inftitutions in the duft; all thefe may forbid the hopes of a lafting permanency to any fyftem of tranquillity, let the prefent appearances be ever fo ferene.

It must be admitted that this age feems to have a caufe of contention more particularly its own, and which cannot fail to fupply, in fome degree, thofe which are now by time and change of manners extinguished. The defire of naval power, which at prefent acts fo trongly upon many of the nations in Europe, will generate daily difputes, and must become a fruitful fource of diffenfion. The fpirit of commerce will not be confined to the acquifitions of induftry. The new adventurers in this field will encroach upon the old, while the fame paffion will act as powerfully with the old poffeffors, not to relinquish any of thofe profits which ufually came into their hands, and to which they will think that long prefcription has given them a right. With refpect to other matters, the general state of affairs in Europe has fuffered no material change fince the conclusion of our laft volume. The fame clofe union and alliance ftill fubfifts between the different branches of the houfe of Bourbon. The friendship and union between that family and the houfe of Auftria, is ftill more clofely ce mented by a marriage between the young king of Naples, and a daughter of the Emprefs Queen. The hopes of this alliance might indeed have been fruftrated in a lefs numerous family, by 15th Oct. the death of the Arch 1767. duchefs Maria Jofepha, who was feized with the fmall-pox in a few days after her being married by proxy and

declared Queen of Naples; but upon this occalion it made no great change, and the young Prince has been fince contracted to her next filter the Archdu chefs Caroline, who is about a year younger.

Unnatural as the prefent friendfhip and alliance between those ancient and hereditary enemies, the houfes of Bourbon and Auftria, may appear, and dangerous as the effects of it might at first feem to many of their neighbours; it is not perhaps impoffible, but it may contribute to preferve that tranquil. lity, which feemed to be fo much endangered by it. This will appear the lefs problematical, if we reflect on the many wars in which the bickerings and enmity of these two families have engaged for near two centuries the rest of Europe. Neither does this alliance appear fo very formidable to its neighbours, as it might have done in another fituation of things. The great weight which has accumu lated in the northern balance of late years, may well prevent the fcale from preponderating exceffively in their favour.

It does not at prefent appear, that any of the three powers in queftion are difpofed, or indeed in a condition to disturb the public repofe. France has been long a lofer by her wars, nor do the late trials fhe has made of her ftrength, comparatively with that of her neighbours, give the leaft encouragement to her feeking for new. The fyftem of Europe is much changed fince thofe victorious days of Lewis the XIVth, when he was fo much the terror of it. Other nations have gained great additional ftrength, whilft France has without question rather loft

ground;

ground; yet it must be owned, not in fucha degree, but that her great natural refources, and the very valuable and improveable colonies fhe is ftill poffeffed of, will always make her very refpectable, if not formidable. At prefent fhe is loaded with a very heavy debt, which will require length of time, joined with ftrict economy and clofe attention to her finances, to dif charge. Nor will her commerce, though greatly recovered, fuddenly forget the shocks it received in the last war. Agriculture has, through a series of mifmanagement, been long on the decline in that country; it was the error of the famous Colbert, that he wanted to form the French into a nation of manufacturers, and forgot that agriculture is the principal ftrength of a ftate. The French miniftry, as well as the nation, feem now fully fenfible of this error; and agriculture meets with all that encouragement and attention which it fo justly merits. It will, however, require length of time, and all the leifure of peace, to bring it to any degree near the perfection to which it is capable of arriving.

Upon the whole it is evident, that nothing can be fo effential to the intereft of France, as the continuation of peace; and that they must be the moft pernicious politics, which could at prefent urge it to enter wantonly into a war.

With refpect to England, France feems at prefent to be in a ftate of perfect good neighbourhood; nor is there any apparent caufe of quarrel likely to disturb this harmony. It may not perhaps be quite vifionary to imagine that the violent animofity and national prejudice, which has fo long fubfifted between

the two nations, is in fome degree wearing off; and it is obfervable, that more French of diftinction have vifited England fince the last war, than at any other period fince the English loft their great poffeffions in that country.

