⚫ into his Britannic majefty's fervice, on the fame footing, with refpect to appointments and pay, as the reft of his army, provided that they took the oath of fidelity and allegiance to his majefty, which they would be required to take.

The fituation of affairs on the continent, and the part which the British government had undertaken to act, in the confederation against the French republic, occafioned the extraordinary convocation of the British parliament fo early as the twenty-fourth of September. On that day the king, in a fpeech to both houfes of parliament, informed them, that he had called them to gether at that early feafon, to confider of the propriety of enabling him, without delay, to avail himself to a farther extent of the voluntary fervice of the militia, at a moment when our actual force abroad might be productive of the most important and beneficial confequences, having already feen the happy effects of the meafure which was adopted on this fubject in the last feffion.

He concluded by informing both houses, that, in pursuance of their recommendation, he had judged it proper to communicate to his two houfes of parliament in Ireland, at the clofe of their laft feffion, the fentiments which the British parliament had expreffed to him, refpecting an incorporating union of the two kingdoms.

His majefty's minifters then introduced the bufinefs for which the two houfes had been affembled, namely, the bill for enabling his majefty to accept of the voluntary fervices of the militia enlifting into other regiments. The opponents of the measure were but few, but feveral debates were held by them

11

with the minifterial fide of the house against the bill, as being unconfti-.. tutional.

The fpirit or object of this new militia bill was to repeal fo much of the act of laft feflion, as limited the number of volunteers, from regiments of militia, to one-fourth of their ftrength, inftead of which three-fifths of the number, which fhould be furnished by the county, &c. to which each regiment be longs, might be permitted to enlist into fuch corps of regulars as his majefty might think fit to appoint, each volunteer receiving, as under the late act, ten guineas, on re-enlifting into the regulars, fubject, as before, to ferve in Europe only, and not to be drafted from the corps into which he fhould firft enter. The bill, being carried through the ufual ftages, was paffed into a law, on the fourth of October. Bills, introduced into the houfe of commons in this early feffion, were paffed into laws for 'granting a loan of 500,000l. in exchequer-bills, to the Weft-India merchants in Liverpool, in order to avert the evils which hung over their head, from very extraordinary failures in Hamburgh. Security for this loan was given in property in their warehoufes, amounting to upwards of two mil lions. A bill was alfo passed into a law for granting relief to planters connected with the islands of Grenada and St. Vincents, by allowing goods imported from the West Indies, to be warehoufed, by regulating the allowance on drawbacks, and allowing merchants a farther time for the payment of their debts. We may here take notice of a very melancholy accident, interefting, indeed, like every other great misfortune, to human nature, but more deferving

deferving of a place in a record of the times, as it ferves to illuftrate the nature of liberal commerce, and how much the trade, wealth, and well-being of one nation depend on thofe of another. About the middle of October, the frigate la Lutine was totally loft on the coaft of New Holland, in its paffage from Yarmouth to Hamburgh, with a number of paffengers, and above 200,0001. for fupporting the credit of the merchants of Hamburgh. In a committee of fupply 1,680,000l. was voted for the ufe of the navy, for two calendar months, beginning the first of January, 1800; for the army, for two months, 510,5167.: and for 3,000,000l. for paying off that fum, iffued in exchequer-bills laft feffion.

The committee alfo voted

16,6487. for maintaining forces in the plantations, &c.; 92,6351. for defraying charges of corps of cavalry in Great Britain; &c.; 232,9981. for defraying charges of embodied militia, and a royal corps of miners in Cornwall, &c.; 40,000l. for defraying the charges of the increase of the rule of fubfiftence to innkeepers and victuallers, &c.; 120,000l. for defraying the charges for barracks, &c.; 230,000l. for the charge of ordnance of land fervice; 121,510l. for the ordinaries of the navy; 115,6251. for extraordinaries of ditto.

On the fame day, the house, in a committee of ways and means, voted the duties on malt, mum, cider, perry, fugar, tobacco, and fnuff; and that 2,500,000l. be raised by exchequer-bills.

