£125,000 was voted by the house of commons as a suitable establishment for the heir apparent to the throne; but of this, £65,000, with the rents of the duchy of Cornwall, amounting to £13,000, were set apart for the liquidation of his debts, which, at this time, amounted to £630,000.

detain the grand fleet. The French despatched eight sail to defeat this attempt. In the course of the 29th Lord Howe got to windward of the French fleet. His force was twenty-five, and theirs was twenty-six sail of the line. The following day he bore down upon them and broke their line. The engagement was one of the Parliament was prorogued on the 27th of severest ever fought. The French admiral, in June, but was again assembled much earlier less than an hour after the close action com- than usual, chiefly on account of the unfavorable menced in the centre, crowded off with twelve state of the domestic concerns of the country. of his ships. The British fleet was so much At the close of the year 1794, the winter had disabled, or separated, that several of the French become so very severe as to enable the French dismantled ships got away under sails raised on to make an easy conquest of Holland, by the stump of their fore masts. Seven sail of the which they now held an immense length of line, however, remained in possession of the sea coast opposite to Britain, while this summer British, and two were sunk. In the mean time had been so ungenial to Great Britain, that a admiral Montague fell in with the French con- dearth of provisions began to prevail. The Lonvoy, but it was now guarded by fourteen sail of don Corresponding Society, as if availing themthe line. As he could not encounter such a selves of the discontent which this produced force he returned home, and it was safely con- among the populace, had, previous to the meetveyed into port. Thus, by one of those con- ing of parliament, held several meetings in the tradictions which often occur in human affairs, open fields, for the avowed purpose of petitioning the British fleet was victorious, and yet the the king in parliament for peace and parliamenFrench were left masters of the sea, and ob- tary reform, which doubtless contributed to extained their great object, provisions. As this cite the riots that took place. The most daring engagement, however, testified that the British insults were offered to his majesty as he passed seamen had not lost their ancient superiority on along, at the usual hour, to open the session of their own element, the nation regarded the vic- parliament, by the crowd in St. James's park; 'tory as a pledge of its independence, and very and, in the streets adjoining Westminster Hall, general rejoicings took place in consequence stones and other missiles were thrown, several of it. of which struck the state coach. As his majesty returned from the house the outrages were renewed, and, after he alighted, the coach was attacked, and almost demolished. His majesty in his speech, while noticing the situation of continental affairs, seemed to indulge a hope that terms of peace might soon be attainable, but, to accelerate this desirable end, it was neces sary that we should prove our ability to prosecute the war. The usual address being moved, occasioned some debates on the propriety of the war, but an address to his majesty relative to the outrages committed against his person was proposed and agreed to; and on the 4th of Novem ber copies of his majesty's proclamation, relative to these outrages, were submitted to the house, and ordered to lie upon the table. On the 6th a bill was presented by lord Grenville, pursuant to the notice he had given on the former day, for the safety and preservation of his majesty's government against treasonable and seditious practices and attempts;' and, on the same day, the chancellor of the exchequer, after an eloquent speech, moved, that leave be given to bring in a bill for, the more effectually preventing se ditious meetings and assemblies. These bills, after a violent opposition, passed both houses of parliament. During this year, 1795, Great Britain retained her usual superiority by sea. A British squadron, under admiral Elphinston, had taken possession of the Dutch settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, on the 16th of September, 1795. This settlement the Dutch wished much to recover; and they advanced money to enable the French to fit out a squadron to co-operate with them in an attack upon it. The French government took the money, but the squadron was never equipped. The Dutch themselves this year sent a squadron of seven ships of war,

Parliament assembled on the 30th December, and his majesty's speech held forth the necessity of persisting in the war; which, when the address was moved, occasioned very warm debates in both houses of parliament. But the debates were still more remarkable upon a motion brought forward by Mr Grey in the house of commons, January 26th, 1795, and by the duke of Bedford in the house of lords on the following day, that the existence of the present government of France ought not to be considered as precluding at this time a negociation for peace. Our limits will not permit us to enter upon these debates; but Mr. Grey's motion was negatived by a majority of 183; nor was the duke of Bedford more successful.

In the course of the preceding year a treaty of marriage had been negociated between his royal highness the prince of Wales, and the princess Caroline of Brunswick. The nuptials were celebrated on the 8th of April this year, and on the 27th a message from his majesty was delivered to both houses of parliament, relating to the debts of the prince of Wales: it stated the reliance of his majesty on their generosity for enabling him to settle an establishment upon the prince and his august bride, suited to their rank and dignity; that the benefit of any settlement now made could not effectually be secured to the prince till he was relieved from his present incumbrances to a large amount; but that his majesty did not propose to his parliament any other means of providing for this object, than the application of a part of the income which may be settled on the prince, and the appropriation for a certain time of the revenue of the duchy of Cornwall, &c. After considerable difference of opinion on the subject, the annual sum of

under admiral Lucas, to reconquer the Cape; but being no match for the British squadron, and being caught between two fires, without the possibility of escaping, the Dutch fleet, without firing a gun, was delivered up to the British admiral.

