Chapter 27

{GEORGE III. 1796–1798}

Grey’s Motion for Peace, &c. Pitt’s Financial Measures..... Prorogation of Parliament..... Negociations of Peace..... Military Affairs on the Continent..... Surrender of Corsica and the Isle of Elba..... Dutch Attempt to retake the Cape of Good Hope..... French Expedition to Ireland..... . Disputes between France and America..... Meeting of Parliament..... Pitt’s Financial Statement..... Mission of Lord Malmesbury to Paris..... Stoppage of Cash- payments at the Bank..... Meeting in the Fleets..... . Grey’s Motion for Reform, &c. French Descent on Wales..... Battle of Cape St. Vincent..... Battle of Camperdown..... The Blockade of Cadiz, &c. War on the Continent..... Internal History of France..... Meeting of Parliament

{A.D. 1796}

GREY’S MOTION FOR PEACE, ETC.

After the Christmas recess, on the 15th of February, Mr. Grey moved an address to the king, praying him to communicate to the executive government of France his readiness to meet any disposition to negociate a general peace. Pitt in reply said that there was a sincere desire for peace, if it could be obtained on honourable terms; but that the country could not break her faith with her allies that remained true to her, or consent to any arrangement which should leave the French in possession of Belgium, Holland, Savoy, Nice, &c. The motion was negatived by one hundred and ninety against fifty. On the 10th of March the same honourable gentleman moved that the house should resolve itself into a committee, to inquire into the state of the nation; in his speech on which he dwelt upon the enormous expenses and hopeless prospects of the war, and represented our commerce as declining, and the country as reduced to a state in which it could not bear any more taxes. Pitt and his friends insisted, however, that the commerce of the country had increased, and was increasing, and justified the lavish expenditure, though much of it was unjustifiable. This motion was also negatived; but a few weeks later Mr. Grey moved a long series of resolutions, charging ministers with numerous acts of misappropriation of the public money, in flagrant violation of various acts of parliament, and of presenting false accounts, calculated to mislead the judgment of the house. The order of the day was likewise carried against this motion, by a majority of two hundred and nine to thirty-eight. On the 10th of May an address to the king was moved in the upper house by the Earl of Guildford, and in the lower house by Mr. Fox, declaring that the duty incumbent on parliament no longer permitted them to dissemble their deliberate opinion, that the distress, difficulty, and peril, to which this country was then subjected, had arisen from the misconduct of the king’s ministers and was likely to increase as long as the same principles which had hitherto guided these ministers should continue to prevail in the councils of Great Britain. Fox enlarged much on “that most fatal of all the innumerable errors of ministers,” their rushing into a ruinous and unnecessary war, instead of mediating between France and the allied powers. He contended that his majesty, by undertaking the office of mediator, would have added lustre to the national character, and have placed Britain in the exalted situation of arbitress of the world. On the other hand, Pitt insisted that the king could not have interposed his mediation without incurring the hazard of involving himself in a war with that power which should have refused his terms. Pitt enlarged on the danger arising to all Europe from the revolutionary decree of the 19th of November, and the insult offered to this country in particular, in the encouragement given to the seditious and treasonable addresses presented to the convention. He contended, that while negociations were pending, war was actually declared by France, and that France, and not England, was therefore the aggressor. This nation, he said, had no alternative; and he asked if the house, after a war of three years, which they had sanctioned by repeated votes and declarations, would now acknowledge themselves in a delusion? whether they would submit to the humiliation and degradation of falsely arraigning themselves, and of passing on their own acts a sentence of condemnation? Pitt said that it was a war of which the necessity and policy were manifest; and that if the country should at any time suffer a reverse of fortune, he should still exhort them to surmount all difficulties by perseverance, until they could obtain safe and honourable conditions of peace. On the other hand, he added, if success should attend our arms, the prospect of obtaining further advantages should not be relinquished by a premature readiness to make peace. These arguments were deemed conclusive: the motions both of Fox and Lord Guildford were lost by immense majorities.

PITT’S FINANCIAL MEASURES.

In the course of this session two budgets were produced, and two loans contracted, amounting in the whole to £25,000,000. The total supplies granted for the year were £13,821,430. In order to meet the expenditure many taxes were augmented, as those on wine, spirits, tea, coffee, silk, fruit, tobacco, salt, horses, dogs, hats, and legacies to collateral relatives; the assessed taxes were also increased by ten per cent.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

This session, in which little appears to have been done, terminated on the 19th of May. In his speech from the throne his majesty expressed the happy effects experienced from the provisions adopted for suppressing sedition, and restraining the progress of principles subversive of all established government; and the highest approbation of the uniform wisdom, temper, and firmness which had appeared in all then-proceedings since their first meeting. A few days afterwards parliament was dissolved.

NEGOCIATIONS FOR PEACE.

In the course of the debate on Fox’s motion, for an address to the crown, it was stated by ministers that Mr. Wickham, our envoy to the Swiss cantons, had already had some communication with Barthélémy, the French negociator in chief, and they urged that these communications were quite sufficient to induce the republic to treat, if it really had any pacific intention. Opposition, however, urged that Mr. Wickham had not done enough to conciliate the French; and thus urged on, Pitt considered himself obliged to continue the overtures which had been made. Mr. Wickham asked Barthélémy whether the directory were desirous to negociate with Great Britain and her allies on moderate and honourable conditions, and would agree to a meeting of a congress for this purpose. Barthélémy replied, that the directory sincerely desired peace, but that they would insist on keeping Belgium, or all the Austrian dominions in the Low Countries, as they had been annexed to the French republic by a constitutional decree that could not be revoked. It was, however, as clear as the sun at noon-day that the directory did not desire peace at all; or that, if they did, it would be on terms that could not be accepted. At this very time they were not only meditating a blow at the commerce of England, by preventing the admission of English goods into any port of France and Belgium, and into any of the French dependencies, but they were fostering and entertaining a number of Irish revolutionists at Paris, and were contemplating a grand expedition to Ireland, in order to co-operate with the rebellious there, and to convert that country, as they had done Holland, Belgium, &c., into a French dependency. Yet, though it was manifest that the French directory had no desire for peace, in the autumn of this year, Pitt was induced to renew his overtures. Government applied for passports for an ambassador to go to Paris; and Lord Malmesbury arrived there on the 22nd of October. But all negociation for peace was vain. It-lasted for several weeks; and then, the directors having required Lord Malinesbury to define what compensation would be demanded for the restoration of the French colonies, and to state all his demands within four and twenty hours, his lordship replied that their requisition precluded all further negociation; and on the next day his lordship was told that he must quit Paris within forty-eight hours.

