who reigned after them, furpaffed (the first particularly) all their predeceffors in extortion and plunder. Indignant at the conduct of these oppreffors, the Ottoman Porte appeared in 1786 to with to take vengeance upon them. With the aid of the forces commanded by Haffan Pacha, fhe compelled them to fly, and placed a fucceffor; but fhe did not know how to fecure her authority; and these two Beys in 1791, at the death of Ifmael Bey, who had replaced them, recovered their power without obftacle, and confequently affumed their former domination.

From that inftant, but particularly fince France has been confituted a republic, the French have experienced in Egypt vexations a thousand times more revolting. It was eafy to recognife. the influence and the fury of the British cabinet. The extortions of all forts multiplied, often without the pretext of neccility; and all remonstrances were vain.

In the fecond year of the republic, the conful wifhed to make juft representations to Mourad Bey on the fubject of the extraordinary exactions ordered by that ufurper from the French merchants. The Bey, far from fhowing a difpofition to acquiefce in his request, confined him inftantly to his own house by an armed force, till all the produce of that odious extortion had been entirely paid him.

Towards the end of that fame year, the vexations arose to such a pitch, that the French fettled at Cairo, defirous to put their perfons and the remainder of their fortunes out of imminent danger, decided to remove their establishments to Alexandria: but Mourad Bey took offence at this refolution; he ordered them to be pursued in their flight: fuch as remained were treated as vile criminals, and redoubled his rage against them all, after he knew one of the fugitives was brother to a member of the National Convention, against which he vomited forth his implacable hatred.

Thus his tyranny knew no bounds, and the French nation found itself a prifoner in Egypt. The Bey, tormented every inftant with the apprehenfions that fome attempt might be made to efcape his vigilance, dared to tell our conful, that if a fingle Frenchman should engage in fuch an undertaking, all, even the conful himself, thould forfeit their heads for his efcape. Such audacity and madnefs can fcarcely be conceived; but he foon perceived that this exceffive tyranny would not long continue profitable. He returned, on the demand of the Grand Vizir, not the fums that had been extorted, but their liberty, to the French; and even as the price of that which was regarded as a favour, he impofed new pecuniary facrifices. The French then were afraid to fettle in the third year at Alexandria; but there, as at Rofetta and other places on the coaft of the Mediter

ranean, they were expofed to the rapacity of all fubaltern agents. Thefe agents of the Bey, more bafe and felonious even than himfelf, violently feized upon the French merchandises as they arrived in port. They fixed their own prices on the goods, and even fettled the mode of payment. Should they meet the leaft refiftance, even of the moft lawful kind, force was immediately employed to repel it. At Rofetta, the gates of our vice-conful were forced, his windows broken, and even weapons raised against him, because he refused to fubmit to a contribution, from which even Mourad Bey himself had ordered the French to be exempted. Notwithstanding this order of the Bey, the conful was obliged to yield to force. Finally, on the 10th of January Jaft, Coram, a custom-house officer of Mourad Bey, at Alexandria, affembled all the drogmans, and declared to them, that the flightest violation of what he called the rights of his master fhould be punished with five hundred ftrokes of the baftinado, without regard to the confular character. A few days before, he threatened a drogman to cut off his head, and fend it to his conful.

Thus all the rights of nations were violated in the perfons of the French with the most audacious impudence; all our treaties with the Porte, all our agreements difregarded by the Beys, and by the meanest of their agents, under the pretext, as they fay, of not having been parties to them; the character of our conful difowned, outraged; the liberty and lives of the French compromifed every moment, and their properties given up to pillage. The French republic could not fuffer much longer thofe numerous aggreffions, evidently inftigated by England, to remain unpunifhed. Its patience has been extreme. The audacity of its oppreffors had attained its full growth. How then was the French government to procure redrefs for fuch complicated inju ries? Several times, through the medium of its envoy, it addreffed its complaints to the Porte; but if we except the expedi tion of Haffan Pacha in 1786, who merely chaftifed two Beys, without making compenfation for the paft, or provifion for the future, every thing the Porte thought proper to be done was, to write in our favour fome letters to the Pacha of Egypt, who could do nothing, and to the two Beys, who had power, but were firmly refolved to grant nothing on this recommendation but a deceitful fubmiffion. And thus, in the fourth year, the French ambaffador at the Porte, having fent into Egypt an agent accredited with letters from the Grand Vizir, this agent obtained not real reparation, not a reftitution of the immenfe fums extorted from the French, but fome illufory ftipulations refpecting a reduction of the duties upon certain merchandises, conformable to ancient treaties; but fcarcely had he turned his back, when Mourad Bey gave orders, which were punctually obeyed, to place

the

the duties on precifely the fame footing they ftood before his arrival.

The effort of the Ottoman Empire to protect the French was therefore evidently without weight or energy; and how could it be expected to produce a durable effect in our favour, when the Porte was reduced to that ftate in which it was not able to protect itself against the Beys; when it felt itfelf obliged to fuffer three millions of Egyptians, whom it called its fubjects, to become the miserable victims of foreign tyranny; when its Pacha was treated in Egypt as the bafeft of flaves; when the Grand Seignior was infenfibly stripped of his rights; and finally, when they no longer paid the contributions referved on the conquest of Egypt by Selim the Second? All this proves beyond a doubt, that the fovereignty of the Porte in this country was but an empty title; and after its fruitless efforts in our favour, it would be to little purpose to expect from it a degree of intereft for us, which it is neither able, nor dares to manifeft for itself.-Nothing then remains for us but to do juftice to ourselves, and by our armies to make those base ufurpers, fupported by the cabinet of St. James's, expiate thofe crimes which they have committed against us.

