The King of Sweden, pursuing his plan of humiliating the nobles, and ingratiating himself with the other classes, issued a declaration that all orders of the state had an equal right to serve their country in situations for which they were qualified; and in consequence, appointed persons belonging to the inferior orders to offices in the different public departments. This policy answered his purpose so as to obtain for him supplies in the diet to an amount beyond what had ever been before known; and several of the towns equipped armed vessels and raised volunteers for his service at their own expence. He was thus enabled to open the campaign against Russia earlier than usual; and, commanding in person, he gained some advantages in Finland. Some bloody actions were likewise fought at sea, with various success. The last of these was a complete defeat by the King, of the Russian fleet under the Prince of Nassau, in July. The mutual losses, and the exhausted state of Sweden, produced overtures for a peace, which was concluded in August, on the condition of a restitution of conquest on both sides. This desertion by the King of Sweden of the alliance with the Ottoman Porte, by which he had been subsidized, excited great indignation at Constantinople, but was apparently necessary to prevent another revolution.

The Empress Catharine was still as much as ever bent upon her further aggrandisement at the expence of the Turks; and to the pacific proposals offered to her by the mediating powers, she returned a haughty and disdainful answer. During the early part of the year war was suspended on the banks of the Danube, and the Black sea was the chief scene of contest between the Turks and Russians, in which the success chiefly remained with the latter. An attempt made by the Turks to penetrate into the Russian conquests between the Black sea and the Caspian was frustrated by a defeat given to the Turkish army as it was passing the river Kuban. Prince Potemkin, who at the close of the preceding year had taken Kilia Nova, a town at one of the mouths of the Danube, now projecting farther

conquests in Moldavia and Wallachia, moved in the end of October to invest the strong fortress of Ismail, the key of the lower Danube. Its importance caused a numerous garrison, the flower of the Turkish troops, to be posted in it. The task of reducing this place was committed to Suwarof; and on December 22d, the approaches having allowed batteries to be erected on all sides, a terrible cannonade was ordered, which prepared the way for a general assault. The attack and resistance long continued with mutual fury; at length the Russians burst in, and a slaughter ensued scarcely paralleled in modern war. About 24,000 of the Turkish soldiers are said to have perished either by the sword or in the stream of the Danube, and the Russian accounts stated the whole loss of the Ottomans at more than 32,000. That of the assailants was also very considerable, but was little regarded in the triumph of victory with which the year concluded.

In the East Indies, the English Company were involved in a fresh war by the ambition of Tippoo Saib, Sultan of Mysore. Having seized upon a pretext for making war upon the Rajah of Travancore, an ally of the Company, he had in 1789 entirely over-run and occupied the greatest part of the dominions of that sovereign. The government of Bengal had in vain interposed to restrain his hostilities; and having formed a close alliance with the Mahrattas and the Nizam of the Decan, it declared war against Tippoo. Two armies were formed for the purpose of carrying it on; one of 15,000 men in the Carnatic, under General Meadows; the other, commanded by General Abercrombie, of about half that strength, in the presidency of Bombay. Tippoo, after having without effect attempted to avert the storm by negociation, left Travancore, and returned to his capital, Seringapatam. The Carnatic army marching from Tritchinopoly in June 1790, advanced towards the enemy, reducing several fortresses in its progress. Tippoo, however, making an irruption into the Carnatic, recalled General Meadows in pursuit of him; and in the mean time General Abercrombie, hav

ing landed at Tellicherry from Bombay, reduced several places on that side, and re-established the Rajah of Travancore in his kingdom. The campaign, however, though upon the whole successful, effected nothing decisive against the power of Tippoo; and Lord Cornwallis, who was now the Governor-general in India, resolving to take the supreme command upon himself, arrived at Fort St. George in December.

