Chapter XIII: Front Matter (13)

The Bishop of Leon has written me a letter which, in my present
state of health (by no means the best), gives me a good deal of
uneasiness. Hitherto, I have received the boys without any inquiry,
as they were successively sent to me by the worthy prelate;
considering them as the objects of his selection amongst the
candidates for this situation. To my astonishment, in a letter
which I received from him last Saturday he tells me that all the
vacancies are filled: but that he has had nothing in the world to
do with the matter, and that he is no more than a simple clerk.
Your Lordship will see by the letters that I have the honour to
enclose for your perusal, that after filling up all the places, the
pleasure of rejecting the rest of the candidates is reserved for
me. He has contrived matters so, that others have all the grace of
obliging, and all the pleasure of being useful; and that all which
is harsh and odious is thrown upon me, as a reward for all the
trouble and expense I have been at in this business. On this I
shall make no further remark.

By the letters, your Lordship will see that the Bishop of Leon
tells the applicants, that the selection is to be made by certain
Lords Commissioners. I never have been apprised by the Bishop of
the existence of any Commission, or of any Commissioners for the
purpose of a choice. If such a thing at all exists, I should have
flattered myself that I should have been apprised of it; of their
rules, of its proceedings, and of the times of its sitting. I
believe I am the very first person who, having had the honour of
proposing a plan to Government, and being permitted to have the
management of it, have been kept wholly out of the secret of the
appointment of its objects. The name of every boy sent to me was
unknown to me to the moment of his arrival; the names of those who
are to come are equally unknown. Not one circumstance relative to
any of them is come to my knowledge. The poorest country
schoolmaster would have been favoured with some better account of
his pupils.

I must beg leave to remark to your Lordship, that the account given
by the Bishop of Leon to the applicants is wholly different from
that which he gives to me. In his two last letters to me (one, and
the most explicit, of which I received just now) he tells me that
the selection and nomination is not in any Commissioners, but
solely in your Lordship, and that he is no more than a clerk. If I
had not received it from so good an authority, I could hardly have
believed that your Lordship, upon a mere abstract of petitions,
without further examination, or any consultation, even with the
Bishop of Leon, should have decided upon sixty out of perhaps
fourscore applications. But, as I am sure you always act with
equity and discretion, I am perfectly satisfied in your having
assumed this very delicate and critical of all trusts. I only wish
that I had been apprised of your Lordship's having taken on you
that office, as, though I should not have ventured to recommend a
single person, I really think I might, with all humility, have made
some useful suggestions, which your desire of all matters being
before you, that might guide you to a sure decision, would make you
willing to receive, even from a person so very inconsiderable as I
am in every point of view.

I am sure your Lordship wishes that, in the very reprehensible
situation in which I stand, I may be able to give some sort of
account of my trust; and when I have engaged with Government for
the education of sixty boys, I ought to know at whose hands, on
what authority, and on whose recommendation I receive them.
Certainly they are not recommended or chosen by me; and when I go
to the Treasury, and tell the Minister who issues the money to me
(whenever it shall be issued) that I have employed it in the
maintenance and the education of those whom I do not myself know,
nor can tell in any regular and authorised manner from whom I
received them, I should make a very despicable, not to say a
criminal figure. I cannot take your Lordship's pleasure from the
Bishop of Leon; though he tells me he is (not your Lordship's
friend and adviser) but your clerk, as you have never informed me
of this his relation to you. I therefore, for my voucher and
justification, request that you will be pleased (the Committee and
the Bishop absolutely disclaiming all choice) to send me a list of
the names, circumstances and description of the boys whom you send
to me, or have sent, together with a certificate, that having duly
examined into the several claims and pretensions of the candidates,
you have found these the best entitled.

When I have received this attestation as my authority and voucher,
far from cavilling at either the person naming, or the names, I
shall receive them most cheerfully; happy that your Lordship
having generously and nobly taken to yourself the election, these
objects have obtained security for a powerful protection, to place
them, as successively they shall be qualified, in some way useful
to themselves and to the public. I shall take care that they do no
dishonour to your patronage; at least to the moment in which
(having received them from your hands) I deliver them back into the
same benevolent and protecting safeguard.

My dear Lord, have the goodness to excuse the length of this
letter, on account of the weight of my responsibility and the very
difficult situation in which I stand.

Mrs. Burke begs leave to join me in the most truly respectful
compliments to Lady Buckingham, and if we may be permitted, on very
little acquaintance, to Lord and Lady Temple. No persons can more
sincerely wish, than we do, all kind of honour and happiness to you
and all that belong to you.

I have the honour to be, with the most perfect respect and
affection,

My dear Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient and faithful humble servant,
EDM. BURKE.

The name of Buonaparte appears for the first time in this Correspondence in the month of August. Supported by the patronage of Barras, whose confidence in his talents and activity were so conspicuously justified by the results, he had recently been appointed to the command of the army of Italy, now augmented by large reinforcements. He was at this period only twenty-six years of age, and had never seen a regular engagement; but his genius inspired the highest hopes, and his extraordinary success gave a completely new aspect to the war.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Dropmore, Aug. 14th, 1796.
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

I was extremely sorry to hear so indifferent an account of your
health, but I hope the worst of the attack is now over. I return
you the letter from this unfortunate King, whose restoration to the
throne of his ancestors is now, at least, as remote as that of
Charles II. ever was--I fear, indeed, a great deal more so. I have
heard no more particulars of the attempt to assassinate him, than
the account which the Duke de Harcourt showed me, and which was the
same which they afterwards put into the newspapers.

