ENGLAND'S DARKEST DAYS.
Before parliament met on December 30, 1794, a change in the public
affairs of France encouraged hopes of peace in England. The fall of
Robespierre and the end of the Terror on July 28 (10th Thermidor) were
followed by a reaction; the revolutionary committees lost their
dictatorial power, the convention regained its supremacy, and the
jacobin club was closed. This reaction, combined with the success of the
French arms in the Netherlands and Holland, the decay of the coalition,
the burdens entailed by the war, and the conviction that the republican
government would gain in stability by foreign opposition, led some of
Pitt's followers to desire an attempt at negotiation. The king's speech
urged a vigorous prosecution of the war, and was ably seconded in the
commons by a young member, George Canning, one of Pitt's devoted
adherents. Pitt's friend, Wilberforce, moved an amendment for opening
negotiations, and the minority against the government was 73. Soon
afterwards in two divisions, arising out of a resolution moved by Grey
in January, 1795, the minority rose to 86 and 90. As in these divisions
the minority included some of Pitt's regular supporters, they are highly
significant. As regards domestic affairs the opposition remained in its
normal condition. A motion for the repeal of the _habeas corpus_
suspension act, which led to a debate on the late trials for treason,
was defeated by 239 to 41, and attacks on the government with reference
to the recall of Lord Fitzwilliam were easily foiled by the assertion of
the right of the crown to dismiss its confidential servants.
[Sidenote: _THE PRINCE OF WALES._]
The affairs of the Prince of Wales again demanded the attention of
parliament. He had not mended his ways since 1787; his creditors pressed
him and put executions in his house. He could no longer reckon on the
support of the opposition in any application to parliament, for he had
voted against them on the seditious publications bill in 1792. In order
to escape from his difficulties he promised the king to marry Caroline,
daughter of the Duke of Brunswick. She was brought over to England by
Lord Malmesbury, and though at his first interview with her the prince
did not conceal his disgust, the marriage took place on April 8. Pitt
brought a royal message to the commons requesting in humble terms that
they would enable the prince to pay his debts and would make a provision
for him and the princess. He stated the prince's debts at about
L630,000, and proposed that the princess should have a jointure of
L50,000 a year, that the prince's income should be increased by L65,000,
making it L125,000 a year, exclusive of the duchy of Cornwall, and that
L25,000 a year should be deducted for the interest on his debts, and the
revenues of the duchy appropriated for the gradual payment of them. Grey
moved that the increase should only be L40,000. Fox reminded the house
that in 1787 the prince promised that he would not again apply to
parliament for payment of his debts, and suggested that the augmentation
of L65,000 and the income of the duchy should be used for the purpose.
Pitt's proposals were carried. The princess, a coarse-minded and giddy
young woman, was shamefully treated by her husband, and after the birth
of their daughter, the Princess Charlotte, in January, 1796, they
finally separated.
For the prosecution of the war parliament voted 100,000 seamen,
including marines, and L14,500,000 for army expenses; the total supplies
were about L27,500,000. Ten new taxes were imposed, one of them on
hair-powder at twenty-one shillings a head, which was calculated at
L210,000; and a loan of L18,000,000 was effected. With this year began a
period of difficulty in raising money and the loan was only obtained at
the total rate of L4 16s. 2d. per cent. In February Pitt hoped to
prevent Prussia from making peace with France, and to induce the king to
renew the war by the grant of another subsidy. Grenville, who was
convinced that no reliance could be placed on Prussia, objected and
threatened to resign if Pitt persisted in his plan. He desired a close
alliance with Austria, and believed that the grant of a subsidy to
Prussia would alienate the courts of Vienna and St. Petersburg. Pitt
would not give way, and Grenville promised to keep his intended
resignation a secret until the end of the session. He privately
announced his resignation to the king, who, though he had at first been
opposed to a Prussian subsidy, was then on Pitt's side, for he was
discouraged by the ill-success of Austria. Pitt's project came to
naught; for on April 5 Frederick William made a treaty with France at
Basle, by which he surrendered the Prussian territories on the left bank
of the Rhine. Secret articles provided that if France kept those
territories he should be indemnified elsewhere. Grenville continued in
office; Pitt had cause to rejoice that he was saved from a serious
mistake, and the threatened disruption of the cabinet remained a
secret.[264]
George himself had advised Grenville in December, 1794, to persuade
Austria to renew the war by granting her a subsidy or a loan. His advice
was in accordance with Grenville's own wishes. An arrangement with
Catherine of Russia determined the Austrian emperor to carry on the war,
with the intention of indemnifying himself at the expense of Bavaria and
Venice, if he was unable to recover the Netherlands and conquer Lorraine
and Alsace, and England had to find him money. By a convention signed on
May 4 the government guaranteed a loan of L4,600,000 to be raised in
London, to enable him to employ an army of 200,000 men. Defensive
treaties were also concluded with Russia and Austria, and a triple
alliance was formed in virtue of which Russia sent subsidies to Austria;
for Catherine would take no part in the war by land. The imperial loan,
which in 1798 became a charge on the consolidated fund, was raised at
the rate of 7-1/2 per cent. It was unsuccessfully opposed by Fox, who
argued against the general policy of making grants to foreign powers,
whether by way of loans or subsidies, and pointed out that the only real
difference between a loan and a subsidy was that, in the case of a loan
England would not be able to get rid of the payment, whereas a monthly
subsidy could be stopped if the contract was broken.
In Germany the war was not marked by any great event. France was much
distressed by domestic troubles. Public credit failed; and Pitt,
speaking on Grey's motion for peace, argued that France was near the end
of her resources. Food was scarce and half Paris was only kept alive by
distributions of bread and meat at low prices. The jacobins of Paris
were crushed by the thermidoriens, and in the south-east a sanguinary
movement of the enemies of the republic, the "white terror," pursued its
course unchecked. In August a new constitution was adopted of a far less
democratic character than that of 1793; the executive was vested in a
directory of five and the legislative in two assemblies. An insurrection
in Paris on October 5 was quelled mainly by the fire of a few cannon
under the command of Bonaparte, and the revolution assumed an organised
and settled form. Three years of war had brought Austria also to a state
of exhaustion. Active operations, therefore, did not begin until late.
Luxemburg surrendered after a blockade; and in the autumn Jourdan and
Pichegru led two armies across the Rhine at different points. Jourdan
drove the Austrians back and invested Mainz; Pichegru occupied Mannheim.
Clairfait, however, forced Jourdan to abandon the siege of Mainz and cut
the two French generals off from one another. Mannheim was retaken and
both the French armies were pushed back across the Rhine.
[Sidenote: _A LOST OPPORTUNITY._]
In the war on the Italian frontier the British fleet in the
Mediterranean bore some part. In Hood's absence it was commanded by
Admiral Hotham, a distinguished officer, though lacking in dash and
resolution. The French threatened Corsica with their Toulon fleet.
Hotham engaged them on March 13 and 14, and cut off their two rearmost
ships, but in Nelson's opinion lost an opportunity of destroying the
whole fleet. The attempt on Corsica, however, was abandoned. Both fleets
were reinforced; for the watch on Brest was slackly kept and six ships
were allowed to leave the port and sail to Toulon. Another engagement in
Hyeres bay on July 13 only resulted in the destruction of one French
ship, and was another lost opportunity. The command of the sea, which
would have carried with it the control of the Italian states, was not
secured. Meanwhile an Austrian army, acting with the Sardinians and
relying on the co-operation of the British fleet, forced the French to
evacuate Vado. The two armies faced one another, the Austrians waiting
until the French should be compelled to retire by want of provisions;
for as they were cut off from Genoa they depended on supplies by sea.
