GEORGE III.—CONTINUED. (continued 3)

Desire of France to invade England.

By the treaty of Campo Formio the French were relieved from their war with Austria, and it was probably the belief that singlehanded they were more than a match for England, the object of their particular hatred, which induced the Directory to break off the negotiations at Lisle. The victorious army of Italy was transformed into the army of England. The prospect of wealth to be gained there was held out to the troops, instead of the promised donation which the finances were in no position to bear. The command of the army was entrusted to Bonaparte, who assumed an appearance of great interest in the expedition, and visited the sea-coasts under pretense of arranging for the embarkation of the troops; but he was not likely to risk his fortunes in England while the sea was commanded by his enemies. He persuaded the Directory that a more severe blow could be dealt upon England by a descent upon Egypt, the highroad to India, whence succor could be sent to Tippoo Sahib, the Sultan of Mysore, who, after he had been crushed by Lord Cornwallis, was again, relying for success upon French arms, thinking of renewing war. To Bonaparte private ambition was no doubt a main reason for this resolution. The state of Europe was very threatening. A second coalition was getting itself formed. In none of the new republics, neither Holland, nor Switzerland, nor Rome, in all of which constitutions had been forced on the people against their will, was there a cordial love for France. But Bonaparte, who, as he said, did not consider "the pear ripe," was willing that the bad management and failures of the Directory should ripen it before he raised his hands to pluck it. His imagination too, which always played a powerful part in his resolutions, was fired with the notion of an Eastern empire, whence, as he said, he should return and take Europe en revers.

Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt.

On the 19th of May 1798, the army of France, 36,000 strong, sailed from Toulon harbour, escorted by 30 vessels of war, 72 smaller vessels, and carried in 400 transports. The expedition was a strange one; not only was Egypt to be conquered, it was to be scientifically explored, and a number of learned and scientific men were mixed with the generals that surrounded their commander. Before reaching Egypt a strong point was secured to give the French the command of the Mediterranean. The Order of St. John of Malta, by treason and for money, gave up the island to Bonaparte. Thence he sailed on the 2nd of July, and ten days afterwards reached Alexandria.

Battle of the Pyramids.

Thence he marched towards Cairo, which he conquered, after winning on the road the battle of the Pyramids over the Mamelukes, a warrior caste sprung originally from Circassian slaves, who had made themselves masters of Egypt. It was the old story of undisciplined valour breaking itself against the firm squares of a disciplined Western army. Murad Bey, the Mameluk commander, withdrew to Upper Egypt, and the French entered Cairo. Bonaparte at once set to work to organize the country, and in his eagerness to conciliate the people, hinted that he too believed in Mahomet. The absolute atheism, however, of the French troops, and this cynical readiness to change his creed, only exasperated the Turks against him.

Nelson had been watching the port of Toulon, but the French fleet gave him the slip. From the 19th of May till the 1st of August he was in vain pursuit, not knowing where the expedition had gone. Battle of the Nile. Aug. 2, 1798. On that day he came in sight of the French fleet, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, one of which was the 'Orient,' with 120 guns, and four frigates. Nelson's own fleet consisted also of thirteen ships, but none of them were larger than seventy-fours, and he had but one frigate and a brig. The enemy were very advantageously placed at anchor along the shore of the Bay of Aboukir. In front of them lay an island with a fort, their flanks were covered by gunboats. They believed their position unassailable. But Nelson quickly determined, from the appearance of the anchored fleet, that there must be sufficient water for his ships between the French and the shore. He boldly ordered some of his vessels to sail inside. The left of the French line was thus enveloped and placed between two fires. Nelson began the fight at once, although it was six in the evening. It raged the whole night. In less than two hours, however, five of the French ships had struck, and at nine o'clock the 'Orient' caught fire and blew up. When the battle closed about six the following morning, nine of the French ships had been taken and two had been burnt. Want of frigates, and the damages sustained by his own fleet, prevented Nelson from pursuing the two remaining French ships, which sailed away almost unhurt. The same causes prevented him from destroying completely the French transports. This victory shut up the best French army with its great commander useless in Egypt, and excited the enthusiasm and hopes of all the conquered countries in Europe.

Pitt forms a second coalition.

But meanwhile Pitt had been able to set on foot a second great coalition. Austria, humiliated by the Treaty of Campo Formio, far from discharging her army, had raised its numbers, and demanded some sort of indemnity for the successes of France in Italy and Switzerland. Napoleon by his advance upon Egypt had himself forced the Ottoman Empire into war with France. The princes of Germany, though not desiring war, and even now treating with the Directory at Rastadt, could not forget the loss of the empire beyond the Rhine. Russia was also induced to join the coalition; for changes had taken place both in the internal and external condition of the country; since 1796, Paul I., a prince of scarcely sound mind, had succeeded Catherine in that country, and Poland having been destroyed, a road was open for him to introduce himself, as had been the constant desire of the Russian monarchs, into the politics of Europe. Prussia, where Frederick William had died, still held aloof in neutrality. The cement of this coalition was as usual English money. Naples, in the winter of 1798, had raised an army under the Austrian General Mack, and attempted to restore liberty to Italy; but, hated by its own subjects, the weak and tyrannical government was able to effect nothing. The King had to fly in the English fleet, Naples was changed into the Parthenopæan Republic, and the whole of Italy was thus brought under French dominion. The frontier line, then, against which the coalition was preparing to act, extended from the Zuyder Zee to the Mediterranean. Its centre was the mountain mass of Switzerland. Both parties regarded this as the key of the position. But the French spread their troops weakly along the whole length, so that Massena in Switzerland seemed to form the centre of one large army; and to him was intrusted the duty of separating, by capturing the salient angle formed by Switzerland and the Tyrol, the armies of the coalition. The plan was not a wise one. The opening successes of Massena and his lieutenants, which brought the French into the valley of the Inn, did not prevent the Archduke Charles from defeating Jourdan and the army of the Rhine at Stockach, nor Kray, the Austrian general, from beating Schérer at Magnano, on the Adige, and driving him behind the Adda. Massena, with his flanks thus exposed, found himself compelled to retreat also.

These successes on the part of the allies, and the murder of the French envoys to the Congress of Rastadt, excited the French to fresh energy. Schérer was replaced by Moreau. Macdonald, who was holding Naples, hastened to his assistance, and all the armies in Italy regained by the coalition. the centre were placed in Massena's hands. But Suwarrow, a semi-barbarian, who had never yet been conquered, had arrived to take the command in Italy. He pressed on with great rapidity and success. Moreau was beaten at Cassano (April 27), and fell back behind the Po. He again retired in the direction of Genoa in order to form a junction with Macdonald coming from Naples. Suwarrow was thus able to leave him behind him and threaten the French frontier; the advance of Macdonald however across the Apennines obliged him to turn. He fell upon that general, and after a three days' battle upon the Trebia, beat him, and turned rapidly upon Moreau, who had advanced to Novi, and had there formed a junction with the broken army of Naples. But both Macdonald and Moreau, as unsuccessful generals, were removed, and Joubert was given the command. On the 18th of August, Suwarrow attacked the French at Novi, Joubert was killed, and his troops completely routed. Italy was thus lost to the French; for in Naples Cardinal Ruffo had raised the Calabrians, and with the assistance of the English fleet both Naples and Rome were regained to the coalition. It was on this occasion that Nelson committed that act which is the great blot upon his name. He had become infatuated with Lady Hamilton, wife of the English minister, through whose influence his fleet had been provisioned before the battle of the Nile, and who was devoted heart and soul to the execrable Government of the Bourbons, exercised practically by the Queen, a sister of Marie Antoinette. To please the Court, Nelson, who arrived at Naples just as the French and Republicans had completed a capitulation with Cardinal Ruffo, broke off the completed negotiation, and insisted upon the Republicans capitulating without terms. They were thus handed over to the cruel vengeance of the Court. 30,000 patriots were thrown into prison, and for six months all those who had taken the least part in establishing the Republic were continually exposed to the danger of execution.

The coalition captures the Dutch fleet.

The disasters of the French were to have been completed by a combined attack of English and Russians upon the other extremity of their line. On the 22nd of August, a few days after the battle of Novi, the Duke of York, with 30,000 men, disembarked at the Helder, to advance upon Amsterdam. The defence of the country was intrusted to Brune, but the allies succeeded in landing, and captured the whole Dutch fleet in the Texel. At this moment the hopes of the allies were very high, and the French, worsted abroad and full of discontent at home, seemed on the verge of destruction.

Napoleon defeated at Acre. May 21, 1799.

The news that Bonaparte had been defeated at Acre added still further to their depression. To complete his dreams of Eastern conquest, and to forestall the attacks of an army gathering on that side, Bonaparte had marched into Syria. He won the battle of El Arish, took Joppa, where he massacred his prisoners, and advanced as far as Acre at the foot of Mount Carmel. The fortress, which was held by Djezzar, lately a robber, now a Pacha, was not in itself strong, but the French operations were rendered slow by the fortunate capture of their battering train by Sir Sidney Smith, the English commodore. After fifty days a breach was made, but the brilliant example of Sir Sidney Smith and his sailors, who entered the town, encouraged the Turkish garrison to a desperate resistance, which rendered all efforts at assault vain; Bonaparte had to retreat disappointed. "Had it not been for Djezzar," he said, "I might have been Emperor of the East." His retreat was marked by another act of cruelty; he ordered his sick at Joppa to be poisoned. With a broken army he regained Egypt, but he was still in a condition to beat the Turks near Alexandria, at what the French call the battle of Aboukir; but while thus victorious, he heard news of affairs in Europe which led him to think that the pear was at length ripened. He slipped secretly from his army, accompanied by his four friends, Berthier, Lannes, Murat, and Marmont, and set sail for France, leaving the army under the command of Kleber.

