and set off instantly for Dublin, accompanied by his daughter, and his nephew, the reverend Richard Wolfe: unfortunately, they arrived in Thomas-street immediately after the insurgents had opened a dépôt of arms, and were recognised by an infuriated mob, who dragged both his lordship and his nephew to the ground, and stabbed them to death with pikes; while the lady was permitted to pass to the castle unmolested through the rebel mass. About half-past ten, the insurgents were, in their turn, attacked; and all their mighty projects discomfited in less than an hour, by a small body of regular troops.

The privy-council issued a proclamation, offering large rewards for the detection of the miscreants who had committed the above-mentioned murders; and a notice was issued by the lord mayor, requiring all the inhabitants, except the yeomanry, to keep within doors after eight in the evening: at the same time, bills for suspending the habeas corpus act, and for placing Ireland under martial law, were rapidly forwarded through their different stages in the united parliament: arrangements were also made for sending troops from England; and every measure which prudence could dictate was adopted, to secure the public tranquillity. On this occasion, the Roman catholics, with lord Fingal at their head, loyally came forward to express their abhorrence of the atrocities perpetrated on the twenty-third of July, and to offer their assistance to government: by such exertions the flame of rebellion was intirely extinguished; when a special commission was issued for the trial of the rebels. Edward Kearney, a calender, and Thomas Maxwell Roche, an old man, nearly seventy years of age, were first executed in Thomas-street, the focus of the late insurrection: several others also experienced the same fate; but the most important of these proceedings was the arraignment of Robert Emmett on the nineteenth of September, who was found guilty on the clearest evidence, and executed on the following day on a temporary gallows in Thomas-street. In the ensuing month, Thomas Russell, who was far superior to most of the conspirators in understanding and respectability, also expiated his offences under the hands of the executioner: Coigley and Stafford were arraigned on the twenty-ninth of October; but, in consideration of their having made a full disclosure of all circumstances connected with the conspiracy, no farther proceedings were taken against them, or any of the remaining prisoners.

A few days after the king's message had been sent to par

liament, the French admiral, Linois, was despatched from the port of Brest for the East Indies, with a strong squadron, from which also the Dutch garrison at the Cape might receive reinforcements. The armies of the republic were ordered to be increased to 480,000 men; that of Holland being destined to occupy Hanover; that of Lombardy to invade Naples and to garrison Tarentum, with other strong ports on the Adriatic. Buonaparte could only combat his maritime foe, by rendering all the shores of that element which she ruled, hostile to her navy, and impervious to her commerce: he therefore attempted to bestride Europe like a huge colossus, one foot in the Mediterranean, and the other in the Baltic. On the twentyfifth of May, general Mortier summoned the electorate of Hanover to surrender; the first consul being determined to Occupy that country as a pledge for the restitution of Malta. The Hanoverians, unable to contend with any prospect of success, soon capitulated; and Mortier, taking peaceable possession of the country, was enabled to control the navigation of the Elbe and the Weser, as well as to levy contributions on the rich Hans towns of Hamburg and Bremen: in consequence however of this seizure, and the interruption of commerce, a British squadron was appointed to blockade the mouths of those rivers; and this spirited measure, which might be considered as a retaliation on Germany for permitting such a violation of its territory, occasioned such distress to Hamburg and Bremen, that they appealed to the king of Prussia, as one of the protectors of the neutrality of the empire: but he declined to interfere; and the French were left to continue their exactions with impunity. The surrender of Hanover by England, without a struggle, was not an unwise policy; for she thus placed the courts of Berlin and St. Petersburg in the disagreeable dilemma of lowering their sovereign dignity before Napoleon, or of seeking an alliance with herself: to counteract this, the plan of the first consul was, by menaces or bribery to draw Prussia into a cordial but submissive alliance with France. When the French usurpation of Hanover had made that power sensible of the inconvenience of a state of indecision toward France, and of the advantages of a close alliance with her, Hanover was the bribe proposed: all the old ministers, except Hardenburg, were disposed to accept it; when the Russian emperor Alexander happening to visit Berlin, his sentiments turned the scale: the queen and the court were led by his higher feelings of honor to despise the artful insinuations of Duroc and the other French agents; while the king,

rejecting the dishonorable gift of France, was inspired with the nobler desire of securing the independence of the empire.

Though a field of battle was denied as yet to Buonaparte, his activity was turned towards military organisation; and he now formed the armies, and prepared the resources, with which he afterwards achieved such brilliant conquests. The Italian fortress of Alessandria was strengthened at an immense expense, to be, as it were, the citadel of Lombardy: from Otranto to the Texel, almost every coast and harbor saw fortifications rise about it: severe exactions were imposed on the Batavian and Italian republics; pecuniary assistance was drawn from Spain and Portugal; and the supplies of the French treasury were farther augmented by the sale of Louisiana to the United States for three millions of dollars: but the army and flotilla collected for the invasion of England were the grand objects of contemplation: the former was swelled by contingents of allied states, and the chief commands in it were given to Soult, Davoust, and Ney; the familiarity of his old generals having become disagreeable to the consular dignity.

