upon his army, which was confiderably weakened by gradual defertions. On the 20th of April, Stofflet, and the remainder of the Chouan generals, figned a public declaration of their fubmiflion to the laws of the republic. It was in the following terms:

"We, the undersigned commander in chief and officers of the catholic and royal army of Anjou and Upper Poitou, do hereby declare, that, animated by a defire of peace, we have delayed its conclufion to this day, for no other reason, than that we might be able previously to take the fenfe of the people, with whofe intercits we are intrufted, and of the chiefs of the catholic and royal army of Britany. Now, that their fentiments have been proclaimed, not only by a publication of the 12th of February 1795, entitled Words of Peace, but alfo by the declaration of the 1ft of Floréal (April 19), we accede to the measures taken by the reprepresentatives of the people, to pa cify the departments hitherto in a ftate of infurrection, by fubmitting to the laws of the republic, one and indivisible, and promifing never to carry arms against her, and to deliver up our artillery as foon as poffible.

"May this declaration on our part contribute entirely to extinguish the flames of civil difcord, and convince foreign nations, that France no longer contains but one family; and that we earnestly with that they may foon form one fociety of friends.

"We request the reprefentatives of the people, who have concluded this pacification, to repair to the national convention, there to atteft the fincerity of our fentiments, and to deftroy the fufpicions which

diffaffected perfons may excite against the loyalty of our intention."

The fingular circumftances of the cafe render it neceffary to infert thefe authorities at full length, as they form the only proper criterion for determining concerning the guilt or innocence, the integrity or falfehood, of the individuals who afterwards acted in direct violation of them, and as they may poffibly affift us in accounting for the fubfequent conduct of the parties concerned.

That the marine force of France was ever able, in its most flourishing periods, to contend with that of Great Britain, may justly be doubted. France is an agricultural, England altogether a maritime country; the French have, therefore, fewer able feamen at their disposal than the English have; the French feamen are not wanting in courage, but they are wanting in fkill; and (what is more furprizing) from this deficiency, notwithstanding the impetuous and volatile character of the nation, they are really lefs active than the British seamen. Added to this, there were many temporary caufes which prevented the French from making such a stand on the fea at this time, as might have been expected from the natural ftrength of the nation. The deftruction of their shipping at Toulon might have been repaired; but the lofs of men cannot be remedied. The difcouragements to commerce, which had prevailed during the reign of the anarchists, and even the energy of Robefpierre's government, which, perhaps, was necessary to the safety of the republic againft its continental affailants, contributed effentially to the derangement of the French marine. In the requifitions which were

made

inade by the committee of public fafety for the reinforcement of the armies on the frontiers, no difcrimination was made; and the prime feamen of France, who ought to have been differently employed, were marched to the frontiers to exercife an occupation foreign to their habits, and for which the inland peafantry were equally qualified. By the celerity with which thefe levies were made, the armies of the republic were enabled, perhaps, to achieve thofe important victories which have aftonished Europe; but the navy was deftroyed. This appeared not only in the courfe of the preceding campaign, but even in 1795, when the marine commanders of France were more cautious in their movements. The republic had no fleet of fufficient force to keep the fea against the marine of Britain; their detached cruizers were therefore left without protection, and without refuge, whenever they were defcried at a distance from the coaft. Several frigates were taken by the English in the course of the year,-most of them without resistance, but fome after a ferious conflict, one of the most remarkable of which happened on the 4th of January, off Martinique, between the French frigate La Pique of 34 guns, and the Blanche, commanded by the gallant captain Falkner, of 32 guns. The engagement lafted five hours of clofe fighting. The French frigate had all her mafts fhot away, and had 76 men killed, and 110 wounded, befides about 30 who were loft with the mafts. The lofs of the English was 8 killed and 12 wounded; but among the former was captain Falkner himself.

An action of fome importance took place on the 14th of March,

in the Mediterranean, between the English fleet, confifting of 14 fhips of the line and 3 frigates, under the command of admiral Hotham, and a French fleet confifting of 15 fail of the line, and an equal number of frigates with the British. Admiral Hotham, while in Leghorn road, on the 8th of March, received intelligence that the French fleet had been feen off the ifle of St.Marguerite; and this intelligence correfponded with a fignal made from the Mozelle, then in the offing, for a fleet in the north-west quarter. The admiral immediately ordered the British fleet to be unmoored, and the following morning put to fea. Having previously received information by the Mozelle, that the fleet fhe had feen was fteering to the fouthward, he fhaped his courfe for Corfica, and difpatched the Tarleton brig with orders for the Berwick at St. Fiorenza to join him off Cape Corse; but, in the course of the night, the Tarleton returned with the unwelcome news, that the Berwick had been captured two days before by the enemy's fleet.

The two fquadrons did not come within fight of each other till the 12th. The fignal was made the following morning (13th) by the British admiral for a general chafe; and the wind blowing very fresh, one of the French line of battle fhips was difcovered without her top-mafts, which afforded captain Freemantle, in the Inconftant frigate, a good opportunity to attack, rake, and harafs her till the Agamemnon came up, when the French fhip received fo much damage, as to be difabled from putting herfelf to rights. The two English veffels were, however, fo distant from their own fleet, that they were obliged to

fight, which deterred the French admiral from pufhing his advantages, and enabled the British fleet to effect their efcape with little lofs.

On the 23d of the fame month, a naval victory of fome importance was achieved by admiral lord Bridport, off Port l'Orient, over the fame French fleet from which admiral Cornwallis had efcaped. The British force was greatly fuperior in weight of metal, and confifted of 14 fhips of the line and 8 frigates. The French had only 12 fhips of the line and 9 frigates. At the dawn of day on the 22d, the Nymph and Aftrea, being the look-out frigates of the British fquadron, made the fignal for an enemy's fleet; and the admiral perceiving that they indicated no intention to meet him in battle, made the fignal for four of the best-failing veffels to chafe, which continued all that day, and during the night, with very little wind. Early in the morning of the 23d, fome

with

of the British fhips came up the enemy; and a little before fix o'clock the action began, and continued till three in the afternoon. As the French, however, kept as near as poffible to the fhore, only three were captured, the Alexander (which had been taken from the English in the preceding year), the Formidable, and the Tigre; when thefe fhips ftruck, the British fquadron was close to fome batteries on the fhore, fo that it was even with difficulty that they were retained; and the rest of the French fquadron efcaped into l'Orient. The lofs of the British in this action was 31 killed and 115 wounded: the lofs of the French we have not been able to ascertain.

In the course of the winter of 1794, a French fquadron, of 1 ship of the line, 2 frigates, and 2 floops, deftroyed all the British fettlements on the coaft of Africa, took a number of merchant fhips, and an immenfe quantity of plunder.

CHAP.