The Swedes, after many debates between their king and senate, had at

length resolved upon an open declaration against the king of Prussia,

and, in consequence of that resolution, sent so many troops into

Pomerania, that by the end of August, their army in that country

amounted to twenty-five thousand men. Their first act of hostility was

the seizure of Anclam and Dem-min, two towns that lay in the way to

Stetin, against which their principal design was levelled. But before

they proceeded farther, general Hamilton, their commander, by way of

justifying the conduct of his master, published a declaration,

setting forth, “That the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty of

Westphalia, could not help sending his troops into the upper part of

the duchy of Pomerania belonging to the king of Prussia; and that,

therefore, all the officers appointed to receive the public revenue in

that country must pay what money they had in their hands to him, who was

commissioned to receive it for his Swedish majesty; that, moreover, an

exact account was required, within eight days, of the revenues of the

country; but that no more than ordinary contributions would be demanded

of the inhabitants, who might rest assured that the Swedish troops

should observe the strictest discipline.” After this declaration, they

attacked the little fortress of Penemunde, upon the river Pene, and on

the twenty-third of September, after a siege of nine days, obliged

the garrison, which consisted only of militia, to surrender themselves

prisoners of war. This alternative the commanding officer chose,

rather than engage not to serve for two years, observing, that such an

engagement was inconsistent with his honour, whilst his prince had so

much occasion for his service; and the Swedish general, touched with

this noble way of thinking, was, on his part, so generous as to give him

his liberty. On the other hand, general Manteuffel, who commanded the

Prussian forces then in Pomerania, amounting to twelve thousand men,

with whom he was encamped before Stetin, to cover that place, published

in answer to this a declaration, enjoining the inhabitants of Pomerania

to remain faithful to the king of Prussia, their lawful sovereign, under

pain of incurring his just indignation, and absolutely forbidding them

to pay any regard to the Swedish manifesto.

In the meantime, maresehal Lehwald, immediately after the battle of

Norkitten, when the Russians began their retreat, detached prince George

of Holstein-Got-torp, with a considerable body of forces, to the relief

of Pomerania; and, shortly after, the Russian forces having totally

evacuated every part of Prussia, except Memel, and most of them

being actually gone into winter-quarters, he himself followed with an

additional reinforcement of sixteen thousand men. Upon his approach, the

Swedes, who were then encamped at Ferdinandshoff, and had begun to fill

up the harbour of Swinnemunde, by way of previous preparation for the

siege of Stetin, retired with such precipitation, that they did not

allow themselves time to draw off a little garrison they had at Wollin,

consisting of two hundred and ten men, who were made prisoners of war.

Dem-min was cannonaded by the Prussians on the twenty-ninth of December;

and the Swedes having lost one officer and forty men, desired to

capitulate. As, in order to ease the troops, it was not thought proper

to continue the siege in so sharp a season, their request was granted,

and they had leave to retire with two pieces of cannon. The Prussians

took possession of the town on the second day of January, after the

Swedes had, on the thirtieth of December, likewise given up Anclam,

where the conquerors took an hundred and fifty prisoners, and found a

considerable magazine of provisions and ammunition. Maresehal Lehwald

then passed the Pene, entered Swedish Pomerania, and reduced Gutzkow,

Loitz, Tripsus, and Nebringen. At the same time, lieutenant-general

Schorlemmer passed with his corps from the isle of Wollin into the isle

of Usedom, and from thence to Wolgast, the Swedes having abandoned this

town, as well as Schwinemunde, and the fort of Penemunde. The prince

of Holstein advanced as far as Grimm and Grieffwalde, and the Swedes,

losing one town after another, till they had nothing left in Pomerania

but the port of Stralsund, continued retreating till they had reached

this last place. The French party in Sweden, to comfort the people,

called this retreat, or rather flight, going into winter-quarters. The

Prussian hussars were not idle wherever they penetrated; for, besides

plundering and pillaging, they raised a contribution of an hundred and

sixty thousand crowns in Swedish Pomerania. The Mecklenburghers, who had

joined the Swedes with six thousand of their troops, now found cause to

repent of their forwardness, being left quite exposed to the resentment

of the victors, who chastised them with the most severe exactions.

The army of the Swedes, though they did not fight a battle, was, by

sickness, desertion, and other accidents, reduced to half the number it

consisted of when they took the field. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel,

soon after his territories were invaded by the French, in consequence of

their advantage in the affair of Hastenbeck, had applied to the king of

Sweden, as one of the guarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, desiring

him to employ his good offices with the court of France, to obtain a

more favourable treatment for his dominions; but his Swedish majesty, by

the advice of the senate, thought proper to refuse complying with this

request, alleging, that as the crown of Sweden was one of the principal

guarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, it would be highly improper to

take such a step in favour of a prince who had not only broke the laws

and constitution of the empire, in refusing to furnish his contingent,

but had even assisted, with his troops, a power known to be its

declared enemy. The Aulic council too, seeing, or pretending to see, the

behaviour of the landgrave in the same light, issued a decree against

his serene highness towards the end of this year.

MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE DUTCH.

