to the places of theirdestination; his royal highness the duke of Cumberland reservingto himself the liberty of negotiating between the two courts for anextension of those quarters. As to the French troops, they shall remainin the rest of the duchies of Bremen and Verden, till the definitivereconciliation 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, shallretire under Stade in the space of eight-and-forty hours. The Frencharmy shall not pass the river Oste, in the duchy of Bremen, till thelimits be regulated. It shall, besides, keep all the posts and countriesof which it is in possession; and, not to retard the regulation of thelimits between the armies, commissaries shall be nominated and sent onthe 10th instant to Bremen-worden by his royal highness the duke ofCumberland, and his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, toregulate, as well the limits to be assigned to the French army, as thosethat are to be observed by the garrison at Stade, according to Art. III. V. All the aforesaid articles shall be faithfully executed, accordingto their form and tenor, and under the faith of his majesty the king ofDenmark's guarantee, which the count de Lynar, his minister, engages toprocure. 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 deRichelieu, that the allied troops of his royal highness the duke ofCumberland shall be sent back to their respective countries, accordingto the form mentioned in the second article; and that, as to theirseparation and distribution in the country, it shall be regulatedbetween the courts, those troops not being considered as prisoners ofwar. II. It having been represented that the country of Lunenberg cannotaccommodate more than fifteen battalions and six squadrons, and that thecity of Stade cannot absolutely contain the garrison of six thousand menallotted to it, his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, beingpressed by M. De Lynar, who supported this representation by theguarantee of his Danish majesty, gives his consent; and his royalhighness the duke of Cumberland engages to cause fifteen battalions andsix squadrons to pass the Elbe, and the whole body of hunters, and theremaining ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall be placedin the town of Stade, and the places nearest to it that are within theline, which shall be marked by posts from the mouth of the Liche in theElbe, to the mouth of the Elmerbeck in the river Oste; provided always, that the said ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall bequartered there as they are at the time of signing this convention, andshall not be recruited under any pretext, or augmented in any case; andthis clause is particularly guaranteed by the count de Lynar in the nameof his Danish majesty. III. Upon the representation of his royal highness the duke ofCumberland, that the army and the detached corps cannot both retireunder Stade in eight-and-forty hours, agreeable to the convention, hisexcellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu hath signified, that he willgrant them proper time, provided the corps encamped at Buck Schantz, aswell as the army encamped at Bremen-worden, begin their inarch toretire in four-and-twenty hours after signing the convention. The timenecessary for other arrangements, and the execution of thearticles concerning the respective limits, shall be settled betweenlieutenant-general Sporcken, and the marquis de Villemar, firstlieutenant-general of the king's army. Done, &c] [Footnote 433: Note 3 L, p. 433. The letter, which was written inFrench, we have translated for the reader's satisfaction:--"I aminformed that the design of a treaty of neutrality for the electorate ofHanover is not yet laid aside. Is it possible that your majesty canhave so little fortitude and constancy, as to be dispirited by a smallreverse 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 thatnow impend over my head. I should never have abandoned the alliance ofFrance, but for your flattering assurances. I do not now repent of thetreaty I have concluded with your majesty: but I expect you will notingloriously leave me at the mercy of my enemies, after having broughtupon me all the force of Europe. I depend upon your adhering to yourrepeated engagements of the twenty-sixth of last month, and that youwill listen to no treaty in which I am not comprehended. "] [Footnote 438: Note 3 M, p. 438. It was enacted, That every personsubscribing for five hundred pounds, should be entitled to four hundredand fifty in annuities, and fifty pounds in lottery tickets, and so inproportion for a greater or lesser sum; that the lottery shouldconsist of tickets of the value of ten pounds each, in a proportion notexceeding eight blanks to a prize; the blanks to be of the value of sixpounds each; the blanks and prizes to bear an interest after the rateof three pounds per cent. , to commence from the first day of January, inthe year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; and that the sum offour millions five hundred thousand pounds, to be raised by annuities, should bear an interest after the rate of three pounds ten shillingspercent, from the fifth day of July in the present year; which annuitiesshould stand reduced to three pounds per cent, after the expirationof twenty-four years, and afterwards he redeemable in the whole, or inpart, by sums not less than five hundred thousand pounds, at onetime: six months' notice having been first given of such paymentsrespectively; that any subscriber might, on or before the twenty-ninthday of April, make a deposit of ten pounds per cent, on such sums as heshould choose to subscribe towards raising these five millions, with thecashiers of the bank, as a security for his future payments on the daysappointed for that purpose; that the several sums so received by thecashiers should be paid into the receipt of the exchequer, to be appliedfrom time to time to such services as should then have been voted by thehouse of commons in this session of parliament, and not otherwise;that any subscriber, paying the whole or any part of his subscriptionprevious to the clays appointed for the respective payments, should beallowed a discount at the rate of three per cent, from the days of suchrespective payments to the respective times on which such payments weredirected to be made, and that all persons who should make their fullpayments on the said lottery, should receive their tickets as soon asthey could be conveniently made out. ] [Footnote 440: Note 3 N, p. 440. Among those rendered perpetual, wefind an act of the 13th and 14th of Charles II. For preventing theft andrapine. An act of the 9th of George I. For punishing persons going armedin disguise. A clause in the act of the 6th of George II. To prevent thebreaking down the bank of any river; and another clause in the said act, to prevent the treacherous cutting of hop-binds. Several clauses in anact of the 10th of George II. For punishing persons setting on fire anymine, &c. The temporary part of the act of the 20th of George II. Fortaking away the hereditary jurisdictions of Scotland, relating to thepower of appealing to circuit courts. Those continued were, --1. An actof the 12th of George II. For granting liberty to carry sugar, &c, untilthe twenty-ninth of September, in the year one thousand seven hundredand sixty-four, and to the end of next session of parliament. 2. An actof the 5th of George II. To prevent frauds by bankrupts, &c. , for thesame period. 3. An act of the 8th of George II. For encouraging theimportation of naval stores, &c, for the same period. 4. An act of the19th of George II. For preventing frauds in the admeasurement of coals, &c. Until June 24, 1759; and to this was added a perpetual clause forpreventing the stealing or destroying of madder roots. 5. An act of the9th George II. For encouraging the manufacture of British sail-clothuntil the twenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred andsixty-four. 6. An act of the 4th of George II. For granting an allowanceupon British-made gunpowder, for the same period. 7, An act of the 4thof George II. For encouraging the trade of the sugar colonies, until thetwenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. And8, so much of the act of the 15th and 16th of George II. To empower theimporters of rum, &c, as relates to landing it before the payment ofduties, until the 29th of September, one thousand seven hundred andsixty-four. ] [Footnote 461: Note 3 O, p. 461. _Translation of the Letter written bythe Duke of Brunswick to his brother Prince Ferdinand. _ "Sir, --I knowyou too well to doubt that the situation in which we stand at present, with respect to each other, gives you abundance of uneasiness; norwill you doubt that it gives me equal concern. Indeed, it afflicts megreatly. Meanwhile I could never, my dearest brother, have believed thatyou would be the person who should carry away from me my eldest son. I am exceedingly mortified to find myself under the hard necessity oftelling you that this step is contrary to the law of nations, and theconstitution of the empire; and that, if you persist in it, you willdisgrace your family, and bring a stain upon your country, which youpretend to serve. The hereditary prince, my son, was at Hamburgh bymy order, and you have carried him to Stade. Could he distrust hisuncle, --an uncle who hath done so much honour to his family? Could hebelieve that this uncle would deprive him of liberty, a liberty neverrefused 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 amoment that my troops, among whom he served, were to have staid with theHanoverians, would it not have been still in my power to give an officerleave of absence, or even leave to resign his commission? And would youhinder your brother, the head of your family, and of such a family asours, to exercise this right with regard to a son, who is the hereditaryprince, of whose rights and prerogatives you cannot be ignorant? It isimpossible you could have conceived such designs, without the suggestionof others. Those who did suggest them have trampled on the rights ofnature, of nations, and of the princes of Germany; they have induced youto 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 yourbrother lay his just complaints against you before the whole empire, andall Europe? Are not your proceedings without example? What is Germanybecome? What are its princes become, and our house in particular? Is itthe interest of the two kings, the cause of your country, and my causethat you pretend to support?