FRA 
liberty was given for furronnding Chandenagur with a 
wet ditch ; Pondicherry and Carical were likewife re¬ 
ftored to her; her ftandard was again ereCted on Make, 
and the was once more rein dated in her factory at Surat; 
while the king of Great Britain was bound to procure 
from the princes, whofe property they were, certain fpe- 
cified neighbouring diftriCts round thefe places, which 
were to be annexed to them as dependencies. In Europe, 
alfo, where the dominion of France could not be ex¬ 
tended, her dignity and glory were ftudioufly confulted. 
The degrading conditions which had marked the clofe of 
the reign of Louis XIV. and which ftipulated the demo¬ 
lition of the works round Dunkirk, were for ever abro¬ 
gated and fupprelfed; and Louis XVI. had the fatisfac- 
tion of thus reftoring to France the entire fovereignty 
over her own territories. 
Nor was Spain, the other branch of the houfe of Bour¬ 
bon, negleCted ; though continually baffled and repulfed 
before Gibraltar, her pride was foothed by the ceflion of 
the ifland of Minorca, and to her botindlefs poffefiion in 
South America, were now added the fertile provinces of 
Eaft and Welt Florida, on the northern continent. Some 
retribution was however to be made ; and the Bahama 
iflands, the mod unworthy of her conquefts, were reftored 
to Great Britain. But Holland had entered too late into 
the war, and had been guided by too evident a regard for 
her own commercial interefts, to merit much fupport from 
the court of Verfailles ; the ftates-general were therefore 
left to ftruggle with the difficulties that prefented them- 
felves, and to afford a future example to other powers 
with how much caution they fnould interfere in the quar¬ 
rels of more mighty potentates. That clofe connection, 
which once had fubfilled between the Hague and London, 
was for ever diffoived ; and the Dutch difcovered, that 
though they had loft an old ally, they had not yet fe- 
cured a new one. 
Some compenfation for the expences that had been in¬ 
curred during the late war, was drawn from a treaty with 
the United States of America. Thefe engaged to reim- 
burfe France in the fum of eighteen millions of livres, 
which had been advanced in the hour of their diftrefs, 
and Louis confented to receive the money, as more con¬ 
venient to the ftates, in the fpace of twelve years, by 
twelve equal and annual payments. But though a gene¬ 
ral peace had been thus advantageoufly eftabliffied, yet 
the finances of France feemed to be fo little bettered after 
three years of tranquillity, that it was found requifite to 
clofe every year with a loan. This continual mode of 
taxation was in fome meafure accounted for by the fecre- 
tary M. Calonne, who had fucceeded Neckar in the con¬ 
duit of the finances, by the great public expenditure of 
the year 1785. It had been thought proper to fortify 
Cherbourg upon a large and magnificent fcale ; the claim 
of the emperor to the navigation of the Scheld had 
obliged the French to increafe their land forces, either 
to form a refpeCtable neutrality, or to affift their Dutch 
allies; and the marquis de Caftries had been profitfe in 
augmenting the royal navy, which Sartine had furren- 
dered into his hands in a very curtailed and crippled (fate. 
The treaty of commerce concluded with Great Britain 
in 1786, was alfo a new fource of difcontent; though re¬ 
garded by the Englifh manufacturers as far from advan¬ 
tageous, it excited in France (till louder murmurs, and 
was criticifed with an uncommon degree of afperity. It 
was confidered as likely to extinguifh thofe infant efta- 
bliffiments which were yet unable to vie with the manu¬ 
factures of England; and the market that it held out for 
the wines and oils of France was paffed over in (ilence, 
while the diftrefs of the artifan was painted in the molt 
lively colours. But, when the ediCt for regiftering the 
the loan of 1785, amounting to the fum of 3,330,000 
pounds, was made known, the murmurs of the people 
inereafed, and a general diffatisfaCtion prevailed through¬ 
out all the provinces of France. Though the approba¬ 
tion and fupport of his fovereign was doubtlefs highly 
N C E. 755 
gratifying to M. Calonne, yet he could not fail of feeling 
himfelf deeply mortified by the oppofition he met with 
from all orders of the people. An anxious enquiry into 
the (late of the public revenue bad convinced him that 
the expenditure by farexceeded the income ; consequently 
in the prefent fituation, to impofe new taxes was impoi- 
fible, to continue the method of borrowing was ruinous, 
and to have recourfe only to economical reforms, would 
be found wholly inadequate ; and he liefitated not to de¬ 
clare that it would be impoffible to place the finances on 
a folid bafis, but by the reformation of whatever was vi¬ 
cious in the conftitution of the (fate. Yet the intrigues 
of his enemies raifed againft him fo loud a clamour, that 
finding it impoffible to ftem the torrent, monfieur de Ca- 
lonne refigned his place on the 12th of April, 17S7, and 
foon afterretired to England from the ftorm of perfecution. 
