105 



Conduct of the French in Hatiover. 



[Sept. 1, 



this folitary cxreption, the Frencli had 

 laid down For thcinfclvf.s a very difFeit^nt 

 ryllciii of c'ondu(^t. Policy, in fart, l'ii<r- 

 gcllcdto liicin couciliutory mcafurcs; anrl 

 us pluiidcT was their oljject, they clearly 

 faw, thiit hy prantiiit; us exiiioiicL', tlu-y 

 fhould the nioft (iTfctiiiilly drain the conn 

 try of its rrfources, and reap the fruits 

 ol'our labours. 



y\p;recably Jo tliis idi-a, Mortier had 

 fpccificd OS (liftiii('t articles in the con- 

 vention, that the ti)cn cxi(tiii<; Hanove- 

 rian ininifiry fhould bo diflf'hed, and fnch 

 changes adopted in tiic electoral confii- 

 tiition, as he inijiht think advifeable ; yet 

 when he came to orirani/.e the povern- 

 ttient, he rcinfhitcd moil of the old ad- 

 minifiration in hi^h places, exclndini; 

 only liudlolf, Von Arnf\v.Tldt and Kicl- 

 mavinfefrge, who, after having delcrted 

 their trull, l;ad lied for fecurity into 

 Mecklenburg. 



The form of crov( rninent adojiicd by 

 the French was purely linaiicial, it being, 

 of courfc, their fole concern to extract 

 from lh(' country as inndi as poiVible 

 din-ing the piriod of their occu[)!ition. 

 To this end, they clialililhefj an execu- 

 tive committee, whofc talk it was to 

 jirrange and levy the contributions, and 

 fatisfy all the pecuniary demands of 

 France. Dnrhach, JMoriur's brother-in- 

 law, whofe familiarity with the ficrman 

 language, and extenlive acf|uaintance 

 nniong the tJernians, litt<-d him for the 

 oilice, was conmiiilioncd to ("elect this 

 committee, and he accordingly fixed on 

 llofrath Patje, chief jufi ice A'on Ihe- 

 nier, llofrath \'on Iliuiiber, J.audr.ith 

 \'on Stediug, and l.;iudes-Oekonomie- 

 rath Meier, for his aliiltanfs. 



Nor could he have chofen men more 

 fittetl to executi' the olhce imputed on 

 them. 'i'hey confulted the good of 

 the country on every poltible occalion, 

 averted many evils, and made many re- 

 inonllranccs againli the extravagant de- 

 mands of the French. Among thefe five 

 memhers of the executive committee, 

 Patje and X'on Bremer diliinguillied them- 

 fehes in a peculiar manner, 'ilie tirft 

 was a patriot in the fiillell fifinihcotion 

 of the term. While devotcfl to IIanu-« 

 ver, and the interefts of his f(jvcreign, he 

 tilled his othcc to the entire futisfaCtioii 

 of the French, and acquired their com- 

 plete coniidence. 



This committee was nJTifted by a depu- 

 tation of perfons well verfed in the pe- 

 culiar refom-ces, connexions, and circum- 

 (laiices of the refpecii\ c diltricts to which 

 they belonged, whofe advice was ne- 

 ccli'ary in appreciating the wealth of 



each individiiiil diftrict, and proportion- 

 ing the burden of taxes to its real condi- 

 tion. Their fphcre of action was no lefs 

 important than that of the conuuitti'C, 

 and they acquitted themfelves with 

 no lefs credit. Ihey ingratiated tin m- 

 felves with the connniflioncrs, and liic- 

 ceeded in obtaining their confidence by 

 an upright fylimi of conrluct, in whicii 

 they never loll fight of the iiUereils of 

 their country. 



'i'hefe branches of the government were, 

 howcvir, totally diliiuct tVom the civil 

 adminiliration, in ^^hich the French took 

 no concern. While tht ir ])ccuniary de- 

 mands were fatislicd to the utmoll of 

 their expectation, they did not trouble 

 themielves «ith anyotiier conllderation ; 

 but whenever there was any faihiro or 

 backwardnefs in the fupplics, they would 

 threaten the minifiiy with taking the ma- 

 nagement of the finances into their own 

 hands. They would not have abfiained 

 tiom putting this threat in force, if they 

 had not, in reality, taken meafures to 

 coinince theml'ehes that all Avas done 

 which it was in the jiower of men to do. 

 It was truly allonilhiuii to fee with wiiat 

 indefatigable activity they fcrutinized in- 

 to the revenues of the Ihite, and defeat- 

 ed e\cry jjodible fchcme of deception. 

 'Jhey demanded of all tlie ntuiiliers and 

 boarfis of every province, cxacj lifts of 

 its income and exjiencc>, royal, civil, 

 and military, and infiituted the minuti fl 

 inquiries into the accuracy of fucli Ihile- 

 mciit>. 'J'he tirft authorities of the land 

 were likewift: rcouired to deliver in ex- 

 act ihitiltic accounts of the whole eletto- 

 rale in general, and of each province in 

 particular; and thefe accf)unt.s, conlain- 

 iiig every thing worthy of notice relative 

 to the internal wealth and refourccs of 

 the country, when copied fair on fine 

 royal j)aper, tiiid in a hue hand-writing, 

 were difpatched to the Miniller for tlic 

 Foreign De|.artment at I'aiis. 



The conlequence of this vigilance on 

 the jjart of the Ireiich, was the nun of 

 Hanover. The firlt live inonth.-< had 

 drained it of every dollar which was to 

 be found in it. What the countiy want- 

 ed in ready money it was obliged to fup- 

 ply by its credit ; and while loads of fpe- 

 cie were conveying to Fmnce, its public 

 treafury was overwhehiied in debt, and 

 its inhabitants ftarviiig. Although a due 

 elumate can never be made of oup.-bur- 

 dens individually, yet the following fiatx;- 

 ment will fene to give you an idea tha.t 

 the French are mcrcilcls when plunder is 

 in queftion. The public regulai- ex- 

 penccs are calculated to luHve been — 



l.TLe 