The Prince of Hohenlohe's language has always had a leaning to the
side of Austria and England; but long experience has satisfied me
that, from a Prussian General, language of this sort means no more
than to describe to which party in the Berlin politics he may
happen to be inclined. We have, however, now made a last effort to
ascertain this point, but with very little expectation of success.

I do not wonder that the Navy should wish for a Spanish war, nor
that they should be the only set of men in England who do so. I
trust it may still be avoided, though the result is certainly very
doubtful when treating with such a Court. The distribution of our
limited number of sailors, into ships of the line and frigate
force, is a very nice and delicate question; but as far as I can
flatter myself that I understand it--which is not very much--I have
always inclined more to the latter, and I think the experience of
this war is in favour of that opinion. The same circumstances would
surely operate still more strongly in the case of a war with Spain,
whose commerce offers more _prise_ than that of France, and whose
line-of-battle force, even separately--and still more if united
with French ships--can never be put in competition with ours, ship
for ship, or anything approaching to it.

There is an account of a successful _sortie_ from Mantua, in which
the French have lost fifteen hundred men; but I do not yet know the
particulars, the despatches being gone to Weymouth. The Archduke is
at Donawert, or at least looking to that position, which is a
strong one, if his army was not dispirited. The reinforcement sent
to Italy has hitherto operated very fatally upon the campaign. It
remains to be seen what effect it will produce against Buonaparte's
army. But it is evidently too late to prevent the plunder of
Italy--the great object of that expedition.

Ever, my dear brother,
Most truly and affectionately yours,
G.

Pray let me remind you of the sheep; though just now my pastures
look rather brown, and will, I fear, give them a bad impression of
the fare which they will have.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Sept. 24th, 1796.
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

We have again a report, which seems worthy of credit, of an action
at Montauban, on the 14th, previous to Jourdan's crossing the
Rhine, at Neuwied, in which he was totally defeated, and lost all
his cannon, &c. This seems to accord so well with dates and places,
that I have little doubt of the truth. It therefore only remains to
see what will become of Moreau. If he is dispatched, and that
quickly, there will be time and means to make Buonaparte suffer
severely for his late advanced move.

On the whole, the situation is, to be sure, very much improved
within these few weeks, but there is still enough for serious
alarm. The Directory has sent us the most insolent answer that can
be conceived; but as the substance of it is in some degree
ambiguous with respect to the main question of granting or refusing
the passport, it has been thought better not to leave a loop-hole
or pretence to them, or their adherents here, to lay upon us the
breaking the business off. Another note is therefore to be sent
to-day, by a flag of truce from Dover, in which the demand of the
passport is renewed in such terms as seem most likely to bring that
point to a distinct issue, ay or no. In other times, this last step
would have been not only superfluous, but humiliating; in the
present moment, the object of unanimity here in the great body of
the country, with respect to the large sacrifices they will be
called upon to make, is paramount to every other consideration.

I am extremely anxious to find that the plan in question may appear
practicable. The advantages of it would be infinite.

Ever most affectionately yours,
G.

The nature of the efforts which were making in England to sustain the war may be partially inferred from the following letter. Lord Grenville, it will be seen, notes with a mark of admiration a subscription of L100,000 from the Duke of Bedford. The circumstance was singular and significant, the Duke of Bedford having all along taken a leading part in the House of Lords in opposition to hostilities, and in calling for votes of censure and opprobrium upon the Ministry. He had been the chief mover of all those resolutions that protested against the expenditure to which the country had been put for the maintenance of the war, and now he was one of the largest of the voluntary subscribers to a fund for its continuance.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Dropmore, Dec. 2nd, 1796.
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

I have been followed here to-night by a letter, to mention that
above twelve millions are already subscribed to the loan, and that
it may very probably be full to-morrow, so that I had no time to
lose in doing what of course the public will expect from me. I have
therefore desired that L10,000 may be subscribed to-morrow in my
name; and I imagine that by getting Coutts to advance the two first
payments, and transferring the stock, at whatever loss, the moment
it is transferable, I shall be able _me tirer d'affaire_, better
than I had hoped. It was my intention to have written to you
to-morrow, to let you know what other persons in your sort of
situation and class had done; but what I have now heard, makes me
think that I ought to send to you without delay, in order that you
may know how the thing stands, and of course afterwards judge for
yourself whether to do anything, and what.

The only names that have been mentioned to me, except among my
colleagues, are the Duke of Bridgewater and the Duke of Bedford!
each L100,000, and Lord Romney and Lord Carrington each L40,000,
besides L100,000, which the house of Smith and Co. subscribe as
bankers.

Lord Spencer, Lord Liverpool, Pitt and Dundas, subscribe L10,000,
as I have done; the two last will, I believe, have still more
difficulty in finding it than I shall.

You will, of course, not imagine that by sending to you in this
manner, I have the least idea of saying or suggesting to you to do
anything but what may have occurred to yourself, but I thought you
would naturally expect to hear these particulars from me.

