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ANNUAL REGISTER, 179*. 



interest to renounce its enpiity to 

 France, and to s^e,k in due tiine a 

 reconciliation with 3 power, by 

 proseculinghostllitiesa'^ainstwhicli, 

 it could not derive any advantage. 



Still, liowever, the e^pences that 

 court had incurred in the two pre- 

 cediu'i; yeai/s, was toosfi iou-; an ob- 

 ject to be relinquisiied without 

 nwktng every ettbrt to procure a 

 compensation, lu default of the 

 Germanic diet, Great Britain ap- 

 peared the only quarter left to 

 ■which an address tor pecuniary aid 

 could be preferred with any expec- 

 tation of success. The readiness 

 of tlie British ministry to concur in 

 all designs inimical to the French 

 republic, opened a likely prospect 

 to the Prussian ministry of compass- 

 ing its aim, proviijed it conld con- 

 vince the government of this coun- 

 try thatwithout its assistance Prus- 

 sia was become unable to remain 

 any longer a member of the coa- 

 lition. \n the mean time the Prus- 

 sian monarch, in order to enforce 

 the necessity of complying with his 

 requestj openly declared to the 

 Princes of Germany engaged in the 

 confederacy, that he found him^ 

 self under the necessity ot seceding 

 from it. The motives he alleged 

 for givii>j5 up the contest, were pe- 

 culiarly remarkable. He repre- 

 sented the French nation as uncon- 

 querable : its resources were ex- 

 haustless, and the spirit and num- 

 bers of its people were become ir- 

 resistible : their, enthusiasm over- 

 whelmed all opposition, and the 

 propagation of their principles ren- 

 dered them indefatigable in fra- 

 tningandexecuting every enterprize 

 conducive to that purpose. Such 

 an enemy was i\ A to be combated 

 ■with ordinary resources. He had 

 voluntarily undergone the most 



enormous expenditure while he 

 was able to bear it ; but his means 

 were now totally exhausted, aiij 

 he could not, in justice to his sub- 

 jects, load them with burthens that 

 must wholly oppress and ruin them, 

 without promoting the ends for 

 which thecoalition had beenformed. 



This declaration was accompanied 

 with severe strictures on. the pro- 

 posal made by the couit of Vien- 

 na to arm the peasantry of the 

 frontiers of Germany towards 

 France, as a measure replete with 

 a variety of evd consequences, 

 and wholly inadequate to the end 

 proposed. The French were in 

 £uch force, so thoroughly disci^ 

 plined, and provided with so tre- 

 mendous an artilliiry, tiiat no sud- 

 den rising of an unskilful and raw 

 peasantry, totally unprepared for 

 such a mea.3nre, could be compe- 

 tent to meet so formidable a foe ns 

 the French. Nor did he omit to 

 insinuate the obvious danger of 

 trusting arms to a multilude,among 

 whom the principles of the enemy 

 might be spread with so much ia- 

 cility and speed, as shoitly to cou^ 

 vert them into friends and coadju- 

 tors of the French. Previously to 

 thi.i declaration, which was made to 

 the diet in the month of March, 

 the King of Prussia had ordered 

 General Alollendorf, who had suc- 

 ceeded the Duke of Brunswick in 

 the command of Ills army, to with- 

 draw the Prussian forces, from the 

 territory of Mentz, and to station 

 them at Cologne. He formally 

 signitied this order to Prince Co- 

 bourg, Commander in Chief of 

 the imperial army in the Nether- 

 lands, 



While the Prussian monarch was 

 occupied in the.se measures, the Em- 

 perqr was no less busily enrployed 



in 



