CHAP. XIII. In France, a General wish for Peace.—But the Popularity of the War with England fill continued.—Overture of Peace from England to the French Republic.-Negociation for Peace at Paris. Abruptly broken off.— Affairs, Maritime and Colonial, French and British.—Infidelity of the French Government to their Engagements to the Dutch.—French Preparations and Expedition for an Invafion of Ireland.—Defeated.—The Death of Catharine II.—And of the Refignation of General Washington. THE HE directory were very fenfible that, after the pacification which they had in so great a meafure effected in the affairs of religion, the nation would expect that they fhould proceed with equal folicitude to reftore peace between the state and its numerous enemies: victories enough had been obtained to teach these the inefficacy of their endeavours to fubvert the system now fettled in France; the adherence to which, by the mafs of the people, was fufficiently proved, by the zeal with which they fupported it, and the fufferings to which they had chearfully fubmitted, during the ftruggle against its many and potent adverfaries. It was time to come to a conclufion of so destructive a war, and to conclude a peace upon reasonable conditions. This was a language that began to diffuse itself every where. The popularity of the war against England, which was looked upon as the power under the aufpices of which it had been chiefy promoted, was not diminished: but as the ruinous expences of this terrible conteft, had proved fo fruitlefs, for the purpose proposed by this ancient rival, it was now hoped, that he would defift from attempts that had already coft him fo much blood and treasure. To perfift in them, muft finally plunge him into far more serious difficulties than he had yet encountered. His refources, however great, were not fufficient to fubfidize the immenfe combination of powers that he must bring into action. He might keep them together fome time longer; but the greatness of his efforts must neceffarily exhauft him, and he would then be compelled to agree to a much more difadvantageous peace, than if he were willing, while yet on a refpectable footing, to enter into pacific negociations. Such were the fentiments of the moderate party in France, but there were others who entertained no other ideas, than of an entire subjugation of England. To humble it would not fatisfy them. The French, in their opinion, were entitled to wreak the moft fignal vengeance on a people that had excited all Europe against them, that had loaded loaded them with the most opprobrious afperfions, that had fought their utter ruin, and not only to deprive them of their hard earned liberty, but to parcel them out among the European defpots. Fortune having declared for the republicans, it was equally their duty and their intereft to inflict the fevereft punishment on those who had formed fo iniquitous a defign. While England fubfifted, it would prove an everlasting and irreconcileable enemy. It would unite with every power that harboured malevolent intentions to France. It would foment and fupport that rebellious and fanatic party among the French, which thought itself bound, in conscience, to oppofe the prefent government, and to reftore the houfe of Bourbon. No medium remained between a precarious exiftence of the republic, and the total reduction of England. Having forced all their other enemies to fubmit, it were fhameful to fuffer this, their most deadly one, to retain the power of compelling them to undergo another trial for their independence. With arguments of this kind did the violent among the republicans plead for the propriety of making an attempt upon England itfelf; alleging, at the fame time, the number of partifans and well-withers the republic might rely upon, among the English malcontents; whofe numbers were immenfe, and daily augmenting, through the preffures which the war inceffantly accumulated upon the nation. But that circumftance which moft irritated all parties in France at this juncture, and deftroyed the confidence of their government in the good faith of that of England, was the miffion of Mr. Hammond, to Berlin, in order to procure, as they firmly afferted, the re-union of Pruffia to the coalition. His failure, they faid, was the real cause of the English miniftry's determination to make overtures for a treaty. Influenced by this fufpicion, though the Directory permitted the French minifter for foreign affairs to grant a paffport for an agent from England, at the request of the Englifh miniftry, yet this was done much more to obviate the complaints that would have arifen upon their refufal, than from any expectation of a profperous iffue to the negociation. Lord Malmsbury, the perfon commiffioned on the part of Great Britain, to negociate a peace with France, arrived at Paris, on the twenty-fecond of October, and was, on his arrival, received by the peo ple of that city with every demonftration of