It might have been conjectured, that after the battle of Maida, the siege of Gaeta would have been raised, but unfortunately the Prince of Hesse being wounded, the lieutenant-governor was obliged to capitulate. This event seemed for a time to change the aspect of affairs, and a sanguinary decree was issued by the French government, declaring the Upper and Lower Calabria in a state of war, and subjecting them to all the rigors of military law; and Massena was invested with the supreme command of a powerful army, destined to reduce Calabria to obedience. On August 16, Massena entered Cosenza, the capital of Upper Calabria; and before September the greater part of that province was in the hands of the French. Sir John Stuart having become second in command, owing to the appointment of General Fox,† as commander in chief of his Britannic Majesty's forces in Italy, he was appointed to make a second expedition to Calabria; but upon the arrival of Sir John Moore, as second in command, Sir John Stuart, from motives of delicacy, declined serving any more in Italy, and returned home to England. Sir John Moore was now dispatched by General Fox, along the coast of Naples, to reconnoitre the country; and to hold a regular communication with Sir Sidney Smith. The result of the observations made was unfavorable to any further prosecution of the war in Sicily; and it was thought expedient to withhold supplying the Calabrian peasantry with any more arms and ammunition, as it was demonstrated that no real advantage was obtained, and that it only tended to promote a savage kind of warfare. The coolness of the British commander was not pleasing to the Sicilian court; the Queen, who was now governed by the councils of the Marquis di Circello, in vain endeavored to urge the absolute necessity of making an immediate attack upon Naples; but General Fox was deaf to every remonstrance of this nature. The grand object for which the British troops were now engaged, was the preservation of Sicily: the safety of that country would be endangered were the troops withdrawn on any other service. There were various other cogent reasons ↑ Brother to the Right Honorable Charles James Fox. VOL. II.-27. Χ which tended to show the disadvantages which must attend these offensive operations which were meditated. The climatet of Sicily was unhealthy, and an epidemic disorder raged with peculiar fury at the autumnal season of the year; many of the British troops had fallen victims to this disorder: and it was well argued by the British commanders, that were they to make a sacrifice of their men in such an attempt, granting that they succeeded, was the Neapolitan army competent to keep possession of it? If not, which experience fully proved was the case, what eventual benefit would ensue? In addition to this, there were such serious difficulties to encounter in the attempt, as would be almost impossible to overcome. Palermo was surrounded with the emissaries of Joseph, who would give the earliest information of the least movement of the British troops, and consequently Naples would be placed in a complete state of defence. Her Sicilian Majesty was, notwithstanding, so fixed upon acting according to the plan she had communicated to the English Generals, that she collected together an army solely composed of her own subjects, and placed the Prince of Hesse, the brave commandant of Gaeta, at the head of it. She yet fondly hoped that by this measure the English might be induced to form a junction with them; but here also her Majesty experienced a severe disappointment and mortification, for the determination of General Fox not to concur in this expedition, was unalterably fixed, and the operations of the Calabrian army were, of course, impeded, and the project abandoned. It is requisite here to observe, that the opinions of General Fox, and Sir John Moore, were perfectly in unison with those of Sir John Stuart, who was so dissatisfied with the aspect of affairs in Sicily, as to have been on the eve of departure, when he received that intelligence of the situation of the French army which occasioned the battle of Maida: that able commander, as well as his successors, had investigated the character of the Sicilians, and the result of the investigation was, that they The climate of Naples and Sicily is extremely hot in summer. The Siroc, or South East Wind, is extremely unhealthy. A curious account of the effects of this wind is given in Brydone's Tour through Sicily and Malta. were no ways affected to the government; that the army was ill paid, and ill clothed; and in a very disorganised state. It was upon a full conviction of the above circumstances that the commander in chief, and his coadjutor, firmly opposed any attempt to expose the British army to danger, without a prospect of any advantage being obtained. CHAP. X. Review of Prussian Politics. Death of Mr. Pitt. New Administration. Declaration of his Britannic Ma jesty against Prussia. THE electoral house of Brandenburgh had long possessed the government of Prussia, but in 1704, the Elector Frederick was crowned King of Prussia. All Europe beheld with rapturous astonishment the illustrious deeds of Frederick the Great; and happy would it have been had the reigning monarch of that kingdom acted upon his system of policy. That the King of Prussia should have been forced from his neutrality by the cajoling influence of Bonaparte excites no astonishment; but he was