--I repeat it, brother, that this designcould not have been framed by you. I again command my son to pursue hisjourney and I cannot conceive you will give the least obstruction; ifyou should (which I pray God avert), I solemnly declare that I will notbe constrained by such measures, nor shall I ever forget what I owe tomyself. As to my troops, you may see what I have written on that headto the Hanoverian ministry. The duke of Cumberland, by the conventionof Closter-Seven, dismissed them, and sent them home; the said ministrygave me notice of this convention, as a treaty by which I was bound. Themarch 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 Inot only accepted it upon their word, but have also, in conformity withtheir instructions, negotiated at Versailles, and at Vienna. After allthese steps, they would have me contradict myself, break my word, andentirely ruin my estate, as well as my honour. Did you ever knowyour brother guilty of such things? True it is, I have, as you say, sacrificed my all; or rather, I have been sacrificed. The only thingleft me is my honour; and in the unhappy contrast of our situations, Ilament 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 listento it: I cannot recede from my promise. My troops, therefore, mustreturn home, agreeably to what the duke of Cumberland and the Hanoverianministry stipulated with regard to me in the strongest manner. I amafraid that the true circumstances of things are concealed from you. Notto detain your express too long, I shall send you, by the post, copiesof all I have written to the Hanoverian ministry. It will grieve yourhonest heart to read it. I am, with a heart almost broken, yet full oftenderness for you, your, &c. "Blanckenbourg, Nov. 27, 1757. "] [Footnote 467: Note 3 P, p. 467. A detail of the cruelties committed bythose barbarians cannot be read without horror. They not only burneda great number of villages, but they ravished, rifled, murdered, andmutilated the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, withoutany other provocation or incitement than brutal lust and wantonness ofbarbarity. They even violated the sepulchres of the dead, which havebeen held sacred among the most savage nations. At Camin and Breckholtzthey forced open the graves and sepulchral vaults, and stripped thebodies of generals Schlaberndorf and Ruitz, which had been depositedthere. But the collected force of their vengeance was discharged againstCustrin, the capital of the New Marche of Brandenburgh, situated atthe conflux of the Warta and the Oder, about fifteen English miles fromFranckfort. The particulars of the disaster that befel this city, areparticularly related in the following extracts from a letter written byan inhabitant and eye-witness. "On the thirteenth of August, about three o'clock in the afternoon, asudden report was spread that a body of Russian hussars and cossacksappeared in sight of the little suburb. All the people were immediatelyin motion, and the whole city was filled with terror, especially as wewere certainly informed that the whole Russian army was advancing fromMeseric and Konigswalda, by the way of Landsberg. A reinforcement wasimmediately sent to our piquet-guard, in the suburb, amounting, by thisjunction, to three hundred men, who were soon attacked by the enemy, andthe skirmish lasted from four till seven o'clock in the evening. During this dispute, we could plainly perceive, from our rampartsand church-steeple, several persons of distinction mounted on Englishhorses, reconnoitring our fortification through perspective glasses. They retired, however, when our cannon began to fire: then ourpiquet took possession of their former post in the suburb; and thereinforcement we had sent from the city returned, after having brokendown the bridge over the Oder. Next day count Dohna, who commanded thearmy near Franckfort, sent in a reinforcement of four battalions, ten squadrons, and a small body of hussars, under the command oflieutenant-general Scherlemmer. The hussars and a body of dragoons wereadded to the piquet of the little suburb; the four battalions pitchedtheir tents on the Anger, between the suburbs and the fortification; andthe rest of the dragoons remained in the field to cover the long suburb. General Scherlemmer, attended by our governor, colonel Schuck, went witha small party to observe the enemy; but were obliged to retire, and werepursued by the cossacks to the walls of the city. Between four and fiveo'clock next morning the poor inhabitants were roused from their sleepby the noise of the cannon, intermingled with the dismal shrieks andhideous yellings of the cossacks belonging to the Russian army. Alarmedat this horrid noise, I ascended the church-steeple, from whence Ibeheld the whole plain, extending from the little suburb to the forest, covered with the enemy's troops, and our light horse, supported by theinfantry, engaged in different places with their irregulars. At eight Idescried a body of the enemy's infantry, whose van consisted of four orfive thousand men, advancing towards the vineyard, in the neighbourhoodof which they had raised occasional batteries in the preceding-evening;from these they now played on our piquet-guard and hussars, who wereobliged to retire. They then fired, _en ricochet_, on the tents andbaggage of the four battalions encamped on the Anger, who were alsocompelled to retreat. Having thus cleared the environs, they threw intothe city such a number of bombs and red-hot bullets, that by nine in themorning it was set on fire in three different places; and, the streetsbeing-narrow, it burned with such fury that all our endeavours toextinguish it proved ineffectual. At this time the whole atmosphereappeared like a shower of fiery rain and hail; and the miserableinhabitants thought of nothing but saving their lives by runninginto the open fields. The whole place was filled with terror andconsternation, and resounded with the shrieks of women and children, who ran about in the utmost distraction, exposed to the shot andbomb-shells, which, bursting, tore in pieces every thing that stood intheir way. As I led my wife, with a young child in her arms, anddrove the rest of my children and servants half naked before me, thoseinstruments of death and devastation fell about us like hail; but, by the mercy of God, we all escaped unhurt. Nothing could be moremelancholy and affecting than a sight of the wretched people flying incrowds, and leaving their all behind, while they rent the sky withtheir lamentations. Many women of distinction I saw without shoes andstockings, and almost without clothes, who had been roused from theirbeds, and ran out naked into the streets. When my family had reached theopen plain, I endeavoured to return, and save some of my effects; but Icould not force my way through a multitude of people, thronging out atthe gate, some sick and bed-ridden persons being carried on horsebackand in carriages, and others conveyed on the backs of their friends, through a most dreadful scene of horror and desolation. A great numberof families from the open country, and the defenceless towns in Prussiaand Pomerania, had come hither for shelter with their most valuableeffects, when the Russians first entered the king's territories. These, as well as the inhabitants, are all ruined; and many, who a few days agopossessed considerable wealth, are now reduced to the utmost indigence. The neighbouring-towns and villages were soon crowded with the people ofCustrin; the roads were filled with objects of misery; and nothing wasseen 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 greatmagazine, the governor's house, the church, the palace, the store andartillery-houses; in a word, the old and new towns, the suburbs, and allthe bridges, were reduced to ashes; nay, after the ashes were destroyed, the piles and sterlings were burned to the water's edge. The writingsof all the colleges, together with the archives of the country, weretotally consumed, together with a prodigious magazine of corn and flour, valued at four millions of crowns. The cannon in the arsenal were allmelted; and the loaded bombs and cartridges, with a large quantity ofgunpowder, went off at once with a most horrid explosion. A great numberof the inhabitants are missing, supposed to have perished in the flames, or under the ruins of the houses, or to have been suffocated in thesubterraneous vaults and caverns, to which they had fled for safety. Nothing could be more inhuman, or contrary to the practice of a generousenemy, than such vengeance wreaked upon the innocent inhabitants; forthe Russians did not begin to batter the fortifications until all therest of the place was destroyed. In the course of this campaign, theRussian cossacks are said to have plundered and burned fourteenlarge towns and two hundred villages, and wantonly butchered above twothousand defenceless women and children. Such monsters of barbarityought to be excluded from all the privileges of human nature, and hunteddown as wild beasts without pity or cessation. What infamy ought thesepowers to incur, who employ and encourage such ruthless barbarians?] [Footnote 468: Note 3 Q, p. 468. As very little notice was taken, in thedetail published by authority, of any part which this great man acted inthe battle of Hochkirchen, and a report was industriously circulatedin this kingdom, that he was surprised in his tent, naked, and halfasleep, --we think it the duty of a candid historian to vindicate hismemory and reputation from the foul aspersion thrown by the perfidiousand illiberal hand of envious malice, or else contrived to screen someother character from the imputation of misconduct. The task we areenabled to perform by a gentleman of candour and undoubted credit, who learned the following particulars at Berlin from a person that waseye-witness of the whole transaction. Field-mareschal Keith, who arrivedin the camp the very day that preceded the battle, disapproved of thesituation of the Prussian army, and remonstrated to the king on thatsubject. In consequence of his advice, a certain general was sent with adetachment to take possession of the heights that commanded the villageof Hochkirchcn; but by some fatality he miscarried. Mareschal Keith wasnot in any tent, but lodged with prince Francis of Brunswick, in a housebelonging 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 hadtaken possession of the hill which the Prussian officer was sent tooccupy, and this they fortified with cannon; then they made themselvesmasters of the village in which the free companies of Auginelli had beenposted. Mareschal Keith immediately conceived the design of the Austriangeneral, and knowing the importance of this place, thither directedall his efforts. He in person led on the troops to the attack of thevillage, from whence he drove the enemy; but being overpowered bynumbers continually pouring down from the hills, he was obliged toretire in his turn. He rallied his men, returned to the charge, and regained possession of the place; being again repulsed by freshreinforcements of the enemy, he made another effort, entered the villagea third time, and finding it untenable, ordered it to be set on fire. Thus he kept the Austrians at bay, and maintained a desperate conflictagainst the flower of the Austrian army, from four in the morning tillnine, when the Prussians were formed, and began to file off in theirretreat. During the whole dispute he rallied the troops in person, charged at their head, and exposed his life in the hottest of a dreadfulfire, like a private captain of grenadiers. He found it necessary toexert himself in this manner, the better to remove the bad effects ofthe confusion that prevailed, and in order to inspirit the troops totheir utmost exertion by his voice, presence, and example. Even whendangerously wounded, at eight in the morning, he refused to quit thefield; but continued to signalize himself in the midst of the carnageuntil nine, when he received a second shot in his breast, and fellspeechless into the arms of Mr. Tibay, an English volunteer, who hadattended him during the whole campaign. This gentleman, who was likewisewounded, applied to a Prussian officer for a file of men to remove themareschal, being uncertain whether he was entirely deprived of life. Hisrequest was granted; but the soldiers, in advancing to the spot, werecountermanded by another officer. He afterwards spoke on the samesubject to one of the Prussian generals, a German prince, as he chancedto pass on horseback: when Mr. Tibay told him the field-mareschal waslying wounded on the field, he asked if his wounds were mortal; andthe other answering he was afraid they were, the prince shrugged up hisshoulders, and rode off without further question. The body of thisgreat officer, being thus shamefully abandoned, was soon stripped by theAustrian stragglers, and lay exposed and undistinguished on the fieldof battle. In this situation it was perceived by count Lasci, son of thegeneral of that name, with whom mareschal Keith had served in Russia. This young count had been the mareschal's pupil, and revered him as hismilitary father, though employed in the Austrian service. He recognisedthe body by the large scar of a dangerous wound, which general Keithhad received in his thigh at the siege of Oczakow, and could not helpbursting into tears to see his honoured master thus extended at hisfeet, a naked, lifeless, and deserted corpse. He forthwith causedhis body to be covered and interred. It was afterwards taken up, anddecently buried by the curate of Hochkirchen; and finally removed toBerlin, by order of the king of Prussia, who bestowed upon it thosefuneral honours that were due to the dignified rank and