{GEORGE III. 1798–1801}
Redemption of the Land-Tax, &c. Irish Rebellion.....
Invasion of Belgium..... Expedition to Minorca..... Battle
of the Nile, &c. Meeting of Parliament..... Income Tax
sanctioned, &c. Treaty with Russia..... Union with
Ireland considered..... Prorogation of Parliament.....
Campaign in Italy..... Campaign in Egypt..... Establishment
of the Consular Government in France..... Affairs of
India..... Meeting of Parliament..... Parliamentary
Discussions..... Union with Ireland completed.....
Prorogation of Parliament..... Campaign in Italy.....
Capture of Malta..... Naval Operations..... Meeting of
Parliament..... Motions for Peace, &c.
{A. D. 1798}
REDEMPTION OF THE LAND-TAX, ETC.
Early this session Pitt proposed and carried a bill for the redemption
of the land-tax. This was followed by a bill, proposed by Mr. Dundas,
for enabling his majesty to call out a portion of the supplementary
militia. A second bill was also carried, to encourage voluntary armed
associations for the protection of the country, it being now considered
as menaced with invasion. Another bill was brought into the house by
Dundas, by which the suspension of the _habeas corpus_ act was revived.
The alien bill also was renewed; and Pitt proposed and carried a measure
for more effectually manning the navy. As in the last session, so
likewise in this, the chancellor of the exchequer found himself
compelled to lay before the house a second estimate of supplies, and to
make a further demand of more than £3,000,000, which was readily voted,
as were also a new increase of taxes on salt, tea, dogs, horses and
carriages, &c. to meet it. Late in the session Mr. Wilberforce renewed
his motion for the abolition of the slave-trade; and though his
proposition was rejected, several regulations were enacted for
alleviating the sufferings of the wretched Africans on their passage.
These were the principal measures taken into consideration during this
session. Parliament was prorogued on the 29th of June.
IRISH REBELLION.
During the sitting of parliament a rebellion had broken out in Ireland.
Discussions on this subject had been entered into with closed doors; and
in the month of June, when the Irish insurgents had attacked and beaten
several detachments of the king’s troops, a message was delivered to
parliament from the king, desiring that he might be enabled to take
all such measures as might be necessary to defeat any enterprise of his
enemies. The chief object of this message was to allow the officers and
privates of different militia regiments, who had made a voluntary tender
of their services to assist in the suppression of the rebellion, to go
to that country and act with the royal troops; and a bill was brought
in and carried for that purpose. The rebellion, which was one of a
formidable nature, had its origin in the association of United Irishmen,
first instituted for obtaining universal suffrage. This association was
afterwards re-organized for the accomplishment of a revolution and
a separation from Great Britain: parliamentary reform and catholic
emancipation being demanded only as pretexts to cover ulterior designs.
A correspondence had long been maintained between the leaders of this
association and the French directory, and notwithstanding the failure of
Hoché, and likewise of a design of another armament, an agent was still
resident in Paris. Application was made to the directory for a loan to
assist the revolutionists; but the French rulers refused to grant it,
unless they were permitted to send sufficient forces to effect the
conquest of the country. It was evident that they wanted Ireland for
themselves; but the Irish “patriots” wanted to rule themselves, and not
to exchange masters; whence they expressed themselves averse to this
plan of invasion. The Irish indeed prepared for an insurrection without
waiting for continental assistance. They had been ripe for rebellion
through a long succession of ages, and no concessions made to them
soothed their chafed minds. Their turbulence had manifestly increased
from the time of the American war, when the Irish volunteers had been
allowed to arm themselves; and, “whether acting wisely or unwisely,
liberally or illiberally—whether granting concessions or withholding
them, nearly every act of government had tended to augment the
disaffection.” For the last ten years concessions had been made to the
Irish catholics, who formed about seven-tenths of the population: but it
was all to no purpose—the more they obtained, the more they wanted. At
length the smouldering embers of disaffection burst forth into a flame.
Early in this year a military commission was appointed by the executive
council of the United Irish, and nocturnal assemblies were held in
various parts of the kingdom. People were, indeed, everywhere sworn
in, and it was finally settled that they should take up arms. Rebellion
commenced by midnight outrages. The most savage atrocities were
committed on those whom the associates were taught to consider as
enemies and interlopers in their domains, which outrages were severely
retaliated by the Orangemen and military. In February, a pressing letter
was addressed by the Irish executive to the French directory, urging
them to send immediate succour, and stating that the people of all
classes throughout Ireland ready to take up arms amounted to 300,000
men. It was soon discovered that mischief was afloat; and on the 28th
of February, Mr. Arthur O’Conner, said to be lineally descended from
Roderic O’Conner, King of Connaught, Binns, an active member of the
London Correspondent Society, and Coigley, an Irish priest, were
arrested at Margate, as they were on their route to France. A paper was
found on the priest, addressed “To the French directory;” and this
paper and the trial which followed put government in possession of many
important secrets. Coigley was executed on Pennenden Heath; O’Conner
was remanded on another charge of high-treason; and Binns was acquitted.
Several arrests took place in consequence of the information thus
gained, and some more papers were discovered in the printing-office
where O’Conner had been publishing the revolutionary journal called,
“The Press.” But the most complete information obtained by government
was from Thomas Reynolds, who was deep in the secrets of the association
of United Irishmen. On his information, warrants were issued against
several of the principal conspirators: as, Messrs. Emmet, Sampson, and
McNevin, and Lord Edward Fitzgerald. The three former of these were soon
apprehended; but Lord Fitzgerald concealed himself for some time;
and when discovered he made such a desperate resistance, killing a
magistrate and wounding others sent to apprehend him, that Major Sirr
lodged the contents of a pistol in his shoulder, from the effects of
which he soon after died. He was the leader of the conspirators. But
notwithstanding his fall, and in spite of the flight or arrest of every
member of the “executive.” the Irish flew to arms on the 23rd of May:
that being the day appointed for their muster. A body of pikemen,
amounting to 14,000, and headed by Father John Murphy, soon made
themselves masters of Wexford and Enniscorthy; and having procured some
artillery, they fortified a position on Vinegar Hill. Colonel Walpole
with a small detachment of Cork Militia fell into an ambuscade, and was
slaughtered, together with nearly all his men, by the insurgents; and
encouraged by these and other successes they made a rush at Newross,
where they began to plunder the inhabitants. But here they received a
check. Like the London rioters, they soon became mad with drink; and
being attacked by General Johnson, nearly three thousand were either
slain or captured. This victory over them was followed by another
more decisive: on the 21st of June General Lake attacked the fortified
position at Vinegar Hill, and carried it with a frightful loss to the
insurgents. The rebels, indeed, never rallied again; and though some
fearful atrocities were committed by isolated bands of them, they were,
in effect, from that time subdued. Soon after, Lord Camden was
recalled from the lieutenancy of Ireland, and he was succeeded by Lord
Cornwallis, who brought with him a general pardon to all who submitted.
