Brilliant as the victory of Maida was, it contributed only to the glory of the national arms, and in no way to the recovery of Calabria. The capture of Gaeta by the French, more than counterbalanced its effects on the affairs of Italy. The mass of Calabria, who had risen, and were still disposed to rise upon the troops of Joseph Bonaparte, might protract a desultory war fare, till Massena approached to overwhelm them ; but their insurrections were so evidently inadequate to offer a permanent resistance to the conqueror, that the British commander wisely returned to Sicily ; and the sub sequent solicitations of the court of Palermo to succour them with British forces, were refused, as inconsistent with the superior object of defending Sicily. In their zeal for insurrectionary movements, the deposed king and queen of Naples were little disposed to consider the calamities which they occasioned. But it was abhor rent to the humane breasts of their British allies, that bloodshed and misery should be continued for no better purpose than to gratify a fallen court with the ocasional punishment of its enemies, inflicted by outlaws and ban ditti ; for, by such characters, the Neapolitan mass were, in general, conducted.
Such an action as that of Trafalgar was not to be yearly expected ; but the British navy maintained its accustomed superiority in 1306. In the West Indies, Sir Thomas Duckworth captured three French ships of the line, and drove ashore and burnt two others, a por tion of the fleet which had escaped from Brest. The French admiral Linois, who had long infested our com merce in the East, was intercepted on his return by Sir John Borlase Warren, and brought to England, with an eighty gun ship, and a forty gun frigate.
Prussia found no safety in humiliation. She disco vexed that Bonaparte, who had compelled her to hos tilities with Sweden, had engaged to Russia, to pre vent her from depriving the king of Sweden of his German territories ; and after guaranteeing to her the possession of Hanover, that she was negotiating with England on the basis of restoring that electorate. After selling her honour, she had been defrauded of the price. Indignation at the treachery and impatience of the insolence of Bonaparte, at last decided her councils to hazard the die of war. Information was no sooner com municated to the Engligh ministry, of the desire of the cabinet of Berlin to return to a state of amity with Britain, than Lord Morpeth was dispatched to the head quarters of the Prussian army, there to negotiate for peace. These he reached at NVeimar, on the 12th of October. But the same impolicy and insincerity, which had before disgraced the councils of Prussia, were still visible in her conduct. She had entered on the awful crisis of a rupture with France, without informing England of her resolution. She now hesitated and shifted at the prospect of negotiating for peace with us, knowing, that the restoration of Hanover would be required. if she lost the impending battle, all would be lost. If she gained it, she hoped to retain Hanover independent of Britain. Her minister Luechesini, there fore, unguardedly answered Lord Morpeth, when he asked if his court was ready to enter on immediate negotiation, that it would depend on the issue of the battle which had just been fought. The battle of Aver
stadt had been already fought, but the result was not yet known at the place where this was spoken. It is needless to add, that the battle of Averstadt put it beyond the power of Frederick to negotiate farther with Great Britain. Before the short and awful struggle had com menced, which decided the existence of Prussia, an accidental circumstance,* which brought on a personal correspondence between the ministers of France and England, drew forth the only serious proposals for peace, which had been made since the renovation of the war. It is of small consequence to detail the par ticulars of a treaty which ended so unfortunately. As soon as it was obvious, that the abandonment of Russia was to be the price of the favourable terms, so ostenta tiously at first promised to Britain, the determination of our court not to listen to any such projects, prevented a precise detail of the concessions which France was willing to make for the attainment of her object. It is, however, worthy of remark, that no offer of Sicily, the great object for which Mr Fox had contended, was ever made, even in the supposition of a separate peace. An attention not only to the interests, but to the wishes of Russia ; a firm determination to listen to no measure, that could give her umbrage or suspicion ; and a strong desire to preserve Sicily, almost a resolution not to abandon it,—were the prominent features of the con duct of Britain during this negotiation. Mr Fox, whose health had been for some time declining, did not live to know, though he strongly anticipated, the issue of the negotiation. On the 13th of September, that illustrious statesman breathed his last. See Fox.
Bonaparte lavished abuse on his survivors in the British cabinet, for departing from the sincere and pacific views with which Mr Fox had commenced the treaty. But their popularity was in no danger of being hurt by that imputation ; for, independent of the charge being wholly false, the British public were rather dis posed to be jealous of pacific views in their rulers, than to doubt their sincerity. Since the commencement of the present war, the universal cry has been the danger of a peace. On the present occasion, the nation were less disposed to shudder at the prospect of protracted war, than at the restrospect of the perils which they had escaped of an insidious treaty. The death of Mr Fox was not immediately fatal to his ministry. At the recommendation of Lord Grenville, his majesty was pleased to appoint Lord Howick to the foreign depart ment, Lord Sidmouth to the presidency of the council, and Lord Holland, the only new member who was brought into the administration, to be lord privy seal. A dissolution of parliament took place, and the elections were, in general, such as to furnish a parliament, which promised to he more favourable than the last to the present administration.