Other news I have none. There was a report yesterday that Kehl was
surprised by the Austrians, but I could not trace it to any certain
source.

God bless you, my dear brother.

The time had now arrived when the English Cabinet believed that an attempt might be made to negotiate for peace, without compromising its honour. In the preceding March, the ambassador to the Helvetic States had been authorized to inquire of the Government of France, through the medium of their representative, whether they were disposed to entertain such a negotiation. The answer was so unsatisfactory, laying down as a peremptory condition the retention of all those conquests which, during the course of the war, had been annexed to the republic, that nothing more was then done in the matter. The subject was resumed in September, and, the Directory having signified their readiness to grant passports to any persons who should be furnished with full powers and official papers, Lord Malmesbury was appointed as plenipotentiary on the part of His Britannic Majesty to treat for peace with the French Republic. On the 22nd of October his Lordship announced to M. de la Croix, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, his arrival in Paris in that capacity. The negotiations occupied nearly two months, and the main point of difficulty turned upon the Netherlands, Lord Malmesbury, who acted strictly on his instructions, making the restoration of the Netherlands a _sine qua non_, and M. de la Croix repeatedly stating that this difficulty was one which could not be overcome. The negotiations had arrived at that stage which made this insuperable difficulty perfectly clear and unmistakeable on both sides, when Mr. Talbot, a gentleman connected with Lord Malmesbury's embassy, addressed the following letter to Lord Buckingham. No allusion will be found in it to the pending negotiations, which were of too delicate and important a nature to be touched upon in a private letter; but it is very curious and interesting, as presenting a picture of the state of France at that period.

MR. TALBOT TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Paris, Dec. 18th, 1796.
MY LORD,

Your Lordship, I trust, is aware of my motives for not having
written to you since I left England; I shall, therefore, make no
apologies for my neglect; but I must beg leave to assure your
Lordship that I am, notwithstanding the urgency of my reasons, so
much ashamed of the omission, that I now feel much embarrassed in
taking up my pen.

The only letters I have hitherto sent to England have been to Lord
Grenville, in answer to those he has done me the honour to write;
and to Mr. B. Taylor, his secretary, for some articles which I
stood in need of.

Your Lordship has without doubt received much better accounts of
the appearance and state of things in this country than it is in my
power to communicate; however, I will attempt a description of what
has struck me as worthy of notice, and rely upon your kind
indulgence for my errors.

Our first entrance into France was certainly not attended with the
reception which might have been expected, under the particular
circumstances in which we came. It is true a good many people of
all sorts were upon the quay at Calais when we arrived, but they
showed no signs of joy or any other feeling more than the arrival
of an indifferent vessel would have occasioned; and very shortly
after we had landed, and gone to the inn, the crowd was dispersed,
and everything seemed as silent as if nothing had happened. Indeed,
all those we conversed with expressed their happiness at seeing us,
and wished success to the negotiation; and all the principal
officers of the Government stationed there waited upon Lord
Malmesbury with the utmost civility; but the bulk of the
inhabitants--whether they were ignorant of the arrival of an envoy
to propose peace, or whether they were afraid to express their
satisfaction in any public manner, I cannot say--manifested not the
least sign of rejoicing.

Nothing very material occurred between this place and Paris. The
aubergistes and post-masters were almost the only persons with whom
we had any conversation, and their language uniformly was that
France was most anxiously desirous for the restoration of peace;
that their sufferings had been more than they could describe, but
that latterly their situation was much mended by the diminution in
the price of provisions. But I was not inclined to give much credit
to them, imagining that this language was intended to flatter us,
and coming from those who had suffered more than any of their
description in France, from the intercourse between the two
countries being stopped. It must, however, be allowed that a
general gloom seemed to prevail; and very little of that gaiety for
which this nation was formerly remarkable was to be observed. At
Amiens, I remember, the people of the inn where we supped entered
more fully and with less reserve into the detail of their
calamities. There had been a considerable manufacture of woollen
cloths in this town, in which at this time no more than two hundred
people were employed.

I profited of the opportunity which the changing horses afforded me
to see the Chateau of Chantilly. I found it totally stripped of its
furniture, and every decoration that bore the smallest reference to
armorial bearings was defaced; but otherwise the building has not
suffered much injury. The statue of the great Conde on the
principal staircase remains, but the head is cut off. The
barbarians were not content with beheading the statues of men, but
they have likewise done so to all the busts of stags placed over
the stalls in the stables. The chateau was used as a prison in the
time of Robespierre, and almost all the apartments continue still
divided into small spaces for that purpose. The gardens are totally
destroyed, but the park has met with no injury further than the
almost total destruction of the game. There is a keeper appointed
by the nation for the protection of the wood. The timber on the
opposite side of the river is chiefly cut down, the land having
been sold.

The adjacent chateau of the Duc d'Angouleme, his son, as far as the
walls, remains perfect; I had not time to see the inside of it. The
care of the chateau has lately been given in charge to one of the
former servants of the Prince de Conde.

The roads were in general in excellent condition, and the
post-horses tolerably good; but we were in several places kept some
time waiting for them. This is not to be wondered at, if we
consider how little they have been accustomed to travellers for
some years past.

