and that for these, and many other reasons too numerous to be here detailed, that a petition should be presented to parliament, praying its repeal, by Mr. alderman Combe; that the representatives for the city of London should be instructed to support it; and that every exertion should be made to get rid of a tax, at once so oppressive and inquisitorial. It was accordingly presented to parliament, which, with its consequences, we shall notice in its proper place. The deaths of John Fitzgibbon, earl of Clare, lord high chancellor of Ireland, and of Francis Russell, duke of Bedford, about this period, both characters of no common stamp, are worthy of commemoration in our historic page. Of the former we have taken particular notice in our selection appropriated for such purposes, and the latter gave occasion for an eulogium, pronounced upon him in the house of commous by Mr. Fox, and which shall be noticed in its place. We shall briefly enumerate the leading and material points which the treaty of Amiens embraced, and shall defer our particular consideration of them till we shall have laid before our readers the parliamentary proceedings of the year prior thereto, and connected with it*. Art. I. declares the reestablishment of peace between the contracting parties, and that each shall use their utmost endeavours towards its maintenance. Art. II. stipulates for the restoration of all prisoners of war or hostages, within six weeks from the de of the ratification; each party respectively discharging all advances made by any of the contracting parties for the maintenance of the prisoners in the countries where they have been detained. A commission to be appointed to determine the compensation to be made under this article. Art. III. His Britannic majesty restores to France, Spain, and Batavia, all the possessions and colonies which may have been occupied or conquered during the war, with the exception of Trinidad and Ceylon, which, by articles IV. and V. Spain and Batavia severally cedes and guaranties in full possession and sovereignty to his majesty. Art. VI. The port of the Cape of Good Hope remains to the Batavian repub ic in full sovereignty, in the same manner as prévious to the war, and the ships of every kind belonging to the other contracting parties shall be allowed to enter the said port, and there purchase provisions as heretofore, without being liable to pay other imposts than such as the Batavian republic subjects its own ships to. Art. VII. The territories and possessions of her most Faithful majesty are maintained in their integrity, such as they were antecedent to the war, excepting at the river Arowari, from where it empties itself into the ocean above Cape North, near the islands Nuove and Penetentia, about 1 and 1-3d degrees of north latitude to its source, and afterwards in a right line drawn from that source to the Rio Ranto, towards the west ;the northern bank being the French boundary of the French Guiana, and the south bank the boundary of the Portugueze Guiana; the navigation * Vide official copy in the "State Papers," page 608. of of the river being open to both. Art. VIII. The territories, possessions, &c. of the Sublime Porte are maintained in their integrity as they were before the war. Art. IX. The republic of the Seven Hlands is recognised. Art. X. The islands of Malta, Goza, and Camino, are to be restored to the order of St. John of Jerusalem, under conditions expressed in thirteen articles, to the following effect: -the knights of the order are invited to return to Malta, and there elect a grand master; any election made previous to the signing of the preliminaries to be null and void. In order to the greater independence of the chapter, no individual belonging either to England or France to be admitted into the order. A Maltese language to be established; proofs of nobility not necessary to admission of knights into this language; they shall, however, enjoy all the privileges, &c. of the other knights, and at least half of the municipal, administrative, civil, judicial, and other employments depending on the government, shall be filled by the inhabitants of the islands of Malta, Goza, and Camino. The British troops to evacuate the island and its dependencies within three months from the exchange of the ratifications, or sooner if possible, when it is to be given up to the order, provided the grand master, or commissioners properly authorised, are there to receive it, and the Sicilian troop, be arrived. The king of Napies is be invited to send 2000 troops, natives of his dominions, to serve in garrison in the island for one year after the restoration of the knights, or longer, should not the Maltese force be at that period deemed competent by the guarantying powers, to garrison the island. The independence and neutrality of Malta and its dependencies are proclaimed, and the former guarantied by Great Britain, France, Austria, Spain, Russia, and Prussia, the four latter powers being invited to accede to the stipulations. The ports to be open to the vessels of all nations, with the exceptions of those belonging to the Barbary powers. Art. XI. The French troops shall evacuate Naples and the Roman states, and the British shall evacuate Forto Ferrajo, and all the ports and islands that they occupy in the Mediterranean and Adriatic. Art. XII. directs the evacuations, cessions, and restitutions, named in the treaty, to be made in Europe within one month; on the contitinents and seas of America and Africa in three months; and on the continent and seas of Asia in six months after the ratification. Art. XIII. The fortifications, &c. of the ceded places to be delivered in the state they were in at the signing of the preliminaries. Three years to be allowed to persons to dispose of their property in the cases of cession, and in the interim to be allowed the exercise of their religion, and the enjoyments of their fortunes. Art: XIV. All sequestrations, Exc imposed by either party, to be taken off on the signature of the treaty; all cases of law or equity between the subjects of any of the parties, to be referred to a competent tribunal. Art. XV. The fisheries on the coasts of Newfoundland and its dependencies, pendencies, and in the gulph of St. Lawrence, to be placed on the same footing as they were previous to the war. The French fishermen and the inhabitants of the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, are to be allowed to cut such wood as may be necessary for them in the bays of Fortune and Despair during the first year, reckoning from the ratification of the treaty. Art. XVI. stipulates