SHORT CHRONICLE 



OF EVENTS. 



August 15. 1792. 



Foreign. 

 France. 

 ■QuEM Deus vuh perdere prius 

 dementit. The national afsem- 

 bly of France at present seems 

 to be seized with a wonderful 

 degree of infatuation. While 

 a powerful confederacy is for- 

 med to invade their dominions, 

 and while tumult and disorder 

 reign in every part of the em- 

 pire, instead of deliberating 

 upon the measures that ought 

 to be adopted for allaying 

 these ferments, and repelling 

 the attacks of invading foes 

 ■with vigour, their time is ta- 

 ken up in listening to the 

 most frivolous accusations from 

 all parts against the king, the 

 ministers, the generals of the 

 army, and a variety of other 

 individuals. Every man seems 

 to distrust his neighbour •, and 

 no sooner does he entertain a 

 prejudice against him, than he 

 runs to the bar of the national 

 afeembly, where he utters his 

 rage in the most vehement 

 terms he can conceive ; -and, 

 let the grounds of his com- 

 plaint be ever so frivolous, or 



VOL. X. 



the object he aims tt erer sa 

 ridiculous, the most important 

 discufsions must give way to it. 

 He is heard with patience to 

 the end, and invited to the ho- 

 nour, as they call it, of the sit- 

 ting. Never in this world 

 was there exhibited such an 

 humiliating view of an afsem- 

 bly of men who afsume to 

 themselves both the legislative 

 and the judicial powers of a 

 great nation. Every true 

 friend of rational freedom must 

 deplore this extraordinary in- 

 fatuation, which threatens to 

 overturn all that has been there 

 done in the cause of liberty ; 

 /or unlefs they ftiall lay their 

 domestic animosities aside, and 

 cordially unite to repel ihe in- 

 vading foe, their efforts must 

 be feeble and unavailing; and, 

 f'-ould the enemy obtain pow- 

 er, who can say that they will 

 not abuse it, in favour of that 

 cause which kings must natu- 

 rally deem peculiarly their 

 own ? The only effort that 

 the national afsembly has seri- 

 ously made to counteract the 

 operations of their enemies is, 

 b f 