The new parliament assembled on November 25th, when Mr. Addington was unanimously re-chosen Speaker of the House of Commons. The King's speech, among other topics of foreign politics, took some notice of his endeavours to terminate the dissensions in the Netherlands, but made no allusion to the affairs in France. An address in favour of the Spanish convention was carried in each House by a large majority. The expence incurred by the armament against Spain was defrayed by some temporary taxes, and a loan of half a million without interest from the Bank. Before the recess, an important question was brought on in the House of Commons, Whether an impeachment by the Commons did not remain in statu quo, notwithstanding the intervention of a dissolution of parliament? and Mr. Burke moving, that the impeachment of Warren Hastings is now depending, it was carried in the affirmative without a division. He afterwards made a motion for limiting the impeachment to the articles on which the managers had already closed their evidence, with the exception of what remained relative to contracts, pensions, and allowances, which was also carried.

432

A. D. 1791.

YEAR OF GEORGE III. 31 & 32.

PARLIAMENT 1 & 2.

Debates respecting the War in India. - Bill for the Relief of Protesting Catholics. Motion for the Repeal of the Test Act as relating to Scotland, negatived. Bill for the Government of Canada. - Bill to prevent the Importation of Slaves into the Colonies. Question respecting a War with Russia.- Colony established at Sierra Leone. Conclusion of the Proceedings of the Commons against Mr. Hastings. -Party Contentions: Birmingham Riot.- Marriage of the Duke of York.French Affairs..- Emigrations. - King's Attempt to escape Constitutional Act accepted, and Constituent Assembly dissolved.- Conference at Pilnitz.- Legislative Assembly. -Reform in the Polish Constitution.-Peace between the Russians and Turks.-East Indies. - Lord Cornwallis's Campaign against Tippoo.

to the Borders.

-

MR. HIPPISLEY having, previously to the recess of parliament, made a motion for laying before the House the correspondence relative to the attack of Tippoo on the lines of Travancore, which was carried, the subject was introduced on February 28th by the same gentleman, in a motion for reading the clause in the East India act of the 24th of the King, disavowing all schemes for the extension of the British territories in India, and also various resolutions of the House of Commons. These being read, he entered into an argument to prove that we were under no obligation to take part with the Rajah of Travancore in the present contest, and that the Rajah, and not Tippoo, was the aggressor. A debate followed, in which Mr. Francis made various motions to censure the principles of the war into which we had entered with Tippoo, and prevent its farther prosecution, all of which were negatived; and Mr. Dundas moved opposite resolutions,

which were carried without a division. The same was the result of the attack and defence of the war in the House of Lords.

The solicitor-general moved in February for a committee of the whole House to enable him to bring in a bill to relieve from the penalties to which they were legally liable, those English catholics who were termed protesting catholic dissenters, on account of their protestation against certain dangerous opinions attributed to the papists. The motion being agreed to, he brought in a bill to that effect, which passed the House without opposition, the only objection made being, that it did not carry the principle of toleration far enough. In its passage through the House of Lords, it was observed by Bishop Horsley that the terms of the oath of allegiance enjoined by the bill might offend the feelings of some of those whom the bill was intended to relieve; and it was in consequence expunged, and another substituted. The bill was cordially supported by the episcopal bench, and passed unanimously.

Very different was the fate of a petition from the general assembly of the Church of Scotland for a repeal of the test acts as far as concerns Scotland, brought before the House of Commons by Sir Gilbert Elliot. It was supported by several members, particularly by Mr. Fox, who argued upon the disparity in which the members of the established church of Scotland were placed by an obligation imposed upon them of complying with a rite of the English church before they could be admitted to an office. Mr. Pitt represented this as an imaginary hardship, as he understood that the members of the church of Scotland had no objection to give such a pledge of amity to the sister church. The motion for taking the petition into consideration was negatived by 149 to 62.

A message from his Majesty having been delivered to parliament recommending to its attention some new regulations for Canada, Mr. Pitt on March 4, brought before the House of Commons a bill for that purpose. By its tenor, Canada was divided into two distinct