176] 
France were still in agitation. The 
French people, to the number of 
3,000,000 were in arms,and without 
controul. The expatriated princes 
and nobles were rouzing foreign 
nations to become parties in their 
cause; and all Europe was in a 
state either of anxious expectation, 
or real apprehension. There were 
other considerations of general in- 
terest, that were deeply involved in 
the origin and progress of the 
French revolution ; and which pre- 
cluded Great Britain from security 
and peace; while the people of 
Franee were involved in arms, in 
confusion and distress. But, above 
all, the sinews of the French revo- 
lution were drawn from the over- 
throw of that system, or those laws 
of property and of nations which 
had hitherto sustained the order of 
the political world. This circum- 
stance was of itself too striking 
not to excite alarms in the breasts 
of all who had studied the com- 
mercial, as well as the political con- 
stitution of Europe. The balance 
of power was, at all events, likely 
to be affected by the fallof one of 
its counterpoises and pillars. It 
was therefore evident that, although 
the differences between the courts 
of London and Madrid had been 
settled; and though the projects of 
ambition, which Catherine and 
Joseph had concerted, were suffi- 
ciently counteracted, there was 
every reason to dread that the du- 
ration of any lasting or general 
peace was incompatible with the 
circumstances of the times, For 
these reasons, it was hardly possible 
to suppose that the minister was 
sincere, or at least very ardent in 
his expectations of long continued 
peace ; and it was observed, by not 
a few men of sense and reflection, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1792. 
that he began to talk of military 
and naval reductions at the very 
moment when (and not sooner) it 
would have been sound policy to 
equip both fleets and armies, had 
they been wanting, for giving due 
weight to a necessary, decided, 
prompt, and timely interference in 
the affairs of the continent. And 
it was particularly regretted, that 
the British government did not 
avail itself of its military prepa- 
rations at the time, as well as of 
its commanding influence, to me- 
diate in the questions which were 
at issue between the actual rulers 
of France and the German states, 
and to endeavour by all means, 
in concert with other powers, to 
restrain within the limits of France 
the convulsions that had over- 
thrown her monarchy, for the 
purpose, not of aggrandizement, 
but merely of self-defence,—ac- 
cording to the wise system of the 
Emperor Leopold. The views of 
the British government, however, 
appear to have been wholly pacific 
so late as the middle of June; as 
appears from his Majesty’s speech 
from the throne, on the 15th of 
that month, to both Houses of Par- 
liament :—** I have observed, with 
the utmost satisfaction, the mea- 
sures which you have adopted for 
the diminution of the public bur- 
thens, while you have made addi- 
tional provision for the reduction of 
the present national debt; and 
established a permanent system for 
preventing the dangerous accumu- 
lation of debt in future.’ ~His 
Majesty declared, in a very empha- 
tic manner, that it would be his 
principal care to preserve to his 
people the uninterrupted blessings 
of peace; which he had reason to , 
expect, from the assurances of a 
peaceable 