In the month of March, 1796, an attempt was made towards a negociation for peace with France, but in vain. During this session supplies were voted to the amount of £37,588,000, and above £25,500,000 was borrowed. The guards and garrisons were reduced to 59,000 men, and the colonial forces increased to 77,000; sailors and marines were 110,000. But, after an active and successful campaign on the part of the French, several states thought proper to send ambassadors to Paris to open the negociation for peace. A treaty was concluded with Spain and several of the German princes. The attention of Europe was, however, most deeply engaged by the negociations opened by the English government. The commencement clearly foreboded what would be the event of these; the grossest calumnies, concerning the insincerity and even perfidy of the English court, were circulated under the apparent sanction of the directory. After a great deal of discussion, concerning the principle of restitution, the two governments at last agreed on that point, and lord Malmesbury delivered two memorials on the principal objects of arrangement. The directory, having read the memorials, sent an extract from the register of their deliberations, requiring lord Malmesbury's signature to the memorials, and also the ultimatum of his demands, in twentyfour hours. He complied with the forms required by the directory, but observed that the peremptory demand which they made of an ultimatum shut the door at once to all negociation; and represented, that if the conditions submitted to their consideration were not approved, or were not to be the subject of discussion, if they would propose their own conditions he would submit them to the consideration of his court. Upon this the negociation ended, for the directory, having read the memorials received on the 17th of December, ordered the ministry to write to lord Malmesbury on the 18th, that they could hear no propositions contrary to the constitution, and the laws and treaties by which the republic were engaged; and likewise enjoining him to leave Paris in twenty-four hours. Such was the event of this negociation on the part of the French; commenced with reluctance, conducted with insincerity, and concluded with insult.

The French, towards the close of 1796, at tempted an invasion of Ireland; but the plan was ill concerted. The whole conduct of it was entrusted to general Hoche, and no second was prepared to occupy his place in case of any accident. The disaffected faction, with whom the French meant to co-operate, was not warned of their approach, and the fleet was sent towards a quarter of the country where the people were not prepared to receive them. When about to sail it was detained for some time by a mutiny, which arose in consequence of the enlistment of about 1200 galley slaves. The frigate in which general Hoche had embarked was separated from the fleet in a

gale of wind; so that when the greater part of the fleet arrived at Bantry Bay, on the west coast of Ireland, nobody had instructions how to proceed. The troops and their officers wished to land, but the admiral, Bouvet, refused to allow them. Having remained several days upon the coast, he sailed for France, and arrived at Brest, with a part of the fleet on the 31st of December. General Hoche did not reach Bantry Bay till it was too late, and therefore could not land. The fleet suffered losses in its return.

At the opening of the session, in the end of 1796, his majesty took notice of the invasion which the enemy had projected against England. Mr. Pitt brought forward the business in the house of commons, and pointed out the means by which he proposed to raise 15,000 men, to be divided between the land and sea service; to raise a supplementary levy of 60,000 for the militia, and 20,000 cavalry, which, with a few alterations and amendments, were agreed to. But, in mentioning the supplies for the year, which amounted to £27,647,000, and explaining the different articles of expenditure, the minister alluded to an expense of a particular nature, which had been incurred during the interval of parliament. As it would have been a matter of very great delicacy to have brought forward a public discussion on the propriety of advancing a sum to a foreign court in the critical situation of the country, ministry had granted to the emperor, without a public discussion, the sum of £1,200,000. This transaction was canvassed soon after, and the opposition reprobated it with the utmost acrimony. While the senate appeared thus the scene of faction, a most daring mutiny broke out in the navy, the pride and glory of the nation. The seamen had addressed several letters to earl Howe, soliciting a redress of grievances, particularly as to provisions, in which it seems they had been imposed upon, both as to quantity and quality; but, as these letters were anonymous, his lordship paid no attention to them. This apparent neglect produced a general correspondence by letter through the whole fleet; and on the 14th of April, when the signal was made to prepare for sea, a general revolt ensued; and, instead of weighing anchor, the seamen of the admiral's ship gave three cheers, which were echoed by the other ships. Delegates were then appointed for each ship, to represent the whole fleet; and the cabin of the admiral's ship was fixed upon as the place of their deliberation. Petitions were drawn up and presented to the admirals upon the spot, stating their demand of an increase of wages, and of some regulations for their benefit with respect to the ratio of provisions. On the 18th a committee of the admiralty arrived at Portsmouth, who made several propositions to reduce the men to obedience; the lords of the admiralty next conferred with the delegates, who assured their lordships that no arrangement would be considered as final, until it should be sanctioned by king and parliament, and guaranteed by a proclamation for a general pardon. Matters remained in this situation till the 23d, when earl Howe returned to his ship, hoisted his flag, and, after a short address to his crew, informed

