had taken place in the British parliament. As thofe debates chiefly turned upon the authority of a private letter, we then intimated our doubts with respect to the accuracy of the statement, which we expected further information would enable us to correct. That information has fince been both amply and ably laid before the public by Mr. Bryan Edwards, the laborious and wellinformed author of the History of the Weft Indies. By the statement of this gentleman, it appears, from the treaty concluded in 1738 by governor Trelawney with the Maroons, that, contrary to the hafty affertions of fome members in the house of commons, the Maroons were, for every offence against the white inhabitants, to be delivered up to the common courfe of justice in the ifland,-that thefe people exifted in the most depraved state of barbarism, and that in the month of July 1795, two Maroons having committed a felony were apprehended, tried by a jury at Montego Bay, and fentenced, according to law, to be whipped; which fentence was inflicted in the ufual manner by the black overfeer of the workhoufe negroes, whofe office it is to inflict punishment on fuch occafions. On the return of the offenders to Trelawney town, the principal Maroon settlement, the whole body of Maroons affembled; and after some tumultuous debates, they determined to fend a written defiance to the magiftrates of Montego Bay, adding that they intended to attack the town on the 20th of July. The militia affembled on the 19th; but the parties were prevented from proceeding to extremities by the Maroons defiring a conference with the magiftrates, in the course of which the matters in difpute were fettled to the apparent fatisfaction of all concerned. Mr. Edwards, however, afferts. that the Maroons, in defiring this conference, were actuated folely by motives of treachery; that they knew that the principal part of the regular force on the island was to fail on the 26th for St. Domingo ; and that they immediately began to tamper with the negro flaves, and to feduce them from their allegiance. Seriously and justly alarmed at this information, as the fleet had already failed, lord Balcarras loft no time in difpatching after it a swift-failing vessel, which was fortunate enough to overtake it on the second of Auguft; and on the fourth, one thoufand men under col. Fitch difembarked from the transports in Montego Bay. The war now formally commenced, though it appears that there was a confiderable party among the Maroons themfelves averfe to hoftility. On the 12th of Auguft, on the approach of the British troops, the Maroons withdrew from the new town: but they employed this manœuvre merely as a feint, to draw their opponents into an ambufcade, where the conflict proved fatal to the British commander, col. Sandford, and a confiderable number of his party. After this affair, the Maroons eftablished their head-quarters at a poft which was almost inacceffible, called the Cockpits, whence at different times they difpatched fmall parties, who conducted this defultory warfare with the ufual cruelty of barbarians. Col. Fitch, who fucceeded col. Sand-ford in the command, followed him likewife in his fate, and fell a facrifice to this wily and active enemy in an ambufcade. The general affembly was convened in September; and in fuch circumftances it was natural to recur to paft experience for a precedent to govern their conduct. It was R 2 found found that in the long and bloody war which had been carried on previous to the treaty of 1738, a certain fpecies of dogs had been employed, to difcover the concealment of the Maroons, and to prevent the fatal effects refulting from their ambuscades. By a refolution therefore of the affembly, an order was fent to Cuba to procure a hundred dogs, accompanied with a proper number of Spanish chaffeurs: but in the mean time fuch meafures were purfued as promifed to render their affiftance unneceflary. By the indefatigable zeal and activity of gen. Walpole, who fucceeded col. Fitch in the command, the Maroons were completely hemmed in, and the paffes to other parts of the country were effectually fecured. From the want of a fupply of water, and the terror which the rumours, propagated concerning the dogs, had infpired, the Maroons were once more therefore induced to conclude a treaty: and Mr. Edwards adds, that "not a drop of blood was thed "after the dogs arrived." In confequence of the treaty, the Maroons furrendered, and with their wives and families were removed in the month of June following to Lower Canada, where lands were provided for them, and where they are to form a free, and, we hope, a flourishing fettlement. We are happy to be enabled, on fuch good authority, to correct the hafty fketch of thefe proceedings which we gave in our laft volume from the debates of parliament. →→→ Whatever may be our private fentiments, our readers may depend upon it, that truth will ever be our first object, and that nothing can be more oppofite to our wishes and intentions, than to mis-state a single fact. CHAP. XII. Laws prohibiting the Introduction of English Manufactures into Holland, France, and Spain. Adhesion of the Genocfe to the French Evacuation of Corfica. Peace concluded with Naples and Parma. Negotiations with the Pope. Formation of the Gifpadane Republic. Attack of the French on Newfoundland. Capture of the Dutch Fleet at the Cape of Good Hope. Defeat of the Imperialifis at Neuwied. Battle of Arcole. Defeat of General Alvinzi. State of Finances. Regulations respecting the Lift of Emigrants. Refufal of the Directory to admit the American Ambajador. Recall of the French Ambaffador from the United States. Negotiation of the English Government with the Directory for Peace. Failure of the Negotiation. Affairs of Holland. Failure of the projected Defcent of the French on Ireland. The Pope forms an Alliance with the Emperor of Germany, and makes tvarlike Preparations. Formation of the confederated Cities South of the Po into one Republic. Conflitution of Geneva. Siege of Kehl. Gallantry of the French General Defaix. Surrender of Kehl. Reflections on the Campaign. General State of Europe. Death of the Empress of Ruffia. Concluding Ob fervations. A LTHOUGH every power în Europe had felt in a greater or lefs degree, the force of the French arms or the diplomatic in fluence of the republic, England had hitherto, except in the accu mulation of debt and the derange ment of her finances, fuffered the leaft repealed, it had been for fome time altogether unheeded; the French having found. certain advantages in the clandeftine commerce carried on with England. They were also unwilling to check privateering, by means of which they furnished themfelves with colonial productions at a cheap rate; and they were therefore tardy in fubmitting themfelves to the obligation they had in fome measure impofed on the Dutch; nor