BRITAIN. 



663 



am. Aloanof L.4,600,000\vasguaiantcedby parliament to 



the house of Austria. The force voted for the year 



;'."' amounted to 100,000 seamen, and 216,000 regular 

 soldiers and militia, exclusive of fencibles and volun- 

 teers, and embodied French emigrants. The sums 

 levied for the service of the year, and the payment of 

 the national debt, rose to L. iO,000,000 ; nor was our 

 expenditure in Ireland, and the East and West In- 

 dies, taken into this account. 



The trial of Mr Hastfngs, so remarkable for its 

 importance, for the talents of its conductors, and for 

 the length of its duration, was, in the course of 17!>5, 

 brought to a conclusion. He was acquitted of every 

 branch of every charge, distinctly and severally, 

 age In the month of April, were celebrated the nup- 

 tials of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales with 

 the Princess Caroline, daughter of the Duke of 

 Brunswick. The annual revenue of the prince was, 

 after some agitation, settled at L. 120,000, exclusive 

 of the rents of the duchy of Cornwall, estimated at 

 L. 13,000. Of this income, L. 73,000 were appro- 

 priated to the liquidation of his Royal Highness's 

 debts, under the direction of commissioners appoint- 

 , O f ed by parliament. For some time, the attention and 

 ,tho- fears of government had been roused by the importu- 

 nate and impatient clamours of the Catholics of Ire- 

 land, at the restrictions which still continued to gall 

 that numerous class of subjects. Baffled in their ap- 

 plications to the Irish parliament, the Catholics had 

 met over the whole kingdom, and addressed the sove- 

 reign himself in a determined and energetic manner. 

 Ministers, who were embarrassed between the force 

 and justice of those claims, and their wishes to retain 

 the attachment of the high church Protestants in Ire- 

 land, who opposed the Catholic emancipation, seem 

 to have adopted a momentary resolution of comply- 

 ing with the demands of the former party. Earl 

 Fitzwilliam was appointed to the government of Ire- 

 land. His inclination to healing measures, rendered 

 his appointment universally acceptable to the Irish. 

 The depressed influence of the Whig Protestants, the 

 friends of emancipation, rose in the Irish parliament ; 

 and a bill for the relief of the Catholics, drawn up by 

 the accustomed advocates of their rights, was intro- 

 duced into the Irish commons with little opposition. 

 But the joy and conciliation occasioned by this event, 

 quickly vanished. Earl Fitzwilliam, as a necessary 

 step to the measure of emancipation, had been obli- 

 ged to dismiss some of the most zealous of the anti- 

 catholic friends of ministers in Ireland. Indignant 

 at this change, Mr Beresford repaired to London, 

 and held conferences with the British cabinet, which 

 induced a total change of measures. The popular 

 viceroy was recalled, and Lord Camden sent in his 

 place. The Irish parliament, after having voted 

 with enthusiasm an approbation of all the measures 

 of the preceding deputy, now rejected the bill in fa- 

 vour of their Catholic countrymen, and contributed, 

 perhaps, to foster the seeds of a rebellion, which af- 

 terwards deluged the country with blood. 

 >aign The retreat of the allies through the Netherlands 

 dland. and Holland, had become unavoidable at the close 

 of 1794. From the latter country, the stadtholder 

 and his family made their escape in an open boat, and 

 arrived in England. The whole country followed 



the example of the Dutch capital in submitting to Britain: 

 the French. The departure of the Duke of York ."^ "" v Tj7 > 

 for England, had, in the mean time, appeared as a 

 signal, that the British despaired of preserving Hol- 

 land. The shattered remains of our army, during a 

 dreadful winter, retreated through Holland towards 

 Bremen, which they reached in the month of March, 

 after experiencing incredible hardships, and after hav- 

 ing traversed, or rather fought their way acrossthe pro- 

 vinces of Utrecht, Guelderland, Overyssel, and Gro- 

 ningeu. The campaign of 1795 was, however, much 

 less disastrous to the allies in other parts of the con- 

 tinent, than that of the preceding year. By a severe 

 defeat which the French sustained on the Rhine, they 

 were driven to seek shelter under the walls of Man- 

 heim and were obliged to raise the siege of Mentz. 

 Both Jourdan and Pichegru were driven back from 

 the Rhine ; the Imperialists recovered the Palatinate; 

 Manheim was r< conquered ; and, at the end of the 

 campaign, the Austrians had been so successful as to 

 form the project of attacking Luxembourg. 



The declaration of the Dutch republic, in favour Wat with 

 of France, was thought to justify Britain in making Holland. 

 reprisals. In the course of the summer, their valua- 

 ble settlement at the Cape of Good Hope, surrender- 

 ed to Admiral Elphinstone. 



In the month of June, an unfortunate descent was Expedition 

 made in the bay of Quiberon, by an army of some to Quibe- 

 thousand emigrants, who were debarked from a Bri- ron ^ z ?' 

 tish squadron under Sir. I. Borlase Warren, and who, 

 it was vainly hoped, would revive the spirit of royalty, 

 so lately crushed in La Vendee, But their force was 

 suddenly surprised by the republican forces of Hoche. 

 Their leaders, among whom were the venerable bishop 

 of Dol, and the gallant and young Count Sombreuil, 

 were consigned to military execution ; and about 

 60,000 stand of arms, intended for the expected as- 

 sociates in the cause of royalty, fell into the enemy's 

 hands. 



The naval events of the year were not important. Naval 

 In March, an indecisive engagement took place be- anCjir5 

 tween our fleet in the Mediterranean, under Admiral 

 Hotham, and the French, under Admiral Richery, 

 in which the enemy lost two ships of the line. In 

 the month of June, Admiral Cornwallis, with only 

 five ships of the line, maintained a running light, for a 

 whole day, with 13 sail of the enemy's line, without 

 suffering them to gain any advantage. The same 

 ships of the enemy fell in with Lord Bridport's fleet, 

 and were defeated off Port L' Orient, with the loss of 

 three first rates. In the West Indies, the French re- 

 covered Fort Tiberon, in St Domingo, and the 

 islands of St Eustatia, and St Lucia. 



The war, although supported by a powerful party 1'arliame.v 

 in the country, wat, by this time, become extreme- meet!, 

 ly unpopular among the lower community. A scar- 

 city, at the same time, prevailed throughout the 

 kingdom ; and such was the state of the poor, that 

 some wretched individuals had died oi hunger. In 

 this state of discontent, the multitude, while they de- 

 manded the real blessings of peace, were also cla- 

 morous for the visionary blessings of annual parlia- 

 ments, and universal suffrage ; and the associati 

 formed for the latter objects, had grown exceedingly 

 bold and licentious, f Parliament melon the x!9th 



f That which was held near Islington, at Copenhagen House, was computed to collect, at one time, 10,000 

 but the most of them were mere spectators. 