The naval campaign of the present year was not distinguished by any very brilliant exploits. In June, an expedition under general Grinfield and commodore Hood captured the islands of St. Lucie and Tobago; and in September, the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice surrendered: the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon also contributed to swell the list of British conquests; and to these successes may be added that of compelling the French to abandon the valuable colony of St. Domingo. In Europe, the port and town of Granville were attacked on the fourteenth of September by Sir James Saumarez, by whom the pier was demolished, and a number of vessels destined for the invasion of England were destroyed. The town and port of Dieppe were bombarded by captain Owen, in the Immortalité frigate, with two bombvessels: the Dutch ports also, from the Zandvoort to Scheveningen, were severely bombarded, and many ships destroyed;

CHAP. XLVI.

GEORGE III. (CONTINUED.)-1803.

Meeting of parliament, and king's speech, &c.-Failure of Russian mediation announced-Suspension of the habeas corpus, and martial law, continued in Ireland-Army estimates, volunteers, &c.-General effective force in the army and navy-The king's indisposition, and speedy recovery-Opposition to the ministry joined by Mr. Pitt-His motion respecting the naval department lost-Debates on the measures of defence-Ministers, left in small majorities, determine to resign-Measure of finance brought forward, and the cabinet dissolved-Mr. Pitt again at the head of affairs-His supposed wishes, and attempts to form a cabinet-Slave-trade abolition carried in the lower, and lost in the upper house-Additional force act-Corn lawsArrears and regulations of the civil list-Prorogation of parliament-Internal affairs of France-Murder of the duc d'Enghien -Buonaparte assumes the imperial dignity-Francis II. relinquishes his supremacy over the Germanic empire-Naval transactions Seizure of Sir George Rumbold - His liberationRigor of the French government-Failure of the Catamaran project-Coalition of Mr. Pitt and Addington-Meeting of parliament-Supplies-Roman catholic petition-Impeachment of lord Melville-Mr. Pitt's last speech-Napoleon crowned king of Italy at Milan-Formation of a new coalition against France -Dissensions in the British cabinet, and decline of Mr. Pitt's health.

PARLIAMENT re-assembled on the twenty-second of November, when his majesty, after alluding to the measures adopted for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and some other less important subjects, declared, in reference to the menaces of an invading foe, that as he and his people were embarked in a common cause, it was his fixed determination, should occasion arise, to share their exertions and dangers in defence of the constitution. The usual addresses were agreed to without opposition; and it was stated by the chancellor of

the exchequer, that the offer of mediation made by the court of St. Petersburg had been readily accepted on the part of his majesty's ministers; but the discussions which arose in consequence of it had not led to any amicable arrangements with France. Mr. secretary Yorke carried a motion, though not without some difficulty, for continuing the suspension of the habeas corpus act in Ireland, and for the re-enactment of martial law in that country. A debate, on the ninth of December, produced by a motion for referring the army estimates to a committee of supply, embraced an extensive view of the general defence of the country: the regular force proposed for the public service amounted to 167,000 men; the embodied militia of Great Britain and Ireland were 110,000, and the volunteer corps upwards of 400,000: for this latter force, of which about 45,000 served without pay, it was proposed to vote the sum of £730,000 for one year; on which occasion, Mr. Windham inveighed with much acrimony against the military system adopted by ministers; and pointed out the inferiority of volunteer associations and bodies of reserve, to a regular army of genuine soldiers, disciplined for offensive as well as defensive warfare: but his objections were met by very animated and argumentative replies from Mr. Pitt and lord Castlereagh according to the statement of the latter, the effective force of this country, in rank and file, comprehending every description of troops, amounted to 615,000 men; while the commissioned and non-commissioned officers augmented it to 700,000. The number of ships of war amounted to 469; and an armed flotilla, to aid in defending the coasts, comprehending 800 craft of all descriptions, was nearly completed: since the commencement of hostilities, there had been issued 312,000 muskets, 16,000 pistols, and 77,000 pikes: the field-train also in Great Britain alone was increased from 356 to 460 pieces of ordnance, with complete appointments; while the stores had been nearly doubled. Mr. Fox applauded the zeal and patriotism shown by the volunteers; but he could not believe that they were capable of acting as effectively as regulars the minister, on the other hand, stated, that lord Moira, who commanded in Scotland, and lord Cathcart, in Ireland, were so well satisfied with the steadiness and discipline of that force, as to declare unconditionally that they would lead them with confidence against any invaders.

On the fourteenth of February, an official bulletin, announcing that his majesty was much indisposed, excited public sympathy, from an apprehension of the recurrence of