Four of the leading conspirators were executed; O’Conner, McNevin,
Emmet, and Sampson were banished; and others were pardoned. The
rebellion was somewhat revived in August, when three French frigates
reached Killola, and threw on shore nine hundred troops of the line,
commanded by General Humbert; but though these troops were joined by
some catholics, and though Humbert defeated General Lake, and advanced
into the heart of the country, he was eventually beaten by the advanced
guard of General Cornwallis, who was marching against him with troops of
the line, and on the 8th of September, the French laid down their arms,
and became prisoners of war. Subsequently, another French armament
reached the western coast of Ireland; but Sir John Borlase Warren met it
there with his squadron, and captured one ship of the line, and three
frigates; and the rest of the armament, consisting of five frigates,
returned to France. On board the French ship of the line was Wolfe Tone,
one of the Irish leaders of the rebellion: his execution was the last on
account of this outbreak. Ireland was again quieted, but it was only for
a brief season. It has ever been its fate to be disturbed by agitation,
and to this hour it remains the same. It is, in fact, a fine field for
the agitator: the ardent passions of the people are easily worked
upon; and he who is bold or artful enough to address himself to
those passions, is ever sure of obtaining a listening and an admiring
audience.
INVASION OF BELGIUM.
In the month of May, after due preparations, Captain Home Popham, with
a small squadron, having on board a body of troops commanded by Colonel
Coote, set sail for the purpose of destroying the sluices, gates, and
basin of the Bruges canal at Ostend. This town was bombarded, and the
sluices were blown up; but on returning to the beach to re-embark, the
soldiers were hemmed in by a superior force, and Coote found himself
under the necessity of surrendering.
EXPEDITION TO MINORCA.
An expedition to Minorca was more successful. In the autumn Admiral
Duckworth’s squadron landed in Addaya Bay in that island a land-force
of about eight hundred men, under General Sir Charles Stuart, which
compelled the Spanish governor to surrender the whole of the island by
capitulation.
BATTLE OF THE NILE, ETC.
The grand aim of the French directory this year was the seizing and
colonizing of Egypt. This idea had been suggested by Vergennes to the
French government during the monarchy, and it had for some time been
entertained by Napoleon. The blow was chiefly aimed at England; for
the project was to gain possession of Egypt, with a twofold design of
obtaining the riches of the Nile, and extending their sway to the banks
of the Ganges, so that the empires of Turkey and Hindustan might become
annexed to the French republic. It was to these ends that Napoleon
proposed an expedition to Egypt; and the directory were well pleased
with it, because if its great object should fail, they hoped thereby
to rid themselves of a dangerous and troublesome rival. But funds were
wanting to carry this design into effect; for though Italy and other
countries had been pillaged by the French soldiery, with a defiance
of all principle or political honesty, yet was the government
poverty-stricken: however, the French directory looked around for some
weak ally or neutral to plunder, and their cupidity was directed towards
free Switzerland. Berne had a well-replenished treasury; and on the
flimsy pretext of its having publicly enrolled emigrants and given
shelter to deserters, a French army, under General Breme, was sent on
the marauding errand of demanding the public purse of its citizens.
Success attended this armed banditti; the ruling families of Berne were
displaced; the government changed; the most respectable senators were
banished; the treasury was confiscated; and large contributions likewise
exacted for the supply of the invading army. The money thus fraudulently
obtained enabled Napoleon to set sail for Egypt. His expedition counted
thirteen ships of the line, with seven frigates and smaller vessels,
making in the whole forty-four sail. The fleet was commanded by
Bear-admiral Brueys, and the transports had on board about 20,000 men,
with a proportionable number of horses and artillery, provisions and
military stores, as well as a lai-ge body of scientific men, who joined
the armament in order to make researches into the antiquities and
productions of Egypt. The capture of Malta was included in the plan of
the French directory, and Napoleon arrived there on the 9th of June;
and Hompesch, the Grand Master, terrified by the threats of some of the
Knights of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in the French interest,
capitulated on a summons to surrender. Having plundered the churches,
and the Alberghi, and other establishments of the order, and having left
General Vaubois to take care of the island, Buonaparte re-embarked for
Egypt. He came in sight of Alexandria on the 29th of June, and on the
next day the troops landed within three miles of that city. Alexandria
was captured, and from its walls Napoleon issued a proclamation, telling
the inhabitants that he came as the friend of the Sultan, to deliver
them from the Mamelukes, and that he and his soldiers respected God, his
prophet Mohammed, and the Koran. On the 7th of July Napoleon moved from
Alexandria to Cairo, and on the 21st, on arriving in sight of the great
pyramids, he discovered the whole Mameluke force, under Murad Bey and
Ibraham Bey, ready to meet him. Battle was soon joined, and was
easily won by the French. Such of the Mamelukes as escaped destruction
retreated towards Egypt. The conqueror took possession of Grand Cairo,
sending Desaix against Murad Bey in Upper Egypt.
As the French fleet was sailing towards Egypt, it passed near an English
squadron, under Nelson: a thick haze sheltered it from his observation,
and favoured its progress. Nelson had been despatched by Lord St.
Vincent to watch the preparations at Toulon, having under him three
ships of seventy-four guns and four frigates. At the time of the French
fleet’s sailing he had put into the Sardinian port of San Pietro, to
relit his squadron, it having been damaged by a storm. While here, he
received a re-enforcement of ten line-of-battle ships, and one of fifty
guns; and with this force—except the frigates, which had been separated
from him during the storm, he finally set sail towards Naples. Here he
learned that the enemy’s fleet had visited Malta; and being left by his
commander to act upon his own judgment, he formed a plan of attacking
it there. On his arrival, however, he discovered that the French had
already departed eastward, and rightly judging that Alexandria was
their destination, he steered thither. He arrived at Alexandria on the
28th of June, and gaining no intelligence of the enemy, he returned to
Sicily. By the public voice of England, he was declared for this failure
worthy of impeachment; and Earl St. Vincent was censured for sending so
young an officer on so important a service. On arriving at Sicily, the
Neapolitan ministry, anxious to avoid everything which could endanger
their peace with the French directory, declared openly to aid him;
but through Lady Hamilton’s influence at court, Nelson procured secret
orders to the Sicilian governors, under which he obtained all necessary
supplies from Syracuse. As soon as he had re-victualled and taken in
fresh water, he turned his power again toward Egypt, asserting in a
letter to his commander, that if the French were bound to the Antipodes,
or if they were anywhere above water, he would discover them and bring
them to action. He searched for them in vain along the coast of the
Morea, and he took the resolution of again sailing towards Alexandria;
and on the 1st of August, Captain Flood in the “Zealous” signalized the
enemy’s fleet at anchor in Aboukir Bay. No time was lost by Nelson
in preparing for action: he had sought them with eagerness, and he
determined to conquer them now that they were discovered. Signals were
given for battle: to attack the enemy’s van and centre, as they lay at
anchor. Nelson had scarcely taken rest or food for some days, but he now
ordered dinner to be served up; and he observed to his officers as they
rose from the table: “Before this time to-morrow I shall have gained a
peerage or Westminster Abbey.” The enemy’s ships were moored in compact
line of battle, describing an obtuse angle, close in with the shore,
flanked by gun-boats, four frigates, and a battery of guns and mortars
on an island in their van. This was a formidable position, and to some
commanders one which would have deterred from an attack. But it was
not so with Nelson. As soon as he discovered the enemy’s position, his
genius dictated what should be done. Where an enemy’s ship could swing,
he reasoned, there was room for a British ship to anchor. Acting upon
this thought, therefore, he determined to station his ships on the
inner side of the French line. In this way the two fleets joined battle.
