G E R U A N Y; 
were difcovered in a, fiorehoufe at Manlch, wliere they 
had lain ever fince the year 1631, when the famous 
Guftavus Adolphus ravaged Bavaria. This flour, upon 
examination, was found to be grown into a hard fub- 
ffance that refcmbled a kind of ftone ; but the prefling 
exigence of the times induced the difcoverers to mix it 
witli frelh meal, and to diflribute it in bread to the_ 
poor, who had for a long time fubfifted on the bark of 
beeclt and alder, mixed with a linall quantity of fpiee. 
During thefe calamities, his imperial majefty joined 
with RulTia and Prulha in the difmemberment of Po¬ 
land : but it feems that the court of Vienna was either 
afhamed of the infamy, or fliocked at the injuftice, of 
this tranfaction; for cqunt Kaunitz, being interrogated 
upon the fubjeCf by fome foreign minifters, denied it in 
the moll folemn terms, and the condudl of the emperer 
was fo equivocal, that none of the European powers 
could fathom his real intentions. At length, however, 
all difguife was thrown afide ; a manifefto, delivered at 
Warfaw by the RulTian and Pruflian minifters, was I'e- 
conded by the emprefs-queen; and the three powers 
openly avowed their intentions. This, however, did 
not prevent hoftilities from being commenced between 
Auftria and PruHia, on account of the fucceflion to the 
eledlorate of Bavaria. Upon this occafion the emperor 
difcovered much military fkill ; but, although prodi¬ 
gious armies were railed on both Tides, all the actions 
proved unimportant, and the difpute was finally fettled 
by negocialion. 
The year 1780 was marked by the death of Marla 
Therefa, emprefs of Germany, queen of Hungary and 
Bohemia, and archduchefs of Auftria j a princefs wlio 
appears to have inherited all the fpirit, firmnefs, and 
magnanimity, of her moft renowned anceftors, together 
w ith a clear underftanding, a happy temper, and a cap= 
tivating condcfcenfion, which infenfibly gained her the 
affedtions of all her fubjects. In the courfe of her life 
Ihe experienced many vicillitudes of fortune; and at 
the death of her father, her enemies ruftied with fuch 
fury upon her territories, that it was adlually doubted 
whether Ihe could retain the polfeffion of any place ca¬ 
pable of affording an afylum during her lying-in: but 
her undaunted courage enabled her to furmount all 
thefe difficulties, and to elevate the houfe of Auftria to 
degree of power which it had not enjoyed fince the reign 
of Charles the Fifth. Exclufive of her imprudent en¬ 
gagements againft Poland, fire was entitled to univerfal 
refpect for the jultice of her adminiftration ; and in the 
charadters of a wife and parent fhe was certainly unri¬ 
valled. 
Early in the enfuing year, his imperial majefty pro¬ 
mulgated a decree in favour of the liberty of the prefs, 
which had been hitherto much circumferibed in the 
Auftrian dominions. By one of the articles he allowed 
a free circulation, without particular licence, to all li. 
terary reviews ; and by another, he permitted that all 
ftridhires upon the throne itfelf might be publilhed 
v’ith full fecurity, provided they did not defeend to the 
character of libels or pafquinades. His remark upon 
this occafion was equally worthy of his character and 
dignity. “ If they be founded on juftice, (faid he,) we 
ihall profit by them; if not, we Ihall difregard them.” 
This decree was loon foil-owed by others which were 
admirably calculated to augment the reputation of the 
fovereign, and render the moft important fervices to the 
fubjedls. The proteftants, who had formerly expe¬ 
rienced much perfecution on account of their religion, 
were now indulged with the imperial protedlion ; the 
Jews, on whom innumerable cruelties had often been 
praftiled in preceding reigns, were permitted to exercife 
all kinds of arts or trades, to apply therafelves to agri¬ 
culture, or to purfiie their ftudies in the univerfities, 
without any impediment on the fcore of religion; and 
the authority of the court of Rome was prudently cur¬ 
tailed, by an ordinance tvhich prohibited all the reli¬ 
gious orders within the imperial dominions from holding 
any correfpondence, on fpiritual or temporal fubjeas, 
with their refpeftive chiefs who refided in any foreign 
country. 