Before Napoleon arrived the danger of France from without had disappeared. Jealousy had arisen between the Austrians and the Russians, which was not likely to be soothed by the rough behaviour Jealousies and disasters of the coalition. of Suwarrow or the palpable self-seeking of the Court of Vienna. It became necessary to rearrange the commands. The war in Switzerland was to be intrusted to Suwarrow, who was to march thither and effect a junction with his Lieutenant Korsakoff, who was already in the country. But before the junction could be effected Massena annihilated the army of Korsakoff at the battle of Zurich (Sept. 26), and when Suwarrow had forced his way over the St. Gotthard Pass, he found himself in the midst of hostile armies instead of meeting his friends. He turned suddenly to the right, and making an extraordinary march among the glaciers and peaks of the Alps, he succeeded in reaching Coire in safety. Believing himself betrayed by the Austrians, he refused to serve again, and retired to Russia, where he died in disgrace. Nor had the Duke of York been more successful in Holland. The character of the country rendered it very difficult to advance, while the want of discipline of the Russians on the right wing entailed a defeat before Bergen. The town was indeed afterwards taken, but loss in battle and by ill health, and the want of all signs of co-operation on the part of the inhabitants, induced the English to sign what must be considered a disgraceful convention at Erckmar, by which they agreed to withdraw from Holland, and give over 10,000 French prisoners without exchange; the English however kept possession of the Dutch fleet.

Success in India against Tippoo Sahib and the French.

In India the English arms had been more successful. The intrigues of Tippoo with the French having been clearly discovered, and efforts at friendly arrangement having proved vain, General Harris, with a considerable army, was ordered in February 1799 to march upon Seringapatam. The Governor-General at this time was Lord Mornington, brother of the Duke of Wellington, who himself, as Colonel Arthur Wellesley, was one of the leaders of the expedition. After two successful skirmishes, General Harris appeared before the capital, which was a strong city well prepared for a siege. In about a month the place was taken by assault and Tippoo himself killed. This success placed the whole kingdom of Mysore, with a large amount of treasure, in the hands of the conquerors.

Napoleon returns, and is made First Consul. Nov. 11, 1799.

On his return to Paris (Oct. 16), therefore, Bonaparte found himself in a position to carry out his plans for personal aggrandizement; and though the great danger from foreign enemies had disappeared, the interior of France offered him every opportunity for laying hands on the Government. It was not forgotten that during his absence the safety of the Republic had been risked, and its hard-won victories rendered useless; and as the incapacity of their present rulers had been even more obvious at home than abroad, all eyes turned to him as the natural saviour of the State. Moreover, now that the first fervour of revolutionary energy had worn itself out, the bulk of the nation desired order, even though earned at the expense of liberty. Of the two Councils that of the Ancients was decidedly inclined in favour of a more settled Government, and it was through it that Napoleon determined to work. The Council of Five Hundred was more difficult to deal with. For a moment Napoleon shrunk before their patriotic and republican cries, but, urged by the Abbé Sièyes, who pressed him to action, crying, "They have put you outside the law, do you put them outside their hall," he recovered courage, and his Grenadiers, entering the hall with beating drums, quietly extruded the representatives. Thus was accomplished the great coup d'état of the 18th Brumaire (Nov. 9). The Directory was destroyed; a new constitution, spoken of as the Constitution of the year 8, was established, by which the executive power was vested nominally in three consuls, but really in the First Consul, Bonaparte, who thus became practically Dictator. His measures were anti-revolutionary, his object being to restore confidence and to heal faction. With his thoughts thus turned to the reorganization of France, he desired to be free for the present from foreign wars, and one of his earliest steps was to make overtures with the continental powers. To England he made proposals of peace in a letter addressed immediately to the King (Dec. 25). This was of course a grave breach of the etiquette of courts, and the letter was answered by Grenville in anything but a conciliatory spirit, while the whole blame of the war was thrown upon the French, with whom the English minister declined to enter into negotiations so long as the Government was in the hands of those "whom the Revolution had so recently placed in the exercise of power." Some more correspondence ensued, but the English ministers positively refused to treat. It is certain that Napoleon's offer was merely to gain time; on the other hand, the dictatorial tone of Grenville's reply could not but be very irritating to the French.

Napoleon regains the North of Italy.

The weary war therefore continued, and before the year was over the position of affairs abroad had so changed that England was no longer able to maintain the haughty tone which had been adopted. War in the hands of Bonaparte was a very different thing from war in the hands of the Directory. In April the French were again across the Rhine, and the Austrians driven behind the Inn; while in Italy, though Genoa, the last town in the possession of the French, surrendered, its danger was turned to immediate advantage by Bonaparte. Under pretence Napoleon's victories. of collecting an army for its relief, he massed his troops in the neighbourhood of Dijon, and while all eyes were directed towards the siege, he suddenly pushed across the Great St. Bernard and appeared at Ivrea on the rear of the besieging army. Melas, who commanded the Austrians, at length perceived his danger. He ordered Otto, his lieutenant, to raise the siege, with the intention of concentrating his troops; his orders were disregarded, and Genoa was taken, but the delay was fatal. It gave time for Bonaparte to re-establish the Cisalpine Republic, and, turning backwards, to place himself between Melas and Mantua, whither that general was now anxious to withdraw. A decisive battle was brought on before Alessandria, from which stronghold the Austrians advanced, on the 14th of June, against the French on the plains of Marengo. The Austrians, more numerous than the French, had apparently won the battle, and by three o'clock the whole French army had retreated. Melas withdrew to rest, leaving what he believed to be a pursuit in the hands of General Zach; but the French army, reinforced by the reserves, and headed by Desaix, made a great final effort. The Austrians, who had advanced too rashly in the eagerness of their pursuit, were unable to withstand his charge; they broke, and their victory was changed into a disastrous defeat. On the following day, with the victorious army in his front, and the liberated garrison of Genoa in his rear, the Austrian general, seeing no hope, entered into a convention, called the Convention of Alessandria, by which the greater part of North Italy was surrendered to the French.

An attempt was made to change this Convention into a more general peace, and a Congress was held for this purpose at Lunéville, but the English Cabinet was much divided in its own views, the Austrian Government acted with extreme duplicity, and Napoleon demanded a separate treaty with the two belligerent powers, which Austria, knowing its weakness when separate from England, was afraid to grant. The Congress came to nothing, and in November Battle of Hohenlinden. Dec. 2, 1800. the army under Moreau renewed the campaign. The Austrians were determined to hold the line of the Inn, but their troops, very badly commanded by Archduke John, were attacked in the forest of Hohenlinden, and sustained a crushing defeat. Their loss is put at 25,000 men and 100 guns. There could no longer be any question in the matter, and Treaty of Lunéville. Feb. 9, 1801. the Emperor had no choice, if he would save his capital, but to sue for a separate peace. By the Treaty of Lunéville (Feb. 9, 1801) the frontier of the Rhine was again ceded to France.

It needed but a breach with Russia to leave England singlehanded in opposition to France. The Emperor Paul, but little removed from madness, had seen with disgust the defeat of his troops in Switzerland, and believed that in the joint expedition to Holland his army had been wilfully sacrificed. He was also smitten with Russia deserts the coalition. extreme admiration for the genius of Bonaparte, who took care to flatter this feeling and to intrigue against English influence. The old question of the right of search gave Paul a pretext to break with his allies. The doctrine of the English, accepted generally as the law of nations, was that a belligerent had the right of searching neutral ships for contraband of war or for property of the enemy. The Northern powers claimed that the neutral flag should cover the cargo, with the exception of contraband of war. This had been their view for many years, and, as has been mentioned, gave rise to the Armed Neutrality of 1780.[15] This view they had not been able to enforce, but it was quite an open question whether ships under convoy of a man-of-war could be searched. On this point the English and the Danes twice came into collision; but during the summer of 1800 an amicable arrangement had been arrived at. Paul however refused to let the matter drop; he took it up as an injury to the whole Northern powers, laid an embargo upon all English property in Russia, made prisoners 300 merchant seamen, and renewed the Armed Neutrality, which was joined willingly by Sweden, and under pressure by Denmark also. The English Government at once retaliated by an embargo on the property of the allied nations; and England was thus left completely singlehanded, for her allies in the south of Europe were much too weak to afford her any assistance, while her maritime superiority seemed seriously compromised by the action of the Baltic powers.

Internal condition of England.