CHAP.

the war

Na general view of e, it appears, at first fight, that the armies of France met with lefs difafter, and far more fuccefs in the latter part of the feafon than in the firft. This ftate of military affairs was very much connected with the internal fituation of the republic. The war in Italy, under Buonaparte, had not only fed and supported itself, but afforded a furplufage of finance to the treafury at Paris. Scarcely had that renowned chief embarked on board the French fquadron at Toulon, when à re miffness was visible in the military affairs of France. Neither was the genius of these men, Barras alone excepted, fuited to war, nor did the fyftem on which they aimed at the establishment of their own power and fortune admit of that pure, faithful, and prompt diftribution of the refources of the nation, which was neceffary to a vigorous exertion in fo many fcenes, on fo extended a theatre. A majority of them, Rewbel, Lareveillere. Lepaux, and Merlin, were bred lawyers; a clafs of men, in whofe hands it is obferved, the grand affairs of nations, often infulting the bounds of precedent, are feldom profperous. They were jealous of military renown and influence. They dreaded the intervention of

greater number of troops than might

the army. They wished not for any

be neceffary barely to fecure the frontier, and above all, their own defpotifm in the internal affairs of the republic. The poffeffion of authority, and new avenues for governing, by corruption, diminished in their eyes, the neceffity of fupporting themselves by fupporting the army. They wished to rest on other foundations. With all, their means and arts of corruption, hows ever, the part they had to act, both for the maintenance of their own power, and fupporting a fhew of regular government, in fo populous, divided, and lively a nation, was fingularly arduous.

The French were divided into two great parties, the lovers of order and the jacobins. The former were the moft numerous, as well as refpectable; the latter, the most united, daring, and active.The directory endeavoured to acquire popularity, by fparing the people. Supplies of men, and all neceffaries, were wanting to the ar mies;

nor were the fums raised honeftly applied to that purpose: Military and naval affairs were not only neglected, but steps were taken that feemed to indicate a deliberate defign of involving them in confufion and difgrace. The gallant Joubert, the friend and imitator of

the

the fplendid actions of Buonaparte, notwithstanding his victories in Piedmont, was, early in 1799, as we have feen, fuperceded, in the command of the army of Italy, by the minifter of war, the peculator Scheerer. The admiral Bruix, parading, with a large fleet, between Toulon and Breft, and Breft and Toulon, afforded to many reafons for fufpecting that its equipment was intended for no other purpose than that of a chain of peculation from the directory to the dock-yard. There was no meannefs or mifdemeanor, or act of injuftice and oppreffion fo great, but that a numerous part of the nation thought their rulers capable of it. While the battalions were greatly deficient in their complements of men; enormous exactions of money made, for the maintenance of numerous legions, on paper. The privations, miferies, and diftreffes of the armies abroad; multiplied inftances of corruption on the part of the government at home; arbitrary imprifonments and fequeftrations, and juftice and injuftice, bought or fold; all these circumftances produced a general odium against the directory, which foon proved an overmatch for all their means, great as they were, of maintaining their fway by influence and corruption.

were

It is not permitted, by the limits of our plan, to follow the directory through that variety of measures they took, from day to day, for the internal government of France, and the fupport of their own authority. We fhall only state a few facts, which, however, will be fufficient to give fome idea of the principles

and artifices that governed their general conduct.

By their influence in the affemblies, the most distinguished and zealous of their partizans were appointed fecretaries to the different committees or commiffions of the councils. Thefe, in general, found means of bringing over a majority to agree to whatever was propofed. But, whenever they experienced any difficulty, or ferious oppofition, they applied for new meflages from the directory, of a more peremptory and menacing nature, which never failed to reduce oppofition to filence.

In order to avoid the odium altending the impofition of fair and neceffary taxes, they had recourte to rapine, whenever they had any kind of pretext for its commiffion; in which rapine they were cordially fupported, even by the council of five hundred, who bore fome analogy to the British houfe of commons, and were the more immedi ate representatives of the people : though their schemes were fometimes vigoroufly oppofed in the council of elders. Thus, when they found that a

propofed tax on falt would not go down, and the deficit was but imperfectly fupplied by a tax on doors and windows, they fell upon the poffeffions, moveable and immoveable, of the proteftant clergy of Alface. It was remonftrated in vain that thefe were fecured to the clergy by treaties between the former fovereigns of Alface and France. The poffeffions of the proteftant clergy, it was faid, belonged origi nally to the catholics; that trantactions between princes and people