Hotham detached Nelson with a small squadron to intercept their
supplies and co-operate with the Austrians. He performed his duty with
characteristic energy, but the ships which Hotham allowed him were too
few for the work he had to do. The French army was strongly reinforced
and was supplied by coasting vessels. The allies were totally defeated
in the battle of Loano on November 23. The Austrians retreated beyond
the Apennines, and the French had no further difficulty in obtaining
provisions.
[Sidenote: _QUIBERON._]
Before the end of 1794 Pitt was persuaded by the Count de Puisaye, a
leader of the Breton Chouans, to send an expedition to support them. The
expeditionary force was to consist of French emigrants headed by the
Count of Artois, the youngest brother of Louis XVI. Emigrants were
enlisted in England and from the force lately serving on the Rhine, and
the government supplied arms and money. It was hoped that an unexpected
descent on the coast would enable the royalists in the west to gain an
immediate success, which was to be followed up by an invasion of a
British force under Lord Moira. The plan became known, and in June it
was necessary to act at once. The first body of emigrants, about 3,500
men, under Puisaye and Hervilly, with large supplies of all kinds and
specially of arms for future recruits, sailed on the 16th in a squadron
commanded by Sir John Warren. The Brest fleet was on the watch for them,
and Warren sent for help to Lord Bridport, then in command of the
channel fleet. Bridport caught the French, who were inferior in
strength, off the Ile de Groix and captured three of their line of
battle, but allowed the rest to escape into L'Orient. On the 27th the
emigrants were landed on the peninsula of Quiberon and, with some help
from the squadron, took the fortress of Penthievre which commanded it. A
large number of Chouans joined them and arms were distributed among the
peasantry.
Puisaye and Hervilly quarrelled. Time was wasted, and Hoche, who was in
command in Brittany, drove in the Chouans from their advanced posts and
shut the whole force up in the peninsula. They made an attempt to break
out on July 16; Hervilly was wounded and his troops retreated under
cover of the fire from British gunboats. A second party landed under
Sombreuil. More quarrelling ensued and then treachery, for Hervilly had
enlisted some who were republicans at heart. These men betrayed their
companions, and with their help Hoche stormed the fort of Penthievre,
and fell on the royalists in the peninsula. Many were slaughtered;
others fled. It blew hard, and for a time the British ships could do
little for the fugitives. At last they were able to take off Puisaye and
some 3,500 others. Sombreuil and about a thousand under him were cut
off, and laid down their arms. Sombreuil was tried and executed at
Vannes, and over 700 were shot in batches on successive days in a field
near Auray. The fugitives were landed on the islands of Houat and Haedik
which were covered by the squadron. Then the Count of Artois with a
third division of the expedition and a body of British troops appeared,
took possession of the Ile d'Yeu, and seemed about to cross over to the
mainland to co-operate with the Vendeans. However nothing further was
done of any importance, and in October the troops were embarked for
England. The Vendeans, who had hoped in vain to receive help, and to be
headed by Artois, were again crushed, and the only result of this
ill-planned and deplorable expedition was the ruin of the royalist cause
in the west.
Nor were events cheering in the West Indies during 1795. The reconquest
of Guadaloupe, due to the insufficiency of the British force sent out in
1794, led to disastrous consequences. The French firmly established
themselves in the island and made it a centre for operations, St. Lucia
was taken, and insurrections of French inhabitants, negroes, and native
races were fomented and supported in St. Vincent's, Grenada, and
Dominica. An insurrection of the Maroons caused much trouble in Jamaica,
and the government of the island imported bloodhounds from Cuba to track
the fugitive insurgents. Great indignation was expressed in parliament
at this measure, and it was asserted that the dogs tore the natives in
pieces. Dundas explained that the home government was not responsible
for the importation of the dogs, and promised that if they were used for
such a horrid purpose the practice should be stopped. In 1796 a large
force was sent to the West Indies under Sir Ralph Abercromby and Admiral
Christian. St. Lucia was retaken and the British power re-established in
the Antilles. The French, however, retained Guadaloupe, and privateers
both from that island and Cuba did much damage to the West India trade.
England gained largely by the alliance between Holland and France, for
it threw the Dutch colonies open to attack. Their rich settlements in
Ceylon, Malacca, and on the Malabar coast; the Cape (September, 1795);
Demarara, Essequibo, and the Moluccas (1796) were taken without
difficulty.
England's naval power was already forwarding the increase of her trade,
and the total loss of commerce with France, Holland, and the Belgian
Netherlands was more than counterbalanced by its increase with Germany,
Russia, and the United States. With the United States some serious
difficulties with respect to neutral rights were happily settled in 1794
by a treaty which was negotiated on their part by Jay, and finally
ratified in 1796. Yet the year 1795 was one of great distress among the
poor. Two bad harvests in succession raised the average price of wheat,
which in 1792 had been 43s., to 75s. 2d. Bread riots broke out in
Sussex, in Birmingham, Nottingham, Coventry, and other places. Bills
were passed with the object of husbanding the supply of wheat; liberal
bounties were granted on importation, and the members of parliament
entered into an agreement to curtail the use of wheaten flour in their
own households. A bill for the regulation of wages, introduced by
Whitbread, the brewer, and advocated by Fox, was opposed by Pitt and was
rejected. Starving men are quick to believe assertions that their
sufferings are caused by ill-government, and the corresponding society,
encouraged by the failure of the prosecutions in 1794, was active in
spreading political discontent. At a large meeting held in St. George's
Fields on July 29, an address to the king was voted and resolutions were
passed demanding annual parliaments, universal suffrage, and above all
peace, as remedies for the high price of food. Parliament was summoned
for October 29. On the 26th, a meeting in Copenhagen Fields,
Mary-le-bone, at which 150,000 persons are said to have been present,
adopted a strongly worded "remonstrance" to the king, praying for
parliamentary reform, the dismissal of the ministers, and a speedy
peace. When the king went to open parliament a large crowd greeted him
with hisses and cries of "Bread! Peace! No Pitt!" His carriage was
pelted, and a missile, probably from an air-gun, broke the glass. On his
return the same cries were raised; there was more pelting, and the king
was only rescued from the crowd by the arrival of some horse-guards.
George, than whom no braver man lived in his dominions, remained
perfectly calm throughout these scenes, read the royal speech without a
sign of excitement, and the next night went with the queen and the
princesses to Covent Garden theatre, where he was received with
enthusiasm. The soldiers also acted admirably and abstained from hurting
any one.
[Sidenote: _REPRESSIVE ACTS._]
The insult to the king and the proceedings of the corresponding society
were met by repressive measures. Proclamations relating to the outrage
and to seditious assemblies were followed by two bills, one introduced
in the lords by Grenville, the other in the commons by Pitt. The first,
the treasonable practices bill, extended the crime of treason to spoken
and written words not followed by any overt act, and created a new crime
by subjecting to heavy penalties any one convicted of inciting others to
hatred of the sovereign or the established government. The second, the
seditious meetings bill, forbade all political meetings of which notice
had not previously been given by resident householders, and empowered
any two justices to dissolve a legally constituted meeting at their
discretion by using the riot act. Both these measures were grievous
encroachments on liberty. Apart from its extension of the law of
treason, the first might be used to prevent all discussion of political
reforms; the second checked the public expression of opinion on public
affairs. The ministry, however, was acting in accordance with the will
of parliament and of the vast majority of the respectable part of the
nation, who were alarmed and indignant at the success of seditious
agitators in exciting political discontent among the uneducated classes.