Minutely to describe this great sea-fight would require many pages, it
will be sufficient therefore to say, that the victory on the part of the
English was complete. Of the thirteen French ships of the line, eight
surrendered, two struck on the shore and were afterwards captured, one
blew up, and two only escaped. Had Nelson not received a severe wound in
the head in the very hottest of the battle, it is probable that not one
of the enemy’s fleet would have left Aboukir Bay. The British loss in
killed and wounded was 895; the French, 8330 in killed, wounded, and
captured. “Victory,” said Nelson, “is not a word strong enough for such
a scene: it is a conquest.”
The effects of this battle were soon seen in Egypt. The Sultan issued
an indignant manifesto, declaring war against France for invading one of
his provinces in a time of peace and amity; and called upon the Pashas
of Syria to collect their forces. The destruction of the French fleet
was announced far and wide by fires kindled by the Arabs; and on the
22nd of September, the people of Cairo killed a great number of the
French in the streets. This insurrection was put down by a dreadful
massacre of the inhabitants; but the blood of the Moslems thus slain,
and many of them in the great mosque of the prophet, called for
vengeance, and it was easy to forsee that Napoleon, albeit he proclaimed
himself to be the man of destiny foretold in the Koran, would soon be
compelled to retire from Egypt.
In Europe, the effects of this battle were instantaneous and surprising.
It raised the drooping spirits of the Anti-Gallican party in every
country; and it filled all England with transports of joy and triumph.
Nelson was raised to the peerage with the title of Baron Nelson of
the Nile, and many other honours were heaped upon him. He returned to
Naples, where he found that the king was collecting a numerous army,
with a view of driving the French from Rome and Tuscany; that the
congress at Radstadt had been virtually broken up; that the Emperor of
Austria was again arming; and that a new coalition was forming against
the French; their conduct at Rome, in Switzerland, and other countries,
being in direct opposition to the conditions of the treaty at Oampo
Formio. In November the island of Gozo, separated from Malta by a narrow
channel, capitulated to a detachment of Nelson’s squadron, and Malta
itself was closely blockaded.
[Illustration: 294.jpg PORTRAIT OF LORD NELSON]
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament assembled on the 20th of November. In his speech from the
throne his majesty spoke with exultation of the victory gained by
Nelson; and after alluding to other successes, and to the suppression
of the Irish rebellion, congratulated the country on the prospect of
new alliances, by which it might be anticipated that the power of France
would be humbled. This alluded more especially to Russia, where the
Czarina Catherine had recently been succeeded by her son Paul, whose
line of policy was different from that of his mother. The address was
animadverted upon in both houses by some members of opposition; but it
was, nevertheless, carried without a division.
INCOME TAX SANCTIONED, ETC.
During this session the primary objects of parliamentary Consideration
were, financial propositions, with measures for internal defence, for
invigorating the European confederacy now forming, and for effecting
a permanent union between Great Britain and Ireland. The estimated
supplies for the ensuing year were put at £29,272,000; and Pitt proposed
a new plan for raising a considerable part of them—by an income tax. A
series of resolutions to this new and bold plan were passed in the house
of commons before the close of the year; and the bill finally passed
into a law on the 18th of March ensuing, the 5th of April being the
day fixed upon for making the returns of personal property. Pitt’s
resolutions in substance were, that the augmentation of the assessed
taxes made in the last session should be repealed, and have its place
supplied by a duty upon all incomes above sixty pounds a year. If a
man’s income exceeded two hundred pounds a year, he was to pay ten
per cent, upon it; if it exceeded one hundred pounds, he was to pay
considerably less upon it; and if between sixty pounds and one hundred
pounds, he was to be taxed in a diminished proportion. This bill, after
undergoing some amendments of detail, passed; and Pitt anticipated a
revenue from it of £10,000,000, the yearly income of the whole nation
being about £102,000,000. Early in the session 120,000 men were
voted for the navy, and an increase of the yeomanry and militia was
sanctioned.
TREATY WITH RUSSIA.
On the 18th of December a provisional treaty was concluded between
Great Britain and Russia; the general object of which was to oppose
the progress of the French arms. In allusion to this, on the 18th of
December, Mr. Tierney moved, “That it was the duty of ministers to advise
his majesty against entering into engagements which might prevent
or impede negociations for peace with the French republic.” On this
occasion Mr. Canning delivered a master-piece of eloquence, which
inspired the country at large with admiration of his talents. Mr.
Canning entered into a full investigation of our foreign policy,
and vindicated the treaties and alliances made by government. He
remarked:—“It is justly contended that the deliverance of Europe cannot
be effected by our exertions alone, and that, unless other powers are
sincerely disposed to co-operate, we are setting out on a romantic and
absurd enterprise, which we have no chance of accomplishing, no duty
or call to undertake. I perfectly agree, that if other powers are not
disposed to co-operate, we have no chance of success; but I cannot help
asking at the same time, if there be no such disposition on the part
of other powers, where is the use, or what is the necessity of the
honourable gentleman’s motion? Why need parliament interfere to prevent
his majesty’s ministers from taking advantage of dispositions which do
not exist, and from accepting co-operation which will not be offered?
But if the powers of Europe, or any of them, are ready to do their
part toward the common salvation, and want only our countenance
and encouragement to begin; if the train is laid, if the sparks of
resentment, which the aggressions of France have kindled in every
nation throughout Europe, want but our breath to blow them into a
conflagration, it is the dictate of our duty, our interest, our
feeling, to save France from destruction, and not by a coarse and hasty
proceeding, like that now recommended to us, to throw a wet blanket on
the flames.” Mr. Canning proceeded to show how an alliance with Russia
and Turkey might enable us to sweep the remains of the French armament
from the Levant and the Mediterranean, and how the probable accession
of other allies might wrest from the republic both Italy and the
Netherlands, Pitt followed in the same strain, eloquently unfolding the
favourable prospects of another coalition. The picture he drew made a
favourable impression on the house; and Mr. Tierney’s motion was lost.
Moreover, all sums required for Russia were voted, and three millions
more also were granted to his majesty, for making good such other
engagements as he might contract. Soon after this the Porte, Russia, and
Naples signed a treaty of union with England, the duration of which
was fixed for eight years. Their conditions were generally a mutual
guarantee of all possessions, including Egypt in the case of the Porte;
a common prosecution and termination of the war; the closing of all
harbours, and especially those in the Mediterranean, against the French;
with British subsidies to other states. Italy was to be the first field
of action for the allied powers, the design being to save the King of
Naples from French domination.