Nor was it only abroad that danger seemed impending. The condition of the country was rendered miserable both by heavy taxes and by the pressure of two years of scarcity. Corn had risen to the unprecedented price of 120 shillings the quarter, a price which could not possibly have been maintained under any reasonable system of political economy. But at this time it was held in the last degree dangerous to admit corn from abroad, partly because it was thought that a nation should trust to its own resources for the prime necessaries of life, partly because it was believed that a diminution of gold and silver, which must inevitably follow from large importations, was a disastrous thing for the nation. Nor was this all, the arrangements of the poor law were such that it became necessary to maintain high prices in the agricultural districts. The received opinion was that the increase of population, irrespective of the powers of employing it, was a distinct advantage. Premiums were given for early marriages, and assistance granted from the rates in proportion to the numbers in a family. The natural tendency was a fearful increase of population, depending for the most part on the rates, which were therefore inordinately high. It thus became possible for the farmers to pursue the plan they have always regarded as most conducive to their interests, and to drive down the wages to the lowest point; the people were reduced to a condition little above serfdom; and to enable the agricultural districts to support the pressure of the rates high prices had to be maintained. The condition of the country districts was thus kept tolerably even, and the burden of the high prices fell almost exclusively upon the industrious population of the towns. It was natural that a House of Commons returned chiefly by the landowners should favour protective duties, which thus rendered them at once absolute masters of their peasantry and threw the burden of their increased expenditure upon the towns. But such a state of things produced much suffering, and suffering produced riots, which the folly and ignorance of the judges increased. From the Lord Chief Justice downwards, they seemed to have combined to throw the blame upon the corn factors, whom they charged with the obsolete crimes of forestalling and engrossing. Punishment was indeed inflicted for the crime of buying corn and selling it at a higher price in the same market. The people naturally took their cue from these blind leaders, and corn riots were very prevalent. It is of course plain that whatever tends to the husbanding of resources and to the equalization of prices is really advantageous, and that the corn factors, in carrying out the law of supply and demand, were a most useful set of men.

Autumn session. Oct. 1800.

To meet these difficulties Pitt thought it expedient to have an autumn session. He was himself inclined to think that some extraordinary measures were desirable to alleviate the distress, and in the existing state of the law he was perhaps right. But Grenville, a more rigid follower of the principles of political economy, was much opposed to any tampering with the natural laws of supply and demand.[16] When Parliament met the action of the judges was gravely censured, and several remedial measures were introduced, such as bounties on importation of grain, and the prohibition of the use of corn in distilling and starch making, and (though this proved a useless and pernicious measure) of the use of any but brown bread. Large subscriptions were also made to alleviate the distress.

Pitt proposes a Catholic Relief Bill. 1801.

The Parliament which assembled early the following year (1801) was the first united Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland, and but a few days of its existence had elapsed before a great and most unexpected change took place in the position of affairs. There had long been a want of harmony among the members of the Cabinet with regard to the war; but there had now arisen an even more formidable question. The union had been effected by much bribery in money, titles, and places; these promises had all been fulfilled. But there was one section of the Irish whose opposition would have been fatal to the measure, but to which such promises could not be made. The tacit support, or at all events neutrality, of the Irish Roman Catholics had been secured by a vague but very well-understood promise that their claims should be considered under the new arrangement. It is certain that both Castlereagh and Cornwallis understood that this was so, and Pitt felt it an imperative duty to make an effort to fulfil this promise. The matter had been talked over in the Cabinet as early as the autumn of 1799, and was formally discussed in the presence of Lord Castlereagh at the end of September 1800. The Chancellor, Lord Loughborough, was at that time in attendance upon the King at Weymouth. He was a man of a base and time-serving nature. At this Cabinet he displayed his hostility to any measure for the relief of the Catholics, and used his opportunity to instill into the King's mind that to consent to any such measure would be a breach of his coronation oath. In this he was backed up by Lord Auckland, who had always been a friend of Pitt's, but who was inclined to underhand intrigue, and did not think it beneath him to prejudice the King's mind against Pitt's policy. Matters were brought to a crisis when, at a levée in the beginning of 1801, the King mentioned openly to Dundas that he was aware that such a measure was in contemplation, adding his usual formula, that he "should hold any one who supported it as his personal enemy." It became plain to Pitt that he could hesitate no longer, and although the King sent Addington the Speaker, a personal friend of Pitt's, to persuade him not to bring the matter forward, he sent a letter to George declaring his intention and his determination to resign if he was not allowed to fulfil Pitt resigns. Addington Prime Minister. 1801. his promises to the Irish. The King wrote back urging him to remain in office and to drop the measure, but Pitt was determined, and the King was forced to accept his resignation. In his place he desired Addington, a man of very second-rate ability, to form a ministry, a duty which, on the advice of Pitt, he accepted. The resignation of the great minister, as it was only personal, did not imply the resignation of the whole ministry, but all the great members of it, Grenville, Dundas, Windham, and Spencer, retired with him. It is pleasant to think that Lord Loughborough's duplicity received no reward, he was excluded from the new arrangements, Lord Eldon, at the King's own request, became Lord Chancellor, and Loughborough had to content himself with the earldom of Rosslyn.

Illness of the King.

The shock of parting with a minister he had so long trusted brought on a renewal of the King's insanity, and measures were taken for a regency under the same restrictions that Pitt had before insisted upon. George was at this time so popular that even the Opposition treated him in his illness with every consideration. His popularity, the natural consequence of his well-ordered domestic life, had been considerably increased by an attempt in the preceding year on his life. When entering Drury Lane Theatre a man had risen in the pit and discharged a pistol at him, two bullets passing a very little above his head. The miscreant who made the attempt was a lunatic of the name of Hadfield. The King, always remarkable for his personal courage, had displayed great calmness under the circumstances, and the loyalty of the nation had been much excited. Fortunately, under Dr. Willis's treatment, his illness was speedily mastered, and in the beginning of March he was declared convalescent. But his illness, which he himself traced to Pitt's conduct, had such an effect upon that statesman, that he wrote promising never to reintroduce the Catholic question. His friends did not see why, under these circumstances, he should not remain in office, but Addington naturally objected to giving up the place he had just gained, and the Government continued in his hands, Character of the Addington ministry. supported by a Cabinet of complete mediocrity, upheld for the present by Pitt's influence. It was indeed just such a minister and Cabinet as suited the King's well-known views—safe, conservative, submissive, and without commanding ability. Nor did the great country party object to a change which freed them from the imperious domination of one so vastly their superior as Pitt, and placed over them a man whose talents were not superior to their own, and whom they might hope to guide rather than follow. Though Pitt acted honestly in the first instance, it is only too probable that he regarded Addington as a temporary substitute for himself, and designed to return to power after the present difficulty was over, and when he had made a public demonstration for the purpose of saving his honour. However this may be, his somewhat lukewarm support was before long changed into open enmity. At first, however, he spoke with even exaggerated admiration of the new Cabinet, which in the House was completely successful, while great successes both by sea and land somewhat relieved the nation from its embarrassing position.

The French army in Egypt.

The French army, deserted by their great commander, was left shut up in Egypt under the command of Kleber, a man of organizing genius, who bid fair to establish the French influence in that country. He was, however, assassinated by a fanatical Mussulman (June 1800), and the command fell into the hands of Menou, a general of but second-rate capacity. Before this change of command, a treaty, known as the Treaty of El Arish, had been completed (Jan. 24), by which the French army was to be allowed a safe return to France. This convention was concluded on board the flagship, and with the full approval of Sir Sidney Smith; but, meanwhile, intercepted despatches had made known to the Cabinet the almost hopeless condition of the French army, and orders were sent to the Mediterranean that no treaties should be sanctioned by the admiral which did not insist on the surrender of the French. The Treaty of El Arish had been concluded without this knowledge and before these orders had reached Sir Sidney Smith. Moreover, affairs in Egypt had much changed, for Kleber, indignantly rejecting all idea of surrender, had at once proceeded to attack the Turks, had won over them a great victory at Heliopolis (March 20, 1800) and reoccupied Cairo. It became necessary therefore to renew the war, and Sir Ralph Abercromby, who, with Pulteney, had been employed in fruitless expeditions against Ferrol and Cadiz, collecting the troops employed in both expeditions, in number about 20,000, proceeded to Egypt. Troops also under Sir David Baird were ordered to attack the country from India. A landing was forced at Aboukir Bay, under the immediate command of General afterwards Sir John Moore, and on the 21st of Battle of Alexandria. March 21, 1801. March a battle in the neighbourhood of Alexandria was fought, where the French were thoroughly defeated. The English had to deplore the loss of Sir Ralph Abercromby, but General Hutchinson, who succeeded him, continued to act with vigour. The Grand Vizier, with a large but disorderly Turkish army, attacked Cairo, while the English kept Menou besieged in Alexandria. In June Cairo fell, and General Baird having arrived from India, the combined English army compelled Menou to capitulate in Alexandria on the 27th of August. The terms of surrender were honourable. The French army was allowed to return to France, but all ships, together with all the objects of art which the French had collected, became the property of the conquerors. This success, which showed the unbroken vigour of England, tended to accelerate the peace which was gradually becoming necessary for all parties, and for which negotiations were already set on foot in London with the full approbation of Pitt.

Battle of Copenhagen. April 2.