England was engaged in a struggle for existence, and could not afford to
tolerate sedition. Looking back on issues then incalculable, we may
think that repression was carried farther than was necessary; but
anything was better than the least sign of weakness in dealing with
seditious practices. Excited meetings, over one of which Fox presided,
were held to condemn the bills. Numerous petitions, mostly got up by the
corresponding society, were presented against them; and many were
presented in their favour. They were violently opposed by the minority
in parliament, and Fox declared that if they became law, obedience would
no longer be a question of duty but of prudence, a direct incitement to
rebellion only to be excused as uttered in the heat of debate, an excuse
which is also needed for some foolish and intemperate language on the
other side. The sedition bill, which was limited to three years, was
amended by giving up the clause empowering magistrates to dissolve
meetings at their discretion as dangerous to the public peace. The two
bills were passed in both houses by overwhelming majorities. The treason
act was only to last during the king's life, and both acts proved quite
harmless, for neither was ever called into operation.
Pitt's budget for 1796 included another loan of L18,000,000 and several
new taxes, one of them on salt. He proposed duties on legacies and on
collateral successions to real estate. The first was easily carried, but
Fox, in spite of his democratic professions, seized on the proposal to
make landed estates equally liable with other property to taxation, as
an opportunity for thwarting the government by exciting the selfishness
of the landed gentry, and Pitt found that so many of his supporters were
hostile to the tax that he withdrew his proposal. Nor was the inequality
redressed until 1853, when Gladstone, following Pitt's lead, made all
successions alike liable to duty. As at the end of the session in May
parliament was near the term of its natural life, a new parliament was
elected. The returns showed that the government had lost no ground in
the confidence of the country: as a rule, the large constituencies
elected supporters of Pitt; indeed, twenty-three of Fox's small
following were returned for nomination boroughs.
The policy of England in 1796 was closely connected with the course of
the war between her Austrian ally and the French. In March Bonaparte
took the command of the army of Italy. He defeated the Austrians at
Montenotte, and compelled the Sardinian king to abandon the coalition.
He crossed the Po, forced the passage of the Adda at Lodi, and occupied
Milan on May 14. The Austrians fell back behind the Mincio, and
garrisoned the strong fortress of Mantua. Bonaparte levied contributions
on the Dukes of Parma and Modena, forced the papal states to submission,
occupied Leghorn, which was thus closed against our ships, and reduced
the Grand Duke of Tuscany to obedience. In June Ferdinand of Naples and
the pope made armistices with France. The Austrian power in Italy
depended on the possession of Mantua. Wurmser forced Bonaparte to raise
the siege, and the Austrians though defeated at Lonato and Castiglione,
regarrisoned the place. A second attempt by Wurmser to relieve it was
defeated in August, and he was shut into Mantua. If Hotham had destroyed
the French fleet in the Mediterranean, Bonaparte would not have carried
everything before him in the Italian states south of the Po. As it was,
his success had an unfortunate effect on England's naval war.
[Sidenote: _FLEET LEAVES THE MEDITERRANEAN._]
After 1795 the French made no more attempts to cope with an English
fleet. They employed their navy only in military expeditions and in the
destruction of British commerce.[265] The watch upon their ports was
slackly kept and ships constantly left them. Much damage was done to
England's trade, specially by privateers; her navy was largely employed
in convoy duty, and actions between small squadrons and single ships
were frequent. In this year a French squadron cruelly ravaged the coast
of Newfoundland, another captured part of a West India convoy, and a
third made some prizes in the Levant. Warfare of this kind, though
troublesome to England, could not affect her maritime supremacy. That
was impaired by the results of Bonaparte's campaign in Italy. In
December, 1795, the command in the Mediterranean was taken by Sir John
Jervis, a fine seaman and a strict disciplinarian, who soon brought the
fleet to a high state of efficiency. He kept a strict watch on Toulon,
and employed Nelson in intercepting the French communications by sea. By
the end of June the ports of Tuscany, Naples, and the papal dominions
were shut against his ships; Corsica was restless, and the fleet was in
danger of being left without a base. In July Nelson, who was then
blockading Leghorn, occupied Elba in order to gain a harbour and
establish a place of stores at Porto Ferrajo. A new danger, however,
threatened the fleet, for Spain, influenced by Bonaparte's successes,
made an offensive and defensive alliance with France by a treaty signed
on August 19; and as the Spaniards had over fifty ships of the line, the
position of the British fleet became critical. And there was work for it
elsewhere, for Portugal was in need of help. The Austrian cause in Italy
seemed almost hopeless, and Jervis received orders to evacuate the
Mediterranean.
Then better news came to England; the Austrians had achieved a signal
success in Germany. Two French armies under Jourdan and Moreau crossed
the Rhine in the summer and acted independently of each other. After a
campaign of about two months Jourdan was defeated by the Archduke
Charles at Amberg, and again near Wurzburg on September 3, and was
forced to recross the Rhine. Moreau advanced as far as Munich, for
Bonaparte intended, after the fall of Mantua, which he believed would
not be delayed, to effect a junction with him in Bavaria. Jourdan's
overthrow left Moreau in a critical position, and he only saved his army
by a masterly retreat through the Black Forest. Bonaparte's hope that he
would soon bring the war to an end by marching into Bavaria, and on
Vienna, was disappointed. His army was kept on the Mincio, for Mantua
remained untaken, and another army under Alvinzi was preparing to march
to its relief. Italy was not conquered yet, and on October 19 the
cabinet decided that the fleet should remain in the Mediterranean.[266]
It was then too late. Corsica and Elba were abandoned; Ferdinand of
Naples made peace with France, and Jervis sailed for Lisbon. After three
years in the Mediterranean the fleet retired from its waters; its
departure left that sea closed to British commerce, assured Bonaparte's
communications, and strengthened his hold over Italy.
[Sidenote: _NEGOTIATIONS FOR PEACE._]
Pitt, driven into war against his will, was sincerely anxious for peace.
He had entered on the war for political reasons, and would not be
deterred from negotiation by dislike of the French republican
government. His views were not shared by all his colleagues; Windham and
Pitt's whig supporters generally were averse from peace because they
desired the overthrow of the revolutionary system. The king fully
sympathised with them, and their sentiments were stimulated and
expressed by Burke, whose first _Letter on a Regicide Peace_ appeared in
the autumn. Pitt believed that the new French government would be
willing to treat, and that it would remain in power, so that a stable
peace might be hoped for. The king's speech at the opening of parliament
in October, 1795, stated that the government would be willing to treat,
and this was emphatically declared in a royal message to parliament on
December 8. Sorely against the king's will, an attempt at negotiation
was made in the early spring through Wickham, the British ambassador at
Berne. His overtures were scornfully rejected, the directors replying
that no proposition for the surrender of any of the countries declared
by France to be "re-united" to herself would be entertained. This was
final; for England was bound by treaty to maintain the integrity of the
Austrian dominions, and could treat only on the basis of the surrender
of the Austrian Netherlands by France.