UNION WITH IRELAND CONSIDERED
{A.D. 1799}
A plan for uniting Ireland under one legislature with Great Britain,
as Scotland, had been discussed and seriously entertained before the
breaking out of the recent rebellion; but that event had made the
necessity of such a union more apparent. The union of England and
Ireland, indeed, was a favourite measure at this time with Pitt; and a
pamphlet was published, under his auspices, by the under-secretary,
Mr. Cooke, setting forth its advantages. The public mind was therefore
prepared to discuss the question; and parliament was soon called upon
to take it into consideration. On the 22nd of January a message was
received from his majesty, recommending the consideration of the most
effectual means of defeating the designs of our enemies to promote a
separation between the two kingdoms, by settling such a complete and
final adjustment as might perpetuate a connexion essential for the
common security, and consolidate the power and resources of the British
empire. This message was reported next day, when Mr. Duudas moved and
carried an address, importing that the house would proceed with all
speed to a consideration of the several interests submitted to their
attention. It was agreed that the question should be considered on the
31st of January; and on that day Pitt, after explaining the grounds
which would make the union as beneficial to Ireland as to England,
proposed certain resolutions as the basis of the measure. Those
resolutions were, that the two islands should be united into one
kingdom, by the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland;
that the succession to the crown should be limited and settled as at
present; that the united realm should be represented by one parliament,
in which a certain number of Irish lords and commons, hereafter to be
defined, should have a seat; that the churches of England and Ireland
should be preserved as by law established; that the Irish should be
entitled to the same privileges, in point of navigation and trade, with
the English, subject to certain regulations relative to equality of
duties; that the charge for payment of the interest of the debt of
each kingdom before the union, should be continued to be paid by the
respective countries; and that all laws in force at the time of the
union, and all the courts, civil or ecclesiastical, should remain as
already established, subject only to such alterations as circumstances
might recommend to the united parliament. After some long and warm
debates these resolutions, with some slight amendments, were agreed to,
and sent up to the peers; and after another warm debate in the upper
house, a joint address to the king was agreed to, presenting the
resolutions as a proper basis for the union. But here, as regarded
England, the matter rested for the present year.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
During the remainder of this session no subject of vital interest
was discussed. Parliament was prorogued on the 12th of July, when his
majesty declared that the decision and energy of his ally, the Emperor
of Russia, and the intimate union established between them, would enable
him to employ the means intrusted to him advantageously, both for
the safety and honour of this country, as well as the independence of
Europe. His majesty also adverted with satisfaction to the restored
tranquillity of Ireland and its future security, intimating that it
could only be insured by a complete union with Great Britain.
{GEORGE III. 1798–1801}
CAMPAIGN IN ITALY.
Before the subsidiary treaty was signed between England and the Emperor
Paul, the court of Vienna had formed a close alliance with the czar; and
Russian troops had begun to assemble on the frontiers of Austria, while
a large German army was collecting between the rivers Inn and Lech. The
great object proposed was to drive the French out of Italy, where their
arms were still making great progress. In November of the last year the
liberation of the states of Italy was undertaken by the King of Naples,
who placed General Mack at the head of his forces. Mack succeeded in
making himself master of Rome; while 5000 troops, conveyed by British
ships, took possession of Leghorn. But this success was of short
duration. In the month of December the Neapolitan troops suffered a
signal defeat at Civita Castellana; and this disaster was followed
by the evacuation of Rome. Nor did the French successes stop here.
Following up their victory, under General Champiounet, by the middle of
January they obtained possession of Naples; and the King of Sardinia was
obliged to take refuge on board the British fleet. He afterwards went
to Palermo under British protection, resigning all his continental
territories to his conquerors, who also soon occupied all Tuscany;
Sicily was preserved from their domination by the energy of Nelson,
assisted by Sir Charles Stuart, who hastened from Minorca with 1000
troops, in order to assist him in measures for its defence.
While Naples was thus falling a prey to the French, Austrian and Russian
troops were collecting on the other side of the Alps. After demanding
from the Emperor of Germany the dismissal of all the Russian troops,
the French negociators declared the congress at Radstadt dissolved. War,
therefore, commenced anew with Austria; and Jourdan once more crossed
the Rhine, and established himself in Suabia. In the month of March
he advanced towards the Danube; but he was again met by the Archduke
Charles, who drove him back over the Rhine. About the same time, also,
the Austrian generals, Bellegarde and Hotze, recovered the Grison
country, and poured into Switzerland, driving the French, under Massena,
before them. In the meantime another Austrian army, commanded by General
Melas, poured through the Tyrol, driving all the French outposts before
him, and entered Upper Italy, where he obliged the French general,
Scherer, to retire beyond the Mincio. Moreau subsequently took the
command of Scherer’s forces; but he was likewise defeated by Melas. It
was while Melas was giving chase to Moreau that Suvaroff came up with
50,000 Russians, and assumed the chief command of both armies. A great
battle was gained by Suvaroff at Cassano, on the 27th of April, and by
that victory the fate of the Cisalpine republic was sealed; everywhere
the people rose in arms against the French; and the native democrats
whom the French had set up as a government, Brescia and Peschiera,
surrendered; Mantua was invested; and Suvaroff entered Milan in triumph.
Moreau continued his retreat towards Genoa, hoping to be joined there
by the army of Macdonald from Naples. But Macdonald was already on
his route to meet the Russo-Austrian army, which he found by the river
Trebia. In his route he had been joined by General Victor; but after
three days’ hard fighting on the banks of the Trebia, he was defeated
by Suvaroff; and flying thence towards the pass of Bochetta, he joined
Moreau, who had recently received some re-enforcements from Nice and
Genoa. Moreau had made some entrenchments on the declivities of the Apeu
nines, and in the entrance of the Bochetta pass, behind the Piedmontese
town of Novi. While here he was superseded in command by Jourdan, who
stationed himself on the same heights behind Novi, and improved and
extended his field-works. He was attacked in this formidable position
by Suvaroff; and his army was defeated and himself slain. Shortly
after this victory Suvaroff struck across the Alps to make head against
Massena, who had recently defeated a Russian corps under General
Korsakoff, who had arrived in Switzerland to co-operate with General
Bellegarde and the Austrians. There was some fearful fighting in the
ravines of St. Gothard, and Suvaroff opened a way into the heart of
Switzerland; but not being assisted by either the Russian general,
Korsakoff, or the Austrian general, Bellegarde, he turned aside towards
the lake of Constance and Germany. He was interrupted in his march
by Massena; but he attained his object, and effected a junction with
Korsakoff; and then the two Russian generals marched to Augsburg,
leaving the French once more absolute masters of Switzerland.
The Neapolitan kingdom was recovered in the course of the months of
June and July by Cardinal Ruffo, assisted by Lord Nelson. A sanguinary
vengeance was taken on the republicans by the Neapolitan government; and
Nelson himself tarnished his fair fame by deeds at which a right-minded
Englishman must shudder, and which no one will venture to palliate. It
had been guaranteed to the republican garrisons that their persons and
property should be respected; but these garrisons were delivered over
to the vengeance of the Sicilian court, and that by the brave Nelson. “A
deplorable transaction,” says his biographer, “a stain on his memory and
on the honour of England! to palliate it would be vain; to justify
it wicked.” Nelson conceived that nothing more was essential to the
tranquillity of Naples than the recovery of Rome; and this he effected
by a small detachment of his fleet, under the able conduct of captains
Trowbridge, Hallowel, and Louis. The French having no longer any hope in
arms soon concluded a capitulation for all the Roman states; and Captain
Louis, rowing up the Tiber in his barge, hoisted the British standard on
the capitol, and acted for a time as governor of Rome.