In the meantime Pitt had prepared for a vigorous prosecution of the war. In order to confirm the cabinet in the warlike disposition displayed, to rouse the national spirit for renewed exertions, and to point out the dishonour of forming treaties with men notorious for their bad faith, in the course of this summer Mr. Burke published his celebrated “Letters on a Regicide Peace.” These letters, and the two others that were published after his death, are among the most splendid efforts of his mind. In them he took a different view of the war from Pitt; he thought that it would be both violent and protracted. At the same time he did not despair of the final result, provided only a check could be given to that despondence which had seized upon many minds, and which the opposition were inculcating and promoting. It was his opinion that it was essential to success to disclaim all partition of the soil of France, to distinguish between the government and the nation, and to declare against the Jacobins, as distinct from the people; that France ought to be attacked in her own territory, and, in the first instance, by a British army sent into the Vendée; that it was impolitic to employ troops and fleets in reducing West Indian islands while the French armies were overrunning the Continent; and that England, with a force of nearly 300,000 men, with a navy of 500 ships of war, might make an irresistible impression on any part of the French territory. This was the last effort which Burke made to stem the onward torrent of the progress of the French revolutionists. He had recently endured a severe calamity in the death of his only son, of whose talents he had formed the highest expectations, and for whose advancement he had vacated his seat in parliament; and in the next year he himself was brought to the grave. He was one of the greatest men of his age; and his views of political philosophy will go down to posterity as the most enlightened that ever flowed from a human mind.

MILITARY AFFAIRS ON THE CONTINENT.

During this year France had three objects in contemplation: an invasion of Germany, another of Italy, and the subjugation of La Vendée.

In Germany the Austrian army was headed by the Archduke Charles of Austria, with whom was joined the veteran Wurmser. Under them were 175,000 troops, of which 40,000 were the finest cavalry in Europe. They defended the entrance of Germany on the side of the Rhine; and Jourdan and Moreau were despatched with 150,000 men against them; the former approaching the empire by the Upper Rhine, and the latter directing his course through Suabia. At first the French were eminently successful. They drove all the Austrian corps back from the frontiers; deprived them of their magazines, cannon, and arms; and threatened the hereditary states. Within six weeks the Austrians were reduced by a third of their original force—partly by loss and partly by drafts out of it for the service in Italy; and the French armies covered the country from Stutgard to the Lake of Constance, a line of one hundred and fifty miles. But at this point their successes ended. Perceiving their error in thus extending their front, the Archduke Charles narrowed his own, and gradually bringing nearer to a converging point the separate forces of Wartensleben and Wurmser, he slowly retreated; watching his opportunity for striking a blow. At length, when Moreau had captured Ulm and Donawert, on the Danube, and was preparing to cross the river Leek into Bavaria, and thence to move onward to the defiles of the Tyrol, the Archduke Charles fell upon Jourdan at Amberg, and completely defeated him. This occurred on the 24th of August; and on the 3rd of September the archduke overtook the republicans again at Maine, where he once more thinned their ranks. Still pressing on their rear, the republicans fell into a miserably disorganized state; and on the 16th of September the archduke came up with them at Aschaffenburg, and drove them with terrible loss to the opposite side of the Rhine. In the whole, Jourdan lost 20,000 men, and nearly all his artillery and baggage. Moreau was too far off to render him any assistance; and he could neither advance nor maintain himself where he was without him. Under these circumstances he commenced his retreat with 70,000 men, followed by the imperial general, Latour, who had not above 24,000 men. Latour, pressing on Moreau’s rear too closely, suffered a defeat; and the French reached the banks of the Rhine in safety. Here, however, the Archduke Charles was ready to meet them with a force equal, or, perhaps, superior to their own. Moreau was compelled to fight two battles, in both of which he was defeated; and nothing but a violent storm saved the wreck of his army. This, and the pitchy darkness of the night, prevented the Austrian cavalry from acting, and enabled him to get his broken columns on the safe side of the Rhine. The archduke Charles had therefore saved Germany.

