take any thing confiderable towards the defence of that country. Thus they overrun the Dutchies of Troppaw and Iagerndorf without much difficulty, and took fuch

measures with the inhabitants, as ftrongly indicated a defign of annexing them to the King's dominion, and thereby entirely rounding his poffeffion of Silefia.

!

N

O equal fpace of time for feveral years paft, afforded fo little domestic matter worthy of obfervation, as that part of the year 1777, which elapfed during the recess of parliament. Neither the town nor the country prefented any new object of party contention. The American war, and many of its confequences, were now fcarcely objects of curiofity, much lefs of furprize; and being in the habit of deriving no benefit. from our colonies, and of confidering them only in a state of enmity and hoftility, it feemed as if their total lofs would be no longer a matter of much wonder or concern; but that rather on the contrary, that event would be felt, as a ceflation from war, expence and trouble; ufually is felt in other cafes.

The lofs and ruin brought upon numbers of individuals, by this fatal quarrel between the mother country and her colonies, was little thought of, excepting by the fufferers, and had, as yet, produced no apparent change in the face of public affairs. For although our foreign commerce, was

by this time, confiderably embarraffed, and loaded with extraordi-* nary charges; although it was al-' ready reduced in fome of its parts, and in others, fuch as the African branch, nearly annihilated; it had not yet received thofe ftrokes, or at least they were not yet so fenfibly felt, which have fince fhaken the mercantile intereft of this country to a degree which it had not often before experienced.

Indeed that commerce, which had fo long equally excited the envy of other nations, and the admiration of mankind, was fo immenfe in its extent, and involved fuch a multitude of great and material objects in its embrace, that it was not to be fhaken by any ufual convulfion of nature, nor to be endangered by any common accident of fortune. It accordingly bore many fevere fhocks, and fuftained loffes of a prodigious mag-. nitude, before they were capable of apparently affecting its general fyftem.

We have formerly fhewn that the American war, from its pecu→ liar nature, and the greatness of the expence, with which it was [C] 2

conducted

conducted and fupplied, had produced a new fpecies of commerce, which, however ruinous in its ultimate effects, had for the prefent a flattering appearance. For this fubftitute, including all the traffick appertaining to or confequent of the war, as well as the commercial fpeculations which arofe by licenced exception or evafion of the feveral reftraining acts of parliament, afforded employment, like a great and legitimate commerce, to an infinite number of perfons, and quantity of fhipping, yielding at leaft equal benefits to the grofs of those who were concerned; and far greater emoluments, devoid of rifque, or even of the employment of much capital, to the principals, than the profits of any real or open trade could poffibly admit.

Thus, however frail its establishment, and neceffarily fhort its duration, a new, powerful, and numerous connection was formed, totally diftinct from the great, ancient, mercantile intereft; and thus, although our Gazettes teemed with bankruptcies, generally doubling and trebling in number, whatever had been ufually known, in the fame time, in this country, yet the gainers, or the candidates for gain in the new adventures, were fo numerous, and prefented fuch an appearance of eafe, affluence, and content, that the plaintive but feeble voice of the unfortunate was little attended to; and the chearfulness which the fplendour and happiness of the former fread all around, prevented any, gloomy reflections from arifing in the minds of those who had as yet no fenfible feeling of the public calamity.

It is true, that the coafts of Great Britain and Ireland were infulted by the American privateers, in a manner which our hardieft enemies had never ventured in our most arduous contentions with foreigners. Thus were the inmoft and moft domeftic' receffes of our trade rendered infecure; and a convoy for the protection of the linen fhips from Dublin and Newry, was now for the first time feen. The Thames alfo prefented the unufual and meláncholy fpectacle, of numbers of foreign fhips, particularly French, taking in cargoes of English commodities for various parts of Europe, the property of our own merchants, who were thus reduced to feek that protection under the colours of other nations, which the British flag used to afford to all the world.