Meanwhile, but a few days after the victory of Alexandria, the cloud which had risen in the Baltic was also dispersed. The renewal of the Armed Neutrality, and the general conduct of Russia, made it evident that that country was engaged in the French interests. A fleet under Sir Hyde Parker, with Nelson as second in command, was despatched to the Baltic. Negotiation was tried with the Danes, but wholly unsuccessfully, and Parker, a dilatory commander, was induced by Nelson's energy to consent to an attack upon Copenhagen. The passage of the Sound was forced without loss, but an examination of the enemy's position showed that they had used the delay which had been given them to great advantage. Shore batteries had been erected and put into fighting trim; floating batteries established, and the harbour covered with a line of vessels of all sorts four miles in length. Within this lay the Danish fleet. Nelson offered to attack with ten sail of the line; he was allowed twelve. The attack was made from the south, Sir Hyde Parker on the outside threatening the batteries and the vessels at the mouth of the harbour. At ten o'clock on the 2nd of April, Nelson began his attack. Several vessels grounded and were rendered useless, and so hot was the engagement that Sir Hyde Parker thought it better to hoist the signal for discontinuing action. Nelson declined to obey it, and the other captains took their orders from him. Many of the Danish ships had struck, but being constantly reinforced from the shore, continued the fight, it is said, even after they had surrendered. This was probably an accident; but Nelson took advantage of it to write a friendly letter to the Crown Prince. "The Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson," he said, "has been commanded to spare Denmark when she no longer resists. The line of defence which covered her shores has struck to the British flag; but if the firing is continued on the part of Denmark, he must set on fire all the prizes he has taken without having the power of saving the men who have so nobly defended them. The brave Danes are the brothers, and should never be the enemies, of the English." He then agreed to a truce while the wounded were moved from the prizes. Having taken advantage of the lull to withdraw his fleet from the difficult channel in which they were entangled, he went on shore to negotiate a treaty. To enable him to attack the Russians, he insisted on a long armistice, which a threat of immediate bombardment induced the Danes to grant. The English fleet then sailed against the Swedes, who withdrew, and were left unmolested, while the fleet proceeded against the Russians. On his way, however, Nelson received the news that the capricious despotism of Paul had excited his courtiers to a conspiracy, which, though apparently aimed only at the deposition of the Emperor, had in fact ended in his assassination. The accession of the young Emperor Alexander I. completely changed the policy of Russia. The embargo was removed from the British shipping and the merchant seamen liberated. As the Armed Neutrality still existed, Nelson would have proceeded to strong measures; but Sir Hyde Parker was satisfied, and though he was recalled, the complete change in Russian policy Peace between England and Russia. rendered further action unnecessary. In June a treaty of peace was signed in St. Petersburg, by which the Armed Neutrality, with its claims, was given up, but the right of search accurately defined. It was also agreed that blockades must henceforward be really efficient in order to be valid. Blockades by proclamation were thus abolished, and could be only sustained when the blockading force was sufficient to enforce them.

Preliminaries of peace. Oct. 1, 1801.

Bonaparte was still threatening an invasion of England, and gunboats and rafts had been collected at Boulogne. These the Government ordered Nelson to attack, but the attempt was on the whole unsuccessful. However, the supremacy of England on the sea was so great that there could not be much fear of the landing of a foreign army, and the French, defeated in Egypt and thwarted in their Northern policy, were ready to come to terms. In October the preliminaries of a treaty were signed. By this England gave up all its conquests except Trinidad and Ceylon. "The Cape of Good Hope was to be restored to the Batavian Republic, and to be used as a free port. Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John,[17] under the guarantee of one of the great powers; Porto Ferrajo was to be evacuated. On the other side, the Republic of the Ionian Islands was to be acknowledged, and the French were to withdraw from Naples and the Roman States; the integrity of Portugal was to be secured; Egypt was to be restored to the Porte, and the Newfoundland fisheries to be placed on the same footing as before the war."[18]

Although the preliminary treaty had been signed, it cost some time and much anxious negotiation before its final ratification in the March of the following year. These negotiations were held at Amiens, on the part of England by Lord Cornwallis, on that of France by Joseph Bonaparte, assisted by Talleyrand. At the opening of Parliament, on the 29th of October 1801, the minister had been able to mention in the King's speech with satisfaction both the Opinions in England concerning the peace. preliminary treaty with France and the arrangements with the Northern powers which put an end to the threatened Armed Neutrality. By the bulk of the people the return of peace had been hailed with extreme delight. General Lauriston, who had brought the authority for signing the preliminaries, had been received with a public ovation, the populace had dragged his carriage through the streets, and London and other towns had been illuminated. In completing these preliminaries Addington and his friends had acted with the entire approbation of Pitt, who, at heart cordially disliking war, had brought himself to believe that Bonaparte, having now obtained the supreme power in France, would probably be satisfied; at the same time, as he himself pointed out, Jacobinism had been already checked in England, and the lesson taught to the world that the fruit of Jacobin principles was terrorism and anarchy, and its end a military despotism. Seeing the isolated position which England now occupied, and believing the causes for further war removed, Pitt accepted the terms of the peace, although the concessions on the part of England, especially the surrender of the Cape of Good Hope, were no doubt great. With the support then of Pitt and of the general feeling of the country, the ministry found in Parliament large majorities in favour of their peace. But Pitt's views were by no means shared by a considerable number of his late colleagues. Grenville, Windham, and Spencer clung tenaciously to their old view that Bonaparte's career was but beginning, that his policy would continue to be one of aggression, that his present offers of peace were delusive, and that for the honour of England and the safety of Europe the war should be continued.

Before the preliminaries were ratified abundant proofs were given that they were right and that Pitt was wrong. Taking advantage of the exhausted condition of the Continent, of the eager desire of Addington to secure peace, and of the position of England, which was not only without allies, but unable while negotiations were still pending to make objections upon the score of treaty rights, Bonaparte Napoleon appropriates Holland, Switzerland, and Italy. hastened to complete his ambitious projects—by the appropriation of those smaller States which had already fallen into a state of dependence upon France (the Republics of Holland, Switzerland, and the North of Italy, now called the Cisalpine Republic), and by the re-establishment of the French colonial power by means of a great expedition to reconquer St. Domingo. His method of proceeding with regard to the Republics was craftily arranged so as to give to the assumption of French supremacy the appearance of voluntary action on the part of the people themselves. For Holland a constitution was drawn up in France of a strongly republican character, which, when rejected by the National Assemblies of Holland, was put to the vote of the whole body of the people, and being accepted by a very small minority, while the rest abstained from voting, was declared established by the national will (Oct. 17, 1801). In Switzerland, not yet ripe for annexation, instructions were given to the French minister to thwart all efforts at the formation of a stable constitution, and to keep things so unsettled that an appeal to France was certain sooner or later to be made, while French troops garrisoned the Republic ostensibly for the purpose of keeping order. Less delicacy was used with regard to Italy. The chief rulers of the Cisalpine Republic were summoned to Lyons, a constitution of Bonaparte's creation given them, and they were ordered to elect as their President Bonaparte himself (Jan. 1802). The expedition to St. Domingo was made still further to advance Napoleon's projects; for thither was sent, to be destroyed by the climate, almost the whole of the army of the Rhine, the only part of the military establishment of France not wholly devoted to him.

Negotiations at Amiens.

Meanwhile the projects for the ultimate annexation of Piedmont and Genoa were carried on, and distinct orders sent to the negotiators at Amiens to withdraw entirely from discussion the affairs of Holland, Switzerland, and the Italian Republics, in other words, to treat with England as if the affairs of Europe were entirely beyond her cognizance. The withdrawal of these points of discussion left little to be settled except minute points with regard to fisheries and prisoners, for Bonaparte also entirely refused to entertain the idea of a commercial treaty with England. The only point of interest left was Malta. According to the preliminaries this island was to be evacuated and to be restored to the Knights under the guarantee of Russia. But a new sovereign was now upon the Russian throne less likely to be under the immediate influence of France. Bonaparte therefore wished to change the terms, to destroy the fortifications of the island, thus rendering it useless in a military point of view, and to place it under the guardianship of the King of Naples; in other words, to render it at once worthless to the English and an easy prey to the French whenever they should desire to reoccupy it. In their eagerness for peace the English ministry consented to be blind to Bonaparte's aggressions, though firm upon the point of Malta, and though they refused to acknowledge the existence of the newly-organized republics. No doubt, what the English meant was that, for the sake of peace, they would bear what Bonaparte had already done, but that any further step would produce war. Bonaparte, on the other hand, argued that the refusal to acknowledge these Peace concluded. March 27, 1802. republics was in fact a resignation on the part of England of the right of interference with them; henceforward that country could not complain although they were incorporated with France. There were thus a number of outstanding questions left unsettled at the peace, which was finally completed on the 27th of March 1802.

But it had begun to be plain to all thinking men that it could be but a short truce; and indeed Napoleon was already writing that "a renewal of war was necessary for his existence, as the memory Napoleon mistakes the temper of England. of old victories was likely speedily to pass away." In fact, he totally mistook the temper of England. Addington's ministry, no doubt, was pledged to peace, and was anxious at all hazards to make it durable. The people of England were indeed weary of the war and eagerly desirous for peace; but they had lost none of their independence and pride, and anything which should prove either that their honour was attacked, their commercial activity trammelled, or their independence of action limited, would easily produce a reaction, and bring them back to their warlike temper. Bonaparte, while intending to renew the war sooner or later, meant to keep the occasion in his own hands, but, trusting to the weakness of Addington, he pursued a line of conduct exactly fitted to prove to England the absolute necessity for an immediate renewal of hostilities, and which touched the sensitive nation in its most tender points. He never ceased from his course of aggression, Continues his aggressions. thus treating the remonstrances of England as if they were completely worthless and beside the point. In August he annexed the island of Elba, in September the whole of Piedmont, in October Parma and Placentia; and at length, taking advantage of the carefully fostered disorders in Switzerland, he suddenly occupied that most important military point with an army of 30,000 men under Marshal Ney, and took to himself the title of Mediator of the Swiss Republic. It has been mentioned that he refused a commercial treaty with England at the Peace of Amiens; this under the plea of a desire for the protection of native commerce he undoubtedly had a right to do; but he now obliged all the countries dependent on him to adopt a similar course, to exclude English productions, and thus closed half Europe to English trade.