transcendentmerit of the deceased; merit so universally acknowledged, that even theSaxons lamented him as their best friend and patron, who protectedthem from violence and outrage, even while he acted a principal part insubjecting them to the dominion of his sovereign. [Footnote 479: Note 3 R, p. 479. Among other transactions thatdistinguish the history of Great Britain, scarce a year glides awaywithout producing some incident that strongly marks the singularcharacter of the English nation. A very extraordinary instance of thisnature, relating to the late duke of Marlborough, we shall record amongthe events of this year, although it derived its origin from thelatter end of the last, and cannot be properly enumerated among thoseoccurrences that appertain to general history. Towards the end ofNovember, 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, moreespecially to persons in my state of mind, I shall proceed immediatelyto acquaint you with the motive and end of addressing this epistle toyou, which is equally interesting to us both. You are to know, then, that my present situation in life is such, that I should preferannihilation to a continuance in it. Desperate diseases requiredesperate remedies; and you are the man I have pitched upon, either tomake me or unmake yourself. As I never had the honour to live among thegreat, the tenor of my proposals will not be very courtly; but let thatbe 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 methodof destroying another without exposing my own life: that I haveaccomplished, and defy the law. Now, for the application of it. I amdesperate, and must be provided for. You have it in your power: it ismy business to make it your inclination to serve me, which you mustdetermine to comply with, by procuring me a genteel support for my life, or your own will be at a period before this session of parliamentis over. I have more motives than one for singling you out upon thisoccasion; and I give you this fair warning, because the means I shallmake use of are too fatal to be eluded by the power of physic. If youthink this of any consequence, you will not fail to meet the author onSunday next, at ten in the morning, or on Monday (if the weather shouldbe rainy on Sunday), near the first tree beyond the stile in Hyde-Park, in the foot-walk to Kensington. Secrecy and compliance may preserve youfrom a double danger of this sort, as there is a certain part of theworld 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. Mysafety is insured by my silence, for confession only can condemn me. " The duke, in compliance with this strange remonstrance, appeared at thetime and place appointed, on horseback and alone, with pistols beforehim, and the star of his order displayed, that he might be the moreeasily known. He had likewise taken the precaution of engaging a friendto attend in the Park, at such a distance, however, as scarce to beobservable. He continued some time on the spot without seeing any personhe could suspect of having wrote the letter, and then rode away: butchancing to turn his head when he reached Hyde-Park-Corner, he perceiveda man standing at the bridge, and looking at the water, within twentyyards of the tree which was described in the letter. He forthwithrode back at a gentle pace, and, passing by the person, expected to beaddressed: 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 aday 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 asto the time and place of meeting on Sunday last, though it was owing toyou it answered no purpose. The pageantry of being armed, and theensign of your order, were useless and too conspicuous. You neededno attendant, the place was not calculated for mischief, nor was anyintended. If you walk in the west aisle of Westminster Abbey, towardseleven o'clock on Sunday next, your sagacity will point the person whomyou 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 placeof abode. According to which direction you will please to send two orthree hundred pound bank-notes the next day by the penny post. Exertnot your curiosity too early; it is in your power to make me gratefulon certain terms. I have friends who are faithful, but they do not barkbefore they bite. --"I am, &c, F. " The duke, determining if possible to unveil this mystery, repaired tothe Abbey at the time prescribed; and, after having walked up and downfor five or six minutes, saw the very same person to whom he hadspoken in Hyde-Park, enter the Abbey with another man of a creditableappearance. This last, after they had viewed some of the monuments, wentinto the choir, and the other turning back advanced towards the duke, who, accosting him, asked him if he had anything to say to him, " orany commands for him? He replied, "No, my lord. I have not. "--"Sure youhave, " said the duke; but he persisted in his denial. Then the duke, leaving him, took several turns in the aisle, while the stranger walkedon the other side. But nothing further passed between them; and althoughthe duke had provided several persons in disguise to apprehend thedelinquent, he forebore giving the signal, that, notwithstandingappearances, he might run no risk of injuring an innocent person. Notlong after this second disappointment he received a third letter, to thefollowing effect: "My Lord, --I am fully convinced you had a companion on Sunday: Iinterpret it as owing to the weakness of human nature; but suchproceeding is far from being ingenuous, and may produce bad effects, whilst it is impossible to answer the end proposed. You will see meagain 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; youwill likewise give your honour, upon meeting, that no part of theconversation shall transpire. These and the former terms complied withensure your safety; my revenge, in case of non-compliance (or any schemeto expose me), will be slower, but not less sure; and strong suspicionthe utmost that can possibly ensue upon it, while the chances would betenfold 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. Thefamily 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 inthe Abbey; nevertheless, he saw him not again, nor did he hear anythingfurther of the affair for two months, at the expiration of which thepost brought him the following letter: "May it please your Grace, --I have reason to believe, that the sonof one Barnard, a surveyor, in Abingdon-buildings, Westminster, isacquainted with some secrets that nearly concern your safety: his fatheris now out of town, which will give you an opportunity of questioninghim more privately; it would be useless to your grace, as well asdangerous to me, to appear more publicly in this affair. "Your sincerefriend, "ANONYMOUS. "He frequently goes to Storey's-gate coffee-house. " In about a week after this intimation was received, the duke sent aperson to the coffee-house, to inquire for Mr. Barnard, and tell him hewould be glad to speak to him. The message was delivered, and Barnarddeclared he would wait upon his grace next Thursday, at half an hourafter ten in the morning. He was punctual to his appointment, and nosooner appeared than the duke recognised him to be the person to whomhe had spoke in the Park and the Abbey. Having conducted him into anapartment, and shut the door, he asked, as before, if he had anythingto communicate: and was answered, as formerly, in the negative. Then theduke repeated every circumstance of this strange transaction; to whichBarnard listened with attention and surprise, yet without exhibiting anymarks of conscious guilt or confusion. The duke observing that it wasmatter of astonishment to see letters of such import written with thecorrectness of a scholar; the other replied, that a man might be verypoor 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'sabsence, he said, "If is very odd, my father was then out of town. " Anexpression the more remarkable, as the letter was without date, and hecould not, as an innocent man, be supposed to know at what time it waswritten. The duke having made him acquainted with the particulars, toldhim, that if he was innocent he ought to use his endeavours-to detectthe writer of the letters, especially of the last, in which he wasexpressely named. To this admonition he returned no other answer buta smile, and then withdrew. --He was afterwards taken into custody, andtried at the Old Bailey, for sending a threatening letter, contrary tothe statute; but no evidence could be found to prove the letters were ofhis handwriting: nor did any presumption appear against him, excepthis being in Hyde-Park, and in Westminster Abbey, at the time and placeappointed in the first two letters. On the other hand, Mr. Barnardproved, that, on the Sunday when he saw the duke in Hyde-Park, he wason 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 whomhe related what had passed between the duke of Marlborough and him inthe Park: that his being afterwards in Westminster Abbey was the effectof mere accident: that Mr. James Greenwood, his kinsman, who hadlain that preceding night at his father's house, desired him to dresshimself, that they might walk together in the Park; and he did notcomply with his request till after much solicitation: that he proposedto enter the Park without passing through the Abbey, but wasprevailed upon by Mr. Greenwood, who expressed a desire of seeing thenewly-erected monument of general Hardgrave: that as he had formerlycommunicated to his friend the strange circumstance of the duke'sspeaking to him in Hyde-park, Mr. Greenwood no sooner saw thatnobleman in the Abbey, than he gave notice to Mr. Barnard, who was veryshort-sighted; and that from his passing them several times, concludinghe wanted to speak with Mr. Barnard alone, he quitted him and retiredinto the choir, that they might commune together without interruption. It likewise appeared, from undoubted evidence, that Barnard had oftenmentioned openly to his friends and acquaintance, the circumstance ofwhat passed between him and the duke in the Park and in the Abbey;that his father was a man of unblemished reputation, and in affluentcircumstances; that he himself was never reduced to any want, or suchexigence as might impel him to any desperate methods of obtainingmoney; that his fidelity had been often tried, and his life alwaysirreproachable. For these reasons he was acquitted of the crime laid tohis charge, and the mystery remains to this day undiscovered. After all, the author of the letters does not seem to have had any realdesign to extort money, because the scheme was very ill calculated forthat purpose; and indeed could not possibly take effect without the mostimminent risk of detection. Perhaps his aim was nothing more than togratify a petulance and peculiarity of humour, by alarming the duke, exciting the curiosity of the public, puzzling the multitude, andgiving rise to a thousand ridiculous conjectures. If anything morewas intended, and the duke earnestly desired to know the extent of thescheme, he might, when he closeted the person suspected, have encouragedhim to a declaration, by promising inviolable secrecy on his word andhonour, in which any man would have confided as a sacred obligation. Onthe whole, it is surprising that the death of the duke, which happenedin the course of this year, was never attributed to the secret practicesof this incendiary correspondent, who had given him to understand thathis vengeance, though slow, would not be the less certain. ] Footnote 485: Note 3 S, p. 485. The next bill that fell under thecognizance of the house, related to a law transaction, and was suggestedby a petition presented in the name of the sheriffs, and grantees ofpost-fines under the crown of England. They enumerated and explained thedifficulties under which they laboured, in raising and collecting thesefines within the respective counties; particularly when the estateconveyed by fine was no more than a right of reversion, in which casethey could not possibly levy the post-fine, unless the purchaser shouldobtain possession within the term of the sheriffalty, or pay it ofhis own free will, as they could not distrain while the lands were inpossession of the donee. They therefore