Against this must be fet, that his Majefty's fhips took a prodigious number of American veffels, both on their own coafts and in the Weft Indies. The perfeverance with which the Americans fupplied the objects for thefe captures, by continually building new fhips, and feeking new adventures, feemed almoft incredible. At a time when the whole of a trade, carried on under fuch difcouraging circumftances, feemed to be extinguifhed, the Gazettes teemed again with the account of new captures; which, though for the greater part, they were not of much value fingly, yet furnished, at times, fome very rich prizes; and, in the aggregate, were of a vast amount. They probably much overballanced the loffes which we fustained from their privateers. But it was, to a thinking mind, melancholy, that

we

we had a computation of that kind to make.

The conduct of France during this whole year, in every thing that regarded England and America, was fo lightly covered, and fo little qualified, that it seemed to leave no room for any doubt, (excepting with those who were determined to place fo implicit a faith in words, as to admit of no other species of evidence) as to the part which he would finally take in the contest. As fhe was not yet, however, in fufficient preparation for proceeding to the utmost extremities, nor her negociations with the Americans advanced to an abfolute determination, fhe occafionally relaxed in certain points, when the found herfelf fo clofely preffed by the British minifters, that an obftinate perfeverance would precipitate matters to that conclufion, which the wifhed for fome time longer to defer.

Thus, when a bold American adventurer, one Cunningham, had taken and carried into Dunkirk, with a privateer fitted out at that port, the English packet from Holland, and fent the mail to the American minifters at Paris, it then seemed neceffary in fome degree to discountenance fo flagrant a violation of good neighbourhood, as well as of the ftanding treaties between the two nations, and even of the particular marine laws and regulations eftablished in France, in regard to her conduct with the people of other countries. Cunningham, and his crew, were accordingly committed for fome fhort time to prifon. Yet this appearance of fatisfaction was done away by the circumftances which attended it. For Cunningham's impri

fonment was reprefented to the Americans, as proceeding merely from fome informality in his commilion, and irregularity in his proceedings, which had brought him to, if not within, the verge of piracy, and which were too glaring to be entirely paffed over without notice. And he was,

with his crew, not only fpeedily releafed from their mock confinement, but he was permitted to purchase, fit out, and arm, a much stronger veffel, and better failer than the former, avowedly to infeft as before the British commerce.

It was in the fame line of policy, that when the French Newfoundland fifhery would have been totally intercepted and deftroyed in cafe of an immediate rupture, and that the capture of their feamen would have been more ruinous and irreparable, than the loss even of the hips and cargoes, Lord Stormont obtained, in that critical fituation, an order from the minifters, that all the American privateers, with their prizes, fhould immediately depart the kingdom. Yet, fatisfactory as this compliance, and conclufive as this order appeared, it was combated with fuch ingenuity, and fuch expedients practifed to defeat its effects, that it was not complied with in a fingle inftance throughout the kingdom. It, however, anfwered the purpofe for which it was intended, by gaining time, and opening a fubject of tedious and indecifive controverfy, until the French fhips were fafe in their refpective ports.

It would feem, that Monfr. de Sartine, the French Minifter of the marine, and great advocate for [C] 3

the

October, when it finally evacuated Bohemia. The ground was little lefs difficult in the two former of thefe movements, than in the march to Wiltschitz, and the Auftrians, under General Wurmfer, being now much more powerful, the attacks were more frequent and violent; which, however, produced no other effect than a greater lofs of men on both fides, no advantage of any value being gained by either. It is given as an inftance of the advantage, and a proof of the excellency of difcipline, that a Pruffian regiment, having in one of thefe engagements been fo clofely preffed on all fides, as to be under a neceffity of throwing itfelf into what is called a hollow or fquare battalion, upon repelling the enemy, and in all the heat of a brifk engagement, it instantly recovered its former order of march, with the fame eafe and regularity, that it could have paraded from the ground of exercise on a field day.