to the Zuyder Zee. They had not been expected in this quarter, and the troops in the neighbourhood were consequently few. The British, however, had no sooner begun to move forward than they were attacked by a considerable body of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, who had been hastily assembled from the nearest towns. The Dutch troops maintained the contest with much obstinacy; but they were gradually fatigued by the steady opposition they encountered, and retired six miles. In the night they evacuated the fort of Helder, of which the British took possession on the morning of the 28th. A detachment from the British fleet, commanded by viceadmiral Mitchell, now entered the Zuyder Zee, by the strait of the Texel, to attack the Dutch fleet under admiral Story; who, instead of retiring for safety to any of the ports, or to the shallow water with which that sea abounds, surrendered the whole fleet, on the 30th of August, without firing a gun, under pretence that his seamen were mutinous and would not fight. Had the expedition terminated here it might have been regarded as extremely fortunate, and as establishing the power of the British navy without a rival. But it was resolved to follow up this first success by an effort on land to restore the authority of the Stadtholder, and the ancient government of the United Provinces. Many circumstances were hostile to this enterprise. The whole army had not been sent at once from Britain. As no more than the first division had arrived, the troops could only rest upon the ground they had gained till reinforcements should The terror arising from the first appearance of an invading army was thus allowed to pass away, the friends of the Stadtholder were discouraged, while leisure was afforded to the enemy to adopt effectual measures of defence. The place where the landing was effected was well chosen for an attack upon the Dutch fleet; but for an invasion, with a view to the restoration of the Stadtholder, it was the worst that could have been selected. North Holland, at the extremity of which it was made, is a narrow peninsula, every where intersected by canals and ditches, of about forty miles in length. Here the invaders might be detained, and even successfully resisted, by a force greatly inferior to their own. This also was the quarter of the country the most unfavorable to the cause of the Stadtholder. The rainy season too was approaching, which renders a winter campaign in Holland almost impossible.

be sent.

Amidst the pressure of the difficulties which surrounded them, the French directory hesitated much about undertaking the defence of Holland; but the place, and the time of landing the invading army, soon determined them. General Brune was sent with troops to support the Dutch general Daendels. General Abercromby, in the mean time, remained upon the defensive at Schager Brug, waiting for reinforcements. His inactivity encouraged the enemy, on the 10th of September, to venture an attack upon his position. They advanced in three columns, two of Dutch, and one of French troops. They were repulsed, however, in all quarters, and retired to Alkmaer. On the 13th the duke of York arrived with ad

ditional troops, and assumed the chief command. The Russian auxiliaries having also arrived, offensive operations were immediately resolved upon. On the 19th the army advanced. General Abercromby commanded the left, which proceeded along the shore of the Zuyder Zee against Hoorne. The centre columns were commanded by generals Dundas and Pultney; and the right wing, consisting of Russians, was commanded by their own general, D'Herman. By some strange misunderstanding, the Russians advanced to the attack soon after 3 o'clock A. M., which was some hours previous to the movement of the rest of the army. They were successful in their first efforts, and obtained possession of the village of Bergen; but pressing eagerly forward, and being unsupported by the other columns, they were nearly surrounded. Their commander was taken prisoner; and, though the British came in time to protect their retreat, they lost at least 3000 men. This failure on the right obliged the British commander-in-chief to recal his troops from the whole advanced positions they bad gained, though general Abercromby had actually taken Hoorne with its garrison, and although general Pultney's column had carried by assault the principal position of the Dutch army called Ourds Carspel. The severity of the weather prevented another attack till the 2nd of October, when, after an engagement that lasted from 6 A. M. till 6 P. M., the British army succeeded in driving the united Dutch and French troops from Alkmaer and the villages in its neighbourhood. The contest was chiefly conducted amongst the sand hills in the vicinity of the ocean; and the battle was maintained with such obstinacy, that the fatigue of the troops, with the difficult nature of the country, prevented the British from gaining any great advantage in the pursuit. The retreating army immediately occupied a new position between Baverwyck and Wyck-op-zee. The duke of York once more attacked them on the 6th; and after an obstinate and bloody engagement, which was maintained till night, he remained in possession of the field. But this was the last success of the invaders. Finding himself unable to make farther progress, in consequence of the increasing numbers of the enemy, the impracticable nature of the country, and the badness of the weather, which during the whole of 1799 was unusually severe, the duke of York retired to Schager Brug, and waited for orders from England to return. He was, in the mean time, closely pressed by the united Dutch and French forces, so that his embarkation must have been attended with much hazard. He therefore entered into a convention with the French and Dutch generals; by which it was agreed, that they should no farther molest him in his retreat; that, in return, he should not injure the country by breaking down any of the dykes which protect it against the sea; and that Great Britain should restore to France and Holland 8000 prisoners of war, taken previous to this campaign.

In the view of our domestic concerns every other consideration was at this time absorbed in the question of a legislative union with Ireland. The late rebellion, and the fear that through the machinations and aid of the French, Ireland