'^18 ANNUAL REGISTER, 179-i. 



rive a luiid of spirit and of resist- 

 ance, tliat, aided by its native 

 strength and genins, would ueary 

 ont liie paiience and expectations 

 of the allies, more prompted by tlie 

 personal views of their rnlers, than 

 by their public interests to engage 

 in the destruction of the Fvencii 

 system of government. For tlir>e 

 reasons the majority of the nation, 

 though cordially abhorient of tiie 

 iitrociov.s conduct of tlie French 

 republicans, and nowise inclined 

 to give their jirinciples admittance 

 into this country, still bitterly la- 

 nunted that spirit of inveteracy to 

 their principles, which had put 

 arms into our hands for their CKtir- 

 jiatitm ; as if the experience of all 

 agc-s has not invariably borne wit- 

 ness, that persecution is the feeblest 

 weapon wherewith to conquer the 

 human mind ; and that opinions al- 

 ways make the greater prn^ress, 

 from tliecudeavours tooppo?etl)em 

 with any other arms than those of 

 reasoning and argumentation. 



Great was the fermenta'ion oc- 

 casioned amopg all ranks at the 

 prospect ftf the uncertainty attend- 

 ing the ministerial measures, and 

 of thefatal consequences thatwouki 

 j)robably result from their failure, 

 Numbers considered the minister 

 as influenced by other motives than 

 his own, to continue a war, evi- 

 dently of a more dangerous as well 

 as of a more destructive nature 

 than any antecedent one, and of 

 which, from iIk- iluctuation of fr-r- 

 tune that had hiiherto attaided it, 

 theduravic.n threatened tobe consi- 

 derable, allowiu,r even that l]ie ul- 

 timate issue, noi withstanding some 

 unfavouiable appearances of late 

 might prove altogether not unpros- 

 perous, with what a price must ;my 

 advantages be piuxhased ! After 



the profusion of lives a^nd of trea - 

 sure they would cost, what wrouUi 

 Great Britain finally reap ? The 

 utmost that could be expected in 

 the hopes of reasunable people wa* 

 that France, exiiausted as well r.s 

 her cneuiies, would at last consent 

 to remain within her antient limits, 

 andgi\e up what she had seized. As 

 to t!»e conquest of that rich, popu- 

 lous, and extensive country, it ne- 

 ver entered into the expectation of 

 any rational and well-informed in- 

 dividual. 



Such being the general opinion 

 of those in whose knowledge aiiit 

 understai;ding men at large were 

 disposed toconfide, it waswiih much 

 grief and anxiety that the enlight- 

 ened part of the public, boih in 

 France and England, conteiuplated 

 the pertinacity with which the war 

 was now carried on by both parties, 

 and threatened to becomestill more 

 destructive, from the accession ot 

 fresh auxiliaries on both sides j ei- 

 tlier bribed by subsidies to lend 

 their assistance, or stimulated by 

 motives of fear or of jealousy to 

 become parties in the contest. The 

 speculations in writing or in con- 

 versation that took up the interval 

 of hostilities in the winter of 1/93 

 and the ensuing spring, were much 

 of this tendency, — deploring the 

 probable continuance of the war, 

 but foreseeing no period of its ces- 

 sation. Ihis indeed could not ap- 

 pear otlieiwise than remote ; the 

 motives of this unfortunate war 

 being diversities of s)pinion, the 

 usual obstinacy with which men 

 maintain tliese, afforded a sad pre- 

 sage of the fatal length of a dis- 

 pute that iiuoned, in the persua- 

 sion of multitudes, the dearest con- 

 cerns of mankind, and that couid 

 not be tei-minatcd wliile cither of 



the 



