198 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



emergencies of the war, are creating 

 a pernicious increase of that sort of 

 money in the country, which, in be- 

 coming incommodious to the pub- 

 lic, might produce an interruption 

 of the commerce of the interior ; 

 and, therefore, in order to prevent 

 the .disadvantageous consequences 

 of this circulation of the enormous 

 quantity of the small money, and at 

 the same time to procure means to 

 proprietors of considerable quanti- 

 ties of that class of money, to dis- 

 pose of it without difficulty or dis- 

 advantage, we, with our usual pa^ 

 ternal care, have determined to 

 open a loan, to be accepted from 

 our excise-officers in all provinces, 

 in small money, at four per cent, 

 interest per annum ; the whole to 

 be under the direction of our minis- 

 ter of state, count Struensee, and 

 the bills to the bearer will consist of 

 tlie sums of 25, 50, 100, to 1000 

 rix -dollars. 



Given at Potsdam, November 18, 

 179-t. 



(Signed) 

 Frederick William, Rex. 



Letter from the dule of Brunstutcl to 

 the king of Prussia. 



THE motives,_sire, which m'ake 

 me desire my rccal from the 

 grmyare founded upon the unhappy 

 experience, that the want of con- 

 nection, the distrust, the egotism, 

 the spirit of cabal have disconcerced 

 the measures adopted during the 

 two last campaigns, and still dis- 

 concert the measures taken by the 

 combined armies. Oppressed by 

 the misfortune of being involved, by 

 the errors of others, in the unfortu- 

 nate situation wherein I find mvself, 



I feel very sensibly that the world 

 judgesofmihtary characters by their 

 successes, withoutexaminingcauses. 

 Raising the siege or the blockade of 

 Landau will make an epoch in the 

 historyof this unfortunate war; ind 

 I have the misfortune of being im- 

 plicated in it. The reproach will 

 fall upon me, and the innocent will 

 be confounded with the guihy. 

 Notwithstanding all misfortuaes, I 

 would not have given way to my 

 inclination of laying at your ma- 

 jesty's feet my desire of relinquish- 

 ing a career which has been the 

 principal study of my life; but when 

 one has lost one's trouble, ones la- 

 bour, and efforts ; when the objects 

 of the campaign are lost, and there 

 is no hope that a third campaign 

 may offer a more favourable issue, 

 what part remains to be taken by 

 the man the most attached to, the 

 most zealous for, your majesty's in- 

 terests and your cause, but that of 

 avoiding farther disasters ? The 

 same reasons now divide the powers 

 which have hitherto divided them : 

 the movements of the armies will 

 suffer from it, as they have hitherto 

 done; tlieir motions will be retard- 

 ed and embarrassed, and the delay 

 of re-establishing thePrussianarmy, 

 politically necessary, will become, 

 perhaps, the source of a train of 

 misfortunes for next campaign ; the 

 consequences of which are not to 

 be calculated. It is not war which 

 I object to J it is not war which I 

 wish to avoid ; but it is dishonour 

 which I fear in my situation, where 

 the faults of other generals would 

 fall upon me, and where I could 

 neither act according to my prin- 

 ciples nor according to my pros- 

 pects. Your majesty will, perhaps, 

 remember what I had the honour to 

 represent to you the day you quitted 

 Eschevcilcr : 