Demands the repression of the English press,

Not content with this conduct abroad, he took upon himself to interfere with the internal affairs of England. His course of policy was such as to be wholly incompatible with a free press; his underhand machinations were certain to be exposed where such a press existed. On the Continent he had succeeded in enforcing silence; in England alone an unfettered press was able to direct its assaults both on his policy and his character. No doubt some of the attacks were sharp enough; especially had an emigrant, one Jean Peltier, established a French paper in London called L'Ambigu, which was full of strong invective against the First Consul. Again, the emigrants had not ceased from forming conspiracies against the French Government, conspiracies and the expulsion of the emigrants from England. which Bonaparte delighted to exaggerate, to mingle with doubtful charges of assassination, and to connect (wholly without grounds) with the English ministry. Those emigrants were enjoying the hospitality of England: Otto, the French agent in London, was therefore instructed to bring the matter to the notice of Lord Hawkesbury, and to demand the suppression of the obnoxious papers, and the dismissal of the emigrants from England. Hawkesbury's answers were at first of a peaceful and conciliatory character. He replied that he would consult the law officers on the matter of the press, and would go so far in the matter of the emigrants as to withdraw them from the isle of Guernsey. This answer was followed by still more peremptory demands, requiring effective measures of repression with regard to the press, the withdrawal of the emigrants from Jersey, the removal from England of the Bourbon princes, and the expulsion of all emigrants wearing the orders or distinctions of the old régime. What rendered these demands more grotesque was the fact that the Moniteur, the official paper of France, was constantly full of assertions of the complicity of the Government with the attempts of assassins in France, and of libels on the English Constitution; there was even an English paper, the Argus, published in Paris, a counterpart of the Ambigu of Peltier. To demands thus formulated no English Government could afford to give a temporizing answer, and Hawkesbury replied that the freedom of the English press was limited by English law alone, and that the exercise of hospitality could not be curtailed. At the same time, as Peltier appeared to have exceeded all legal license in his writing, an action was commenced against him, and in spite of a brilliant defence by Macintosh he was found guilty.[19]

Such conduct on the part of Bonaparte was rapidly changing the feeling of England and rendering war inevitable. It became evident that, no longer to uphold an aristocratic government, but for our very existence as an independent country, we must plunge into war. Consequent change of feeling in England. As this feeling gained ground, so did the desire that when that war should come it should find England in the hands of its ablest statesmen, and not in those of an incapable man like Addington. Even from the first, as soon as it was understood that Pitt, in deference to the King's weak state of health, had consented to forego the support of the Roman Catholics, his immediate friends had desired his return to office, and had regarded as false his position as the supporter out of office of Addington's weak ministry. Already, in November 1802, Canning, Negotiations for Pitt's return. Nov. 1802. the most eager of his supporters, in conjunction with Lord Malmesbury, had set on foot an address to Addington begging him to resign. This plan had been peremptorily closed by Pitt himself. Indeed, the obstacles in the way of his resumption of office were very awkward. In some sort the creator of the present ministry, and known to have had a share in most of their earlier measures, Pitt could not come forward in opposition till some flagrant instance of incapacity or some great national crisis should justify such a step. The only other hope was that modesty (which was not one of his characteristics) might induce Addington to acknowledge his incompetence, and himself advise the restoration of Pitt to the ministry. Fully aware of these obstacles, and feeling his position an anomalous one, Pitt withdrew for a time from Parliament.

Napoleon examines the resources of Egypt, England, and Ireland. 1803.

During his absence the difficulties with France continued to increase, and the signs of Bonaparte's intention of making war sooner or later became more obvious. At length, in January 1803, was published a report of Colonel Sebastiani, who had been sent by Napoleon, nominally for commercial purposes, to examine the resources of Egypt and the East; in fact, so far from being commercial in its character, the report was devoted almost entirely to show with what ease Egypt could be again conquered by the French. It was impossible that such an official document could be issued by a power which was really friendly. At the same time Bonaparte had sent both to England and to Ireland agents who, under the same commercial pretext, were really minutely examining the resources of England and instigating Irish rebellion. Nor was the question of Malta as yet at rest. The project of obtaining a guarantee from the European powers had failed, and in face of the constant aggressions of Bonaparte, it was impossible for England to evacuate the island with the certainty that it would be immediately occupied by the French. But Bonaparte was still anxious to keep the occasion of war in his own hands, and still hoped to impose His interview with Lord Whitworth. Feb. 18, 1803. upon the feeble ministry of England. He summoned Lord Whitworth, the English ambassador, to an interview, in which he declared that he did not desire war, but that he would rather see England in possession of the Faubourg St. Antoine than of Malta, that he was ready to attempt a descent upon England if necessary, but how much better would it be for England to join with him and share his spoils and his greatness. Two things only were necessary for this,—the suppression of the press, and the removal of Georges, a Chouan leader and emigrant, from English protection. As for the counter-charges of the appropriation of Piedmont and of Switzerland, they were but trifles not worth mentioning. Almost immediately after this the Moniteur declared, in its annual account of the condition of the nation, that as long as party government existed in England an army of 500,000 must be kept on foot for defence and vengeance.

The militia embodied. March 11, 1803.

This was too much even for Addington, and on the 8th of March a message was brought down from the King to the Commons, declaring it necessary that measures of precaution should be adopted, alleging for this the great military preparations which were going on both in Holland and in France, which were in fact intended for St. Domingo, but which in the feverish state of international feeling were a just cause of uneasiness. In accordance with this message the militia were on the 11th ordered to be embodied. In spite of all that Bonaparte had done he pretended to be indignant at this step; and at a public reception at the Tuileries accosted Lord Whitworth with passionate words, Failure of renewed negotiations for Pitt's return. accusing England of driving him into war. Then at length Addington began to yield to public feeling, and through Lord Melville opened negotiations for the return of Pitt to office. But a frank resignation and an open acknowledgment that Pitt was the better man of the two was beyond him. He stipulated that Grenville and Windham, who had throughout opposed him, should be excluded from the new arrangements. He wished Lord Chatham to assume the position of nominal Prime Minister, while he and Pitt should be equal Secretaries. Pitt was not a man to accept a position of even nominal subordination; he did not even hear Lord Melville's proposition to the end. "Upon my word," said he, "I had not the curiosity to ask what I was to be." And thus England plunged afresh into war, while all her best statesmen were still excluded from office. For the crisis came rapidly nearer. The feeling of the nation was aroused, and Addington could no longer withstand it. An ultimatum with regard to Malta was drawn up, demanding its retention for ten years, its surrender after that period to the inhabitants, and the cession to England in its stead of the island of Lampedusa. Bonaparte was somewhat taken aback by this exhibition of vigour, but as his answer to the ultimatum was not satisfactory, Lord Whitworth demanded his passports, and War declared. May 18, 1803. withdrew from Paris on the 12th of May. The French ambassador left London on the 16th, and on the 18th a declaration of war was published.

Character of the war.

This war was of a distinctly different character from that which preceded it. The one had been undertaken in the interest of aristocracy and of property, in a panic of fear of the growth of the liberty of the people; now the whole nation was driven to defend itself, and, while defending itself, Europe also, from the aggressions of a gigantic and all-absorbing ambition. The outbreak of this war marks a change in the career of Napoleon. He had hitherto acted, nominally at all events, as an agent for the propagation of national liberty. He had pretended throughout to be spreading the principles of the French Revolution; he had met with much sympathy from downtrodden nations; he had found it easy to overwhelm effete and unpopular dynasties. He was now entering upon a war against the people themselves, and, though success at first attended his arms, when it became evident that it was not assistance against tyrants but subjugation to a foreign power that he brought, the efforts to oppose him became national, and before the uprising of nations he ultimately succumbed. Bonaparte's first step after war was declared corresponded exactly with this Napoleon arrests all the English in France. change. Crowds of Englishmen had thronged to see with their own eyes the condition of revolutionized France. All the English in France between the age of eighteen and sixty, numbering it is believed about 12,000, were suddenly by a single decree taken prisoners, and kept confined till the close of the war, thus spreading sorrow and discomfort broadcast through England. The pretext was the capture of two ships before war was declared; they were not however captured till after the ambassadors had withdrawn, nor, as has subsequently been made evident, till Bonaparte had himself ordered an embargo to be laid on the English shipping.

He excites discontent in Ireland.

Bonaparte's interference in the affairs of Ireland had also its share in rendering the war truly national. It had been hoped that the great work of the Union, following the suppression of the Rebellion of 1798, would have introduced peace and prosperity into the island. Nor at first did the hopes appear ill founded. Both Lord Hardwicke, the Lord-Lieutenant, and Lord Redesdale the Chancellor, appear to have believed in the rapid improvement both of the physical and political condition of the country. The Catholics, although disappointed of their hopes, seem to have understood the state of affairs which obliged Pitt to refrain from the further prosecution of their claims, and to have postponed all idea of present agitation.