A great number of the best houses by the roadside and in the towns
were shut up, and seemed to be abandoned. Very few of the churches
appeared to be open, many of them were pulled down, and none that
were not considerably damaged; but the country was throughout in a
state of high cultivation, although there was apparently a scarcity
of men at work. This is to be accounted for by the encouragement
which the late dearness of bread has given to the farmers, who are
become, by a variety of circumstances, extremely wealthy. They are
one of the very few descriptions of people who have profited by the
Revolution. Very many of them have purchased lands, and this they
were enabled to do almost for nothing by the depreciation of
assignats, for an enormous nominal value of which they sold the
produce of their farms; and this paper was received from them for
the sum it represented, in payment for the estates of the
_ci-devant_ seigneurs and other confiscated property. I am told
there have been repeated instances of the basest ingratitude on
their part, in denouncing their landlords; and, on the contrary,
that many of them have given proofs of the strongest attachment to
them.

Provisions are in abundance, and at a very moderate price. Common
bread is little more than two sous, and butchers' meat from five to
eight sous the pound.

I have not observed any want of specie in circulation; never yet
have I found any difficulty in getting change upon the purchase of
any article, nor any such thing as paper money produced in such
transactions. The exhausted state and the degree of distress which
I could discover in this country, I must confess, fell short of the
expectation which the various species of plunder, exaction, and
cruelty, which it has for several years submitted to, had impressed
upon my mind.

Between Calais and Paris, scarcely any troops were to be met with.

The scene being so perfectly new to me, and having little or no
intercourse with any one here, except our own society, I was some
time in Paris before I could form any opinion of the state of
affairs, and the sentiments of the people. The streets seemed
crowded, the shops tolerably well supplied, the theatres well
attended, some private and a great number of public carriages to be
met with; all this brought to my reflection how very difficult a
matter it must be to destroy a great country, considering that all
the pains which have been taken to ruin this have left so much
undone. But the first fortnight we lived in the most populous part
of the town, near the Palais Royal, and therefore the last place
where distress would be evident.

There are few parts of Paris I have not since been in, and I find
in many of them, the outlets particularly, the greatest
wretchedness to prevail, and to be very thin of inhabitants. A
great part of the Faubourg St. Germain, near the Boulevards, is in
a great measure deserted; but this quarter was formerly inhabited
principally by the noblesse. There is scarcely a street in Paris
where there are not several houses written upon, _Propriete
nationale a vendre_, and sometimes in addition, _ou a louer_; and
in many places a great part of the street is in the same manner
advertised for sale.

The names of many of the streets are, as your Lordship must know,
entirely changed; but where they are not, and began with _Saint_,
that word is invariably defaced, and the remainder of the name is
left untouched. But, notwithstanding that, most places are commonly
called as formerly; and this practice is becoming more general
every day.

The hotels of many of the _ci-devant_ noblesse are inhabited by the
Ministers and other members of the Government. Many of them are
converted into public offices and others of them into _hotels
garnis_, &c.; besides, a prodigious number of them remain
unoccupied, and offered for sale by the nation.

The Luxembourg is divided into five separate habitations for the
Directory, besides the apartments that are used for their sittings,
audiences, and other public business.

The Council of Ancients hold their sittings in the Palace of the
Tuileries, and the Council of Five Hundred meet in what was
formerly the riding-house of the King; but this is considered as
merely a temporary chamber for this last body, until the Palais
Bourbon, which is now undergoing great alterations and additions,
is ready for their reception. This building is in the Faubourg St.
Germain, in front of the new bridge called Pont de la Revolution. I
shall take an opportunity hereafter of giving your Lordship a
description of the interior of these several places.

The scene of any great revolutionary event continues still
decorated with the national flag and other emblems of their
_glorious_ Revolution, accompanied with an inscription; that where
the Bastille stood is, _14 Juillet 1789, la Bastille detruite, et
elle ne se relevera jamais_; and that in the Place du Carrousel,
opposite the Tuileries, is, _10 Aout 1792, La Royaute francaise est
abolie, et elle ne se relevera jamais_. There are several marks of
cannon-balls, but they have made but little impression on this
front of the Tuileries; and under each of them is written, _10 Aout
1792_.

The garden of the Tuileries is, I am told, kept as well as ever it
was; some of the largest trees in it, however, have been cut down
since our arrival, but they were chiefly decayed. Of the Bastille
nothing remains, except a very small part of the foundations; and
near it is a newly-erected powder magazine, and much of the
remainder of the space is a depot for firewood.

The churches are many of them open, and have Divine service
performed in them without restraint; but a great many more of them
are shut, and some used as _casernes_, storehouses, &c.; but they
have all been stripped of every internal decoration, and nothing
suffered to remain but the bare walls. Sometimes, indeed--and it
appears to be by an oversight--a piece of painting, or perhaps a
little image, may have escaped injury; but such a thing is a
curiosity, and to be found in a situation not readily to be
observed, or difficult to be reached. The favourite mode of
mutilating a statue seems to have been to break off the head. In
the church of St. Sulpice there is a tolerably good statue of a
Virgin and Child remaining, but of this the Child's head is taken
off, and that of the Virgin seems to have met with the same fate,
but to have been restored. It is wonderful the industry that has
been used in the destruction of everything in the way of
inscription, of sculpture, or coats of arms, which could possibly
remind the people of the _ancien regime_; and I cannot help being
much surprised that all this was done with so much care as to
remove merely these particular objects of their enmity, without in
the least damaging the adjacent parts. In defacing armorial
bearings and things of this sort, the reformers have been at the
trouble of cutting them away, so as to leave the shield quite
plain, although they were carved in stone. I should have supposed
that mischief done in the moment of frenzy would not have been so
methodical.

