so 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



to direct their movements against 

 tlie allies. The plund*T of" every 

 denomination which became the 

 ]5rize of the French, was eqtially of 

 inmiense value, and of the hif^hest 

 utility !"he rapidity with which 

 t!ie allied troops everywhere re- 

 (Mcd before them, left no leisure 

 for the preservation of their ma^ra- 

 z'ues and stores ; and had the 

 Ficnch made themselves masters of 

 these alone, they would have found 

 enough to supplv the demands of a 

 who'e campaign. The gaiety with 

 which the reception of the French 

 was everywhere accom;)an"ed, was 

 a remarkable contrast to the sullen 

 silence with which the, Flemings 

 hid beheld the arrival of the Aus- 

 trian troops, and viewed their de- 

 parture. Tiiey seemed so pleased 

 with liieir new guests, that they 

 met them at their gates with wine 

 and other refreshments, and hailed 

 them as their deliverers from op- 

 pression. We have seen in the 

 course of this work, that several 

 years before the French revolution, 

 the imperial govern.'uent had be- 

 come iiatcful to the higher orders 

 among the Flemish nation, on ac- 

 count of tlie premature and imi'.o- 

 litic reforms of the Fmpeior Jo- 

 seph II. A.S the higher ranks were 

 discontented from a recollection of 

 the past conduct of the house of 

 Austria, so the lower classes were 

 moved and ag!t;ited by (he ex- 

 ample of France ; — and such in ge- 

 neral is the brief history of insur- 

 rections, revoUs, and revolutions. 

 The poor, forming the mass nf the 

 p ople, are always persuaded that 

 they have spmething good to l»ope 

 for from a diange of govenunent. 

 The rich and great, dissatisfied with 

 their ant i'-iu rftlers, and afraid of 

 tl.cir return topowct, suffer things 



to take their course. The reign 

 of popular orators commences : 

 ontjages follow : the greater part 

 of the nation are overawed by fear: 

 an apprehension ofpopularviolence, 

 on the one hand, and a mistrust 

 of royal amnesties on the other : 

 a general listlessness and despond- 

 ency prevails : an indifference about 

 all political matters, which by the 

 silent lapse of time strengthens the 

 hand of usurpation. The revolu- 

 tions of France and of the low 

 countries, may be clearly traced to 

 the same origin : the faults of their 

 respective governments, but prin- 

 cipally their corrupt administration 

 of the finances, squeezing payment 

 for soldiers, and pensions for cour- 

 tiers, out of the blood and vitals of 

 the people ; premature and rash 

 innovations ; and a multiplicity and 

 fluctuation of councils and laws, 

 which perplex the minds of plain 

 men, and leave them in some mat- 

 ters at a loss to know what is the 

 precise conduct that they ought to 

 hold with respect to government. 

 Confidence in government once 

 lost, is not to be restored by ma- 

 nifestos and proclamations. It 

 becomes impossible to arrange the 

 people around a centre of com- 

 mon opinions: scarcely are there 

 two men who entertain ex"ctly the 

 same sentiments concerning pub- 

 lic aflairs. An appeal is made, not 

 to public law and the lights of na- 

 tions, but to arms ; and all things 

 are determined by physical force, 

 instead of moral persuasion. 



In the mean time the loss of 

 Oudenarde had been . followed by 

 that of Ghent, whicli the French 

 entered on the 5th of July.. This 

 large city enabled tliem to station 

 in it a numerous force, and to keep 

 the allies in its neighbourhood in 



continual 



