Amidst these disasters by land, it was some consola tion that our navy supported and even exceeded its for mer glory. By this naval superiority, we were enabled to capture the islands of Martinique, St Lucia, and Gua daloupe, although the last of these conquests was soon after recovered by the French. In February, the island of Corsica, where a great proportion of the inhabitants, under their ancient chief Paoli, were in arms against the French convention, was visited by lord Hood's squa dron, and, in a short time, the whole island submitted to the English and their Corsican adherents. In June, the representatives of the whole nation assembled at Corte ; voted the union of the island with the British crown ; and a constitutional act was framed, almost ex actly similar to the French model of 1791. Sir Gilbert Elliot (since lord Minto,) assumed the power and title of viceroy.
In the month of May, the French Brest fleet under admiral Villaret, anxious for the fate of a large convoy from America, ventured to put to sea ; though it was known that lord Howe, with an equal force, was cruiz iog off the harbour to intercept it. Early on the 28th of May, the grand fleets of the two nations came in view of each other, and on the first of June, after lord Rowe had, by a series of masterly manoeuvres, gained the weather gage, they came to a close and desperate conflict. After suffering immense carnage, the French admiral crowded off, and was followed by all the ships in a condition to carry sail. Six remained in possession of the British ; but the French consoled themselves with reflecting, that they had saved a convoy of 160 merchantmen, valued at many millions.
The brilliant successes of France by land, had, by this time, rendered most of the neighbouring powers disposed to acknowledge her new government, and some of them even to court her alliance. The grand duke of Tuscany, at the beginning of 1795, deserted the coalition. Prussia having received our subsidy, which she applied to accomplish the infamous partition of Poland, soon followed the same conduct, concluded a treaty with the French, and mediated a peace between the republic and the Landgrave of Hesse Cassel. Yet amidst all these unpromising events, the speech from the throne, at the opening of the next session of par liament, exhorted a strenuous continuation of the war; and every motion advanced by the opposers of the war, was negatived by triumphant majorities. In these de bates, however, several accustomed supporters of the minister, sided with the pacific party in the commons ; and Mr Wilberforce, announcing a total change in his views of the necessity of the contest, took the lead in proposing a negotiation. A loan of 4,600,000/. was gua ranteed by parliament to the house of Austria. The force voted for the year amounted to 100,000 seamen, and 216,000 regular soldiers and militia, exclusive of fencibles and volunteers, and embodied French emi grants The sums levied for the service of the year, and the payment of the national debt, rose to 40,000,000/.;
nor was our expenditure in Ireland, and the East and West Indies, taken into this account.
The trial of Mr Hastings, so remarkable for its im portance, for the talents of its conductors, and for the length of its duration, was, in the course of 1795, brought to a conclusion. He was acquitted of every branch of every charge, distinctly and severally.
In the month of April, were celebrated the nuptials of his royal highness the prince of Wales with the prin cess Caroline, daughter of the duke of Brunswick. The annual revenue of the prince was, after some agitation, settled at 120,000/., exclusive of the rents of the duchy of Cornwall, estimated at 13,000/. Of this income, 73,000/. were appropriated to the liquidation of his royal highness's debts, under the direction of commissioners appointed by parliament. For some time, the attention and fears of government had been roused by the impor tunate and impatient clamours of the Catholics of Ire land, at the restrictions which still continued to gall that numerous class of subjects. Baffled in their applica tions to the Irish parliament, the Catholics had met over the whole kingdom, and addressed the sovereign him self in a determined and energetic manner. Ministers, who were embarrassed between the force and justice of those claims, and their wishes to retain the attachment of the high church Protestants in Ireland, who opposed the Catholic emancipation, seem to have adopted a mo mentary resolution of complying with the demands of the former party. Earl Fitzwilliam was appointed to the government of Ireland. His inclination to healing mea sures, rendered his appointment universally acceptable to the Irish. The depressed influence of the Whig Protestants, the friends of emancipation, rose in the Irish parliament ; and a bill for the relief of the Catho lics, drawn up by the accustomed advocates of their rights, was introduced into the Irish commons with little opposition. But the joy and conciliation occasion ed by this event, quickly vanished. Earl Fitzwilliam, as a necessary step to the measure of emancipation, had been obliged to dismiss some of the most zealous of the anti-catholic friends of ministers in Ireland. Indignant at this change, Mr Beresford repaircd•to London, and held conferences with the British cabinet, which in duced a total change of measures. The popular vice roy was recalled, and lord Camden sent in his place. The Irish parliament, after having voted with enthu siasm an approbation of all the measures of the preced ing deputy, now rejected the bill in favour of their Ca tholic countrymen, and contributed, perhaps, to foster the seeds of a rebellion, which afterwards deluged the country with blood.