The court of Great Britain, justly displeased with the Dutch, on account

of the extreme facility with which they had granted the French a free

passage through Namur and Maestricht for their provisions, ammunition,

and artillery, in the beginning of this campaign, had very properly

remonstrated against that step, before it-was absolutely resolved on,

or at least declared to be so; but in vain; a pusillanimous answer being

all the satisfaction that was obtained. The tameness and indifference

with which the states-general has since seen Os-tend and Nieuport

put into the hands of the French, drew upon their high mightinesses a

further remonstrance, which was delivered to them on the twenty-eighth

of November of this year by colonel Yorke, his Britannic majesty’s

plenipotentiary at the Hague, in the following terms, well calculated to

awaken in them a due sense of their own danger, as well as to evince the

injustice of the proceedings of the house of Austria:--Considering the

critical situation which Europe has been in during the course of this

year, in consequence of measures concerted to embroil all Europe, the

king of Great Britain was willing to flatter himself that the courts of

Vienna and Versailles, out of regard to the circumspect conduct observed

by your high mightinesses, would have at least informed you of the

changes they have thought proper to make in the Austrian Netherlands. It

was with the utmost surprise the king heard, that without any previous

consent of yours, and almost without giving you any notice, the court of

Vienna had thought proper to put the towns of Ostend and Nieuport into

the hands of the French troops, and to withdraw her own, as well as

her artillery and stores, whilst France continues to send thither a

formidable quantity of both. The conduct of the court of Vienna towards

his majesty is indeed so unmerited and so extraordinary, that it is

difficult to find words to express it; but whatever fallacious pretexts

she may have made use of to palliate her behaviour towards England,

it doth not appear that they can be extended so far as to excuse the

infringement, in concert with France, of the most solemn treaties

between her and your high mightinesses. The king never doubted that

your high mightinesses would have made proper representations to the two

courts newly allied, to demonstrate the injustice of such a proceeding,

and the danger that might afterwards result from it. Your high

mightinesses will have perceived that your silence on the first step

encouraged the two courts, newly allied, to attempt others, and who can

say where they will stop? The pretext at first was, the need which the

empress-queen stood in of the troops for the war kindled in the empire,

and the necessity of providing for the safety of those important places,

and afterwards of their imaginary danger from England. But, high and

mighty lords, it is but too evident that the two powers who have taken

these measures in concert, have other projects in view, and have made

new regulations with regard to that country, which cannot but alarm the

neighbouring states. The late demand made to your high mightinesses, of

a passage for a large train of warlike implements through some of the

barrier towns, in order to be sent to Ostend and Nieuport, could not

fail to awaken the king’s attention. The sincere friendship, and parity

of interests, of Great Britain and Holland, require that they should

no longer keep silence, lest in the issue it should be considered as

a tacit consent, and as a relinquishment of all our rights. The king

commands me, therefore, to recall to your high mightinesses the two-fold

right you have acquired to keep the Austrian Netherlands under the

government of the house of Austria; and that no other has a title to

make the least alteration therein, without the consent of your high

mightinesses; unless the new allies have resolved to set aside all prior

treaties, and to dispose at pleasure of everything that may suit their

private interest. In the treaty between your high mightinesses and

the crown of France, signed at Utrecht on the eleventh of April, one

thousand seven hundred and thirteen, in the fifteenth article are these

words: “It is also agreed, that no province, fort, town, or city of

the said Netherlands, or of those which are given up by his catholic

majesty, shall ever be ceded, transferred, or given, or shall ever

devolve to the crown of France, or any prince or princess of the house

or line of France, either by virtue of any gift, exchange, marriage

contract, succession by will, or by any other title whatever, to the

power and authority of the most christian king, or of any prince or

princess of the house or line of France.” In the barrier-treaty these

very stipulations are repeated in the first article: “His imperial and

catholic majesty promises and engages, that no province, city, town,

fortress, or territory of the said country, shall be ceded, transferred,

given, or devolve to the crown of France, or to any other but the

successor of the German dominions of the house of Austria, either by

donation, sale, exchange, marriage-contract, heritage, testamentary

succession, nor under any other pretext whatsoever; so that no province,

town, fortress, or territory of the said Netherlands shall ever be

subject to any other prince, but to the successor of the states of the

house of Austria alone, excepting what has been yielded by the present

treaty to the said lords the states-general. A bare reading of these

two articles is sufficient to evince all that I have just represented

to your high mightinesses: and whatever pretext the courts of Vienna and

Versailles may allege, to cover the infraction of these treaties, the

thing remains nevertheless evident, whilst these two courts are unable

to prove that the towns of Ostend and Nieuport are not actually in

the power of France. If their designs are just, or agreeable to those

treaties, they will doubtless not scruple, in the least, to make your

high mightinesses easy on that head, by openly explaining themselves to

a quiet and pacific neighbour, and by giving you indisputable proofs

of their intentions to fulfil the stipulations of the said two treaties

with regard to the Netherlands. The king hath so much confidence in the

good sense, prudence, and friendship of your high mightinesses, that he

makes not the least doubt of your taking the most efficacious measures

to clear up an affair of such importance; and of your being pleased,

in concert with his majesty, to watch over the fate of a country whose

situations and independence have, for more than a century, been regarded

as one of the principal supports of your liberty and commerce.” It

does not appear that this remonstrance had the desired effect upon the

states-general, who were apprehensive of embroiling themselves with an

enemy so remarkably alert in taking all advantages. The truth is,

they were not only unprepared for a rupture with France, but extremely

unwilling to forego the commercial profits which they derived from their

neutrality.

The king of Prussia, about this period, began to harbour a suspicion

that certain other powers longed eagerly to enjoy the same respite from

the dangers and inconveniences of war, and that he ran the risk of being

abandoned by his sole patron and ally, who seemed greatly alarmed at his

defeat in Bohemia, and desirous of detaching himself from a connexion

which might be productive of the most disagreeable consequences to his

continental interest. Stimulated by this opinion, his Prussian majesty

is said to have written an expostulatory letter [433] _[See note 3 L,

at the end of this Vol.]_ to the king of Great Britain, in which he

very plainly taxes that monarch with having instigated him to commence

hostilities; and insists upon his remembering the engagements by which

he was so solemnly bound. From the strain of this letter, and the

Prussian king’s declaration to the British minister when he first

set out for Saxony, importing that he was going to fight the king of

England’s battles, a notion was generally conceived that those

two powers had agreed to certain private pacts or conventions,

the particulars of which have not yet transpired. Certain it is, a

declaration was delivered to the Prussian resident at London, which

appears to have been calculated as an answer to the letter. In that

paper the king of Great Britain declared, that the overtures made by his

majesty’s electoral ministers in Germany, touching the checks received

on the continent, should have no influence on his majesty as king; that

he saw, in the same light as before, the pernicious effects of the union

between the courts of Vienna and Versailles, threatning a subversion

of the whole system of public liberty, and of the independence of the

European powers; that he considered as a fatal consequence of this

dangerous connexion, the cession made by the court of Vienna of the

ports in the Netherlands to France, in such a critical situation, and

contrary to the faith of the most solemn treaties; that, whatever

might be the success of his arms, his majesty was determined to act

in constant concert with the king of Prussia in employing the most

efficacious means to frustrate the unjust and oppressive designs of

their common enemies. He concluded with assuring the king of Prussia,

that the British crown would continue to fulfil, with the greatest

punctuality, its engagements with his Prussian majesty, and to support

him with firmness and vigour. Such a representation could not fail of

being agreeable to a prince, who, at this juncture, stood in need of an

extraordinary cordial. He knew he could securely depend, not only on the

good faith of an English ministry, but also on the good plight of the

British nation, which, like an indulgent nurse, hath always presented

the nipple to her meagre German allies. Those, however, who pretended to

consider and canvas events, without prejudice and prepossession, could

not help owning their surprise at hearing an alliance stigmatized

as pernicious to the system of public liberty, and subversive of the

independence of the European powers, as they remembered that this

alliance was the effect of necessity, to which the house of Austria was

reduced for its own preservation; reduced, as its friends and partisans

affirm, by those very potentates that now reproached her with these

connexions.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

DISPUTES CONCERNING THE CONVENTION OF CLOSTER-SEVEN.

His Britannic majesty was resolved that the king of Prussia should have

no cause to complain of his indifference, whatever reasons he had

to exclaim against the convention of Closter-Seven, which he did not

scruple to condemn as a very scandalous capitulation, as much as he

disapproved of the conduct, in consequence of which near forty

thousand men were so shamefully disarmed, and lost to his cause. Those

stipulations also met with a very unfavourable reception in England,

where the motions of the allied army, in their retreat before the enemy,

were very freely censured, and some great names exposed to the ridicule

and contempt of the public. This event, so singular in itself, and

so important in its consequences, attracted the attention of the

privy-council, where it is said to have been canvassed with great

warmth and animosity of altercation. The general complained that he was

restricted by peremptory orders from the regency of Hanover; and they

were reported to have used recriminations in their defence. In all

probability, every circumstance of the dispute was not explained to the

satisfaction of all parties, inasmuch as that great commander quitted

the harvest of military glory, and, like another Cincinnatus, retired to

his plough. The convention of Closter-Seven was equally disagreeable to

the courts of London and Versailles. The former saw the electorate of

Hanover left, by this capitulation, at the mercy of the enemy, who had

taken possession of the whole country, seized the revenues, exacted

contributions, and changed the whole form of government, in the name

of his most christian majesty; whilst the French army, which had been

employed in opposing the Hanoverian, was now at liberty to throw their

additional force into the scale against the king of Prussia, who, at

that period, seemed to totter on the verge of destruction. On the

other hand, the French ministry thought their general had granted too

favourable terms to a body of forces, whom he had cooped up in such a

manner that, in a little time, they must have surrendered at discretion.

They, therefore, determined either to provoke the Hanoverians by

ill usage to an infraction of the treaty, or, should that be found

impracticable, renounce it as an imperfect convention, established

without proper authority. Both expedients were used without reserve.

They were no sooner informed of the capitulation, than they refused to

acknowledge its validity, except on condition that the Hanoverian troops

should formally engage to desist from all service against France and her

allies during the present war, and be disarmed on their return to

their own country. At the same time her general, who commanded in the

electorate, exhausted the country by levying exorbitant contributions,

and connived at such outrages as degraded his own dignity, and reflected

disgrace on the character of his nation. The court of London, to make

a merit of necessity, affected to consider the conventional act as a

provisional armistice, to pave the way for a negotiation that might

terminate in a general peace, and proposals were offered for that

purpose; but the French ministry kept aloof, and seemed resolved that

the electorate of Hanover should be annexed to their king’s dominions.

At least, they were bent upon keeping it as a precious depositum,

which, in the plan of a general pacification, they imagined, would

counterbalance any advantage that Great Britain might obtain in other

parts of the world. Had they been allowed to keep this deposit, the

kingdom of Great Britain would have saved about twenty millions of

money, together with the lives of her best soldiers; and Westphalia

would have continued to enjoy all the blessings of security and peace.

