HISTORY OF EUROPE. . 3 
they willingly paid to her for re- 
lieving their necessities and grati< 
fying their wants: merchants, not 
armies, were the collectors of her 
foreign revenue: barter, not con- 
quest, was her means of drawing to 
herself the riches of the world: 
and so fortunate for the general 
good of human society was the pe- 
culiarity of her situation, that it 
was impossible for her to increase 
her own wealth and resources, with- 
out communicating to other nations 
a portion of that spirit of industry 
which animated her people. 
But, great and splendid as were 
the present circumstances, and fair as 
were insome respects the future pro- 
spects of England, her situation, on 
the whole, was, at this period, full 
of danger and alarm. She had em- 
barked in hostilities with a most 
formidable adversary, and had ha- 
zarded a most unequal and dispro- 
portionate stake in the contest. The 
greatest injury which she could in- 
flict on her enemy, was the destruc- 
tion of his commerce, and the sub. 
jogation of his colonies—objects 
which she had already-almost ac- 
complished. She might also, if she 
were .inclined, retard by her in- 
trigues, the peaceful settlement of 
his domestic affairs, and prolong, 
for a few years more, the reign of 
military government in his domi- 
nions. But she was unable to make 
any serious impression on his terri- 
tories, or to weaken in the least the 
solid foundations of his power. While 
the utmost exertions of her hostility 
were limited tosuch paltry, ineffec- 
tual warfare, the blow she was ex- 
posed to in return was of a most 
deadly nature. .it was not her 
power and pre-eminence only, but 
her existence, that was threatened 
with danger: and this menace pro- 
ceeded from an enemy, who was ac- 
tuated by eyery motive of policy, 
ambition, and resentment, to pur- 
sue her utter ruin and destruction. 
England was the’ only power that 
had ever set bounds to his ambit’on, 
or maintained with him a successful 
contest. She had defeated, in a 
former war, bis most favourite en» 
terprise, and had rejected, with 
scora and contempt, the offers of 
peace, which, in the first overflow- 
ings of unlooked-for success, he had 
addressed to her sovereiga.— Daring 
the short interval of peace that suc- 
ceeded to the revolutionary war, 
his pride, had been shocked by the 
coldness with which she met his ad- 
vances, and his vanity had been mor- 
tified and-provoked, by the inces- 
sant libels against his person and 
government, that issued from her 
press. After a short and unsatis~ 
factory experiment of peace, he had 
been disturbed by her inteference, 
while employed in new-modelling 
his empire; in pursuing plans of 
commercial and colonial aggrandise- 
ment; and perhaps in meditating fu- 
ture schemes of aggression against 
the peace and liberties of mankind : 
and, without any adequate cause or 
provocation, ke had been compelled 
by her, to make his choice between 
renewing the war, to which he was 
most averse, or renouncing, pub- 
licly, in presence of France and of 
Europe, that which was known to 
have been the favourite object of his 
ambition, and the point he had been 
most anxious to secure by the 
treaty of peace, which he had so re. 
cently signed. Since the renewal 
of hostilities it was to the machina- 
tions of England, he believed, that 
he was to attribute a dangerous 
conspiracy within his dominions, 
which had threatened the existence 
of his government, and endangered 
B2 the 