While the arms of France were thus occupied in Germany and Italy, a
favourable opportunity seemed to offer itself for the liberation of
Holland. A treaty was effected with the Emperor Paul, by which 17,000
Russian troops were engaged to co-operate with 20,000 English troops in
that country. Troops set sail from England in the month of August; find
the fleet, under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, after encountering much bad
weather, came to anchor off the Helder, a point which commands the
entrance of the Zuyder Zee. The troops were disembarked on the 27th,
and on the next day took possession of Helder, the French and Dutch
republicans having abandoned it in the night; and the Dutch fleet in the
Texel surrendered to the British admiral without firing a shot. The main
part of the army destined for this enterprise was still in England,
and the Russian auxiliaries had not yet arrived. Before they received
re-enforcements the invaders were attacked by about 12,000 men; but so
strong was their position on the Zuyp, and so bravely was it defended,
that the assailants were defeated, with the loss of nearly one thousand
men. The Duke of York, with the main force from England, arrived on the
day after this battle; and as the allied troops now amounted to 35,000
men, his royal highness, who superseded Abercrombie in the chief
command, ventured on active operations. The army advanced, on the
19th, in four columns. That on the extreme right, consisting chiefly of
Russian troops, under General De Hermaun, made an unsuccessful attack
upon Bergen. Abercrombie with a column penetrated to the city of Hoorn,
which surrendered; and the two other columns under Generals Dundas and
Pulteney, also forced their way through great difficulties, in a tract
of country intersected with deep ditches and canals. The rash confidence
of the Russians, however, soon exposed the whole army to such danger
that it was compelled to retire to its original position. For some time,
in consequence of tempestuous weather, the invading force was blocked up
by inferior numbers; but on the 2nd of October the British army resumed
the offensive, and commenced an attack on the enemy’s whole line. A
battle was fought at Egmont, which was favourable to the British; for,
although it was indecisive, yet the retreat of the enemy in consequence
gave them an opportunity of occupying several strong positions. The
republican soldiers took up a strong post between Beverwyck and the
Zuyder Zee; and the Duke of York resolved to attack them there, before
their position could be strengthened by fresh works or re-enforcements.
An action took place on the 6th of October, and it terminated so far in
favour of the British and the allies, that they were left masters of the
field; but the loss on both sides was very severe; and the enemy, who
soon afterwards received a re-enforcement, maintained their position.
The allied army, indeed, soon found itself in so critical a situation
from the strength of the enemy, the severity of the weather, and the
indifference of the party of the stadtholder, that the Duke of York
suddenly issued an order for the troops to assemble; and they commenced
a retreat toward Pelleu and Alkmaer. Before the troops could re-embark,
however, the Duke of York was compelled to conclude a convention, by
which it was agreed that the English and Russians should be allowed to
leave Holland without molestation, on condition that 8000 prisoners of
war, French and Batavians, then detained in England, should be released.
{GEORGE III. 1798—1801}
CAMPAIGN IN EGYPT.
It has been seen that Napoleon had entered Cairo, and that his fleet
while there was annihilated in Aboukir Bay. In the month of February he
quitted Cairo, with the intention of dispersing the Turkish forces that
were collecting near the Syrian frontier, and then of conquering all
Syria. Gaza and Jaffa were stormed; the man of destiny, as Napoleon
styled himself in Egypt, swept everything before him until he came to
the walls of Acre. This place, which is the key of Syria, was defended
by the Pasha Djezzar; by Colonel Philippeaux, an emigrant royalist; and
by Sir Sidney Smith, with some of his sailors and marines. It was in
vain that Napoleon attempted to breakthrough the crumbling walls of this
ancient place: sixty days were spent before them, and seven or eight
assaults made; but he was every time repulsed, and after losing three
thousand men, he was compelled to raise the siege and return to Cairo.
During his absence General Desaix had ascended the Nile, and had driven
the remnant of the Mamelukes from Upper Egypt and beyond the cataracts
of Assonau; and soon after his return he was called down to the coast,
where Nelson had annihilated the French fleet, by the arrival of a
Turkish army, amounting to 18,000 men. A terrible battle was fought on
the 25th of July; but the French were victorious—10,000 Turks perished.
Napoleon now began to make secret preparations for returning to France;
and on the 23rd of August he embarked secretly in a frigate, leaving his
army, which was reduced to 20,000 men, behind him.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CONSULAR GOVERNMENT IN FRANCE.
The return of Napoleon agitated all France and all Europe. The character
of this bold soldier was, indeed, now well known, and none could tell
what game fraught with blood he next might play. Suspicion was well
founded: Napoleon had designs in view when he returned from Egypt which
time alone could unfold. The fact is, when in Egypt, letters from his
brothers Joseph and Lucien, and from some of his admiring friends,
informed him that Italy was lost; that the French armies were everywhere
defeated; that the directory were quarrelling among themselves; and that
the people, sick of the present state of affairs, were ripe for another
revolution. Here then was another field for the ambitious to play their
part; and Napoleon resolved to return to it. He had arrived in Paris two
days before the directory knew anything about it; and in the meantime he
had been consulting with chiefs of parties and officers of the army as
to what step should be taken. Talleyrand and the Abbé Sieyes gave his
councils the benefit of all their abilities; and a plan of attack upon
the constitution was soon agreed upon. The Council of Ancients were
easily persuaded that a new constitution was wanting; but the Council of
Five Hundred vowed that they would die for that which they had already
got. On the 9th of November it was agreed in the Council of Ancients
that the assembly should adjourn to St. Cloud, and that Napoleon should
put this into execution, being made supreme commander of all the forces
for that purpose. The sitting was then dissolved; and Napoleon instantly
issued two proclamations, announcing his command, and inviting the army
and national guard to aid him in restoring liberty, victory, and peace
to France. In this state of affairs, Barras, Sieyes, and Ducos, three
of the directory, resigned; Moulins and Gohier remained to support the
present constitution. These, however, by the orders of Napoleon, were
guarded in the Luxembourg, so that the directory was in point of fact
dissolved. It remained now for the councils to form a new executive; and
to this end they met at St. Cloud, surrounded by troops. The Council of
Five Hundred swore fidelity to the constitution; and Napoleon resolved
to crush them. At his command the troops entered the Orangery with fixed
bayonets, and the deputies were glad to make their escape by the windows
and through the adjacent woods. On that evening the Council of the
Ancients and about fifty of the scattered Five Hundred abolished the
directory, and established in its place three consuls, who, with two
committees chosen from each council, were charged with the task of
preparing a new constitution. These consuls were Napoleon, Sieyes,
and Ducos, the men who concerted together to bring about this new
revolution. “Thus the French revolution closed its agitated career
almost in the point from whence it set out—in despotism.” All their
hopes of the blessings of liberty were with one fell blow dashed to the
ground by the conqueror of Egypt and Italy—by one man, and he of men
one of the meanest.