In Italy the republicans were more successful. The command of the army there was given to Napoleon Buonaparte; and he arrived at his head-quarters at Nice on the 26th of March. His army, which was in a wretched state of discipline, amounted to about 50,000 men, while that of the Austrians and Piedmontese amounted to about 60,000 men. The imperial army was under the command of Beaulieu, and was stretched along the ridge of the Apennines, at the foot of which the French were advancing. On leading his troops to the Alpine frontier, Napoleon made the first of his remarkable appeals to his troops:—“Soldiers” said he, “you are almost naked and half-starved; the government owes you much, and can give you nothing. Your patience and courage in the midst of these rocks are admirable; but they reflect no honour on your arms. I am about to conduct you into the finest plains on earth; fertile provinces, opulent cities, will soon be in your power; there you will find rich harvests, honour, and glory. Soldiers of Italy, will you fail in courage?” Without waiting to be attacked Beaulieu descended from the heights, and met the advanced guard of the French at Voltri, near Genoa, which he repulsed. D’Argenteau, who commanded Beaulieu’s centre, at the same time traversed the mountains of Montenotte, in the hope of descending upon Savona, and thus take the French in flank; but, when more than half of his march was completed, he met a French division of 1500 men, who threw themselves into the redoubt of Montelegino, and thus shut up the road of Montenotte. D’Argenteau attacked this post, but he was unable to take it; and in the meantime Buonaparte marched round by an unguarded road to his rear, and attacked and defeated him. This was the first of a series of victories on the part of the French. Before the end of April, besides this battle of Montenotte, Buonaparte had gained those of Millesimo, Dego, and Mondovi, by which he effected a separation of the Austrian and Piedmontese armies. The King of Sardinia was so discouraged by his losses, that to procure a cessation of hostilities he delivered up some of his principal fortresses to the French; and a peace was shortly concluded, by which he ceded the Duchy of Savoy and the county of Nice to the conquerors for ever. The reply of Buonaparte to his negociators was characteristic. He remarked:—“It is for me to impose conditions: unless you obey, my batteries are erected by to-morrow, and Turin is in flames.” Having imposed his conditions on the king of Sardinia, Buonaparte, on the 10th of May, advanced to Lodi, where he encountered and, after a fierce conflict, defeated Beaulieu. It was after gaining this victory, as he himself said many years afterwards, that the idea first flashed across his mind that he might become a great actor in the world’s drama. In order to obtain the ends of his ambition, Buonaparte now stretched every nerve. In five days after the action at Lodi he made his triumphant entry into Milan; and all Lombardy was at the feet of the conqueror, except Mantua. At Milan the French had many converts and partisans, and Napoleon received an enthusiastic welcome; but, notwithstanding all this, he levied immense contributions, not only on the Milanese, but on Parma and Modena, as the price of an armistice. Thus the Milanese were compelled to contribute 20,000,000 francs; the Duke of Parma was made to pay 1,500,000 francs; and the Duke of Modena 6,000,000 francs in cash, 2,000,000 more in provisions, cattle, horses, etc., and to deliver up some of his choicest paintings. This regular plunder was called for by the five directors at the Luxembourg, who were perpetually demanding of Napoleon, money, more money. How effectually he responded to their demand is shown by his own statements; for he says, that besides clothing, feeding, and paying the army during the first Italian campaign, he remitted 50,000,000 of francs to the Luxembourg. But these harsh terms of the French fraternisation produced their fruits in an extensive revolt in Lombardy; and at Pavia, whither Napoleon was compelled to return, it could only be quelled by energetic measures. With the artillery he battered down the gates and cleared the streets; after which he gave up the city to plunder, debauchery, and every species of violence and crime which his republican army were capable of committing.

Napoleon advancing southward now overran Tuscany, where he showed how the French directory respected neutrality by taking possession of Leghorn, and seizing all the goods belonging to the English, Portuguese, and others, in the warehouses of that great free port. Subsequently he plundered the states and possessions of the pope; and when Pius VI. dispatched envoys to sue for terms, he granted an armistice only at the following price:—15,000,000 francs in cash, and 6,000,000 in provisions, horses, &c.; a number of paintings, ancient statues and vases, and five hundred manuscripts from the Vatican; the cession of the provinces of Bologna and Ferrara; the cession of the port and citadel of Ancona; and the closing of all the papal ports to the English and their allies. The spoiler was recalled from this work by intelligence that old Wurmser was marching against him from the Valley of Trento, with an army consisting of nearly 60,000 men. Napoleon was besieging Mantua when he heard of the approach of the German veteran; and drawing his army from thence, he hastened to meet his enemy. Unhappily for Wurmser’s success, he had divided his forces; while he himself moved with the larger portion along the eastern shore of the lake of Guarda, he sent Quosnadowich with the other division along the western bank. This was a fatal error. Buonaparte instantly threw the entire weight of his concentrated forces upon Quosnadowich and crushed him at Lonato; and then sought Wurmser with a force nearly double to that of the Austrians; and in two battles, fought on the 3rd and 5th of August, near Castiglione, defeated him, and drove him back into the Tyrol, with the loss of his artillery and several thousand men. But though defeated, the Austrian general was not subdued. Striking across the mountains to the east of Trento, and descending the valley of the Brente, the old general again entered Italy, and advanced to Bassano. Here he was joined by some reinforcements from Carinthia; but Napoleon followed hard after him, and he was compelled to throw himself into the fortress of Mantua. It was on the 14th of September that Wurmser shut himself up in Mantua; and shortly after two fresh Austrian armies, raised chiefly through another subsidy from England, descended into Italy; one of which, under Marshal Alvinzi, descended from Carinthia upon Belluno, and the other, under Davidowich, moved down from the Tyrol. Had these forces been united they would scarcely have been a match for Buonaparte, whence there cannot be any wonder that the result was disastrous to the Austrian arms. Taking advantage of this error, Napoleon, with the mass of his forces, rushed to meet Alvinzi; and after a series of battles, in which the French suffered great loss, he finally succeeded in defeating the Austrian general at Areola. Alvinzi made his retreat upon Vicenza and Bassano; and on the same day that he commenced this retreat on the left side of the Adige, Davidowich came down on the right side of that river, and entered the plains between Pescheira and Verona. His defeat was inevitable: Napoleon turned against him with forces flushed with victory; and he was driven back to Ala, Reverodo, and the steep hills that hang over the pass of the Tyrol. This action concluded what has been aptly called “the third Italian campaign of the year 1796.”

SURRENDER OF CORSICA AND THE ISLE OF ELBA.

At this time Napoleon felt that the conquest of all Italy was within his reach. Treaties and the rights of foreign powers, whether neutral or friendly, were little regarded by him. Thus, in open contempt of both, he had invaded Tuscany, and had taken possession of Leghorn, his excuse being the dislodgement of the English. In consequence of this movement Nelson blockaded that port, and landed a force in the isle of Elba, in order to secure Porto Ferrajo. Moreover, as Genoa, taking the part of France, had excluded the English from its ports, Nelson seized on the island of Capraia, which had formerly belonged to Corsica. But the British admiral’s vigour was not seconded by the British government; orders were given for even the evacuation of Corsica itself; and soon after the British fleet, in consequence of peace being made between Naples and France, left the Mediterranean station, and proceeded to the support of Portugal.