Upon all the public buildings, the public offices, and many others,
is written in large characters--_Unite indivisibilite de la
republique, liberte, egalite, fraternite, ou la mort_; but in
general the last word is rubbed out. The nation took it into their
heads not to like death upon the downfall of Robespierre. Upon many
of the churches is this inscription--_Le peuple francais reconnait
l'etre supreme et l'immortalite de l'ame._ This was a decree of the
Convention for the people at large, and your Lordship will allow
that this must have a ridiculous effect upon the walls of a church
entirely in ruins, as is often the case. Another modern inscription
is--_Citoyens, respectez le bien d'autrui, c'est le fruit de son
travail et de son industrie_; and perhaps close by it you may read
_propriete nationale a vendre_, in direct violation of the other,
offering to sell property of which some unfortunate person has been
robbed by the very preachers of this doctrine.

I am obliged to break off suddenly, for reasons which will be very
soon known to your Lordship.

I have the honour to be your Lordship's most obedient, faithful,
humble servant,

JAMES TALBOT.

The last line of this letter is written in an agitated hand, which the circumstance that compelled Mr. Talbot to break off so abruptly sufficiently accounts for. At that moment a note had arrived at the embassy from M. de la Croix, giving Lord Malmesbury notice to depart from Paris in eight-and-forty hours, adding that if the British Cabinet were desirous of peace, the Executive Directory were ready to carry on the negotiations, on the basis they had already laid down, by the reciprocal channel of couriers.

1797.

DISCONTENTS IN ENGLAND--THE BREST SQUADRON--MOTION ON THE STATE OF IRELAND--AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT--LORD MALMESBURY'S MISSION TO LISLE.

The result of Lord Malmesbury's mission was communicated to Parliament as soon as it became known in London, by a message from the King, and addresses were moved approving of the conduct of Ministers. Amendments, condemning their policy, and demanding an investigation, were proposed in both Houses, and rejected by large majorities. In the House of Commons, notwithstanding an appeal of extraordinary eloquence and power from Mr. Fox, the address was carried by a majority of 212 to 37. Mr. Pitt's position, perhaps, was never stronger than at this moment, although the affairs of the Bank of England, in consequence of repeated loans to Government, were reduced to the most desperate condition, and the lower classes of the population, feeling heavily the burthens of the war, began to clamour against its prosecution. But the national spirit sustained the Government. Possessing the implicit confidence of the King, the two Houses of Parliament, the heads of the Church, the landed interest, and the monied and commercial classes, Mr. Pitt persevered. The greatest efforts were made out of doors to induce His Majesty to remove his Ministers. Public meetings were held in several places to get up petitions on the subject; and the energies of the Opposition were incessantly employed in spreading alarm and discontent through the country. Several unfortunate circumstances concurred to give effect to these movements. The war had reached its most disastrous point. England was left alone in the field to contend against the power of France, now grown haughty and formidable by a long course of successes. The credit of the country, under this pressure of events, was seriously affected. The Bank had stopped payment. Two mutinies had broken out in the fleet, one at Spithead, and another at the Nore. An organization of malcontents had been formed in Ireland under the name of "the United Irishmen," and had carried their insurrectionary views so far as to send deputies to treat with the French for assistance to enable them to throw off the English yoke. The year opened with the most gloomy prospects on all sides; but the firmness of Ministers triumphed over all difficulties, and conducted them to its close with the happiest results.

The first incident of the year to which allusion is made in these letters, is the appearance in British waters of a French squadron. It consisted of two frigates and two sloops, and its insignificance, compared with the demonstration that was anticipated from the loud threats of invasion by which it was heralded, excited ridicule rather than alarm.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Wednesday, Jan. 4th, 1797.
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

A little after eleven this morning came an account of Elphinston's
being arrived with the 'Monarch' (I believe at Spithead). He had
letters from General Dalrymple of the 31st, by which it seems
probable that the French fleet is, if not entirely, certainly in
great part, broken to pieces. Two French seventy-fours and a
frigate had put into Bantry Bay, one without a bowsprit, and all of
them damaged, and were lying within mortar reach of Bantry when
Dalrymple wrote: other vessels were seen also trying to get into
Bantry Bay. The 'Impatiente,' a very fine frigate of forty-four
guns, just reached Cuxhaven, and foundered there, the whole crew
going down with her except a pilot and four men, who were saved. By
their report twelve thousand men only were on board, and provisions
so scarce from the first, that they were put upon short allowance
the day that they left Brest. Another French frigate was seen
driving up St. George's Channel, and is said to have gone to pieces
upon the Welsh coast. A Barbadoes ship saw a large ship, supposed
to be one of the flutes, struggle some time, and then founder;
another of the flutes was seen to founder off the Lizard; and great
traces of wreck are thrown upon the Irish coast.

