An important act of parliament was passed immediate ly after the suppression of the rebellion, by which the heritable jurisdictions of the Highland chieftains were abolished. A law was also passed, forbidding the High landers to wear the garb by which they were distin guished. The policy of emancipating the Highland vassals cannot be doubted ; but the conquest of their affections remained still to be made. Under the wise administration of Chatham, a conciliatory system was adopted, and their favourite national garb was restored. It was not until the latter period, that the nation reaped the full benefit of the bravery and loyalty of a true, simple, and energetic Celtic race of mountaineers.
About the same time the English made an expedition to the coast of France, in order to attack Port L'Orient, from which they came off with neither honour nor advan tage. The fleet under admiral Lestock, with six batta lions of regular forces on board, arrived on the 20th of September, in Quimperlay Bay, ten miles distant from the city, which was immediately summoned to surren der. in the first emotions of surprise and consternation, a capitulation was agreed to, on condition that the maga zines of the company, on the payment of 40,0001., should remain untouched, and the inhabitants be protected from pillage. These terms the British commander haughtily rejected, and the inhabitants, driven to de spair, prepared to defend themselves. The invaders were destitute of artillery and implements for a siege, and they played ineffectually with a single battery upon the town. At length the troops in the neighbourhood, and the provincial militia, collecting in force, com pelled the general to reimbark, and return to Ports mouth.
The French, at the same time, gained an important ictory at Rocoux, in Flanders, over the allies. The Dutch, who had beheld the progress of the French arms in the Netherlands with terror and apprehension, had been at last driven to declare against their most for midable enemy ; and by a tumultuous sedition, similar to that which, in the last century, had saved their com monwealth, the people were excited to depose their magistrates, and to confide the supreme power over the army and navy to the prince of Orange. But, how ever spirited and wise their resistance to France might have been, they were in the present conflict necessa rily, from being the weakest, the greatest sufferers. 1 victory gained over the allies at La Feldt filled them midi distrust of their own generals, and the taking of Bergen•op-Zoom drove them to despair. These disas it is true, were balanced in some degree by the losses of the French in Italy, where their general, the brother of the marquis de Belleisle, was slain, and his whole army put to the route in attempting to penetrate into Piedmont. Nor were the naval successes of Britain discontinued. In April 1747, a squadron sailed from Brest for America, commanded by admiral La Jonquiere, who were encountered by a superior fleet under the English admirals, Anson and Warren. Six ships of the French line struck their colours, and the greater part of their convoy and frigates were taken. In the month October, admiral Hawke, with a superior force, fell in with nine French line of battle ships, seven of which he took, after an obstinate engagement.
The variety of success served to make all the powers at war heartily desirous of peace. The king of France was sensible that the moment of success was the most advantageous opportunity of proposing terms ; and even expressed his desire of general tranquillity to sir John Ligonier, who was made prisoner at the battle of La Feldt. In the new parliament, which met at the end of the year, his Britannic majesty announced that a con gress would be speedily opened at Aix-la-Chapelle, for concerting the means of a general pacification. As the
event, however, was uncertain, the subsidies and sup plies of parliament were renewed, and an additional sub sidy was granted to the empress of Russia, whom Eng land had now to class with the empress queen of Hun gary, the kings of Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and Sar dinia, and a multitude of Germanic sovereigns in her band of mercenaries. But previous to the termination of the session (May 1748,) the king informed the two houses, that the preliminaries of peace were actually signed, and that the basis of the accommodation was a general restitution of conquests. The treaty of Aix la-Chapelle must undoubtedly, upon the whole, be con sidered as favourable to the allies. France, for the sa crifice of all her conquests, required no other compensa tions than the cession of the duchy of Parma, with its ap dendages, to the infant don Philip, territories of which that prince was already in possession. By this treaty, England resigned Cape Breton, to obtain the restitution of Madras. With Spain, England had little occasion to negotiate. In a war of nine years, nothing had been gain ed or lost, but Portobello, which had been immediately evacuated. The original cause of the war seemed in the course of it to be entirely forgotten ; and at the con clusion of the peace, not a syllable was mentioned re specting the pretended right of search, which had for merly occasioned such loud and indignant clamours. The settlement of the boundaries of the French and Bri tish empires in America was referred to the decision of commissioners. France retained no mark of superiority in this treaty with relation to England, excepting the restitution of hostages to reside in France, till the re ciprocal retention of conquests should be actually made, and the earls of Sussex and Cathcart were nominated for that purpose. This afforded the patriots a pretence to exclaim against the peace as disgraceful to the nation ; but the nation, which had reason to he wearied with the expences and disasters of the war, were well satisfied with the terms of the peace, and it was celebrated with universal rejoicings. A profound tranquillity in domes tic affairs succeeded the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, till the death of Mr Pelham in 175•, in the meridian of his life, reputation, and usefulness. He lived and died esteemed and lamented, both by the sovereign and the nation. Mr Legge, a man of honour and capacity, suc ceeded him as chancellor of the exchequer. The seals being consigned to sir Thomas Robinson, formerly am bassador at the court of Vienna, a minister of very mo derate political attainments, the post of first lord of the treasury was occupied by the duke of Newcastle. But it soon appeared how unequal were the talents of this nobleman to sit at the helm of affairs, when deprived of the assistance of Pelham. If we,seck for the origin of the war, which, at the distance of some years from the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, was created between France and England, we shall find it kindling up at one and the same time in Europe, Asia, and America. By the treaty of Utrecht, the English had been acknowledged as the rightful possessors of Nova Scotia, in North America. But the province of Nova Scotia being ceded to England according to the ancient limits of that territory, fruit less and endless altercations arose as to the import of this expression, between the commissaries of the two nations, to whom the right of fixing the boundaries of the royal empire was assigned ; the English claiming the whole territory as far as the southern bank of the river St Lawrence, and the French admitting their right only to the peninsula of Acadie.