DUTCH ATTEMPT TO RETAKE THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

The Dutch government having determined not to suffer the loss of the Cape of Good Hope without a struggle to regain it, fitted out an expedition for that purpose. This expedition anchored on the 2nd of August in the bay of Saldanha; and at the moment when General Craig was marching down the coast to meet the invaders, a British fleet was seen advancing, with a fair wind, to the mouth of the harbour. The English admiral, Elphinstone, anchored within gunshot of the enemy, and sent a summons to the Dutch admiral; and seeing that resistance was useless, he delivered up his squadron without having fired a gun. The prizes were two sail of the line, three smaller ships of war, and three armed vessels.

FRENCH EXPEDITION TO IRELAND.

In Ireland the Papists had long sought to overthrow the Protestant supremacy, while the liberals were anxiously seeking the triumph of their principles. The disposition which prevailed among these two powerful parties was known to the French directory; and they were encouraged thereby to attempt the striking of a blow of no common magnitude in that quarter. On the 20th of December General Hoche embarked at Brest with 15,000 troops, to co-operate with the Irish insurgents; but the fleet, which was under the command of Vice-admiral Morard de Galles, had scarcely left the harbour when it was dispersed by a storm. Only eight sail out of eighteen ships of the line reached the Irish coast, and the weather was so stormy that the French could not land; and the whole expedition, after having suffered great loss, was obliged to return to France. One of the line-of-battle ships was attacked, before she could reach a port, by two English frigates, and was finally driven on shore, where she went to pieces, and many of the crew perished in the sea. In the whole, the French lost three ships of the line and three frigates from the adverse elements; and they narrowly escaped the attack of a British fleet, under Lord Bridport, who arrived off the Irish coast immediately after their departure. During the whole of this year, indeed, the maritime power of France suffered greatly; and her remaining commerce was much diminished by the exertions of the British cruisers. Upwards of seventy sail of armed vessels belonging to the enemy were captured; among which were five ships of the line and twelve frigates. On the other hand, the French made a successful expedition to Newfoundland, where shipping and merchandise to a large amount were captured or destroyed.

DISPUTES BETWEEN FRANCE AND AMERICA.

The new government of France had scarcely commenced operations when it became involved in a quarrel with America. This dispute arose from the treaty recently executed between America and Great Britain; which treaty the directory supposed was inimical to France, and incompatible with the idea of neutrality. By the treaty of 1778, which was still in force, the Americans had guaranteed to France their West Indian colonies; but by the treaty of 1795 they consented that even supplies of provisions sent to those islands should be treated as illegal commerce. In consequence of this, the directory affected to regard the Americans as enemies, and made such depredations on their commerce as amounted to almost open war. An _arrêt_ also was issued, on the third of July, ordering French ships of war to observe such conduct towards the vessels of neutral nations as they had hitherto suffered from the English. Thus began that oppressive system by which neutral powers were doomed to be persecuted in the future progress of the war. Towards the close of this summer, Mr. Monroe, the American ambassador at Paris, was recalled; and the directory not only refused to receive a successor, but suspended M. Adet, French resident at Philadelphia, from his functions. Such was the situation of the foreign relations of the United States in the year when Washington finally retired from the cares of government, to enjoy repose in the shades of Mount Vernon, on the banks of the Potowmac.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The British parliament had been dissolved by proclamation soon after the close of the last session; and ministers had, in consequence, been chiefly occupied by the elections. The new parliament was opened by the king in person on the 6th of October. In his speech, his majesty repeated his anxious wish for an honourable peace; announced the intended mission of Lord Malmesbury to Paris for that purpose; and made allusion to the success of our arms in the East and West Indies, and to the brilliant campaign of Archduke Charles. Some difference of opinion existed between ministers and their supporters, on the propriety of entering upon a negociation with republican France; but, nevertheless, the usual addresses passed without a division. A clause in his majesty’s speech declared apprehension of an invasion; and therefore Pitt recommended the adoption of measures to repel the attempt. He proposed a plan for augmenting the national force by a levy of 15,000 men from the parishes, to be divided between the sea and land service; and by a supplementary levy of 60,000 men for the militia, and 20,000 men for irregular service, not to be called out immediately, but enrolled and gradually trained. This plan, after some bitter remarks made by the habitual opponents of government, and after the alteration of a clause which proposed to convert gamekeepers into soldiers, passed without a division. A bill was also brought in and carried by Mr. Dundas, to raise a militia in Scotland. The total number of land-forces voted for the year 1797 was 195,694; that of seamen, 120,000.

PITT’S FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Pitt opened the budget on the 7th of November. The money he required was £27,945,000; and among the ways and means which he proposed was a loan of £18,000,000. There seems to have been a universal spirit of loyalty in the house, for all that was said by Pitt as to the courage and resources of the nation, and our capability of withstanding the power of France and our various enemies, was loudly cheered, while Fox, who opposed him, was heard in dead silence. The propositions were agreed to, and this loan was soon followed by a second of equal amount, and including a vote of three millions for the Emperor of Austria. On opening the budget, Pitt stated that ministers had made an advance of £1,200,000 to the emperor; and on the 13th of November, Fox moved “That his Majesty’s ministers, having authorised and directed at different times, and without the consent and during the sitting of parliament, the issue of various sums for the services of his Imperial Majesty, and also for the service of the army under the Prince of Condé, have acted contrary to their duty, and to the trust reposed in them, and have thereby violated the constitutional privileges of this house.” At first Pitt admitted that it was an irregular act, but afterwards he attempted to bring what he had done within the authority of the ordinary vote of credit, and endeavoured to find a principle in other discretionary and indefinite expenditures. Pitt was manifestly in a dilemma; but he was rescued by the Hon. Charles Bathurst Bragge, who moved as an amendment to Fox’s resolution, to the effect that the advance made to the Emperor, “Though not to be drawn into precedent but upon occasions of special necessity, was, under the peculiar circumstances of the case, a justifiable and proper exercise of the discretion vested in his Majesty’s ministers by the vote of credit, and calculated to produce consequences which have proved highly advantageous to the common cause, and to the general interests of Europe.” This amendment was carried by a majority of two hundred and eighty-five to eighty-one.

MISSION OF LORD MALMESBURY TO PARIS.