was it until the Dutch government threatened to repeal their prohibitory decree, that the directory fent a meffage to the council, requesting their confidera leaft inconvenience from the war. Various had been the plans of annoyance against that country pro-jected by the French; but all had hitherto been delayed, or fet afide as inadequate or impracticable, till it was fuggefted that the most effectual mode of oppofing England with advantage, fince the French could not themfelves from the inferiority of their naval force injure -her commerce, was to shut out her manufactures from every port in Europe. The proclamation iffyed by the English minifter, permitting the exportation of goods to the Netherlands and the United Provinces, -led the Dutch convention to iluetion of the propofitions laid before a counter-proclamation, forbidding, under fevere penalties, the entry of -fuch goods into the Dutch repub-lic, and calling on their country. men, by every principle of honour, as well as eventual intereft, to abftain from this commerce. They obferved, in their report, that the -precarious benefit offered them was the fruit of the perfidy and rapine which the English government had -exercised towards them; that this laft infult ought to be repelled with indignation, as compliance with it would only be favouring the defigns of the enemy, fince the only motive the English government could have for this act of apparently relaxed hoftility, was that of feeking to exhauft Holland of its ready money to fatisfy its own neceffities, and thereby facilitate the means of continuing the war. M The Dutch government impart ed their refolution to the directory, -requiring them to adopt the fame mode with refpect to France, which, with their advice, they had adopted in Holland. Though the law made in the beginning of the reign of terror, forbidding the importation of English manufactures, stood un them on that fubject. Thefe pro- R 3 Venues venues of England, it paffed by a confiderable majority. This new fyftem of hoftilities was carried into execution throughout the greater part of Europe. The English manufactures found no entrance into any port from the Elbe to the Adriatic, fave those of Portugal. Spain, by the declaration of war, had entered partly into the plan; and, on the fuggeftion of the French, was prepared to follow their fteps. Genoa, after repeated struggles to keep her neutrality refpected, placed unfortunately between three great powers, thofe of England, Auftria, and France, and her territory violated fucceffively by each, was compelled to yield to the urgent remonftrances of the French republic, and by a formal treaty (on October 9th) agreed to fhut up her ports against the English. Leghorn was in poffeffion of the republican troops, as we have already related; and the English found themselves confined in the Mediterranean to the poffeffion of the Ifland of Elbe, before Leghorn, to which they retreated when expelled from that city. Their Italian allies, the pope and the king of Naples, were, by the conditions of the armiftice with the French republic, circumfcribed in their means of affording affiftance. Corfica was alfo at this period (15th of October) evacuated by the English, who, having taken poffeffion of it at a time when the tyranny of the jacobins had fubjected France, had found the lefs refiftance in re-establishing the forms of monarchical government. While Spain and Italy remained faithful to the coalition, and the French were menaced in their ports by the fleets of thefe combined powers, Corfica fubmitted to the British crown, not having at that period the choice of an alternative. But when these powers were either neutralifed by the fuccefs of the French armies in Italy, or become hoftile to their former allies by forming new combinations with the French, whom they had joined to extirpate,-the Corficans, whofe love of independence had already been the favourite theme of poets and hiftorians, once more felt and cherished the generous flame. For fome time the deliverance of Corfica had been in contemplation; nor could the vigilance of the viceroy hinder fuch communications, or his authority suppress fuch tendencies to infurrection, as were fufficient to mark the difpofitions of his newly-acquired fubjects. While the French were forming plans, the execution of which was checked by the fuperiority of the English naval force, the Corficans were employed in find ing means how to co-operate with their former countrymen, and shake off their new allegiance. The viceroy, who knew how to estimate the alternately fubtle and ftubborn politics of thefe iflanders, did not wait the explofion, but gave notice that he was going to withdraw his troops, and along with them the kingly government he had come to establish. The Corficans fcarcely waited the withdrawing of the English troops, before they formed themselves into primary affemblies to fend deputies to the commiffioners in Italy, to diveft themfelves of their title of fubjects to the king of England, and fwear allegiance to liberty," as citizens of the French republic. The negotiation which during the fummer had been carrried on between a general peace, it was ratified by the council of five hundred, and approved by that of the elders. No territory having been taken on either fide, and the hoftility of Naples having fcarcely been felt by the French, there appeared no just caufe for large claims of compenfation. France, by this peace, had one enemy lefs to contend with; and the fecret articles allowed indemnifications and privileges which were deemed equal to any conditions that could have been asked, and which, from the manner in which they were granted, were lefs revolting to the feelings of the Neapolitan government. between the republic and Naples, The treaty with the duke of Par ma, which had likewife been negotiated through the mediation of Spain, was foon after ratified in the ufual forms. The fame fuccefs did not attend the negotiation with the pope. M. Pierracchi, who had been fent as plenipotentiary from the holy fee to the French republic, found the conditions propofed by the directory fo irrreconcilable with the maxims of the catholic church, that he refused to come to any conclufion. It was, however, agreed that the negotiation fhould be continued in Italy, nearer to the refidence of the pope, that his holinefs might himfelf determine what were the conditions to which he chofe to give his affent, and what were the facrifices of reli-, A congrefs gious opinion he fhould think it' expedient to make. was therefore appointed to be held at Florence, confifting of the French commiffioners belonging to the army in Italy, on the part of the republic, and of count Galeppi on that of the holy fee. The congrefs, which met on the 11th of September, was, however, of fhort duration; for the commiffioners pro R 4 duced |