In July the cabinet determined to make another attempt. A strong party
in France desired peace, and the friends and agents of the British
government abroad represented that the directors would be unable to
resist its demands. The expenses of the war were enormous, for Austria
clamoured for financial support; and it seemed possible that the
emperor, pressed by the double French invasion of Germany and by
Bonaparte's victories in Italy, might make a separate peace.[267]
England's naval successes had given her much that Pitt could offer. And
he would offer much, for he was in earnest in his attempt. If it did not
succeed he would at least show the nation that he desired peace, and the
rejection of his offers would wound its pride, rouse its spirit, and
encourage it to bear the burden of the war. George believed that the
attempt would fail, and consented to it because he reckoned that its
failure would have this effect on the nation. In September the cabinet
requested the Danish ambassador in Paris to ask for a passport for an
English minister. The directors rejected his mediation, but the strength
of the peace party prevented them from declining all negotiation, and
they offered to receive a minister if the British government made an
official request. Great Britain was, in fact, to sue for peace. The
government acquiesced, and Malmesbury was sent over to Paris. England
offered all that she had conquered from France for a peace which should
include her allies, if France would surrender the Austrian Netherlands
either to the emperor or in exchange for some equivalent which he would
accept, and restore the Milanese. The surrender of the Netherlands was
refused, and on December 19 Malmesbury was ordered to leave Paris in
twenty-four hours. This abrupt termination was connected with the death
of Catherine of Russia on November 17, soon after she had agreed to
support Austria with an army of 60,000 men to be paid by England. Her
half-crazy son and successor, Paul, declared himself neutral. On the
part of the directory, however, the negotiations were illusory,
undertaken merely to appease domestic discontent. The French declared
that England's offers were insincere. Fox and his party adopted the same
line, and their attacks on the government left them with thirty-seven
supporters in the commons and eight in the lords.
This ineffectual negotiation roughly coincides with the beginning of an
awful period of stress and depression. The directory designed to isolate
England, reduce her to bankruptcy by destroying her commerce, and
complete her ruin by invasion. Already Austria, her one efficient ally,
was nearly exhausted; her commerce was shut out from the Mediterranean,
and, though vigorously pushed in other quarters, was constantly
harassed, and a plan of invasion was ripe for prosecution. Pitt met the
prospect of invasion by proposals for increasing the army and navy by
parochial levies, and for the formation of militia reserves and
irregular cavalry. Fox asserted that the French did not contemplate an
invasion, and that the immediate duty of parliament was to guard the
freedom of the people against its domestic enemies, the ministers. This
disgraceful speech roused the indignation of the peace-loving
Wilberforce, who declared that Fox and his friends seemed to wish that
just so much evil should befall their country as would bring them into
office. Though the government easily carried its proposals for defence,
it was embarrassed by financial difficulties. Pitt had granted an
advance of L1,200,000 to the emperor without the consent of parliament.
He was justly blamed for this unconstitutional act, and eighty-one
members voted against the government. In his budget of December 7 he
proposed another loan of L18,000,000. The public debt already exceeded
L400,000,000; the 3 per cents. had fallen with its growth, and in
September were at 53. In the dangerous position of the country,
financiers would have declined the loan, and Pitt offered it to the
public at 5 per cent. and L112 10s. stock for L100 money. Liberal as
these terms may seem, they were exiguous at that critical time, and the
stock was at 4 per cent. discount before the deposit was paid. Pitt,
however, appealed to the loyalty of the country. Patriotic enthusiasm
was aroused, and the "loyalty loan" was promptly subscribed. Twenty-nine
new items of taxation were imposed during the session; one of them
raised the stamp duty on newspapers, which Pitt described as a luxury,
from 2d. to 3-1/2d., and was calculated to produce L114,000.
[Sidenote: _RELIGIOUS FEUD IN IRELAND._]
The threats of invasion were not vain; a descent on Ireland was
attempted. The government, though withholding emancipation, had made an
effort to conciliate the catholics. While the penal code was in force
Irish priests were educated abroad. Burke held that they required a
special education, and that seminaries should be established for them in
Ireland as a means of keeping them from disloyalty. The destruction of
the French seminaries by the republicans left no choice between a
priesthood educated at home and one without education, and therefore
likely to be dangerous to civil order. Camden met the difficulty by
favouring the foundation of the college of Maynooth. Religious animosity
had broken out afresh since the recall of Fitzwilliam, and many outrages
were committed on both sides. On September 1, 1795, the defenders and
peep-of-day boys fought near a village called Diamond, in Armagh, and
the defenders were worsted with some slaughter. Immediately afterwards
the Orange society was founded to maintain the protestant cause. In 1796
protestant mobs assuming the name of Orangemen, persecuted the catholics
in Armagh, and drove them from their homes, bidding them go "to hell or
Connaught". The magistrates gave the catholics little help, and the
government minimised the outrages of the protestants.
Religious hatred changed the position of parties. The United Irishmen no
longer attempted to unite men of the two religions; they encouraged the
catholics to believe that the protestants were determined to destroy
them and conquer the land for themselves. There was much anarchy.
Catholic disloyalty was increased by the feeling that the government
favoured the Orangemen, and attacks were made on royal troops in
Connaught. A stringent insurrection act was passed, which gave the
magistrates power to send on board the fleet those attending unlawful
assemblies or otherwise acting disloyally, and in the autumn the _habeas
corpus_ act was suspended. Corps of yeomanry and infantry were formed by
the gentry for their own protection, and were accepted by the crown. The
defenders coalesced with the United Irishmen, and the society adopted a
military organisation. On different pretexts, such as a potato-digging,
funerals, or football matches, large bodies of men assembled in military
array; guns were collected, and pike-heads forged. Leading members of
the United Irishmen pressed the directory to send an expedition to
Ireland, representing that the catholic peasantry and the dissenters of
Ulster were alike ripe for revolt. Among the most active of these agents
were Wolfe Tone, Arthur O'Connor, and Lord Edward Fitzgerald, a son of
the Duke of Leinster, a young man of romantic disposition and no special
abilities, who had married a lady of great beauty, well known in French
society, Pamela, supposed to be a daughter of Madame de Genlis by the
Duke of Orleans.
The directors appointed Hoche to command an invading force, and a fleet
of seventeen ships of the line, thirteen frigates, and other vessels
sailed from Brest on December 15 with 15,000 troops and a supply of arms
for distribution. Though an invasion was expected, the fleet met with no
enemy, and evaded a squadron which was on the look-out off Ushant. Some
of the ships, however, were separated from the others, and one of
seventy-four guns was wrecked through the incapacity of the French naval
officers. On the 21st thirty-five ships of the fleet arrived at the
mouth of Bantry bay, "in most delicious weather," wrote Tone, who
accompanied the expedition. Then the wind changed and blew hard. Only
fifteen ships managed to enter the bay, and five of them were forced by
the gale to put out to sea again. The ship on which Hoche sailed did not
arrive. No landing was effected, and, on January 17, the battered fleet
returned to Brest, less five ships lost, six captured by some British
ships lying at Cork, and one of seventy-four guns, which was attacked on
its way home by two English frigates off Ushant, driven ashore, and
wrecked.