[Illustration: 298.jpg LAST EFFORT OF TIPPOO SAIB]
AFFAIRS OF INDIA.
During this year the power of Tippoo Sultaun was destroyed. Recently he
had been encouraged in his hostility by the French, who eagerly sought
to strike a blow at the commercial prosperity of Great Britain. It was
for this purpose that the Egyptian expedition had been undertaken, and
for this purpose likewise alliances were formed with the native powers
of India. In Tippoo Sultaun the French found an implacable foe to the
English—a foe which was ever ready to unsheathe his sword to destroy
them. In order to crush their power and to regain what he had lost in
the late war, Tippoo Sultaun had sent an embassy to Cabul, to bring the
Affghan tribes down into India; he had negociated with the Nizam of
the Deccan and with other native princes; and in 1797 he had sent two
ambassadors to the Isle of France to propose an alliance with the French
republic, and to request a supply of troops sufficient to enable him to
expel the English from every part of Hindustan. The governor of the Isle
of France had no troops to spare; but he forwarded Tippoo’s letters to
France, and allowed his ambassadors to enrol some Frenchmen for his aid.
Some sixty or seventy of these volunteers proceeded to Tippoo’s capital,
where they first set up a tree of liberty, and next proceeded to
organize a Jacobin club. These proceedings soon became known to
the government at Calcutta; and the Earl of Mornington, then
Governor-general of India, determined to anticipate Tippoo. Troops were
sent under Generals Harris and Stuart; and the sultan was defeated
in the route, and compelled to take refuge in his fortified capital.
Seringapatam was besieged, and on the 4th of May was stormed and
captured. Two of his sons were taken alive; but Tippoo fell near one
of the gates, and was found buried under a heap of dead bodies.
His territories were divided among his enemies; the English kept
Seringapatam with the island on which it is situated, the whole of his
territories on the Malabar coast, the district of Coimbatoor, and all
the country that intervened between the company’s possessions on the
western and those on the eastern coast; the Nizam of the Deccan obtained
a more inland country; and another great tract of country was
conferred upon a descendant of the ancient Hindoo rajahs, who had been
dispossessed by Hyder Ali. Thus ended a dynasty which was founded by a
daring adventurer on the ruins of the Hindoo house of Mysor. It began
and ended its career in spoliation and the shedding of blood.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
The British parliament assembled on the 24th of September. The chief
object of this early meeting Was the introduction of a bill for
facilitating the re-enforcement of our regular army, by allowing
three-fifths of the militia of each county to enlist in the regulars,
for service within Europe. This bill passed into a law on the 4th of
October; the remainder of the session, previous to the Christmas recess,
was occupied by commercial and financial matters. The supplies granted
were between six and seven millions; but these were only for the time
being: parliament again separated on the 12th of October.
PARLIAMENTARY DISCUSSIONS.
{A.D. 1800}
On Christmas day of the preceding year, the first consul, Napoleon,
addressed a letter from the ancient palace of the Bourbons to the King
of Great Britain, indicating a desire of peace in these terms:—“How can
the two most enlightened nations of Europe, powerful and strong beyond
what their safety and independence require, sacrifice to ideas of vain
greatness, the benefits of commerce, internal prosperity, and domestic
happiness? How is it that they do not feel that peace is of the first
importance as well as the first glory? These sentiments cannot be
foreign to the heart of your majesty, who reign over a free people, and
with the sole view of rendering them happy. France and England, by the
abuse of their strength, may still, for the misfortune of all nations,
long retard the period of their exhaustion, but I will venture to say,
that the fate of all civilized nations is attached to the termination of
a war which involves the whole world.” The answer given to this letter
intimated, that the French government afforded no ground for trust;
but notwithstanding this repulse, Napoleon made another attempt
at negociation. Talleyrand, in a letter to the British secretary,
vindicated France from the censures contained in this reply; throwing
the blame of war on the league of European powers, and offering a
suspension of arms, that plenipotentiaries might meet at Dunkirk or
elsewhere, as might be agreed upon, for the purpose of making a treaty
of peace. The reply to this communication was equally unsatisfactory as
that made to the letter of the first consul. His majesty expressed his
concern that the unprovoked aggressions of France were defended by her
present ruler; and refused to enter into a refutation of allegations
universally exploded, and, as far as his own conduct was concerned,
utterly groundless. This correspondence was the first subject of
importance which engaged the attention of parliament after its
adjournment; and while the minority animadverted on the precipitancy
by which the door was closed against all hopes of pacification, the
majority approved of what had been done, and it was determined to
prosecute the war with vigour.
On the 17th of February a debate took place on a royal message, in which
his majesty, after stating that he was concerting such engagements with
the Emperor of Germany, the Elector of Bavaria, and other powers of the
empire as might be conducive to the advantage of the common cause in the
course of the ensuing campaign, informed the house that he was desirous
of authorising his minister to make provisionally such advances of money
as might be necessary for this purpose. Pitt declared that £500,000
was all that he required at the commencement; and after some little
opposition, his motion for the grant was carried by a large majority.
Ministers were also equally well supported in a proposal, made by
opposition, for an inquiry into the causes of the disgraces which had
attended the British arms in Holland: it was quashed at once.
The total supplies voted for this year was £47,900,739. The income-tax
was continued; and there was a loan of £21,000,000, including a vote of
credit. For two months 120,000 seamen and 90,000 soldiers were granted,
exclusive of subsidiaries; but for the rest of the year 10,000 were
deducted from each number. On the annual motion for renewing the act for
suspending the _Habeas Corpus_ bill, there was a stormy debate; but
the measure was carried with the usual majorities. An attempt made by
a maniac named Hadfield to shoot the king in Drury-lane theatre, led to
the insertion of two additional clauses in the insanity bill, by which
the privilege of bail to alleged lunatics was abridged, and the personal
safety of the sovereign thereby consulted. Subsequently a committee of
each house was appointed to consider of the most effectual means for
remedying the distress which prevailed at this time, from a scarcity
of corn; and a bill was brought in and passed, prohibiting the sale of
bread which had not been baked twenty-four hours, it being generally
admitted that stale bread satisfied the appetite sooner than new bread.
The Archbishop of Canterbury recommended a series of resolutions in
the upper house, and a voluntary association, by which each of their
lordships should bind himself to lessen the consumption of bread and
flour in his family, by using such articles as might be conveniently
substituted in the place thereof. These resolutions were passed
unanimously in the upper house; and the commons, from a message sent
them from the lords, fully concurred with their lordships. This example
of the lords and commons was followed very generally by the upper
classes throughout the kingdom; and thus effectual relief was afforded
by the simple means of self-denial.
Another measure taken into consideration this session tended to morality
of conduct. Of late the crime of adultery had become very prevalent; and
it was thought by political moralists that intermarriage, permitted to
the offending parties after a divorce, was one fertile source of crime.
A bill was proposed by Lord Auckland to prevent such intermarriage; but
it was rejected by a considerable majority, it being doubted whether
it would prove effectual to the diminishing of the crime to which it
referred.
