princes of the blood, four peers of France, and fixty other members of the parliament, was nominated to wait upon the king with fresh remonftrances: but the death of the duke, which took place about this time, put a stop to the proceedings;-leaving however upon the reflecting and philofophic mind an impreffion, that views and fentiments of a complexion novel and interefting were becoming daily more prevalent in France; and that caufes permanent and powerful were now ftrongly, though fecretly, operating, which muft in procefs of time, and at the deftined period, produce effects proportionably dangerous and violent*.

The tranquillity of the fouthern parts of Europe was at this period interrupted only by the war, which had for a series of years fubfifted with little intermiffion between the republic of Genoa and the inhabitants of Corfica, over which ifland the Genoefe had long exercised a moft imperious and oppreffive dominion. During the war of 1740, England had given repeated aid and affiftance to the Corficans in their conteft with Genoa, then in alliance with France and Spain; but at the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle no mention was made of those brave and unfortunate iflanders, who ftill continued to defend their liberties with invincible refolution and fortitude. A certain German adventurer, known under the title of Baron Neuhoff, a man poffeffed of plaufible and popular talents, had found means to obtain their confidence, and was actually elected, A. D. 1736, fovereign of the if land, under the appellation of Theodore king of Corfica.

But

* The following remarkable prediction was at this precife period penned by M. Voltaire: Tout ce que je vois jete les femences à une revolution, qui arrivera IMMANQUABLEMENT, & dont je n'aurai pas le plaifir d'être temoin, La lumière s'est tellement repandue de proche en proche, qu'on éclatera à la premiere occafion, et alors ce fera un beau tapage. Les jeunes gens font bienheureux-ils verront des belles choses." This is in part wonderfully verified; but, through the fatal extravagancies of those who make liberty to confist in fuch wild and chimerical ideas of equality as are inconfiftent with every principle of order and fubordination, and inflamed to madness by the unprincipled and unprovoked attack of the continental powers, the blissful æra fo warmly anticipated by M. Voltaire feems as yet at a great diftance. From this chaos order will however one day arife; and of our own times it may still perhaps be truly affirmed, "Les jeunes gens verront des belles chofes."

But being found utterly incompetent to make good his magnificent boasts and prorifes, he was compelled to abdicate his fovereignty, and retired to England, where, being deeply involved in debt, he at length died in a forlorn and obfcure fituation. The Corficans, after the banishment of Theodore, transferred their regards, and in fome measure their allegiance, to a native chief, of the name of Giacinto Paoli, whom they elected general of their armies, and president of their councils, and under whose direction and guidance they gained very fignal advantages over the troops of the republic; so that, had no other power interfered, there exifted a strong probability that they would ultimately fucceed in the eftablishment of their liberty and independence.

England, during the high tide of their fucceffes, had demonftrated her regard to the pretended rights of the republic, by fcrupulously refraining from all intercourfe with the Corficans; though it would furely have been highly becoming her dignity, and that paffionate attachment to freedom by which she was herself characterized, to have interpofed her powerful influence in order to fecure, as with the most perfect eafe fhe might incontrovertibly have donc, to these heroic iflanders, the blefings of peace and liberty. But never, never hath an instance of national generofity fimilar to this found a place in the records of history. On the contrary, a proclamation was iffued under the administration of lord Bute, ftrictly prohibiting the subjects of England from granting aid or affiftance to the Corfican REBELS; and the republic of Genoa ftill perfifted in her fruitless and ruinous efforts to reduce them to abfolute fubmiffion. At length, general Matra, the Genoefe commander, being defeated with great lofs in an engagement with the infurgents near Furiani; and Bastia, the capital of the island, appearing in imminent danger of falling into the hands of the Corficans (who in July 1755 had elected, as their chief, Pafcal Paoli, fon of Giacinto); the fenate of Genoa was compelled to make a formal application for affiftance to the most chriftian king, the ally