As intimated by the King in his speech on opening the new parliament, during the course of the autumn. Lord Malmesbury was sent to Paris to treat for peace. At this time, however, peace was not easily obtained; the republicans were too much elated by their success in Italy and their hopes from Ireland to listen to any pacific overtures with complacency; and moreover an envoy, despatched about the same time to the court of Berlin, with an intent, as was supposed, of drawing Prussia again into a coalition, excited considerable jealousy in the minds of the directors. Lord Malmesbury’s mission was in fact a complete failure. On his return his Majesty sent a message to parliament, declaring that the rupture of the negociation did not proceed from the want of a sincere desire on his part for the restoration of peace, but from the excessive pretensions of the enemy—pretensions which were incompatible with the permanent interests of this country and the general security of Europe. On the next day the British ministry also published a manifesto, enlarging on their own pacific dispositions, and setting forth the malignant hostility of the French republicans. Copies of all the memorials and other papers relating to the negociation were likewise laid before parliament, and on the 30th of December the King’s massage was taken into consideration in both houses. In the commons, Pitt asserted that the rupture of the negociations was wholly due to the directory, who demanded, not as an ultimatum, but as a preliminary, to retain all territories of which the war had given them possession; and respecting which they had thought proper to pass a decree, annexing them unalienably to the republic. He continued, “And not content with thus abrogating the law of nations, as well as previous treaties, they have offered a studied insult to his majesty by ordering his ambassador to quit Paris, and proposing to carry on the negociation by reciprocal couriers. The question then is, not how much you will give for peace, but how much disgrace you will suffer at the outset; how much degradation you will submit to as a preliminary? Shall we then persevere in the war with a spirit and energy worthy of the British name and character; or shall we, by sending couriers to Paris, prostrate ourselves at the feet of a stubborn, supercilious government? I hope there is not a hand in his majesty’s council that would sign the proposal; that there is not a heart in this house which would sanction the measure; and that there is not an individual in this realm that would act as courier.” In private, Fox confessed that this would be the very worst moment for making a peace with France; but, nevertheless, he moved an amendment to the address to be returned to the king’s message, replete with inculpations of ministers for not having concluded a treaty with the French republic. His friend, Lord Guildford, moved a similar amendment in the Lords; but both were negatived by large majorities.

{A.D. 1797}

STOPPAGE OF CASH PAYMENTS AT THE BANK.

At the commencement of this year the aspect of public affairs wore a gloomy appearance. The directors of the Bank of England had recently, on several occasions, represented to the chancellor of the exchequer their inability of supplying his increasing demands; and the dread of an invasion had produced a run upon the bank for specie; so that when Pitt requested a further advance, early in this year, of £1,500,000 as a loan to Ireland, he was informed that a compliance with this request would most likely cause the directors to shut their doors. In this state of affairs the privy council, on the 26th* of February, sent an order, prohibiting the directors of the Bank from issuing any cash or specie in payment till the sense of parliament could be taken, and measures be adopted for supporting public credit.

*This was on a Sunday; and it was the first time, during the reign of the present monarch that business had been transacted on that day.

This decisive step was announced by a royal message to parliament on the next day; and the subject was immediately taken into consideration. It was thought by the opposition that this would crush Pitt; and Fox exultingly gave notice that he would move for an inquiry into all the past transactions between the Bank and the minister; and Sheridan, Whitbread, and others made motions all having one end in view—Pitt’s overthrow. But Pitt was too firmly seated to be overthrown by his opponents, however ardently they might seek his downfall. The first step taken was to appoint two secret committees for ascertaining the assets of the Bank beyond its debts; and their reports stated that these amounted to the sum of £3,826.890, exclusive of a permanent debt of £11,666,800 in the three per cent, stock, due from government; and also that the demands which occasioned this drain of cash had of late increased, and that they were likely to go on increasing until the Bank would be deprived of its means of supplying that cash to government which it might require. The committees added, that it, was proper to continue the measures already taken for such time and under such limitations as should seem expedient to parliament. This report was taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house; and Pitt moved for leave to bring in a bill to continue and confirm for a limited time the restriction of the issue of specie by the Bank of England; and after various clauses, added by the ministers themselves, this bill passed. The Bank was authorized to issue specie to the amount of £100,000, for the accommodation of private bankers and traders; and bank-notes were to be a legal tender to all, except to the army and navy, who were to be paid in cash. From this time till 1819 the circulation of gold coin in a great measure ceased, and notes of one pound and upwards became the general medium of commercial intercourse. Pitt’s bill was, indeed, limited in its operation to the 24th of June; but the restriction was afterwards continued from time to time by a succession of new acts, so that the return to cash payments did not take place till the above date, when Sir Robert Peel carried his well-known bill on that subject.

{GEORGE III. 1796–1798}

MUTINY IN THE FLEETS.