Among other parliamentary topics discussed this session was that of the
affairs of the East Indies. Mr. Dundas having investigated the state of
its finances, detailed them to the commons; and on the whole, from
his statements, the company’s affairs appeared to be in a flourishing
condition. An act was passed, instituting a high court of judicature for
that of the recorder of Madras.
UNION WITH IRELAND COMPLETED.
The most important act of this session was the completion of the union
between Great Britain and Ireland. At first the resolutions which had
passed the British parliament excited much opposition in the Irish
parliament and throughout the country. When the Irish commons debated
on an address proposed by ministers, in answer to the speech from the
throne in January, 1799, it was carried only by one vote; but on the
15th of January, 1800, a motion made in the same house to declare
their disapprobation of the union, was negatived by one hundred and
thirty-eight against ninety-six. Subsequently the measure of the union
was agreed to by a large majority in the Irish parliament, both in
the lords and the commons. On the 27th of March, indeed, the two Irish
houses agreed in a joint address, informing his majesty that they
considered the resolutions of the British parliament as wisely
calculated to form the basis of an incorporation of Great Britain and
Ireland into one kingdom; that they adopted them as their guide; and
that they now laid before his majesty certain resolutions which they had
agreed to, and which, if they should be approved by the two houses of
parliament of Great Britain, they were ready to confirm and ratify, in
order that the same might be established for ever, by mutual consent of
both parliaments. On the 2nd of April this address was made the subject
of a message from his majesty to the British parliament. In addition to
the resolutions adopted by the British parliament, it was proposed by
the Irish parliament, that the number of Irish peers to be admitted to
the house of lords of the United Kingdom should be four lords spiritual,
by rotation of sessions, and twenty-eight lords temporal, elected for
life by the peers of Ireland; and that the number of representatives
to be admitted into the house of commons should be one hundred. Such
a union as this was opposed in the upper house by Lord Holland, on the
grounds that it would not remedy the discontents of the various classes
of society in Ireland; that it would not insure a redress of their
grievances, but would increase the influence of which they now loudly
complained; that it was offensive to the great body of the Irish people;
and that, if carried into effect, it would endanger the connexion
between the two countries, and probably produce mischief. The measure
was defended in the upper house by Lord Grenville; and on a division
eighty-one peers voted with him, and only two with Lord Holland. In the
commons the union was opposed from the supposition that it would injure
our constitution, inasmuch as the influence of the crown, arising from
places in Ireland being to be concentrated upon only one hundred members
instead of three hundred, it must necessarily be augmented. Pitt denied
that the union would, or that he wished it to have such an effect;
and he contended that the system proposed was calculated to favour the
popular interest. The members for Irish counties and principal cities,
he said, would be sixty-eight, the remaning thirty-two members being to
be elected by towns the most considerable in population and wealth; and
that, as the proposed addition would not make any change in the internal
form of representation, it would entail none of those dangers incident
to innovation. If anything could counterbalance the advantages that
must result from the union, he remarked, it would be the necessity of
disturbing in anyway the representation of England; a necessity which
happily did not exist. He continued:—“In stating this I have not
forgotten what I have myself formerly said and sincerely felt upon
the subject of parliamentary reform; but I know that all opinions must
necessarily be subservient to times and circumstances; and that man who
talks of his consistency merely because he holds the same opinion for
ten or fifteen years, when the circumstances under which that opinion
was originally formed are totally changed, is a slave to the most idle
vanity. Seeing all that I have seen since the period to which I allude,
considering how little chance there is of that species of reform to
which alone I looked, and which is as different from the modern schemes
of reform as the latter are from the constitution;—seeing that where
the greatest changes have taken place the most dreadful consequences
have ensued, and which have not been confined to the country where they
originated, but have spread their malignant influence to almost every
part of the globe, shaking the fabric of every government;—seeing
that in this general shock the constitution of Great Britain has alone
remained pure and untouched in its vital principles;—I say, when I
consider all these circumstances, I should be ashamed of myself if any
former opinions of mine could now induce me to think that the form of
representation which, in such times as the present, has been found amply
sufficient for the purpose of protecting the interests and securing the
happiness of the people, should be idly and wantonly disturbed from any
love of experiment or any predilection for theory. Upon this subject I
think it right to state the inmost thoughts of my mind; I think it right
to declare my most decided opinion that, even if the times were proper
for experiments, any, even the slightest, change in such a constitution
must be considered as an evil.” Pitt proposed the adoption of the
resolutions voted by the Irish house of parliament; and after some
opposition, especially from Mr. Grey, who moved an amendment, which was
lost, they were carried without further delay. All proceedings both in
England and Ireland relative to this great measure were concluded in
the month of June; and on the 2nd of July the act of union received the
royal assent. His majesty declared that he ever should consider this
measure as the happiest of his reign. The Irish session, which had been
prolonged till the bill passed in England for the purpose of ratifying
it was dissolved on the 2nd of August, and with it the existence of the
Irish parliament. On the subject of this union Dr. Miller remarks:—“The
whole history of Ireland up to the union presents a series of events
most curiously combined. Its early period, unhappy as it was, prepared
that party of Roman Catholics which, in the struggles terminated by the
English revolution, was opposed as an antagonist force to the Scottish
Presbyterians, and thus assisted in effecting the adjustment of the
English government. When this important function had been discharged,
Ireland had to prepare itself for entering with advantage into the
general incorporation of a united empire; the preceding period of its
history, however beneficial in assisting to adjust the balance of the
English constitution, having been inauspicious to the domestic interests
of the country. Of that preparation it was a necessary condition that
one of the two parties by which it was distracted should suffer a
temporary depression, so entire that the other should not be embarrassed
or obstructed in its efforts to obtain national independence. The
prosperity, however, thus acquired extended its influence even to the
party by whose depression it had been obtained; and the Roman Catholics,
participating in the advantages of Protestants, rose again to a
political importance, in which they were opposed to the ascendancy of
the prevailing party. A short struggle of rebellion, the natural
result of an ungoverned desire of independence among a portion of the
Protestants, aided by the ancient disaffection of the adverse party,
brought the country into a situation in which the minister was able to
consolidate the empire by the union of Ireland.” It was hoped that this
great measure would have the effect of conciliating the Irish Catholics;
but experience has proved that they are still dissatisfied with the rule
of England. It is evident, in fact, that ages will elapse before
the Irish consider themselves to be “one and indivisible” with the
English—before they are satisfied with the sway of the house of
Brunswick.
{GEORGE III. 1798—1801}
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued on the 29th of July. His majesty’s speech
expressed peculiar satisfaction at the effecting of an entire union
between England and Ireland, he being persuaded that it would tend to
their mutual interests. There were other less cheerful notes in the
royal speech; for the campaign of this year, which had been commenced
with success, had by a sudden reverse ended in defeat.
CAMPAIGN IN ITALY.
