796 FRA 
be raifed by a tax on property. Terror impelled -the in¬ 
habitants of the departments to throw their gold and fil- 
ver into the public coffers, happy to efcape with their 
lives from the rigours of grfeedy perquifition. Yet the 
quantity of cafh which was obtained was infufficient, and 
government decreed the confifcation of all ingots of gold 
and filver, and a refumption of all grants of national do¬ 
mains, the treafury refunding all the money which had 
been paid, in alTignats at par: by thefe and other extor¬ 
tionate means Cambon boafted of having raifed between 
thirty-eight and forty millions of livres, (about 1,700,000!.) 
and he boafted the effeCls of terror, in making men who 
had concealed their money bring it into the treafury. The 
production of money to the (late was confidered a legiti¬ 
mate end of criminal law ; and Barrere, with favage plea- 
fantry, termed the guillotine the national mint. By fuch 
means the Mountain party vigoroufiy prepared to open 
the campaign of 1794. 
Early in the year, the convention received intelligence 
that three of their fhips of the line had made prize of 
fifteen Englifh veffels in the Irifh Sea ; and they liflened 
with applaufe to a report from the committee of public 
fafety, that they had augmented their fleets, and adopted 
a plan of naval taCtics, whereby they had refolved to 
conquer on the fea. With this confident hope, the French 
fleet boldly failed out of Bred harbour, under the com¬ 
mand of admiral Villaret Joyeufe, whofe flag was hoifled 
on-board the Montagne, of 120 guns; and he immedi¬ 
ately failed in queft of the Englifh fquadron, commanded 
by lord Howe. Villaret’s fleet confided of twenty-fix fail; 
while the Britifh commander had only twenty-five, and a 
great inferiority of metal. On the ift of June, the two 
fleets came to a clofe engagement, each (hip being regu¬ 
larly oppofed by another as fad as they could get into 
aCtion. After an hour’s clofe and uninterrupted fighting, 
in which little manoeuvre was difplayed, the French ad¬ 
miral gave way, and was followed by all the fliips in the 
van whofe condition enabled them to carry fail, leaving 
ten or twelve crippled fliips furrounded by the Englifh. 
Part of thefe were however dexteroufly brought off by 
thofe which had been lefs damaged in the aCtion ; but 
feven remained in the poffedion of lord Howe, though 
©ne of them funk before it could reach a Britifh harbour. 
The Vengeur, a feventy-four, funk during the aCtion. 
In narrating thefe events to the convention, Barrere 
fhewed confiderable dexterity. He confidered the whole 
event as a victory on the fide ef the French ; boafled the 
fafe arrival of a long-expeCted convoy; affirmed that the 
Englifh was fuperior to the French by fourteen fail of 
the line ; that ten had been difmafted in the aCtion, and 
three had foundered. He could not entirely conceal thd^ 
difafter ; but he palliated it by faying they had left feven 
difmantled fliips at fea, whictvhe feared were loft. 
After this defeat, the national convention atfeCled to 
confider their exertions on the ocean of far lefs importance 
than the campaign on the frontiers of France, towards 
which important objeCt all eyes were turned, as affect¬ 
ing the general fate of the civilifed world. Jourdan, 
though fuccefsful in raifing the fiege of Maubeirge, was 
dil'miffed from the army of the north, and replaced by 
Pichegru, who was for that purpofe transferred from that 
of the Rhine. The allies were frill in pofl'eflion of Conde, 
Valenciennes, Q^iefnoy, and many other places ; and were 
encamped in all points on the territory of the republic. 
But the hopes of France were founded lefs on the valour 
of their troops, than on the probability of being able to 
difl’olve that alliance, which, if unbroken, mull ultimately 
have exhaufted all their means of opposition, and com¬ 
pelled them to expend their ftrength in an unavailing 
conteft. Divifions and jealoufies were faid to be already 
prevalent between the emperor and the king of Pruflia, 
and to them were attributed the difafters which attended 
the clofe of the late campaign on the Rhine. The duke 
of Brunfwick quitted the army in relentment; the em¬ 
peror, on the other hand, removed Wurmler from the 
N C E; 
command, but avowed his jealoufy of a fecret negociatiott 
between Pruflia and France. The Pruflian cabinet alfo 
affefted, contrary to all reafon, to fufpeCt that Auftria 
and England were difpofed to negociate feparately with 
the republic, and that the emperor faw with jealoufy 
the portion afligned to the houfe of Brandenburgh in the 
partition of Poland. 