proposed a method for raisingthese 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, thathis majesty, as far as his interest was concerned, gave his consent thatthe house might act in this affair as they should think propel. The commons, in a committee of the whole house, having taken intoconsideration 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 bo due to thecrown, or to the grantees thereof under the crown, and for the ease ofsheriffs 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 feebelonging to his office, on searches made for post-fines by the undersheriffs of the several counties; therefore, praying that such provisionmight be made for the said lunatic as to the house should seem just andreasonable. This, and divers other petitions respecting the bill beingdiscussed in the committee, it underwent several amendments, andwas enacted into a law; the particulars of which cannot be properlyunderstood without a previous explanation of this method of conveyingestates; a subject obscure in itself, founded upon a seeming subterfugeof law, scarce reconcileable with the dictates of common sense, andconsequently improper for the pen of an historian. ] [Footnote 490: Note 3 T, p. 490. As the curiosity of the reader maybe interested in these resolutions, we shall here insert them for hissatisfaction. The committee resolved, that the ell ought to containone yard and one quarter, according to the yard mentioned in the thirdresolution of the former committee upon the subject of weights andmeasures; that the pole, or perch, should contain in length five suchyards and a half; the furlong two hundred and twenty; and the mile onethousand seven hundred and sixty: that the superficial perch shouldcontain thirty square yards and a quarter; the rood one thousand twohundred and ten; and the acre four thousand eight hundred and forty:that according to the fourth, fifth, and sixth resolutions of the formercommittee, upon the subject of weights and measures, agreed to by thehouse on the second day of June in the preceding year, the quart oughtto contain seventy cubical inches and one half; the pint thirty-five andone quarter; the peck five hundred and sixty-four; and the bushel twothousand two hundred and fifty-six. That the several parts of the pound, mentioned in the eighth resolution of the former committee, examinedand adjusted in presence of this committee, --viz. The half pound or sixounces, quarter of a pound or three ounces, two ounces, one ounce, two half ounces, the five-penny weight, three-penny weight, two-pennyweight, and one-penny weight, the twelve grains, six grains, threegrains, two grains, and two of one grain each, --ought to be the modelsof the several parts of the said pound, and to be used for sizing oradjusting weights for the future. That all weights exceeding a poundshould be of brass, copper, bell-metal, or cast-iron; and all thoseof cast-iron should be made in the form, and with a handle of hammerediron, such as the pattern herewith produced, having the mark of theweight cast in the iron; and all the weights of a pound, or under, should be of gold, silver, brass, copper, or bell-metal. That allweights of cast-iron should have the initial letters of the name of themaker upon the upper bar of the handle; and all other weights shouldhave the same, together with the mark of the weight, according to thisstandard, upon some convenient part thereof. That the yard, mentionedin the second resolution of the former committee upon the subject ofweights and measures, agreed to by the house in the last session, being the standard of length, and the pound mentioned in the eighthresolution, being the standard of weight, ought to be deposited in thecourt of the receipt of the exchequer, and the chief baron, and the sealof office of the chamberlain of the exchequer, and not to be opened butby the order and in the presence of the chancellor of the exchequerand chief baron for the time being. That the most effectual meansto ascertain uniformity in measures of length and weight, to be usedthroughout the realm, would he to appoint certain persons, at oneparticular office, with clerks and workmen under them, for the purposeonly of fixing and adjusting, for the use of the subjects, allmeasures of length, and all weights, being parts, multiples, or certainproportions of the standards to be used for the future. That a model orpattern of the said standard yard, mentioned in the second resolution ofthe 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 eighthresolution of that committee, together with models or patterns of theparts of the said pound now presented to the house, and also of themultiples of the said pound, mentioned in this report (when the sameare adjusted), should be kept in the said office, in custody of the saidpersons to be appointed for sizing weights and measures, under the sealof the chief baron of the exchequer for the time being; to be openedonly by order of the said chief baron, in his presence, or the presenceof one of the barons of the exchequer, on the application of the saidpersons, for the purpose of correcting and adjusting, as occasion shouldrequire, the patterns or models used at the said office, for sizingmeasures of length and weight delivered out to the subjects. That modelsor patterns of the said standard yard and standard pound aforesaid, andalso models or patterns of the parts and multiples aforesaid of thesaid pound, should be lodged in the said office for the sizing of suchmeasures of length or weight, as, being parts, multiples, or proportionsof the said standards, should hereafter he required by any of hismajesty's subjects. That all measures of length and weight, sized at thesaid office, should be marked in some convenient part thereof, withsuch marks as should be thought expedient, to show the identity ofthe measures and weights sized at the said office, and to discover anyfrauds that may be committed therein. That the said office shouldhe kept within a convenient distance of the court of exchequer atWestminster; and all the measures of length and weight, within a certaindistance of London, should be corrected and re-assized, as occasionshould require, at the said office. That, in order to enforce theuniformity in weights and measures to be used for the future, allpersons appointed by the crown to act as justices of the peace in anycounty, city, or town corporate, being respectively counties withinthemselves, throughout the realm, should be empowered to hear anddetermine, and put the law in execution, in respect to weights andmeasures only, without any of them being obliged to sue out a _dedimus_, or to act in any other matter; and the said commissioners should beempowered to sue, imprison, inflict, or mitigate such penalties asshould be thought proper; and have such other authorities as should benecessary for compelling the use of weights and measures, agreeably tothe aforesaid standards. The models or patterns of the saidstandard yard and pound, and of the parts and multiples thereof, before-mentioned, should be distributed in each county, in such a manneras to be readily used for evidence in all eases where measures andweights should be questioned before the said commissioners, and foradjusting the same in a proper manner. ] [Footnote 504: Note 3 U, p. 504. The letter was to this effect: _Totheir excellencies Messrs. Hopson and Moore, general officers of hisBritannic Majesty at Basseterre. _ "Gentlemen--I have received theletter which your excellencies have done me the honour to write, of thetwenty-fifth. You make me proposals which could arise from nothing butthe facility with which you have got possession of the little town andcitadel of Basseterre; for otherwise you ought to do me the justiceto believe they could not be received. You have strength sufficient tosubdue the exteriors of the island; but with respect to the interiors, the match between us is equal. As to the consequences that may attendmy refusal, I am persuaded they will be no other than such as areprescribed by the laws of war. Should we be disappointed in thisparticular, we have a master powerful enough to revenge any injurywe may sustain. "I am, with respect, "Gentlemen, "Your most obedientservant, "Nadau D'Etreil. " It is pretty remarkable, that theapprehension of cruel usage from the English, who are undoubtedly themost generous and humane enemies under the sun, not only prevailed amongthe common French soldiery throughout this whole war, but even infectedofficers of distinction, who ought to have been exempted from theseprejudices, by a better acquaintance with life, and more liberal turn ofthinking. ] [Footnote 505: Note 3 X, p. 505. The reasons assigned by the commodorefor his conduct in this particular are these:--The bay of Dominique wasthe only place in which he could rendezvous and unite his squadron. Herehe refreshed his men, who were grown sickly in consequence of subsistingon salt provisions. Here he supplied his ships with plenty of freshwater. Here he had intercourse once or twice every day with generalBarrington, by means of small vessels which passed and repassed fromone island to the other. By remaining in this situation, he likewisemaintained a communication with the English Leeward Islands, whichbeing in a defenceless condition, their inhabitants were constantlysoliciting the commodore's protection; and here he supported the army, the commander of which was unwilling that he should remove to a greaterdistance. Had he sailed to Port-Royal, he would have found the enemy'ssquadron so disposed, that he could not have attacked them, unless M. De Bompart had been inclined to hazard an action. Had he anchored in thebay, all his cruisers must have been employed in conveying provisionsand stores to the squadron. There he could not have procured eitherfresh provisions or water; nor could he have had any communication with, or intelligence from, the army in the Leeward Islands, in less thaneight or ten days. ] [Footnote 511: Note 3 Y, p. 511. The following anecdote is soremarkable, and tends so much to the honour of the British soldiery, that we insert it without fear of the reader's disapprobation:--CaptainOchterlony and ensign Peyton belonged to the regiment ofbrigadier-general Mouckton. They were nearly of an age, which did notexceed thirty: the first was a North Briton, the other a native ofIreland. Both were agreeable in person, and unblemished in character, and connected together by the ties of mutual friendship and esteem. Onthe day that preceded the battle, captain Ochterlony had been obligedto fight a duel with a German officer, in which, though he wounded anddisarmed his antagonist, yet he himself received a dangerous hurt underthe right arm, in consequence of which his friends insisted on hisremaining in camp during the action of the next day, but his spirit wastoo great to comply with this remonstrance. He declared it should neverbe said that a scratch, received in a private rencounter, had preventedhim from doing his duty, when his country required his service; and hetook the field with a fusil in his hand, though he was hardly able tocarry his arms. In leading up his men to the enemy's intrenchment, he was shot through the lungs with a musquet ball, an accident whichobliged 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 thesmall hone of his left leg. The soldiers, in their retreat, earnestlybegged, with tears in their eyes, that captain Ochterlony would allowthem to carry him and the ensign off the field. But he was so bigoted toa severe point of honour, that he would not quit the ground, though hedesired they would take care of his ensign. Mr. Peyton, with a generousdisdain, rejected their good offices, declaring, that he would not leavehis captain in such a situation; and in a little time they remained thesole survivors of that part of the field. Captain Ochterlony sat down by his friend; and, as they expected nothingbut immediate death, they took leave of each other. Yet they were notaltogether abandoned by the hope of being protected as prisoners: forthe captain, seeing a French soldier with two Indians approach, startedup, and