226 
the rights. and possessions of the 
German princes in Alsace and Lor 
raine, and the treaties, which unite 
France to the German empire ; 
with having given course to the 
subversive principles of. all social 
subordination, and thereby affected 
the.repose and felicity of other na- 
tions, and with having sought to 
spread in other countries; by the 
propagation of these principles, the 
seeds. of the licentiousness and 
anarchy which. have. overthrown 
France ; with having tolerated, re- 
ceived, and sold even the most out- 
rageous ‘writings and speeches a- 
gainst the sacred persons and legal 
authority of sovereigns; those who 
have scized the reins of the French 
administration have at length filled 
themeasureof their guilt by declar- 
ing an unjust war against his Majes- 
ty the King of Hungary and Bohe- 
mia, andhaving ‘immediately follo 
éd_ this) declaration with effective 
hostilities; committed against’ the’ 
Belgic provinces of this monarch. } 
~The German‘empire; of which 
the Austrian Pays Bas is part, as 
the circle of Burgundy, is necessa~- 
rily found included in this aggres- 
sion.—But other facts still do but 
too much justify the fear of hostile 
invasions, which the menacing pre- 
parations of the French on thefron- 
tiers have for alongtime given birth 
to in Germany. ‘The territories of 
the Bishop of Basle, an incontesti- 
ble part of the empire, have been 
occupied by a detachment of the 
French army, and are still remain- 
ing in its power, and at its discre- 
tion. 
Incursions of the troops of the 
same nation, or of rebel corps as- 
sembled under their auspices, have 
laid waste the country of Liege. It 
is te be foreseen with certainty, 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1702. 
that as soon as the conveniences of 
war. appear.to advise. them, the 
other provinces of Germany will 
experience the same effects ; and it 
suffices to know their local position 
to feel for the imminent'danger to 
whieh they are constantly exposed. 
It would be superfluous to enter 
into a detail of the facts which are 
now alleged:' They are notorious, 
and the whole empire has'been, and’ 
is still; daily witnesses thereof. *- 
“Tt will also equally be dispensed 
with, to discuss here the evident 
injustice of the aggression’ of the 
French.—If it were possible: that 
any doubts ‘could’ remain’ on this’ 
subject in the’mind of any pérson’ 
whatever, ‘they would be’ entirely’ 
removed by) weighing with’ impur- 
tiality the unanswerable arguments! 
contained ‘on this point. inthe div 
plomatic’ pieces published! by ‘the’ 
cabinet‘of Vierttias © 0201 
- His’ Prussian Majesty’ ‘has’ with’ 
pleasure entertained hopes, that at’ 
length, after so many agitations and 
inconsequential proceedings, the 
persons who direct the French ad=" — 
ministration would 'return‘back to’ — 
the prineiples of moderation ‘and’ — 
wisdom, and thereby avoid'the'ex-' _ 
tremities to which things are unfor-* — 
tunately come. It was with this 
9mo 
salutary view that, at the coms 
mencementvof the military prepara-' 
tions of France on the frontiers,’ — 
founded on the asylum granted by’ — 
some states to the Frenchemigrants, ’ — 
he charged the Count de Goltz, his 
minister at Paris, to declare to the _ 
ministry of his most Christian Ma- — 
jesty (as the Chargé des Affaires of — 
his Majesty the then reigning Em- _ 
peror had also orders to do) * that’ — 
he looked upon an invasion ‘of! — 
French troops on the territories of 
the German empire, ag ‘a’ declara¥ 
* tian, 
