The New annual register, or General repository of history, politics, and ...

ANNUAL REGISTER,

OR GENERAL REPOSITORY OF

HISTORY,

POLITICS,

AND

LITERATURE, For the YEAR 1796.

TO WHICH IS PREFIXED,

The HISTORY of KNOWLEDGE, LEARNING, and TASTE, in GREAT BRITAIN, during the Commonwealth, and the Ufurpation of CROMWELL.

LONDON,

Printed for G. G. and J. ROBINSON Pater-nofter-Row.

MDCCXCVII.

BODLEIAN

2 APR 1959

LIBRARY

PREFACE.

As no alteration has taken place in the conduct of

the New Annual Register; and as the little cavils which have been raised against it by interested perfons, have been completely filenced by time and experience, which have fanctioned our opinions, there is little to be faid in presenting to our readers a new volume.

Our Domestic Hiftory will be found to be chiefly occupied, this year, by the very interesting debates of parliament on the celebrated bills which produced fo material an alteration in our fyftem of law concerning treafon and fedition,-on the conduct of the war,—and on the finances of the nation. In this department of the work, we have pursued our ufual mode, that of bringing together all the debates on every particular topic, in order to present to the reader the most complete and fatisfactory view of the arguments on every subject.

The flightest inspection of our Foreign Hiftory will convince our readers that it is not compiled from newfpapers, or from any common fources of intelligence. It will, therefore, in many refpects, be found to differ from the accounts now generally received. We can, how

ever, affure the public, that it is not the less genuine and authentic for that; and we can further affure them, that we have never prefumed to differ from the common and official accounts, but where our information proceeded from fo fuperior an authority as to leave not a doubt but that it was right. Some explanation will also be found in this volume, of certain political transactions, which have appeared in a mysterious light to most persons; but these affairs will be still more amply elucidated in our next volume.

On the literary parts of this volume, the ufual attention has been bestowed; and we truft they will not be found inferior to our former endeavours in these departments.

CON