the restoration of all captures at sea, made in the Channel or North Seas, after a space of twelve days, reckoning from the ratification of the preliminary articles: after one month as far as the Canary islands, as well in the Mediterranean as in the Ocean; after two months from the Canary islands to the equator; and after five months in all other parts of the world. Art. XVII. Ambassadors, &c. to enjoy the same privileges, &c. as before the war. Art. XVIII. The branches of the house of Nassau to receive an equivalent compensation for the losses which they may prove to have sustained, as well with respect to private property as by the change of consitution adopted in the Batavian republic. Art. XIX. The present definitive treaty is declared common to the Sublime Porte, which is invited to transmit its act of accession as soon as possible. Art. XX. The contracting parties to deliver up, upon authorized application, persons accused of murder, forgery, or fraudulent bankruptcies, committed subsequent to the conclusion of this treaty, provided the evidence of the crime shall be such that the laws of the place in which the accused person shall be discovered, would have authorized the detaining and bringing him to trial, had the offence been committed there; the party making the requisition to defray all expenses attending its execution. Art. XXI. The contracting parties promise to observe all the articles faithfully and sincerely, and generally reciprocally to guaranty them. Art. XXII. The present treaty to be ratified by the contracting parties within thirty days, or sooner if possible, and the ratifications shall be exchanged in due form at Paris. Done at Amiens, 27th March 1802. : A separate article guards against any prejudice that might arise in future to the powers or to the persons concerned, by the omission of some titles, which might have taken place in the treaty and that the French and English languages made use of in the copies of the treaty should not form a precedent, or in any manner prejudice the contracting powers whose language was not made use of; and some other matters of little moment. And to the eigtheenth article there was appended a secret article, by which the Batavian republic was guarded from finding any part of the compensation decreed by that article to the house of Nassau*. The contracting parties were the king of the united kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on the one part; and the French republic, his majesty the king of Spain, &c. and the Batavian republic, on the other. A very few days after the arrival The above treaty was printed at Paris, and circulated by couriers to Holland, Spain, &c. &c. &c. the night before it was signed at Amiens. of of the news in England of the conclusion of this treaty, an official letter from lord St. Helen's at Petersburgh, announced the agreement of the courts of Sweden and Denmark to the convention signed with Russia, respecting the rights of neutral powers; and that the Swedish ambassador had been distinctly informed by the count de Hotschoubey, the Russian minister, that as the motives which had occasioned the late rvival of the system of armed neutrality were now happily done away, that system was considered by the court of Russia as absolutely cnnulled and abandoned, not only 25 a general code of maritime law, but even in its more limited meaning, of a specific engagement between Russia and the other confederates. By this declaration, joined to the effect of the treaty of Amiens, Great Britain was in peace and friendship with all the powers of Europe, and it did not appear that there could be any questions in reserve which were important enough soon to embroil the political system of Europe: and the treaties of Luneville and Amiens appeared to have permanently settled the fate of the different nations and the extent of their dominions. Such was the position of affairs in Europe at the commencement of the month of April. VOL. XLIV. II CHAP. CHA P. IX. Parliamentary Proceedings.-Administration questioned as to the Sailing of the Brest Fleet, and the French recent Acquisitions-in the Lords—and Commons. New Speaker.-Printers' and Booksellers' Petition.-Debate on the Prince of Wales's Claims to the Arrears of the Dutchy of Cornwall.-Supply for two Months Debate thereon- and on Mr. Robson's Charge of the Insolvency of Government. - Debate on the American Treaty Bill.-Eulogium pronounced on the Duke of Bedford by Mr. For. FTER repeated short adjournments, both houses of parliament assembled on the 19th of January, when the earl of Carlisle, in the lords, pressed upon the attention of that house, the very great uneasiness those short and repeated intermissions of the meetings of parliament had upon the people at large. He insisted, that it was the duty of ministers to assign their motives for adjourning that house so often. He wished to be informed, whether ministers had known of the intention of France to send a vast armament from that country to the West Indies before the signing of the definitive treaty of peace? Whether that was done in consequence of an agreement between the two countries? and, whether his majesty's ministers had taken the necessary precautions to guard against the consequences that might follow from the French having such a force in the West Indies? But it was not alone the great accession of force to France in that quarter of the world which was to be dreaded; the power of Spain would be vastly augmented five Spanish ships of the line sailed from Brest with the French fleet, and under the protection of its flag; which, added to nine, the Spanish force at the Havapuah, would render that power truly formidable. And all this was done before it was known whether Great Britain had made peace with Spain or not: because, his lordship added, for any thing we knew to the contrary, we were still at war with that power. He could find no document by which he was to conclude that we were at peace with her; and that, therefore, he wished his majesty's ministers would satisfy the public upon that head. He wished then to ask ministers whether we were at peace with Spain or not? To that part of the prelimi nary treaty by which the island of Trinidad was ceded to this country, it did not appear that the consent of Spain had either been asked or obtained. No negotiation was carried on, nor treaty entered into between any Spanish and British minister. Was it not necessary then to know how we actually stood with respect to that country? Lord Pelham (one of the secretaries of state) in reply, informed his lordship and the house, that it Was |