accosting them in the French language, which he spoke perfectlywell, expressed his expectation that they would treat him and hiscompanion as officers, prisoners, and gentlemen. The two Indians seemedto 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 asignal to the Indians for murder and pillage. One of them, clubbing hisfirelock, struck at him behind, with a view to knock him down; but theblow missing his head, took place upon his shoulder. At the same instantthe other Indian poured his shot into the breast of this unfortunateyoung gentleman; who cried out, "Oh, Peyton, the villain has shot me. "Not yet satisfied with cruelty, the barbarian sprung upon him, andstabbed him in the belly with his scalping-knife. The captain havingparted with his fusil, had no weapon for his defence, as none of theofficers wore swords in the action. The three ruffians, finding himstill alive, endeavoured to strangle him with his own sash; and he wasnow upon his knees, struggling against them with surprising exertion. Mr. Peyton, at this juncture, having a double-barrelled musket inhis hand, and seeing the distress of his friend, fired at one of theIndians, who dropped dead upon the spot. The other thinking the ensignwould now be an easy prey, advanced towards him; and Mr. Peyton, havingtaken good aim at the distance of four yards, discharged his piece thesecond time, but it seemed to take no effect. The savage fired in histurn, 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, pulledhim forwards, and with his right drawing a dagger which hung by hisside, plunged it in the barbarian's side. A violent struggle ensued: butat length Mr. Peyton was uppermost; and, with repeated strokes of hisdagger, killed his antagonist outright. Here he was seized with anunaccountable emotion of curiosity, to know whether his shot had takenplace on the body of the Indian: he accordingly turned him up; and, stripping off his blanket, perceived that the ball had penetrated quitethrough the cavity of the breast. Having thus obtained a dear-boughtvictory, he started up on one leg; and saw captain Ochterlony standingat the distance of sixty yards, close by the enemy's breastwork, with the French soldier attending him. Mr. Peyton then calledaloud, --"Captain Ochterlony, I am glad to see you have at last got underprotection. Beware of that villain, who is more barbarous than thesavages. God bless you, my dear captain! I see a party of Indians comingthis way, and expect to be murdered immediately. " A number of thosebarbarians had for some time been employed on the left, in scalpingand pillaging the dying and the dead that were left upon the fieldof 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 hislife be spared for the present, they would have afterwards insisted uponsacrificing him to the manes of their brethren whom he had slain; andin that case he would have been put to death by the most excruciatingtortures. 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 onestep farther, he loaded his piece, and presented it to the two foremostIndians, who stood aloof, waiting to be joined by their fellows; whilethe French, from their breastworks, kept up a continual fire of cannonand small arms upon this poor solitary and maimed gentleman. In thisuncomfortable situation he stood, when he discerned at a distance aHighland officer, with a party of his men, skirting the plain towardsthe 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 hisassistance. These brave fellows hastened to him through the midst ofa terrible fire, and one of them bore him off on his shoulders. TheHighland officer was captain Macdonald of colonel Frasor's battalion;who, understanding that a young gentleman, his kinsman, had dropped onthe field of battle, had put himself at the head of this party, withwhich he penetrated to the middle of the field, drove a considerablenumber of the French and Indians before him, and finding his relationstill unscalped, carried him off in triumph. Poor captain Ochterlony wasconveyed to Quebec, where in a few days he died of his wounds. After thereduction of that place, the French surgeons who attended him declared, that in all probability he would have recovered of the two shots he hadreceived in his breast, had he not been mortally wounded in the belly bythe Indian's scalping-knife. As this very remarkable scene was acted in sight of both armies, generalTownshend, in the sequel, expostulated with the French officers uponthe inhumanity of keeping up such a severe fire against two woundedgentlemen who were disabled, and destitute of all hope of escaping. They answered that the fire was not made by the regulars, but by theCanadians and savages, whom it was not in the power of discipline torestrain. ] [Footnote 513: Note 3 Z, p. 513. How far the success of thisattempt depended upon accident, may be conceived from the followingparticulars:--In the twilight, two French deserters were carried onboard a ship of war, commanded by captain Smith, and lying at anchornear the north shore. They told him that the garrison of Quebec expectedthat night to receive a convoy of provisions, sent down the river inboats from the detachment above, commanded by M. De Bouganville. Thesedeserters, standing upon deck, and perceiving the English boats withthe troops gliding down the river in the dark, began to shout and makea 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; whenthe general, perceiving a commotion on board, rowed alongside in personand prevented the discharge, which would have alarmed the town, andentirely frustrated the attempt. The French had posted sentries along shore, to challenge boats andvessels, and give the alarm occasionally. The first boat that containedthe English troops being questioned accordingly, a captain of Eraser'sregiment, who had served in Holland, and who was perfectly wellacquainted with the French language and customs, answered withouthesitation to _Qui vit?_ which is their challenging word, _La France_:nor was he at a loss to answer the second question, which was much moreparticular 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 byBougainville. The soldier took it for granted this was the expectedconvoy; and saying _Passe_, allowed all the boats to proceed withoutfurther question. In the same manner the other sentries were deceived;though one, more wary than the rest, came running down to the water'sedge, and called, "_Pourquoi est ce que vous ne parlez plus haut?_ Whydon't you speak with an audible voice?" To this interrogation, whichimplied doubt, the captain answered, with admirable presence of mind, ina soft tone of voice, "_Tai toi! nous serons entendues!_Hush! we shallbe overheard and discovered!" Thus cautioned, the sentry retired withoutfurther altercation. The midshipman who piloted the first boat, passingby the landing place in the dark, the same captain, who knew it from hishaving been posted formerly with his company on the other side of theriver, insisted on the pilot's being mistaken; and commanded the rowersto put ashore in the proper place, or at least very near it. When general Wolfe landed, and saw the difficulty of ascending theprecipice, he said to the same officer in a familiar strain, "I don'tbelieve there is any possibility of getting up; but you must do yourendeavour. " The narrow path that slanted up the hill from the landingplace the enemy had broken up, and rendered impassible by cross ditches, besides the intrenchment at the top: in every other part the hill was sosteep and dangerous, that the soldiers were obliged to pull themselvesup by the roots and boughs of trees growing on both sides of the path. ] [Footnote 515: Note 4 A, p. 515 The chagrin and mortification of Lallyare 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, oftwenty guns, laden with all the riches of Madras, which it is saidwill 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 oncebefore. The Bristol, on the other hand, did but just make her appearancebefore St. Thomas; and, on the vague report of thirteen ships comingfrom Porto-Novo, she took fright; and, after landing the provisionswith which she was laden, she would not stay long enough even to take onboard 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, Iwould break him like glass, as well as some others of them. "The Fidelle, or the Harlem, or even the aforesaid Bristol, with hertwelve guns restored to her, would be sufficient to make themselvesmasters of the English ship, if they could manage so as to get towindward of her in the night. Maugendre and Tremillier are said to begood men; and were they employed only to transport two hundred woundedmen that we have here, their service would be of importance. "We remain still in the same position: the breach made these fifteenclays, all the time within fifty toises of the wall of the place, andnever holding up our heads to look at it. "I reckon we shall, on our arrival at Pondieherry, endeavour to learnsome other trade, for this of war requires too much patience. "Of one thousand five hundred sepoys which attended our army, I reckonnear eight hundred are employed upon the road to Pondieherry, ladenwith sugar, pepper, and other goods; and as for the coulis, they are allemployed 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 hundredSwiss, are actually stopping the progress of two thousand men ofthe king and company's troops, which are still here existing, notwithstanding the exaggerated accounts that every one makes hereaccording 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 notlor the combats and four battles we sustained, and for the batterieswhich failed, or, to speak more properly, which were unskilfully made, we should not have lost fifty men, from the commencement of the siegeto this day. I have written to M. De Larche, that if he persists in notcoming here, let who will raise money upon the Poleagers for me, I willnot 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 haverelation to your administration, whether civil or military. For I hadrather go and command the Caffrees of Madagascar than remain in thisSodom, which it is impossible but the fire of the English must destroysooner 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 hasrefused to take upon him the command of this army, which I have offeredto him, and which he is empowered to accept, by having received from thecourt a duplicate of my commission, you must of necessity, together withthe council, take it upon you. For my part, I undertake only to bring itback either to Arcot or Sadraste. Send, therefore, your orders, or comeyourselves to command it; for I shall quit it upon my arrival there. "] [Footnote 521: Note 4 B, p. 521. That the general was not pleasedwith the behaviour of lord George Sackville, may be gathered fromthe following compliment to the marquis of Granby, implying a severereflection upon his superior in command. _Orders of his serene highness prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, relativeto the behaviour of the troops under him, at the famous battle nearMinden, on the first of August, 1759. _ "His serene highness ordered his greatest thanks to be given to thewhole army, for their bravery and good behaviour yesterday, particularlyto the English infantry, and the two battalions of Hanoverian guards;to all the cavalry of the left wing; and to general Wan-genheim'scorps, particularly the regiment of Holstein, the Hessian cavalry, theHanoverian regiment du corps, and Hammerstin's; the same to all thebrigades of heavy artillery. His serene highness declares publicly, that, next to God, he attributes the glory of the day to the intrepidityand extraordinary good behaviour of these troops, which he assures themhe 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 anyof them in particular, it will give him the utmost pleasure. His serenehighness orders his particular thanks to be likewise given to generalSporeken, the duke of Holstein, lieutenant-generals Imhoff and Urf. Hisserene highness is extremely obliged to the count de Buckebourg, for hisextraordinary care and trouble in the management of the artillery, whichwas served with