it be supposed that a prince, whose courage all Europe has beheld, would have asked to capitulate at the head of an army of near 40,000 men, under the cannon of the town, and in a post of difficult access, and well entrenched? But this prince, whose capacity gave him to perceive that no retreat remained for him, in case he should be beaten, preferred the glory of saving the King his father's troops, and those of his allies, to the vain honour of fighting the King's army, without any grounded hope of success. The more of his self-love he had by this step sacrificed to the good of the King his father, the more sacred and inviolable did the capitulation which he had asked and obtained become to him. It is unquestionable in the rules of honour and war, that a capitulation is never to be asked of an enemy till at an extremity ; but when reduced to it, it is not lawful to employ those arms against him, which by promise were to be laid down. Ho. nour would look on such a procedure with indignation; and if private persons detest a treachery of this nature, is it not still more unworthy of sovereigns, who are the protectors of good faith, and who are more concerned than private persons to preserve their glory and reputation?

Accordingly the Duke of Cumberland, by laying down his military employments, was for saving himself the infamy of breaking such sacred engagements; he has proved by that step, that he is incapable of being so far wanting to himself; but in sheltering his own honour, why has he not been afraid of exposing that of the King his father?

"If the King of England, Elector of Hanover, on his receiving advice

of the capitulation, had disowned the Duke of Cumberland, his ge neral and son, still would the King have had cause of complaint, military conventions not requiring a ratification; but, at least, there would have been in this proceeding an appearance of good faith; but to temporize during near three months, in seeking occasion for breaking the capitulation with impunity; let the French army march away for Hal. berstadt, wait till it was separated in the bad season, lay hold of the circumstances of a check to come out of the prescribed limits, under pretence of extending quarters, afterwards take advantageous posts, equally contrary to the convention, make every disposition for the siege of Harbourg, without any previous declaration of war; and when all these preparations are made, and the enemy is thought to be suffi ciently weakened and deceived to be fought with advantage, to declare to him that hostilities are to be renewed, and that the capitula. tion is looked on as broken, at the very same moment that the troops are marching to him, and his posts are attacked; to engage one prince, by seducement, to violate this capi tulation, and to hinder another by open force from executing it; to imprison the general of the latter, and detain his troops, and take away his son from him; to make him serve as an instrument to the treachery-this is trampling on the laws of nations, on the laws of justice, honour, and good faith, the rights of sovereignty of the states of the empire, the ties of nature and of blood; it is to fear neither the judgment of cotemporaries or of posterity; it is wilfully branding one's life and memory with an indelible mark of infamy

in a word, it is daring to set up and give a sanction to the pernicious maxim, "that every means is law. ful to obtain one's end."

"Principles and procedures so heinous, are to be attributed only to the artifices and evil counsels of corrupt ministers. To suspect Princes themselves of them, would be wanting to the respect due to them.

"After the preceding faithful re. presentation of the King's conduct, and that of the King of England, Elector of Hanover, all Europe, and especially Germany, may easily judge of the difference of the intentions of these two Princes; and it is hoped that they will impute the blame of the consequences of this war to those only, who, in contempt of all laws and all rules, have again taken up arms to hinder the conclusion of it.

"This is the cause of all sovereigns, but especially that of the empire; it being the bad faith of the Hano. verians which has retarded the success of the King's operations for restoring the peace of Germany; and their unjust and violent proceedings, both towards the King and the Duke of Brunswick, are a fresh breach of the public peace, and of the treaties of Westphalia.

"The King will omit nothing to acquit himself of what he owes to his dignity, injured by the outrage done him by the court of Hanover. As to the Germanic body, His Majesty will redouble his efforts for preserving it from the new dangers with which it is threatened; and fulfil the engagements he has en tered into both with his allies and the empire. He is persuaded that the electors, princes, and states, will do justice to the uprightness and generosity of his sentiments;

and he with the greater confidence. hopes they will second his measures and operations, as, agreeable to the wish and resolution of the dyet, they tend only to succour the allies of France, to maintain the Germanic system, and to restore order and peace in Germany. "Versailles, December the 30th, 1757."

In the appendix to the Parallel of the Conduct of the two Kings, is the following letter (dated Nov. 27, 1757) to Prince Ferdinand from the reigning Duke of Brunswick, his brother, who sent a copy of it to marshal Richelieu. It shews that Prince Ferdinand con tributed greatly to the just resentment which had been shewn of the French infraction of the treaty of Closter-seven. It serves too, to discover that duke's character, and his high esteem of his brother Ferdinand.

SIR,

Mean.