During the sitting of parliament mutinies broke out in the fleet, which gave far greater alarm than the suspension of cash payments by the Bank. For some time great dissatisfaction had prevailed among the seamen respecting their pay and provisions; and in the month of February Lord Howe received several anonymous letters, praying for his lordship’s influence towards obtaining an increase of pay, and an improvement in the quality and quantity of food. At the same time a correspondence was established between the crews of the different ships, and a committee of delegates was appointed to obtain a redress of grievances. These proceedings were conducted with great secrecy; and it was not till Lord Bridport made a signal to prepare for sea, in April, that they became known. Then, instead of weighing anchor as the signal imported, the seamen of the admiral’s ship ran up the shrouds, and saluted the surrounding ships’ crews with three cheers, to which a long and loud response was given. It became manifest that the spirit of disobedience was general; and this was soon shown by action as well as by the voice. The next step of the delegates was to assemble in the cabin of the admiral’s ship, and to place the officers in custody, in order to prevent them from going on shore. A petition to the admiral was drawn up, and presented on the spot; accompanied with a declaration that, till the prayer of the petition was granted, till their pay was increased and their provisions altered, they should not quit their present station, “unless the enemy was known to be at sea.” On discovering this mutinous spirit, a committee of the admiralty, with Earl Spencer at their head, repaired to Portsmouth, with a view of inducing the seamen to return to their duty. This was on the 18th of April; and five days later the admiral returned to his ship, when, after hoisting his flag, he informed the crew that he had brought with him a redress of all their grievances, accompanied by his majesty’s pardon for their offence. These offers were cheerfully accepted, and every man returned to his duty. There was reason for believing that all cause of dissatisfaction was removed; but there was still mischief lurking behind. On the 7th of May, when Lord Bridport again made the signal to put to sea, every ship at St. Helen’s refused to obey, the seamen being under the impression that government would not fulfil its promises. A meeting of delegates was convened to be held on board the “London;” but Vice-admiral Colpoys, having determined to prevent the illegal assembly from being held on board his ship, ordered the marines to fire upon the boats as they approached; and five seamen were killed. Irritated by this resistance on the part of the admiral, the crew of the “London” now turned their guns towards the stern, and threatened to blow all aft into the water, unless the commander submitted; and Admiral Colpoys and Captain Griffiths were both taken into custody by their crew, and confined for several hours in separate cabins. Such was the state of affairs on the 14th of May, when Lord Howe arrived from the admiralty with plenary powers to settle all differences; and as his lordship was the bearer of an act of parliament, which had passed on the 9th, granting an additional allowance of pay to the seamen, and also of his majesty’s proclamation of pardon, the flag of insurrection was struck, and the fleet prepared to put out to sea. The dangerous spirit of disaffection, however, was not yet subdued. While these things were transacting at Portsmouth, a fresh mutiny broke out at Sheerness. This gave little alarm at first, it being supposed that the terms which had been offered Lord Bridport’s ships, and which were to be extended to all ships and fleets whatsoever, would satisfy those fresh mutineers. It was not so. On the 20th of May, many of the ships lying at the Nore, and soon afterwards nearly all those belonging to the North Sea fleet, hoisted the red flag, chose two delegates from every ship, and elected a president, who styled himself “President of the floating republic.” The demands made by these mutineers were a greater freedom of absence from ships in harbour; a more punctual discharge of arrears of pay; a more equal distribution of prize-money; and a general abatement of the rigours of discipline. Compliance to these concessions was demanded as the only condition upon which they would return to their duty. The admiralty, however, gave a decided negative to their demands; and, with a promise of pardon, insisted that they should return to their duty and proceed to sea in search of the enemy. The delegates now demanded that some of the board of admiralty should come down to Sheerness to negociate with them; and the mutineers of the “Sandwich,” of ninety guns, Vice-admiral Buckner’s ship, in which “President Parker” was serving, struck the admiral’s flag, and hoisted the red flag in its stead; and then all the ships of war which lay near Sheerness dropped down to the great Nore. Pardon was again offered them and again rejected on the 24th; and on the 29th a committee of the admiralty went down to Sheerness, and sent for the delegates, and tried to conciliate them without yielding to any of their new demands. But all their endeavours were fruitless. The delegates behaved with great insolence to the commissioners; and as soon as they returned to the fleet, the mutineers moored their ships in a line across the river, and detained every merchant vessel bound up or down the Thames. This was in effect blockading the port of London; and two vessels, laden with stores and provisions, were seized and appropriated to the use of the mutineers. On the 4th of June the whole fleet celebrated the king’s birthday by a royal salute; and on the 6th they were joined by four ships of the line from Admiral Duncan’s squadron, making in the whole twenty-four sail, consisting of eleven ships of the line and thirteen frigates in a state of mutiny.

In the meantime government was not inattentive to the perilous state of the country. His majesty’s pardon was offered to such of the mutineers as should immediatety return to their duty; two acts of parliament were passed for restraining the intercourse between the revolted crews and the shore, and for the punishment of any attempt to seduce seamen or soldiers into mutinous conduct; all the buoys at the mouth of the Thames were removed; and batteries were erected along shore for firing red-hot shot. Government was assisted in their efforts to quell the rebellion by the two divisions of the fleet lying at Portsmouth and Plymouth, each of which addressed an exhortation to the mutineers, urging them to be content with the indulgences granted, and to return to their duty. But their warnings were all ineffectual. The mutineers sent Lord Northesk, who had been confined on board his ship, the “Monmouth,” with conditions to his majesty, on which alone, they said, they were willing to surrender the ships. The terms they demanded were submitted to the king in council, and were instantly rejected; and all hopes of accommodation being thus at an end, preparations were made to enforce obedience to the laws. The bold tone which government assumed, being seconded by the voice of the people, at length had its effect. Several of the ships deserted the rebels; in those that remained the well-disposed rose upon the refractory, and some lives were lost; and by the 13th of June every red flag had disappeared. President Parker and some of the delegates were executed, some were flogged through the fleet, and others left under sentence on board prison-ships, while the mass received his majesty’s free pardon. This general pardon was proclaimed in October, after Admiral Duncan’s victory off Camperdown, which will be noticed in a subsequent article.

GREY’S MOTION FOR REFORM, ETC.

While the country was agitated by the mutiny of the fleets, Mr. Grey rose in the house of commons to move “for a sweeping reform in parliament.” This motion was seconded by Fox and others of his party; but it was lost by a majority of two hundred and fifty-eight against ninety-three. Not one of the Foxites could have expected that the motion would pass; but pretending to despair of succeeding in their plan of reform, Fox and most of his friends seceded from parliament, declaring that their attendance there was useless. Some of them returned subsequently to their seats, but none of them attended during Parker’s mutiny; and from this time till the year 1800 Fox spoke only three or four times in the house. Sheridan refused to secede; and when the debate took place concerning the rebellion at the Nore, in defiance of his party he strengthened the hands of government. The Foxites asserted that he was acting under selfish motives, and that he was seeking a seat on the treasury bench with some well-paid place. They might be correct; for all history shows that the true and disinterested patriot, is of rare occurrence; all have their own self-interest at heart. No other business worthy of historical note occurred till the 20th of July, when his majesty prorogued parliament by a speech from the throne, in which he declared that he was again engaged in a negociation for peace, and that nothing should be wanting on his part to bring it to a successful termination.