great effect: likewise to the commanding officers of theseveral brigades of artillery, viz. Colonel Browne, lieutenant-colonelHutte, Major Hasse, and the three English captains, Philips, Drummond, and Foy. His serene highness thinks himself infinitely obliged tomajor-generals Waldegrave and Kingsley, for their great courage, and thegood order in which they conducted their brigades. His serene highnessfurther orders it to be declared to lieutenant-general the marquis ofGrandby, that he is persuaded that, if he had had the good fortune tohave had him at the head of the cavalry of the right wing, his presencewould have greatly contributed to make the decision of that day morecomplete and more brilliant. In short, his serene highness orders thatthose of his suite whose behaviour he most admired be named, as the dukeof Richmond, colonel Fitzroy, captain Ligonier, colonel Watson, captainWilson, aidecamp to major-general Waldegrave, adjutant, generalsErstorff, Bulow, Durendolle, the counts Tobe and Malerti; his serenehighness having much reason tobe satisfied with their conduct. And hisserene highness desires and orders the generals of the army, that uponall occasions when orders are brought to them by his aids-de-camp, thatthey may be obeyed punctually, and without delay. "] [Footnote 522: Note 4 C, p. 522. The following extracts of letters fromthe duke de Belleisle to the mareschal de Contades, will convey someidea of the virtue, policy, and necessities of the French ministry:-- "I am still afraid that Fischer sets out too late: it is, however, veryimportant, and very essential, that we should raise large contributions. I see no other resource for our most urgent expenses, and for refittingthe troops, but in the money we may draw from the enemy's country, fromwhence we must likewise procure subsistence of all kinds (independentlyof the money), that is to say, hay, straw, oats for the winter, bread, corn, cattle, horses, even men to recruit our foreign troops. The warmust not be prolonged; and perhaps it may be necessary, according to theevents which may happen between this time and the end of September, tomake a downright desert before the line of the quarters which it may bethought proper to keep during the winter, in order that the enemy may beunder a real impossibility of approaching us: at the same time reservingfor ourselves a bare subsistence on the route which may be the mostconvenient for us to take, in the middle of winter, to beat up or seizeupon the enemy's quarters. That this object may be fulfilled, I causethe greatest assiduity to be used in preparing what is necessary forhaving all your troops, without exception, well clothed, well armed, well equipped, and well refitted, in every respect, before the end ofNovember, with new tents; in order that, if it should be advisable forthe king's political and military affairs, you may be able to assemblethe whole or part of your army, to act offensively and with vigour, fromthe beginning of January; and that you may have the satisfaction to showyour enemies and all Europe, that the French know how to act and carryon war in all seasons, when they have such a general as you are, and aminister of the department of war that can foresee and concert matterswith the general. "You must be sensible, sir, that what I say to you may become not onlyuseful and honourable, but perhaps even necessary, with respect to whatyou 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 youdo so for their own defence against the common enemy of the empire; thatyou will restore them when their city has nothing further to fear, &c. After all, you must take everything you have occasion for, and give themreceipts for it. -- "You must, at any rate, consume all sorts of subsistence on the higherLippe, Paderborn, and Warsburg; you must destroy everything which youcannot consume, so as to make a desert of all Westphalia, from Lipstadtand Munster, as far as the Rhine, on one hand: and on the other, fromthe higher Lippe and Paderborn, as far as Cassel; that the enemy mayfind it quite impracticable to direct their march to the Rhine, or thelower Roer; and this with regard to your army, and with regard to thearmy under M. De Soubise, that they may not have it in their power totake possession of Cassel, and much less to march to Marburg, or to thequarters which he will have along the Lahn, or to those which you willoccupy, from the lower part of the left side of the Roer, and on theright side of the Rhine, as far as Dusseldorp, and at Cologne. "-- "You know the necessity of consuming or destroying, as far as ispossible, all the subsistence, especially the forage betwixt the Weserand the Rhine on the one hand, and on the other betwixt the Lippe, thebishopric of Paderborn, the Dymel, the Fulda, and the Nerra; and so tomake a desert of Westphalia and Hesse. "-- "Although the prince of Waldeck appears outwardly neutral, he is veryill-disposed, and deserves very little favour. You ought, therefore, tomake no scruple of taking all you find in that territory: but this mustbe done in an orderly manner, giving receipts, and observing the mostexact discipline. All the subsistence you leave in this country willfall to the enemy's share, who will, by that means, be enabled toadvance to the Lahn, and towards the quarters which you are to occupyon the left side of the Roer. It is therefore a precaution become in amanner indispensably necessary, to carry it all away from thence. "-- "The question now is, what plan you shall think most proper foraccomplishing, in the quickest and surest manner, our great purpose:which must be to consume, carry off, or destroy, all the forage andsubsistence of the country which we cannot keep possession of. "-- "The upper part of the Lippe, and the country of Paderborn, are the mostplentiful; they must therefore be eat to the very roots. "..... "You did mighty well to talk in the most absolute tone with regard tothe necessaries Racroth and Duysbourg must furnish our troops: it isnecessary to speak in that tone to Germans; and you will find youraccount 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 shallbe necessary for the subsistence of the garrison of Dusseldorp, and ofthe light troops, and reserve what may be brought thither from Alsaceand the bishoprics for a case of necessity. "] [Footnote 523: Note 4 D, p. 523. _The following declarations werepublished by count Dohna, the Prussian general, on his entering Polandwith a body of Prussian troops. _ _On the 15th of June. _ His Prussian majesty, finding himself under a necessity to cause part ofhis armies to enter the territories of the republic of Poland, in orderto protect them against the threatened invasion of the enemy; declaresthat, -- It must not be understood that his majesty, by this step taken, intendsto make any breach in the regard he has always had for the illustriousrepublic of Poland, or to lessen the good understanding which hashitherto subsisted between them: but, on the contrary, to strengthen thesame, in expectation that the illustrious republic will on its part actwith the like neighbourly and friendly good-will as is granted to theenemy, 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 requiredto furnish all kinds of provisions, corn, and forage necessary tosupport an army of 40, 000 men, with the utmost despatch, with anassurance of being paid ready money for the same. But if, contrary toexpectation, any deficiency should happen in supplying this demand, hismajesty's troops will be obliged to forage, and use the same means asthose taken by the enemy for their subsistence. In confidence, therefore, that the several jurisdictions upon thePrussian frontiers, within the territories of Poland, will exertthemselves to comply with this demand as soon as possible, for thesubsistence of the royal army of Prussia, they are assured that therebyall disorders will be prevented, and whatever is delivered will be paidfor in ready money. _On the 17th of June. _ It was with the greatest astonishment that theking, my most gracious lord and master, heard that several of his ownsubjects had suffered themselves to be seduced from their allegiance, sofar 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 hissubjects serving in the enemy's armies, who shall be taken with armsin their hands, shall, agreeable to all laws, be sentenced to be hangedwithout mercy, as traitors to their king and country, of which all whomit 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, andinhabitants of the republic of Poland, on the road to Posnania, andbeyond it, would repair in person or by deputies, in the course of thisweek, or as soon after as possible, to the Prussian head-quarters, thereto treat with the commander-in-chief, or the commissary at war, for thedelivery of forage and provisions for the subsistence of the army, to bepaid for with ready money. We promise and assure ourselves that no person in Poland will attempt toseduce the Prussian troops to desert; that no assistance will be giventhem in such perfidious practices; that they will neither be sheltered, concealed, nor lodged; which would be followed by very disagreeableconsequences: we expect, on the contrary, that persons of all ranks andconditions will stop any runaway or deserter, and deliver him up at thefirst advanced post, or at the head-quarters; and all expenses attendingthe 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 thehead-quarters, and be assured of a capitulation for three or four years. If any prince or member of the republic of Poland be disposed toassemble a body of men, and to join in a troop or in a company ofthe Prussian army, to make a common cause with it, he may depend on agracious reception, and that due regard will be shown to his merit, &c. ] [Footnote 526: Note 4 E, p. 526. The obstinacy of the powers inopposition to Great Britain and Prussia appeared still more remarkablein their slighting the following declaration, which duke Louis ofBrunswick delivered to their ministers at the Hague, in the month ofDecember, after Quebec was reduced, and the fleet of France totallydefeated: "Their Britannic and Prussian majesties, moved with compassion at themischief which the war that has been kindled for some years has alreadyoccasioned, and must necessarily produce, would think themselves wantingto the duties of humanity, and particularly to their tender concernfor the preservation and well-being of their respective kingdoms andsubjects, if they neglected the proper means to put a stop tothe progress of so severe a calamity, and to contribute to there-establishment of public tranquillity. In this view, and in orderto manifest the purity of their intentions in this respect, their saidmajesties have determined to make the following declaration, viz. -- "That they are ready to send plenipotentiaries to the place which, shallbe thought most proper, in order there to treat, conjointly, of a solidand general peace with those whom the belligerent parties should thinkfit to authorize, on their part, for the attaining so salutary an end. "] [Footnote 529: Note 4 F, p. 529. _Abstract of the report made to hisCatholic majesty by the physicians appointed to examine the princeroyal, his eldest son, in consequence of which his royal highness wasdeclared incapable of succeeding to the throne of Spain. Translated fromthe original, published at Naples, Sept. 27. _ 1. Though his royal highness don Philip is thirteen years old, he is oflow stature; and yet the king his father, and the queen his mother, areboth of a very proper height. 2. His royal highness has some contraction in his joints; though he canreadily move, and make use of them upon all occasions. 3. His royal highness is apt to stoop and to hold down his head aspeople of weak eyes often do. 4. The prince most evidently squints: and his eyes frequently water andare gummy, particularly his left eye: though we cannot say he is blind, but are rather certain of the contrary, as his royal highness canwithout doubt distinguish objects, both as to their colour andsituation. 