at length made one of the most mischievous tools of the usurper. A violation of the neutrality of Prussia had taken place, by the French forces under Bernadotte entering Anspach; a feeble remonstrance was made, and his Prussian Majesty afterward offered to become a mediator between France and the allied powers. At this the court of Berlin was preponderating in favor of Great Britain, incensed by the invasion of the Prussian territories. Baron Hardenberg, in the name of his Prussian Majesty, had pledged himself, that in case the propositions he had submitted to Lord Harrowby, " For the restoration of a general peace on a permanent footing," should be rejected, that " Prussia, in case of receiving subsidies from England, would declare war against France." Analogous to this strong declaration, a proclamation was issued to the inhabitants of Franconia, stating, that the unwarrantable outrage which had been committed on the neutrality of Prussia, would be duly noticed, and measures taken immediately for demanding proper satisfaction. And Baron Hardenberg, in an official letter transmitted to Marshal Duroc, and M. Laforest, dated Berlin, October 14, 1805, expressed the astonishment and indignation of his Prussian Majesty, upon learning that such an outrage had been committed on his territories, after the exemplary fidelity with which he had kept his engagements to France, and the advantages which she had derived from his firmness; declaring, that he never viewed himself as absolved from all former engagements "by her conduct; and that he would hereafter direct his efforts to the re-establishment of peace on a solid foundation; while at the same time he was compelled to place his armies in those positions necessary for the due protection of the states of his kingdom. The menaces contained in this letter were followed up by strong measures; the army of Prussia was instantly put in motion; the Russians were permitted to pass through the Prussian dominions, and the Emperor of all the Russias was received in the most cordial and flattering manner by his Prussian Majesty, at Potsdam. These events had taken place prior to the battle of Austerlitz. Hitherto there had been prima facie evidence of an honorable disposition in the court of Prussia; but we have, and we regret to have it to record, as black an act of perfidy as ever was transacted under the peculiar circumstances of the case. Prussia had manifested a sincere regard for the interest of the allied powers, Great Britain especially; a firm reliance was placed on her political integrity and unlimited confidence: yet, while she held out the fairest promises of good faith, at that very time she was crouching down to France, in the most ingnominous manner. Count Hangwitz was sent to Vienna, to negociate a secret treaty with the Emperor of France; the terms of which were, that by ceding three of his provinces, Anspach, Bareuth, and Cleves, Neufchatel and Valengin, he might be put into the possession of the Electorate of Hanover, appertaining to his Britannic Majesty. Thus, by this secret treaty of Vienna, Hanover was bartered away, and was soon filled by Prussian troops. To prevent that general burst of indignation which so nefarious an act might be expected to produce, it was Jesuitically stated, that the Prussian troops occupied Hanover merely for ensuring its tranquillity, until the conclusion of a general peace. This was not all-Great Britain was yet to experience a greater act of flagrant injustice from Prussia. Having fradulently obtained possession of the Electorate of Hanover, under the immediate influence of Bonaparte, a proclamation was issued by Count Schulenberg, in the name of the King of Prussia, ordering," The ports of the German Ocean, and the rivers which empty themselves into it, to be shut against British shipping and trade, in the same manner as when Hanover was occupied by the French;" and an instrument was drawn up, stating, that Hanover, which by right of conquest appertains to the Emperor of France, was by him transferred to the King of Prussia, in consideration of the cession of three of her provinces. The disastrous events of the late campaign had greatly affected the mind of Mr. Pitt. That great statesman was advised by his physician, Sir Walter Farquhar, to try the effects of the medicinal waters of Bath; but his frame was now approaching to the verge of dissolution. While at Bath his disorder rapidly increased, when he returned, by easy stages, to London; and soon after he departed this life.t There were none of his colleagues able to fill up the mighty void occasioned by his death; consequently, an entire new administration was formed: Lord Henry Petty, the youngest son of the Marquis of Lansdown,‡ was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer; Mr. Fox, Secretary of State for foreign affairs; Mr. Charles Grey, now created Lord Howick, was made First Lord of the Admiralty; and the honorable Thomas Erskine, was created a peer, and was appointed to the high situation of Lord High Chancellor. In fine, all the leading members of the ci-devant opposition, became now the ministers of the crown. The new ministers, who had been uniformly loud in their condemnation of Mr. Pitt, for continuing the war, found themselves compelled to follow, in this respect, the conduct of the late minister. The base conduct of the King of Prussia, was the first + A Memoir of the Life of Mr. PITT closes this Chapter. |