HISTORY OF 



EUROPE. 



255 



Nofwithstanding this observation, 

 which had been so often made, and 

 ably iUnstrated in l)Otl» Houses, as 

 well as various productions of the 

 press, though indeed the fact re- 

 quired but little illustration, we 

 madly preserved in a course which 

 supposed tliiit the only nerve of 

 power was tinaiice, and tiiat our 

 own finances were inexiiaust- 

 iblc, 



JLord Hawkesbury affirmed, that 

 though he could not foretell the 

 period when it would atrive, yet it 

 was easy to foresee, that want of 

 means must inevitably befall a coun- 

 try, when every medium ot public 

 and private transaction was reduced 

 to paper, esteemed of no value. 



Tile debate closed with gj In fa- 

 vourof the motion, and 6 against it. 



While ministry were providing, 

 at this enormous expence, for a vi- 

 gorous prosecution of the war with 

 France, the nation was on the poiiit 

 of being involved in a serious dis- 

 pute with another republic. Since 

 the recognition of the indepen- 

 dence of the British colonies in 

 North America, under tlie name of 

 United States, they had preserved 

 a watchful eve on the conduct of 

 the British court and ministry, con- 

 vinced tliat the lo:is of so consider- 

 able a portion of the empire had 

 not been submitted to by the go- 

 vernment of this couii'ry without 

 the keenest regret ; and that the 

 re-acquisition of it at some future 

 period, according to the usual spirit 

 of sovereign jiowers in similar situa- 

 tions, was an idea not totallv re- 

 linquished in the political specula- 

 tions of our statesmen. On this 

 ground they viewed the revolution 

 ill I'rance, and its subsequent erec- 

 tioi; into a commonv.calth, as 

 .events that added security to their 

 ^wu fcituutioji, by removing all pro- 



bability that the French, after ab- ^ 

 juring a royal goyernm.ent, would ^ 

 passively permit North America to * 

 revert by conquest to the British 

 monarchy. They were of late be- 

 come less disposed than ever to be 

 satisfied with the conduct of Great 

 Britain. A short time after the 

 breaking out of the war with the 

 French republic, the British go- 

 vernnient ordered all the American 

 can vessels laden with corn to be 

 seized,' arid their cargoes to be de- 

 'tained, paying a reasonable price 

 tor both those and freight. This be- 

 haviour was construed by the Ame- 

 rican states as an action cf infrac- 

 tion on their Independence ; and 

 was highly resented by the people 

 at large iu that country. This pro- 

 ceeding of the British government 

 was not long after followed by one 

 that glave still greater offence. In 

 the ensuing month of November, 

 an order was issued for seizing aU 

 American vessels carrying provision* 

 and stores to the French colonies. 

 The consequence was, that in the 

 space of five months the number of 

 American vessels seized in virtue of 

 this order, amounted to more than 

 six hundred : — nor were American 

 vessels permitted to sail from the 

 British islands without giving pre- 

 vious security that they would land 

 their cargoes in British or in neu- 

 tral ports. These transactions were 

 accompanied by another, that ex- 

 cited universal alarm among the in- 

 habitants of the United States. The 

 British troops in C;Miada retook 

 possession of some forts on tho 

 boundaries, which had been ceded 

 to the Americans by the treaty of 

 peace in i7^i3. All these difFer- 

 ent events had raised a great fer- 

 mentation amonij them. Those 

 who favoured the Frencn repre- 

 sented the English as arming to re- 

 cover 