Lord Bridport sailed very early yesterday morning, and met
Elphinston, who gave him all this intelligence. I presume that he
will probably detach part of his squadron towards Ireland, and part
towards Brest; besides which, I believe he has power to take with
him whatever he meets.

Kingsnill was indefatigable in collecting his frigates, which, with
his two sixty-fours, will count heavily upon this shattered and
disabled force of the enemy. Meantime, the greatest part of the
Oporto fleet is come in, and very good accounts are received from
the West Indies, where a strong naval force is gone down to the
protection of Jamaica. One of the frigates, too, upon that station
has taken a rich Spanish prize. Of the four ships out belonging to
Colpoys' fleet, all are come in except the 'Powerful,' which is
thought to have made Ireland. Upon the whole, therefore, you will
admit that I send you to-day a very prosperous naval budget. In
truth, I do think that, if the ruin of this French expedition be as
complete as it promises to be from these circumstances, the
security of Ireland, and of England too, has been more promoted by
it than by any event which has happened during the war; and much as
I applaud your manly and forward zeal in your military offer, I
doubt whether the occasion for it will again be renewed. I ought to
have mentioned to you that the four men saved from the 'Impatiente'
describe the troops on board as having been from the first highly
dissatisfied and discontented with the expedition, and that twelve
thousand, instead of twenty thousand, sailed, because it was found
difficult to persuade the troops in general to embark in the
enterprise. The result will therefore add to the ill-temper upon
this subject, and Irish invasion will for a long time be no popular
measure in the harbour of Brest. Stay then at Stowe, my dear
brother, and enjoy the satisfaction which you will feel in the
prompt and handsome service which you were ready to have done.
_Laudo momentem_--not so (_between ourselves_)--do I say to
Elphinston. I do not know what is his pretence for coming away with
the 'Monarch' in such a moment, but I shrewdly suspect his Cape
treasure to have been on board and to have influenced his decision;
if that is the case, of which I know nothing, I do think it will be
disgraceful beyond all measure, but I am speaking my own
conjectures only, for I have not had time yet to ask more. God
bless you.

The sequel of the expedition was sufficiently ludicrous. Having effected a landing of some fifteen hundred men on the shore of the Bay of Cardigan on the 23rd of February, the militia, fencibles, and peasantry of the neighbourhood immediately collected; but the invaders saved them the trouble of an engagement, by laying down their arms, and surrendering themselves prisoners of war. The frigates were captured on their return to Brest; and thus terminated an enterprize, which was so inadequately planned, as to create universal astonishment that it was ever undertaken.

The state of Ireland offered a favourable opportunity to the Opposition for an attack upon Ministers; and Lord Fitzwilliam, having failed in his attempts to bring them into discredit in reference to his own case, now extended the grounds of accusation to the general discontents of the country. Lord Moira, who undertook to bring forward the motion, appears to have had no other object in view than to trace all these disorders to the recal of Lord Fitzwilliam.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Cleveland Row, March 14th, 1797
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

Lord Moira (having given to Government, through the Lord
Chancellor, a sort of intimation that he was what he called _going_
into Opposition) has this day given notice of a motion for Tuesday
next, to address the King on the internal state of Ireland, which
motion he is understood to have concerted with Lord Fitzwilliam.

You know I never think of pressing you to attend on any of the
common points of attack and defence between the Government and
Opposition. But on this occasion I should certainly most ardently
wish that you should be present, and I think you yourself would not
wish to be absent. At all events, I thought it right not to omit a
moment giving you notice of it, that if you meant to attend you
might arrange other matters accordingly. It is, however, not quite
certain that he will make the motion that day, the Chancellor being
too ill to come out; but he seems resolved, even if Lord
Loughborough's illness continues, not to defer it for more than two
or three days longer.

We have nothing new to-day. The Archduke is got back to the army in
Italy, and will, I hope, at least be able to prevent any further
progress of the French on that side. Mack is to be sent to the
Rhine.

Ever most affectionately yours,
G.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Cleveland Row, March 20th, 1797.
MY DEAREST BROTHER,

Lord Moira persists obstinately in bringing on his motion
to-morrow. I suppose they attach some political importance to the
having had the discussion with us before it comes on in the House
of Commons, for I can conceive no other reason for this
pertinaciousness. The Chancellor will not be there, so that I shall
have the whole battle, or nearly so, upon my shoulders. It is not,
however, the first time that this has happened to me, and most
probably it will not be the last; and I have no uneasiness as to
the result in point of effect or impression, even though the Prince
of Wales should (as is said) be persuaded that this is an occasion
in which it befits his station and prospects to put himself
forward.

There is no news nor much appearance of any, as both armies and in
both quarters seem to want much time to repair the effects of the
last campaign. It is some satisfaction to see that Buonaparte is in
no situation to push his advantages further as yet; and before he
is, I hope and trust the Emperor will have collected an army,
_better generalled_ and able to resist the French, who are,
however, drawing all their strength to that side.

The elections are going on quietly in France. What the result will
be, I believe nobody knows, and it is therefore in vain to guess.

Ever most affectionately yours,
G.

Pray accept our kindest remembrance to Lady B. and yourself, on the
celebration of to-morrow, and convey them to Lord and Lady T.