The most interesting event which the past year has produced in Holland, has been the marriage of the Prince Stadtholder with the Prin cefs Royal of Pruffia. Nothing could be more pleafing to the whole republic than this marriage, nor could any thing happen of a more interefting nature; the public and private rejoicings they made, and the marks of refpect and regard which they fhewed the princefs upon every occafion, fufficiently teftified the fenfe they had of it. By this marriage the commonwealth has entered into a nearer connection with a great, a powerful, and a neighbouring prince, whofe difpofition, if not a certain friend, was always to be dreaded; and the vicinity of whofe territories to thofe of the states, would always furnish fufficient matter for altercation, whenever he chofe to feek for it. At the fame time this marriage is justly to be looked upon in a very interefting light with refpect to the Proteftant fyftem in general, and to connect that chain of union which it will always be fo much the common intereft to preferve between the maritime and northern powers, and the Proteftant princes of Germany.

In the north, affairs at prefent wear the most benign afpect. The great difputes in Poland about the Diffidents, which feemed pregnant with fo much danger to the general repofe, are, through the weighty and effectual mediation of the

great

great powers, who by treaty as well as connection were interefted in their confequences, brought into a train of being fettled upon the moft permanent and happy footing.

Germany has offered no matter of political obfervation during the courfe of the prefent year. The Emperor and king of Pruffia fpend the fummers, either in reviewing their armies, or in making progreffes through different parts of their dominions; by which they become eye witneffes of the improvements that are requifite to be made, the encouragement that is neceffary to be given, and of the diftreffes and wants of their subjects. Notwithstanding this attention to domeftic and internal happinefs, the two great powers of the empire are far from being negligent of their military departments; the fword feems only to flumber, but does not fleep, and their armies are kept complete, and in the beft condition. The Emprefs Queen has published an edict, whereby the foldiers in all her armies are allowed and even encouraged to marry, a corrective in fome degree to the political mifchiefs attendant on thofe extenfive military eftablishments.

Turning our eyes to the fouthward, the fcene is there alfo entirely pacific. Indeed the new Dey of Algiers had made fome extraordinary demands upon the republic of Venice among the reft, befides the payment of an exorbitant fum of money, he infifted that his corfairs fhould have free liberty to cruize in the gulf of Venice, and to take the hips of any nation with whom he was not bound by treaty with this extraordinary

condition annexed, that if any of his cruizers fhould happen to be taken, the republic fhould repair the lofs in ready money.

Thefe difhonourable propofals were refufed with a proper difdain by the fenate; and as the Dey of Algiers had broken the peace, and imprifoned their conful, they equipped a fquadron of men of war, which they difpatched to Algiers, under the command of Admiral Emo, to bring him to reafon. The Dey continued obftinate; upon which the admiral, according to his orders, immediately declared war against him, and failed out of the harbour to fulfil his inftructions, which were to block up the port, and deftroy all the Algerine corfairs he could meet with.

Thefe vigorous refolutions foon brought the Dey to temper, and indeed to a fubmiffion as mean as his demands had been infolent; he found himself under a neceffity of making ufe of the mediation of the British conful, to procure a renewal of the peace upon the origi

nal terms.

The other parts of Italy have afforded little remarkable, except the expulfion of the Jefuits from Naples and Parma; as these events. are intimately connected with, or may rather be looked upon as confequences of, the meafures which had been already taken in Spain to the fame purpofe, we fhall include them under that head; as. well as the ineffectual remon ftrances made by the court of Rome in their favour. The edict which has been paffed by the regency of Parma, with refpect to ecclefiaftical affairs, and which almost totally fecludes the Roman fee from all jurifdiction in that duchy,