"I know you too well to entertain a doubt that the situation we are in with respect to each other, gives you pain; nor can you have any doubt that it gives me concern: in deed it afflicts me greatly. while, my dearest brother, I could never have believed, that it would be you who should carry away from me my eldest son and how great is my mortification to find myself under the hard necessity of telling you, that this step is contrary to the law of nations, and the constitution of the empire; and that if you persist in it, you will disgrace your family, and bring a stain upon your country, which you pretend to serve, The heredi. tary Prince, my son, was at Ham, burgh by my order; you have carried him to Stade. Could he dis

P 3

trust

trust his uncle, an uncle who hath done so much honour to his house! Could he believe that this uncle would deprive him of liberty! a liberty never refused to the lowest officer. I ordered him to make a tour to Holland: could not the lowest officer have done as much? Let us suppose for a moment, that my troops, among whom he served, were to have staid with the Ha noverians, would it not still have been in my power to give an officer leave of absence, or even leave to resign his commission? And would you, my dear brother, hinder your brother, the head of your family, and of such a family as ours, to exercise this right with regard to a son who is the hereditary prince, of whose rights and prerogatives you cannot be ignorant? It is impossible that you could have conceived such designs without the suggestion of others. Those who did suggest them have trampled on the rights of nature, of nations, and of the princes of Germany: they have induced you to add, to the infraction of all these, the most cruel insult on a brother whom you love, and who loves you. Would you have your brother lay his just complaints against you before the whole empire, and all Europe? Is not your proceeding without exam

ple? What is Germany become! What are its princes, and what is our house, in particular, become! Is it the interest of the two Kings, the cause of your country, and my cause, that you pretend to support?

repeat it, brother, that this design could never have been framed by you. I again command my son to pursue his journey, and I cannot conceive that you will give any obstruction. If you should (which I pray God aver!) I solemnly declare to you, that I shall not be constrained by such means, and that I shall never forget what I owe to myself.

"As to my troops, you may see what I have written on that head to the Hanoverian ministry. The Duke of Cumberland, by the convention of Closter-seven, dismissed them and sent them home: the said ministry gave me notice of this convention as what bound me: the march of the troops was settled: an incident happening, they halted; the obstacle being removed, they were to have continued their march. The court of Hanover will no longer be bound by the convention: whilst I not only accepted it on their word, but have also, in conformity to their instructions, negotiated at Versailles and Vienna*. "After

arms

The King of England's Conduct as Elector of Hanover; in answer to the Parallel of the Conduct of the King of France with that of the King of England, Elector of Hanover.

HE conduct of His Majesty the King of Great Britain, Elector of Brunswick and Lunenbourg, with regard to the troubles of the empire, gave no reason to think that France could hope to be a gainer by a parallel of that conduct with her own. She has, however, un. dertaken this comparison. The

public has seen the memorial pub lished by France under the title of "A Parallel of the King's Conduct with that of the King of England, relative to the breach of the capitulation of Closter-seven by the Ha.

noverians.

In the introduction to this piece we are assured, that it was merely from moderation, and to avoid the kindling of animosities, that the publication of it was so long delayed. Indeed, in several places of this piece, the style and expressions are far from being conformable to that regard which crowned heads, though at war, owe one to another. As to the things themselves, so little regard is paid to truth, that we are certain they will not have the promised effect.

His Britannic Majesty has too great a value for the judgment which the public forms of the ac tions of the greatest monarchs, and which posterity will make with still greater freedom, not to let them know the motives upon which he has acted, and which render his conduct irreproachable. It is there.

fore, with the greatest readiness, that he seizes an opportunity which. France furnishes him, to expose them to the view of Europe. Very different from those who have attacked him with animosity, he will use the language of inoderation. The truth, set in its proper light, carries so strong conviction with it, that it loses nothing by a simple and dispassionate relation.. It will be sufficient simply to relate what is past, to make appear which side justice is on, and to whom are to be imputed the torrents of blood that have been spilt, and which in all probability will yet dye the earth.

The troubles appeased by the late treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, are too recent to be yet forgot. France, which, notwithstanding the conti、 nual wars which Lewis XIII. Lewis XIV. and Lewis XV. made on the empire, notwithstanding the deso lations which she has caused, and the provinces which she has taken from it, thinks, however, that she may give herself the title of Ancient Friend and Ally of the Empire; France, which makes no scruple to advance that the private ambition of princes, who continually excited the two houses of France and Au stria against one another, was the chief cause of their divisions, and of the wars which so long desolated Europe, and especially Germany; France, without being excited thereto, attempted, at the death of the Emperor Charles VI. to make her self mistress of that superiority of dominion which she always had in view. She would have obtained her end, had she been able to divide the estates of the house of Austria among the different princes who formed pretensions to them,

and