and as it behoved the state to put itself in a condition to hinder either army from retiring into the territories of the republic, if it should be defeated; for, in that case, the conqueror being authorized to pursue his enemy wherever he can find him, would bring the war into the heart of their country. This representation had no other effect than that of suspending the measure which each party proposed, The princess, in her answer to the fourth deputation of the merchants, declared that she beheld the present state of their trade with the most anxious concern; that its want of protection was not her fault, but that of the towns of Dort, Haerlem, Amsterdam, Torgau, Rotterdam, and the Brille, to whose conduct it was owing, that the forces of the state, by sea and land, were not now on a better footing. The deputies were afterwards referred to her minister, M. de la Larrey, to whom they represented, that the augmentation of the land forces and the equipment of a fleet, were matters as distinct from each other as light from darkness; that there was no pressing motive for an augmentation of the army, whereas innumerable reasons rendered the equipment of a fleet a matter of the most urgent necessity. In a few days after this representation was made, the princess, in an assembly of the states general, requested their high mightinesses, that seeing their earnest and repeated efforts to induce the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and West Friesland, to acquiesce in the proposed augmentation of forces by sea and land, had not hitherto met with success, they would now consider and deliberate upon some expedient for terminating this affair, and the sooner the better, in order, on one hand, to satisfy the strong and well grounded instances made by the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen; and, on the other, to comply with the ardent and just desires expressed by the commercial inhabitants of the country. She told them, that the deputation which waited on her consisted of forty merchants, a number that merited attention no less than the speech they pronounced, of which a great number of printed copies were distributed through all parts of the country. Without making any particular remarks on the harangue, she only observed, that the drift of it did not tend to facilitate the negotiation begun with great Britain, nor to induce the

nation to prefer a convention to a rupture with that crown. From this circumstance she inferred, it was more than time to finish the deliberations on the proposal for augmenting the forces both by sea and land: a measure without which she was convinced in her conscience the state was, and would always remain, exposed to all sorts of misfortune and danger, both now and hereafter.

§ L. In consequence of this interposition, the states general that same day sent a letter to the states of Holland and West Friesland, communicating the sentiments of the princess regent, and insisting upon the necessity of complying with her proposal of the double augmentation. They observed, that an augmentation of the land forces, for the defence of the frontiers, was unavoidable, as well as an equipment by sea for the security of commerce: that the states of the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen, joined with them in the same opinion; and accordingly had insisted, by divers letters and propositions, on those two points so essential to the public interest. They represented the danger of delay, and the fatal effects. of discord: they proposed, that by a reciprocal indulgence one party should comply with the sentiments of the other, in order to avoid a schism and dangerous division among the confederates, the consequences of which would be very deplorable; while the republic, in the mean time, would remain in a defenceless condition, both by sea and land, and depend upon the arbitrary power of its neighbours. They conjured them, therefore, as they valued the safety of their country, and all that was dear to them, as they regarded the protection of the good inhabitants, the concord and harmony which at all times, but especially at the present critical juncture, was of the last necessity, that they would seriously reflect upon the exhortations of her royal highness, as well as on the repeated instances of the majority of the confederates, and take a wise and salutary resolution with regard to the proposed augmentation of the land forces, so that this addition, together with an equipment at sea, might the sooner the better, be unanimously brought to a conclusion. It was undoubtedly the duty of all who. wished well to their country to moderate the heat and cipitation of those, who, provoked by their losses, and sti

pre

mulated by resentment, endeavoured at this period to involve their nation in a war with Great Britain. Had matters been pushed to this extremity, in a few months the republic would, in all probability, have been brought to the brink of ruin. The Dutch were distracted by internal divisions; they were altogether unprovided for hostilities by sea; the ocean was covered with their trading vessels; and the naval armaments of Great Britain were so numerous and powerful as to render all resistance on that element equally vain and pernicious. The English could not only have scoured the seas, and made prize of their shipping, but were also in a condition to reduce or demolish all their towns in Zealand, where they would hardly have met with any opposition.

BOOK III.

CHAP. X.

I. Domestic occurrences in Great Britain. § II. Trials of Drs. Hensey and Shebbeare. § III. Institution of the Magdalen and Asylum. § IV. Society for the encouragement of arts. V. Session opened. VI. § § New treaty with the King of Prussia. § VII. Supplies granted. § VIII. King's message to the Commons. § IX. Bills relating to the distilery, and exportation of corn. X. Petition from the Justices of Norfolk. § XI. Bill for the importation of salted beef from Ireland continued. XII. Regulations with respect to privateers. § XIH. New militia laws. § XIV. Act for the relief of debtors revived. § XV. Bills for the importation of Irish beef and tallow. § XVI. Act relative to Milford haven. XVII. Bill relative to the duty on pensions.

XVIII. Act relative to the duty on plate. § XIX. Cambric act. § XX. Unsuccessful bills. § XXI. Case of the insolvent debtors. § XXII. Case of Captain Walker. § XXIII. Remarks on the bankrupt laws. § XXIV. Inquiry into the state of the poor. § XXV. Regulations of weights and measures. § XXVI. Resolutions concerning the Foundling Hospital. § XXVII. Messages from the King to the Parliament. § XXVIII. Session closed. XXIX. Preparations for War. § XXX. Death of the Princess of Orange and Princess Elizabeth Caroline. § XXXI. Examples made of pirates. § XXXII. Accounts of some remarkable murders. § XXXIII. Murder of Daniel Clarke. § XXXIV. Majority of the Prince of Wales. XXXV. Resolutions concerning a new Bridge at Black friars. § XXXVI. Fire in Cornhill. XXXVII. Method contrived to find out the-longitude. XXXVIII. Installation at Oxford. § XXXIX. Deplorable incident at sea. § XL. Captures made by

separate cruisers. § XLI. Captain Hood takes the Bellona. § XLII. And Captain Barrington the Count de St. Florentin. § XLIII. Captain Falkner takes a › French East Indiaman. § XLIV. Prizes taken in the West Indies. § XLV. Engagement between the Hercules and the Florissant. § XLVI. Havre-de-Grace bombarded by Admiral Rodney. § XLVII. Adm. Boscawen defeats M. de la Clue. § XLVIII. Preparations made by the French for invading England. § XLIX. Account of Thurot. § L. French fleet sails from Brest.

LI. Admiral Hawke defeats M. de Conflans. § LII. Proceedings of the Irish Parliament. § LIII. Loyalty of the Irish catholics. LIV. Dangerous insurrection in Dublin. § LV. Alarm of a descent in Scotland.

§ I. WHILE the operations of the war were prosecuted through the four quarters of the globe, the island of Great Britain, which may be termed the center that gave motion to this vast machine, enjoyed all the tranquillity of the most profound peace, and saw nothing of war but the preparations and trophies, which served only to animate the nation to a desire of further conquest; for the dejection occasioned by the misfortune at St. Cas soon vanished before the prospect of victory and success. Considering the agitation naturally produced among the common people, by the practice of pressing men into the service of the navy, which, in the beginning of the year, had been carried on with unusual violence, the levy of so many new corps of soldiers, and the endeavours used in forming the national militia, very few disturbances happened to interrupt the internal repose of the nation. From private acts of malice, fraud, violence, and rapine, no community whatsoever is exempted. In the month of April, the temporary wooden bridge over the Thames, built for the conveniency of carriages and passengers, while the workmen should be employed in widening and repairing London bridge, was maliciously set on fire in the night, and continued burning till noon next day, when the ruins of it fell into the river. The destruction of this conveniency proved very detrimental to the commerce of the city, notwithstanding the vigilancy and discretion of the magistrates, in applying remedies for

100 12