But the king of England’s tenderness for Hanover was one of the chief

sources of the misfortunes which befel the electorate. He could not bear

the thoughts of seeing it, even for a season, in the hands of the

enemy; and his own sentiments in this particular were reinforced by the

pressing remonstrances of the Prussian monarch, whom, at this juncture,

he thought it dangerous to disoblige. Actuated by these motives, he was

pleased to see the articles of the convention so palpably contravened,

because the violation unbound his hands, and enabled him, consistently

with good faith, to take effectual steps for the assistance of his ally,

and the recovery of his own dominions. He, therefore, in quality of

elector of Brunswick-Lunen-burgh, published a declaration, observing,

“That his royal highness the duke of Cumberland had, on his part,

honestly fulfilled all the conditions of the convention; but the duke

de Richelieu demanded that the troops should enter into an engagement

specified above, and lay down their arms; although it was expressly

stipulated in the convention, that they should not be regarded as

prisoners of war, under which quality alone they could be disarmed:

that the French court pretended to treat the convention as a military

regulation only; and, indeed, it was originally nothing more; but as

they had expressly disowned its validity, and a negotiation had been

actually begun for disarming the auxiliaries, upon certain conditions,

though the French general would never answer categorically, but waited

always for fresh instructions from Versailles, the nature of that act

was totally changed, and what was at first an agreement between general

and general, was now become a matter of state between the two courts

of London and Versailles: that, however hard the conditions of the

convention appeared to be for the troops of Hanover, his Britannic

majesty would have acquiesced in them, had not the French glaringly

discovered their design of totally ruining his army and his dominions;

and, by the most outrageous conduct, freed his Britannic majesty from

every obligation under which he had been laid by the contention: that,

in the midst of the armistice, the most open hostilities had been

committed; the castle of Schartzfels had been forcibly seized and

pillaged, and the garrison made prisoners of war; the prisoners made by

the French before the convention had not been restored, according to

an express article stipulated between the generals, though it had been

fulfilled on the part of the electorate, by the immediate release of the

French prisoners; the bailies of those districts, from which the French

troops were excluded by mutual agreement, had been summoned, on pain

of military execution, to appear before the French commissary, and

compelled to deliver into his hands the public revenue: the French had

appropriated to themselves part of those magazines, which, by express

agreement, were destined for the use of the electoral troops; and they

had seized the houses, revenue, and corn, belonging to the king of

England in the city of Bremen, in violation of their engagement to

consider that city as a place absolutely free and neutral. Pie took

notice, that they had proceeded to menaces unheard of among civilized

people, of burning, sacking, and destroying every thing that fell

in their way, should the least hesitation be made in executing the

convention according to their interpretation.”--Such were the professed

considerations that determined his Britannic majesty to renounce the

agreement which they had violated, and have recourse to arms for

the relief of his subjects and allies. It was in consequence of this

determination that he conferred the command of his electoral army on

prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, brother to the duke of that name, who

had distinguished himself in the Prussian army by his great military

talents, and was, by blood and inclination, as well as interest,

supposed warmly attached to his Britannic majesty. The truth is, the

king of Prussia recommended him to this command, because he knew he

could depend upon his concurring with all his measures, in conducting

the operations of the British army. The duke de Richelieu was no

sooner informed of these particulars, than he sent a letter to prince

Ferdinand, specifying, “That although for some days he had perceived

the Hanoverian troops in motion, in order to form themselves into a

body, he could not imagine the object of these movements was to infringe

the convention of neutrality which had been established between the

duke of Cumberland and himself, as French general; that he was blinded

so far by his confidence in the good faith of the elector of Hanover,

who had signed that convention, as to believe the troops were assembled

for no other purpose than to be distributed into winter-quarters, which

had been assigned them by the agreement; but his eyes were at last

opened by repeated advices which he had received from all quarters,

importing, that the Hanoverians intended to infringe those articles

which ought to be sacred and inviolable; he affirmed, the king his

master was still willing to give fresh proofs of his moderation, and his

desire to spare the effusion of human blood: with that view he declared

to his serene highness, in the name of his most christian majesty, that

he persisted in his resolution of fulfilling exactly all the points of

the convention, provided that they should be equally observed by the

Hanoverian army; but he could not help apprising his serene highness,

that if this army should take any equivocal step, and, still more,

should it commit any act of hostility, he would then push matters to the

last extremity, looking upon himself as authorized so to do by the rules

of war: that he would set fire to all palaces, houses, and gardens;

sack all the towns and villages, without sparing the most inconsiderable

cottage, and subject the country to all the horrors of war and

devastation. He conjured his serene highness to reflect on these

particulars, and begged he would not lay him under the necessity of

taking steps so contrary to his own personal character, as well as to

the natural humanity of the French nation.” To this letter, which was

seconded by the count de Lynar, the Danish ambassador, who had mediated

the convention, prince Ferdinand returned a very laconic answer,

intimating, that he would give the duke de Richelieu his answer in

person at the head of his army. At this particular juncture, the

French general was disposed to abide by the original articles of the

convention, rather than draw upon himself the hostilities of an army

which he knew to be brave, resolute, and well appointed, and which he

saw at present animated with an eager desire of wiping out the disgrace

they had sustained by the capitulation, as well as of relieving their

country from the grievous oppression wider which it groaned.

PROGRESS OF THE HANOVERIAN ARMY.

About the latter end of November, the Hanoverian army was wholly

assembled at Stade, under the auspices of prince Ferdinand, who resolved

without delay to drive the French from the electorate, whither they now

began their march. Part of the enemy’s rear, consisting of two thousand

men, was, in their march back to Zell, attacked in the bailiwick of

Ebstorff, and entirely defeated by general Schuylenbourg; and, in a few

days after this action, another happened upon the river Aller, between

two considerable bodies of each army, in which the Hanoverians,

commanded by general Zastrow, remained masters of the field. These petty

advantages served to encourage the allies, and put them in possession of

Lunen-burgh, Zell, and part of the Brunswick dominions, which the enemy

were obliged to abandon. The operations of prince Ferdinand, however,

were retarded by the resolution and obstinate perseverance of the French

officer who commanded the garrison of Harbourg. When the Hanoverian

troops made themselves masters of the town, he retired into the castle,

which he held out against a considerable detachment of the allied army,

by whom it was invested; at length, however, the fortifications being

entirely demolished, he surrendered upon capitulation. On the sixth day

of December, prince Ferdinand began his march towards Zell, where the

French army had taken post, under the command of the duke de Richelieu,

who, at the approach of the Hanoverians, called in his advanced parties,

abandoned several magazines, burned all the farm-houses and buildings

belonging to the sheep-walks of his Britannic majesty, without paying

the least regard to the representations made by prince Ferdinand on this

subject; reduced the suburbs of Zell to ashes, after having allowed his

men to plunder the houses, and even set fire to the orphan hospital, in

which a great number of helpless children are said to have perished. One

cannot, without horror, reflect upon such brutal acts of inhumanity. The

French troops on divers occasions, and in different parts of the empire,

acted tragedies of the same nature, which are not easily reconcileable

to the character of a nation famed for sentiment and civility. The

Hanoverians having advanced within a league of Zell, the two armies

began to cannonade each other; the French troops, posted on the right of

the Aller, burned their magazines, and retired into the town, where they

were so strongly intrenched, that prince Ferdinand could not attempt the

river, the passes of which were strongly guarded by the enemy. At the

same time, his troops were exposed to great hardships from the severity

of the weather; he, therefore, retreated to Ultzen and Lunenburgh,

where his army was put into winter-quarters, and executed several

small enterprises by detachment, while the French general fixed his

headquarters in the city of Hanover, his cantonments extending as far

as Zell, in the neighbourhood of which many sharp skirmishes were fought

from the out-parties with various success. Their imperial majesties

were no sooner apprized of these transactions, which they considered as

infractions of the convention, than they sent an intimation to the baron

de Steinberg, minister from the king of Great Britain as elector of

Hanover, that he should appear no more at court, or confer with their

ministers; and that his residing at Vienna, as he might easily conceive,

could not be very agreeable: in consequence of which message he retired,

after having obtained the necessary passports for his departure. The

chagrin occasioned at the court of Vienna by the Hanoverian army’s

having recourse to their arms again, was, in some measure, alleviated

by the certain tidings received from Petersburgh, that the czarina had

signed her accession in form to the treaty between the courts of Vienna,

Versailles, and Stockholm.

DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF POLAND, &c.

In closing our account of this year’s transactions on the continent, we

may observe, that on the sixteenth day of November the queen of Poland

died at Berlin of an apoplexy, supposed to be occasioned by the shock

she received on hearing that the French were totally defeated

at Rosbach. She was a lady of exemplary virtue and piety; whose

constitution had been broke by grief and anxiety conceived from the

distress of her own family, as well as from the misery to which she saw

her people exposed. With respect to the European powers that were not

actually engaged as principals in the war, they seemed industriously

to avoid every step that might be construed as a deviation from the

most scrupulous neutrality. The states-general proceeded with great

circumspection, in the middle course between two powerful neighbours,

equally jealous and formidable; and the king of Spain was gratified

for his forbearance with a convention settled between him and the

belligerent powers, implying, that his subjects should per-sue their

commerce at sea without molestation, provided they should not transport

those articles of merchandise which were deemed contraband by all

nations. The operations at sea, during the course of this year, either

in Europe or America, were far from being decisive or important.

The commerce of Great Britain sustained considerable damage from the

activity and success of French privateers, of which a great number had

been equipped in the islands of Martinique and Gaudaloupe. The Greenwich

ship of war, mounted with fifty guns, and a frigate of twenty, fell

into the hands of the enemy, together with a very considerable number of

trading vessels. On the other hand, the English cruisers and privateers

acquitted themselves with equal vigilance and valour. The duc

d’Aquitaine, a large ship of fifty guns, was taken in the month of June

by two British ships of war, after a severe engagement; and, about the

same time, the Aquilon, of nearly the same force, was driven ashore and

destroyed near Brest by the Antelope, one of the British cruisers. A

French frigate of twenty-six guns, called the Emeraude, was taken in the

channel, after a warm engagement, by an English ship of inferior force,

under the command of captain Gilchrist, a gallant and alert officer,

who, in the sequel, signalized himself on divers occasions, by very

extraordinary acts of valour. All the sea officers seemed to be animated

with a noble emulation to distinguish themselves in the service of their

country, and the spirit descended even to the captains of privateers,

who, instead of imitating the former commanders of that class, in

avoiding ships of force, and centering their whole attention in

advantageous prizes, now encountered the armed ships of the enemy, and

fought with the most obstinate valour in the pursuit of national glory.

FATE OF CAPTAIN DEATH.

Perhaps history cannot afford a more remarkable instance of desperate

courage than that which was exerted in December of the preceding year,

by the officers and crew of an English privateer, named the Terrible,

under the command of captain William Death, equipped with twenty-six

carriage guns, and manned with two hundred sailors. On the twenty-third

day of the month he engaged and made prize of a large French ship from

St. Domingo, after an obstinate battle, in which he lost his own brother

and sixteen seamen; then he secured with forty men his prize, which

contained a valuable cargo, and directed his course to England; but in

a few days he had the misfortune to fall in with the Vengeance, a

privateer of St. Maloes, carrying thirty-six large cannon, with a

complement of three hundred and sixty men. Their first step was to

attack the prize, which was easily retaken; then the two ships bore down

upon the Terrible, whose main-mast was shot away by the first broadside.

Notwithstanding this disaster, the Terrible maintained such a furious

engagement against both as can hardly be paralleled in the annals of

Britain. The French commander and his second was killed, with two-thirds

of his company; but the gallant Captain Death, with the greater part of

his officers, and almost his whole crew, having met with the same fate,

his ship was boarded by the enemy, who found no more than twenty-six

persons alive, sixteen of whom were mutilated by the loss of leg or arm,

and the other ten grievously wounded. The ship itself was so shattered,

that it could scarce be kept above water, and the whole exhibited a

scene of blood, horror, and desolation. The victor itself lay like

a wreck on the surface; and in this condition made shift, with great

difficulty, to tow the Terrible* into St. Maloes, where she was not

beheld without astonishment and terror.

* There was a strange combination of names belonging to this

privateer; the Terrible, equipped at Execution Dock,

commanded by captain Death, whose lieutenant was called

Devil, and who had one Ghost for surgeon.

This adventure was no sooner known in England, than a liberal

subscription was raised for the support of Death’s widow, and that

part of the crew which survived the engagement. In this, and every sea

reincounter that happened within the present year, the superiority in

skill and resolution was ascertained to the British mariners; for even

when they fought against great odds, their courage was generally crowned

with success. In the month of November, captain Lockhart, a young

gentleman who had already rendered himself a terror to the enemy as

commander of a small frigate, now added considerably to his reputation

by reducing the Melampe, a French privateer of Bayonne, greatly superior

to his own ship in number of men and weight of metal. This exploit

was seconded by another of the same nature, in his conquest of another

French adventurer, called the Countess of Gramont; and a third large

privateer of Bayonne was taken by captain Saumarez, commander of the

Antelope. In a word, the narrow seas were so well guarded, that in a

little time scarce a French ship durst appear in the English channel,

which the British traders navigated without molestation.

SESSION OPENED.

On the first day of December, the king of Great Britain opened the

session of parliament with a speech from the throne, which seemed

calculated to prepare the nation for the expense of maintaining a new

war on the continent of Europe. His majesty graciously declared that it

would have given him a most sensible pleasure to acquaint them, at the

opening of the session, that his success in carrying on the war had

been equal to the justice of his cause, and the extent and vigour of the

measures formed for that purpose. He expressed the firmest confidence,

that the spirit and bravery of the nation, so renowned in all times,

which had formerly surmounted so many difficulties, were not to be

abated by a few disappointments, which, he trusted, might be retrieved

by the blessing of God, and the zeal and ardour of his parliament for

his majesty’s honour and the advantage of their country. He said it was

his determined resolution to apply his utmost efforts for the security

of his kingdoms, and for the recovery and protection of the possessions

and rights of his crown and subjects in America and elsewhere, as well

by the strongest exertion of his naval force, as by all other methods.

He signified, that another great object which he had at heart, was the

preservation of the protestant religion and the liberties of Europe;

and, in that case, to encourage and adhere to his allies. For this

cause, he assured them, he would decline no inconveniencies, and in

this cause he earnestly solicited their hearty concurrence and vigorous

assistance. He observed, that the late signal success in Germany

had given a happy turn to affairs, which it was incumbent on them to

improve; and that, in such a critical conjuncture, the eyes of all

Europe were upon them. He particularly recommended to them, that his

good brother and ally the king of Prussia might be supported in such a

manner as his magnanimity and active zeal for the common cause appeared

to deserve. To the commons he expressed his concern that the large

supplies they had already granted did not produce all the good fruits

they had reason to expect; but he had so great a reliance on their

wisdom, as not to doubt of their perseverance. He only desired suck

supplies as should be necessary for the public service, and told them

they might depend upon it, that the best and most faithful economy

should be used. He took notice of that spirit of disorder which had

shown itself among the common people in some parts of the kingdom; he

laid injunctions upon them to use their endeavours for discouraging

and suppressing such abuses, and for maintaining the laws and

lawful authority. He concluded with observing, that nothing would so

effectually conduce to the defence of all that was clear to the nation,

as well as to the reducing their enemies to reason, as union and harmony

among themselves. The time was, when every paragraph of this harangue,

which the reader will perceive is not remarkable for its elegance and

propriety, would have been canvassed and impugned by the country party

in the house of commons. They would have imputed the bad success of

the war to the indiscretion of the ministry, in taking preposterous

measures, and appointing commanders unequal to the service. They would

have inquired in what manner the protestant religion was endangered;

and, if it was, how it could be preserved or promoted by adhering to

allies, who, without provocation, had well nigh ruined the first and

principal protestant country of the empire. They would have started

doubts with respect to the late signal success in Germany, and hinted,

that it would only serve to protract the burden of a continental war.