The motion was brought forward the next day, and negatived by a majority of nearly four to one. A similar motion brought forward by Mr. Fox two days afterwards in the House of Common, met with a similar reception.

About this time Lord Mornington was appointed Governor of Madras, in the room of Mr. Hobart, now Lord Hobart, upon whom that office had been conferred in the year 1794. The following letters refer to that appointment, and are explanatory of the circumstances under which it was made.

LORD MORNINGTON TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Hertford Street, April 20th, 1797.
MY DEAR LORD,

I received your very kind and affectionate letter last night at
Dropmore, where I had been for a few days. When you were last in
town, the projects of arrangement for India remained so nearly in
the state in which our last conversation had left them, that I
thought it unnecessary to trouble you at that time on the subject.
Since that time, the matter has certainly taken a more distinct
shape, although it is not true, as the newspaper has stated, that
my appointment has actually taken place, or that I am to embark
within a few days for India. Had you continued in town, I would
have communicated to you, step by step, every stage of the
transaction, and especially whatever concerned Hobart; but the
distance of your situation rendered such a detailed communication
difficult, and I was besides unwilling to intrude upon your time in
a moment of so much domestic anxiety, in which, I assure you, I
took the deepest concern. I also had an expectation that Mr.
Sullivan, with whom I had constant intercourse, might have had the
opportunity of seeing you in Buckinghamshire (if Lord Temple's
health should allow you to see anybody), and that he would have
apprised you of every circumstance which could affect Hobart's
interest or reputation; to both of which objects, it is my sincere
opinion that the utmost regard has been shown by all parties in
this affair: I say by _all_ parties, because common justice compels
me to declare that Mr. Dundas, instead of having impeded or
frustrated the arrangement proposed for Hobart, or of having
sacrificed him to any intrigue at the India House, has to my
certain knowledge asserted Hobart's cause with the warmest zeal,
used every means of representing it to the Company in the most
advantageous light, and even entered into personal engagements for
the benefit of Hobart far exceeding any demand which could justly
or reasonably have been made upon him by Hobart or by his friends.
A short statement of facts will, I think, satisfy you of the truth
of my opinion.

After a very full consideration of all the despatches both from
Bengal and Madras, relating to the affairs of the latter
Government, Mr. Dundas wrote a letter to the Directors, of which he
sent me a copy, expressing his sense of Lord Hobart's services in
these words: "To his zeal and promptitude in the execution of his
orders, after the unfortunate rupture with Holland, I in a very
great degree attribute the very proud and advantageous situation in
which our Indian empire is now placed." The letter concludes with
the following recommendation to the Court to make a provision for
Lord Hobart: "If the Court of Directors concur with me in thinking
that Lord Hobart has performed very meritorious services, but that
there are at the same time very forcible grounds of expediency why
he should not proceed to the higher situation originally destined
for him, I can have no doubt, from the known justice and liberality
of the East India Company, that they will concur with me in
thinking that he ought not to return to his own country without a
substantial mark of the approbation and favour of the East India
Company."

The grounds of expediency for Lord Hobart's recal, Mr. Dundas
stated in these terms: "I am, after the most mature consideration
of the subject, thoroughly satisfied that, after the unfortunate
misunderstandings which have prevailed between Lord Hobart and the
Government-General, and the equally unfortunate differences which
exist between his Lordship and the Nabob and the Rajah of Tanjore,
it would be inexpedient to re-appoint him to the
Government-General; and still more so, that he should remain longer
at Madras."

Upon this letter, my dear Lord, I am persuaded that your own
justice and candour will anticipate my observations; but the very
strong expressions contained in your letter render it my duty to
observe, that in this application to the Court of Directors, Mr.
Dundas has chosen the very same topics, on which to urge the claims
of Lord Hobart to the gratitude of the Company, which you concurred
with me in selecting as the most favourable grounds to found a
public motion in the Court of Proprietors, with a view to
obtaining a pension for Lord Hobart; and Mr. Dundas has stated the
expediency of removing Lord Hobart on no other grounds than those
which in conversation you and I have repeatedly agreed to be of the
greatest force, and at the same time perfectly consistent with Lord
Hobart's fair reputation and unsullied honour. It cannot,
therefore, be denied that Mr. Dundas has dealt fairly by Lord
Hobart's character and interests, both in the reasons assigned for
his recal, and in those urged in favour of his services.

To this letter the Chairman of the Court of Directors returned an
answer, concurring in Mr. Dundas's opinion of the necessity of
recalling Lord Hobart, admitting the extent of his services, and
expressing the inclination of the Court to propose a provision for
him to the consideration of the proprietors; but postponing the
moment for making that proposal to a period which appeared to me
rather too distant, and not sufficiently defined.

In this state of the matter, Mr. Dundas proposed to me the
reversion of the Government-General after Lord Cornwallis, having
previously furnished me with a copy of the correspondence, to which
I have already referred. I expressed my doubts whether the
provision for Lord Hobart was yet sufficiently secure to admit of
my accepting the offer made to me consistently with my good wishes
for him. Mr. Dundas then informed me, that he knew the intention of
the Directors was to propose the pension to the Court of
Proprietors in May; and he added, that if at that time the pension
should fail in either court, he would himself move it in
Parliament, and charge it upon the revenues of Ceylon, or take some
other effectual means of securing it. He also said, that there
would be no objection to calling Lord Hobart to the House of Peers
within a very short time, probably even before Lord Cornwallis's
departure.