[4] 3

together

together with the confequences, which are faid to be an excommunication, will find their proper place in the tranfactions of the enfuing year. The power and intereft of the court of Rome is daily lofing ground in Italy; where other states, befides thofe we have mentioned, are taking measures to circumfcribe it. The govern ment of Milan, which includes the Auftrian Lombardy, has publifhed a law, by which all the rights which the pope or the bishops have hitherto exercifed over ecclefiaftics, either with regard to their effects or their perfons, is transferred to a council, established for that purpose at Milan. All ecclefiaftics are obliged to fell the eftates which they have become poffeffed of fince the year 1722; and no fubject, whether ecclefiaftic or fecular, is permit. ted to go to Rome to folicit favour, except letters of indulgence, without the confent of the faid council.

any

This law is the fame as that which was published at Venice under the pontificate of Benedict XIV. and which occafioned fo many debates, that the Republic was obliged to abolish it in the beginning of the pontificate of Clement XIII. but the prefent law is paffed at a period much more favourable to the independency of fovereigns.

Portugal has afforded but little material in the courfe of the past year. Whether from fome miftaken notion in politics, or from fome national prejudice, or whatever other caufe, is uncertain; but the prefent prime minifter in that country has taken every occafion, during his adminiftration, of dif

2

couraging, reftraining, and dif treffing the British factories and commerce in that kingdom. This conduct feems the more wholly unaccountable, as the very exif tence of that nation as an inde, pendent ftate has fo long and fo often depended upon the powerful protection of Great Britain; which has alfo, upon every other occafion, always acted the part of a moft faithful ally and generous friend. If the advantages arifing from the commerce between the two nati ons were not mutual, this conduct might admit of fome plea in its juftification; but the contrary is evidently fhewn, by the great preference which has been fo long given by England to the Portuguefe wines, for which they could find no other market, and the confequent immenfe confumption of them in thefe countries. Many have with reafon been furprised at the fupinenefs of the British minifter, in putting up fo long with the frequent oppreffions, infults, and indignities, which have been fo repeatedly offered to the English merchants in that country. Nor have they been lefs furprifed at the temerity of the Portuguefe minifter, in venturing to roufe the indignation of a nation, which could fo eafily and fo effectually do itself ample juftice.,

The irregularity and inclemency of the feafons for fome years paft, in different parts of Europe, has occafioned an uncertainty and great deficiency in the crops of feveral countries, by which the. poor have fuffered great diftreffes. The ecclefiaftical ftate, and fome other parts of Italy, have been feverely affected by this calamity, and were it not for that happy

effect

effect of navigation and commerce, by which the wants of one nation are fupplied from the fuperabundance of another, famine would have thinned the race of mankind in many places. England, which ufually fupplied its neighbours with fuch immenfe quantities of grain, and allowed a confiderable bounty on the exportation of it, has been a fufferer from the fame caufe, and it has required the utmoft attention of the legislature, to guard against and prevent the dreadful confequences attending it.

It gives us pleafure to obferve, as a diftinction peculiar to the prefent age, the friendly intercourfe, harmony, and free communication of knowledge, which at prefent fubfifts between the learned of all the countries in Europe; and

which is not interrupted by the fquabbles or wars between their refpective ftates. This good dif pofition does not only add greatly to the advancement of knowledge and learning, but will alfo have a happy effect in wearing off those illiberal prejudices, and inveterate animofities, with which, to the miffortune of mankind, they are fo apt to regard all thofe whom they do not know, and who do not form a part of the fame particular community, or fpeak the fame language with themselves. This liberal intercourfe, together with the continual tranflation of books from one language to another, will by degrees bring mankind in fome meafure acquainted, and, it is to be hoped, wear off a great part of that hearty ill-will which they bore to each other as ftrangers.

luxury, are put in execution without diftinction of age or quality; and it feems to be laid down as a maxim, to enforce the most rigid private, as well as public acconomy.

This principle has been purfued to the minutelt detail, and enforced with the greatest rigour. [4] 4 A coun