The French army prefented itfelf the ift of July. It was received at Alexandria, at Rofetta, and on the 23d of July it entered Cairo. Thus thefe odious ufurpers will no more opprefs this ancient and fruitful land, which time cannot exhauft; which annually recruits itself by a kind of prodigy; where vegetation is of aftonishing activity and almoft fpontaneous; and where the richest productions of the four quarters of the globe may be found together. But it may be faid, no declaration of war preceded this expedition. Against whom could it have been made? Against the Ottoman Porte? We were far from being willing to attack this ancient ally of France, and imputing to it an oppreffion, of which it was the first victim itfelf. Is it then against the ifolated government of the Beys? Such an authority does not exift, and could not be recognised. When we chaftife robbers, we do not declare war against them. And thus in attacking the Beys, it was in fact only England we were going to combat. It is therefore with a fuperabundance of right, that the French republic is put into a fituation for speedily obtaining the immenfe reparations due from the ufurpers of Egypt. But it did not with to conquer for itfelt alone. Egypt was oppreffed by thefe rapacious plunderers. The people of Egypt fhall be avenged, and the cultivator of these fruitful countries fhall at length enjoy the fruit of his labours, which has been torn from him with the most ftupid barbarity. The authority of the Porte was totally difowned. It will receive from the hands of the victorious French the immenfe advantages of which it has been long deprived. Finally, for the good of the whole world, Egypt will become the country in the whole uniVOL. VIL

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verfe richest in productions, the centre of immenfe trade, and above all, a moft formidable poft against the odious power of the English in India, and their ufurped commerce.

(Signed)

TREILHARD, Prefident.
LAGARDE, Sec. Gen.

Letter from Citizen Belleville to the Ligurian Government, on the 18th Auguft 1798.

THE conful and chargé d'affaires of the French republic informs the Executive Directory of the Ligurian republic, that he has received difpatches from the French Directory, ftating, that the Court of Naples has been invited by the ambassador of the French republic to adhere ftrictly to the laft treaty made between the two powers, which forbids the receiving of more than four English ships of war in all the ports of the Neapolitan dominions, and not in any particular one, otherwife the English fleet might take refuge in the Two Sicilies, by distributing four ships in each harbour.

That the English, not finding the afylum they expected in the fouth of Italy, will neceffarily look for one in fome part of this peninfula; and that it is important to fhut them out even from this laft refource.

That the intimate relations exifting between Liguria and France give the Directory of the French republic reason to hope that the Ligurian government will take every measure which circumstances may require, for clofing all its ports against the common enemy, the infamous English, and removing this common enemy from its coaft; that the conful is charged to make the formal demand of this meafure; and alfo that of fortifying the Gulf of Spezzia, and all other parts of the Ligurian coaft, which might be liable to be infulted by the English.

(Signed)

BELLEVILLE.

Copy of a Letter from the Minifter of the Interior to the Chevalier Azara, the Spanish Ambassador.

I

HAVE the honour to prefent you with fome copies of a letter which I have addreffed to different departments of the re public, encouraging them to give a greater activity and extent to their intercourfe of commerce and of the arts with the Spanish dominions. It affords me infinite fatisfaction to have it in my power to acquaint them, that the King of Spain grants a protection equally flattering and openly avowed to the produce of our industry.

The choice which he has made of you, Sir, to reprefent him with the French republic, is lefs with regard to you a mark of his eftcem, than a pledge of his friendly intentions towards France.

He has given us a fresh inftance of it by fhutting the harbours of his dominions against all English merchandife; it is now, therefore, that it may be faid with truth to Frenchmen, "The Pyrenees are no more:" this I may announce to our artists and to our traders; and I do not hesitate to affure them, that our rivals the islanders fhall not fucceed in re-establishing those barriers, as long as Spain fhall entrust its interefts to minifters like you. (Signed) FRANÇOIS DE NEUFCHATEAU.

The Chevalier Azara to the Minifter of the Interior.
Citizen Minifter,

Paris, the 23d September 1798.

I HAVE juft received, to my great fatisfaction, your letter of the 4th complementary day, together with the copies of the letter which you have addreffed to the departments of the republic, in order to revive their induftry and commerce, by propofing to them the facilities which Spain holds out to them by its pofition, by its amity with France, and by the prohibition of English merchandise.

The republic may rely upon the loyalty of the King my mafter, and of my nation, who will be always happy to draw closer the ties that unite them to the French nation, their natural ally, by letting it into a fhare of a commerce that must equally enrich them, while it lowers the trade of a proud and monopolizing government.

The honourable expreffions which you addrefs to me perfonally are highly flattering to my heart; and I accept of them with gratitude through the medium of a minifter of your enlightened understanding, and as the fentiments of a government whofe confidence and esteem it shall ever by my ambition to deserve. Please to accept, Citizen Minifter, the affurances of my high confideration. (Signed) J. NICHOLAS DE AZARA.

AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.

By the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland.

CAMDEN.

A PROCLAMATION.

W HEREAS a traitorous confpiracy, exifting within this kingdom, for the fubverfion of the authority of his Majefty and the Parliament, and for the deftruction of the established

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