They would have owned that the eyes of all Europe were upon them, and

drawn this consequence, that it therefore behoved them to act with the

more delicacy and caution in discharge of the sacred trust reposed in

them by their constituents: a trust which their consciences would not

allow to be faithfully discharged, should they rush precipitately into

the destructive measures of a rash and prodigal ministry; squander away

the wealth of the nation, and add to the grievous incumbrances under

which it groaned, in support of connexions and alliances that were

equally foreign to her consideration, and pernicious to her interest.

They would have investigated that cause which was so warmly recommended

for support, and pretended to discover that it was a cause in which

Great Britain ought to have had no concern, because it produced a

certainty of loss without the least prospect of advantage. They would

have varied essentially in their opinions of the necessary supplies,

from the sentiments of those who prepared the estimates, and even

declared some doubts about the economy to be used in managing the

national expense: finally, they would have represented the impossibility

of union between the two parties, one of which seemed bent upon reducing

the other to beggary and contempt. Such was the strain that used to

flow from an opposition, said to consist of disloyalty and disappointed

ambition. But that malignant spirit was now happily extinguished. The

voice of the sovereign was adored as the oracle of a divinity, and those

happy days were now approaching that saw the commons of England pour

their treasures, in support of a German prince, with such a generous

hand, that posterity will be amazed at their liberality.

{1758}

To the speech of his majesty the house of lords returned an address,

in such terms of complacency as had long distinguished that illustrious

assembly. The commons expressed their approbation and confidence with

equal ardour, and not one objection was made to the form or the nature

of the address, though one gentleman, equally independent in his mind

and fortune, took exceptions to some of the measures which had been

lately pursued. Their complaisance was more substantially specified in

the resolutions of the house, as soon as the two great committees of

supply were appointed They granted for the sea-service of the ensuing

year sixty thousand men, including fourteen thousand eight hundred and

forty-five marines; and the standing army, comprehending four

thousand invalids, was fixed at fifty-three thousand seven hundred and

seventy-seven effective men, commission and non-commission officers

included. For the maintenance of these forces, by sea and land, the

charge of guards and garrisons at home and abroad, the expense of the

ordnance, and in order to make good the sum which had been issued by his

majesty’s orders, in pursuance of the address from the commons, they

now allotted four millions twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seven

pounds, seven shillings and three-pence. They unanimously granted, as

a present supply in the then critical exigency, towards enabling his

majesty to maintain and keep together the army formed last year in his

electoral dominions, and then again put in motion, and actually employed

against the common enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, the sum

of one hundred thousand pounds; for the ordinary of the navy, including

half pay to the sea-officers, they allowed two hundred and twenty-four

thousand four hundred and twenty-one pounds, five shillings and

eight-pence; towards the building and support of the three hospitals for

seamen at Gosport, Plymouth, and Greenwich, thirty thousand pounds; for

the reduced officers of the land-forces and marines, pensions to

the widows of officers, and other such military contingencies, forty

thousand nine hundred and twenty-six pounds, seventeen shillings and

eleven-pence; towards building, rebuilding, and repairs of his majesty’s

ships for the ensuing year, the sum of two hundred thousand pounds; for

defraying the charge of two thousand nine hundred and twenty horse,

and nine thousand nine hundred infantry, together with the general and

staff-officers, the officers of the hospital and the train of artillery,

being the troops of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel in the pay of Great

Britain, for sixty days, together with the subsidy for the said time,

pursuant to treaty, they assigned thirty-eight thousand three hundred

and sixty pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence three farthings.

To the Foundling hospital they gave forty thousand pounds, for the

maintenance and education of deserted young children, as well as for the

reception of all such as should be presented under a certain age, to be

limited by the governors and guardians of that charity. Three hundred

thousand pounds were given towards discharging the debt of the navy, and

two hundred and eighty-four thousand eight hundred and two pounds for

making up the deficiency of the grants for the service of the preceding

year. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel was, moreover, gratified with

the further sum of two hundred and three thousand five hundred and

thirty-six pounds, four shillings and nine-pence farthing, for the

maintenance of his forces, and the remainder of his subsidy. They

granted six hundred and seventy thousand pounds for enabling his majesty

to make good his engagements with the king of Prussia, pursuant to

a convention lately concluded with that potentate. For defraying

the charge of thirty-eight thousand men of the troops of Hanover,

Wolfenbuttel, Saxe-Gotha, and the count of Buckebourg, together with

that of general and staff-officers actually employed against the common

enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, from the twenty-eighth day

of November in the last, to the twenty-fourth of December in the present

year, inclusive, to be issued in advance every two months, they allotted

the sum of four hundred and sixty-three thousand and eighty-four pounds,

six shillings and ten-pence; and furthermore, they granted three hundred

and eighty-six thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds, thirteen

shillings and two-pence, to defray the charges of forage, bread-waggons,

train of artillery, provisions, wood, straw, and all other extraordinary

expenses, contingencies, and losses whatsoever, incurred, or to be

incurred, on account of his majesty’s army, consisting of thirty-eight

thousand men, actually employed against the common enemy, in concert

with the king of Prussia, from November last to next December inclusive.

For the extraordinary expenses of the land-forces, and other services,

incurred in the course of the last year, and not provided for by

parliament, they allowed one hundred and forty-five thousand four

hundred and fifty-four pounds, fifteen shillings and one farthing. They

provided eight hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty to defray

the like sum raised in pursuance of an act made in the last session of

parliament, and charged upon the first aids and supplies to be granted

in the current session. Twenty-six thousand pounds were bestowed on

the out-pensioners of Chelsea hospital; above twenty thousand for the

expense of maintaining the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia; for

reimbursing to the province of Massachusett’s-bay, and the colony of

Connecticut, their expense in furnishing provisions and stores to the

troops raised by them for his majesty’s service, in the campaign of

the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, the sum of forty-one

thousand one hundred and seventeen pounds, seventeen shillings and

sixpence halfpenny; to be applied towards the rebuilding of London

bridge, carrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbour

of Milford, and repairing the parish church of St. Margaret, in

Westminster, they allotted twenty-nine thousand pounds. The East India

company were indulged with twenty thousand pounds on account, towards

enabling them to defray the expense of a military force in their

settlements, to be maintained by them in lieu of the battalion of

his majesty’s forces withdrawn from those settlements; the sum of ten

thousand pounds was given, as usual, for maintaining and supporting

the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa; and eleven

thousand four hundred and fifty pounds were granted as an augmentation

to the salaries of the judges in the superior courts of judicature. They

likewise provided one hundred thousand pounds for defraying the charge

of pay and clothing to the militia, and advanced eight hundred thousand

pounds to enable his majesty to defray any extraordinary expenses of the

war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the current year;

and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or

defeat any enterprise or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of his

affairs might require. The whole supplies of thig session amounted to

the enormous sum of ten millions four hundred and eighty-six thousand

four hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and one penny. Nothing could so

plainly demonstrate the implicit confidence which the parliament, at

this juncture, reposed in the sovereign and the ministry, as their

conduct in granting such liberal supplies, great part of which were

bestowed in favour of our German allies, whom the British nation thus

generously paid for fighting their own battles. Besides the sum of

one million eight hundred and sixty-one thousand eight hundred and

ninety-seven pounds, four shillings and eight-pence, expressly assigned

for the support of these continental connexions, a sum considerably

exceeding the whole of the revenue raised in the reign of Charles the

Second, and what part of the sum granted to the king for extraordinary

expenses might be applied to the same use, the article might not

improperly be swelled with the vast expense incurred by expeditions to

the coast of France; the chief, if not sole, design of which seemed

to be a diversion in favour of the nation’s allies in Germany, by

preventing France from sending such numerous armies into that country

as it could have spared, had not its sea-coasts required a considerable

body of forces for its defence against the attempts of the English.

