A.D 1782, 1783.

PEACE OF VERSAILLES.

661

and the combined fleet did not venture to attack him. The siege was continued till the peace in 1783, but only nominally. General Elliot, on his return to England in 1787, was raised to the peerage as Lord Heathfield* of Gibraltar.

§ 18. As France and Spain seemed desirous of continuing the war, Lord Shelburne hastened to renew the negotiations for a separate treaty with America; and though the terms of the American alliance with France, which had been carried out in the most liberal spirit by the latter country, strictly precluded a separate peace, yet, as it was obvious that the continuance of the war for any object beyond the recognition of the independence of the American States could serve only French or Spanish interests, Dr. Franklin, and the other three American commissioners in Paris, did not hesitate to respond to the advances of the British government. Articles were signed on November 30, 1782, the chief of which were the recognition of the independence of the United States, an advantageous arrangement of their boundaries, and the concession of the right of fishing on the Banks of Newfoundland. Great Britain recognized and satisfied the claims of the American Loyalists to the extent of nearly ten millions sterling for losses of real or personal property, and of £120,000 per annum in life annuities for loss of income in trades or professions-a splendid instance of good faith after so expensive a war. In England the treaty was received with various feelings. It was not till June, 1785, that George III. had an interview with Mr. Adams, the first minister from the United States, which naturally occasioned considerable emotion on both sides. The king received Mr. Adams with affability and frankness. He remarked that he wished it to be understood in America that, though he had been the last to consent to a separation, he would be the first to welcome the friendship of the United States as an independent power.

But,

During the Christmas recess the ministers exerted themselves to bring to a close the negotiations with France and Spain. The latter power at first insisted on the restoration of Gibraltar, and Lord Shelburne seemed not unwilling to exchange it against Porto Rico, while his colleagues required the addition of Trinidad. since its gallant defense, the heart of the nation was fixed on that barren rock; Lord Shelburne perceived that to cede it would bring great unpopularity upon the ministry, and he informed the Spaniards that no terms would tempt to its surrender. The Spanish court were indignant; but, finding that they were not backed by France, they sullenly acquiesced, and the preliminaries of a peace between the three countries were signed at Versailles, JanThe title became extinct on the death of the second Lord Heathfield in

uary 20, 1783. England restored St. Lucia and ceded Tobago to France, receiving in return Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, Nevis, and Montserrat. In Africa England yielded Senegal and Goree, retaining Fort James and the River Gambia. In India the French recovered Chandernagore, Pondicherry, Mahé, and the Comptoir of Surat. French pride was gratified by the abrogation of the articles in the treaty of Utrecht relative to the demolition of Dunkirk, a place which no outlay whatsoever could have rendered capable of receiving ships of the line.

To Spain were ceded Minorca and both the Floridas, while King Charles guaranteed to England the right of cutting logwood within certain boundaries to be hereafter determined, and agreed to restore Providence and the Bahamas. The latter, however, were recovered before the suspension of hostilities. Some months after a treaty was also concluded with the Dutch on the basis of mutual restitution.

A.D.

CHRONOLOGY OF REMARKABLE EVENTS.

1760. Accession of George III.

A.D.

1770. Lord North prime minister.

1761. The Family Compact between France, 1773. Popular outbreak at Boston.

1775. Commencement of the American War of Independence. Battles of Lexington and Bunker's Hill.

1776. American Declaration of Independence. 1777. Capitulation of Saratoga.

1763. Peace of Paris.

End of the Seven

Years' War.

1778.

Alliance between America and France.
War with France.

ville prime minister.

66

Death of Lord Chatham,

แ Arrest of Wilkes on a "general warrant."

Medal in commemoration of Lord Howe's victory over the French fleet, June 1, 1794. Obv. EARL HOWE ADML OF THE WHITE K : G: Bust to right. Below, MUDIE. D: W: WYON. F: Rev. FRENCH FLEET DEFEATED OFF USHANT VII SAIL OF THE LINE CAPTURED I JUNE MDCCXorv. Neptune, drawn by two sea-horses, to right.

CHAPTER XXXII.

GEORGE III. CONTINUED. FROM THE PEACE OF VERSAILLES TO THE PEACE OF AMIENS. A.D. 1783-1802.

§ 1. Coalition Ministry. Fox's India Bill. Pitt Prime Minister. His India Bill. § 2. Impeachment of Warren Hastings. Affairs of India till his Governor-generalship. Vote of Censure on Lord Clive. His Suicide. § 3. Administration of Warren Hastings. § 4. His Extortions in Oude. Charges against him. Result of his Impeachment. § 5. The King's Illness. Outbreak of the French Revolution. § 6. Riots at Birmingham. Attitude of Europe. State of Feeling in England. The French declare War. § 7. Campaign in Flanders. Insurrection of Toulon, and Siege of that City. § 8. Campaign of 1794. Holland overrun by the French. § 9. Naval Successes. Lord Howe's Victory. § 10. Sedition in England. Expedition to Quiberon. Dutch Colonies taken. § 11. Alliance between France and Spain. Lord Malmesbury's Negotiations. Attempted Invasions of England. Bank Restriction Act. § 12. Battle of Cape St. Vincent. Duncan's Victory off Camperdown. § 13. Mutinies at Portsmouth and the Nore. Threatened Invasion. § 14. Expedition to Ostend. The French in Egypt. Battle of the Nile. Its Consequences. § 15. English and Russian Expedition to Holland. The Helder taken. The Duke of York capitulates. Siege of Acre and Flight of Bonaparte from Egypt. § 16. Disturbances in Ireland. Irish Union. § 17. Pitt's Opinions on Parliamentary Reform and Catholic Emancipation. Warlike Operations. The armed Neutrality. § 18. Pitt resigns. Lord Addington Prime Minister. Expedition against Copenhagen. Dissolution of the armed Neutrality. § 19. Threatened Invasion, and Attack on Boulogne. The French in Egypt. Battle of Alexandria, and Death of Abercromby. § 20. The French expelled from Egypt. Peace of Amiens. § 1. THE war had added upward of 100 millions to the national debt, and the country was so exhausted that it would have been