But the miserable cultivation and the prevalence of waste lands in Ireland allowed of the existence of an extremely ignorant and prejudiced peasantry, and among them it was not difficult to excite again their old animosity to England. Bonaparte took advantage of this opening, and while the Peace of Amiens lasted many French agents seem to have been poured into Ireland, both for the purpose of inquiring minutely into the resources of the English Government there and of establishing a connection with the discontented peasantry. Many intercepted letters proved to Government the existence of these agents; their presence in Ireland was excused, like Sebastiani's mission to Egypt, by the assertion that they were merely commercial agents, following a system which had obtained in France ever since the time of Colbert. Their success was limited by the distaste of the Catholics for the French Revolution. In spite of Bonaparte's intercourse with Rome and the establishment of the Concordat with Pius VII., by which he established Roman Catholic Christianity as the religion of France, the Catholics could not forget the destructive doctrines which had attended all the former steps of the Revolution. It was therefore among the republicans only (not an influential body) and the ignorant mob that the agitation took any hold. A leader was found in Robert Emmett, the son of a Dublin Emmett's Rebellion. 1803. physician, who with his brother had been more or less implicated in the affairs of 1798. He visited Paris early in the Peace, had personal interviews with the First Consul, and returned home ready to instigate the rebellion. The other leaders were Russell, a religious enthusiast, and Quigley, a professional agitator. About Christmas 1802 the conspirators began their operations. Arms and powder were collected at depôts in Dublin, and members of the conspiracy were enrolled. Some of these informed the police of what was going on. The explosion of the powder in one of the depôts, and the discovery of pikes there, still further warned the Government, and Emmett considered it necessary to hasten the outbreak. Saturday the 23rd of July was the day fixed for the rising. It proved to be little more than a city riot. As no soldiery had been brought into Dublin, it was for some time in the hands of the mob, who plundered and got drunk. The only important incident of the riot was the murder of Lord Kilwarden, the Chief Justice, who, returning from his country-seat with his daughter and nephew, was met in the streets by a part of the mob and brutally murdered. The arrival at the castle of his daughter, who had contrived to make her escape from the murderers, at length set the military in motion, and the mob was dispersed without much difficulty. The depôt was discovered, with the supply of arms, green uniforms, and the proclamation of the provisional government which was to have been established. Emmett sought safety by pretending to be a French officer; but the French were not liked; his flight was not favoured by the people; he was captured and hanged. The importance of the outbreak lies chiefly in the disclosure of the deepseated hostility of the Irish, and the necessity laid upon the English of establishing a series of coercive laws, which remained in force for many years, and went far to neutralize the healing effect which it was hoped the Union would have exercised.

The declaration of war called Pitt from his retirement, for the war, in the form it had now assumed, seemed to demand the co-operation of all patriotic men. Pitt therefore again appeared in the House; he thought it his duty to see, now that war had come, that no laxity was displayed in its support, and returned to his place, intending, as he himself said, not to join in any opposition to the ministry so long as their measures seemed energetic, but to forget all that was past (and many things had been done of which he could not fully approve) and devote himself to insuring vigour and activity for the future. Few positions could now be more embarrassing than that of Addington. His peaceful plans had come to nothing; and conscious, as he could not but have been, of his own inferiority, and of the general desire under present Difficulty of Addington's position. circumstances for Pitt's return to office, he had now to withstand the powerful attacks of an unusually able Opposition, and the damaging criticism of a so-called friend whom all the world regarded as his rival. And it must be owned that Pitt's views were far more in accordance with the views of the Opposition than with those of the minister. Grenville, Windham, and Spencer, the consistent supporters of the preceding war, had entered into a close alliance with Fox, its consistent opponent. Their common view, which was shared by Pitt, was that the condition of the country was so critical that nothing but the ablest possible ministry could be tolerated—that the present ministry, consisting as it for the most part did of the least able members of Pitt's old Government, was wholly incompetent to meet the present dangers, and that the one thing necessary was a great combined arrangement by which the administration of affairs should be intrusted to men of all parties of the widest experience and the greatest talents. They were naturally anxious that Pitt, whose views they knew to be almost identical with their own, should openly join them, but, as has been seen, although he shared their views, he felt himself still bound to give some sort of support to a ministry which he had himself created, and which nominally upheld the same principles which he had always advocated. In this trying position Addington's Government showed His vigorous measures inefficiently carried out. very creditable activity. Their budgets, with which Pitt had at first been discontented, were now conceived in accordance with his own principles. A considerable portion of the increased burden was borne by taxation, especially by the reimposition of a property tax, and loans were contracted only as far as needful. Militia to the number of about 70,000 were embodied; an army of reserve 50,000 strong, raised by ballot to serve for four years, voted; and by a Bill, known as the Military Service Bill, the enrolment as volunteers of all men between the ages of seventeen and fifty-five provided for. The number of these volunteers speedily rose to beyond 300,000. As the standing army was kept at about 120,000, there must have been of one sort or other upwards of 500,000 armed men for the purposes of defence. The temper of the nation was thoroughly roused. Pitt himself, as Warden of the Cinque Ports, raised and commanded 3000 volunteers, and caused considerable offers of gunboats to be sent in to the Government from the maritime towns.

But great though these preparations were, they were carried out with a dilatoriness and want of energy in which Pitt and the Opposition found much cause of complaint. Windham was an enthusiast for the regular army and disliked the volunteers. Pitt pointed out, that although volunteers were exempted from serving in the militia, they could only claim their exemption when properly enrolled and armed, and the issue of arms was so slow as to throw a great damp upon volunteering, which this exemption was intended to encourage. There was also a great blot in the administration which afforded plentiful room for attack. Lord St. Vincent, great Increasing opposition. as an admiral, had proved himself incompetent as the head of the Admiralty. In the desire of the ministry for economy many of the gunboats and other ships had been rapidly broken up, and the stores in the dockyards sold, much of them to the French themselves. Attacks directed on these points began to tell. Other circumstances combined to drive Pitt to declare himself. He was perfectly conscious of his own greatness, and of the universal feeling that his present position was unworthy of him, and he believed that he was the right man to be intrusted with the Government in the present crisis. It was with much alarm that he heard that the King's health was again failing. There seemed every prospect that a regency would be necessary. If that regency were established, it was understood that Lord Moira, the Prince of Wales' chief adviser, would be called upon to form a Government. Pitt declared that under those circumstances he should be compelled to decline office; fearful of being thus permanently removed from the ministry, he thought the time for action had arrived; if he was to be minister at all he must take steps to become so; he therefore declared his total want of confidence in the present ministry, and stated his intention, Pitt offers to undertake the Government. should the state of the King's health permit, of writing to him, stating his views, and putting himself at his Majesty's service; he desired, if possible, a broad Government, but that if the King objected to that he should state his willingness to attempt to form one even upon a narrow basis. He further declared his belief that after the recess the combined Opposition would be sufficiently strong to compel the ministers to resign. Addington also was so conscious of this, that when, on the reopening of Parliament on the 5th of April, the Opposition assault began, he authorized Lord Eldon to enter into communication with Pitt. Through the Chancellor the letter before alluded to was laid before the King. Meanwhile the ministerial majorities were diminishing. The Irish Militia Bill was carried by a majority of twenty-one only, at that time regarded as very small. On the 23rd Fox moved to refer all Army Bills to a committee of the whole House. His motion was rejected by only fifty-two; while, Addington resigns. April 26, 1804. two days afterwards, on his attack on the Army of Reserve Bill, the ministerial majority again sunk to thirty-seven in a House of 443 members. Upon this Addington resigned.

On the 30th Mr. Pitt was informed of the King's desire that he should draw up a plan for a new administration; he accordingly stated, first in writing, and subsequently (May 7) in a long interview, Pitt desires a broad ministry. what he considered best for the country. On three grounds he strongly urged a large and comprehensive ministry. The war was a national one, and promised to be both long and expensive; to induce the nation to make the required sacrifice unanimity was most desirable. To wage war singlehanded was beyond the power of England; but while party divisions were rife in Parliament the confidence of foreign nations could not be gained. And lastly, if the King wished to keep the question of the Catholic emancipation from discussion, it was desirable that there should be no formidable Opposition certain to make use of the Catholic claims as a means of offence against Government. On these grounds the new minister urged the admission of both Grenville and Fox to the ministry; but he here found the King obstinate. Grenville he would admit, Fox never. The course that statesman had followed with regard to the American War, his strong language in favour of the Revolution, his strenuous opposition to the last French war, had rendered him politically hateful to the King. His friendship for the Prince of Wales, and the share which the King believed he had taken in the Pitt yields to the King's opposition. direction of the Prince's conduct, had excited his strong personal dislike. To these prejudices Pitt, in an evil hour for himself, yielded. He had indeed, as he had already stated, intended to do so. He consented to exclude Fox from his arrangements. But he still hoped to win the support of his old colleague Grenville, and since Fox, with great magnanimity, told his partisans that he had no wish that the King's personal prejudice against himself should influence their conduct, he was not without hopes of strengthening his Government by the addition of some of the Whigs. These hopes were disappointed. The two sections of the Opposition held separate but simultaneous meetings. In one Grenville declared he would not take office without Fox, and his followers accepted his decision; in the other the friends of Fox He forms a Tory ministry. determined to decline office if their chief was excluded. No resource was therefore left to Pitt but to form his government as best he could upon a narrow Tory basis. The political sections from which he was enabled to draw were his own immediate followers, and such of the late minister's as did not feel themselves pledged to follow Addington in his retirement. The result was not wholly satisfactory. Lord Eldon, the Duke of Portland, Lord Westmoreland, Lord Castlereagh, and Lord Hawkesbury, continued to hold office, Lord Hawkesbury surrendering the important post of Foreign Secretary to Lord Harrowby, and receiving in exchange the Home Office. Dundas, who had been created a Peer as Lord Melville, became First Lord of the Admiralty, while Lord Camden, Lord Mulgrave, and the Duke of Montrose, also became members of the Cabinet, which consisted of twelve, all of whom, with the exception of Pitt and Castlereagh, were in the Upper House. Several other men of importance were admitted to subordinate offices; Canning became Treasurer of the Navy, Huskisson one of the Secretaries of the Treasury, and Mr. Perceval, the future Prime Minister, remained in the position of Attorney-General.[20]

Difficulties of Pitt's position.

