198 ANNUAL REGISTER, ITS'*. 



vernment had been sucK, that be- 

 fore the end of 1798 the navy had 

 been placed on the most formidable 

 footing. Above 300 sail had 

 been put into commission, of 

 which fourscore were of the line, 

 and a hundred frigates. Tlie num- 

 ber of seamen exceeded 70,000. 

 Tlie army had been augmented to 

 100,000 men, including the mihtia, 

 which the excellent discipline now 

 introduced among that body of 

 inen, rendered equal every way to 

 the regulars. The various levies, 

 ■under the name of Fencibles, inde- 

 pendent companies, and volun- 

 teers, amounted to more than 

 40,000 ; and the marines on board 

 the fleet were upwards of 15,000. 

 Thirty thousand Hanoverians, Hes- 

 sians, and other Germans, had been 

 taken into British pay, together 

 with the same number of Prus- 

 sians. 



It was not without sufficient rea- 

 son that the British government 

 had thought proper to make such 

 efforts. The exertions of France 

 had astonished and alarmed all 

 Europe: — she counted more than 

 1,000,000 of men now actually in 

 arms. More than the half of this 

 immense force was employed on 

 the frontiers. 



The republican administration 

 were fully conscious of the critical 

 state they were in, and that if they 

 failed in the struggle, France must 

 submit to the discretion of its nu- 

 merous adversaries. Hence no 

 means were omitted to oppose 

 them on every side ; and fortune 

 had been so favourable to them, 

 that at the close of the year 1793 

 they had assumed a posture that 

 menaced the whole confederacy. 

 The superiority of Great Britain at 

 aea was the only circumstance they 

 4readed ; but here too their efforts 



had been so unremitting, that they 

 found means, notwithstanding the 

 late disaster they had met with at 

 Toulon, to equip a considerable 

 fleet, which was lying at Brest, and 

 witli which they intended to risk 

 an engagement with the British 

 rrmament that was stationed in the 

 Channel to watcl: its motions. But 

 the chief object ef the French at 

 sea, was, to carry on a predatory 

 war with GiTat Britain, by means 

 of their ntmierous privateers. 

 Herein they had been successful, 

 and had taken a large number of 

 British vessels : but these were 

 mostly of inconsiderable value ; 

 the rich merchantmen, sailing un- 

 der convoy, rarely fell into their 

 hands. 



In the mean time a body of ■: 

 Hessian troops, destinedj it was 

 said, to be employed in an ex.pe» 

 dition on the coast of France, ar- 

 rived in a fleet of transports from 

 Germany, to the Isle of Wight. 

 In order to prevent illness among 

 them, through confinement on 

 board, they were landed and quar- 

 tered in that island, there to remain 

 till the expedition took place. 

 The arrival of these troops, together 

 with their landing and going int» 

 quarters, being communicated to 

 the House of Comnons, on the 

 27th of January, a vote of thanks 

 passed for this communication : 

 but on the next day, the measure 

 itself underwent a violent censure 

 from the opposition. It com- 

 plained that, exclusivelyof theillega- 

 lity of the transaction, the num- 

 ber of troops landed, their uU 

 terior destination, and the length 

 of their stay in the island, had 

 not been mentioned in the mes-» 

 sage. These were particularsn 

 a specification of which was ncv 

 ccssary for the satisfaction of the 



public. 



