had left London; and on the 18th of the same month, his majesty's formal declaration of war against France, was laid before both houses of parliament; and, on the 17th of the following month (June) another message from the throne announced to the British senate, the necessity his majesty had been under, to order letters of marque and reprisals to issue against the Batavian republic.

France and England now began to develope their respective means of attack and annoyance. The two countries themselves were no where tangible, and it became evident, that no very decisive blow could be struck on either side. England, being mistress of the seas, would naturally direct her principal attack against the colonies and maritime possessions of her enemy-while France, equally powerful by land, was resolved to attack the commerce of Great Britain, wherever her armies could penetrate, or her influence extend; and, at the same time, she had it in her power, to wrest from her weaker neighbors, a full equivalent for any colonial losses she might sustain. As to Malta, which was the immediate cause of the war, it was so strongly fortified, so well garrisoned, and so outwardly protected, at the same time, by British men of war, that Bonaparte could not entertain the slightest hope of its conquest, though in his estimation it was an object of the first importance; in fact, the first consul expressly told lord Whitworth, that he would rather give up one of the suburbs of Paris to England, than allow her to retain possession of Malta!

CHAP. IX.

First Measures of the English and French Governments.---Invasion and Capture of Hanover by the French.--Contributions levied on the Hanse-Towns. ---Blockade of the Rivers Elbe and Weser by the English.---French Aggressions in the Neapolitan and Papal States.---Boulogne Flotilla.---Internal Defence of England.---Perfidious Detention of the English in France.

SOON after the message of the 8th of March, before alluded to, the British government had taken the precaution of sending a strong reinforcement of troops to the West Indies; and, at the same time, used every possible diligence to equip her fleet, as well as to increase the defensive land force of the country, by calling out the established and supplementary militias, and enrolling an army of 300,000 volunteers:-thus the exertions of government were confined in a great degree to measures of self-defence, which appeared the more necessary, as France was now unoccupied by any war on the continent, had long held out the threat of invasion, and had, accordingly, a numerous army on the opposite coast.

The French government, however, evinced a great degree of vigor, both in precautionary and executive measures; and, a few days after his majesty's message,

they had sent admiral Linois from Brest for the East Indies, with a strong squadron, and 6000 troops on board, who were designed not only to strengthen the garrisons of the French colonies in the east, but also to put the Cape of Good Hope in such a condition, as to resist the most formidable attack from Great Britain. Bonaparte also immediately put the French armies in motion. Large detachments were pushed forward upon Tarentum in Italy, and all the strong posts in the kingdom of Naples, which lay on the Adriatic; while the French generals, charged with the execution of these orders, declared, in their proclamations, that it was necessary France should occupy these important posts as long as England retained Malta.

The French were not less active on the side of Germany. The declaration of war, by the king of England, was laid before parliament, on the 18th of May; and on the 25th of the same month, the French general, Mortier, from his head-quarters, at Coerverden, summoned the electorate of Hanover to surrender. At the same time, it was formally alleged, that Bonaparte wished to occupy that country, merely as a pledge for Malta: subsequent events, however, have proved the insincerity of this profession. Notwithstanding this violation of the German constitution, the great powers of that empire beheld the occupancy of Hanover by the French, with apparent indifference; and thus suffered Bonaparte to possess himself of a country, which not only afforded him

much plunder, but gave him a commanding position in the north of Europe, and enabled him most materially to affect the politics of that part of the continent.

The British government had left Hanover in a great measure to its own means of defence, which the anti-ministerialists of that day loudly complained of; but which appears to have been a prudent, if not a wise measure. It must be allowed, that the power of that electorate was totally unable to cope with the overwhelming armies of France; and, at the same time, it must be acknowledged, that little good could be effected from any force which Great Britain could be able to send over, unassisted by the continental powers, who, as before observed, manifested no disposition to act against France.

However, his royal highness the duke of Cambridge was sent to Hanover, as commander in chief, and proclamations were issued in his name, and that of the Hanoverian government, calling upon all the inhabitants capable of bearing arms, to step forward and defend their country to the last drop of their blood. The royal duke, at the same time, pledged himself to share all their difficulties and dangers, and suffer every privation, in order to oppose an unjust usurpation of his father's electoral dominions. But it must be confessed, there was a wide difference between his situation, and that of the people of Hanover. A frigate was always kept ready to con

vey

his royal highness from the hostile shore, in case

of defeat, whilst the unfortunate Hanoverians had no means of escaping from the victorious and irritated legions of France.

General Mortier also, in his turn, addressed the Hanoverians; and, amongst other observations, told them " that he had heard of proclamations, dictated by the blindest fury, for the purpose of drawing them into a contest, to which they ought to be strangers, and desired them to preserve themselves from an aggression equally absurd and useless, and of which they alone would be victims."

It has been already shewn, that the British government had neglected every means of defence for the preservation of Hanover; and now that the enemy was at the gates, the people in general manifested no disposition to oppose him :-they shewed none of that amor patriæ so inherent in a free people; but, with a mechanical and servile prudence, seemed inclined to adopt that course which promised the least trouble, and appeared the least dangerous. They, therefore, paid more attention to the address of the French general, than the proclamation of the English prince; and remained idle spectators of the usurpation and plunder of their country.

On the 26th of May (1803) the hostile army entered the town of Bentheim, where the garrison, consisting of an officer and thirty-six men, surrendered. themselves prisoners of war. On the 28th of the same month, the French force passed the river Ems, at Mippen; and the next day, a corps of 10,000