The change of ministry implied a complete change of policy. As Addington's ministry had been from the first intended as a peace ministry, so the accession of Pitt to office implied a vigorous prosecution of the war. But it was with very maimed influence that it entered upon its work; all hope of acting in foreign affairs with the full weight of a great combined national party behind him had disappeared from Pitt's view. The same opposition which had opposed Addington was ready to oppose him; while Addington himself, unable to act in any great or magnanimous manner, had also joined its ranks, and was in open opposition to his old friend. It was with a majority scarcely larger than that of the ministry he had succeeded, supported by the same mediocre men, and aided in the Commons by one minister alone, that Pitt found himself obliged to encounter the bitter enmity of Bonaparte.

Real danger from France.

The necessity for energy Pitt probably felt more strongly than any of his contemporaries. Strange incredulity was expressed both by Fox and Grenville as to the reality of the invasion with which Bonaparte was threatening England. Yet it is certain that the intention of invasion was perfectly real. Bonaparte had determined to carry out the threat he had let drop to Lord Whitworth. In the first place it suited his policy to keep his army together and thoroughly employed. The temper of the Parisians was lukewarm; he felt that some pressure was necessary to induce them to give him the support his ambition required, and such coercion could in no way be more certainly procured than by exciting the personal devotion and enthusiasm of his soldiers by unfolding before them constant visions of glory. At the same time his exasperation against the English led him to underrate the difficulties which lay in his way, and to believe in the real practicability of his scheme. The minute and careful preparations in which he engaged are incompatible with the idea that the invasion was a mere feint. In all the ports of the Channel boats were being built; even inland towns with any water communication with the sea were busily employed in the same labour. A great basin was constructed at Boulogne, of a peculiar shape, intended to allow of an extremely rapid embarkation of the army, which was encamped upon the neighbouring heights, and fortifications were raised to render the flotilla secure from the sea. Yet in all probability, had the plan been tried, it would have proved a failure. The boats used to transport the troops were to be of several classes and sizes, and the mere action of the tides, which are of great strength and complexity in the Channel, would have been exerted quite differently on these different sized vessels, and would almost of necessity have separated the flotilla; yet the whole success of the movement depended on the simultaneous landing of the army at one point. Moreover, for the passage of heavily-laden and flat-bottomed boats an absolute calm of two days would have been necessary, and a calm of two days is a phenomenon of rare occurrence in the Channel; while, thirdly, success presupposed the complete absence or idleness of the British fleet.

Preparations for defence.

However, whether practicable or impracticable, Napoleon intended to make the effort, and Pitt, in common with the English nation, believed in his intention. The excitement was universal. The country was entirely occupied in drilling and warlike preparations; martello towers were built along the southern coast, beacons rose on every hilltop, a great canal or ditch was dug along the coast of Kent, and Pitt excited the ridicule of Grenville by the energy with which he superintended the numerous reviews which he set on foot through his brother Lord Chatham. Such defences have been derided as ridiculously inefficient, and certainly neither the Kentish ditch nor a few round towers mounting one gun each, nor a half-disciplined militia, could have checked the French army had a landing been effected. The real value of such preparations was the life and energy and courage which they roused in the people. The more real work of the minister was the restoration of the national forces to their full efficiency, and the effort to induce the other countries of Europe to combine in withstanding the dangerous ambition of the French usurper.

The Additional Force Bill.

With regard to the army the great ministerial measure was the Additional Force Bill. There existed at this time two systems of enlistment, the one for a limited term, the other for the general service; the recruiting officers in these two branches had entered into a sort of competition, the effect of which was that very large and quite unnecessary bounties were offered to induce men to enlist on one or other of the two systems. A second difficulty was one which constantly attends a volunteer army, the difficulty of procuring a constant and regular supply of recruits. The intention of the Additional Force Bill was to obviate these two difficulties. Pitt thought that this might be done by raising an additional force of 50,000 men, whence a supply of trained soldiers could be constantly passed into the regular army. There already existed an army of reserve, collected under the Reserve Bill passed by the late ministry, but its full complement of 50,000 had not been reached; there was a deficiency of 9000 men. At the same time the militia had risen much beyond its usual numbers. It was at present 74,000 strong, instead of 40,000 for England and 8000 for Scotland, which was regarded as its normal strength. The present Bill reduced the militia to its old dimensions. The remainder, with the 9000 as yet unraised men of the army of reserve, was to form the additional force from which 12,000 annually were to pass into the army. Parishes were to be assessed at a certain number of men, and if they failed to supply them a moderate fine was to be laid upon them, to go to the general recruiting fund. It was an attempt, in fact, to introduce in some degree the principle of compulsory service, already slightly recognized in the militia. The newly-organized body had this also in common with the militia, that it was connected with the regular army by forming second battalions not bound to serve abroad, but to be used to supply the place of the regular army when it was required for foreign service. It was supposed that there would be no difficulty, when military habits were once formed, in finding the annual 12,000 to feed the regular troops. The whole strength of the Opposition was brought to bear against the Bill, which certainly, in its compulsory clauses, introduced a new principle into the English military system, and it was only with the comparatively weak majority of forty that it was Increase of the navy. carried through the House. As far as the naval forces were concerned energy and activity were all that was required, and these were supplied by Lord Melville. In the first year of his administration he could boast that he had added to the fleet no less than 166 vessels, either completed or in a state of forwardness, while during the same period 600 ships had been docked and repaired.

Napoleon attempts to form a coalition.

With regard to foreign affairs Pitt's position did not at first seem hopeful. He wished to follow out the policy of the last war, and to form a third coalition. But Bonaparte was engaged in almost the same process in opposition to England, and the chances at first seemed all in favour of the success of the French in this vast competition. By the Treaty of Lunéville those German princes who had been dispossessed by the advance of the French to the Rhine, and by the withdrawal of Tuscany from the House of Austria, were to be indemnified at the expense of the ecclesiastical principalities of the Empire. This arrangement might have been carried out without much difficulty by the Germans themselves, but the avarice of the great powers Prussia and Austria, and the difficulty which the smaller princes found in obtaining their restitutions, rendered mediation necessary, and by a strange act of folly the arbitration of Bonaparte himself was sought. He had used this opportunity to flatter Russia by suggesting that the Emperor should be joined with himself in the duty of arbitration, to please Prussia by unduly favouring its claims, and to foment all the rivalries of the Germanic body. He had further, on the rupture of the Peace of Amiens, suggested that some of the points at issue should be decided by the arbitration of Russia, hoping thereby to silence for ever any complaints Alexander might have to urge against him, so that neither that power nor Prussia was disposed to be unfriendly to him, while Austria was exhausted under the late heavy blow which had been dealt her, and much occupied by the rivalry of the other German powers. But in spite of this appearance of friendship of both Russia and Prussia for France there were secret causes of hostility between them. Alexander had seen through the somewhat barefaced attempt to purchase his favour by the offer of the position of arbitrator, and while consenting to act as mediator, had continued to urge the injustice of the conduct of the French with regard both to Piedmont and to Germany. To such an extent had the angry correspondence been carried, that a scene had taken place (July 29, 1803) between Bonaparte and the Russian ambassador very similar to that with Lord Whitworth. With Prussia also the ambition of the first Consul had prevented him from completing his work of conciliation. He had displeased that Court by a persistent refusal to withdraw his troops from Hanover. On the whole, the feeling of Lord Harrowby, when he entered upon the plan of forming a coalition, was that his best hope lay in the direction of Russia; but that all Europe would remain quiet till the great invasion of England should either have destroyed that power or by its repulse offer a favourable opportunity for assaulting France.

Napoleon's conduct with regard to Georges' conspiracy.

