218 ANNUAL RE G ISTE R, 1794. 



The Imperial court, with ihe 

 strictest honour and punctuality and 

 much to its prejudice, has replaced 

 those contingents. The circles 

 would have found it inconvenient 

 and oppressive, if the mode of fur- 

 nishing their respective contingents 

 had been adopted whichis prescribed 

 by the decree of ld81. Some states 

 have renewed their application for 

 & diminution of their quota in ihcir 

 matricular regist^-rs of the empire j 

 others have urged their inability ; 

 and some of the most active states 

 have withheld their contingents, 

 under the most frivolous of all pre- 

 texts, that an Imperial army had 

 not been formed. 



After the victories of the allied 

 army in the circle of Burgundy, 

 viciories, purchased by torrents of 

 blood and a profusion of treasure, 

 the king of Prussia, at the com- 

 mencement of thepresent campaign, 

 threatened to withdraw his troops, 

 assigning, as a reason, that he had 

 notasubsidyfortheirsupport. In this 

 interval of inactivity the enemy pro- 

 cured reinforcements, and became 

 exceedingly numerous and formi- 

 dable. Under these circumstances 

 the only alternative was to insist 

 upon the inhabitants of the circles 

 to rise In a mass, and in order to 

 obviate every difficulty, to expedite 

 the organization of the army in a 

 constitutional manner. 



Thus his Imperial majesty has 

 uniformly and invariably acted as 

 became his dignity, and the pater- 

 nal care which he has always e- 

 vinced for his subjects. But the 

 arming of the inhabitants on the 

 frontiers was a measure which proved 

 abortive. Some of the states had 

 not sufficient confidence in their 

 subjects, and others dreaded the 

 expence. ~ 



The Imperial army is not com- 

 plete at this moment. Two thirds 

 of the empire are already conquer- 

 ed, and the enemy is triumphant 

 every where. The states will not, 

 or some say, cannot, contribute, 

 and (hat is the only pretext by 

 wliich they evade the contingents 

 of the empire. 



This then is the support which 

 the Iniperial and royal court has so 

 much desired of the empire, which 

 it has expected in full confidence 

 of the public spirit and the love of 

 their cour.try ; this is the eliect of 

 the pressing instances which his Im- 

 perial majesty hasgenerously second- 

 ed by his own example. All the 

 world knows how much this court 

 has done for the defence of the em- 

 pire, and for the common cause. At 

 the first breaking out of the war, he 

 sent to the lield a numerous and 

 well-provided army ; be abandoned 

 all secondary views, by not contract- 

 ing any other engagements than 

 those which were judged productive 

 of general utility. The war of the 

 empire being decreed, he, to his 

 own detriment, relieved the states 

 from the performance of their con- 

 tingents ; at the first unfavourable 

 blow which affected the empire, his 

 majesty sent speedily to its succour 

 the army of the reserve from his 

 own hereditary stales, and main- 

 tained it at his own expence ; 

 and thus he emploj-ed all the 

 force of his house to save the Ger- 

 manic body. 



The imperial troops have almost 

 singly, and without any assistance, 

 co; ered the circle of Suabia, and 

 thus have hindered the enemy from 

 penetrating as far as the frontiers 

 by ascending the Higher Rhine, 

 They have conducted themselves 

 valiantly in those quarters, and had 



a great 