FRENCH DESCENT ON WALES.

Early in this year the French sent an expedition of about 1500 men, mostly criminals and vagabonds, attired as French troops, who landed in Cardigan Bay. The Welsh peasantry, animated by the gentry, armed with scythes, sickles, and pitchforks, marched forth to meet the invaders; and Lord Cawdor assembled a mixed force of seven hundred militia, fencibles, and yeoman cavalry. This was sufficient. The French commander, after a short negociation, capitulated to Lord Cawdor; while the two frigates which accompanied the expedition, were captured on their return to Brest. Such was the result of this long-menaced invasion; but in other quarters preparations were made on a more formidable scale.

BATTLE OFF CAPE ST. VINCENT.

“The year of mutinies” was not altogether inglorious to the British navy. It was proposed by the republic that the fleets of Holland and Spain should join the French fleet at Brest, and that the whole armada should bear down for the coast of England. In order to frustrate this design, Sir John Jervis was directed to blockade the port of Cadiz, while Admiral Duncan was sent to watch the Dutch in the Texel. Sir John Jervis fell in with the great Spanish fleet, under the command of Don José de Cordova, off Cape St. Vincent, The Spanish fleet consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line, and the English of only fifteen; but the greater part of the Spanish crews were inexperienced, and Nelson was with the English admiral, so that there was no hesitation in engaging. Four Spanish ships of the line were captured, and all the rest were driven into Cadiz, and there blockaded. Intelligence of this victory occasioned great joy throughout the nation; and while the fleet was honoured with the thanks of both houses of parliament, Sir John Jervis was created Earl St. Vincent; Nelson was invested with the order of the Bath; Captain Robert Calder was knighted; and gold medals and chains were presented to all the captains. The victory was due to the prompt and daring conduct of Nelson, whose watchword, as he went into the battle, was “Westminster Abbey or victory.”

BATTLE OFF CAMPERDOWN.

The most complete naval action of this year happened off Camperdown. On the 11th of October Admiral Duncan, with sixteen sail of the line, attacked a Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral De Winter, of eleven sail of the line and four fifty-six gun ships. The Dutch fought in a very different style from the Spaniards, ardently contending for the victory. Admiral De Winter, whose ship was attacked by Admiral Duncan’s, did not strike his flag before all his masts fell overboard, and half his crew were either killed or wounded; and when the battle terminated, almost every Dutch ship was found to be in a disabled state. Eight ships of the line, two fifty-six gun ships, and two frigates remained as trophies of victory to the English. This action excited great joy at home; and Duncan was elevated to the peerage, by the title of Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. In consideration of this and the other signal victories that had crowned our fleets, his majesty ordered a general thanksgiving throughout the kingdom, which took place on the 19th of December.

THE BLOCKADE OF CADIZ, ETC.

After the battle off Cape St. Vincent, Nelson was employed in the blockade of Cadiz, which he bombarded on the 23rd of June and 3rd of July. This bombardment, however, produced but little effect; and soon afterward, owing to an unfounded report that the viceroy of Mexico had arrived at Teneriffe with treasure ships, Nelson proceeded thither in search of them. He made an unfortunate attack on Santa Cruz in that island, which ended in the loss of his own right arm, and also of about two hundred men. Previous to this, the Spanish island of Trinidad capitulated to an expedition of six sail of the line, with troops on board, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Admiral Harvey; but the same commanders were subsequently defeated in an attempt to take Porto Rico.

WAR ON THE CONTINENT.

At the commencement of this year, Alvinzi, the Austrian general, re-enforced with 50,000 troops, made great efforts to recover the fortune of the war. In this he was aided by the pope, who raised troops for his support. But again Alvinzi had the temerity to divide his forces; the principal division marching, under his own command, by the old route from the Tyrol, and the other taking a circuit down the Brenta, to relieve Mantua. In order to impede his progress Napoleon posted himself at Rivoli, on a lofty plain above the Adige, between that river and the Alpine Montebaldo. In this position he was attacked by Alvinzi; but the Austrian general was repulsed on all sides, and compelled to take refuge in flight. The other division of the Austrian army fought its way to the walls of Mantua, but Wurmser sought in vain to form a junction with it; and in February Mantua was captured by Napoleon. The conqueror’s vengeance next fell upon his holiness the pope. Not tarrying even to receive the sword of Wurmser, Napoleon headed his legions and marched towards Rome. Within eight days one half of the states of the church were conquered, and the pope had no hope but in submission. The conqueror granted him political existence, on condition that he should cede to the republic Wignon, Venaissin, and the legations of Bologna, Ferrara, and Romagna: he was compelled to pay, also, a contribution of thirty millions, and to give up more works of art.

The directory saw that another victory would place Austria at its feet; and in order to ensure this consummation, Bernadotte was dispatched with 30,000 men to re-enforce Napoleon, while Hoche was sent to supersede Pichegru, on the lower Rhine. Napoleon crossed the Alps early in March; and he was opposed by the Archduke Charles. But opposition was vain; for his legions were yet incomplete, and unable to withstand his victorious enemy. The French penetrated on the one side into Tyrol, and on the other over the Paive, towards the Carinthian passes. Victory followed victory; and the conquerors entered Klagenfurt and Laubach, and stood in Tyrol, at the foot of the Brenner mountains. The main army, driving the Austrians before them, finally marched into Leoben; and the archduke retreated as far as Styria. The enemy was now only thirty-six leagues from the Austrian capital; and the inhabitants were seized with terror and consternation. But here the victories of Napoleon were stopped for a season. Jealous of his success, or deterred by dissensions which raged in Paris, the directory stayed the progress of the armies of the Rhine, without whose co-operation it would have been imprudent in that of Italy to advance. Under these circumstances Napoleon sent to the archduke proposals of peace; and after some delay a preliminary treaty was signed at Leoben, on the 18th of April. By this treaty Austria ceded to the republic Belgium and the countries of Italy as far as the Oglio; for which she was to receive in return the Venetian territory from the Oglio to the Po and the Adriatic Sea, Venetian Istria, and Daimatia; and when general peace should be re-established, Mantua and Peschiera. “This peace,” says Rotteck, “concluded when the hour of great decision was approaching: more yet, its conditions, unexpectedly favourable to the vanquished, proved the mutual fear of those that made peace. For Austria, the fall of Vienna would have been a severe and humiliating blow. But could Buonaparte advance so far after he actually stood in danger of being surrounded, and, perhaps, annihilated by the swelling masses of the enemy? On the one side approached the Hungarian insurrection army, on the other and around, the Austrian land-storm. But in Venice a general revolt had broken out against the French, which the aristocratic government had excited out of hatred towards the democratic revolutionary system. In this situation a reverse might be ruinous to Buonaparte: he therefore concluded peace.”