If the wind had remained light and favourable, or if the French had been
better seamen, and their force had landed, Ireland would probably have
been conquered for a time, for the country was drained of regular
troops. Between Bantry and Cork were only 4,000 men hastily collected at
Bandon, and stores and artillery were virtually non-existent. That a
French fleet should have been able to leave Brest, remain five days on
the Irish coast, and return without being attacked by the channel fleet
caused great alarm in England, and was due to Bridport's slackness. The
Irish of all classes behaved with exemplary loyalty; the country people
afforded every assistance in their power to the troops at Bandon, and no
symptom of disaffection appeared in Dublin. It was evident that many who
had joined the disloyal societies had been driven to do so by fear, and
that the catholics as a body were not as yet ready to revolt.[268]
Either merely to harass England, or to prove the feasibility of a more
serious invasion, two frigates and two other vessels were despatched
from Brest in February with about 1,200 men, half of them convicts.
After destroying some merchantmen in the Bristol channel, they anchored
in Fishguard bay. The troops landed on the 23rd, and were, it is said,
much alarmed through mistaking a body of Welshwomen in their red cloaks
and beaver hats for soldiers. The next day Lord Cawdor, captain of the
Pembrokeshire yeomanry, appeared with a force of local troops and
country folk, and they at once surrendered. The two frigates which
brought them were captured on their way back to Brest.
[Sidenote: _SUSPENSION OF CASH PAYMENTS._]
The expenses of the war, loans and subsidies to foreign princes, and
bills drawn by British agents abroad caused a continual drain of specie
from the bank of England. By 1795 the exchange became unfavourable, and
since then the drain had been enormous. Pitt anticipated taxes and
borrowed heavily. Believing that an invasion was imminent, many small
tradesmen and others were eager to turn their property into cash; a run
on country banks set in, and some failed. The bank of England was
pressed for gold. On Saturday, February 25, the floating debt owed to it
by government was about L7,500,000, and its stock of coin and bullion,
which in 1794 was over L8,500,000, was reduced to L1,272,000; and a
sharp run was expected on Monday. The bank itself, and the private banks
which depended on it, were threatened with immediate stoppage, and the
consequences to the country would have been disastrous. The directors
applied to Pitt. He called the king to London; a privy council was held
on Sunday, and an order was issued suspending cash payments at the bank
until the will of parliament was expressed. The leading merchants and
bankers at once declared that they would accept bank of England notes.
Committees of both houses of parliament reported that the bank was in a
thoroughly stable condition, and, after much debating, during which Fox
asserted that Pitt deserved impeachment for defrauding the public
creditor, a bill was passed on May 3 prohibiting the bank from issuing
cash, except in sums below L1, until six months after the end of the
war. Cash payments were not resumed until 1819. A fair, though
constantly decreasing amount of gold remained in circulation for some
years, and was supplemented by the issue of one pound notes. The bank
was moderate in its issues, and, except in 1800, there was no
appreciable difference between the value of its paper and gold until
1808. The government was undoubtedly justified in saving the bank from
the effects of panic. Whether the suspension should have been continued
after the restoration of public confidence is another matter. It was
continued chiefly because it enabled the bank to make large advances to
government without incurring a drain of bullion. Currency was at once
expanded, and Pitt obtained a new loan of L14,500,000; it was raised
mainly in the 3 per cents., and created a debt of L175 for each L100
cash. Pitt therefore paid, including the provision for long annuity, at
the rate of L6 7s. per cent. The imperial loan of L1,620,000 was raised
on even more onerous terms.
[Sidenote: _BATTLE OF CAPE ST. VINCENT._]
In the midst of anxiety and financial depression England was cheered by
a great naval victory. France called on Spain to form a junction of
fleets. It was the old idea of 1779 when the two Bourbon powers were to
destroy the channel fleet and lay England open to invasion. The Spanish
fleet, twenty-seven ships of the line, under Admiral de Cordova, sailed
from Carthagena for Cadiz on February 1. Jervis was then cruising off
Cape St. Vincent, and before dawn on the 14th he received tidings that
the Spaniards were near. He had only fifteen ships of the line, but his
squadron was in splendid order, and among its commanders were Commodore
Nelson and Captains Collingwood, Troubridge, and Saumarez. The Spaniards
were eager to get to port, and ten of their ships were far ahead of the
rest on the leeward side. He made for the gap and attacked the main body
of seventeen ships, keeping the nine lee ships (one had got away) in
check meanwhile. After some cannonading and manoeuvring the Spaniards
attempted to join their lee division. They were stopped by Nelson who,
on his own responsibility, wore his ship, the _Captain_ (74), took her
out of the line, crossed the bows of five Spaniards, and promptly
supported by Troubridge in the _Culloden_ (74), engaged the gigantic
Spanish flagship, the _Santisima Trinidad_ (130), and two others. His
daring manoeuvre threw the enemy into confusion and enabled the
British to come to close quarters.
During the fight the _Captain_ was crippled, "her wheel and foretopmast
gone and not a sail or rope left". She was engaged by several of the
enemy, particularly by the _San Nicolas_ (80) and the _San Josef_ (112),
whose mizzen-mast she had shot away. Collingwood pushed his ship, the
_Excellent_ (74), between her and the _San Nicolas_, gave the Spaniard a
broadside within pistol shot, and passed on. The _San Nicolas_ "luffing
and the _San Josef's_ mizzen-mast being gone, they fell on board of each
other". Nelson boarded the _San Nicolas_ and captured her. From her he
and his men boarded the _San Josef_, which also surrendered, and on her
deck he received the swords of the Spanish officers. Four of the enemy's
ships were taken and the _Santisima Trinidad_ surrendered but was not
secured.[269] The fight lasted until evening, and though the Spaniards
had ten ships which had not been closely engaged and eight more
uncrippled, they drew off in the night. They showed an utter lack of
seamanship in the action. The number of their fleet, the size and
quality of their ships, and the weight of metal they carried place this
battle of St. Valentine's Day, or Cape St. Vincent, among the splendid
victories of the British navy. Its moral effect was excellent; it helped
the nation to pass through the banking crisis with calmness, and raised
its spirits. The long-standing belief that Spain was a first-rate
maritime power was destroyed at last. Jervis was created Earl of St.
Vincent and received a pension of L3,000 a year, and Nelson, already
gazetted rear-admiral, a pension of L1,000 and the order of the Bath.
About the same time Admiral Harvey, commanding in the Leeward islands,
and Sir Ralph Abercromby captured Trinidad from the Spaniards, but
failed in an attack on Puerto-rico.
It was well that England should be encouraged, for darker days were at
hand. The Austrian attempt in Italy in the autumn of 1796 ended in
disaster. Although Alvinzi beat the French at Caldiero on November 12,
he was no match for Bonaparte in generalship, and the Austrians were
defeated in a three days' battle at Arcola on the 15th-17th. A last
attempt to save Mantua was foiled by Bonaparte's victory at Rivoli on
January 14, and on February 2 the great fortress was surrendered by
Wurmser. Bonaparte led his victorious army into Carinthia, overcame the
Austrian resistance with the help of Massena and Joubert, and advanced
to Leoben about 100 miles from Vienna. The death of Catherine had
deprived the emperor of his hopes of help from Russia, and on April 18
preliminaries of peace were signed at Leoben. Francis renounced his
rights over the Netherlands and agreed to a congress for the conclusion
of a peace with the empire. By secret articles he promised to surrender
his territories west of the Oglio and to accept in exchange the _terra
firma_ of Venice from the Oglio eastward, with Venetian Dalmatia and
Istria. Lombardy and the rest of the Venetian _terra firma_ were to be
constituted an independent republic by France, and Venice was to be
indemnified by the Legations, Romagna, Ferrara, and Bologna. The emperor
negotiated apart from Great Britain and without sending any notice of
his intentions to London,[270] and England suddenly found herself
deprived of her one efficient ally.