5. In his natural functions, and the most common sensations, he issometimes indifferent to things that are convenient for him, and atother times is too warm and impetuous. In general, his passions are notrestrained 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 ithas the same effect whether it be soft and harmonious, or harsh anddisagreeable. 8. The impressions that he receives from pain or pleasure are neitherstrong nor lasting; and he is utterly unacquainted with all thepunctilios of politeness and good-breeding. 9. As to facts and places, he sometimes remembers them, and sometimesnot; but he seems not to have the least idea of the mysteries of ourholy religion. 10. He delights in childish amusements; and those which are the mostboisterous please him best. He is continually changing them, andshifting 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 physiciansCæsar Ciribue, Don Thomas Pinto, Don Francis Sarrao, and Don DominiqueSan Severino. ] [Footnote 535: Note 4 G, p. 535. By this law it was enacted, that if anymilitia-man, who shall have been accepted and enrolled as a substitute, hired man, or volunteer, before the passing of the act, or who shallhave been chosen by lot, whether before or after the passing of the act, shall, when embodied, or called out into actual service, and ordered tomarch, 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 ratesof such parish a weekly allowance to such family, according to the usualand ordinary price of labour and husbandry there; viz. For one childunder the age of ten years, the price of one day's labour; for twochildren under the age aforesaid, the price of two days' labour; forthree or four children under the age aforesaid, the price of three days'labour; for five or more children under the age aforesaid, the price offour days' labour; and for the wife of such militia-man, the price ofone day's labour; but that the families of such men only as shall bechosen by lot, and of the substitutes, hired men, and volunteers alreadyaccepted and enrolled, shall, after the passing of this act, receive anysuch weekly allowance. For removing the grievance complained of in theabove petition, it is enacted, that where treasurers shall reimburse tooverseers any money in pursuance of this act, on account of the weeklyallowance to the family of any militia-man serving in the militia of anycounty or place other than that wherein such family shall dwell, theyare to transmit an account thereof, signed by some justice for the placewhere such family shall dwell, to the treasurer of the county, &c. Inthe militia whereof such militia-man shall serve, who is thereupon topay him the sum so reimbursed to such overseers, and the same to beallowed in his accounts. ] [Footnote 536: Note 4 H, p. 536. The openings to be made, and thepassages to be improved and enlarged, were ascertained by two schedulesannexed to the act. With respect to the houses, buildings, and groundsto be purchased, the mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city, in commoncouncil assembled, or a committee appointed by them, were empoweredto fix the price by agreement, with the respective proprietors, orotherwise by a jury in the usual manner. With regard to party-walls, theact ordains, that the proprietor of either adjoining house may compelthe proprietor of the other to agree to its being pulled down andrebuilt, and pay a moiety of the expense even though it should notbe necessary to pull down or rebuild either of their houses: that allparty-walls shall be at least two bricks and a half in thickness in thecellar, and two bricks thick upwards to the top of the garret-floor. Itenacts, that if any decayed house belongs to several proprietors, any one of them, who is desirous to rebuild, may oblige the others toconcur, and join with him in the expense, or purchase their shares at aprice to be fixed by a jury. If any house should hereafter be presentedby 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 itdown at the expense of the ground landlords. As to damaged pavements, not sufficiently repaired by the proprietors of the water-works, anyjustice of the peace in London is vested with power, upon their refusingor delaying to make it good, to cause it to be effectually relaid withgood materials at their expense. ] [Footnote 538: Note 4 I, p. 538. The following declaration made to thechiefs of the opposition will render the memory of the late prince ofWales dear to latest posterity:-- His royal highness has authorized lord T. And sir F. D. To give the mostpositive assurances to the gentlemen in the opposition, of his uprightintentions; that he is thoroughly convinced of the distresses andcalamities that have befallen, and every day are more likely to befalthis country; and therefore invites all well wishers to this country andits constitution to coalesce and unite with him, and upon the followingprinciple only. -- His royal highness promises, and will declare it openly, that it is hisintention 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 hispower, to take away for ever all proscription from any set of menwhatever who are friends to the constitution; and therefore will promotefor 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 toserve. Secondly, His royal highness promises, in like manner, to support, and forthwith grant, whenever he shall have it in his power, a bill tocreate and establish a numerous and effectual militia throughout thekingdom. Thirdly, His royal highness promises, in like manner, to promote andsupport, and likewise grant, when it is in his power, a bill to excludeall military officers in the land-service under the degree of colonelsof 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 notdoubt of the assistance of all honest men, to enable him to correct thesame for the future. Fifthly, His royal highness promises, and will openly declare, thathe will make no agreement with, or join in the support of, any administration whatever, without previously obtaining theabove-mentioned points in behalf of the people, and for the sake of goodgovernment. Upon these conditions, and these conditions only, his royalhighness thinks he has a right not to doubt of having a most cordialsupport from all those good men who mean their country and thisconstitution well, and that they will become his and his family'sfriends, and unite with him, to promote the good government of thiscountry, and that they will follow him, upon these principles, both incourt 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 ofno more, if offered to him, than £800, 000 for his civil list, by way ofrent-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 uponseveral weighty and important points, of the greatest consequence tothe honour and interest of his majesty's government, and absolutelynecessary for the restoring and perpetuating the true use and design ofparliament, the purity of our excellent constitution, and thehappiness and welfare of the whole nation, do therein with the greatestsatisfaction observe, and most gratefully acknowledge, the uprightnessand generosity of his royal highness's noble sentiments and resolutions. And therefore beg leave to return their most dutiful and humble thanksfor the same: and to assure his royal highness that they will constantlyand steadily use their utmost endeavours to support those his wise andsalutary purposes, that the throne may be strengthened, religion andmorality encouraged, faction and corruption destroyed, the purity andessence of parliament restored, and the happiness and welfare of ourconstitution 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 Earlof W. --The Earl of S. --Lord F. --Lord W. --Sir Wat. Wil. Wynne. --Sir JohnH. C--Sir Walter B. --Sir Robert G. --Mr. F. --Mr. F. --Mr. C. ] [Footnote 547: 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. ] [Footnote 549: Note 4 L, p. 549. This attempt was conducted inthe following manner, having doubtless been concerted with thetwo-and-twenty hostages who resided in the fort. On the sixteenth day ofFebruary, two Indian women appearing at Keowee, on the other side of theriver, Mr. Dogharty, one of the officers of the fort, went out to askthem what news. While he was engaged in conversation with these females, the great Indian warrior Ocunnastota joined them, desired he would callthe commanding officer, to whom he said he had something to propose. Accordingly, lieutenant Cotymore appearing, accompanied by ensignBell, Dogharty, and Foster the interpreter, Ocunnastota told him he hadsomething of consequence to impart to the governor, whom he proposed tovisit, and desired he might be attended by a white man as a safeguard. The lieutenant assuring him he should have a safeguard, the Indiandeclared he would then go and catch a horse for him; so saying, he swunga bridle twice over his head, as a signal; and immediately twenty-fiveor thirty muskets, from different ambuscades, were discharged at theEnglish officers. Mr. Cotymore received a shot in his left breast, andin 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 thefort, was no sooner informed of this treachery, than he ordered thesoldiers to shackle the hostages; in the execution of which order oneman was killed on the spot, and another wounded in his forehead with atomahawk; circumstances which, added to the murder of the lieutenant, incensed the garrison to such a degree, that it was judged absolutelynecessary to put the hostages to death without further hesitation. In the evening a party of Indians approached the fort, and firing twosignal pieces, cried aloud in the Cherokee language--"Fight manfully, and you shall be assisted. " They then began an attack; and continuedfiring all night upon the fort, without doing the least execution. Thata design was concerted between them and the hostages appeared plainlyfrom the nature of the assault; and this suspicion was converted into acertainty next day, when some of the garrison, searching the apartmentin which the hostages lay, found a bottle of poison, probably designedto be emptied into the well, and several tomahawks buried in the earth;which weapons had been privately conveyed to them by their friends, whowere permitted to visit them without interruption. On the third dayof March, the fort of Ninety-six was attacked by two hundred CherokeeIndians with musketry, which had little or no effect; so that they wereforced to retire with some loss, and revenged themselves on the opencountry, burning and ravaging all the houses and plantations belongingto English settlers in this part of the country, and all along thefrontiers of Virginia. Not contented with pillaging and destroying thehabitations, they wantoned in the most horrible barbarities; and theirmotions were so secret and sudden, that it was impossible for theinhabitants to know where the storm would burst, or take properprecautions for their own defence; so that a great number of the backsettlements were totally abandoned. ] [Footnote 550: Note 4 M, p. 550. The garrison of Quebec, during thewinter, repaired above five hundred houses which had been damaged by theEnglish cannon, built eight redoubts of wood, raised foot-banks alongthe ramparts, opened embrasures, mounted artillery, blocked up allthe avenues of the suburbs with a stockade, removed eleven months'provisions into the highest parts of the city, and formed a magazine offour thousand fascines. Two hundred men were posted at Saint Foix, and twice the number at Lorette. Several hundred men marched to SaintAugustin, brought off the enemy's advanced guard, with a great number ofcattle, and disarmed the inhabitants. By these precautions the motionsof the French were observed, the avenues of Quebec were covered, andtheir dominions secured over eleven parishes, which furnished them withsome fresh provisions, and other necessaries for subsistence. Sixteenthousand cords of wood being wanted for the hospitals, guards, andquarters, and the method of transporting it from the isle of Orleansbeing found slow and difficult, on account of the floating ice in theriver, a sufficient number of hand-sledges were made, and two hundredwood-fellers set at work in the forest of Saint Foix, where plenty offuel was obtained, and brought into the