Mr Wilberforce's annual motion, for abolishing the slave trade, was lost for want of numbers to constitute a house. A humane attempt, by lord Moira, to obtain a bill for the relief of insolvent debtors, met with no better success. The session was closed on the 19th of May, and, in a few days afterwards, parliament was dis solved.
On the continent, this year was signalized by the most awful and interesting fluctuation of fortunes, be tween the arms of France and our allies. On the side of Italy, it is true, there was no fluctuation of success. The career of the enemy was uniform. Sardinia, Parma, Modena, and Genoa—the pope, and the king of Naples, were reduced to implore and purchase peace, by im mense sacrifices, in consequence of the victories of the French, obtained by a commander, (Bonaparte) young, and hitherto unknown in the world ; but who has since chained the history of the age to his biography.
In Germany, the campaign began successfully on the side of the French. Moreau and Jourdan, superseding Pichegru in command, penetrated to the very heart of the empire. Moreau, after successive victories, forced the Elector of Bavaria to sue for peace ; while Jourdan, taking the route of Upper Suabia, had penetrated to Amberg, and even stretched his lines to the neighbour hood of Ratisbon. At this critical period, the fortunes of Austria were restored by the gallantry of the Arch duke Charles, who attacked the van of Jourdan, and following up the success by repeated blows, pursued the invaders back to the Lower Rhine. Moreau was compelled to retire by the fall of the army on his left, and pursued for 300 miles, a most skilful and memora ble retreat, in the face of a superior enemy. On the 2d of August, a most valuable and bloodless conquest was made of nine Dutch ships, which had been sent by that enemy to recover the Cape of Good Hope. Their commander, Admiral Lucas, terrified by a mutinous spirit among his crews, yielded the fleet (without firing a shot) to the summons of Admiral Elphinstone. The Dutch possessions in the East Indies, including their settlements in the island of Ceylon, fell about the same time an easy prey to our arms. St Lucia was recover ed by General Abercromby, and a formidable insurrec tion of the negroes was quelled in Grenada and St Vin cent's. Whilst the successes of Bonaparte in Italy,
and his fame among his countrymen in Corsica, inspired the Gallic faction in that island, a body of French, under General Cazctte, arrived to co-operate with the natives. They drove our troops from Bastia, and obliged the viceroy and the fleet to take a final leave of the island.
The series of warlike events in this year, was con cluded by the most formidable effort that was ever made by France in the course of the century, to invade these dominions. On the 2d of December, fifteen thousand chosen troops, intended to act with the disaffected in Ireland, were embarked at Brest, accompanied by eigh teen sail of the line, and a number of frigates. But of this armament, which was overtaken and dispersed by a storm soon after it had put to sea, only eight two deckers reached the coast of Ireland. They appeared off Bantry Bay, but were forced from that station by another tempest, narrowly escaping two squadrons of our navy. They returned to France with the loss of several ships of the line.
As the feeble and ineffectual attempt of Mr Wick ham to open a treaty for peace, had not gained to ministers much credit for pacific intentions, a more direct negotiation was opened some months after, and Lord Malmesbury was sent ambassador to France. His plan of pacification, however, made the cession of Bel gium to the emperor an indispensible preliminary ; and on declaring that he was empowered to treat on no other terms, his lordship was ordered by the Directory to depart within forty-eight hours. His stay in Paris did not exceed two months, during which time the Court of Madrid issued a proclamation of war against The minority in the next session of parliament, made the severest animadversions on the conduct of Lord Mahnesbury's negotiation. Mr Fox did not hesitate to accuse the maiister of insincerity in the whole affair. We had proposed to France that she should cede the Netherlands, when we well knew that France would consent to no such proposal. "The war," he said, " was now evidently maintained for no other object than recovering Belgium." The pacific motions of the op pos,tion were, as before, overturned by large majorities.