The insurrection in Venice had not been commenced by the aristocracy, but by the democracy. It broke out in the towns of Brescia and Bergamo, and the senate, in its turn, raised the mountaineers and the anti-revolutionary peasants, who proceeded to every species of atrocity: their watchword being “Death to Frenchmen and Jacobins.” On Easter Monday more than four hundred Frenchmen are said to have been massacred at Verona. But the knell of Venice itself was rung. Napoleon having made peace at Leoben, brought his cannon to the edge of the lagoons, and the panic-stricken senate and cowardly doge, passed a decree to dissolve their ancient constitution, and to establish a species of democracy. Venice fell after a political existence of more than one thousand years. The aristocracy of Genoa, also, succumbed to the same storm; but they were permitted to retain an independent government, under the name of “the Ligurian republic.”

The definitive treaty between the Emperor of Austria and the French republic was signed on the 17th of October, at Campio Formio, near Udina. Its conditions were somewhat different from those of the first treaty: Austria, in recompense for the Netherlands, receiving the Venetian provinces to the Adige, and not to the Oglio; and Mantua being retained by the French. In return for these possessions, France obtained the Netherlands; the Greek islands belonging to Venice in the Adriatic; an acknowledgment of the Cisalpine republic; and an indemnification for the Duke of Modena in Brisgau. Some secret conditions were annexed to this treaty; and it was agreed that a congress should be held at Radstadt, for settling the peace of the empire.

By these victories France remained in possession of Savoy, Nice, Avignon, and Belgium. She was also mistress of Italy and Holland, and could reckon on the dependence of the German empire, owing to the cession of the left bank of the Rhine. The German empire, abandoned by Austria, likewise was at her mercy, and tremblingly expected its fate; while the government of the church and the kingdom of Naples were tottering to their very foundations. Spain, moreover, with all its resources, was wholly in the hands of the French. England now stood alone in the contest; and though she remained mistress of the ocean, it was deemed advisable to renew pacific negociations with France. Lord Malmesbury was again sent on this mission; and the city of Lisle was fixed on by the directory for a conference. But the directory were not inclined for peace; after continuing at Lisle until September, exchanging useless notes and receiving many insults, Lord Malmesbury was ordered to quit the place within four and twenty hours. It was demanded by the French negotiators that the Cape of Good Hope, and every island or settlement, French, Dutch, or Spanish, in the possession of Great Britain, should be given up without receiving any compensation. Such terms as these were incompatible with the nation’s interests and safety; whence the failure of this mission. Moreover, there was a belief existing in France that England was on the verge of ruin; and the directory fondly imagined that they would one day triumph over her as they had done over the nations on the Continent.

INTERNAL HISTORY OF FRANCE.

During this year the harmony between the directory and the legislative councils vanished. The new elections produced this change; for men of a different spirit were returned by the communes. The royalist party had, indeed, obtained the control of elections; and the newly elected third entered the chambers of the representatives with plans of counter-revolution. The directory had the mortification of seeing the emigrants allowed to return, the re-establishment of priests, and a vote of censure passed upon the conduct of their emissaries in the colonies. The directory were, in fact, shorn of power, and there was a faint prospect of the whole work of the revolution being set aside. But the nation was not yet prepared for such a step. As the plans of the royalists, which were concocted in the club of Clichy, became disclosed, the government regained strength. From fear of the return of the old order of things, the patriots of 1791 united with the party of the convention; and the club of Salm was got up in opposition to that of Clichy. A contest soon followed. The directory relied upon the armies, and they assembled some troops in the neighbourhood of Paris; while the councils decreed the restoration of the national guards. The directory, however, by one fell blow, annihilated the hopes of their enemies. On the 10th Fructidor, answering to the 4th of September, troops were brought to the capital under pretence of a review, and placed under the disposal of Augereau. These troops surrounded the Tuileries, which was protected by the guards of the legislative body, which, upon the question of Augereau, “Are you republicans?” immediately laid down their arms. The contest was then decided. Augereau took possession of the palace, and arrested the opposition deputies. Barthélémy and Carnot, with forty members of the “Council of Five Hundred,” eleven of the “Council of the Ancients,” and ten other persons of note were condemned to be deported to Cayenne. Most of these underwent their punishment; but some escaped, and others were pardoned. Thirty-five journalists were likewise sentenced to deportation; and the elections of forty-eight departments were declared null. In the whole one hundred and forty-nine members were excluded, and the vacancies were filled up by the directory, with men willing to give them their support. The laws enacted in favour of priests and emigrants were revoked, and the oath of hatred to royalty renewed. Thus a revolutionary government returned; and the constitution was trodden underfoot by men who ostensibly were its supporters. And all this they called “Liberty.”

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The British parliament met on the 2nd of November. In his speech his majesty dwelt on the excessive pretensions of the French; the failure of the negociations at Lisle; the flourishing state of trade and the revenue; our naval victories, and our new conquests in the West Indies: and recommended those exertions which could alone ensure peace. As Fox and the other great orators of the opposition still absented themselves from parliament, there was little interest in the debate which followed, or in any of the debates during this session. The army and navy estimates were readily passed, and supplies were early voted, to the amount of £25,000,000. Among the ways and means adopted was the trebling of all the assessed taxes. This measure met with strenuous opposition from a few members; but the bill passed by a large majority.