It has been seen that the Russian troops had plucked the laurels which
the French had gained in Italy from their brows. Thus situated the
French government sent Massena across the Alps, together with generals
Soult, Oudinot, and Brune, to refix the national banners on the banks
of the Po. Their efforts were vain; Massena was finally driven by the
Austrians within the ramparts of Genoa. Assisted by a British squadron
the Austrians formed the siege of Genoa; and Massena had in a little
time no other alternative but to force his way through the enemy or to
surrender. In this emergency Soult attempted to open the blockade, and
leading on his division he attacked their fortified post of Monte
Creto, and penetrated into the enemy’s camp. But his career was checked.
Recovering from their surprise, the Austrians met the French with
firmness, and they were put to flight. Massena was obliged to
capitulate, and Genoa was evacuated. But here the success of the allied
armies was checked. Giving the command of the Rhine to Moreau, Napoleon
assumed the direction of the army of Italy. A battle was fought in
the plain of Marengo, which annihilated the fruit of all the Austrian
victories in the preceding campaign, and put Italy again under the
power of France. Melas saw himself forced, by the hopelessness of
his position, to the proposal of an armistice as the only means of
deliverance; and it was granted upon these conditions:—that the
Austrians should retreat beyond the Mincio; and that Genoa, Tortona,
Alessandria, Turin, Arona, Coni, Ceva, Savona, Milan, and several
other-cities, with all Piedmont and Liguria, and nearly all Cis-alpinia
should be given up to the French government. The star of Napoleon shone
more brilliant than ever; and leaving the Italian army under Massena, he
returned to Paris to reap the fruit of his conquest.
In the meantime the Austrians had been likewise defeated in Germany.
On the 25th of April Moreau crossed the Rhine upon six points; and
in several battles at Enger, Stockach, and Moesskirch, defeated
Field-marshal Kray, who was now at the head of the Austrian troops. Kray
was compelled to retreat before him; and Moreau finally occupied a large
part of Bavaria as well as Munich. Lecourbe also drove the Austrians
from the Grisons and entered the Tyrol; while on the left another army
of French and Batavians were preparing to penetrate into Franconia
and Bohemia. The court of Vienna now sued for an armistice, which was
granted; and on the 28th of July preliminaries of peace, on the basis
of that of Campo Formio, were signed at Paris. The world now expected
peace. The emperor, however, having received his subsidy from England,
and concluded a new treaty with that power, again unsheathed his sword.
He declared the truce at an end; and both sides prepared again for the
strife. The emperor putting himself at the head of his army, endeavoured
to rouse the whole force of Germany; but the north was kept inactive
by the neutrality of Prussia, and other princes were overawed by the
invaders. Another armistice was purchased by him for the short space of
forty-five days, by the delivery of Philipsburg, Ulm, and Ingoldstadt;
and when this period expired, late as the season was, both parties took
the field. The contest was soon decided. On the 2nd of December a battle
was fought at Hohenlinden, between the rivers Iser and Inn, in which the
Austrians, under Archduke John, were utterly defeated. Moreau advancing
occupied Saltzburg; and the road to Vienna was not only open to his
army, but also to the armies of Brune and Macdonald. In this emergency
the Emperor Francis was compelled to sue for a separate peace, and
the British government obliged to release him from the terms of his
alliance. A treaty was signed in the ensuing February, which ratified
all the conditions of the treaty of Campo Formio, and included several
new articles of an humiliating nature to the house of Austria. Tuscany
was taken away from the Grand Duke Ferdinand and bestowed upon Louis,
son of the Duke of Parma; and the emperor again acknowledged the
independence of the Cisalpine and Ligurian republics, renouncing all
right or pretension to any of those Italian territories, A new and
extended frontier also was drawn for the Cisalpines, the line of the
Adige being taken from where that river issues from the Tyrol down to
its mouth on the Adriatic. Piedmont was for the present left to the King
of Sardinia; and shortly after this monarch, through the mediation of
the Czar Paul, obtained a peace, agreeing on his part to close his ports
against the English, withdraw some troops sent into the Roman states,
and to give up the principality of Piombino, with some other detached
territories on the Tuscan coast. Through the same mediation Italy was
treated by Napoleon with leniency; and Pope Pius VII., recently elected
to the Pontificate, was allowed to retain the reins of government.
CAPTURE OF MALTA.
During this year the island of Malta, which had been blockaded for
more than two years, was surrendered to Major-general Pigot. The French
troops who had defended it were permitted to return to France, on
condition of not serving till regularly exchanged. This was a great
prize, for Malta is the citadel of the Mediterranean, as Gibralter is
its key: from this time it became a pillar of the British throne.
NAVAL OPERATIONS.
The naval operations of England this year were various, though no very
important results accrued therefrom. The small island of Goree on the
western coast of Africa surrendered to Sir Charles Hamilton; and the
British captured the Dutch island of Curaçoa. A squadron was sent under
Sir Edward Pellew to the peninsula of Quiberon; but all that was done
was to destroy some brigs, sloops, gun-boats, and a few trading vessels.
This armament proceeded to the coast of Spain to destroy the arsenal and
the shipping at Ferrol; but it was attended with the same ill-success.
The land forces accompanying it under Sir James Pulteney then joined to
those of Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who, with the Mediterranean fleet under
Lord Keith, was to make an attack upon Cadiz, and to capture or destroy
the Spanish fleet. But this enterprise was given up as impracticable;
and soon after General Pulteney was sent to Lisbon for the defence of
Portugal, now threatened by Spain; and General Abercrombie received
information that his troops were to be employed in Egypt. The year,
however, was now far spent, and it was the middle of December before the
armament arrived as far as Malta.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
In the midst of these foreign reverses—for such many of the events
may be termed—the scarcity of grain still continued in England. The
national spirit was greatly depressed by these circumstances, and
notwithstanding the hand of charity was active in the alleviation of
distress, several riots took place throughout the kingdom. London was
much agitated: but the Lord Mayor, Mr. Combe, by the aid of volunteers,
succeeded in repressing the commotion without bloodshed. In order to
obtain relief, the city of London and other places petitioned the King
to convene parliament; and it assembled in the month of October, and
passed in rapid succession a number of acts, granting bounties on the
importation of foreign corn, enjoining the baking of mixed and inferior
flour, &c. The distillation of spirits from grain was also suspended.
But the hand of private charity did more good than all this legislation:
it was opened wide, and the sufferings of the poor were thereby greatly
alleviated.
MOTIONS FOR PEACE, ETC.
On the 1st of December, after sundry attacks on the foreign policy of
the ministers, Sheridan moved for an address to his Majesty, praying
him to enter into a separate négociation with France, for a speedy and
honourable peace. This was negatived; and on the 4th of December, Mr.
T. Jones moved another address, imploring his Majesty to dismiss his
present ministers; but this was likewise rejected. The supplies voted
were for three lunar months only; 120,000 men were granted for the
service of the navy, from the 1st of January to the 1st of April, 1801.
The king closed the session of parliament on the last day of the year.
His majesty said that the time fixed for the commencement of the union
of Great Britain and Ireland necessarily terminated their proceedings,
and that the Imperial Parliament—as the united parliament was to be
denominated—was appointed to meet on the 22nd of January, 1801. Before
he retired, his majesty ordered the chancellor to read a proclamation,
declaring that the individuals who composed the expiring parliament,
should be members on the part of Great Britain, of the New or Imperial
Parliament.