[Sidenote: _DISCONTENT IN THE NAVY._]
Her enemies were preparing to close in upon her. Three fleets threatened
her with invasion. A French fleet lay at Brest, inadequately watched by
Bridport; a Spanish fleet at Cadiz was closely blockaded by Jervis; and
Duncan with the North sea fleet kept watch for a fleet which the Dutch
at the bidding of France were fitting out in the Texel. The safety of
the realm depended on the navy, and the navy mutinied. Both soldiers and
sailors had just grievances, specially as regards their pay. Seditious
pamphlets were distributed among the soldiers by the democratic
societies, and, it was believed, among the sailors also.[271] The
discontent in the army, which for a time appeared likely to have serious
consequences, was allayed through the influence of the Duke of York. The
pay of privates of the line was raised from 8-1/4d. to 1s. a day,
though a deduction on account of the existing high price of provisions
reduced the actual increase to 2d.; and other advantages were
granted.[272]
The sailors had no royal duke to speak for them. Mutinies had broken out
sporadically in the navy during the American war and temporary
concessions had been made, but there was no general removal of
grievances. The pay remained as it was fixed in the reign of Charles II.
at 22s. 6d. a month (of twenty-eight days) for able seamen and 19s. for
ordinary seamen, though the cost of living had risen, the men said, 30
per cent., so that they could not provide for their families. The system
on which they were paid was unfair to them; a deduction of two ounces in
the pound was made in their rations by the admiralty to balance waste of
stores; the medical service was disgracefully bad, and they complained
bitterly of the shameful practice of not providing them with fresh
vegetables as a protection from scurvy when in English ports.
Punishments were sometimes frightfully severe and a tyrannical captain
could make a ship a floating hell. A mutiny, only remotely connected
with the general movement, was provoked on the _Hermione_ (32) on the
Jamaica station by the insane cruelty of Pigot, the captain; the crew
murdered him and the other officers, and delivered the ship to the
Spaniards from whom it was afterwards retaken. Owing to the large demand
for men in war time many crews contained a large number of bad
characters, criminals whose sentences were remitted on condition of
entering the navy, and such like, and on some ships there were many
Irishmen who had imbibed disaffection on shore. Such men would naturally
be inclined to mutiny. A ship's crew, however, took its tone from the
able seamen, the A.B.'s, from whom the petty officers were chosen. At
that time they were often not more than a fourth of the crew, and
unfortunately they had special grievances. They were skilled men, and
might have been mates with good pay on a merchant ship. They were forced
to serve in the navy by impressment, and when in port were refused leave
to visit their families for fear they should desert. In the winter of
1796-97 the able seamen in the channel fleet seem to have combined to
obtain a redress of grievances. Anonymous petitions were sent to Lord
Howe, who forwarded them to the admiralty where they were disregarded.
[Sidenote: _MUTINY IN THE NAVY._]
On April 15 the fleet, which was then at Spithead, was ordered to put to
sea. The crews instead of weighing anchor manned the yards, cheered, and
hoisted the red flag, the usual signal for battle. They were joined by
the marines. No personal disrespect was shown to the officers, but the
ships were taken out of their command. The admiralty board went down to
Portsmouth and held an interview with the delegates from the ships, who
presented a list of their demands. The commissioners haggled; the men
stood firm, and further demanded that officers accused of tyranny should
be dismissed their ships. On the 25th the commissioners gave way on all
points; the pay of able seamen was to be the same as that of privates in
the army, though without deductions, 1s. a day, or a rise of 5s. 6d. a
month; ordinary seamen were to receive a rise of 4s. 6d.; their other
grievances were to be redressed; and a promise was given that the fleet
should not be sent to sea until the increase of pay had been voted by
the house of commons, and the king's pardon had been proclaimed. Various
hindrances, which might perhaps have been overcome if the government had
appreciated the need of promptitude, delayed the application to
parliament. Days passed by; the sailors heard nothing of a bill for the
rise in their wages or of a proclamation of pardon, and an ill-judged
order sent by the admiralty to the captains with reference to stores and
to mutinous conduct roused their suspicions. They believed that they had
been cajoled. Hitherto their conduct had been as blameless as the nature
of the case allowed. It was so no longer. Two of the ships remained at
Spithead; the rest had gone to St. Helen's. On May 7 all the crews again
mutinied and most of the officers were sent ashore. A struggle took
place on board the _London_; a mutineer was shot dead, and a midshipman
and a marine officer were wounded. Pitt proposed a grant for the
increase of pay on the 8th, and, as discussion might be mischievous,
asked for a silent vote. To their shame, Fox and his friends used this
crisis as an opportunity for a violent party attack on the
government.[273] The money was voted, and on the 10th Howe, the sailors'
favourite "Black Dick," went down to the fleet with the vote and the
king's proclamation. The men were pacified; more than 100 officers to
whom they objected were removed from the ships; discipline was restored,
and the fleet put to sea.
The admiralty commissioners, after contesting the just demands of the
men, had yielded to a dangerous point by removing officers at the
dictation of mutineers. Their vacillation encouraged the idea that
mutiny paid, and mutiny accordingly spread. On the 12th it broke out in
the ships lying at the Little Nore with reinforcements for the North sea
fleet. These ships contained a large number of London roughs and some
disaffected Irishmen. Unlike the mutiny at Spithead, it was a violent
and criminal movement. It was directed by Richard Parker, a seaman of
some education on board the _Sandwich_ (90), who is said to have entered
the navy as a midshipman, to have been dismissed his ship for
immorality, and as mate to have been broken for insubordination; he had
been imprisoned for debt at Perth, and had volunteered for the navy in
order to obtain his release. Delegates were chosen; the red flag was
hoisted, and the officers were deprived of command. From the first an
element of weakness existed in the movement, for the men were not
unanimous; two loyal frigates were forced to join the mutiny, and there
was a loyal minority on the others. The squadron moved out to the Great
Nore, and the mutineers paraded Sheerness with a red flag. Lord Spencer
and his colleagues went down to Sheerness and had an interview with the
delegates; they failed to persuade them to return to their duty, and
Parker treated them with insolence. Besides the demands made by the
channel fleet, which were already granted, the mutineers required that
no officer that had been removed from his ship should again be employed
in her without the consent of the ship's company, and that the articles
of war should be revised. Demands of that kind, of course, could not be
discussed. The first sign of weakness in the movement appeared on the
29th; the two loyal frigates left the squadron and, though fired on by
the rest, made good their escape. The mutineers, however, soon received
an accession of strength which encouraged them to proceed to further
acts of rebellion.