Indeed, the partisans of the ministry were at great pains to suggest and

inculcate a belief, that the war in Germany was chiefly supported as

a necessary diversion in favour of Great Britain and her plantations,

which would have been exposed to insult and invasion had not the enemy’s

forces been otherwise employed. But the absurdity of this notion will at

once appear to those who consider, that by this time Great Britain was

sole mistress of the sea; that the navy of France was almost ruined, and

her commerce on the ocean quite extinguished; that she could not, with

the least prospect of success, hazard any expedition of consequence

against Great Britain, or any part of her dominions, while the ocean was

covered with such powerful navies belonging to that nation; and that if

one-third part of the money, annually engulphed in the German vortex,

had been employed in augmenting the naval forces of England, and those

forces properly exerted, not a single cruiser would have been able to

stir from the harbours of France; all her colonies in the West Indies

would have fallen an easy prey to the arms of Great Britain; and, thus

cut off from the resources of commerce, she must have been content to

embrace such terms of peace as the victor should have thought proper to

prescribe.

The funds established by the committee of ways and means, in order

to realize those articles of supply, consisted of the malt-tax, the

land-tax at four shillings in the pound, sums remaining in the exchequer

produced from the sinking fund, four millions five hundred thousand

pounds to be raised by annuities at three pounds ten shillings per cent,

per annum, and five hundred thousand pounds by a lottery, attended with

annuities redeemable by parliament, after the rate of three pounds per

cent, per annum; these several annuities to be transferable at the bank

of England, and charged upon a fund to be established in this session of

parliament for payment thereof, and for which the sinking fund should

be a collateral security--[438] _[See note 3 M, at the end of this

Vol.]_--one million six hundred and six thousand and seventy-six pounds,

five shillings and one penny farthing, issued and applied out of such

monies as should or might arise from the surpluses, excesses, and other

revenues composing the sinking fund--a tax of one shilling in the pound

to be annually paid from all salaries, fees, and perquisites of offices

and employments in Great Britain, and from all pensions and other

gratuities payable out of any revenues belonging to his majesty in Great

Britain, exceeding the yearly value of one hundred pounds--an imposition

of one shilling annually upon every dwelling-house inhabited within

the kingdom of Great Britain, over and above all other duties already

chargeable upon them, to commence from the fifth day of April--an

additional tax of sixpence yearly for every window or light in every

dwelling-house inhabited in Britain which shall contain fifteen windows

or upwards; a continuation of certain acts near expiring, with respect

to the duties payable on foreign sailcloth imported into Great Britain,

the exportation of British gunpowder, the securing and encouraging the

trade of his majesty’s sugar colonies in America, and the empowering the

importers and proprietors of spirits from the British sugar plantations,

to land them before payment of the duties of excise, and to lodge them

in warehouses at their own expense--an annual tax of forty shillings

for a license to be taken out by every person trading in, selling, or

vending gold or silver plate, in lieu of the duty of sixpence per ounce

on all silver plate, made or wrought, or which ought to be touched,

assayed, or marked in this kingdom, which duty now ceased and

determined--a cessation of all drawbacks payable on the exportation of

silver plate--a law prohibiting all persons from selling, by retail,

any sweet or made wine, without having first procured a license for

that purpose--and a loan, by exchequer bills, for eight hundred thousand

pounds, to be charged on the first aids to be granted in the next

session of parliament. These provisions amounted to the sum of eleven

millions and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two pounds,

six shillings and ten-pence, exceeding the grants in the sum of five

hundred and ninety-three thousand two hundred and sixty-five pounds,

six shillings and nine-pence, so that the nation had reason to hope

that this surplus of above half a million would prevent any demand for

deficiencies in the next session. By these copious grants of a house of

commons, whose complaisance knew no bounds, the national debt was, at

this juncture, swelled to the astonishing sum of eighty-seven millions

three hundred and sixty-seven thousand two hundred and ten pounds,

nineteen shillings and ten-pence farthing; a load that would have

crushed the national credit of any other state in Christendom.

The liberality of the parliament was like the rock in the wilderness,

which flowed with the welcome stream when touched by the rod of Moses.

The present supply which the commons granted for the subsistence of

the Hanoverian army, was, in pursuance of a message from his majesty,

communicated to the house by Mr. Secretary Pitt, signifying, that the

king had ordered his electoral army to be put again in motion, that it

might act with vigour against the common enemy, in concert with his

good brother and ally the king of Prussia; that the exhausted and ruined

state of the electorate having rendered it incapable of maintaining that

army, until the further necessary charge thereof, as well as the more

particular measures then concerting for the effectual support of his

Prussian majesty, could be laid before the house; the king, relying

on the constant zeal of his faithful commons for the support of

the protestant religion and of the liberties of Europe, against the

dangerous designs of France and her confederates, found himself, in the

meantime, under the absolute necessity of recommending to the house

the speedy consideration of such a present supply as might enable his

majesty, in this critical conjuncture, to subsist and keep together the

said army. This address was no sooner recited by the speaker, than it

was unanimously referred to the committee of supply, who gratified his

majesty’s wish with an immediate resolution; and, considering their

generous disposition, doubtless the same compliance would have appeared,

even though no mention had been made of the protestant religion, which,

to men of ordinary penetration, appeared to have no natural concern

in the present dispute between the belligerent powers, although former

ministers had often violently introduced it into messages and speeches

from the throne, in order to dazzle the eyes of the populace, even while

they insulted the understanding of those who were capable of exercising

their own reason. This pretext was worn so threadbare, that, among the

sensible part of mankind, it could no longer be used without incurring

contempt and ridicule. In order to persuade mankind that the protestant

religion was in danger, it would have been necessary to specify the

designs that were formed against it, as well as the nature of the

conspiracy, and to descend to particulars properly authenticated. In

that case, great part of Europe would have been justly alarmed. The

states-general of the United Provinces, who have made such glorious

and indefatigable efforts in support of the protestant religion, would

surely have lent a helping hand towards its preservation. The Danes

would not have stood, tamely neutral, and seen the religion they profess

exposed to the rage of such a powerful confederacy. It is not to be

imagined that the Swedes, who have so zealously maintained the purity

of the protestant faith, would now join an association whose aim was the

ruin of that religion. It is not credible that even the Hungarians, who

profess the same faith, and other protestant states of the empire, would

enter so heartily into the interests of those who were bent upon its

destruction; or that the Russians would contribute to the aggrandizement

of the catholic faith and discipline, so opposite to that of the Greek

church, which they espouse. As, therefore, no particular of such a

design was explained, no act of oppression towards any protestant

state or society pointed out, except those that were exercised by the

protestants themselves; and as the court of Vienna repeatedly disavowed

any such design, in the most solemn manner, the unprejudiced part of

mankind will be ‘apt to conclude that the cry of religion was used, as

in former times, to arouse, alarm, and inflame; nor did the artifice

prove altogether unsuccessful. Notwithstanding the general lukewarmth

of the age in matters of religion, it produced considerable effect among

the fanatic sectaries that swarm through the kingdom of England. The

leaders of those blind enthusiasts, either actuated by the spirit of

delusion, or desirous of recommending themselves to the protection of

the higher powers, immediately seized the hint, expatiating vehemently

on the danger that impended over God’s people; and exerting all their

faculties to impress the belief of a religious war, which never fails

to exasperate and impel the minds of men to such deeds of cruelty and

revenge as must discredit all religion, and even disgrace humanity. The

signal trust and confidence which the parliament of England reposed

in the king, at this juncture, was in nothing more conspicuous than in

leaving to the crown the unlimited application of the sum granted for

augmenting the salaries of the judges. In the reign of king William,

when the act of settlement was passed, the parliament, jealous of the

influence which the crown might acquire over the judges, provided, by

an express clause of that act, that the commissions of the judges should

subsist _quamdiu se bene gesserint_, and that their salaries should be

established; but now we find a sum of money granted for the augmentation

of their salaries, and the crown vested with a discretionary power

to proportion and apply this augmentation; a stretch of complaisance,

which, how safe soever it may appear during the reign of a prince famed

for integrity and moderation, will perhaps one day be considered as a

very dangerous accession to the prerogative.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

SECOND TREATY WITH PRUSSIA.