several regiments by the menthat were not upon duty. A detachment of two hundred men being sent tothe other side of the river, disarmed the inhabitants, and compelledthem to take the oath of allegiance: by this step the English becamemasters of the southern side of St. Laurence, and were supplied withgood quantities of fresh provision. The advanced posts of the enemy wereestablished at Point au Tremble, Saint Augustin, and Le Calvaire; themain body of their army quartered between Trois Rivieres and JaquesQuartier. Their general, having formed the design of attacking Quebec inthe winter, began to provide snow-shoes or rackets, scaling-ladders, andfascines, and make all the necessary preparations for that enterprise. He took possession of Point Levi, where he formed a magazine ofprovisions; great part of which, however, fell into the hands of theEnglish; for, as soon as the river was frozen over, brigadier Murraydespatched thither two hundred men; at whose approach the enemyabandoned their magazine, and retreated with great precipitation. Herethe detachment took post in a church until they could build two woodenredoubts, and mount them with artillery. In the meantime, the enemyreturning with a greater force to recover the post, some battalions, with the light infantry, marched over the ice, in order to cut off theircommunication; but they fled with great confusion, and afterwardstook post at Saint Michael, at a considerable distance farther downthe river. They now resolved to postpone the siege of Quebec, that theymight carry it on in a more regular manner. They began to rig theirships, repair their small craft, build galleys, cast bombs and bullets, and prepare fascines and gabions; while brigadier Murray employedhis men in making preparations for a vigorous defence. He sent out adetachment, who surprised the enemy's posts at Saint Augustin, MaisonBrûlée, and Le Calvaire, where they took ninety prisoners. He afterwardsordered the light infantry to possess and fortify Cape Bouge, to preventthe enemy's landing at that place, as well as to be nearer at hand toobserve their motions; but when the frost broke up, so that theirships could fall down the river, they landed at Saint Augustin; and theEnglish posts were abandoned one after another, the detachments retiringwithout loss into the city. ] [Footnote 558: Note 4 N, p. 558. _A translation of the Declarationdelivered by the Austrian minister residing at the Hague, to his serenehighness Prince Louis of Brunswick, in answer to that which his highnesshad delivered on the part of his Britannic Majesty and the Kingof Prussia, on the 25th of November, 1759, to the ministers of thebelligerent powers. _ "Their Britannic and Prussian majesties having thought proper to makeknown, by the declaration delivered, on their part, at the Hague, the25th of November last past, to the ambassadors and ministers of thecourts of Vienna, Petersburgh, and Versailles, residing there: "'That being sincerely desirous of contributing to the re-establishmentof the public tranquillity, they were ready to send plenipotentiariesto the place that shall be judged the most convenient, in order to treatthere of this important object with those which the belligerent partiesshall think proper to authorize on their side for attaining so salutaryan end:' "Her majesty the empress queen of Hungary and Bohemia, her majesty theempress of all the Russias, and his majesty the most Christian king, equally animated by the desire of contributing to the re-establishmentof the public tranquillity, on a solid and equitable footing, declare inreturn, -- "That his majesty the Catholic king having been pleased to offer hismediation in the war which had subsisted for some years between Franceand England; and this war having besides nothing in common with thatwhich the two empresses, with their allies, have likewise carried on forsome years against the king of Prussia; "His most Christian majesty is ready to treat of his particular peacewith England, through the good offices of his Catholic majesty, whosemediation he has a pleasure in accepting; "As to the war which regards directly his Prussian majesty, theirmajesties, the empress queen of Hungary and Bohemia, the empress of allthe Russias, and the most Christian king, are disposed to agree to theappointing the congress proposed. But as, by virtue of their treaties, they cannot enter into any engagement relating to peace but inconjunction with their allies, it will be necessary, in order that theymay be enabled to explain themselves definitively upon that subject, that their Britannic and Prussian majesties should previously be pleasedto cause their invitation to a congress to be made to all the powersthat are directly engaged in war against the king of Prussia; andnamely, to his majesty the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, aslikewise to his majesty the king of Sweden, who ought specifically to beinvited to the future congress. "] [Footnote 561: Note 4 O, p. 561. _Copy of a Letter from the marquis ofGranby to the earl of Holdernesse. _ My Lord, It is with the greatestsatisfaction that I have the honour of acquainting your lordship of thesuccess 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 princefollowed the same evening with a body of troops, among which were thetwo English battalions of grenadiers, the two of Highlanders, and foursquadrons of dragoons, Cope's and Conway's. The army was under arms all day on the thirtieth, and about eleven atnight marched off, in six columns, to Liebenau. About five the nextmorning, the whole army be assembled, and formed on the heights nearCorbeke. The hereditary prince was, at this time, marching in twocolumns, in order to turn the enemy's left flank; which he did bymarching to Donhelbourg, leaving Klein-Eder on his left, and forming intwo lines, with the left towards Dossel, and his right near Grimbeck, opposite to the left flank of the enemy, whose position was with theleft to the high hill near Offendorf, and their right to Warbourg, into which place they had flung Fischer's corps. The hereditary princeimmediately attacked the enemy's flank, and, after a very sharp dispute, obliged them to give way, and, by a continual fire, kept forcing themto fall back upon Warbourg. The army was at this time marching with thegreatest diligence to attack the enemy in front, but the infantry couldnot get up in time: general Waldegrave, at the head of the British, pressed their march as much as possible: no troops could show moreeagerness to get up than they showed. Many of the men, from the heat ofthe weather, and overstraining themselves to get on through morassy andvery difficult ground, suddenly dropped down on their march. General Mostyn, who was at the head of the British cavalry that wasformed 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 aspossible, made so much expedition, bringing them up at full trot, thoughthe distance was near five miles, that the British cavalry had thehappiness to arrive in time to share the glory of the day, havingsuccessfully charged several times both the enemy's cavalry andinfantry. I should do injustice to the general officers, to every officer andprivate man of the cavalry, if I did not beg your lordship would assurehis majesty that nothing could exceed their gallant behaviour on thatoccasion. Captain Philips made so much expedition with his cannon, as to have anopportunity, by a severe cannonade, to oblige those who had passed theDymel, and were formed on the other side, to retire with the utmostprecipitation. I received his serene highness's orders yesterday, in the evening, to pass the river after them, with twelve British battalions and tensquadrons, and am now encamped upon the heights of Wilda, about fourmiles from Warbourg, on the heights of which their grand army isencamped. M. De Muy is now retiring from the heights of Volk-Missen, where he layunder arms last night, towards Wolfshagen. I cannot give your lordshipany account of the loss on either side. Captain Faucitt, whom I send offwith this, shall get all the intelligence he can upon this head beforehe 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 soonas I intended, I opened my letter to acquaint your lordship that I havejust joined the grand army with my detachment. ] [Footnote 564: Note 4 P, p. 564. The Germans are in general butindifferent engineers, and little acquainted with the art of besieging. On this occasion the Austrian general had no other prospect than that ofcarrying the place by a sudden attack, or intimidating count Tavenzein, the governor, to an immediate surrender: for he knew the Russian armywas at a considerable distance; and judged, from the character of princeHenry of Prussia, that he would advance to the relief of the place longbefore it would be taken according to the usual forms. Influenced bythese considerations, when he had invested the town, he sent a letterto the governor, specifying that his army consisted of fiftybattalions, and fourscore squadrons; that the Russian army, amounting toseventy-five thousand men, was within three days' march of Breslau; thatno succour could be expected from the king of Prussia, encamped as hewas on the other side of the Elbe, and overawed by the army of countDaun; that prince Henry, far from being in a condition to bring relief, would not be able to stand his ground against the Russians; thatBreslau, being an open mercantile town (not a fortress), could notbe defended without contravening the established rules of war; andtherefore the governor, in case of obstinacy, had no reason to expectan honourable capitulation, the benefit of which was now offered. He, atthe same time, sent a memorial to the civil magistrates, threatening thetown with destruction, which could by no other means be prevented thanby joining with the inhabitants in persuading the governor to embraceimmediately the terms that were proposed. Count Tavenzein, instead ofbeing intimidated, was encouraged by these menaces, which implied anapprehension in Laudolm that the place would be relieved. He thereforereplied to the summons he had received, that Breslau was not simply amercantile town, but ought to be considered as a place of strength, as being surrounded with works and wet ditches; that the Austriansthemselves had defended it as such after the battle of Lissa, in theyear one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven; that the king hismaster having commanded him to defend the place to the last extremity, he could neither comply with general Laudohn's proposals, nor pay theleast regard to his threat of destroying the town; as he had not beenintrusted with the care of the houses, but with the defence of thefortifications. The Austrian convinced him that same evening, thathe threatened nothing but what he meant to perform. He opened hisbatteries, and poured in upon the town a most terrible shower of bombsand red-hot bullets, which continued till midnight. During this dreadfuldischarge, which filled the place with horror and desolation, heattempted the outworks by assault. The Croats attacked the covered wayin different places with their usual impetuosity; but were repulsed withconsiderable loss, by the conduct and resolution of the governor andgarrison. These proceedings having made no impression on Tavenzein, thebesieging general had recourse again to negotiation; and offered themost flattering articles of capitulation, which were rejected withdisdain. The governor gave him to understand, that the destruction ofthe town had made no change in his resolution; though it was a practicecontrary to the law of arms, as well as to the dictates of commonhumanity, 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 wascertainly just: nothing could be more infamously inhuman than thispractice of making war upon the helpless unarmed inhabitants of a townwhich has the misfortune to be beleaguered; yet the besieger pleaded theexample of the Prussian monarch, who had before acted the same tragedyat Dresden. Laudohn being thus set at defiance, continued to batterand bombard; and several subsequent assaults were given to thefortifications. ]