HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



153 



and, nohvitlisfandlng the most un- 

 remitting exeiiioiis on their part. 

 wherein no means were spared ei- 

 th'-r to be derived from their oivn 

 resovirces, or from those of their 

 neighbours, to accomplish our de- 

 struction ; ue hiivesecn the prect-d- 

 iug year brought to a close, without 

 one of those mighty threats having 

 been realized. On the contrary, we 

 have had the satisAiction to wituess 

 every attempt levelled against the 

 internal peace and prosperity of the 

 Britiih empire, comploteiy ballied, 

 by tlie unanimity, zeal, and energy 

 of our countrymen ; and the impla- 

 cable hostility of the enemy aecom- 

 jianitd M'ith no greater triumpii 

 abroad, than the capture and deten- 

 tion of unarmed individuals, in vio- 

 lation of the rights of hospitality, 

 together Avith the invasion and pil- 

 lage of an electorate, which !iad 

 alone to trust to its neutrality, as a 

 member of the Germanic empire, 

 for security against the power of a 

 nation, which from her enormous 

 extent and prodigious military e-iwi- 

 blishments, had arrogated to herself 

 the distinction of TheCrrcat: Avhilst 

 we had to contemplate the success 

 of the British arms, against the 

 islands of St. Lucia and Tobago, 

 and the Dutch settlements in Ame- 

 rica, added to the discomtittire of 

 his immense armaments ernplo) ed in 

 the redu6tion of St. Domingo, and 

 that important colony wrested, per, 

 haps for ever, from the F'rench do- 

 minion, by the, joint exertions of 

 Ualf-disciplincd negroes, and his 

 Britannic majesty's naval force on 

 that station. 



Such appears to be the result of 

 the hostile operations of the last 

 year, between the two nations. 



Those of the year which we have 

 now to record are btill nior« insig- 



nificant on the side of the enemy ; 

 whilst the internal occurrences of 

 France, and her transactions with 

 otfter powers, are oi a nature to ex- 

 cite considerable interest. 



The great concassions subscribed 

 to bv the British cabinet, in con- 

 cluding the treaty of Amiens, ap- 

 pear to have misled Bonaparte. The 

 inference drawn by his overbearing 

 mind, was, that the spirit of Great 

 Britain was so far broken, as to 

 sutler his arrogance and ambition 

 to range uncontrolled ; but, find- 

 ing that this country was not so far 

 reduced as implicitly to acquiesce in 

 all his projects, or base enough to 

 participate in them, as he has more 

 than once ventured to suggest, he 

 seems to have considered the exist- 

 ing peace with England as an obsta- 

 cle <o his further aggrandizement, 

 and that a rupture, which he might 

 ascribe to the bad faith and ill-will 

 of this coilntry towards France, 

 w«uld furnish him with a more sjk!- 

 cious pretext, and more amplg 

 means, to consummate his views. — 

 By such an event, the P'rench peo- 

 ple would again be thrown into a 

 state of uncertainty and dismay, 

 which would the better enable him 

 to increase iiis personal inHuenctJ 

 and authority, by the augmentatioM 

 of his various estal)lishments, civil 

 and military ; whilst all murmurs 

 would be silenced by the dread of 

 the revival of tliose sanguinary 

 scenes which had occurred during 

 the conrse of the revolution, and to 

 which, it was very generally feared, 

 the overthrow, or the we;tkening of 

 the existing government, might li-ad. 



These apprehensions were adroit- 

 ly inculcated, "and kept alive by his 

 partisans, whilst the vigilance and 

 indefatigable attention of the su- 

 preme heitd of (lie jjovcrnment were 



loudly 