Napoleon's own conduct went far to remove all expected difficulties. No one could have played more completely into the hands of his enemies. A conspiracy was set on foot against his Government by the royalists; it was principally in the hands of Georges, the Breton leader, and of General Pichegru. At the right moment the Count of Artois was to appear upon the scene, and the Bourbons to be re-established. The police and Bonaparte obtained early information of it. Bonaparte made use of his knowledge to foster the conspiracy, and to implicate General Moreau, whom he had always regarded as his rival since the battle of Hohenlinden, and who appears to have been guilty only of having consented to be reconciled to his old friend Pichegru, from whom political differences had separated him. Although there is not the slightest proof of the truth of the fact, it was asserted that the plan included the assassination of the First Consul; and, determined to make the most of his knowledge of the conspiracy, Bonaparte sent agents, who entrapped two of our ministers abroad, Messrs. Drake and Spencer Smith, into consenting to the conspiracy. Of the real plot they knew nothing, but were led to believe in the existence of some royalist scheme and to lend it their aid. Bonaparte then charged them publicly with having joined in a plan of assassination, demanded, and ultimately (April 1804) succeeded in procuring, their expulsion from Bavaria and Wurtemburg, and sent to all the Courts of Europe a coarse and virulent attack upon the English Government. The reply of Lord Hawkesbury (April 30)—for this took place during the Addington ministry—to the effect that England had the right, and would use the right, of taking advantage of the political situation of countries with which she was at war, justified the conduct of England in the eyes of all foreign powers, and excited a strong feeling against the conduct of the Consul. The conspiracy was followed by a still more startling act of violence. Unable to secure the person of the Count of Artois, who received timely warning of the plot, and burning to strike some blow against Murder of the Duc d'Enghien. March 21, 1804. the Bourbons, Bonaparte, regardless of the neutrality of the country, sent a body of troops into Baden, there captured an innocent and unoffending Bourbon prince, the Duc d'Enghien, son of the Prince of Condé, brought him into France, had him summarily tried by a military tribunal, and immediately shot. The effect of this great crime upon the crowned heads of Europe was instantaneous, and was not decreased when Bonaparte Napoleon Emperor. May 18, 1804. threw off all mask of moderation, and gave an outward form to the despotism he had long practised by declaring himself Emperor. But there were still many difficulties to be overcome before the Courts of Europe could be brought to see the absolute necessity of forming a coalition. It required a whole year of negotiation, and of further proofs of Napoleon's character, before Pitt's object was attained.

Lord Harrowby's retirement. Dec. 1804.

The loss of his able Foreign Minister added fresh difficulties to his negotiations. In December 1804 Lord Harrowby was disabled by an accidental fall, and had to resign the Foreign Office. His place was supplied by Lord Mulgrave; but Pitt was made conscious of the weakness of his ministry by the severe blow that the loss of one member of it was to him. Addington, since his retirement from office, had been in open opposition to the minister; but as their views were generally similar, and the division between them had been entirely owing to the soreness arising from the manner in which Addington had lost the Addington rejoins the ministry. premiership, there seemed no reason for a further separation. Addington therefore rejoined the ministry, taking the title of Lord Sidmouth and the office of President of the Council, which the Duke of Portland was compelled by ill health to resign. Pitt's majority was thus increased, although the strength gained by the adhesion of Addington himself to his ministry was not much.

Spain joins France.

While the negotiations for a coalition were continuing, England carried on the war singlehanded, and before long such power as Spain possessed was added to that of France. To support his vast expenditure Napoleon demanded subsidies from foreign countries under his influence, and a treaty had been made with Spain, now ruled entirely by Godoy, Prince of the Peace, by which a considerable sum was annually paid to the French exchequer. Although this was virtually an act of hostility to England, the English ministry, aware of the weakness of Spain, had passed it over in silence; but at the same time our minister, in February 1804, declared that the preparation of any naval armaments in Spanish ports would be regarded as a cause of war. In September the English admiral on the coast of Spain notified the existence of such an armament in Ferrol; a strong note was written to the Spanish minister, and ultimately the English ambassador retired from Madrid in November, and in December war was declared. But already in October, before the declaration of war, the English had seized four treasure-ships, well knowing that the money would sooner or later find its way into the hands of Napoleon. The justice of the action was questioned; but, considering the declaration of the preceding February, and the known fact that Spain paid subsidies to France, the seizure seems to have been thoroughly justified.

Failure of attempts to destroy Napoleon's fleet.

While our enemy was thus strengthened by the open adhesion of a country which could at least assist him with ships and convenient harbours, our efforts to weaken his preparations for invasion, which were continually being pushed on, were unavailing; descents were made upon the coast and a few outlying boats captured; but the great attempt which was made in October to destroy the flotilla produced no result. The expedition is known as the Catamaran expedition. It was proposed by means of vessels filled with combustibles to burn the flotilla in Boulogne harbour, but when the fire-ships were sent in, they either failed to reach the vessels, or a passage was made for them, and they drifted harmlessly through.

It was only outside the limits of Europe that the English showed a decided superiority, and that great successes kept up the hope of both ministry and people during this fearful period, when the arrival of Bonaparte in England was daily expected, and when as yet all Europe seemed to hold aloof from our alliance. Surinam had been Success of the war in India against the Mahrattas. conquered from the Dutch, and in the year 1805 a great war was brought to a triumphant conclusion in India. After the capture in 1799 of Seringapatam, the capital of Tippoo Sahib, the ruler of Mysore, the territories of Mysore had been divided by what is known as the Tripartite Treaty between the English, the Nizam of the Deccan, and a descendant of the ancient Rajahs of Mysore, whom Hyder Ali had dispossessed. By these new acquisitions the English had come in contact with the great Mahratta power.

Extent of the Mahratta empire.

The great empire conquered by this warlike race, which had been founded by Sivajee in the seventeenth century, extended from Delhi in the north to the Tumbudra, a southern tributary of the Kistna on the south, and from the Bay of Bengal on the east to Gujerat in the west. The authority of the Rajah of Satara, nominal head of the race, had passed into the hands of his minister the Peishwa, who resided at Poonah, in the Western Ghauts. His authority had in turn become nominal, and the empire was broken up among five great chiefs, of whom the Peishwa may be ranked as one. The others were the Bonslah or Rajah of Berar, occupying the north and east of the Deccan, and including Cuttack and the mouths of the Mahanadi in his territories; Sindia, who occupied the north-west of the Deccan and Kandesh, and whose property extended northwards through a portion of Malwa as far as Delhi, of which he held possession, and westward into Gujerat, where he had considerable property; Holkar, who lay almost entirely in the Malwa, north of the Vindyha range of mountains, to the east of Sindia, between him and Berar; and, lastly, the Guicowar, who possessed in Gujerat all except those territories that were in the hands of Sindia. He alone of the Mahratta chiefs preserved neutrality during this great war. To the south of the Mahratta states lay that part of the Deccan which was governed by the Nizam, now tributary to the English; and south of his dominions, touching on its north-west the southern extreme of the Mahratta country, was Mysore. All three Presidencies were therefore in contact with one or other of the Mahratta states.

At the beginning of the century the Mahrattas were at war among themselves, and Holkar, in his rivalry with Sindia, had thought it advisable to expel the Peishwa from Poonah, and to set up a creature of his own there. The deposed Peishwa sought an asylum among the English in Bombay. The presence of the predatory chief Holkar in the south induced the English to occupy their northern frontier in Mysore with an army of observation. While things were in this position the Peishwa offered to enter into a perpetual treaty with the English if they would reinstate him in Poonah. Lord Wellesley Lord Wellesley's subsidiary system. was at this time Governor-General of India. He had set on foot a policy which had been much opposed by the authorities in the India House, and the support of which by Pitt had been constantly assaulted by the Opposition. This policy is known as the subsidiary system. It was found impossible, in the presence of the native powers, naturally anxious to rid themselves of the English conquerors, and certain to find ready assistance from the French, to remain in a state of inaction. On the other hand, Wellesley did not think it desirable or just to conquer and annex all the neighbouring territories, which would in fact only have enlarged the sphere of danger. He preferred to establish English influence, to oblige the native rulers to enter into permanent treaties with him, to place the political management of their provinces in the hands of a British resident, to pay for the support of an army largely officered by Europeans, while the native princes, at the same time, retained the domestic government in their own hands. It is now generally allowed that this was a wise system, but at the time the outcry against it was so great, that even after the success of the Mahratta war Wellesley had in fact to yield to it, and returned to England in 1805. While this policy, however, was uppermost, such an offer as that of the Peishwa was certain to be accepted, and at the end of 1802, by the Treaty of Bassein, the English accepted the friendship of the Peishwa, and undertook to restore him.

Outbreak of the Mahratta war. 1803.

The threatening attitude of the English compelled the Mahratta chiefs for a time to lay aside their private enmities, and Holkar, Sindia, and the Rajah of Berar made common cause against the invaders. What rendered this coalition more formidable was, that Sindia had established in the Douab, or district lying between the Jumna and the Ganges, a French state in the hands of a certain M. Perron, in which there was a considerable number of troops drilled in the European fashion, and officered by Frenchmen, while in the south, the neighbourhood of Pondicherry, which had been restored to France by the Peace of Amiens, gave an opening to that power to interfere should war again break out in Europe. The first act of the war was rapidly and successfully carried out. General Wellesley marched, in the spring of 1803, from the frontier of Mysore, was joined by Colonel Stevenson with the Nizam's army from Hyderabad, recaptured Poonah on the 20th of April, and by the middle of May had reinstated the Peishwa. The General at that time believed that all disputes with the Mahratta powers would be settled by negotiation. It before long became evident that on the part of the Mahrattas these negotiations were a feint, and that the three chiefs, with their French allies on the north, were still determined to fight, and had designs upon the territories of the subsidiary Prince, the Nizam, who was at the point of death. To withstand this great confederacy a large and well-combined plan of operations was made. To secure unity of action, General Wellesley was invested with supreme authority in the Deccan, General Lake was given similar powers in the valley of the Ganges, while secondary attacks were directed against Sindia's territories in Gujerat under the command of Colonel Murray, and against the Bonslah's province of Cuttack under Colonel Harcourt. The confederation was thus assaulted simultaneously at four points. In the meantime the rupture of the Peace of Amiens had become known. Pondicherry was carefully watched, and French troops recently landed there taken prisoners.