joy: but the government, far from treating him with cordiality, indirectly countenanced a variety of furmifes, fo prejudicial to his errand and official character, that he was neceffitated formally to complain of them, before it thought proper to filence and difavow them. The negociation was opened, on the twenty-fourth of October, by lord Malmbury's propofing to De la Croix, the French minifter of the foreign department, to fix upon fome principles whercon to found the conditions of the treaty, and recommending that of reciprocal reftoration of what had been loft and taken by each of the Belligerent parties, as the moft ufually adopted on fuch occafions. He obferved, that Great Britain having, in the courfe of this war, made conquefts upon, France of the highest value and and confequence, was not in the cafe of requiring reftitutions for itfelf; but France having made large acquifitions on the allies of Great Britain, the objects of the negociation feemed, of courfe, to be the compenfations that France might expect, for the reftitutions it would make. The directory rejoined, by taking notice, that the relpective fituation of France, and of its remaining enemies, ought to be duly confidered in the demands of the latter for reftitutions. The ftrength of thefe had been diminified by their loffes, and the desertion of their associates, who had not only abandoned the coalition, but were now become the allies of France, or obferved a strict neutrality. Thefe, it was infinuated, were circumftances very unfavourable to the reftitutions hinted at by the British negociator. After a variety of farther affer To this propofal of the English ambaflador, it was replied by the directory, that the acceffion of other powers to a bufinefs, which he was authorised to transact separately between Great Britain and France, would effentially retard the progress of the negociation, as he had notions and replications on both fides, commiffion from thofe allies to act in their behalf. But that to prove their readiness to embrace every means of reconciliation, they would confent, on his procuring credentials to that purpofe, from thofe allies, to take into confideration any fpecific propofals he should lay before them. the directory at length agreed to the principle laid down by lord Malmbury, and required a fpecific mention of the compenfations he had alluded to. He replied, by propofing the reftitution of what had been taken from the emperor, and peace to be negociated with him for the empire, as its conftitutional head: the acceffion of Ruffia to the prefent treaty; and Portugal to be included in it, without any demands of indemnity by France. In return for the conceffions, Great Britain confented to restore its conquefts in both the Indies; provided however it received an equivalent for that portion of the island of Hifpaniola, ceded by Spain to France. The restoration of the prince of Orange, to the Stadtholdership of the Seven United Provinces, was alfo required, in confideration of which Great Britain would reftore most of its acquifitions from them. To thefe outlines of the pacification propofed, the directory anfwered, by requiring the whole of his demands to be flated to them intwenty-four hours. To this peremp tory tory requifition he replied, that it precluded at once all farther negociation: that, if they difapproved of his propofitions, or refused to take them into confideration, they ought to bring forward their own, that he might lay them before his conftituents. But he received no other anfwer, than that they could liften to no terms inconfiftent with the constitution, and the engagements formed by the republic. It was fignified to him, at the fame time, that being obliged to confult the British miniftry, previoufly to all replies and communications, it evidently appeared that his powers were inadequate to the conducting of a treaty, which might, if the British miniftry were inclined to pacific measures, and determined to treat on their present plan, be as well forwarded by an epiftolary correspondence. Lord Malmbury's, they farcaftically obferved, was a negociation of couriers and meflages. This republican rudene's ftrongly marked the fubverfion of the French monarchy. His refidence therefore in Paris being totally unneceflary, they ordered him to depart in forty-eight hours. This injunction was notified to him on the twentieth of December. Thus ended a negociation, of which no hopes had been entertain ed, from the manner in which it. commenced, and was carried on. Politicians thought that too much was demanded of the French, and that they were difpofed to grant too little. The truth was, that neither the British, nor the French, government, werdi fincerely difpofed to peace; though a fhew of pacific inclinations was neceflary to both, in order to preferve any tolerable degree of popularity, and even to the endurance of their fway among their refpective nations. Circum ftances greatly favoured