Here again I must observe, that Mr. Dundas offers a personal
pledge in favour of Lord Hobart, which neither you nor I, nor any
of Lord Hobart's friends ever had required, and which we could not
on any fair grounds have demanded. When Mr. Dundas had thus stated
to me the situation of Lord Hobart in terms so perfectly
satisfactory, and affording such undeniable proofs of his sincere
wish to serve him under all possible contingencies, I entered into
a variety of points relating to my own views (which I will state to
you when we meet); and the conversation ended without my final
acceptance of the proposal made to me. In a day or two afterwards I
saw Mr. Sullivan, and communicated to him what had passed between
me and Mr. Dundas relative to Lord Hobart. I had then the
satisfaction to learn from Mr. Sullivan, that he also had seen Mr.
Dundas, from whom he had received the very same assurances, which
Mr. Dundas had given to me in relation to Lord Hobart's pension and
peerage; and Mr. Sullivan further stated, that Mr. Dundas had
desired that those assurances might be communicated to Lord
Guilford. I then asked Mr. Sullivan whether, under all the
circumstances of the case, he thought that my acceptance of the
Government of Madras, with the reversion of the Government-General
after Lord Cornwallis, could be in any degree injurious to Lord
Hobart's interest or honour? Mr. Sullivan answered, certainly it
could not; and added, that he and Lord Guilford were now perfectly
satisfied with the footing on which Mr. Dundas had placed the
credit and welfare of Lord Hobart.

Having seen Lord Cornwallis, and at length made up my mind to
undertake this most arduous charge, I communicated to Mr. Dundas
about a week ago my final acceptance of the Government of Madras,
with the provisional succession to Bengal after Lord Cornwallis. My
appointment not having yet been formally made by the Court of
Directors, I cannot yet acknowledge my destination to India; you
will, therefore, be so good as to speak of the whole matter merely
as a vague report until you hear further from me.

Thus, my dear Lord, you will perceive that whatever has been done
relating to Hobart in the conclusion of this arrangement for India,
has received the sanction of his nearest relations, of persons
whose affectionate friendship for Hobart, and just discernment of
his interests, will readily be acknowledged by you. In a situation
of peculiar delicacy and embarrassment, it has been a great
satisfaction to me to have been able to submit every step which I
have taken in this affair to the judgment of such a man as Mr.
Sullivan.

The various delays which have retarded the conclusion of this
arrangement, have rendered it impossible for me to embark with Lord
Cornwallis. However, I am in constant habits of the most
confidential intercourse with him from day to day; and I mean to
pass six weeks or two months with him in Bengal before his
resignation of the government. My departure will probably not take
place sooner than July or August.

Finding that the office of Private Civil Secretary at Bengal would
be well worth my brother Henry's acceptance, I mean to take him
with me. After a very accurate inquiry from Lord Cornwallis, I am
concerned to find that it would not be in my power to be of any
assistance to Mr. Fisher in India. My intention is to take no other
person, besides my servants, excepting my brother Henry, and to
avoid all engagements universally in Europe, in order to secure
myself against any temptation to an irregular distribution of
patronage. In this resolution, which I formed very early, on
principles which a long attention to the affairs of India has
enabled me to fix with some degree of confidence, I have been
strongly confirmed by Lord Cornwallis, and I am persuaded that you
will approve of my determination.

Pray accept my cordial thanks for the kindness and friendship
which appear in every part of your letter, and believe me, my dear
Lord, ever yours most faithfully and affectionately,

MORNINGTON.

I have been interrupted in this long detail, and have not been able
to send my letter until this evening, the 21st. I am happy to learn
in Pall Mall that Lord Temple is so much better. Nothing new to-day
from Portsmouth; I mean, nothing authentic. Private letters say
that the mutiny is likely to subside for the present, in
consequence of the propositions made yesterday by the Admiralty.
How discipline and subordination are ever again to be restored on
any permanent basis surpasses my understanding to conceive.

LORD MORNINGTON TO MR. SULLIVAN.

Hertford Street, July 3rd, 1797.
SIR,

The Court of Directors have appointed me Governor of Madras, with
the provisional succession to Bengal. The arrangement has been made
by them, and accepted by me, with this understanding: that I am to
undertake the Government of Madras only in the event of Lord
Cornwallis's acceptance of the Government of Bengal. If his
Lordship should not go to Bengal, I am to proceed directly to the
Supreme Government. The nature of this arrangement does not appear
upon the face of it: I state it to you in _strict confidence_, as
it has been explained to me; and I believe you are already
sufficiently acquainted with my sentiments to know my willingness
to hold the Government of Madras under Lord Cornwallis, as well as
my resolution not to hold it under any other person.

Mr. Dundas authorizes me to say that he retains the same intentions
with regard to a provision for Lord Hobart which he stated to you
and to me, and you have been already apprized by me of the footing
on which the proposed peerage stands. You may rely on my constant
and unremitting attention to both objects; but I must declare, in
justice both to Mr. Pitt and to Mr. Dundas, my conviction that
neither will delay the performance of their respective engagements
one instant beyond that in which it shall be possible to execute
them.