So fully persuaded were the ministry that the commons would cheerfully

enable them to pay what subsidies they might promise to their German

allies, that on the eleventh of April they concluded a new treaty of

convention with his Prussian majesty, which, that it might have the

firmer consistence and the greater authority, was, on the part of Great

Britain, transacted and signed by almost all the privy-counsellors who

had any share in the administration.*

* These were, sir Robert Henly, lord keeper of the great

seal; John, earl of Granville, president of the council;

Thomas Holies, duke of Newcastle, first commissioner of the

treasury; Kohert, earl of Holdernesse, one of the principal

secretaries of state; Philip, earl of Hardwicke; and William

Pitt, esq., another of the principal secretaries of state.

In the name and on the part of his Prussian majesty, the

Sieurs Dado Henry, baron of Knyphausen, his privy-counsellor

of embassy, and minister-plenipotentiary at the court of

London; and Louis Michel, his resident and chargé

d’affaires.

This treaty, which was signed at Westminster, imported, “That the

contracting powers having mutually resolved to continue their efforts

for their reciprocal defence and security, for the recovery of their

possessions, the protection of their allies, and the support of the

liberties of the Germanic body, his Britannic majesty had, from these

considerations, determined to grant to his Prussian majesty an immediate

succour in money, as being the most ready and the most efficacious;

and their majesties having judged it proper that thereupon a convention

should be made, for declaring and fixing their intentions upon this

head, they had nominated and authorized their respective ministers, who,

after having communicated their full powers to one another, agreed to

the following stipulations:--The king of Great Britain engaged to pay in

the city of London, to such persons as should be authorized to receive

it by his Prussian majesty, the sum of four millions of German crowns,

amounting to six hundred and seventy thousand pounds sterling, to be

paid at once, and in one whole sum, immediately after the exchange of

ratification, upon being demanded by his Prussian majesty. This prince,

on his part, obliged himself to apply that sum to the maintaining and

augmenting his forces, which should act in the best manner for the

good of the common cause, and for the purpose of reciprocal defence and

mutual security proposed by their said majesties. Moreover, the high

contracting parties engage not to conclude any treaty of peace, truce,

or neutrality, nor any other sort of convention or agreement, with

the powers engaged in the present war, but in concert and by mutual

agreement, wherein both should be nominally comprehended. Finally,

it was stipulated that this convention should be ratified, and the

ratifications exchanged on both sides, within the term of six weeks, to

be computed from the day of signing this present convention, or sooner,

if possible.”

All the resolutions to which the committee of ways and means agreed were

executed by bills, or clauses in bills, which afterwards received

the royal sanction. The militia still continued to be an object of

parliamentary care and attention; but the institution was not yet

heartily embraced, because seemingly discountenanced by the remnant of

the old ministry, which still maintained a capital place in the late

coalition, and indeed almost wholly engrossed the distribution of

pensions and places. The commons having presented an address to his

majesty, with respect to the harbour of Milford-haven, a book of plans

and estimates for fortifying that harbour was laid before the house, and

a committee appointed to examine the particulars. They were of

opinion that the mouth of the harbour was too wide to admit of any

fortification, or effectual defence; but that the passage called

Nailand-point, lying higher than Hubberstone-road, might be fortified,

so as to afford safe riding and protection to the trade and navy

of Great Britain; that if it should be thought proper hereafter to

establish a yard and dock for building and equipping fleets at Milford,

no place could, from the situation, nature, soil, and a general

concurrence of all necessary local circumstances, be more fitted for

such a design; that if a proper use were made of this valuable, though

long-neglected harbour, the distressful delays too often embarrassing

and disappointing the nation in her naval operations, might be in a

great measure happily removed, to the infinite relief and enlargement

of the kingdom in the means of improving its naval force; the necessary

progress and free execution of which was now so unhappily and frequently

restrained and frustrated, by the want of a harbour like that of

Milford-haven, framed by nature with such local advantages. This report

appeared to be so well supported by evidence, that a bill was framed,

and passed into an act, for granting ten thousand pounds towards

carrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbour of Milford

in the county of Pembroke. Other laws of national consequence were

enacted, in the course of this session, with little or no opposition.

On the very first day of their sitting, the commons received a petition

from the mayor, magistrates, merchants, and inhabitants of Liverpool,

complaining of the high price of wheat and other grain; expressing their

apprehension that it would continue to rise, unless the time for the

importation of foreign corn, duty free, should be prolonged, or some

other salutary measure taken by parliament, to prevent dealers

from engrossing corn; submitting to the wisdom of the house a total

prohibition of distilling and exporting grain while the high

price should continue; praying they would take the premises into

consideration, and grant a seasonable relief to the petitioners, by a

continuance of a free importation, and taking such other effectual means

to reduce the growing price of corn as to them should seem necessary

and expedient. This being an urgent case, that equally interested the

humanity of the legislature and the manufacturers of the kingdom, it was

deliberated upon, and discussed with remarkable despatch. In a few days

a bill was prepared, passed through both houses, and enacted into a law,

continuing till the twenty-fourth day of December, in the present year,

the three acts of last session; for prohibiting the exportation of

corn; for prohibiting the distillation of spirits; and for allowing the

importation of corn, duty free. A second law was established, regulating

the price and assize of bread, and subjecting to severe penalties those

who should be concerned in its adulteration. In consequence of certain

resolutions taken in a committee of the whole house, a bill was

presented for prohibiting the payment of the bounty upon the exportation

of corn, unless sold at a lower price than is allowed in an act passed

in the first year of the reign of William and Mary; but this bill, after

having been read a second time and committed, was neglected, and proved

abortive.

BILLS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF SEAMEN, &c.

In consequence of a motion made by Mr. Grenville, a humane bill was

prepared and brought in for the encouragement of seamen employed in the

royal navy, establishing a regular method for the punctual, frequent,

and certain payment of their wages; enabling them more easily and

readily to remit money for the support of their wives and families,

and preventing the frauds and abuse attending such payments. This bill,

having passed the lower house, engaged in a very particular manner the

attention of the lords, who, by divers messages to the house of commons,

desired the attendance of several members. These messages being taken

into consideration, several precedents were recited; a debate arose

about their formality, and the house unanimously resolved that a message

should be sent to the lords, acquainting them that the house of commons,

not being sufficiently informed by their messages upon what grounds, or

for what purposes, their lordships desired the house would give leave to

such of their members as were named in the said messages to attend the

house of lords, in order to be examined upon the second reading of the

bill, the commons hoped their lordships would make them acquainted

with their intention. The lords, in answer to this intimation, gave the

commons to understand, that they desired the attendance of the members

mentioned in their messages, that they might be examined as witnesses

upon the second reading of the bill. This explanation being deemed

satisfactory, the members attended the house of lords, where they were

carefully and fully examined, as persons conversant in sea affairs,

touching the inconveniencies which had formerly attended the

sea-service, as well as the remedies now proposed; and the bill having

passed through their house, though not without warm opposition, was

enacted into a law by his majesty’s assent. The militia act, as it

passed in the last session, being found upon trial defective, Mr.

Townshend moved for leave to bring in a new bill, to explain, amend, and

enforce it; this was accordingly allowed, prepared, and passed into a

law, though it did not seem altogether free from material objections,

some of which were of an alarming nature. The power vested by law in

the crown over the militia, is even more independent than that which it

exercises over the standing army; for this last expires at the end

of the year, if not continued by a new act of parliament; whereas the

militia is subjected to the power of the crown for the term of five

years, during which it may be called out into actual service without

consent of parliament, and consequently employed for sinister purposes.