During the greater part of thefe tranfactions, Prince Henry continued at Nimes; his army occupying the pots we have already ftated, and enjoying the moft profound tranquillity; being likewife free from thofe incommodities which had diftreffed the King's forces, in a miferable country, rendered ftill more wretched by the badnefs of the weather. When it became at length apparent, that the caution and fituation of the enemy muft unavoidably fruftrate all the views of the campaign; that the taking up of Winter quarters in Bohemia, was from the fame caufes rendered utterly impracticable; and that the approaching feafon

that country without lofs, every day more difficult; the Prince made feveral motions preparatory to that event, but immediately, tending to divert the attention of the enemy from his real defign, and with a hope of leading him to fome change of pofition, which might either on his own fide, or on that of the King's, afford an opportunity for opening a more favourable fcene of action.

The Prince accord

ingly quitting Nimes, Sept. 10th. and turning to the right, advanced towards the Elbe by the way of Neufchlofs, Pleifwedel, and Ausche, and paffing that river at Leutmeritz, encamped not far from thence at Tfchifchkowitz, on the great road to Prague. At the fame time, a part of the left wing, under the Prince of Bernberg, fell back towards the upper Lufatia, until it had occupied the ftrong grounds on the fide of Gabel and Zittau. This movement on the fide of the Prince, obliged Marshal Laudohn to quit the Ifer, and paffing the Elbe and the Muldau, to encamp at Martinowes, near Budin, to prevent his advancing towards Prague. After a number of fairmishes had taken place, and that the armies had for fome days kept thefe pofitions; the Prince quitted his camp at Tfchifchkowitz, and returning without lofs to the confines of Saxony, had entirely evacuated Bohemia by the end of the month.

Nor was the war on the fide of the Auftrian Silefia productive of any action of confequence; for the Pruffian Generals being much fuperior in force to the Marquis de Botta, he was not able to under

take

take any thing confiderable to wards the defence of that country. Thus they overrun the Dutchies of Troppaw and lagerndorf without much difficulty, and took fuch

meafures with the inhabitants, as ftrongly indicated a defign of annexing them to the King's dominion, and thereby entirely rounding his poffeffion of Silefia.

III.

Ne

O equal fpace of time for feveral years paft, afforded fo little domestic matter worthy of obfervation, as that part of the year 1777, which elapfed during the recess of parliament. Neither the town nor the country prefented any new object of party contention. The American war, and many of its confequences, were now fcarcely objects of curiofity, much lefs of furprize; and being in the habit of deriving no benefit. from our colonies, and of confidering them only in a ftate of enmity and hoftility, it feemed as if their total lofs would be no longer a matter of much wonder or concern; but that rather on the contrary, that event would be felt, as a ceflation from war, expence and trouble; ufually is felt in other cafes.

The lofs and ruin brought upon numbers of individuals, by this fatal quarrel between the mother country and her colonies, was little thought of, excepting by the fufferers, and had, as yet, produced no apparent change in the face of public affairs. For although our foreign commerce, was

by this time, confiderably embarraffed, and loaded with extraordinary charges; although it was al-' ready reduced in fome of its parts, and in others, fuch as the African branch, nearly annihilated; it had not yet received those strokes, or at least they were not yet so fenfibly felt, which have fince fhaken the mercantile intereft of this country to a degree which it had not often before experienced.

Indeed that commerce, which had fo long equally excited the envy of other nations, and the admiration of mankind, was fo immenfe in its extent, and involved fuch a multitude of great and material objects in its embrace, that it was not to be fhaken by any ufual convulfion of nature, nor to be endangered by any common accident of fortune. It accordingly bore many fevere fhocks, and fuftained loffes of a prodigious magnitude, before they were capable of apparently affecting its general fyftem.

We have formerly fhewn that the American war, from its peculiar nature, and the greatness of the expence, with which it was [C] ż

conducted