a 
A. D. 1781. 
es 
id 
Peace of - 
FRANCE. 
There were besides other causes, which shook the popu- 
larity of Neckar; his temper was austere and unaccom- 
modating; the reforms and retrenchments which he had 
introduced into the various departments of the royal 
household, were represented as to the digni- 
ty and splendour of the crown; and his foreign birth 
‘and mercantile education and habits, increased the jea~ 
lousy and dislike created by his temper and plans of 
economy. The King for some time endeavoured to op- 
pose his favour and countenance to the intrigues that 
adieehtaalb ied tontanetnes towards the 
close of 1781, he was dismissed from his office of comp- 
troller-g and Monsieur de Joli Fleury succeeded 
him. The people at large beheld this change with re- 
gret, which was by no means diminished when the new 
comptrol! reverted to the old plan of raising 
taxes.’ It was, however, soon ascertained, that the bur- 
dens of the nation could not be much more augmented ; 
anid the ministry, in order to multiply the resources of 
government, without pushing taxation toa ex- 
tent, endeavoured to kindle in Paris, and throughout 
the provinces, such a degree of enthusiasm as would pro- 
duce voluntary contributions towards carrying on the 
war. Their efforts were seconded by the consternation 
and feeling of humiliated pride, which the defeat of 
Count de Grasse produced t the kingdom ; and 
several states displayed their zeal in building and fitting 
out ships of war, to repair the loss which had been oc- 
casioned by this defeat. The clergy also’ came forward 
at this time, with a free gift of 15,000,000 of livres to- 
wards the exigencies of the state ; and also offered 
another million to be applied to the support of wounded 
Seamen, and of the widows and orphans of those who 
had been killed in the various naval en ents. 
About this period, the attention of the French minis- 
try was directed to the commotions that agitated the re- 
public of Geneva. These commotions arose from the 
agistrates and senate having increased their own au- 
ity, and diminished the privi of the people: 
pri 
the latter were still farther irri by the additional 
called for the 
interference of foreign powers. The King of France, as 
tok repiabhie, cousbetuih, "wh the King of 
Sern td the ania of Zr Be, wh 
measures as thought would restore tranquillity to it; 
and in order to give weight to these measures, an army 
France, thus 
dependence on that power, 
621 
Christopher’s, Nevis, and Montserrat. In Africa, she 
acquired the full sovereignty of the forts on the Senegal, 
and regained Goree; while she to Britain, 
Fort St James’s, and the river bia. In the East 
Indies, all that she had lost was restored, and some ad- 
ditions were made to her former possessions. But the 
most gratifying article of this treaty to the national 
glory of France, was, that the fortifications of Dunkirk 
were no longer to be forbidden,—the stipulations exact« 
ed from Louis XIV. and XV. respecting them being fore 
mally abolished by the peace of Paris. 
The joy created in France by the termination of a 
war, in which she had been so eminently successful in 
weakening Great Britain, was not of long duration. The 
state of her finances grew daily worse. Three different 
successors of Monsieur Neckar had in vain attempted to 
remedy or palliate the evil ; public credit, as weil as the 
public resources, were too nearly exhausted to be re- 
vived. Government refused, or delayed the payment of 
the bills drawn upon them by their army in America ; 
and nearly at the same time the Caisse d’Escompté stopt 
payment. This last circumstance created general and 
excessive alarm. Their notes having been hitherto always 
convertible into specie at the option of the holders, had 
circulated very widely ; and as they were not out to indi- 
viduals at this period to a larger amount than usual, or 
than their known capital authorised, the suspicion was 
created that they had, to the prejudice of the holders of 
their notes, and to their own interest, as well 
as that of the public at large, accommodated govern« 
ment with the specie, which ought to have been exclu« 
sively devoted to the payment of their notes. It now 
became absolutely necessary for government to interfere, 
in order, by supporting this bank, to restore the confi« 
dence of the public in it. Four edicts, therefore, were 
issued with this view: by these, the banks of Paris were 
ordered to receive the notes of the Caisse d’Escompté as 
currency ; and a lottery, with a stock of one million 
sterling, was established, redeemable in eight years, the 
tickets for which might be purchased in the depreciated 
notes. At the same time, government having procured 
money, paid their American bills. Public credit was 
thus restored ; and the stock of the Caisse d’Escompté 
rose considerably above its original subscription. 
The comparison between the measures adopted in 
England, when its national bank declared their inability 
to pay in cash, and those adopted in France on the pres 
oat oceasion, cannot fail to strike the reader. In the 
‘ormer country, all that was absolutely necessary for the 
support of the bank was accomplished by individuals ; 
in the latter, it was the exclusive work of the govern« 
ment. In the former country, a tem alarm had 
shaken public credit; but the wealth and real confidence 
of the nation. remaining the same, as soon as that alarm 
subsided, public credit was again placed on as solid a 
foundation as before: whereas, in France, the shock 
-given to public credit arose from permanent causes, 
and the measures adopted only palliated, or put off the 
evil. 
The state of the finances of France, thus artificially 
kept from falling into utter ruin, absolutely required the 
most rigid and systematic economy : i , no other 
Ricesit Sada restore them even to temporary strength ; 
and yet, not began, the forces not reduced, but all 
the deficiencies in the diffe regiments were made 
good. At this period, there could exist no alarm or pro- 
History. 