of

of the republic; and in Auguft 1764 a convention was figned at Compeigne, importing that his most chriftian majefty, in confideration of a certain ftipulated fubfidy, should fend a confiderable force both naval and military to the island of Corfica-the latter there to remain for the term of four years if needful; and on the restoration of peace his mot chriftian majefty confented to guarantee the island to the republic. The Corficans, however, justly alarmed at this interference, refolved with inflexible constancy to defend their liberties at whatever rifk, fully and immoveably determined to endure every extremity rather than fubmit themselves and their pofterity to the insupportable yoke of Genoese tyranny and flavery. At the fame time general Paoli was commiffioned, respectfully to represent to his most christian majesty, in the name of the Corfican nation, the injury he was doing to the free Corticans, by fending his troops thither at the time they were upon the point of driving their enemies out of their inland. And well knowing how unavailing this reprefentation would probably prove, they charged their chief to folicit at the different courts of Europe, particularly those of Vienna and London, their mediation with his moft chriftian majefty, and to implore their protection in defence of their rights and liberties. Thefe applications, however, were doubtless received with coldness or contempt; for the French troops under the marquis de Marbœuf arrived without any impediment at the place of their deftination within or about the end of the year, and were immediately put into poffeffion of the principal fortreffes of Corfica yet remaining in the hand of the Genoefe.

In this general review of foreign politics, scarcely can be accounted worthy of mention the difpute fubfifting between his Britannic majefty, as elector of Hanover, and the chapter of Ofnaburg, to the bifhopric of which the king of England had, agreeably to the provisions of the treaty of Westphalia, nominated his fecond fon prince Frederic; during the minority of whom it became a subject of doubt and dif

cuffion,

cuffion, to whom belonged the adminiftration of the temporalties of the fee, and the comitial fuffrage in the diet of the Empire-the appointment of an infant bishop being a new cafe in ecclefiaftical hiftory. In a conteft fo unequal it will easily be fuppofed that, on an appeal to the diet now assembled at Ratisbon, a decifion was given without hefitation in favor of the monarch.

It remains only to remark, that on the 30th of December 1765 died at Rome, in a far advanced age, the famous Chevalier de St. George, only fon of the late king James II. Born with the prospect of inheriting three powerful kingdoms, he experienced during the course of a long life only a fucceffion of misfortunes. So entirely had he furvived his political confequence, that the intelligence of his death was received in Great Britain with the utmost coldnefs and indifference; though his pretenfions to the British crown had, within the memory of the majority of perfons living, excited the highest apprehenfion and alarm. And these claims, however futile in themfelves, or with whatever ferious mifchief to the ftate attended, were at leaft productive of this good confequence, that they compelled the reigning family perpetually to recur to thofe great principles of liberty civil and religious on which their own title to the crown was founded. But the annihilation of all competition will too naturally lead to the revival of those high and lofty ideas of regal authority fo flattering to the pride and ambition of kings, but which in this country at least cannot be acted upon but at their utmoft peril. The chevalier left two fons; upon the eldest of whom devolved that shadow of a fhade, the divine and indefeafible right of fucceffion to the throne of Great Britain. The younger, educated an ecclefiaftic, had been advanced to the purple under the appellation of cardinal of York; and he is at this moment the laft furviving male of the ancient and royal houfe of Stuart, which, having been precipitated from the height of regal fovereignty in confequence of its attachVOL. I.

G

ment

ment to the catholic faith, thus, to close and confummate its glories, "pays the laft tribute of a faint to heaven."

The parliament of England was convened at the usual period of the enfuing winter, and early in the year 1765 the queftion refpecting American taxation was revived with redoubled warmth and vigor. The indulgence of the minifter in deferring the impofition of the ftamp duties till the present year, had not produced any advances towards an accommodation. The difference of principle occafioned by the agitation of this new and dangerous queftion, was in fact far too great to admit of any amicable compromise. Numerous petitions or memorials were tranfmitted from the different colonies, none of them exprefsly admitting, but the majority on the contrary pofitively denying, the right of the British legiflature to impofe any tax for the purpose of raifing a colonial revenue, at the difpofal of the British parliament, and payable into the British exche

quer.

On the part of the colonists it was urged, that the claim of England was not only abfolutely novel, but diametrically opposite to the spirit and letter of the English conftitution, which has eftablished as a fundamental axiom-that taxation is infeparably attached to reprefentation-that as the colonies were not, and from local and political obftacles could not, be reprefented in the British parliament, it would be of the very effence of tyranny to attempt to exercife an authority over them, which from its very nature muft lead to grofs and inevitable abufe. For when Great Britain was in full poffeffion of the power now contended for, could it poffibly be imagined, when a fum of money for the fupply of the exigencies of government was wanting, that the British parliament would not rather choose to vote, that it should be paid by the colonists, than by themfelves and their conftituents?

In reply to the argument which stated as highly reafonable that America fhould contribute her proportion to the

general