on the 8th of July, 1780, an end was put to the present feffion. The political alienation which had for fome years taken place between England and Holland became daily more vifible and notorious. A requisition had been made by the court of London to the States General, foon after the declaration of war against Spain, for the fuccours stipulated by the treaty of 1678, confirmed by various subsequent agreements: but no answer could be obtained from their high mightinesses. On the contrary, loud complaints were made of the conduct of the English court, which had caused to be seized, and carried into the different ports of Great Britain, ships belonging to the subjects of the Republic, navigated under the faith of treaties and not laden with contraband goods:-this, no doubt, was, in many instances, the fact. On the other hand, Great Britain, complained, with equal truth, that France received from Holland continual supplies of naval and military stores, contrary to the faith of treaties; and that the principle of felf-defence warranted the seizure and detention of all vessels laden with such exceptionable cargoes. On the ist of January, 1780, commodore Fielding fell in with a fleet of Dutch merchant ships off Portland, convoyed by a small squadron of men of war, commanded by count Byland. Captain Fielding defiring permiffion to vifit the merchants ships, in order to afcertain whether they contained any contraband goods, was refused by the Dutch admiral; on which he fired a shot a-head of the count, who returned a broad-fide: Commodore Fielding did the fame, and then the Dutch immediately struck their colours. Such of the merchant ships as had naval stores on board were stopped, and the Dutch admiral was informed that he was at liberty to hoist his colours and profecute his voyage. But he refused to quit his convoy, and accompanied the commodore to Portsmouth, A memorial in strong and resentful terms was presented by by count Welderen, by order of the states, in consequence of this tranfaction, which was represented as a direct attack upon the independence and sovereignty of their high mightineffes, and a peremptory demand made of reparation and redress, to which no regard was paid. But on the 17th of April a declaration was published by the king of Great Britain, by which it was announced, " that repeated memorials having been presented by his majesty's ambassador to the states general, demanding the fuccours stipulated by treaty, to which requifition they had given no answer, nor signified any intention of compliance, his majesty confidered their high mightinesses as having deferted the alliance that had fo long subsisted between Great Britain and the Republic: and his majesty from this time suspended, provisionally, all the stipulations of the several exifting treaties, particularly of the marine treaty concluded at London A. D. 1674." Holland was, however, far from being fingular in her complaints respecting the violated rights of neutrality. The powers of the Baltic, with a firmer tone, and in more decided language, declared their resolution to adopt fuch measures as were necessary for their own security. Early in the spring, 1780, the empress of Ruffia addreff ed a declaration to the courts of London, Versailles, and Madrid, containing an explicit statement of the principles on which she had determined to act for the removal of those molestations which had interrupted the navigation of her subjects, and for the protection of the liberty of commerce in general. The radical principles here laid down were:-I. That neutral ships should enjoy a free navigation even from port to port, and on the coast of the Belligerent powers -II. That all effects belonging to the subjects of the Belligerent powers shall be looked upon as free on board such neutral ships, excepting only warlike stores or ammunition-but neither the vessels, passengers, or the rest of the goods shall be liable to seizure or detention. "Το these C2 these principles," her Imperial majefty declared, " fhe was firmly refolved to adhere; and for the honour of her flag, and the fecurity to her fubjects, she had ordered a confiderable part of her naval forces to be equipped, to act wherever her honor, interest, or neceffity should require." Denmark and Sweden acceding in form to this declaration of Ruffia, and ordering fimilar equipments of their marine, this confederacy of the powers of the north acquired the appellation of " the armed neutrality," and the bafis on which it was founded seemed to give universal fatisfaction throughout Europe-England alone, against whom it was manifestly levelled, excepted. In the answer of the king of France it was faid, that what her Imperial majesty claimed from the belligerent powers was nothing else than the rules actually prescribed to the French navy, and that solid advantages must result from this measure, not only to the fubjects of Russia, but to all nations." The reply of England was cold, and civilly evafive; but this measure in reality excited so deep a resentment, that the conduct of England respecting Ruffia, for several years fucceeding this period, may be afcribed chiefly, or folely, to the alienation and hatred originating in the present obnoxious procedure. The war between Great Britain and Spain had scarcely commenced when the blockade of Gibraltar was formed by sea and land, and the hope of recovering that fortress probably operated as no inconfiderable inducement with Spain to engage in the present war. Early in the year 1780 fir George Rodney, an officer diftinguished by his gallant exertions in the late war, was appointed to the command of a powerful fleet, destined for the relief of that place, having on board prince William Henry, the third son of his majesty. On the northern coast of Spain he fell in with a convoy of twentytwo merchant-ships, richly laden, under the protection of a squadron a squadron of seven ships of war, to which he immediately gave chace, and in a few hours the whole were taken. This success was, however, only the prelude to another and much greater. On the 16th of January, off Cape St. Vincent, he descried a Spanish squadron, confifting of fourteen fail of the line, which he directly bore down upon, and notwithstanding the storminess incident to the season, taking the lee-gage, in order to prevent the enemy from retreating into their own ports; at four in the afternoon the action began, and in little more than half an hour one of the Spanish ships blew up with a dreadful explosion. The engagement nevertheless continued with unabating fury in the midst of darkness and confufion, and before morning the Phoenix of 80 guns, Don Juan de Langara, the Spanish admiral's own ship; the Monarca, the Princessa, the Diligenti, of 70 guns each, struck their colours; the St. Julien and St. Eugenio were also captured, but through the violence of the tempest were afterwards driven on shore and loft. The others, escaped in a very shattered condition, and the whole squadron, as to any immediate capability of service, might be confidered as annihilated. Though the force of Admiral Rodney was greatly fuperior, his skill and courage were fully apparent in the mode of conducting the attack, which the violence of the storm, the darkness of the night, and the vicinity of a lee-shore, every where encircled with shoals and breakers, rendered very dangerous; the admiral's own ship, the Sandwich, and several others, were in extreme hazard of being loft on the shoals of St. Lucar, and did not get into deep water till the next day. After effecting the primary object of his commiffion, the relief of Gibraltar, fir George Rodney proceeded to the West Indies, sending home his prizes under the care of admiral Digby, who, on his passage captured the Prothèe Prothée, a French ship of 6.4 guns, and part of her convoy of merchant ships. No fooner had admiral Rodney taken upon him the command in the West Indies, than every poffible exertion was made to bring on a general action, which count de Guichen, who commanded the French fleet, cautioufly avoided; but intelligence being received that in the night of the 15th of April, 1780, they had put to fea with their whole force, admiral Rodney, who was stationed at St. Lucie, immediately followed, and early on the morning of the 17th he came in fight of the enemy; at noon the admiral made the signal for a general and close engagement, setting himself a noble example of courage to the fleet by bearing down upon the French admiral, whom he fought with unremitting fury till the enemy bore away, leaving the Sandwich, which from causes not easily or clearly ascertainable was very ill supported in this action, a mere wreck upon the water. Other partial and indecisive encounters also took place, in which little inferiority of skill or courage was discernible on the part of the French officers or feamen. During these transactions in the West Indies Don Galvez, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, reduced the British settlements on the Mississippi, and had made great progress in the conquest of the province of Weft Florida, though Pensacola held out to the next year. As a very inadequate counterbalance to these successes, an expedition had been undertaken from Jamaica to the Spanish main; and the fortress of Omoa, which contained a confiderable booty in specie and merchandise, was taken by storm, but foon afterwards evacuated. A very heavy misfortune in the autumn of this year took place, in the entire capture of the outward bound East and West India fleets in the bay of Biscay by the Spaniards, a lofs which had no parallel in the naval and commercial history of |