A commission-officer in the militia may be detained, as subject to the

articles of war, until the crown shall allow the militia to return to

their respective parishes; and thus engaged, he is liable to death as a

mutineer, or deserter, should he refuse to appear in arms, and fight in

support of the worst measures of the worst minister. Several merchants

and manufacturers of silk offered a petition, representing, that

in consequence of the act passed in the last session, allowing the

importation of fine organzine Italian thrown silk till the first day of

December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, they

had given orders to their correspondents abroad to send large quantities

of such silk through Germany to Hamburgh and Holland, which, in the

common course of things, might probably have arrived in London before

the act expired, if their carriage had not been protracted by the great

rains and inundations in Italy and Germany, in the months of August and

September last, which rendered the roads for many weeks impassable; that

from unlucky accidents on shore, and storms and contrary winds after the

silk was shipped, it could not possibly arrive within the time limited

by the act; and unless it should be admitted to an entry, they, the

petitioners, would be great sufferers, the manufacturers greatly

prejudiced, and the good end and purpose of the act in a great measure

frustrated; they, therefore, prayed leave to bring in a bill for

allowing the introduction of all such fine Italian organized silk as

should appear to have been shipped in Holland and Hamburgh for London,

on or before the first day of December. The petition being referred to

a committee, which reported that these allegations were true, the house

complied with their request, and the bill having passed, was enacted

into a law in the usual form. A speedy passage was likewise granted to

the mutiny bill, and the other annual measure for regulating the marine

forces, which contained nothing new or extraordinary. A committee being

appointed to inquire what laws were already expired, or near expiring,

they performed this difficult task with indefatigable patience and

perseverance; and, in pursuance of their resolutions, three bills were

prepared and passed into laws, continuing some acts for a certain time,

and rendering others perpetual. [440] _[See note 3N, at the end of this

Vol.]_

The lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, in common

council assembled, having drawn up a petition to the house of commons,

alleging that the toll upon loaded vessels or other craft, passing

through the arches of London bridge, granted by a former act, passed in

the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for improving, widening,

and enlarging the passage both under and over the said bridge, was

altogether precarious, and insufficient to defray the expense, including

that of a temporary wooden bridge already erected; and praying that a

bill might be prepared, for explaining and rendering that act effectual;

a committee was appointed to examine the contents, and a bill brought

in according to their request. This, however, was opposed by a petition

from several persons, owners of barges, and other craft navigating the

river Thames, who affirmed, that if the bill should pass into a law as

it then stood, it would be extremely injurious to the petitioners in

particular, and to the public in general. These were heard by their

counsel before the committee, but no report was yet given, when the

temporary bridge was reduced to ashes. Then the mayor, aldermen,

and commons of London presented another petition, alleging that, in

pursuance of the powers vested in them by act of parliament, they had

already demolished a good number of the houses on London bridge,

and directed the rest that were standing to be taken down with all

convenient expedition; that two of the arches might be laid into one

for the improvement of the navigation; that they had, at a very great

expense, erected a temporary wooden bridge, to preserve a public passage

to and from the city, until the great arch could be finished, which

temporary bridge being consumed by fire, they must rebuild it with the

greatest expedition, at a further considerable expense; that the sum

necessary for carrying on and completing this great and useful work,

including the rebuilding of the said temporary bridge, was estimated at

fourscore thousand pounds; and as the improving, widening, and enlarging

London bridge was calculated for the general good of the public, for the

advancement of trade and commerce, and for making the navigation upon

the river Thames more safe and secure; they, therefore, prayed the house

to take the premises into consideration. This petition being recommended

by his majesty to the consideration of the house, was referred to the

committee of supply, and produced the resolution of granting fifteen

thousand pounds towards the rebuilding of London bridge. A bill was

prepared, under the title of an act to improve, widen, and enlarge the

passage over and through London bridge, enforcing the payment of

the toll imposed upon loaded vessels, which had been found extremely

burdensome to trade; but this incumbrance was prevented by another

petition of several merchants, tradesmen, and other inhabitants of

the borough of Southwark, taking notice of the fifteen thousand pounds

granted towards the repair of London bridge, and, as they were informed,

intended to make the said bridge free for all his majesty’s subjects:

they said they hoped to partake of this public bounty; but afterwards

hearing that the bill then depending was confined to the tolls formerly

granted for repairing the said bridge, they represented the hardships

which they and all traders would continue to labour under; they alleged,

that the surveyors and workmen then employed upon this work, had

discovered the true principles on which the bridge was built; that the

foundation of the piers consisted of hard durable stone, well cemented

together, and now as strong and firm as when first built; that when the

bridge should be finished, great savings would be made in keeping it in

repair, from the sums formerly expended, on a mistaken opinion, that

the foundation was of wood: that there were very considerable estates

appointed solely for the repairs of the bridge, which they apprehended

would be sufficient to maintain it without any toll; or if they should

not be thought adequate to that purpose, they hoped the deficiency

would not be made up by a toll upon trade and commerce, but rather by

an imposition on coaches, chariots, chaises, and saddle-horses. This

remonstrance made no impression on the house. The bill being, on a

motion of sir John Philips, read a third time, passed through both

houses, and obtained the royal assent.

ACT FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALIFICATION OF VOTING.

The interest of the manufacturers was also consulted in an act

encouraging the growth of madder, a plant essentially necessary in dying

and printing calicoes, which may be raised in England without the least

inconvenience. It was judged, upon inquiry, that the most effectual

means to encourage the growth of this commodity would be to ascertain

the tithe of it; and a bill was brought in for that purpose. The rate of

the tithe was established at five shillings an acre; and it was enacted,

that this law should continue in force for fourteen years, and to the

end of the next session of parliament; but wherefore this encouragement

was made temporary it is not easy to determine.--The laws relating to

the poor, though equally numerous and oppressive to the subject, having

been found defective, a new clause, relating to the settlement of

servants and apprentices, was now added to an act passed in the

twentieth year of the present reign, intituled, “An act for the better

adjusting and more easily recovering of the wages of certain servants,

and of certain apprentices.” No country in the universe can produce

so many laws made in behalf of the poor as those that are daily

accumulating in England: in no other country is there so much money

raised for their support, by private charity, as well as public

taxation; yet this, as much as any country, swarms with vagrant beggars,

and teems with objects of misery and distress; a sure sign either of

misconduct in the legislature, or a shameful relaxation in the executive

part of the civil administration.--The scenes of corruption, perjury,

riot, and intemperance, which every election for a member of parliament

had lately produced, were now grown so infamously open and intolerable,

and the right of voting was rendered so obscure and perplexed by the

pretensions and proceedings of all the candidates for Oxfordshire in

the last election, that the fundamentals of the constitution seemed to

shake, and the very essence of parliaments to be in danger. Actuated

by these apprehensions, sir John Philips, a gentleman of Wales, who

had long distinguished himself in the opposition by his courage and

independent spirit, moved for leave to bring in a bill that should

obviate any doubts which might arise concerning the electors of knights

of the shire to serve in parliament for England, and further regulate

the proceedings of such elections. He was accordingly permitted to bring

in such a bill, in conjunction with Mr. Townshend, Mr. Cornwall, and

lords North and Craysfort; and in the usual course, the bill being

prepared, was enacted into a law, under the title of, “An act for

further explaining the laws touching the electors of knights of the

shire to serve in parliament for that part of Great Britain called

England.” The preamble specified, that though, by an act passed in the

eighteenth year of the present reign, it was provided, that no person

might vote at the election of a knight or knights of a shire within

England and Wales, without having a freehold estate in the county for

which he votes, of the clear yearly value of forty shillings, over and

above all rents and charges, payable out of or in respect to the

same; nevertheless, certain persons, who hold their estates by copy

of court-roll, pretend to a right of voting, and have at certain times

presumed to vote at such elections; this act, therefore, ordained, that

from and after the twenty-ninth day of June in the present year, no

person who holds his estate by copy of court-roll should be entitled

thereby to vote at the election of any knight or knights of a shire

within England or Wales; but every such vote should be void, and the

person so voting should forfeit fifty pounds to any candidate for whom

such vote should not have been given, and who should first sue for the

same, to be recovered with full costs, by action of debt, in any court

of judicature.*

* For the more easy recovery of this forfeit, it was

enacted, that the plaintiff in such action might only set

forth, in the declaration or hill, that the defendant was

indebted to him in the sum of fifty pounds, alleging the

offence for which the suit should be brought, and that the

defendant had acted contrary to this act, without mentioning

the writ of summons to parliament, or the return thereof;

and, upon trial of any issue, the plaintiff should not be

obliged to prove the writ of summons to parliament, or the

return thereof, or any warrant or authority to the sheriff

upon any such writ; that every such action should be

commenced within nine months after the fact committed; and

that, if the plaintiff should discontinue his action, or be

non-suited, or have judgment given against him, the

defendant should recover treble costs.