These par

difficult to send 3000 men on any foreign expedition. ticulars, however, were not generally known; and when the conditions of the peace were communicated to the Parliament, they were received by the opposition with a perfect storm of disapprobation. The cession of Chandernagore and Pondicherry was especially the object of animadversion. The ministers having been twice left in minorities in the Commons, Lord Shelburne resigned. The state of parties rendered it difficult to form a new administration. Mr. Pitt declined the task, and for some weeks there was a sort of interregnum. At length a coalition ministry was formed. The Duke of Portland, a man of small abilities, became first lord of the treasury. The virtual ministers were Lord North and Fox, the secretaries of state; yet only a little previously Fox had publicly declared that, if ever he could be persuaded to act with Lord North, he should consider himself worthy of eternal infamy! Their power, however, was not of long duration. In November Fox brought in a bill to reform the government of India, which passed the Commons, but was rejected by the Lords. The ministers, having a large majority in the former house, did not think it necessary to resign; but the king, who had always viewed the coalition with disgust, sent messages to Lord North and Fox, requiring them to deliver up the seals. Mr. Pitt, as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer, now became the head of a ministry of which the principal members were Lord Thurlow, chancellor; Earl Gower, president of the council; the Duke of Rutland, privy seal; Lord Caermarthen and Lord Sydney, secretaries of state; and Lord Howe, first lord of the admiralty.

Pitt, like his predecessors, was defeated on a bill which he introduced to regulate the government of India; but he resorted to a dissolution, and the elections, which took place in April, 1784, secured a large majority for the ministry. In August he succeeded in carrying his bill, the main feature of which was the creation of the Board of Control, consisting of six privy councilors nominated by the king, who, with the principal secretaries of state and the chancellor of the exchequer, were to be commissioners for India, with supreme control over the civil and military government and the affairs of the company. Pitt also adopted some measures to remedy the disordered state of the finances, and imposed various new taxes, amounting to nearly a million per annum. In the following year he brought in a bill for a reform of Parliament, which was supported by some of his opponents, and opposed by some of his supporters, but finally lost by a majority of 74. The public at that period took little interest in the subject, and it was not resumed.

A.D. 1783-1786. IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS.

665

George, Prince of Wales, the king's eldest son, had attained his majority in 1783, when he had a separate establishment assigned him, with Carlton House as a residence, which stood in Pall Mall, on the site now occupied by the Duke of York's column. Like most preceding heirs-apparent, he had thrown himself into the ranks of the opposition, from which his friends were chiefly selected, as Lord North, Fox, Burke, Sheridan, Windham, Erskine, and others. By improving his residence, by losses at the gaming-table and on the turf, as well as by other expenses incident to his station, and to a youthful prince of gay and voluptuous habits, he had contracted a large amount of debt; and such was his distress that in 1786 an execution was put into his house for the sum of £600. The king, whose regular and moral habits led him to view the prince's course of life with high disapprobation, refused to assist him, especially as it was believed that he had contracted a private marriage, contrary to the Royal Marriage Act, with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a Roman Catholic lady of great personal charms, correct conduct, and elegant manners. The prince was obliged to reduce his establishment, sell off all his horses, and suspend the works at Carlton House. At length the prince's embarrassments were forced upon the notice of Mr. Pitt by the opposition; and to avoid a threatened motion upon the subject, the king instructed the minister to propose, on the understanding that the prince would reform his expenditure, an increase of £10,000 per annum to his income, together with the sum of £161,000 for the discharge of his debts, and £20,000 for the works at Carlton House.

§ 2. In 1786 Burke brought forward his celebrated impeachment of Warren Hastings. In order to understand this subject, it will be necessary briefly to resume the history of affairs in India.* During the absence of Clive great disorder had prevailed. The government had fallen into the hands of Mr. Vansittart, father of Lord Bexley, who was by no means competent to conduct it. The native princes could no longer be kept in subjection; the servants of the Company were amassing great wealth by bribery and extortion, while the Company itself was on the verge of bankruptcy. In May, 1765, Lord Clive again landed at Calcutta, having, after an arduous struggle, obtained the appointment of governor and commander-in-chief in Bengal. There was as yet no central government, and the three presidencies of Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay were on a footing of jealous rivalry. Clive first applied himself to remedy the abuses in the Company's service. He made the civil officers bind themselves in writing to accept no more presents from the native princes; and he ordered the military to relinquish the double batta, or additional allowances, * See p. 637.