HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



barrister, Mr Palmer, a Unitarian clergyman, and 

 others, were tried for sedition, and sentenced to 

 various terms of banishment. 



After alliances had been formed with the powers 

 on the continent hostile to France, the British 

 ministers despatched an army to the Netherlands, 

 under the command of the king's second son, the 

 Duke of York, to co-operate in reducing the for- 

 tresses in possession of the French. On the 1st 

 of June 1794, the French Brest fleet sustained a 

 svere defeat from Lord Howe ; but as a counter- 

 jalance to this, the republican troops invaded 

 lolland, and converted that country into a re- 

 jublic under their own control. 

 In the course of the year 1795, many belonging 

 the lower orders in the country began to appear 

 violently discontented with the progress of the war, 

 id to renew their demands for reform in the state, 

 the king was passing (October 29) to open the 

 2ssion of parliament, a stone was thrown into his 

 sach, and the interference of the Horse-guards 

 vas required to protect his person from an infuri- 

 ited mob. The ministers consequently obtained 

 icts for more effectually repressing sedition, and 

 the dispersion of political meetings. They at 

 same time commenced a negotiation with the 

 r rench Directory, which was broken off by the 

 sfusal'of France to restore Belgium to Austria. In 

 ensuing year, the northern states of Italy were 

 /errun by the French armies, and formed into 

 vhat was called the Cisalpine Republic. The great 

 lapoleon Bonaparte made his first conspicuous 

 pearance as the leader of this expedition, which 

 terminated in Austria submitting to a humiliating 

 peace. At the close of 1796, a French fleet sailed 

 for Ireland, with the design of revolutionising that 

 country, and detaching it from Britain ; but its 

 object was defeated by stress of weather. To add 

 to the distresses of Britain, while Austria was 

 withdrawn from the number of her allies, Spain, 

 by a declaration of war in 1797, increased in no 

 inconsiderable degree the immense force with 

 which she had to contend. 



IREATENED INVASION SUBSEQUENT EVENTS. 



For some time an invasion of Britain had been 

 ireatened by France ; and the successes of the 

 jpublicans had hitherto so greatly exceeded all 

 revious calculation, that the execution of their 

 ^sign did not appear improbable. Just as the 

 iterference of the neighbouring powers had, in 

 1792, roused the energies of the French, so did 

 this proposed invasion stimulate the spirit of the 

 British people. Volunteer corps were everywhere 

 formed, and the desire of continuing the war 

 became the ruling passion throughout the nation. 

 The ministers, perceiving the advantage which 

 was to be derived from the tendency of the 

 national spirit, appeared seriously to dread an 

 invasion, and this led unfortunately to a run on 

 the Bank of England for gold, in exchange for 

 its notes. The Bank, unable to meet this run, was 

 obliged, February 25, 1797, to suspend cash pay- 

 ments that is, to refuse giving coin on demand 

 for the paper-money which had been issued 

 Bank of England notes were consequently much 

 depreciated in value ; and the currency was 

 seriously deranged for some years. 



In April, the seamen on board the Channel 

 fleet, and also on board that at the N ore, mutinied 



for an advance of pay and the redress of some 

 alleged grievances. Happily, by the firmness of 

 the government, and some skilful dealings with 

 the seamen, a loyal party was formed, by whom 

 the more turbulent men were secured, and the 

 vessels restored to their respective officers. The 

 ringleaders, the chief of whom was a young man 

 named Richard Parker, were tried and executed. 



The same year was remarkable for several 

 victories gained by the British fleets. A Spanish 

 fleet of twenty-seven ships was attacked by fifteen 

 vessels under Admiral Jervis (February 14), off 

 Cape St Vincent, and completely beaten, with the 

 loss of four large vessels. In this engagement, 

 Commodore Horatio Nelson greatly distinguished 

 himself. A fleet under Admiral Harvey, with a 

 military force under Sir Ralph Abercromby, cap- 

 tured the island of Trinidad, a Spanish colony. 

 In October, a Dutch fleet, under Admiral Van 

 Winter, was attacked off the village of Camper- 

 down, upon their own coast, by Admiral Duncan, 

 who, after a desperate battle, captured nine of the 

 enemy's vessels. These naval successes had the 

 good effect of sustaining the spirit of the British 

 nation under this unfortunate contest. 



In 1798, the French overran and added to their 

 dominions the ancient republic of Switzerland, 

 which gave them a frontier contiguous to Austria. 

 The same year the directors of the Republic, 

 beginning to be afraid of the ambition of their 

 general, Bonaparte, sent him at the head of an 

 expedition to reduce and colonise Egypt, intend- 

 ing from that country to act against the British 

 empire in the East Indies. The expedition was 

 successful in its first object ; but the fleet which 

 had conveyed it was attacked in Aboukir Bay, by 

 Admiral Nelson (August i), and almost totally 

 destroyed or captured. While so much of the 

 strength of the French army was thus occupied in 

 a distant country, Austria, Naples, and Russia 

 entered into a confederacy, and, being subsidised 

 by Britain, recommenced war. 



The new confederacy was so successful in 1799, 

 as to redeem the greater part of Italy ; but a 

 Russian army, under the famous Suwaroff, at- 

 tempting to expel the French from Switzerland, 

 was nearly cut to pieces in one of the defiles of 

 that mountainous country. In August of the same 

 year, Great Britain made a corresponding attempt 

 to expel the French from Holland. Thirty-five 

 thousand men, under the Duke of York, formed 

 the military part of the expedition. The fleet was 

 successful at the first in taking the Dutch ships ; 

 but the army, having landed under stress of 

 weather at an unfavourable place for their opera- 

 tions, was obliged to make an agreement with the 

 French, purchasing permission to go back to their 

 country by the surrender of 8000 prisoners from 

 England. 



In 1799, Bonaparte suddenly returned from his 

 army in Egypt, and, by a skilful management of 

 his popularity, overturned the Directory, the Re- 

 publican executive, consisting of five members, 

 and caused himself to be appointed the sole 

 depositary of the executive power of the state, 

 under the denomination of First Consul. He 

 immediately wrote a letter to King George, 

 making overtures of peace ; but was answered by 

 the British secretary, that no dependence could be 

 placed by Great Britain on any treaty with France, 

 unless her government were again consolidated 