In a journey to the Netherlands, tlie emperor excited 
the admiration, and acquired the warmeft alleftion, of- 
the populace. T. he tree audience wdiich he granted to 
all ranks of perfons, the ccmplaifance with which he 
received their petitions, and tJie unw'caried patience 
which he exhibited in the inveftigation of their griev¬ 
ances, were indeed calculated to produce the' happieft 
effects. Ti he inhabitants ol Oltend w'ere particularly 
honoured with his royal favour. He declared their 
port to be free; ordered their accommodations for Hup¬ 
ping to be enlarged at his own expence ; and gave fuch 
encoLiragem.ent to foreign fettlers in the' commercial 
line, that the town was immediately augmented by many 
new llreets, and crowds of people flocked in from every 
quarter. The emperor afterwards demanded of the 
Dutch the free navigation of the Scheldt, but in this 
he failed. 
On his return to Vienna, he reaffumed his important 
regulations, and granted an enlargement of perfonal li¬ 
berty to his fubjedts, which mtift infallibly tranfinit his 
name with unfading glory to all pofterity. The pea. 
fants of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silefia, had long lan- 
guifiied in a ftate of valfalage, and had been frequently 
driven, by extreme oppreftion, to the madnefs of infur- 
reclion, without any poffibility of fuccefs. Some at¬ 
tempts had been made in the late reign to curb the 
wanton tyranny of the nobles, and to meliorate the con¬ 
dition of thefe unfortunate people : but much remained 
to be done, and the honour of their complete emanci¬ 
pation was referved for Jofeph the Second. Accord¬ 
ingly, that magnanimous prince publiflied an edidt for 
the total abolition of vilainage and flavery in thofe 
three countries ; and limilar meafures were taken, foon 
afterward, for the relief of the peafants in Auftrian Po. 
land. 
The fubfequent fuppreffion of many religious orders, 
and the proimilgation of an imperial refeript, difclaim- 
ing all fubordination in fecular affairs to the holy fee, 
induced pope Pius VI. to take a journey to Vienna; 
but, notwithftanding the very flattering attentions which 
he received at his arrival, and the uniform politenefs of 
the emperor and all the courtiers, he found it impoflible 
either to accomplifh his purpofe, or to procure an in- 
termiiTion of thofe reforms which were now extended to 
the fecular clergy and hierarchy, as well as to the reli¬ 
gious orders, or regulars. 
But the court of Rome, in 1786, was deftined to re- 
ceive a greater fhock from another quarter than it had 
yet fuftained from the vigorous exertions of Jofeph. 
The German prelacy, faking advantage of their fove- 
reign’s difpofition, refolved to feize the prefent Oppor¬ 
tunity of calling in the great official powers lodged in 
his hands, to concur in emancipating them from the 
I talian yoke in the adminiftration of ecclefiaftical affairs; 
for the interference of the pope in their metropolitan 
government had been long confidered as an intolerable 
grievance, and an ignominious badge of fervitude. The 
relidence of nuncios, and the ecclefiaftical jurifdiftion 
which they affumed, appeared fo fum up in themfelves 
the whole amount of this grievance, and were confi¬ 
dered as ftanding monuments of the papal oppveflion. 
The abolition of thefe was conlequently made the firft 
objedl of contemplation; and at the earneft felicitation 
of the elector of Alentz and the archbiftiop of Saltz- 
burg, his imperial majefty publilhed a memorial, in 
which he refufed to admit any future interference on 
the part of Rome in ecclefiaftical matters, and exhorted 
his prelates to refift and fternly to oppofe all encroach¬ 
ments and ufurpations againft their rights- and govern¬ 
ment. The publication of this memorial was foon fol¬ 
lowed by a conference of the ecclefiaftical princes held 
4 at 
