206 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1794. 



from the present continental confe- 

 deracy. 



THE period being arrived, in 

 which his Prussian majesty is 

 forced to discontinue talcing that 

 active part in the present war, 

 which hitherto has been the efFect 

 of his generosity, and pure patrio- 

 tism ; on account, and in conside- 

 ration of what is owing by his ma- 

 jesty, to the preservation of his own 

 estates, and to the welfare of his 

 subjects, his majesty thinks it par- 

 ticularly his duty to lay before their 

 highnesses the co-estates of the Ger- 

 man empire, the real causes and true 

 motives by which he was induced 

 to take such a resolution. 



At the time when the French 

 nation, in the unfortunate delusion 

 of imaginary liberty, had not only 

 dissolved every tie of civic order 

 ainongst theniselves, but also me- 

 ditated the subversion of the repose 

 and welfare of other nations, by 

 the introduction of their anarchic 

 horrors, and in fact, had already 

 fallen in a hostile manner on such 

 territories of his imperial majesty, 

 and of the German empire, as were 

 nearest to them, his majesty thought 

 proper to unite his j\ist arms with 

 those of his imperial majesty, and 

 afterwards with those of the whole 

 German empire, and those of his 

 f^ other allies, in order to set bounds 

 to the destructive enterprizes of a 

 delirious nation, and to restore 

 peace and happiness to those as 

 guiltless as highly endangered states. 

 This object was ever the guide of 

 the arms of his majesty down to 

 this present moment, and more im- 

 pressive on his. mind, in proportion 

 as the madness of the French aug- 

 mented, and the danger of all Ger- 

 many became more imminent. The 



efforts of his majesty to set a boun- 

 dary against this mighty torrent of 

 ill-fortune on the German territo- 

 ries, were, it is true, at first but 

 proportioned to the danger, but 

 soon exceeded the most of his a- 

 bihty. The war was not a war 

 with a civilized nation, and well- 

 disciplined armies, but a war with 

 a delirious and never-diminishing 

 swarm of men, with a highly po- 

 pulous nation, provided with every 

 resource for war to back them ; a 

 set of men who did not fight mere- 

 ly for victoiy, but who sought by 

 fire, sword, and the poison of their 

 pernicious doctrines, to subvert the 

 whole social edifice of Germany. 



To oppose this almost uncon- 

 querable enemy, the king, on his 

 part, brought into the field 70,000 

 men, and those his choicest troops ; 

 with these has his niajesty com- 

 bated, even until this third cam- 

 paign, under every imaginable ob- 

 stacle, far from the Prussian domi- 

 nions, amidst already exhausted 

 lands, excess of dearness of the 

 necessaries of life, and almost in- 

 supportable expence. 



Besides these unparalleled efforts, 

 his majesty has made to the common 

 cause every possible sacrifice which 

 the national strength of Prussia 

 would permit ; nor has he hesitated 

 to expose even his sacred person, 

 and the princes of his family, to 

 every danger by which the repose 

 and safety of Germany could be 

 conquered from the enemy. Forthis 

 object alone has so much Prussian 

 blood been spilt — for this, such im- 

 mense treasures drained from his ^ 

 dominions. Such a war must ne- 

 cessarily have more exhausted his 

 resources than those of such powers 

 whose dominions lay more contigu- 

 ous to the scene of hostility ; and 



' thus 



