168 
appear to have been taken for send- 
ing them out of the country.— 
Once, indeed, lord Hawkesbury in- 
formed the French minister, that 
the agents would not be acknow- 
ledged as such, and that if any 
attempts were made to send them 
to their place of destination, they 
would receive orders to quit the 
country. In London, however, the 
whole corps d’ espionage were per- 
mitted to remain unmolested.— 
The agents were not sent to their 
destinations, but in London they 
remained till general Andreossi lett 
the country! The next cause of war 
is, the occupationof Holland by the 
French troops, To this violent act 
of aggression, to this breach of the 
letter ‘of three solemn treaties,’ 
not only no remonstrance appears 
to have been made; but we have 
the assurance of the noble secretary 
of state, that in fact, no written re- 
monstrance was made by the minis- 
ters; and though, in consequence 
of Mr. Liston’s dispatch of the 13th 
of October, orders were sent out en 
the 17th to retain the Cape and the 
West India islands, on the receipt 
of his dispatch of the 20th, stating 
the seizure by the French troops of 
the frontier towns of Holland, or- 
ders are sent out on the 16th of 
Noveinber to evacuate the Cape and 
the West India islands, which we 
had before ordered to be retained, 
notwithstanding the cause of that 
order remained the same. . The 
4th cause of war is the seizure of 
Switzerland by France. I will not 
here inquire, whether it was fitting 
that this country should have inter- 
fered in its fate. Upon that sub- 
ject I entertain a decided opinion, 
which it is not now necessary to 
avow. We have interfered: and 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1803, 
it is enough for me to ascertain, 
whether that interference was made 
in the manner most likely to answer 
the purpose for which it was in- 
tended; how stands the fact? and 
how is that fact supported by dates ? 
As early as the 13th of July, 1802, 
the deputies of almost all the Swiss 
cantons remonstrated publicly 
against the constitution forced upon 
them by Bonaparte. From that. 
time it was evident, that the Swiss 
only waited for the moment most 
propitious to make another struggle 
for their liberties, France saw the 
blow that was impending, and dur- 
ing the whole summer made prepa= 
parations for maintaining the sei- 
zure of Switzerland. At length, 
on the 21st of September, the flame 
burst forth; all Switzerland ap- 
peared in arms against her task- 
masters. During this whole inter- 
val, did this country stir one step to 
aid the rising spirit of the Swiss, or 
assist their daring efforts? Of their 
interference, we hear nothing till 
the 3d of October. On that day, 
Mr. Merry writes word, that the 
Swiss had an agent in :Paris,, who 
was directed to apply to the foreign 
ministers there, to interfere with 
the first consul in their favour. 
After having in vain tried to interest 
the feelings of all Europe in his 
behalf; after having in vain soli- 
cited aie good offices of Austria, 
Prussia, Russia, and the king of 
Etruria: haying been refused by all 
the ministers of those powers; he 
comes at last to the English minis- 
ter, and tells the piteous story of 
his country’s wrongs. On England 
he places his last, his firm reliance ; ‘ 
to England his country looks for 
protection and assistance. Mr, 
Merry writes for instructions; he 
receiyes 