the French, exclufively of their fuccefles in Italy. The German princes and flates, alarmed at the reaffumption of its former loftinefs of ftyle by the court of Vienna, on the expulfion of the French from the empire, were confirmed in their adherence to Pruffia, as a counterbalance to the power of Auftria. Both the court of Berlin and Peterburgh had united, on this occafion, in efpoufing their cause. Thus, though the emperor continued ftedfaft in his engagements with England, ftill the union formed against him in the empire, diminifhed confiderably his importance. Spain too, at this period, was in league with France, and preparing a formidable armament against England. The councils of the Batavian republic, the new ftyle of the Seven United Provinces, were fo firmly interwoven with thofe of the French republic, that a re-establiment of their former government was become inadmiflible in any treaty. Notwithstanding thefe manifold advantages, numbers in France did not contentedly fee the difmiflion of lord Malmbury, thinking that poffibly a fairer opportunity of concluding a beneficial peace, would not recur. The events of war had hitherto been fo much more profperous than could be expected, that they ought to have been improved, while their influence was in full ftrength from their being recent, and the fortune of the state should not have been committed to the future contingencies of war, the chances of which were fo uncertain and precarious. In order to screen themfelves from thefe ftri&tures, which moft people deemed not ill-founded, the directory published an elaborate apology for their conduct, wherein they they endeavoured to criminate that of the British minifiry in the late negociation. They enumerated the conquefts and victories of the French, the glory they had obtained, the connections they had formed, and the treaties they had concluded. They reprefented that miniftry, as infifting upon the diffolution of every honourable and beneficial tie they had contracted. Every advantage was to be given up, and the enemies of the repub lic replaced on the fame footing as before the war, and completely enabled to renew it with the likelieft profpect of fuccefs. France, in a word, was to renounce its honour and its reputation, as well as its dearest interests, and tamely forego all thofe claims to which the triumphs obtained by its arms had given it fo reasonable and inconteftible a right. The apology concluded with menaces to England, and exhortations to the people of France, to perfevere unremittingly in the profecution of the war, which could not fail to terminate glorioufly for the republic, and to the merited humiliation of a foe, that prefumed to dictate conditions to a state that had impofed its own terms on every other member of the coalition. This addrefs, by the directory, fo well calculated to operate on the national vanity of Frenchmen, and a vulgar paffion for falfe glory, proved fatisfactory to the majority of people: but many remained unconvinced of the propriety of their conduct, and appealed to the multiplicity of untoward events that had befallen the arms, and the enter prizes of the republic, during the courfe of the present year. Thefe had certainly met with fevere checks. Exclufively of their expulfion from Germany, the French had been very unfuccefsful in the Weft Indies, and throughout the whole of their tranfmarine fettlements. The colony of St. Domingo, the most valuable of any to France, and the former fource of its commercial profperity, was in a state of confufion, that baffled all the efforts continually made to reftore it to any order. The blacks and the mulattoes were now become its rulers, and the ancient proprietors in most parts of it, entirely ruined. Their eftates were in the hands of their former flaves, who lorded it every where with that barbarity, which is the ufual concomitant of uncivilization. As they were armed, their numbers made them irrefiftible. They chofe their own commanders, and in a fhort time threw off all fubjection to government, and took forcible poffeffion of a large portion of the fouthern diftricts, where they declared themfelves a free and independent people. The French commiffioners were unable to reduce them, and with no fmall difficulty preferved the fovereignty of the republic in the northern parts. In addition to thofe diforders, feveral of the prin cipal places in the island were in poffeffion of the English, who had been called in by the planters, to protect them from the tyranny of the French commiffioners: in confideration of which they had tranf ferred their allegiance from France to Great Britain. But neither the French nor the English feemed, at this period, in a fituation long to retain the dominion of that ifland. The emancipation of the flaves, by the government in France, had excited a fpirit of dif obedience in them, which, gradually matured into mutiny and rebellion, had produced a revolution, by which |