The mutiny spread to Duncan's fleet then in Yarmouth Roads. The men knew
that the Dutch fleet was preparing for an invasion of the kingdom, and
they left the way open. All the ships, save Duncan's flagship and one
other, deserted him and joined the mutineers at the Nore. Nevertheless,
the stouthearted admiral sailed with his two ships to his station off
the Texel, determined if the Dutch came out to fight them. While there
he concealed his weakness from the enemy by making signals as though his
fleet lay in the offing. England was in imminent danger, and Count
Vorontsov (Woronzow), the tsar's ambassador, directed the Russian
squadron, then at Yarmouth and under orders for home, to delay its
departure and join Duncan until he could be reinforced from Spithead,
the greatest service, wrote Grenville, that England has ever received
from any nation.[274] Happily, the Dutch fleet was not ready to put to
sea. The mutinous crews attempted to intimidate the government by
blockading the Thames, and trading vessels were stopped at the entrance
of the river. Some officers were ill-treated. Farmhouses on the coast
were sacked. The country was greatly alarmed, and the 3 per cents. fell
to a trifle over 48. The government acted with vigour; the garrison at
Sheerness was strongly reinforced; furnaces for heating shot were made
ready in the forts on the Thames; gunboats were fitted out, and the
buoys at the mouth of the river were taken up to prevent the escape of
the mutineers. In response to a royal message, parliament passed bills
on June 3 and 6 providing that incitement to mutiny should be punishable
with the highest penalties of misdemeanour, and that intercourse with
the mutinous ships should be a capital felony.
[Sidenote: _NAVAL DISCIPLINE RESTORED._]
The mutineers "ordered" captain Lord Northesk, who was virtually
imprisoned on his ship, to go to London and lay their demands before the
king. An official answer was returned requiring unconditional surrender.
They grew uneasy, and their doubts of success were increased by
addresses sent from the seamen of the channel fleet, severely
reprobating their conduct. Cut off from communication with the shore and
without hope of support from the channel fleet, they soon lost heart
altogether. Parker became unpopular. Ship after ship either left the
squadron or signalled a return to obedience, and finally, on the 14th,
the crew of the _Sandwich_ brought her under the battery at Sheerness,
and surrendered Parker. He was tried by a court-martial, and hanged at
the yard-arm of his ship. About forty were condemned to death, and some
others were flogged. The government was inclined to mercy, for the bulk
of the men had been deluded by Parker and other scoundrels; only
fourteen seamen and four marines were executed; the other condemned men
were pardoned by the king after the next great naval victory.
A mutinous spirit appeared in other divisions of the navy. The squadron
at the Cape was brought to order by Lord Macartney, the governor, who
threatened to sink the ship most forward in the movement by bombarding
her from the shore. One of the ships off Cadiz began a mutiny; St.
Vincent, a rigid disciplinarian, though, as the men knew, careful for
their welfare, was equal to the occasion; the ringleader was sentenced
by a court-martial, and St. Vincent surrounded the ship with gunboats,
and forced the crew to hang him themselves, and that on a Sunday
morning, which, being against all precedent, deeply impressed the
sailors. Convinced that the idleness attending a long blockade was bad
for discipline, he kept his ships employed as much as possible, and, in
July, detached a squadron under Nelson to attack Santa Cruz. The attack
was unsuccessful, and cost Nelson his right arm. England never passed
through darker days than those of the mutinies.[275] The lessons they
teach are that a country which neglects the legitimate grievances of its
defenders pursues a course not less perilous than shabby; and that
mutinous conduct of every kind should at once be met with exemplary
severity. Neither impressment nor flogging was included in the seamen's
grievances, but they complained of unjust treatment by officers. Since
1797 their condition steadily though slowly improved, and they were
treated both by their officers and the admiralty with more of the
consideration to which their splendid services entitled them. To Nelson
the health and contentment of his seamen were always matters of care and
pride.
[Sidenote: _NEGOTIATIONS AT LILLE._]
Pitt, seeing England destitute of efficient allies, threatened with
invasion, short of money, burdened with debt and taxation, with public
credit at a low ebb, and with her fleets in mutiny, was set on peace, if
it could be had on reasonable terms. He was encouraged by the state of
parties in France, for in May the moderates or royalists who desired to
put an end to the war gained a majority in the legislative councils. On
June 1 the government proposed a negotiation for preliminaries of a
peace which should be definitely arranged at a future congress. The
proposal was rejected by the directors, who would not allow any concert
between Great Britain and Austria, or any discussion of the general
interests of Europe, and insisted that England should negotiate for a
definite and separate peace. Grenville considered that this would be
humiliating to England, and would have resigned rather than consent to
it if he had not felt it his duty not to embarrass the government. The
king heartily agreed with him, and so did Lord Liverpool (Hawkesbury)
and Windham.[276] Pitt was too strong for them, and Malmesbury was sent
to meet the French commissioners at Lille. He had scarcely arrived there
when Burke, who by voice and pen had so long warned England to have no
peace with France, died on July 9. Here, wrote Canning, "there is but
one event, but that is an event for the world--Burke is dead". One of
the five French directors was a constitutional royalist, another,
Carnot, was inclined to that side, the other three were jacobins. A
struggle was impending between this jacobin triumvirate and the majority
in the councils. The success of Malmesbury's mission depended on its
issue. England's need of peace may be gauged by Pitt's offers of the
recognition of the French sovereignty over Belgium, Luxemburg, Savoy,
and Nice, of the cession of all her conquests from France, Spain, and
Holland, except Trinidad and the Cape, and of an exchange for Ceylon. In
the discussions of the cabinet Grenville opposed Pitt's pacific policy,
and as he found that the contents of Malmesbury's despatches became
known out of doors, and that Pitt was enabled to support his opinions by
the opinions of others, he arranged that Malmesbury's specially secret
communications should be withheld from his colleagues generally, and
they were only seen by himself, Pitt, and Canning,[277] the
under-secretary for foreign affairs. Difficulties were raised by the
French as to the royal style "King of Great Britain and France," the
restitution of, or an equivalent for, the ships taken or destroyed at
Toulon, and the retention of any conquests from the Dutch.
The negotiations were prolonged, for Malmesbury hoped that the majority
in the councils would prove stronger than the triumvirate, and the
triumvirs would not break them off before they had secured their
position. During their progress Portugal, England's sole remaining ally,
made a separate peace. A _coup d'etat_ was effected by the army on
September 4 (18th Fructidor); the royalist and moderate deputies were
condemned to transportation, two new directors were chosen, and the
jacobin, or war party, was established in power. New commissioners were
sent to Lille, and on the 14th Malmesbury was asked if he would agree to
the restitution of every conquest made from France and her allies. He
replied that that was beyond his powers, and was ordered to depart in
twenty-four hours. After this abrupt termination of Malmesbury's mission
the former friendly and confidential relations between Pitt and
Grenville were fully restored. The _coup d'etat_ baffled Pitt's efforts.
It was followed by the conclusion of a definite peace between France and
the emperor, which destroyed all hope of a concert between Great Britain
and Austria. After the preliminaries of Leoben, Bonaparte declared war
on Venice, procured the overthrow of its ancient constitution, and
established a new municipality. By the treaty of Campo Formio, concluded
October 17, he betrayed the Venetians by handing over their city to
Austria, along with Istria, Dalmatia, and the Venetian _terra firma_ as
far west as the Adige, while France took the Ionian islands for herself.
The emperor resigned the Belgic provinces, and by a secret article
promised to use his influence in the empire to secure to France the left
bank of the Rhine. The directors looked forward to an invasion of
England. While her navy was engaged with the fleets of Spain and
Holland, a French force was to cross the channel and march on London;
Ireland would revolt; England would accept a democracy, and Tipu would
destroy her power in India.[278]
The futility of their arrogant hopes was already exhibited. Another
invasion of Ireland was planned in the spring. A Dutch fleet was to
carry over a land force, and was to be followed by Hoche and the Brest
fleet. The United Irishmen eagerly expected a French invasion. Though
the Dutch fleet was not ready until the crisis of the mutinies was over,
Duncan's force was still small. Week after week the wind prevented the
Dutch from leaving the Texel. Provisions ran short, and Duncan's fleet
was again in force. The great opportunity had passed by. Fresh plans
were made for descents on Ireland and Scotland in concert with a French
expedition; but the hopes of the United Irishmen received a further blow
in the death of Hoche. At last, on October 6, the Dutch fleet left the
Texel.