While the mind of Louis was affiduoufly occupied by 
the riling fpirit of difcontent at home, the republic of 
Holland, his new and clofe ally, prefented a fceneof anar¬ 
chy and faftion that demanded his mod ferious attention., 
The prince of Orange had been (tripped of all authority 
by the republican party, and retiring from the Hague, 
maintained the ffiadow of a court at Nimeguen; yet fee¬ 
ble as his influence might appear in the United Provin¬ 
ces, he was (till formidable from his powerful connec¬ 
tions with his brother-in-law, the new king of Pruflia ; 
for Frederic the Great had juft clofed his long and fplen- 
did career. Dreading the confequences of a new war, the 
court of Verfailles had long trufted to the natural ftrength 
of the republican party, and had been affiduous in endea¬ 
vouring to fecond them by every difcription of fuccours 
that could be privately imparted. Crowds of French of¬ 
ficers arrived every day in Holland, and either received 
commiffions in the fervice of the ftates, or aCted as volun¬ 
teers in their troops. Several hundreds of tried and ex¬ 
perienced (oldiers, whofe fidelity and difcretion could be 
relied on, were feleCted from different regiments, and be¬ 
ing furniffied with money for their journey, and affurances 
of future favour, were difpatched in fmall parties to join 
the troops, and to help to difcipline the burghers and vo¬ 
lunteers. A confiderable corps of engineers, difguifed 
as mechanics, and inftructed what anfwers to make to any 
enquiries, were directed to proceed filently towards Am- 
fterdam, and to affift in (Lengthening the works of that 
city. Thefe aids, which might have proved effectual 
had the conteft been confined to the prince of Orange, 
were overwhelmed in the rapid invafion of the Pruffians; 
for the court of Berlin had taken its meafures with fo 
much celerity, and the fituation of the republicans was 
already become fo defperate, that it was doubtful whe¬ 
ther their affairs could be reftored by any affidance that 
France was capable of adminiftering. Yet on Great Bri¬ 
tain fitting out a ftrong fquadron of men-of-war at Portf- 
mouth to give confidence to the operations of the king of 
Pruffia, the court of Verfailles alfo fent orders to equip 
fixteen fail of the line at Breft, and recalled a fmall fquad¬ 
ron which had been commiflioned to cruize on the coaft 
of Portugal. 
In thefe preparations the king of France feemed rather 
to regard his own dignity, than to be aCtuated by any 
hopes of affording effectual relief to his allies. All op¬ 
pofition in Holland might be already confidered as extin- 
guiffied. The ftates affembled at the Hague in the au¬ 
tumn of 1788, and officially notified to the court of Ver¬ 
failles, that the difputes between that province and the 
ftadtholder were now happily terminated ; and, as the cir- 
cumftances which gave occafion for their application to 
that court no longer exifted, fo the fuccours which they 
had requefted would now be unneceffary. Under thefe 
circumltances France could only wiffi to extricate herfelf 
from her prefent difficulty with honour ; and the French 
king therefore liftened to a memorial from the Britiffi mi- 
nifters at Paris, who propofed, to preferve the good un- 
derftanding between the two crowns, that all warlike pre¬ 
parations Should be difcontinued, and that the natives of 
both 