The king of Pruflia now declared to the eleCtor of 
Mentz, that he could no longer fuftain the expences of 
the war ; that indemnities were due to him from the em¬ 
pire ; and that the circles mud provide for the mainte¬ 
nance of his troops, or he mud withdraw them ; and he 
fpeedily notified his intention to furnifh only his contin¬ 
gent as eleCtor of Brandenburgh, ordering general Mul- 
lendorff, who had fucceeded the duke of Brunfwick, to 
fall back with his army on Cologne, and leave near Mentz 
only twenty thoufand men, under general Karlfreuth. He 
was, however, induced by the negociations for a fubfidy 
from England, and by the repeated folicitations of the 
ftates of the empire, to continue his troops in their former 
ftation, which was confidered as a great acquifition, though 
it might have been forefeen that little advantage would 
be derived from fo capricious an ally. 
Before thefe difputes were terminated, the French 
opened the campaign by attacking the Andrian pofts at 
Cateau Beauvais and Solefmes, on the 29th of March, 
which they had carried; but the Imperialifts rallying, 
obliged them to retreat with the lofs of fix hundred men 
killed and wounded. Some jealoufies which fiill prevailed 
in the allied army, obliged the emperor to take the chief 
command in perfon ; and he commenced the fiege of Lan- 
drecies, which was afterwards, committed to the heredi¬ 
tary prince of Orange. To raife this fiege, an attack was 
made on the advanced pofts of the prince of Cobourg, at 
Blocus and Nouvion : at the former the French were de¬ 
feated ; and the town was obliged to furrender to the al¬ 
lies. Pichegru collected in the mean while, in Caefar’s 
camp, a force of thirty thoufand men under Souham, and 
twenty thoufand under Moreau, for the purpofe of mak¬ 
ing a detached invafion of Weft Flanders. General Otto 
being fent to reconnoitre them, an engagement enfued on 
the 23d, in which the French were driven into Cambray 
with lofs, but the defeat was not of fufficient confequence 
to prevent their perfevering in their original enterprife. 
While the fubordinate generals were employed in this 
incurfion, Pichegru advanced in five columns, drove in 
all the outpofts and picquets of the befieging army, at¬ 
tacking along the whole frontier, from Treves to the fea 5 
but in the progrefs of the day he was utterly defeated, and 
purfued to the gates of Cambray with great lofs, both in 
men and artillery. Pichegru, however, returned to the 
charge on the 29th, affailing an almoft impregnable poft>, 
defended by general Clairfait, at Moucron, and by his 
fuccefs retrieved the difafter of his former conflict, be- 
fides animating his troops with the confidence refulting 
from a firft victory. Courtray was taken at the fame 
time ; and the next day Menin, no longer tenable, was 
evacuated, after a fiege of ten days only, in which the gar- 
rifon did not make a refiftance proportioned to the ftrength 
of the place, or the expectation of government. Pichegru, 
convinced of the impracticability of the plan recommend¬ 
ed by the committee of public fafety, defifted from fur¬ 
ther attacks on the centre of the allies. He would not 
even attempt the recovery of Landrecies ; but, leaving 
fmall garrifons in the central fortrefles to prevent furprife, 
projected a combined movement with the army of the 
Ardennes; and, taking Beaumont, made fome incurfions 
between the Sambre and the Meufe. 
Numerous Ikirmifties took place during the early part 
of May; and on the 10th an attack was made on the duke 
of York near Tournay, in which the-French were defeat¬ 
ed, and three thoufand killed. General Clairfait, at the 
fame time, attempted to drive them from Courtray, but 
a reinforcement was judicioufly thrown into the town; 
and in an engagement which took place the enfuinsr day;, 
Clairfait 