Duncan received the news at Yarmouth on the 9th, and on the 11th came up
with the enemy off Camperdown. In number of ships the fleets were about
equal, but the British were the stronger. Duncan attacked in two
divisions, broke through the Dutch line in two places and engaged to
leeward, cutting them off from their coast. He signalled for each ship
to engage its opponent, as in Howe's action of the First of June.
Mistakes led to a concentration of force on the Dutch rear, which had
good results.[279] The Dutch fought with splendid courage, and the
carnage on both sides was terrible. Nine Dutch ships, including the
_Vrijheid_ (74), the flagship of their admiral, De Winter, were taken.
The shattered remainder of their fleet put back into the Texel. The
British admiral was created Viscount Duncan of Camperdown, and received
a pension of L3,000 a year. The victory was of incalculable importance.
Three fleets threatened the kingdom, and Camperdown, as Grenville said,
broke the right wing of the invasion.[280] It raised the spirits of the
nation. Won by the fleet so lately in mutiny, it proved that England
could again, as of old, rely on the loyalty of her navy. It reasserted
her supremacy at sea, which, in spite of the victories of Howe and
Jervis, seemed weakened by the evacuation of the Mediterranean and the
mutinies. Supreme at sea, she carried the trade of the world. Since the
great drop of 1793 her commerce had increased year by year until it
again declined in 1797. From that year, fostered by the demands of war
and fed by the activity of British manufactures, it increased with
extraordinary rapidity.
[Sidenote: _SECESSION FROM PARLIAMENT._]
In parliament the opposition gained no ground. On May 26, Grey again
brought forward the question of reform, and this time propounded a
scheme. He proposed that the counties should return 113 instead of 92
members, that they should be divided into districts each with one
member, and that the franchise should be extended to leaseholders and
copyholders, that in boroughs householders only should have votes, that
polls should be held simultaneously, and that, if possible, no one
should record more than one vote; that all landowners, traders, and
"professors of science" should be qualified for a seat, and that
parliaments should be triennial. Pitt declared that the country did not
desire reform, and the motion was lost by 252 to 91. When parliament met
in November, Fox and some of his chief supporters in both houses
seceded, attending only on special occasions. Their conduct was
unconstitutional and ill-advised. It is the duty of a member of
parliament to attend its proceedings, and in the commons his attendance
can be enforced. Secession is a betrayal of a public trust and a
declaration against the constitution. In this case it was partial, and
therefore specially futile. It caused a division among the little band
of the opposition, and injured the seceders in the opinion of the
country; their conduct was considered unpatriotic, and Fox's absence
from parliament when the thanks of the house were voted to Duncan was
particularly blamed. The secession of their leaders gave some whigs of
less standing an opportunity of coming to the front. In Fox's absence
the remnant of the opposition was led by Tierney, a clever financier and
a brilliant speaker with a bitter tongue. From the beginning of the war
constant motions had been made for peace with France. They were
discontinued after 1797; for it was generally recognised that Pitt would
gladly welcome peace. Wit came to the support of the government; Gillray
bitterly caricatured Fox and the opposition, and in November the
_Anti-Jacobin_ began its brilliant mockery of democratic principles and
politics. Its most telling verses were the work of Canning, who entered
the ministry as under-secretary for foreign affairs in January, 1796.
The threats of invasion roused the spirit of the country. Danger was no
longer to be apprehended from English disloyalty; the nation was justly
proud of the achievements of its navy and was full of loyalty and
courage.
Pitt took advantage of this spirit. Parliament met on November 3, and he
brought in his budget on the 24th. All hope of a speedy termination of
the war ended with the rupture of the negotiations at Lille. He
therefore declared that though it was impossible to raise the whole of
the supplies in the year, it was the duty of the nation to contribute
its full share towards the expenses of the war in order that posterity
might not be burdened with an unfair accumulation of debt. The service
of the year amounted to L25,500,000, and a deficiency of L19,000,000 had
to be supplied. He proposed to borrow L12,000,000 and to raise
L7,000,000 by taxation, chiefly by a measure generally known as trebling
the assessed taxes, by which the amounts already charged in respect of
these taxes were augmented on a scale graduated according to income.
Praiseworthy as his effort was to keep down debt, his plan was open to
serious objection. Assessed taxes are essentially an optional expense,
in that they can be avoided by those who do not choose to incur them.
Pitt's plan made the payments of the preceding year an arbitrary
standard of taxation, increasing them by one quarter to treble and
progressively to quadruple their amounts. This was really an income tax
in disguise, with the special drawback that it forced those who reduced
their style of living to pay on the basis of their former expenditure.
Fox returned to parliament to oppose the bill, and in one division the
minority numbered 75. Some feeling was excited against Pitt out of
doors. When, on December 19, the king and queen went in state to St.
Paul's to return thanks for the three great naval victories won by Howe
over the French, St. Vincent over the Spaniards, and Duncan over the
Dutch, Pitt was hooted by the London mob, and as he returned home was
guarded by a party of horse. This outbreak of ill-temper was of no
important significance. The nation was fully determined to support the
government in its efforts to maintain the safety and honour of England.
FOOTNOTES:
[264] _Dropmore Papers_, iii., 25-30, 50.
[265] _Influence of Sea Power upon the French Revolution_, i., 178, 201.
[266] _Dropmore Papers_, iii., 261.
[267] Perregaux to Lord "Courton" [Auckland], July 16, 1796, Rose to
Auckland, July 29, _Auckland Corr._, iii., 350-52; Pitt to Grenville,
June 23, _Dropmore Papers_, iii., 214.
[268] Pelham to Duke of York, Sept. 22 and Dec. 26, 1796, and Jan. 4,
1797, Add. MS., 33,113; Beresford to Auckland, Jan. 28, 1797, _Auckland
Corr._, iii., 375-77.
[269] _Logs of the Great Sea Fights_, i., 232, 239.
[270] Grenville to Starhemberg, May 3, 1797, _Dropmore Papers_, iii.,
317 _sqq._
[271] _Parl. Hist._, xxxiii., 799, 806.
[272] _Annual Register_, xxxix. (1797), i., 222; ii., 252.
[273] _Parl. Hist._, xxxiii., 477-516.
[274] Grenville to Woronzow, June 5 and 22, _Dropmore Papers_, iii.,
328, 335.
[275] An excellent narrative of the mutinies is given in a series of
articles by Mr. D. Hannay in the _Saturday Review_, June 6 to July 4,
1891.
[276] Letters of George III. and Grenville, June 1, 16 and 17, _Dropmore
Papers_, iii., 327, 329-30; Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iii., 590, 595.
[277] Canning to Grenville, July 31, 1797, _Dropmore Papers_, iii., 337;
see also pp. 341-43; Malmesbury, _Diaries_, iii., 416, 465.
[278] Sorel, _L'Europe et la Revolution Francaise_, v., 259-60.
[279] _Logs of the Great Sea Fights_, i., 258-60, 265 _sqq._; Brenton,
_Naval History_, i., 347-55.
[280] Grenville to Woronzow, Oct. 16, 1797, _Dropmore Papers_, iii.,
381.